EDINBURG – One Gear Up facilitator is sharing his college experience to encourage other struggling students.

He’s a tutor for Jumpstart, a program that helps students get a boost going into their four-year college experience.

The program offers students skills to become college-ready ahead of the school year.

Brent Davis, a college tutor with the Jumpstart program, has all the answers.

“We have hours there to go over their work, have them ask questions, everything from, ‘hey I have an essay and I don't know if this is formatted correctly,’ to things like, 'hey man I'm completely lost, I have no idea what we did today. Can you just go back through the whole lecture?’" said Davis.

Davis is no stranger to the struggles even the most successful high school graduate faces in college.

He knows from personal experience. He was a student at the university in 2004 and dropped out a year later.

“So I understand what it’s like to come in sure of yourself and so confident that this is just going to a snap for you and then have it fall apart,” he explained.

His goal is to help students feel equipped for success with the help of a little guidance. He does so by changing their mindset.

“Watching these students come in and say, ‘I don’t want to be here. I’m only here because my parents made me,’” said Davis, “and by the end of the semester go, ‘oh, I do want to be here. I realize this is the reason I am here because I have ambition and I have a dream. I have things that I want to accomplish.’”

Davis shares his personal story of attempting college more than once, in hopes, it will serve as a lesson learned and to motivate students to put in the work to succeed their first time around.