About Ascensia

Built by people who lived the gap.

Every member of the founding team navigated international admissions from an underserved background, on merit scholarships, without a counselor and without a network that could tell them what they were walking into.

The team

Core team.

Mohamed Mashhour
Mohamed Mashhour
Chief Executive Officer
UC Berkeley
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Haile Adane
Haile Adane
Chief Learning Officer
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Camila Caruso
Camila Caruso
Chief Media Officer
Villanova University
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Ismail Aboelmagd
Ismail Aboelmagd
Chief Strategy Officer
Macalester College
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Sarah Elgabery
Sarah Elgabery
Director of Brand
Wellesley College
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Youssef Nassar
Youssef Nassar
Chief of Staff
Vanderbilt University
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Jeremy Muchilwa
Jeremy Muchilwa
Chief Relations Officer
Georgia Institute of Technology
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Youssef Taleb
Youssef Taleb
Chief Programs Officer
University of British Columbia
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Saif Abdelhamid
Saif Abdelhamid
Chief Technology Officer
Minerva University
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Ayanfe
Ayanfeoluwa Ayanlade
Director of Teaching
Dartmouth College
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Dawit Dagne
Dawit Dagne
Director of Advisory Network
Gettysburg College
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Our partners

Organizations we work with.

Our story

Why we built this.

The members of this team applied to top universities globally. We know what that process looks like without a counselor, without money for consultants, and without a single person in your school who had done it before. The information existed. The financial aid existed. The opportunity was there. What was missing was access to the network and knowledge that makes it possible to actually act on any of it.

We believe that university admissions system in most of the world distributes outcomes that track closely with socioeconomic advantage. It is a structural problem, and it is one that a well-designed program can meaningfully push back against, one cohort at a time.

What we believe

We believe in CIPER.

These are the things we ask of everyone in the program, including ourselves.

C
Curiosity

We try to keep our child-like curiousity alive. There is no such thing as a "stupid" question.

I
Integrity

We tell the truth. We do not promise what we cannot deliver. We are people of our word, even when it is easier not to be.

P
Perseverance

We are grateful for the challenges that face our reality, for we are sure we are more than capable of cracking them.

E
Excellence

High standard. The universities we prepare students for hold that same standard, and so do we.

R
Reciprocity

Privilege is generational; people helped us. We help the next person. Meritocracy for life!

Get in touch

team@ascensia.foundation

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