Five eighth graders at Dawson County Junior High School took their first step in a five-year journey for academic success last week. Nuriyah Hughes, Andru Ballew, Jose Landeros, Samantha Dinsmore and Keyli Velasquez each signed a commitment letter to become REACH Scholars surrounded by family, community members and school officials on Oct. 23. REACH, or “Realizing Educational Achievement Can Happen,” is a tenet of the Complete College Georgia Initiative and was established by Governor Nathan Deal as a pilot program in the Rabun, Douglas, Dodge, Quitman and Bulloch counties school systems in 2012. It is the first private needs-based mentorship and scholarship program in the state and is a partnership between Georgia Public Education and local private and public stakeholders designed to encourage students to persist in their educational pursuits.