The Rising Scholars (RS) program assists formerly incarcerated or system-impacted individuals in beginning or restarting their educational journey at GCC and beyond.

We provide support to:

Formerly Incarcerated Individuals - justice-involved students, which includes incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, and or currently/ formerly detained in a juvenile facility.

System-Impacted Individuals - individuals who have experienced arrest without conviction/ incarceration or individuals who have family members who have experienced incarceration.

Becoming a member of the Rising Scholars team at GCC brings many benefits. Regardless of status, we serve all students impacted by the criminal justice system.

JOIN Rising Scholars!

To be eligible to receive program benefits, you must: 

1. Identify as a formerly-incarcerated or system-impacted individual.
2. Complete the Rising Scholars Intake Form.
3. Meet with an academic counselor and create a Student Educational Plan (SEP).

Maintain Your Status

To remain in good standing with the Rising Scholars program, you must:

1. Attend at least 5 hours of personal or professional development activities per semester. 
2. Verify your attendance by completing a Rising Scholars Activity Sign-In form (if in-person) or proof of attendance by signing into online/remote event sign-in forms. You must be present for the entire event to receive credit for attendance.
3. Meet with your academic counselor at least once per semester to ensure you are on track with your Student Education Plan.

Personal and Professional Activities Include:

A. Any GCC Rising Scholar-organized meetings, workshops, or activities (must attend at least THREE hours each semester). Some examples include the Glendale Community Action Partnership (CAP) meetings, System Impacted Intellectuals student club meetings, and lectures/presentations/events organized by the Rising Scholar program.

B. Any GCC diversity event (must attend at least ONE hour each semester), such as Black History Month, Armenian Genocide Remembrance activities, GCC Pride Week activities, Latinx Heritage Month, etc. Check with the Rising Scholars staff if you need clarification on an event.

C. Any activities, workshops, or events organized by the GCC Career Services (must attend at least ONE hour each semester). Examples include a resume writing workshop, interview technique workshop, career exploration workshop, and meeting with a Career Services Counselor.

Program Benefits

Please note that amount and type of benefits may vary by
each academic year and semester, depending on funding

Financial Assistance
Grocery and Gas Gift Cards
TAP Metro Cards
GCC Bookstore Vouchers

Additional Resources
Accessing job and career related training
On-campus Post-Conviction Legal Clinics
Community organizations and resources addressing specific needs