Crooksville student represents Ohio at national summit

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- One Perry County teen was one of only four students to represent the entire state of Ohio at a national summit.

Crooksville High School junior, Jolee Caton, was selected to attend the 2017 Youth Leadership Summit in San Francisco. The event was hosted by the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships as a way to increase access to high education for students that are economically disadvantaged.

“For a lot of these [students], it’s either rural or low-income areas who maybe don’t have as many connections. So also being able to connect with, from my end being able to connect with another advisor, for Jolee being able to connect with another student from Chicago or Texas or Washington state, you know, being able to have just extra support,” said Andrea Polen, GEAR UP advisor at the Muskingum County Community Foundation.

The leadership conference was available to students who were actively participating in GEAR UP, or, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs.

GEAR UP is a national grant program that aims to increase post-secondary readiness for low-income students.

For Caton, the conference did more than prepare her for life after high school but also developed her skills while she continues at the high school level.

“I know now, that going into school especially talking to teachers and talking to other students and wanting changes in my school, I’ll be more comfortable going up to administration and getting more students together saying ‘hey we can make a change lets go do it,'” said Caton.

150 students from all across the country attended the conference. Caton said she is excited to keep in touch with all of the other students she met.