Step Ahead Scholars

Step Ahead Scholars is PROUD to announce, as we embark on the season of giving, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta (CFGA) has chosen us as one of 29 organizations awarded an Extra Wish 25th Silver Anniversary opportunity grant. For the past 25 years the CFGA has invited selected nonprofit partners (from acrossed the region), to share wish lists with donors. These lists introduce donors to often overlooked items and needs that improve the quality of life, or increase access to opportunity for the people in our region who need it most. The "beauty and power" of Extra Wish— is demonstrated in its ability to facilitate new collaborations between amazing nonprofits and generous donors with the ultimate goal of increasing life changing impact. If you would like explore ways to directly support Step Ahead Scholars, please visit https://lnkd.in/eG87Gt8E or text "GIVESTEPAHEAD" to 801801. Thank you!

FAFSA beta tested in Georgia and Step Ahead Scholars (SAS) was there to help! More than 100 DeKalb County School District students and their parents benefited from FAFSA Beta Testing Night —and completed applications two months ahead of the national release date! SAS accepted an invitation from and worked alongside College AIM, one of the organizations selected to participate in the beta test. Together, with SAS, alumni, mentors, and experts from Federal Student Aid (FSA) and the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC), we assisted Class of 2025 students and parents as they worked through their FAFSA applications before the official December launch date. As such, FAFSA Completion Night armed these Class of 2025 families with the opportunity to get in front of the funding curve by completing and submitting their applications early. FAFSA is the gateway application for federal and, in many cases, state financial aid. Our community of collaborators also included McNair High School (our hosting location) and Middle Georgia State University (that admitted students ON THE SPOT). A BIG THANK YOU goes out to all involved, with a special acknowledgment to Dr. Corey Sheffield of College Aim, who coordinated student, parent, and partner engagement. Thanks to everyone, the FAFSA conversation is well underway!

Step Ahead Scholars supports "To and Through" access to higher education. Every senior who attended one of our QuestBridge scholarship info sessions and decided to apply met yesterday's September 26th deadline despite the havoc caused by Hurricane Helene. The last few seniors finishing up applications hit submit before the power went out. We are grateful that we were able to support students "To and Through" Helene! We congratulate them as they continue stepping toward their preferred postsecondary options. #Educationalequity #CollegeAccess #CollegeSuccess

Perspective is everything!?Being invited to present at the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta’s Annual Investment Briefing to over… 50 donor advised fund holders was a perfect opportunity to share the work and impact of Step Ahead Scholars, (SAS), which comes second to my joy of supporting resilient students in actualizing and attaining their educational goals!?It is often said, “Where you stand determines where you sit and where you sit determines where you stand.”?As an equity leader, I stood and sat in the room, knowing empowering students with postsecondary access and success knowledge, guidance and mentorship directly impacts the quality of their lives. The resulting achievements lead them toward increased economic well-being and equitable outcomes. However, this work hinges on a collective of supportive stakeholders who understand that to do so, “it takes a village” pooling their commitment, expertise, resources, contacts, and financial acumen. Thanks to SAS’s work being lifted up by Lauren Thomas Priest, CFGA, and ultimately their family of donors, many?in need have been served.?Throughout her years of involvement, Lauren has been central to making collaborative endeavors culminate in successful results. She strives to unearth the root causes of our city’s economic disparity and?resulting glaring inequities by meeting, researching, sharing, and promoting the work of nonprofits across Atlanta. Perspectives were expanded, as Amit Khanduri, from Grofund.org, and I shared the stories of individuals our programs serve.?Thanks to the investment our organizations made in our participants, the investment CFGA made in our organizations, as well as the belief in the stewardship of CFGA by its donor advisor holders, their lives have been exponentially changed. Yes, the food was great!?However I, for one, derived my nourishment from the face to face, engaged conversations especially the one between Dave, a donor, and Maysa Osman, a Step Ahead Scholar. It was riveting and magnified the essence of “Where you stand depends on where you sit.”?During their conversation, they discovered, to their mutual surprise and delight, Dave’s daughter and Maysa had something very much in common. Both young ladies are pursuing identical career paths in public health and policy! As the meeting came to a close, Maysa said, “I’ve never been in a room like that before with a mix of people who were discussing growing and investing this level of money that changes people’s lives.” Quite frankly, neither had I. At this annual event, the perspective of numerous?attendees, presenters, donors - as well as my student’s, was widened.?We all had a chance to think about where we stood in relation to where we sit in this world.?Thank you Lauren and the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta, for giving us all the opportunity to enhance our “stand.”?Additional gratitude to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, for hosting us.

The JOY of this academic year's graduations began, with Musungedi Etongwe! Susu, the name we call him by at Step Ahead Scholars, graduated from Georgia State University and his story exemplifies a determination that beat the statistics. Did you know less than 40% of Black men graduate college within 6 years... At 6 foot 3 inches, Susu was told countless times that his best-bet ticket to college would be tied to capitalizing on his height and passion for basketball. However, Susu, an academically gifted DeKalb County School District student, wanted and earned an academic scholarship to The George Washington University. Knowing that best-fit college choice is paramount and GW wasn't his, we adjusted. With his family taking the lead, together Susu, they along with SAS assessed and reflected. Susu's triumphant trajectory toward obtaining his computer?science degree represents the "to, through and beyond college tenacity, my co-founder, Kamal Carter and I began doing this work to support. This amazing scholar defied the preplanned visions, and well-meaning narratives of others, challenging collegiate realities many intellectually capable young Black men face, and the sobering higher education statistical outcomes that befall far too many. Susu graduated with a job at Lockheed Martin as a software engineer. We celebrate him, his mom, and his family. We continue to support his life journey and we honor the partnership established through the work of Step Ahead Scholars. Congratulations Musungedi, on making wise decisions, graduating, and your new apartment! We stood by you then and we stand by you now!

For Step Ahead Scholars, (SAS) May is a celebration month and Emory University - Goizueta Business School's Philanthropy Lab Course (PLC) is helping us usher it in with a BIG thank you and BIG check.?Thanks to the vision and working partnership of Brian Goebel and Tene Traylor... this Emory University class is an important program that teaches the next generation of well-informed and engaged philanthropists to understand equitable funding, unique initiatives, and the needs of innovative grassroots nonprofits. The PLC is offered by select universities across the U.S. that work to spark and expand students' interest and participation in philanthropy. Emory's program does that and more! It teaches business school students with an in-depth curriculum that encourages them to look at philanthropy's history, and future through real-world glasses, rather than just rose-colored ones. I know this to be true because when the student team members, Sarah Kim and Mollie Folk members of The Atlanta New Way, one of the class’ 2024 giving teams, interviewed me their interest in social impact and philanthropic responsibility was crystal clear! Additionally, after SAS was chosen, both students expressed an interest in volunteering with us. The keynote addresses by Alan Ferguson, Sr., PhD, and Rohit Malhotra captured and encapsulated the need for this work and the importance of listening to the voices of those with lived experiences and student-led perspectives. I was proud to be in the room with a host of equity-focused people, including SAS team member, Kayla Salehian, who assisted me with crafting our PLC grant application. Thanks to Emory’s Philanthropy Lab Program’s collaboration with the Center for Civic Innovation, 13 nonprofits including SAS were given funds to continue the work that pushes to make Greater Atlanta a more equitable place for us all. It was a BIG day!