The Hidden Cost of Service: How Military Spouses Keep the Homefront Strong
By Nila Thompson When we think about military service, we often focus on the service member who wears the uniform. But behind every mission, every deployment, and every PCS (permanent change of station), there is often a military spouse holding everything together at...
You can’t change the past. But you can respond to it
Josh Nowack Reclaiming a Good Name: From Baal Shem Tov to Hamilton to Reentry A few hundred years ago, the founder of the Chabad movement, the Baal Shem Tov, was known not for wealth or power, but for being “the master of a good name.” Centuries later,...
What Does Your Email Say About You Professionally?
In today’s fast-paced digital world, your email can be a powerful extension of your personal brand — or a glaring red flag. Whether you're applying for a job, communicating with clients, or networking with professionals, your email address and how you use it can speak...
“You Can Teach Skills. You Can’t Teach Hunger.” — Why Fair Chance Hiring Isn’t Charity, It’s Smart Business
Josh NowackThe ASCEND CollectiveBoard Member There are people in this world who wake up on third base and swear they hit a triple. And look—I’m not saying anyone has a perfect life. But if you’ve got options, you’re already ahead of the game. Now imagine trying to...
The Never-Ending Job Interview
By Corey Schuler Are you on Facebook? TikTok? Snapchat? LinkedIn? Reddit? X? Insta? Threads? Pinterest? Discord? MySpace?!?! Or any one of thousands of social media platforms that have bulldozed their way into our lives over the last two decades? Odds are you’re...
It’s Just a Conversation
By Corey Schuler You can’t tell, but the guy in this photo has sweat everywhere, he’s running talking points through his head at a thousand miles an hour, and dreading the questions he assumes he isn’t ready for. A friend told him earlier that day, “Psh, it’s just...
Busy Bees
By Corey Schuler Folks, we’re some busy bees over here at The ASCEND Collective. Not to humblebrag, but there are a lot of exciting new endeavors we have coming to fruition this year, such as our Northern Compass Academy grant from the TRUIST Foundation! Especially...
Moving Season
By Corey Schuler Summer is moving season for a lot of Americans. This is especially true for our military service members and their families, so much so that summer is often referred to as “PCS Season”, or permanent change of station season. This also means job...
The Diversely-Abled Mind
By Corey Schuler Let’s tackle a tough one today, friends. Ableism is defined by Dictionary.com as “the tendency to regard people with a disability as incomplete, diminished, or damaged, and to measure the quality of life with a disability against a nondisabled...
Unwritten Futures
By Corey Schuler The nuances and processes of the justice system are complex, can vary widely from state to state, and even more so when both the state and the federal levels are involved. Understandably, the average employer probably doesn’t have a full grasp on what...