Mission & Goals
Wolverine Pathways seeks to advance access and opportunity by providing underserved students with the educational enrichment and advising that increases their likelihood of admission to the most selective colleges in the U.S., including the University of Michigan. Serving scholars in Detroit, Southfield, Ypsilanti, and Grand Rapids (with Saginaw scholars to be added in fall 2027), WP provides motivated and high-achieving students with the resources they need to explore and achieve their college and career aspirations. We aim to inspire their professional ambitions, increase their academic preparation, and expand their network of supportive mentors and peers.
Our Goals
At the University of Michigan, we often say that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. But at Wolverine Pathways, we know that when it comes to selective college admission, the relationship between talent and opportunity is complicated. What often gets interpreted as talent and is then rewarded in the college application process is a function of having access to resources. Who has the admissions edge? Young people who have access to excellent teachers, rigorous curriculum, summer academic enrichment, intrusive college advising, SAT preparation, college essay and application coaching, and networks that expand their imaginations about educational and career possibilities. This edge is out of reach for many families – especially if their children are enrolled in underserved schools or school districts. At WP, we provide this edge. We nurture talent by making available to ambitious scholars educational resources and opportunities that are out of reach for many.
At Wolverine Pathways, we serve scholars who know that they want to go to college and whose current academic performance is consistent with this ambition. Building upon their aspirations and their exceptional potential, we ready them academically for the college classroom. Rather than repeat what they are already learning in school, our math programming challenges them to engage creatively, flexibly, and confidently with mathematics, while our English Language Arts offerings create opportunities for scholars to use critical reading and writing to engage pressing social justice issues.
We encourage scholar curiosity by fielding a diverse and rigorous array of pre-collegiate camps and courses taught by the University of Michigan faculty. We provide internships that allow scholars to explore careers already of interest and those they have yet to imagine. And U-M undergraduates, many of whom grew up in the communities we serve and are also graduates of Wolverine Pathways, serve as near-peer mentors and enable our scholars to see that college, as a whole, and the University of Michigan, in particular, is well within their reach. This and more is the edge-giving scholar experience at Wolverine Pathways.
If you are a student, we hope that you will join us on this journey of college preparation and career exploration. If you are a parent, we look forward to partnering with you around your child’s future. If you are a U-M alum or a community member, there are ways for you to contribute to and support our efforts. Wolverine Pathways is committed to doing good work with you!
