Berea College has been awarded a multi-million dollar federal grant to help prepare poverty-stricken students in the state’s Appalachian region for college.
The $5.5 million was announced today Monday by the U.S. Department of Education through its GEAR UP program, which aids poor students by targeting them for college-readiness at a young age.
Dreama Gentry coordinates Berea College’s outreach programs to Appalachian youth.
“A lot of the dollars from GEAR UP goes to the staff that will work directly one-on-one with these students, and then also the experiences-- the tutoring, the college and career awareness events, those type of things," explains Gentry.
Berea’s grant will be active for seven years, and will assist 7,000 students in Eastern Kentucky.