Heights Philadelphia

05/28/2026

A huge welcome and congratulations to Cohort 2 of the Temple Future Scholars program! 🎉🦉

We are so grateful to partner with Temple University and the School District of Philadelphia to support these students from middle school all the way to college.

Next stop: Owl Camp on July 6! 🎒🏕️

05/27/2026

Today, we’re celebrating one of our 2026 graduates, Malayjae! ✨
Malayjae is a graduating senior at 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 and a multi-year recipient of the 𝗘𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 from 2023–2026. She has used her grants to fund her cheerleading expenses, securing essential back-to-school supplies, and receiving a free MacBook to support her academic journey. This fall, she is taking a huge step forward by attending 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆, where she will be majoring in Nursing!
Keep up the amazing work, Malayjae! We are so proud of your hard work and dedication, and we can’t wait to see you thrive in your nursing career! 🩺💙
📢 𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: 𝗘𝗡𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡!
The Ellis Trust Enrichment Grant application for the 2026-2027 school year is open now!
These funds support a wide range of extracurricular growth — from athletic programs like cheerleading to STEM, arts, pre-college initiatives, and crucial school supplies.
𝗪𝗵𝗼: Female-identifying students residing in Philadelphia who attend Public or Charter schools.
𝗛𝗼𝘄: Applications are processed on a rolling basis. Students must reapply for Ellis Enrichment Grants each year.
𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆: Scan the QR code in our graphic or learn more at ellistrust.org/enrichment-grants
Questions? Contact us at [email protected].

05/21/2026

On June 12, at Citizens Bank Park, 1,000+ Heights students will take the field to be celebrated. It’s not just a graduation — it is a powerful demonstration of economic mobility in action.

𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘇 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵.

Ethan started with Heights in high school, receiving mentoring and support. He went on to get his Bachelor of Arts in Media and Communication from Arcadia University. Today, he is making his own mark on our city as the co-director of communication at PA Youth Vote. He went from questioning if college was right for him to launching a successful, community-driven career.

When you support Heights, you aren't just making a donation — you are investing in the unfinished business of 1776.

𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 $26 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 '26:
https://giving.gofundme.com/campaign/771149/donate?c_src=social&c_src2=facebook&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=250Classof26&utm_medium=ethan

05/18/2026

𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿! 🎓

On June 12, more than 1,000 Heights students will walk across the field at Citizens Bank — proving that grit and brilliance lead to breaking barriers to success.

Join us in building a better future. Invest in the limitless potential of Philly’s youth and fuel their journey to economic mobility.

🔔 Help us Ring the Bell for the Class of ‘26:
https://giving.gofundme.com/campaign/771149/donate?c_src=social&c_src2=Facebook&utm_source=meta-facebook&utm_campaign=250Classof26&utm_medium=gradremind

🎟️ RSVP to join the celebration on June 12:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfzqd456HfLri7cJhppzLRs11yMjTqhzFtx3Vc3VeqlNauwQg/viewform

05/14/2026

Philadelphia was founded on a revolutionary promise: that 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲.

On June 12, we will see that promise fulfilled at Citizens Bank Park as more than 1,000 Heights students take the next step. Among them is Sylvia Ortega. This year, Sylvia is graduating from Juniata College, one of Heights' partner schools, with her MBA after pursuing a 3+1 accelerated BS and MBA Program. She will then step into a full-time role at Hirtle & Co. after completing an internship there.

Sylvia has already done the hard work — now it’s our turn to ensure the path stays open for the 4,000+ students we serve and the 1,000+ Class of 2026 graduates.

𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆: https://giving.gofundme.com/campaign/771149/donate?c_src=social&c_src2=Facebook&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=250Classof26&utm_medium=sylvia

05/12/2026

Our President and CEO Sean Vereen will be joining Chalkbeat Philadelphia for an essential virtual panel conversation about PA's new graduation requirements and dive into if this is actually creating opportunity or causing more of a divide.

Register here for the virtual panel which begins at 4pm TODAY and hear from Sean about how we can ensure every student has a clear pathway to college and career success.
https://lnkd.in/ejbi-bhp

🚨 TODAY 🚨 Pennsylvania overhauled its graduation requirements. Are high schoolers better off? RSVP for this virtual event: ckbe.at/493VEkK

05/08/2026

🔔 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝘁: You told us that Philadelphians are full of grit, and we see that same spirit in our students every single day. Whether it’s navigating systemic underinvestment or taking college-level courses while still in high school, the 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 2026 isn't just waiting for history to happen — they are making it.

Heights students are paving their own path toward success. And 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, we’re removing some of their personal and systemic barriers.

𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?
https://giving.gofundme.com/campaign/771149/donate?c_src=social&c_src2=facebook&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=250Classof26&utm_medium=pollresults

05/01/2026

🗳️ 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝘀 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀: 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗹.

💪🏾 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝘁: We have pride, resilience, and determination.

💡 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: We have that resolve to bring new ideas to fruition, in the spirit of being from a founding city.

🫶🏽 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆: We show up for our neighbors.

✅ 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆: We’ll be there for you … and we’ll be real with you.

Here's the link: https://us21.list-manage.com/survey?u=70921582bc186ba51f8a4f7a3&id=23eb1a0c5a&attribution=false&utm_source=meta&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=250Classof26&utm_content=launchpoll

04/30/2026

𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 ✨

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗘𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻, our final Heights volunteer highlight for National Volunteer Month!

Since getting connected to Heights in summer 2025, Mike has provided tireless and wise support to Heights students, including mentoring and teaching multiple Heights students in STEM fields. He’s also led STEM career exposure events at Heights partner high schools, and provided insight to our career team on curricula and industry trends.

Mike worked 30 years research and development as a chemical engineer at DuPont. After retirement, he consulted as a full-stack web developer. He currently instructs an online statistics seminar for high school students for the University of Pennsylvania

“Heights has matched me up with two highly-motivated students with interests similar to mine. I meet each of them virtually once a week. I really look forward to my sessions with my mentees. I am happy to share my engineering expertise with them, and they are very appreciative to have the help”

“In my retirement, my web has shrunk some. Getting to participate with Heights has expanded it some. I’m also doing a little adjunct teaching at Penn and this intersects with my Heights experience since Heights has close ties to Penn.”

Thank you, Mike — we are thrilled to celebrate your contributions this National Volunteer Month!

04/29/2026

𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 ✨

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗣é𝗿𝗲𝘇 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘇𝗮𝗱𝗮, another one of our incredible Heights Volunteers!

Carol earned both her 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗿’𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 ✅ and 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ✅ with a focus on Higher Education at the University of Pennsylvania.

Now working as an Educational Consultant, Carol has worked in various roles within education, spanning admissions, residential life, alumni relations, and DEI initiatives. Her extensive experience within education is reflected in her impactful work here at Heights.

Carol was connected with Heights after meeting Associate Director of Alumni and Volunteer Engagement Liz Sutton, while they both worked with students at Penn. She has contributed in multiple capacities, from speed networking with high school students to leading a career exposure session in one of our partner high schools.

In addition to serving as a volunteer, Carol works as a part-time teacher with Heights’ College App Classroom program. Heights created the College App Classroom curriculum in partnership with University of Pennsylvania admissions, and Carol uses her extensive experience with college admissions to teach the first-ever 10th grade section of College App Classroom at Lankenau High School.