Read original post on medium.com.
You’ve heard us say this time and again: With only 47% of Gen Z reporting that they had enough information to decide the best postsecondary pathway for themselves, we need to ensure that as many students as possible have access to career-connected learning experiences.
To provide these opportunities, organizations and programs need to be able to increase the number of learners participating by expanding future readiness programming. That’s why American Student Assistance® (ASA) is proud to support organizations like On the Road Collaborative, the Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation, and Rush University Medical Center, who are all working to scale access to youth career-connected and work-based learning experiences.
Keep reading to learn more about these organizations.
On the Road to Program Expansion
Based in Virginia, On the Road Collaborative is an organization dedicated to closing the learning gap for children from low-income families. This approximately 6,000-hour gap, caused mostly by a lack of access to pre-school, after-school, and summer learning programs, puts this population at a disadvantage throughout school and affects their ability to prepare for the future.
Their 10-week long Career Enrichment Courses allows students to gain hands-on experience in different career fields, including (but certainly not limited to) banking, healthcare, cooking, and music production. Participants also have the option to step outside the classroom and visit construction sites, restaurants, music studios, airports, and more to get a first-hand look into potential workplaces. At the end of the program, learners have the chance to demonstrate what they have learned with a Learning Showcase, which can involve setting up a mock veterinarian clinic or holding a mock trial in an actual courthouse.
“On the Road Collaborative is overjoyed at having been selected as a grantee by American Student Assistance. We launched in September of 2025 and have an awesome slate of Career Enrichment courses that we are offering that include K9 Training, Video Game Development, and Yoga Instruction, among others. Youth love the broad exposure they get in each field and the chance to work with professionals in their community.” — Russell Leary, Co-CEO, On the Road Collaborative
With their grant from ASA, On the Road Collaborative scaled up their Academic Support and Career Enrichment Programs to a new locality in the region. By providing educational programming and hands-on career connected learning experiences for middle and high schoolers outside of their regular school hours, On the Road Collaborative is working to close this significant gap while building participants’ confidence and skills and scale access to youth future readiness learning.
Building a Strong Foundation
The Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation (also known as the Foundation) is working to develop a stronger workforce, enhance college and career readiness, and build healthier communities throughout Arizona. As an intermediary, the Foundation’s goal is to support education, business, and community to prepare young people for college or a career.
Their program, ElevateEdAZ, is dedicated to ensuring that all Arizona students have equitable access to college and career opportunities that will in turn strengthen local communities through increased economic mobility. To work towards this goal, the program partners with education, business, and their community to prepare students for academic and career success in leading industries, such as Advanced Manufacturing, Architecture & Construction, and Education.
“American Student Assistance’s grant to ElevateEdAZ supported the expansion of our program to another school in the Greater Phoenix region, impacting an additional 2,000 students. The success of ElevateEdAZ is due to the comprehensive nature of our program. We are working with 27 schools throughout Arizona to increase the number of students completing high-wage, high-demand CTE programs, dual enrollment, and credential attainment, and to provide work-based learning opportunities such as internships and job shadows.
“These opportunities, coupled with teacher professional development, are providing life-changing experiences for Arizona students, improving their preparedness for college and career.” — Jennifer Mellor, Chief Innovation Officer, Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation
With ASA’s grant, the Greater Phoenix Chamber expanded ElevateEdAZ to additional partner high schools to serve an additional 2,000 students and offer industry credentials and dual enrollment credit, work-based learning, and educator externships.
Centering Underserved Youth From Cradle to Career
The Rush University Medical Center is an academic medical center and a hub for basic and clinical research. Through their strong commitment to diversifying health care and STEM professions, the Rush Education and Career Hub (REACH) program provides hands-on STEM education for underrepresented students “from cradle to career.”
REACH’s approach to creating successful student outcomes and a more diverse talent pipeline is to provide learners with access to high-quality STEM education, paid work-based learning experiences, professional and personal development opportunities, career pathways aligned to labor market demand, the ability to earn industry-recognized credentials, and mentoring.
“Thanks to the generous support of ASA, the Rush Education and Career Hub is expanding access to high-quality, career-connected learning opportunities for young people, especially historically underserved youth. This investment will enable us to create an interactive tool kit, pilot innovative programs in community settings and provide technical assistance to health care institutions — opening pathways for thousands of students each year to build occupational identity and overcome barriers to success in the growing health care field.” — Rukiya Curvey Johnson, Executive Director, REACH
The Rush University Medical Center grant from ASA will fund the REACH program’s toolkit and pilot programs and offer technical assistance to other healthcare institutions to expand their career-connected learning offerings.
ASA is proud to support these three grantees and their dedication creating and scaling youth career-connected and work-based learning opportunities for students from underserved communities.