Some hard-working students over at the Texas GEAR UP State Grant are skipping that summertime slump and opting for the outdoors thanks to the inventive GeoFORCE program featured in our latest "Texas GEAR UP in Action" video. Run by the University of Texas at Austin, GeoFORCE is a professor-taught outreach program that excites and engages students with the geosciences through coursework and hands-on experiences—often providing TXGU'ers with a look into careers they never knew existed. 

From the beaches of Florida to the crevasses of the Grand Canyon to the arches of Utah's Zion National Park, TXGU student scientists are getting a thrilling opportunity to travel across the country while doing meaningful work out in the field—like measuring offshore drift and observing layers of strata. Starting the summer before freshman year and going all the way through high school (that's four summers' worth!), GeoFORCE provides students with the chance to learn while developing skills like independence and critical thinking that are crucial for being successful in college. In fact, GeoFORCE boasts a 98% college entrance rate and 85-93% college graduation rate among its participants. With numbers like that, it's easy to see this program is rocking kids' worlds in the very best way.