Ninety-two ninth grade students and nine sponsors boarded two buses (one leaving from Poteau and one from McAlester) to travel to Texas for an exciting adventure provided by EOSC (Eastern Oklahoma State College) GEAR UP. The trip is known as Tour of Texas, which allows partner schools’ students to travel south to tour various colleges and universities as well as the Texas Instruments North Campus Facility in Dallas.

Students traveling on the Poteau bus stopped at SOSU (Southeastern Oklahoma State University) in Durant. SOSU offers a wide array of unique programs from aviation to occupational safety. After leaving SOSU, the bus traveled to UT-Dallas (The University of Texas at Dallas), where students learned all about what the public research university offers. UT-Dallas attracts the brightest minds in science, math and engineering, and boasts one of the top business schools in the state of Texas.

McAlester bus students toured the UNT (University of North Texas) campus in Denton. UNT is a public research university deeply committed to advancing educational excellence. From UNT, the bus traveled to nationally-ranked SNU (Southern Methodist University), which is a private school. SMU prepares students for leadership in their professions and communities.

The groups came together at the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum. Students learned about the history of the Holocaust as well as advancing human rights to combat prejudice, hatred and indifference.

The next morning, the groups toured TI (Texas Instruments). Members of the TI team provided hands–on activities, information about TI careers, and the history of the company. TI is an American technology company that designs and manufactures semiconductors, which are sold to electronics designers and manufacturers globally. Headquartered in Dallas, TI is one of the top ten semiconductor companies worldwide, based on sales volume. Texas Instruments’ focus is on developing analog chips and embedded processors, which accounts for more than 85 percent of their revenue. TI also produces TI digital light processing (DLP) and education technology products, including calculators, microcontrollers and multi-core processors. To date, TI has more than 43,000 patents worldwide.

From TI, the groups traveled to TAMUC (Texas A&M–Commerce), the second largest university in the Texas A&M University System. TAMUC offers 144 total areas of study at the undergraduate and graduate levels. As a member of the A&M System, TAMUC offers STEM undergraduate degrees in applied sciences, biology, chemistry, computer sciences, computer information systems, engineering, environmental sciences, mathematics, physics, pre-med, technology management, and wildlife conservation sciences. In addition, the university offers numerous other majors in humanities, education, agriculture, etc.

Tour of Texas is one of many EOSC GEAR UP services provided, which allows students to gain a deeper level of understanding about colleges and universities. The trip also allows students to explore out-of-state campuses, giving students first-hand experience and more options when choosing a college or university upon high school graduation.

The trip was sponsored by EOSC (Eastern Oklahoma State College) GEAR UP. EOSC received a $17 million federal GEAR UP grant in 2017, and will serve more than 3,000 students in 39 area schools for seven years.

Attending the event were:

Antlers: Garrett Brame and Janson Riemenschneider
Atoka: Bryanna Barcus, Jocelyn Cochran, Kylie Eldridge, and Abby Roland
Bokoshe: Chariety Lord, Holden McDaniel, and Austin Treat
Buffalo Valley: Ashlyn Phillips and Connor Phillips
Cameron: Johnathon Harrison and Emmy Johnson
Canadian: Tammanie Anzlovar, Abby Crabtree, and Gus Peek
Clayton: Jayden Christian, Jamie Oldham, Kailey Pugh, and Abigail Wilson
Coalgate: Jaydon Walters and Noah Williams
Eufaula: Adler Graham, Jacob Maddox, Makalyn Neil, Bret Pippenger, and Andrew Worley
Haileyville: Jenessa Dugger, Caleb Hatcher, James Meek, and C-aira Ranells
Hartshorne: Hanna Cervantes, Eevett King, and Jaxxon Rizor
Howe: Hailee Morrison, Mikia Prier,  and Mason Turner
Indianola: Dusty Bush and Megan Eldridge
Keota: Victoria Caldwell, Dakota Lyons, and Alex Pickle
LeFlore: Sara Ellis
McAlester: Owen Barlow, FaithAnn Butler, Titus Blackmon, and Jimmye Tyson-McCall
McCurtain: Braydan Ward
Panama: Andrew Bevil, Ella Fisher, Adryanna Jones, and Jacob Pierce
Panola: MaKayla Matthews and Malayah Smith
Porum: Emery Arnold, Seth Brown, Hayden Bush, Simon Girty, and Luke Spradlin
Poteau: Tommie Attee, Benjamin Campbell, Jezebel Gabriel, Tegan Hickson, Kymber Hinson, Serenity McKee, Raelynn Mithlo, Payton Stover, and Aleena Tippit
Quinton: Chesney Higgins and Hailey Ritter
Rattan: McKenna Buchanan, Kynley Lucas, Cassidy Mack, and Sierra Moore
Savanna: Hunter Harmon, Brianna Nester, Robert Roloff, Brooke Seawright, and Abigail Whorton
Spiro: Libby Howell, Abigail Standridge, and Aidan Wind
Stringtown: Dylan Isom, and Luke Thompson
Whitesboro: Desarae GroganWilburton: Haylee Baker, Jet Flener, Danni Martinez, and Andrew Pixley
Wister: Ethan Chitwood, Jyieannah Moriles, and Beth Smith
GEAR UP Team Members: Stephanie Dow, Jayde Frazier, Leslie Hemphill, Bethany Hicks, Denise Lovell, Tara Martin, Hutch Perry, Dara Self, and Tonya White