Pahrump Valley High School held its first GEAR-UP assembly after two years. EJ Carrion’s Student Success Agency, which he formed, was the focus of the meeting.

Student Success Agency provides high school students with their own private agent (in college) to support their success in both their academic and general well-being. Only 10% of applicants who applied to be agents are accepted.

 Due to the school’s investment in the program, these agents are accessible and are free for current PVHS students.

Only 500 of the 22,000 high schools in the US are members of the Student Success Agency. During the assembly, students were given a piece of paper with a QR code to look up their names on the Student Success Agency website. On the back of the paper was a parent consent form that parents must sign before students may speak with an agent.

EJ Carrion, the company’s creator, traveled all the way from Texas to address our high school students at this assembly. On his website, ejcarion.com, Carrion describes himself as a “Top youth speaker, best-selling author, successful entrepreneur, and prominent thought-leader on student success.” Carrion originated from a tiny town, one-parent, low-income house. He was just an ordinary student; He didn’t enroll in any Advanced Placement or other classes for extra credit. He was the first member of his family to complete high school and then attend college. His mother always told him, “It’s not about IQ, it’s about I will”.

Carrion frequently questioned why school services like tutoring were only offered during the daytime while he needed aid the most at night during his secondary education. He founded Student Success Agency when he was 22 years old to assist kids across America both in and outside of the classroom.

Carrion is a high-energy motivational speaker who encourages students to join the Student Success Agency. At the assembly, he presented amusing stories about skydiving for his birthday, which he wove into a story about how “We should jump off the plane instead of just staying in.” Carrion’s bizarre antics captivated and intrigued the students. When he encouraged pupils to whip out their phones and scan the QR code, the majority of them did so and signed up for the agency.