LEARN MORE ABOUT
SUNRISE SCHOLARS
Why We Started Sunrise Scholars
When I applied to college, I was lost. I cared more about pictures in a viewbook than content in the classroom. Not because that was my priority, but because as a first-generation college student I really didn’t know any better. When I arrived at school, I felt even more lost. Terms like “syllabus, registrar, and bursar,” were like a foreign language. When I struggled in the classroom, I hid from my professors, ultimately making the problem worse. I left school and became a statistic, like so many other first-generation students. I was fortunate to have mentors in my life who helped me get back on track; I transferred, finished at a school better suited for my needs, and graduated summa cum laude.
For most first-generation college students, this is a familiar story, but all too often, it does not have a happy ending.
Ken and I started Sunrise Scholars to shift the paradigm concerning student success from underrepresented populations. We both have dedicated our careers to teaching, guiding, and mentoring young people. Sunrise Scholars is the intersection of our skillsets, expertise, and interests. We created this foundation to affect positive change and reverse the negative trends of college access and success. In the end, it is about removing all the obstacles and barriers so that any motivated student will be able to succeed.
– Jacob Harding, Co-Founder and COO of the Sunrise Scholars Foundation
OUR TENURE
MEET OUR FOUNDERS

Ken Sommers
Chief Executive Officer
Ken served as a history teacher and football coach at The Out-of-Door Academy in Sarasota, FL for 11 years prior to joining Sunrise Scholars. He earned a B.A.from Hamilton College and his M.B.A. from Georgetown University. His previous work experience includes service in the Peace Corps in Ukraine, work as the Governor of Massachusetts’ Education Budget Analyst and time spent as an analyst at Standard & Poor’s in New York. Ken is currently taking college counseling classes at UCLA.
Ken serves on the board of Haiti GOALS which does sport-for-development work in rural Haiti and loves running, traveling and cheering for New England sports teams.
