TN Tech – When the teams take to the field Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, Calif., for Super Bowl LX, an eighth-grade student enrolled in Tennessee Tech University’s GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) initiative will be cheering from the stands. Eduardo Mendez, who attends Centertown Elementary School in Warren County, won two tickets to the biggest sporting event of the year thanks to Student Success Agency (SSA), Tennessee Tech’s GEAR UP partner organization. Mendez submitted a video entry as part of SSA’s nationwide contest, in which he discussed the value of Tech’s GEAR UP program and what the grand prize experience would mean to him. “I’ve learned how to lead, stay organized and believe in myself again,” Mendez said of his time in the GEAR UP program. Learn more about Tennessee Tech GEAR UP at www.tntech.edu/GearUP.