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WEOP Field Trips Bring Students to a World of Possibilities

Friday, September 13, 2024

 

Wisconsin Educational Opportunity Programs (WEOP)'s mission is to prepare youth and adults to pursue higher educational opportunities by providing college and career readiness programs, resources, and support. Just one of the many ways WEOP helps inspire students to think about their postsecondary lives and careers is to provide enriching field trips. 

WEOP Gear Up participants sit on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. It is nighttime, and you can see the National Mall including the Jefferson Memorial lit up against the dark sky.
Six GEAR UP students sit at the Lincoln Memorial, looking out over the National Mall reflecting pool towards the Jefferson Memorial. Image: WEOP.

Six Wisconsin GEAR UP students recently attended the Youth Leadership Summit as part of the NCCEP/GEAR UP Annual Conference in Washington D.C., thanks to Wisconsin Educational Opportunity Programs (WEOP)!
The annual summit provides a high-quality, national-level interactive training experience and peer-to-peer learning opportunity focused on life, leadership, and learning-to-learn skills for 9th grade to freshman in college students who participate in GEAR UP grants across the nation.

The students also had the chance to walk around the National Mall, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History, and the National Air & Space Museum!

Learn more about GEAR UP and how students can apply.

Eleven smiling middle school students stand and smile inside one of the bulidings at Ft. McCoy. Behind them is camouflage tarp.
These students toured Ft. McCoy and learned about military careers. Image: WEOP.

The WEOP Program recently took a handful of Milwaukee Public Schools middle school-9th grade students to Fort McCoy Military base.

On the visit, they saw barracks from World War Two, used military training computer simulators, spoke with a two-star General, and sat in the Humvees!

They talked about what the military has to offer as far as careers, education and job training, especially for the high school students as they begin to really think about post-secondary options.

Students enjoyed the Shedd Aquarium after their visit to Northern Illinois University.
This combination field trip was a home run with students! Image: WEOP.

Last month, GEAR UP Students in Milwaukee got to take a summer field trip to the University of Illinois - Chicago and check out the Shedd Aquarium!

It was an exciting opportunity for kids to engage with a larger city and learn about animals, familiar and new.

A student stands with an EMT in front of an ambulance.
Students got a chance to get up close and personal with the emergency vehicles and to ask questions about future careers. Image: WEOP.

WEOP also arranges job shadow opportunities. Pictured above, a student that wants to go into the EMT/Paramedic Field went for an ambulance ride along and tour!

This is just a small sampling of what students have experienced through WEOP programs this summer and fall. For more information about WEOP programs and how to get a student involved, visit the WEOP page on the DPI web site.