Three Hands-On Projects, Completed Once Each Year

Project-based education is where learning happens through action. Ascend students complete a yearly project in the real world: something they can put on their resume with real results and real impact.

Ascend Projects

Ascend Projects are a fantastic opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience in fields they are interested in.

Ascend students take ownership for every step of the process–from brainstorming ideas, submitting proposals, receiving feedback from their Ascend Team Leader, and developing an in-depth plan. Projects take shape with a blend of independent work and in-person collaboration at our student events. By the end of the spring semester, your student will complete the project and submit it to their team leader for final approval.

First year students are required to take their own idea from concept to reality, second year students do the same for someone else’s idea, and third year students lead a team working on either their own idea of someone else’s.

Projects in Action

Step 1: Project Brainstorming

August: Students join their Ascend team, attend APEX, and begin the semester
September/October: Students begin project research and submit their initial project proposals to their Ascend Team Leader
November: Students attend Basecamp, edit their initial proposals, and work on project plans
December: Students submit their final proposals, plans, and defenses to their Ascend Team Leader

Step 2: Project Execution

Step 3: Project Reflection

Real Ascend Projects

ABIGAIL E., ASCEND STUDENT

$52,000 Raised for Human Trafficking Victims

For Abigail’s Ascend project she chose to plan and host a masquerade charity ball fundraiser for an anti-human trafficking organization, Called to Freedom.

COLTON & CORA, ASCEND STUDENTS

Where Teamwork Meets the... Mud?

Colton and Cora ran a 10K Tough Mudder for their Ascend Project. A Tough Mudder is an endurance race with a variety of challenges (including lots and lots of mud, ice, and electric obstacles). Together they completed the course in 1.5 hours.

LARAMIE G., ASCEND STUDENTS

Caring for Children in Hawassa, Ethiopia

For her Ascend Project, Laramie travelled to Hawassa, Ethiopia and spent eight days serving in an orphanage alongside her two sisters, close friend, and the local orphanage nannies.