Program Overview

The program begins junior year in high school, emphasizing college and career prep with some added personal development and outdoor experiences. During senior year, we focus on college and financial application support and more profound outdoor training. The first year of college focuses on personal growth, including a rock climbing trip. The program ends with an immersive 18-day trip during your last summer before program graduation.

All staff are certified

Staff have certifications ranging from Wilderness First Responder to Emergency Medical Technician and more!

Over 40 courses, trips, and workshops

You attend day workshops and multiple-day trips.

Free of cost to the Fellow and their parents

650+ hours of engagement throughout your two-and-a-half years

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How is the fellowship program structured?

Over two and a half years, the program centers on academic learning, outdoor education, and personal growth. Workshops and events usually happen in person on weekends or breaks, shifting to Zoom during the first year of college. Fellows connect with the REACH team monthly or bi-monthly. Additionally, we're always accessible via phone and email for one-on-one sessions outside group activities.

Junior Year of High School

During junior year, we start working with you to create a timeline for your journey. We provide college and career planning workshops where you receive comprehensive information about various higher education systems and different career pathways. We assist you with building or modifying your college list and offer guidance on financing college expenses. We also cover different options after high school, like going directly to the workforce, gap years, etc. Additionally, we start you on the journey to personal growth by providing you with nutrition and cooking courses, and an intro to financial literacy. We offer workshops to parents to ensure similar insights.

In the outdoor component, you get the opportunity to camp and start learning about social-emotional topics, meditation, and skills to fortify your outdoor experiences.

During the summer, we take you on College Tours in San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, and the Bay area. We create interactions with key figures such as professors, admissions, and financial aid administrators and provide you with the information you need to make a decision about your postsecondary path.

High Ropes Course

9 hours

SAT Prep Course (Optional)

16 hours

College Planning Session

6 hours

Parent Workshop

3 hours

Summer College Tour

6 days

Senior Year of High School

Our primary focus is to guide you through the complicated college application process and examine all the financial aid opportunities and scholarships, even if your post-secondary plans do not include college. We want to help you create a backup plan. Experienced professionals facilitate workshops. We review personal statements, Personal Insight Questions, and college, scholarship, and financial aid applications. In the latter part of your senior year, we will continue your transition toward the postsecondary path and add additional workshops to continue your personal development. We continue offering cooking classes, financial literacy courses, and strategies to foster physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Additionally, we organize sessions with parents to discuss this vital information.

For the outdoor component, we take you on a camping trip to build your skills for the backpacking trip. You spend a weekend learning how to keep warm, pitch a tent, build a fire, and more!

During the summer, we take you on a backpacking trip for eight days, where you'll foster resilience and community. You'll continue expanding on social-emotional learning and outdoor skills with beautiful views along the way! All gear is provided by us.

Financial Aid Workshop

12 hours

College App Workshop

12 hours

Parent Workshop: College 102

6 hours

Winter Social

6 hours

Health and Wellness Workshop

12 hours

Overnight Camping

2 Weekends

Summer Backpacking Trip

8 days

Individual Check-Ins

1 hour (per student)

First Year after High School

During your first year, we provide all of our workshops through Zoom! We start with individual check-ins to ensure that you had a successful transition. We then offer workshops that help you build healthier habits for academic and personal success. We also understand that navigating spaces as a first-generation student is not the easiest, so we created a workshop to equip you with the tools to look for a job, talk to a professor/boss, and learn how to carry yourself in a space that you have never been in. We then wrap up the financial literacy series and start preparing you for the capstone experience by talking more about your own identity and how that can be seen globally.

For the outdoor component, we take you to Joshua Tree to climb some amazing rocks! You spend four days car camping and two out of those four days rock climbing. Lastly, you end the REACH experience with the culminating trip, which is an immersive trip to Bolivia or Lake Superior, where you will learn about different cultures and histories and how that is impactful to you and globally.

Once you come back from the culminating trip, you graduate the program and get promoted to an alumnus, where you'll have the opportunity to continue being involved with the program more in-depth.