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To date, STEP's Program has centered around an empowering and life-transforming 3-week summer leadership expedition with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Over the past six years our students have consistently returned from their STEP Expedition with increased self-confidence, a greater sense of independence and personal responsibility, a larger view of the world and their opportunities in it, and a recognition that they can tackle any challenge ahead of them as long as they believe in themselves and do the hard work.
This year (2011), STEP is expanding its program to include a two-year College-Prep Program in addition to its signature Leadership Expedition. Students now enter STEP in their sophomore year of high school and participate in monthly college-prep workshops throughout their sophomore, junior, and senior year. These workshops are designed to guide students through the process of preparing for and applying to colleges, both within Arizona and around the country, with an emphasis on what it takes to become a competitive college applicant. In their junior year, the students are considered for participation in STEP’s Leadership Expedition.
STEP’s comprehensive approach addresses pertinent issues facing low-income, first-generation college-bound students, including:
- lack of self-confidence in their ability to successfully tackle unfamiliar challenges and new environments,
- lack of family knowledge and support regarding higher education and the college preparation and application process,
- lack of focused guidance from inundated school counselors,
- lack of peer and adult encouragement to pursue their highest dreams, and
- limited view of opportunities open to them in the larger world outside of their communities.
STEP encourages its students to:
- strive for academic excellence,
- take challenging academic courses (honors and AP),
- study for the standardized tests (PSAT, SAT, ACT) and take multiple times for best outcomes
- become involved in extracurricular activities, including volunteer work,
- take on leadership positions in clubs and organizations,
- seek out and take advantage of leadership and college-prep opportunities locally, regionally, and nationally, and
- research and apply to colleges and universities around the U.S., as well as in Arizona.
Currently, ninety-two percent of STEP’s college-age alumni are attending college. STEP students are enrolled in all three Arizona state universities as well as top-tiered schools across the nation, including Georgetown University, the University of Notre Dame, the U.S. Naval Academy, and Smith College.
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