About - OnTrack Homepage

About Us

OnTrack to Post-Secondary Education is an online e-learning college and career readiness program for high school age students, school counselors, community organizations, and mentors to understand the process of achieving post-secondary education. Originally developed by Cass C. Wright, a former high school Assistant Principal with 16 years of experience in school administration, OnTrack provides students with a step-by-step guide on the college process. In 2013 Sean O’Donnell, a nationally recognized eLearning expert developed the OnTrack learning platform allowing for a highly flexible, user friendly web-based learning experience.

Committed to the belief that every student deserves to attend college with funding in hand, OnTrack to Post-Secondary Education equips all students with the knowledge and resources to reach their full potential, through some form of post-secondary education.

OnTrack provides 9th-12th grade students with the knowledge to complete their educational experience through weekly grade-specific video modules. Using the prescribed OnTrack curriculum, students are prepared to apply to realistic schools, gain acceptance, and receive financial aid support to attend college.

Brought to you by the Uncommon Individual Foundation, all parties can use the customized learning system as a platform to learn, communicate, and share information on the post-secondary process. Designed with a portal for students, school counselors, school administrators and mentors in mind, OnTrack uses the latest eLearning technology to produce over 140 instructional videos, taking the guesswork out of college planning.

Meet our team!

Dimitri Vassiliou - COO

Dimitri leads the UIF by uniting his savvy for business, with his dedication to helping others. After establishing a successful career with AT&T, he began working with the Foundation in 2006. He has helped UIF grow exponentially, both through technology and through human capital acquisitions. With a passion for world travel, Dimitri earned a B.A in International Business from Lehigh University. His interests range from entrepreneurship to aviation, where he has most recently created an aviation mentoring program for the UIF.

Michael Hackman- Director of External Relations and Business Development

Michael has over 25 years of leadership experience in the non-profit and governmental Human Services sectors. As a Regional Director for a national youth mentoring organization and as Administrator for a county-wide homeless intervention program, Michael understands the value of targeted supportive services to help youth achieve their greatest potential. As the Director of External Relations at UIF Michael is tasked with connecting schools and youth serving organizations with the OnTrack to Post-Secondary Education Program. Michael has a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography from Penn State University and a Masters of Social Work Administration from Temple University.

Shari Sauer- Director of Operations

Shari began working with the OnTrack program in 2012, helping to write and film college-readiness modules. As graduate of Eastern University, Shari earned a B.A. in Marketing and a B.S. in Management. Bringing her passion for education access to the team, she serves as a lead mentor to the OnTrack program. Shari also specializes in program development, post-secondary training, and eLearning coordination.

Andrew Zivic- OnTrack to PSE Content Director

Andrew started working with OnTrack, under the supervision of Cass Wright, in the summer of 2012. Once Andrew finished grad school at Villanova University in the Spring of 2013, he began working with OnTrack full-time. He writes and edits powerpoint presentations and is one of the main presenters of OnTrack modules. Andrew looks forward to seeing OnTrack grow to help high school students across the country.

OnTrack’s Curriculum Consultants

Virginia Barrett
Ginny Barrett has been a school counselor in the Central Bucks School District for 20 years. In addition to her Masters in Secondary Counseling and Certification from West Chester University, Ginny holds an Administration Certification from St. Joseph’s University.

Will Dix
Will Dix has had over 25 years of college admission and college counseling experience with students and families from all income ranges and backgrounds. He served 8 years as an admission officer at Amherst College, and 6 as a college counselor at a private Chicago high school. For 10 years he developed and implemented college-going curricula and materials for Chicago Scholars, an organization dedicated to helping first generation-college and low-income students reach and succeed at college.

Susan Suarez-Madson
Susan Suarez-Madson has over 15 years of experience working in the field of college access and success, primarily with first-generation Latino students and their parents in San Jose California. Her expertise includes 5th-12th grade Advisory programming, college counseling, parent education, alumni data tracking and support, curriculum development, and teacher and leader coaching.

James Malone
For more than 40 years James has helped thousands of students, parents and institutional clients on both secondary and college levels within the educational community. Professional credentials include National Counselor Certification, New York State Mental Health Counselor Licensure, New York State Permanent School Counselor Certification, Distance Credentialed Counseling, Approved Clinical Supervision and Fellowship Status Membership in the National Career Development Association.

The Foundation That Made It Happen

The Uncommon Individual Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that studies, develops and applies the art and science of mentoring to help focused individuals work toward the achievement of their dreams, and aids entities of all kinds in creating a culture of active mentorship for individuals within their organizations.

results from the first years of ontrack

Our students come from diverse backgrounds, and many come from low income families. We support families in helping their children learn how to get into college, and often, they become the first in their families to attend college.

Primarily from Erie, Pennsylvania, our students are attending a variety of schools in the area. Wary of financial costs, most students choose to attend public in-state institutions, but many others receive enough financial aid to attend private colleges as well. Here is the breakdown of the types of colleges students attend, and where specifically they are going.

Essential to the OnTrack program is mentoring students on the methods to secure funding for their post-secondary endeavors. Our team teaches on the FAFSA completion process, PHEAA state grant program, sources to receive private scholarship or grant money, and how to renew this information once they reach college. Since federal grant consideration and work study requires the FAFSA form, we encourage our students and their families to complete the FAFSA early to receive the highest grant awards.

Paying for college is a topic discussed to parents and students alike in the OnTrack program. For students, we show them how to find a reach, match, and safety school, with the Total Cost of Attendance in mind. In addition to completing the FAFSA early, we emphasize the importance of saving money for college as early as possible. Avoiding high student debt is of utmost importance to us, therefore we teach smart borrowing techniques to keep student debt minimal. If loans must be taken, we stress the priority of utilizing federal student loans such as the Direct Subsidized Loan, the Direct Unsubsidized Loan, the Perkins Loan, and the Parent PLUS loan before private student loans are considered.

STUDENT TESTIMONALS

Students have something to say about OnTrack

“ I would just like to take a moment to express my gratitude towards Mr. Wright and the OnTrack team. It would have been much more difficult for me to be "ontrack" if it wasn’t for them guiding me through the process. ”

“ The OnTrack program was very helpful to me and my family. Very supportive program that really made me think a great deal about wanting to attend a college in state or out. I am happy with my decision to attend Edinboro University! ”

“ I'm so happy I had this program this year, because I did not know what steps to take for planning out my college future. Mr. Wright and my school counselor helped me a great deal. ”

“ Great program for students that don't have a parent that has been to college. I loved all of the support and am very thankful. ”

“ OnTrack is a good program in the way it helped me prepare for college. More of the students in my school should have OnTrack. ”

“ I found the program to be very helpful, because I have not been able to get much one-on-one time with my school counselor. ”

About Us

Meet our team!

OnTrack’s Curriculum Consultants

The Foundation That Made It Happen

results from the first years of ontrack

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