4 Live Events | Hands-On Projects | Practical Skills Training
4 Live Events | Hands-On Projects | Career or College Tracks
Culture teaches young adults that failure is fatal and that purpose is only found in fame, fortune, or power.
Culture teaches young adults that failure is fatal and that purpose is only found in fame, fortune, or power.
Ascend trains young adults to thrive by teaching them to own their purpose, serve others, build healthy relationships, and live resiliently in the real world, for the glory of God.
Ascend trains young adults to thrive by teaching them to own their purpose, serve others, build healthy relationships, and live resiliently in the real world, for the glory of God.
Meet Ascend program course instructors, event speakers, and webinar hosts
Ascend consists of four pieces: Ascend Events, Ascend Tracks, Ascend Projects, and the Ascend Community.
Ascend Events train students to thrive by connecting them with each other in a team environment, teaching them practical skills and resilience, challenging them to achieve more than they think is possible through hands-on projects, and training them in leadership and relational skills.
Ascend Tracks are the deep learning part of Ascend where students choose a certificate, specialty, or degree track. Tracks teach the academic and vocational skills that equip students for life, and they define each student’s curriculum and study schedule.
Ascend Projects are the core of the Ascend program and connect live events and tracks with hands-on experience in fields that students are interested in. Everything students learn at events and in their tracks find its focus and expression in their projects.
The Ascend Community is the heart of the Ascend experience and makes the Events, Tracks, and Projects come to life. Students consistently rate the personal community and professional network they gain through Ascend as their favorite part of the program.
When an Ascend student completes the third and final year of the program, having successfully earned each Ascend certificate, they graduate with the official Ascend employment guarantee. We do not believe a successful Ascend student will graduate from our program, move into the job market, and not be able to find work. If we’re wrong? All your money back, guaranteed.
The admissions process for Ascend starts with a consultation call. The purpose of this first call is pretty basic and intended to find out what you and your student are currently doing or planning to do for post-high school training compared to what you think an ideal situation would look like so we can see what the gap is and if we can help. And afterwards, if you feel this might be what you’re looking for, your counselor will book a call for you and your student to connect with an Ascend parent who’s student has already been through the program.
After your initial call with your counselor and your connection call with an Ascend parent, you will reconnect with your counselor to complete enrollment. On your enrollment call, you will complete two steps with your counselor: payment for a $1,000 deposit and, if applicable, scheduling an academic coaching call. After enrollment, you will receive a form in your inbox to complete your student’s profile. Your student’s academic coach will provide all the details they needs for their upcoming academic and life courses.
At the beginning of the Ascend year in August, your student will receive their Ascend Team assignment and get access to our private chat platform, Slack. Slack is where your student will connect with the rest of the class, their Ascend Team Leader (ATL), and Unbound staff. Ascend Teams are comprised of 8-10 other Ascend students and led by an ATL. All ATLs are 2nd or 3rd year Ascend students or Ascend alumni who have not only completed 1-3 years in the program but are also completing additional training in coaching and mentorship.
All students, new and returning, start their Ascend year at APEX where they meet their Ascend Team and Ascend Team Leader (ATL). APEX takes place in August in North Carolina and serves as a program orientation for new students, a recognition event for returning students, and a reunion for Unbound alumni.
While every APEX is unique, you can expect to find world-class speakers, alumni speakers, extensive team challenges, recreational activities, deep discussions, and friends, old and new.
To check out this year’s APEX click here. To see what APEX looks like you can check out the most recent recap video here.
As soon as students return home from APEX, they’ll begin to get ready for Basecamp, the next event on the Ascend calendar.
Students work together as a team to develop their team name and write a team ethos statement between APEX and Basecamp.
During this time, students will begin to attend live monthly webinars with subject matter experts from varied careers and professional backgrounds. They will also meet once a month with their Ascend team to discuss the webinars, set personal and educational goals for the year, and discuss their courses and projects.
As the fall kicks off, students begin brainstorming their Ascend Project and start their courses (beginning with Unbound’s life purpose course, Navigate.) Depending on whether your student is enrolled on the certificate, specialty, or degree path, they will also begin their first general education course or the first Signature Leadership Course (a 3-course leadership series that all first year students complete across any track).
Basecamp takes place in early November and is designed to deepen team relationships, connect students to each other in preparation for the upcoming project challenges of Ridgeline, and teach students to thrive by focusing on the topics of failure and resilience.
Basecamp is held in Virginia and is designed to be more challenging and personal than APEX. Basecamp begins with the teams presenting their names and ethos statements to the rest of Ascend. Each day is a combination of sessions, team challenges, free time, and deep discussion. By the end of Basecamp, team identities and personalities will begin to take shape and connections will deepen into friendships.
By the end of Basecamp, students will have completed training in time and task management and will understand core truths about how to build healthy relationships. Perhaps most importantly for their immediate future, they will understand how to deal with failure, how to develop and practice resilience, and how to live on the other side of fear.
They will need all of those skills because the end of Basecamp triggers the acceleration of Ascend Projects.
In the fall semester, students learn to brainstorm, develop, and plan their Ascend project. Leading up to Ridgeline at the beginning of the spring semester, students will submit their initial project proposal to their ATL and, once they receive final approval, be ready to start executing in January.
In January, the spring semester kicks off at Ridgeline. Ridgeline is held in Florida and is nothing like the other events. Ridgeline isn’t about learning by hearing; Ridgeline is about learning by doing. Here, no presenter is on stage for more than twenty minutes.
Team challenges reach their peak intensity during Ridgeline and are designed to teach the skills needed to turn ideas into reality as students launch the execution phase of their Ascend projects.
On the first day of Ridgeline, students are given a challenge that will require brainstorming an idea, planning it, and then executing it. Ascend staff and invited experts will be embedded with students at the event, where they will teach, coach, challenge, and assist the students as they deal with tight deadlines, limited resources, and high expectations.
After coming through the challenges and intensity of Ridgeline, students move into the execution phase for their individual Ascend projects.
Academic intensity increases during these next 12 weeks as students complete the next two Signature Leadership courses leading into Capstone.
By this point in the year, teams feel like families, students feel like they have known each other all their lives, and everyone’s expectations of what is possible have radically shifted. Team conversations are loaded with inside jokes, most of the memes shared on student platforms only make sense to other Ascend students, and relationships have grown and deepened through shared experiences and time spent together.
A week after Ridgeline, almost every Ascend student will be able to tell you exactly how many days are left until Capstone.
Capstone takes place in April in the Colorado Rockies. This event is primarily academic and reflective. Students will need their notebooks as Capstone content alternates between Dr. Jeff Myer’s live lectures and Ascend sessions on reflection, hope, and how to lock in this past year’s training.
Learning is intense, but there is still time for hikes in the mountains, long conversations in the lodge, and an opportunity to work together one last time through the team challenges.
Mostly, though, Capstone is about individual stories in the context of God’s greater story. Students learn how to see the narrative arc of life and have the chance to share their own story, hear new stories, and reflect on shared experiences. Capstone typically brings back alumni from years past who volunteer to help and mentor current students and pass on stories that have built the culture of Ascend.
From Capstone until the end of the school year in early June, Ascend Teams hold their final meetings, students complete their projects through a peer review, final reports, and presentations at the online Ascend Project Showcase, the academic year concludes, and summer begins.
For all students who complete each aspect of the program, they will earn two high-level certificates in leadership and professional development. These certificates will set your student apart from their traditionally educated peers and ahead in the job market.
The next event on the Ascend calendar is APEX. When APEX arrives this time, it is an event focused on recognition and reunion for returning students.
While Ascend events carry similar themes and content year-to-year , second and third year students attend advanced sessions, designed to build on each previous year.
Ascend students who complete all three years will end up attending twelve unique events, each making a distinct impact.
Sign up to receive 5 emails in 5 days that explain how Ascend works and how your student can get started.
Sign up to receive 5 emails in 5 days that explain how Ascend works and how your student can get started.
Sign up for an email series that explains how Ascend works and how your student can get started.
Schedule a call with admissions to get your questions answered and find out if Ascend is the right fit for your student.
APEX is held in Brevard, NC, August 11-15.
Basecamp is held in Manns Choice, PA, November 4-8.
Ridgeline will be held in Panama City, FL, January 23-27.
Capstone is held in Estes Park, CO, May 1-5.
Capstone is held in Estes Park, CO April 20-24.
All dates and locations are subject to slight changes.
Ascend Teams are led by Ascend Team Leaders (ATLs). ATLs are Ascend alumni or older students who have applied for, been accepted, and are specifically trained to lead a team. ATLs complete ongoing training throughout the program as well that enables them to continue building and improving their leadership skills.
Ascend teams meet monthly via Zoom to discuss the monthly webinar, support each other through their courses and projects, and receive coaching and mentorship from their ATLs specific to where they are in life and what kinds of decisions they are facing.
Each Ascend Team includes 8-10 students and one Ascend Team Leader.
Webinars are held a set time each month. Typically, they are scheduled for 7:30pm EST on the second Tuesday evening of the month. Webinars are also recorded and made available to students following the live presentation. However, students are required to attend at least 6 webinars live.
Past Ascend students have:
And many more!
It depends on the project. We have students complete individual and team projects every year and both are options.
This depends entirely on the student. Each year we have a mix students who are finishing high school or already graduated. The best way to determine if your student can manage Ascend alongside high school is to talk to an admissions counselor about the time commitment. Click here to book a call!
While ultimately it comes down to each individual student and their schedule, the vast majority of Ascend students work part or full time while completing the program.
Of course! While Ascend is not first and foremost a gap year program, it is designed with easy exit points after each year.
The Be Unbound Podcast teaches young adults and their parents how to ask the right questions, take action, and understand key truths that will enable them to live well, by showcasing conversations with guests who display what it looks like to be extraordinary at the ordinary.
Episode Highlights:
The Be Unbound YouTube channel shares actionable tips for students and chronicles the adventures of Unbound students and alumni.
Video Highlights:
Read what’s happening in higher education and informed commentary on the topics of life preparation, education, and Christian leadership.
Access free training from Unbound CEO Jonathan Brush on the true ROI on college degrees, and what a different path to higher education can look like.