Bridging the Gap 4 Student Success Foundation

07/28/2026

Check out the Construction Ready Grant in Cobb County

07/20/2026

06/15/2026

🎓✨ What an Incredible Week at CTI GROW Camp 2026! ✨🎓

As I reflect on the first week of June, my heart is full. I had the privilege of serving as the Lead Trainer for our CTI GROW Camp, and spending the week with these amazing students was truly one of the highlights of my summer.

Our theme, **"College Access: Real Costs, Real Choices, Real Plan,"** was designed to help students explore life after high school and understand the many paths available to them.

📅 **Day 1 – Military Pathways**
We kicked off the week with a visit from a United States Marine Corps recruiter. Students learned about military service, leadership, career training, educational benefits, and the opportunities available to those who choose to serve our country.

📅 **Day 2 – Skilled Trades Exploration**
Students spent the day with XCEL, a nonprofit organization committed to mentoring young people and teaching employable skills. One of the highlights was learning about welding and actually getting the chance to practice it themselves. Watching students try something new and discover talents they didn't know they had was exciting to see.

📅 **Day 3 – College Campus Experience**
Our visit to the University of North Georgia gave students a firsthand look at college life. From touring the campus to learning about academic programs and student experiences, many students were able to envision themselves on a college campus for the first time.

📅 **Day 4 – Adulting 101**
This was a student favorite! Students participated in Adulting 101, where they learned what it really costs to live on their own. They worked through budgets, housing expenses, transportation costs, groceries, utilities, and other real-world responsibilities. There were lots of eye-opening moments and plenty of laughs along the way!

📅 **Day 5 – Mercedes-Benz Stadium Career Tour**
We ended the week with an unforgettable experience at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Students learned about the many careers that make a world-class venue operate successfully and discussed the upcoming FIFA World Cup and the opportunities it brings to Atlanta. It was a great reminder that exciting careers exist both on and behind the field.

🍽️ Of course, no great week is complete without great food! Throughout the week, students enjoyed meals from Chick-fil-A, Mellow Mushroom, Olive Tree, The Varsity, and the University of North Georgia Dining Hall. Sharing meals together gave students time to connect, build friendships, and create memories that extended beyond the classroom.

💜💛 What I will remember most is not the places we visited, but the students. I watched them ask thoughtful questions, support one another, step outside of their comfort zones, and begin thinking more seriously about their futures. Their curiosity, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn made every early morning and every mile traveled worth it.

Thank you to our guest speakers, community partners, colleges, businesses, parents, and most importantly, GVRA who helped make this experience possible. Thank you to the students for showing up each day ready to learn and grow.

The future is bright, and I am excited to see where their journeys lead them next.

Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency - GVRA

06/12/2026

Check the data!

05/28/2026

05/28/2026

The Parent Plus Loan has a 9% interest rate that starts immediately!

01/31/2026

My heart truly goes out to teachers. 💔

The daily frustration of trying to teach students who are constantly on their cell phones is real.

When I’m only in schools as a guest speaker for one day, it already grates my nerves to repeatedly ask students to put their phones away or take their headphones off. I can’t imagine dealing with that every single day.

A teacher shared with me yesterday that she actually has to negotiate with her students just to teach. She told them, “If you’ll get off your phones and give me 15 minutes, I’ll let you get back on them.”

How did we get here—where teachers are negotiating with students just to do their jobs?!?!

She was also frustrated with administration because, although students aren’t supposed to have their phones out, there are no real consequences when rules are broken. Without support, teachers’ hands are tied—and learning suffers.

Something has to change. Our teachers deserve better support, and our students deserve better boundaries.

It certainly feels like we are dealing with a major cell phone addiction, and it’s showing up in our schools in ways that should concern every parent and educator.

01/01/2026

Why Snapchat is awesome!

1) Very popular and most kids use it.
2) The filters on Snapchat are very fun to use.
3) Automatically hides information from parents.
4) Has a secret pass-coded picture vault.
5) Automatically logs devices out when logged into on another device.

Why not Snapchat is not so awesome!

1) Parents can't check kids' phones for content incoming or outgoing.
2) Lots of inappropriate behaviors posted on Snapchat desensitize kids to reality. (N**e photos, drugs, parties, crimes, po*******hy, fights, pranks, challenges, etc.)
3) Parents can't monitor or filter information being seen.
4) Parents can't check who is talking to their children.
5) Parents have to blindly trust their young teens in a very hazardous environment.
6) Snapchat can broadcast your child's location within 10 feet.
7) Most predators highly recommend Snapchat to kids they are speaking with.
8 - Snapchat comes with a built in AI (Artificial Intelligence) buddy that acts as a therapist, counselor, map, homework helper, dating advocate, s*x advice, legal assistant, and much more. AI's functionality is very untested and should not be administered to kids at this time.
9 - Once addicted to Snapchat, kids will do almost anything to have more Snapchat. It is very similar to what happens when people are addicted to hard drugs.

I strongly recommend 18 (previously 16) be a better age for Snapchat to be allowed on phones. I see many terrible things at school come across Snapchat and parents have no way to see what that is. It is common for 75% of girls in high school to have sent out naked pictures and most of those have been sent on Snapchat. I also see kids get completely addicted (4-10 hours per day) to time that is completely wasted and will not have any return on time used.

Why risk this as a parent?

1) I want to be the "cool parent".
2) I'm tired of arguing with my kid about it.
3) I have no idea what Snapchat is.
4) All the other kids have it. FOMO
5) I trust my kid and nothing you say will change that.
6) My kid is different than any other kid.

Did you know Snapchat has a built-in secret picture vault with its own password? Yup, most parents don’t know about this either. (See my previous post about how to find the secret vault which is called My Eyes Only).

Most online predators love it when parents give their children Snapchat as there is no way to monitor it. I personally consider any device that has Snapchat an unmonitored device no matter how good parents think they are at technology.

Did you know spambots can send unsolicited po*******hy indiscriminately to usernames on Snapchat? Phone checks are not going to uncover this feature.

Please put some serious thought into letting your children have an application on their cell phones that hides information from parents.

Happy Parenting,

Officer Gomez