Cristobal is GEAR UP success story

ALAMOSA — This week is National GEAR UP Week celebrating the GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs).

Juan Francisco Cristobal, a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, is one of Alamosa’s GEAR UP success stories. He received his MA in ethnomusicology from the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music 2018 and his BA in music education from Adams State University in 2016.

Juan joined GEAR UP in eighth grade and remained a part of GEAR UP until the completion of college (under the umbrella of Colorado Challenge). 

When asked how GEAR UP helped him he said, “GEAR UP provided me the support while in high school and in college, the pathway to college, as well as the financial support I needed to get me through college.”

Juan also said, “As a first generation student I didn’t have that type of guidance at home because although my parents stressed the importance of going to college, they didn’t have the college experience so they couldn’t help with FAFSA, scholarships, housing, and all the other things that GEAR UP guided me through.”