))
Aly Murray - Democratizing access to academic support
Manage episode 292814969 series 2818032
Content provided by Podcast Cary and Roger Steed. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Podcast Cary and Roger Steed or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.
Aly is co-founder and executive director of UPchieve, a free 24 seven online tutoring, non-profit organization that provides high school students with academic support to finish high school, attend college, and achieve upward mobility.
Eligible students can create a free account and request help in a specific subject (e.g., Algebra) 24/7. When UPchieve gets a request, we search for an available volunteer who is certified in that subject. In under 5 minutes, the student and volunteer are paired in our virtual classroom.
Their mission: To democratize access to academic support so that all students have an equal opportunity to finish high school, attend college, and achieve upward mobility.
Aly has been featured on the Forbes 30 under 30 lists for education and honored as a Rodenberry fellow in 2021.
Aly was a low-income student without access to many things despite her being an excellent student. She started in community college and worked her way to an amazing education and a job at JP Morgan. But her desire to serve in the community was difficult for her to nurture at that job because of the hours, and she decided to start UPcheive. UPcheive makes it easy for students to get help when they need it and makes it easy for volunteers to fit volunteering into their busy lives.
"Coming up with the idea was easy, but leaving JP Morgan to start UPchieve was difficult." - Aly.
Aly shares about the early days of starting her nonprofit and how there isn't an equivalent to angel investors for nonprofits.
They talk about what they've learned from the now over 8,000 students and 7,000 volunteers on the platform. They've learned to prioritize availability over all else since it's unreasonable to expect students to know when they will run into issues with their homework. And how to revise their volunteer process to make it very easy to volunteer in the most inflexible schedules.
We highlight some of the amazing funding awards that have been won by UPchieve that speak to the technical prowess of their platform and their impact on students.
Want to learn more about how you can support UPchieve. Visit their website and donate today.
32 episodes
Share
