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STEP is in the News!

Arizona Daily Star - Jan. 21, 2007

Tucson Weekly - Jan. 18, 2007

Spring 2009 Update

This winter we received applications from 57 highly-qualified students – enough to fill five STEP Expeditions.  The caliber of the students and their applications was outstanding!  We have accepted 12 students into the program (one expedition) and have one student from last year returning as a student intern and peer leader. 

On May 27th the students fly to Alaska for their 23-day STEP Leadership Expedition, where they will paddle approximately 130 nautical miles through Prince William Sound and face a myriad of challenges they can’t even begin to imagine at this point.  Through this experience they will grow tremendously in their confidence, ability to work in a team, and fortitude to persevere through difficult challenges – all in preparation for their transition to college.

We are now in our fifth year of working with talented, low-income high-school students.  Our students’ success speaks of the impact of STEP in their lives.  Including this year’s new students, we’ve worked with 92 youth: 75 STEP students and 17 students in separate contractual programs.  I’m thrilled to report that 26 of our 28 college-age STEP graduates (93%) are attending college.  One is a medic in the Navy.  Our 16 high-school seniors are all now applying to college and two have already received full four-year NROTC scholarships.  The list of colleges our seniors have been accepted into is growing by the day and currently includes Notre Dame, the Naval Academy, Smith College, American University, Boston University, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and University of Arizona. 

In Other News

• Check out our STEP Movie on the website (http://www.stepexpedition.org/slidemovie.html)!  It highlights the full scope of our program and features students talking about their experience with STEP.  Please contact STEP is you’d like a copy of that DVD.
• Our expedition graduates are talking!  Our 2008 expedition graduates have given presentations to over 1,000 students at schools and youth organizations about their expedition experience and lessons learned. 
• Our collaborations keep growing!  We are now working with 43 teachers, counselors, and staff members at 23 high schools and 10 youth organizations to identify potential STEP candidates.
• We are actively seeking grants to bring STEP to as many qualified students as possible.
• Student application materials can now be downloaded from our website.  Application deadline: Nov. 23, 2009.

STEP Facts

• All STEP students come from low-income families.
• 95% of STEP students are the first generation in their family to consider college.
• 93% of STEP's college-age graduates are attending college.
• 81% of STEP students identify with an ethnic minority group.

• 62% Latino
• 8% Native American
• 7% African American
• 2% Asian
• 1% Pacific Islander
• 1% Middle Eastern

2008 STEP Leadership Expeditions

The summer of 2008 marked our 6th, 7th, and 8th STEP Leadership Expeditions in Alaska.  We worked with 29 new students, two interns (STEP graduates returning as peer leaders on the June and July expeditions), one adult mentor, and three teachers.  It was a challenging summer with very wet and cold conditions prevailing.  Twice during the summer we were pinned on a beach for several days as storms brought in continuous rain and high winds.  As our students quickly learn on expedition, this is no vacation!  And it was never meant to be that for our students.  It’s the challenge of a STEP Expedition that is at the core of why it is so empowering. 

In Other Student News - 2008

• Two STEP graduates joined us as peer leaders and STEP Interns on our 2008 STEP Expeditions.  Andi Rascon and Erica Perez were excited to share their knowledge with our new students and help them through the difficult first week of adjusting to a completely foreign environment.  Before Erica joined us in July, she participated in a highly competitive pre-college program at the Naval Academy, their Summer Seminar.  This week-long program gives prospective students a taste of life and academics at the Academy.

• One of our 2005 STEP students, Hao Ly, spent the summer abroad in China.  Hao had just completed his sophomore year at Arizona State University.  He took classes at Renmin University in Beijing and was thrilled to have the opportunity to experience that city as its residents prepared for the Olympics.

Our Three 2007 STEP Leadership Expeditions

It was a banner summer for STEP!!  We successfully worked with 30 low-income, college-bound high-school students, two STEP interns (graduates of the program), and four high-school teachers this summer … more than doubling the number of students we’ve worked with to date.  We did so over the span of three STEP Leadership Expeditions in Alaska with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).  The June and July Expeditions were three weeks in length and the August Expedition was two weeks.  Our students came from 11 high schools and five youth-at-risk organizations.

Those are some of the statistics and they speak of STEP’s growth over the last year.  The significance of STEP, though, is the impact we have on each one of the students with whom we work.  At the start of a STEP Expedition, students face a completely foreign world where the challenges seem insurmountable.  As the expedition progresses, they learn the necessary skills and gain the confidence and self-reliance to thrive in that new setting.  During the latter half of the expedition, each student takes on the role of “Leader of the Day”, planning, briefing, and leading the entire expedition for a full day.  What’s the result?  The most common sentiment expressed by students at the end of a STEP Expedition is “If I can do STEP and the Alaskan wilderness, I can do anything!”  It’s that belief in themselves and their abilities that is the core from which our students will excel. 

June STEP Expedition

There are a thousand stories from the summer that I would love to share with you.  One of particular note was that our August students had the rare opportunity to meet a crew of NASA astronauts.  That crew arrived at the NOLS Alaska Branch the day our STEP Expedition was leaving for the field.  They too were preparing for a NOLS Expedition as part of their training.  They are scheduled to go into space a year from the date we met them to repair the Hubble Telescope.  Many of the crew had already been up in space and it was fascinating to hear what it felt like to blast off in the shuttle, to do a space walk, and to see Earth from space.  A NOLS Expedition is now part of every astronaut’s training before they go into space.  We are partnering with the best!

August STEP Expedition with NASA Astronauts

STEP has come a long way since working with our first 10 students in 2004.  This past year we worked with 41 students.  This coming year we are planning on working with approximately 60 students.  Our program does not end with the expedition.  Upon their return, STEP graduates give back to their communities by giving presentations to their peers and younger students about their experience.  Through this speaker’s program, STEP students share lessons learned, introduce students to the program, and serve as living examples of what’s possible and available to their younger peers if they apply themselves in school. 

July STEP Expedition

2006 STEP Leadership Expedition

Our 2006 STEP Leadership Expedition was an incredible experience for our students.

First … the facts.  We paddled approximately 130 nautical miles, from Whittier to Valdez, Alaska … through the spectacular land, ice, and seascapes of Prince William Sound.  There were 16 of us total:  11 new STEP students, one student intern (who participated as a new student in 2005), an adult mentor, and three instructors.  The student intern and adult mentor were both tremendous additions to our expedition, and those positions will continue to be a part of STEP’s program in the future.  At times it seemed we spoke as much Spanish as English, as 11 of our number were fluent in both languages.  The students learned an incredible range of skills, from sea kayaking to wilderness camping, cooking on a one burner camp stove, tying reliable knots, fishing, baking bread, and navigating with charts and coastal land features.  They also learned how to work as a team, even during long, cold, rainy days.  And last but not least, they learned about leadership … first by observing and then by taking on a variety of leadership roles, including that of “Leader of the Day”.  As LOD, each student took on the responsibility of planning a kayak passage, organizing boats and travel groups, and navigating and leading the expedition on the water.  Quite an accomplishment!  The sites we saw were breathtaking.  One student kept exclaiming in utter amazement … “Who goes to Alaska!? We’re IN ALASKA!!”  We saw bald eagles, harbor seals, icebergs, glaciers, and sea otters … and even a lone killer whale.  Just taking into account the hard skills learned and sites seen, it was a spectacular and world-expanding experience for our students.

But our 2006 STEP Expedition went far beyond that.  What’s more difficult to adequately describe in words is the personal growth experienced by each member of our expedition and the coming together of 16 people to form a supportive and high-functioning expedition team.  It is these components that are at the core of STEP … the reason such an experience radically changes a young person’s perception of themselves and their abilities.  During our three weeks in the Alaskan wilderness, each student faced their own personal challenges and fears and in meeting and overcoming them, came to a deeper understanding of their own abilities and talents.  They also actively supported each other in overcoming challenges, building an incredible community as a result.  One of the most rewarding things about STEP, for me, is witnessing the personal growth of our students on expedition.  It is tremendous!  One of our instructors this year, Nate Steele, has been working as a field instructor with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) for 30 years.  He had this to say at the end of our STEP Expedition:  “In my 30 years of working with NOLS, the students on this course exhibited the highest degree of personal transformation I’ve ever witnessed”.  Our STEP students now take increased confidence, self-esteem, courage, determination, and a strong sense of personal responsibility with them to help navigate the challenges of college and life.  The ripples are going forth!

Post-Expedition Presentations to Younger Students

Our expedition graduates are busy giving talks to younger students in the community about their experience.  Our STEP students’ message to their younger peers is this … “work hard in school and you will open up a world of opportunities for yourself”.  The students also talk about the lessons they learned on the expedition and their recognition, through this experience, that they can do anything they set their minds to.

Awards & Scholarships Received by STEP Graduates

• 2007 Tucson Youth Leadership Award
• Arizona Daily Star Senior Achievers Award
• Tucson Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year
• Blue Cross Blue Shield Senior Class Achiever Award
• Dean’s List, University of Arizona
• Alpha Epsilon Delta
• Provost’s Scholarship, Arizona State University
• President’s Scholarship, Arizona State University

2005 STEP Leadership Expedition

Our 3-week 2005 STEP Leadership Expedition in Prince William Sound, Alaska was a tremendous experience of personal growth for our 10 inner-city high-school students! 

The students, accompanied by four instructors, began their 150-mile sea kayaking journey on June 8th. What a change to go from life in the city to camping and sea kayaking in the Alaskan wilderness! At first the instructors took the lead, showing the students how to live and travel safely and comfortably in the wilderness. As the expedition progressed, the students took on more and more responsibility, not only for themselves but for their expedition mates and the expedition as a whole. By mid-point, students were taking on the role of “Leader of the Day”, planning and leading the expedition’s day on the water. By the end of the trip, the students were traveling in a separate group from the instructors on the water. In the process, the students learned in a very practical sense what it takes to be an effective leader as well as a helpful follower. They found themselves making important decisions, problem-solving, working through conflicts, communicating honestly with each other, and contributing as an active team member.

On June 30th, the students came out of the field. They were a very different group of individuals than when they began their journey. In addition to the personal growth each student experienced, they also gained exposure to a greater world … one with bald eagles, sea otters, harbor seals, massive glaciers, 24-hour sunlight, icebergs, souring mountain peaks, fresh-baked bread on a camp stove, waterfalls, and fresh-caught salmon. Their horizons are forever expanded.

It’s hard to sum up in a few words the wealth of personal growth that our students underwent during their STEP expedition. Perhaps it’s best to let the students speak for themselves. In a post-expedition survey, all 10 students felt they had more respect for themselves and their abilities as a result of their experience on the expedition. They also unanimously felt more self-confident, more comfortable working as a member of a team, and less afraid of the unfamiliar challenges they will face in the future.

Stay tuned for more news!

Belief in one's abilities comes through accomplishment.