Corbin, Ky. (WKYT) - There was a lot of excitement in a pep rally type atmosphere inside the Corbin Arena Wednesday as 5,000 8th graders took part in the “Gear Up” program.
The middle school students are from more than a dozen school systems all over the region. They attended as part of a motivation program that is designed to get them ready for their future, in hopes of influencing them to stay in school and focus on education.

“To get them thinking more outside the box. Thinking that college is something they really need to look at and attend,” said Robert Lawson of the Ky. Music Hall of Fame.

“We know that children that are educated don't commit crime. We know that it increases our revenues in our community, they buy houses, they pay taxes,” said Hasan Davis, the director of the Ky, Dept of Juvenile Justice.

“It's a college readiness program. “It’s about getting you ready to get up and do your best in whatever you do whether it's performing or applying to college or just being in middle school,” said A.B. Combs Middle School student Kennedy Bailey, who also performed on stage during the event.

The event is a collaboration between Berea College and the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame.