empowering
first-generation scholars
Our mission
GenOne partners with talented, first-generation students from underserved communities, helping them successfully navigate into and through college.
Identify
We identify high performing, rising eighth graders attending Title I public middle schools in Charlotte and involve students and families in year-round college and career preparatory programming.
Prepare
We prepare students to be “scholarship-ready” by senior year and provide intensive support on standardized testing, applications, financial aid, scholarship searches and career planning.
Cultivate
We cultivate social and emotional growth through field trips, after school programs, and mentoring relationships.
Support
We support Scholars with comprehensive college persistence and workforce development services through postsecondary graduation to ensure they gain employment and graduate within six years.
Our vision
Enduring vision
We envision a future where all students from underserved communities, who display the drive and potential to pursue higher education, will have access to the knowledge, resources and support to achieve their goal, regardless of their zip code, racial/ethnic identity or family income.
Future goals
By 2026, GenOne seeks to work with 450 high achieving, first generation Scholars in CMS along their journey into and through college.
By 2030, we aim to raise that number to 600-750.
Interested to know more? Check out our College Impact Reports!
Our values
How do our values influence the decisions we make, especially collective decisions, where we are collaborating together as a team?
Practice integrity •
We choose honesty, fairness, and accountability in every action and decision, even when no one else is watching, to build trust and respect within our community.
Create community •
We forge trusting relationships that foster collective belonging, connection, and wellbeing.
Harness resilience •
We persist through challenges to become the best version of ourselves, recognizing that true resilience also means prioritizing rest, and overcoming systemic issues together.
Foster belonging •
We commit to being a place where authenticity exists, through valuing honesty, openness, feedback, diversity, and inclusivity.
Achieve excellence •
We strive for our best in everything we do, and commit to growth when we fail.
GenOne has many LGBTQ+ members in our community.
We pride ourselves in being a safe, inclusive environment for all Scholars. We consistently practice our core value to create belonging for each member of our community, and we do not tolerate discrimination of any form towards any identity within our community.
The GenOne team is continually trained by Time Out Youth, a leader in youth LGBTQ+ evidence-based practices, and we strive to continue learning to be the safest place possible for our community.
Partnerships and advocacy
Partnerships with other local organizations doing similar work help us maximize our impact in the community.
GenOne is a member of the Crescent Coalition, connecting us with other community-based organizations serving under-resourced students along their journey from middle school through college graduation and successful careers.
GenOne believes that systemic changes to K-12 and postsecondary systems is a major way to influence better outcomes for all first generation students and families.
This is why GenOne has been represented on the CMS Equity Committee and will occasionally advocate for state-wide policies, such as passing the Leandro Plan, that are nonpartisan and evidence based work plans to better improve student outcomes.
