ASCENDERS EDUCATION ADVOCATES

Formed in July 2020 as an approved 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Ascenders Educational Advocates, Inc. (AEA) is a community-based social entrepreneurial business focused on supporting the college-going needs of students of all ages. Our program seeks to augment institutional advising with a community-based advising strategy that is designed to directly support students and their families. Our model seeks to address the needs of the whole student. In her article "Affirmation, Support, and Advocacy: Critical Race Theory and Academic Advising," Jasmine A. Lee suggests that along with academic advising, "academic advisors often support the holistic experience of the student, which may include giving advice on roommates, careers, and other salient student issues." With over 80 years of combined experience in academic and financial aid advising, our goal is to provide each individual student with the kind of indivi dual and personalized support needed to access, persist through, and..