Gary Students Need a Clear Path to a Thriving Future.

We envision a future where every student can see what’s possible—and walk toward it with a village behind them.

Filling the Gaps. Literally.

Gary students are navigating a maze of disconnected resources. College prep, workforce development, and enrichment opportunities exist, but they’re scattered, inconsistent, or inaccessible. Many students graduate unsure of their options, unsupported in their decisions, and disconnected from networks that open doors. GAPS is building a coordinated, human-centered ecosystem designed for clarity, connection, and confidence.

When the Path Isn't Clear,
Potential Gets Lost

Gary’s students carry more weight than most people realize—an inherited heaviness from a city that has weathered decades of change. Yet they continue to show up with brilliance flickering beneath the surface, waiting for someone to shield the flame from the wind.

Every student holds creativity, grit, and possibility, but too many face life-shaping decisions without the guidance, exposure, or support they deserve. They navigate overwhelming choices with limited access to mentors, real-world learning, and clear pathways beyond graduation.

This is not a lack of ambition. It is a lack of alignment, access, and adults walking with them. When the path is unclear, dreams shrink to match the narrowness of what has been seen. GAPS exists to widen that horizon—so every student can step into a future worthy of their potential.

A City Shaped By Shifting Ground

How Gary's Past Has Shaped Its Classrooms

Gary’s students are growing up in a community that has weathered decades of economic change, population loss, and shifting resources. As factories closed and families relocated, schools carried the weight of that transformation—navigating enrollment drops, program cuts, and constant adjustments.

None of this reflects a lack of effort. It reflects a city fighting to stay standing through forces larger than its classrooms. Students feel these tremors. They face instability at home, trauma in their neighborhoods, and limited access to enrichment that once came easily. Yet they continue to show remarkable resilience—creative, bright, and determined despite the odds.

The need is not for students to try harder. The need is for a village that clears the path—aligning support, restoring access, and helping them step into a future that has always belonged to them.

A Village With a Blueprint

GAPS brings together alumni, educators, families, and employers to build what students have always needed:
an intentional pipeline from school to college, career, and leadership. We don’t replace existing programs—we connect them.

We don’t compete with local organizations—we amplify them. We don’t guess—we measure outcomes and build what works.

Students do not need to walk alone. They need a guide, a system, and a village traveling with them step-by-step.

What's Possible If We Act?

Imagine a Gary Where Students Don’t Have to Fight to Succeed.

Imagine a city where every student meets mentors who believe in them, accesses internships that open their imagination, receives coaching that clarifies their gifts and goals, finds scholarships and training programs before deadlines close, and returns as leaders who strengthen the community that raised them. This is not a fantasy. This is the future GAPS is building—one student, one pathway, one partnership at a time.