WHEREAS, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) is a federal grant program designed to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education and careers; and

WHEREAS, GEAR UP Maine was founded in 1998, and since then has helped prepare over 29,000 students to pursue education and career pathways they otherwise may not have been able to; and

WHEREAS, administered by the University of Maine Farmington and the nonprofit Syntiro, GEAR UP Maine supports students beginning in 7th grade through high school and onward as they prepare for college, careers, and lifelong success; and

WHEREAS, support provided by GEAR UP includes tutoring, mentoring, financial education, college scholarships, career exploration, and more; and

WHEREAS, GEAR UP Maine will serve 5,000 students in seventh through twelfth grade during the current grant period of 2023-2030; and

WHEREAS, Maine is committed to providing a high-quality education for all students and helping them reach their highest potential, no matter the path they choose;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim the week of September 21-25, 2026 as

GEAR UP Week

throughout the State of Maine, and I urge all citizens to recognize this observance.

In testimony whereof, I have caused 
the Great Seal of the State to be 
hereunto affixed GIVEN under my 
hand at Augusta this twenty seventh day 
of August Two Thousand Twenty-Six