Finding Direction: Hannah’s Ascend Story

Quick Summary: I skipped college, took a gap year that left me feeling purposeless, and found direction through Ascend. The program’s community and structure gave me purpose—and I’m now halfway through my second year and already committed to my third year with clarity and confidence.

What comes after high school? For a lot of people, the answer is college. I mean, it’s what everyone does, right?

All throughout high school, I didn’t really think about it. In all honesty, I think I was avoiding the topic. In the back of my head, I guess I assumed I would just go to college like everyone else.

Why I Chose a Gap Year Instead of College

When graduation came, I was forced to confront the decision that I had been avoiding. I still didn’t have any idea of what I wanted to do with my life as a now-adult. Going to college and possibly getting into massive debt for a degree I wasn’t sure I would ever use didn’t sit right with me. I felt very unprepared to take the next step, so I decided to take a gap year while I tried to figure things out.

That gap year turned out to be a very rough time for me.

Aside from working a part-time job, I wasn’t really doing anything good with my life. Any time that I wasn’t working, I was usually at home doing absolutely nothing.

I began to grow very anxious about the total lack of direction that I was experiencing, but also avoided seeking out accountability from the people closest to me. I knew that I should be doing something, I just had no clue what that might be. I started to worry that I had tanked my own life before it really even had a chance to get going.

I thought I was failing because I still didn’t know what I wanted to do in life and felt that I was falling behind everyone else.

How I Found Ascend

I first heard about Ascend from my mom (seems to be a common trend around here), who thought that the program might be a good option for further education. I was skeptical of the idea at first, as I had pretty much decided not to pursue any further education.

However, while looking over the website, I found the Unbound YouTube channel and decided to check out the recaps of the previous Ascend events. I watched every single one, multiple times, and was completely blown away. I had briefly looked at a few other programs geared towards high school graduates, but none of them grabbed my attention in the same way Ascend did.

The thing that stood out to me the most initially was the theme of community that seemed to run through the program.

My first thought after watching all the videos was, this is what I’ve been looking for.

It really felt like God had put this in front of me, in a very clear answer to prayer. The more I learned about the program, the more I believed it was the perfect thing to help get my life back on track.

By the time I signed up, it was already June.

This meant I didn’t have to wait long to travel to my very first Ascend event: APEX. I was definitely nervous, but for the first time in a very long time I had a sense of deep purpose and determination. I didn’t want to continue in the way I had been living, which was incredibly stagnant and lacking in any real growth of my skills or faith.

That being said, there was still a lingering worry that I wouldn’t be a good fit for the program or wouldn’t make any good connections. The closer I got to leaving for APEX, the more excited (and nervous) I became.

Finally, APEX arrived.

What Happened at My First Ascend Event

When I landed at the airport where we were all gathering, I expected things to be awkward and to feel very out of place. To my surprise, that didn’t really happen…at all.

Right from the get-go, people were coming up to me, introducing themselves and asking questions. It was definitely a bit overwhelming at first, but also so encouraging. These people, who I had never met before, actually wanted to get to know me and welcome me to the program.

I was floored.

That first day was a blur, so many new faces, so much to take in, and all the while I’m still trying to figure out what exactly is going on. But in the midst of all of it, I was so happy to be there, to be around all those amazing people who just seemed so different from everyone else. I wanted to be like that too.

As APEX went on, I connected for the first time in person with my Ascend Team, and we grew close faster than I thought was possible.

The sessions were amazing, the challenges were hard, but fun, and every moment I spent there I could feel the apathy that had been building inside me slipping away.

I believe APEX was the turning point that God used to push me to make changes in my life. 

And it wasn’t just while I was there, or for a week or so after. 

A common thing that I’ve seen happen in my own life is when you go to a really high energy conference and leave feeling super motivated and energized, only for that feeling to fade a couple days after you get back.

APEX was the opposite experience for me. My perspective had changed, and I came away from it with a desire and determination to live deliberately (which happened to be the theme for that year!). I won’t pretend that I never had hard moments or started to slip back into some old habits after that, but to this day it has never even gotten close to how bad it was during my gap year.

How Ascend Changed My Perspective

From then on, the Ascend year just got better and better. I made some really good connections and friendships at APEX, but the size of the event made it harder to do that on a large scale, especially as a new student.

This just wasn’t true at all of the following events.

At each one, I grew closer to my fellow students in amazing ways. You’d think it’d be impossible to connect with that many people in just a year, while only seeing each other in person about four times. That was my first thought, but quickly I saw just how wrong I was.

Forming intentional and deep relationships is something that is emphasized a lot in Ascend, which made a huge difference. Over the course of the year, I learned so much about myself and about God.

I became far less afraid of the future and started to actually plan for it. I still don’t know exactly where I will be in a few years, but the panic and stress I used to feel before is gone now.

Would I Recommend Ascend?

To anyone considering Ascend as their next step after high school, I will say that it is a challenge.

Ascend is not for everyone, and that’s okay.

But if you are willing to put yourself into it fully and be extraordinary at the ordinary things, you will get out of it something far more valuable than what they teach you at most colleges these days.

I have been in the Ascend program for a little over a year now and am already planning to come back for my third and final year, and I would love to see you there!