STEP's mission is to equip academically-promising, low-income, first-generation college-bound Arizona teens with the self-confidence, leadership skills, and internal tools to succeed in college. STEP's overall goal is to help break the chain of generational poverty in the families with which we work by preparing students for success in higher education. After creating STEP in 2002, STEP Founder Tracy Baynes partnered with NOLS Professional Training in early 2005 to serve their mission of providing life-skills and leadership training to low-income, college-bound high-school students in order to better prepare them for the challenges ahead in college. STEP students go on a 3 week customized NOLS sea kayaking expedition in the pristine wilderness of Alaska's remote coastlines. For 23 days STEP participants paddle a sea kayak beneath towering glaciers and past wooded coves. They come back better leaders and role models for their peers. http://www.nols.edu/nolspro/7-30_days_case_studies.shtml Less