![\"Hailey](\"https:\/\/www.sscok.edu\/media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_0882-1024x1024.jpg\")
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI knew I wanted to go to college, but I didn\u2019t know what I wanted to do,\u201d Mack said. \u201cI knew I always grew up wanting to play basketball in college, and I\u2019m grateful I got to do that for the past two years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Neither of Mack\u2019s parents attended college, but both encouraged her to pursue higher education. GEAR UP helped her explore her interests and the opportunities available to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 2024 Varnum High School graduate, Mack chose to begin college close to home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor one, it was in my hometown, so I knew I\u2019d have a big support system around there,\u201d Mack said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
College basketball brought new demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBasketball practice was tough,\u201d Mack said. \u201cI feel like it was tougher than the games.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Learning to work through difficult practices strengthened habits she also applied in the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou have to be disciplined,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like I have to be there every class. I don\u2019t like missing class at all because I don\u2019t want to be left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SSC also gave Mack opportunities to travel. In May 2025, she visited London and Paris through the College\u2019s study abroad program, an experience she described as \u201camazing\u201d and wished could have lasted longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI got to work my way up, and now that I\u2019m at a bigger school, I feel like that helped out tremendously,\u201d Mack said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Colorado, she has become involved with Fort Lewis College\u2019s Outdoor Pursuits program, which offers hiking, camping, rafting and skiing opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe\u2019s obviously my best friend,\u201d Mack said. \u201cShe\u2019s been helping me with all my stress that I have or questions that I may need answered. Even if she doesn\u2019t know it, she still gives me the best answer she can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That steady encouragement is something Mack can now offer students beginning to think about their own futures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the past two summers, she has worked at SSC\u2019s GEAR UP camps. This July, more than 140 incoming eighth- and ninth-grade students from the program\u2019s 12 partner schools participated in two camps featuring college tours, career exploration and hands-on educational activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working with the campers helped Mack grow more comfortable meeting new people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m a nervous person, but I feel like they brought me out of my shell because I got to interact with them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of her favorite moments happened on the basketball court, where the former SSC player found herself drawing the younger students\u2019 admiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey would always just go crazy over me,\u201d Mack said. \u201cLike I was their idol or something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SSC\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mack\u2019s advice to those students begins with remembering who is in their corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKeep chasing your dreams,\u201d she said. \u201cEven if obstacles get in your way, you\u2019ll still have a support system, from your coordinators, from your family or just your friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She also wants them to know they do not have to feel completely at ease to take the next step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEveryone\u2019s going to be nervous because that\u2019s a whole new environment for everyone, so you\u2019re all in the same boat,\u201d Mack said. \u201cThe best thing you can do is go anywhere with confidence, and I promise you\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 … Continue reading Going Places and Giving Back Where It All Began<\/span> ![\"Hailey](\"https:\/\/www.sscok.edu\/media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260713_001101678_iOS-1024x1024.jpg\")