Earlier this month First Ascent grilled out with friends and family at Sugarhouse Park to celebrate the annual First Ascent Family BBQ. This fun community event provided a great opportunity for the First Ascent family to socialize, play games, and eat delicious food from food trucks namely Food Almighty and Aunty’s Hawaiian Kitchen. The family BBQ is an event designed for First Ascent [...]
Abukar Hassan, a double major in entrepreneurship and finance and a First Ascent Scholar, has been named one of only 100 students to earn the inaugural Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service — also known as the Voyager Scholarship — funded by the Obama Foundation and Brian Chesky, Airbnb co-founder and CEO. He is the only student in Utah to earn this scholarship. Barack and [...]
First Ascent Scholars celebrated this year's graduates in red carpet style, complete with a formal dinner, unique stoles, and even a mini-gold statue. Surrounded by a community of peers, family, mentors, donors, and staff, each spoke words of gratitude and offered advice to their fellow scholars. Graduate Salmoon Masih offered the following advice to his fellow cohorts: Freshman "Welcome, you have been given a [...]
The David Eccles School of Business recently invited alumna Anfissa Silva Smith, CPA and former Senior Audit Manager of KPMG, to speak to First Ascent Scholars as part of their Alumni Dinner. This annual event allows students, faculty, and mentors to connect over dinner and shared experiences. Silva Smith shared her international journey — from Italy to Brazil to Utah — as she [...]
Fall Break was a busy time for our First Ascent Scholars program. First-year and sophomore scholars headed up to Moab and Arches National Park for camping, canyoneering, rock climbing, and hiking. They also engaged in curricular activities focusing on leadership, identity, citizenship, and team-building. Disconnected from their phones, social media, and texting, students were able to connect not only with nature but with [...]
The First Ascent Scholars program at the David Eccles School of Business recently held its annual Fall Celebration. Like many other events this year, their traditional feast transitioned to a virtual celebration. Scholars, mentors, and staff were able to share their gratitude and catch-up after a long semester. The online event was paired with a socially distanced outdoor meet-and-greet where students could say [...]
On Feb. 22, our First Ascent Scholars held their annual Cultural Celebration. This event fosters discussion and broader perspectives as students come together from different cultural backgrounds to learn and share. Using board games as a conduit, students discussed their favorite cultural traditions, the roles these traditions and gender roles played in their families, and how they helped them connect to their culture. "The [...]
Earlier this month, First Ascent Scholars embarked their annual Junior Leadership Retreat to Midway, Utah. With a focus on career strategy, students heard from faculty and staff from Business Career Services and the Office for Student Inclusion on topics including networking, effective relationship building, mental health, self-care, and imposter syndrome. Presentations were paired with a variety of team-building activities that addressed common barriers such [...]
Each year the David Eccles School of Business invites First Ascent scholars, faculty, and mentors to connect over dinner and listen to an alumni guest speaker. This year, DJ Joune, the official home DJ of the Utah Jazz, spoke at the event and shared how he lives a life of passion and service. Joune began his inspirational talk with a snapshot of his [...]
The David Eccles School recently honored scholarship recipients and donors at its 68th annual Scholarship Luncheon. This year's event coincided with First Generation Student Day, and to celebrate, some of the Eccles School's First Ascent Scholars were student speakers, along with first-generation alumna Kimberly Maez Johnston, now a national tax partner with EY. Johnston spoke powerfully about how receiving the Ruth Eleanor Bamberger and [...]