Access Academies

🎓 Congratulations to Access graduates Alycia Mays and Joseph Melero!

This spring, we proudly celebrated another incredible class of Access college graduates. Today we're recognizing Alycia and Joseph as they take the next step in their academic and professional journeys.

• Alycia Mays graduated from Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration (concentration in Human Resources). She is now working as an Operational Manager at Avis Budget Group while pursuing her MBA at LSU Shreveport.

• Joseph Melero earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Saint Louis University and will continue his education this fall by pursuing a master's degree at SLU.

We are proud of all they've accomplished, excited to continue supporting them through graduate school, and can't wait to see what they achieve next!

Eleven rising freshmen took a big step toward high school readiness last month by participating in Access’ Summer Book Club at Saint Louis University. Over the course of four morning sessions, students read and analyzed the critically acclaimed memoir I Am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai.

Working alongside SLU student mentors, scholars used reading strategies and engaged in small and large group discussions as they explored themes of education and equality. They also participated in a Socratic seminar to deepen their understanding of the text and used a guided writing process -- moving from thesis development and outlining to draft writing, peer editing, and final revision -- to complete an argumentative essay by week's end.

Ultimately, students didn’t just finish a challenging book -- they strengthened their reading, writing, and critical thinking skills in the process.

One highlight of this year's Celebration Dinner was recognizing two individuals whose leadership helped shape Access Academies from its earliest days.

When accepting the Founders Award, Tom Nolan reminded us that no organization is built by one person. Instead, he described Access Academies as the work of many "co-founders" — students, families, donors, volunteers, staff, and partners who have believed in our mission from the beginning.

It was a fitting message on a night that also included a surprise Pillar Award presentation for Carolyn Dubuque, whose two decades of leadership as our Director of Mission Effectiveness have shaped the Access experience for nearly every scholar.

Congratulations again to Tom and Carolyn on this well-deserved recognition, and thank you to everyone who continues to support our scholars and make this mission possible.

🎓Access Celebrates the Class of 2026 at Our 5th Annual Senior Send-Off! 🎉 Earlier this month, we gathered with our graduating high school seniors and their families for one of our favorite traditions of the year — our Annual Senior Send-Off. The event marked the official close of our A2C (Access to College) program and honored the incredible accomplishments of the Class of 2026.

The morning was filled with food, fun, and festivities as guests enjoyed brunch, a DJ, and a photo booth to capture the special moments. Each student received a shower tote filled with college essentials, including a stainless Access-branded tumbler and battery pack, bed sheets, our College Enrollment Survival Guide, and an encouraging note.

This year's event also included special recognition for our Boniface Scholarship recipients, whose hard work and dedication earned them a highly competitive award worth up to $40,000 over the course of their college careers. We also celebrated the winners of our A2C Scholarship Competition, recognizing students who demonstrated outstanding participation throughout the college application, scholarship, and FAFSA process. To celebrate, the College & Career team created a fun slideshow highlighting each graduate and the college they’ll be attending this fall.

As always, it was wonderful to bring students, families, and staff together in one place to celebrate this important milestone. We couldn’t be prouder of our seniors and are grateful to everyone who has helped these students reach this exciting next chapter.

Congratulations once again to our rising collegians! We can't wait to see what they accomplish in college and beyond.