Jessica Geier was helping a group of Providence students forge a fresh path before she even knew her own way around town.
Geier, now the director of the R.I. Board of Governors for Higher Education’s Early College Access Programs, arrived in the Ocean State in 2007 fresh off receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Texas. She immediately began work on a dual-enrollment pilot program that saw 25 Mt. Pleasant High School students take a college-level course taught by Rhode Island College faculty.
Geier, then 29, instantly became immersed, serving as the point person for Mt. Pleasant, RIC and the program’s students.
The program, which eventually became known as Pathways through College, proved to be a success. Twenty-two of the program’s students qualified to take a full semester on the college campus, simultaneously earning college and high school credit for their coursework.
The success of Pathways has led to new dual-enrollment pilot projects, including collaborations between the Community College of Rhode Island and The Met School, CCRI and RIC, and the University of Rhode Island and Central Falls High School.
Since the inception of Pathways, Geier has taken the lead on another initiative of the Board of Governors program, Preparing for College. She oversaw a revamping of the existing program, which has the office’s staff tout the benefits of college education to middle and high school students. The program also aims to provide role models close to the student’s age.
Pathways and Preparing for College have helped students show their true talents. But they have helped Geier show hers as well.
“Dr. Geier has exhibited a myriad of strengths and numerous positive character traits,” reads her 40 Under Forty application. “She has genuine interest in and concern for the students with whom she works.” •
