Since 2014, Noble Schools has sent over 10,000 students to experience college in our unique Summer of A Lifetime (SOL) program. This year, we are sending our largest cohort of students yet! Right now, 1,072 students from across our network (approximately 32% of our sophomores total) are participating in rigorous college programs at Harvard, Brown, the University of Michigan, and other institutions.

One of our campuses, ITW David Speer Academy, is sending 224 students, about 81% of their sophomores, to SOL. Speer’s dedicated Summer of a Lifetime Coordinator, Ashley Mathews, works closely with each scholar to ensure they are placed in the program that best aligns with their interests and goals. We are so excited to see what all of them bring back from this transformational experience.

In the meantime, we talked with a few of Mathews’ students to hear about their SOL experience from last year and how she helped them through the entire process. Check it out:

Juan was excited and nervous about attending Summer of a Lifetime. All his upperclassmen peers often talked about it—about how fun it was, how they got to experience being a college student, what it was like to travel out of town without their parents (some for the first time), and how it gave them the courage to attend college. He knew he wanted to go, but as he entered the application process, his fears seemed to be holding him back.

When Juan walked into Mathews’ office, she could see how nervous he was about leaving home. He was scared about being gone for an entire week in another state, having never traveled without his parents. Mathews worked with him on this, reassuring him and providing additional insight into how other SOL participants had said it changed their lives and helped shape their futures. After receiving her encouragement and his acceptance letter, Juan was more eager to go.

He is so glad he ended up going last summer after all. He attended Syracuse University’s Sports Management Program in New York. The experience changed his perspective on college.

“I always wanted to go to college in-state, but going to SOL out-of-state and attending Syracuse has changed my mind. Now, I want to attend college out of state,” Juan said.

During his week at SOL, Juan was so engaged and excited by the experience that he didn’t even miss home. He loved meeting other students in the dorms and chatting with them about their perspectives on college. One of his favorite parts was a sportsmanship seminar, which included about 70 other students. The presenters discussed topics such as NIL (Name, Image, Likeness), e-sports, resume building, and the NCLA, which he found incredibly interesting.

Attending SOL at Syracuse also solidified Juan’s dream of playing college football. He now knows that he wants to major in sports medicine and one day become a college football coach.

Myles had always wanted to attend college out of state and study film. The minute Mathews told Myles about UCLA’s Summer Discovery program, he was dead set on going. However, the program was too expensive for him. For more expensive out-of-state programs, such as UCLA, Speer offers scholarships based on financial need. Myles’ family did not meet the base requirements, but Mathews still did not want to let this opportunity pass him by. She was able to work with Principal Jordan Kruger to secure the funding from Illinois Tool Works (one of our primary donors) to send Myles to UCLA.

“I really felt grateful after speaking with other students that I met and hearing how their families had to raise money to attend the program,” Myles said.

UCLA’s pride and welcoming atmosphere left a lasting impression on Myles. He spent two weeks at their film program, where some of his teachers were actual industry professionals—film producers and writers.

Myles exploring Disneyland, UCLA, and Los Angeles with other students in his program.

One of the highlights was writing, filming, and editing his own music and creating a short film with other students. Myles was able to shoot real scenes all around the campus.

“I went in thinking it was just another program, but I ended up enjoying it so much more than I expected,” Myles shared.

As he prepares for his senior year, Myles said that UCLA will definitely be in his top five choices when it comes time to make his college decision.

Adriana, a transfer student from a CPS school, had never heard of Summer of a Lifetime before coming to Speer as a sophomore. When she was introduced to the program, she was intrigued but also a bit scared about being away from home for two weeks in another state. She had never traveled anywhere, let alone by herself.

When Mathews presented the opportunity to her and her family, they had some concerns about the distance and time away. However, after speaking with Adriana’s family, Mathews was able to provide some peace of mind to both Adriana and her family by sharing more information about the school and explaining how an opportunity like this can only benefit Adriana and her future.

Adriana ultimately attended Wentworth’s Construction Management program, which interested her because some of her family members are in the construction industry.

She shared that SOL made her more determined than ever to attend college, and it inspired her to consider out-of-state schools. Adriana particularly enjoyed the hands-on activities, such as molding concrete and learning how to create concrete mixtures.

“SOL gave me a spiritual awakening,” Adriana said, “It helped me realize that I can go across the country or out of state, and I’ll still be okay. It showed me that I can be a college graduate no matter where I go.”