On Thursday, May 7, from 10 to 11 a.m., the Monroe City Schools GEAR UP program and the ULM College of Education and Human Development will stage a "Mock" graduation for the class of 2017. For the third year running, more than 200 eighth-grade students from local middle schools will walk across the stage of Brown Auditorium to "envision" their futures as college graduates. The program will begin with a presentation of the colors by Carroll High School Color Guard, followed by a welcome by ULM President Dr. James Cofer in full regalia.

Special guests will include Monroe City School superintendent Dr. James Dupree and Mayor James Mayo, as well as student speakers.
University liaison for the GEAR UP program Lynn Clark said, "Our goal is help students to see the dream, so that they can be the dream. For some students this will be their first time on campus, even though they have grown up in Monroe."

GEAR UP is a federally-funded college awareness and readiness program that encourages young people to stay in school, study hard, and take the right courses to go to college. The grant serves students attending Carroll Junior, Lee Junior, Martin Luther King, Carroll High, Neville High, and Wossman High Schools. For more information on the GEAR UP program see http://www.mcschools.net/site66.php.