When Hailey Mack arrived at Varnum High School as a freshman, she had two goals: go to college and play basketball.

She accomplished both at Seminole State College. Along the way, she visited universities across the country, explored London and Paris and prepared to continue her education more than 700 miles from home at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.

Now, through the same GEAR UP program that helped her explore those possibilities, Mack is encouraging younger students to consider where college could take them.

Her experience reflects the theme of this year’s National GEAR UP Week, “Lighting the Way.” Observed Sept. 21-25, the week recognizes how Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, helps students and families prepare for education beyond high school.

Mack attended Justice Public School through eighth grade before transferring to Varnum, where GEAR UP staff began talking with her and her classmates about careers, college and their plans for the future.

“I knew I wanted to go to college, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Mack said. “I knew I always grew up wanting to play basketball in college, and I’m grateful I got to do that for the past two years.”

Neither of Mack’s parents attended college, but both encouraged her to pursue higher education. GEAR UP helped her explore her interests and the opportunities available to her.

Career exploration activities pointed toward the health field, which she studies today. Campus visits gave her a closer look at college life. She especially remembers touring Oklahoma State University with fellow Varnum students. In the summer of 2024, she also took a GEAR UP trip through Boston, Rhode Island and New York that ended in Washington, D.C.

A 2024 Varnum High School graduate, Mack chose to begin college close to home.

“For one, it was in my hometown, so I knew I’d have a big support system around there,” Mack said.

A basketball scholarship to SSC allowed her to fulfill a childhood goal while staying close enough to support her younger brother during his final two years of high school, just as he had supported her.

College basketball brought new demands.

“Basketball practice was tough,” Mack said. “I feel like it was tougher than the games.”

Learning to work through difficult practices strengthened habits she also applied in the classroom.

“You have to be disciplined,” she said. “I feel like I have to be there every class. I don’t like missing class at all because I don’t want to be left behind.”

SSC also gave Mack opportunities to travel. In May 2025, she visited London and Paris through the College’s study abroad program, an experience she described as “amazing” and wished could have lasted longer.

Mack graduated from SSC in the spring of 2026 and transferred to Fort Lewis College to study health science. She no longer plays collegiate basketball, but she credits her time at SSC with helping her adjust to the next stage of her education.

“I got to work my way up, and now that I’m at a bigger school, I feel like that helped out tremendously,” Mack said.

In Colorado, she has become involved with Fort Lewis College’s Outdoor Pursuits program, which offers hiking, camping, rafting and skiing opportunities.

Moving farther from home has also made conversations with her mother especially meaningful. They talk nearly every day, whether Mack needs advice, help managing stress or someone to listen.

“She’s obviously my best friend,” Mack said. “She’s been helping me with all my stress that I have or questions that I may need answered. Even if she doesn’t know it, she still gives me the best answer she can.”

That steady encouragement is something Mack can now offer students beginning to think about their own futures.

For the past two summers, she has worked at SSC’s GEAR UP camps. This July, more than 140 incoming eighth- and ninth-grade students from the program’s 12 partner schools participated in two camps featuring college tours, career exploration and hands-on educational activities.

Working with the campers helped Mack grow more comfortable meeting new people.

“I’m a nervous person, but I feel like they brought me out of my shell because I got to interact with them,” she said.

Some of her favorite moments happened on the basketball court, where the former SSC player found herself drawing the younger students’ admiration.

“They would always just go crazy over me,” Mack said. “Like I was their idol or something.”

For those students, Mack offers a familiar example of what can come after high school: someone who attended a local school, participated in GEAR UP and went on to play college basketball, travel abroad and continue her education.

SSC’s GEAR UP program is supported by a seven-year, $6.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education and serves approximately 1,168 students. Its partner schools are Asher, Holdenville, Konawa, Maud, Moss, Okemah, Seminole, Strother, Tecumseh, Varnum, Wetumka and Wewoka. The program provides academic preparation, college exploration and support services to help students prepare for and succeed in postsecondary education.

Mack’s advice to those students begins with remembering who is in their corner.

“Keep chasing your dreams,” she said. “Even if obstacles get in your way, you’ll still have a support system, from your coordinators, from your family or just your friends.”

She also wants them to know they do not have to feel completely at ease to take the next step.

“Everyone’s going to be nervous because that’s a whole new environment for everyone, so you’re all in the same boat,” Mack said. “The best thing you can do is go anywhere with confidence, and I promise you’ll be fine.”