While Dallas-based Ascent Mentors has grown exponentially since its founding in 2020, the nonprofit’s directors say that its purpose remains unchanged.
“The heart has been to reach kids one by one and model the relational nature of Jesus in their lives,” said Holly Surry Todd, who co-directs Ascent Mentors with her husband, Preston Todd. “That’s truly the heartbeat behind the whole organization.”
The program matches college students with high school students — females with females, males with males — so teens can benefit from having a trusted mentor a few steps ahead of them who will intentionally invest in their life and faith. Some mentors have graduated from college, but most are college aged.
The Todds said they match mentees with mentors based on location and common interests or life experiences.
“If you’re an equestrian, we’d find another girl who was an equestrian. We create those shared interests and hobbies. The main thing we focus on is personality,” Holly Scurry Todd said. “Sometimes there is a shared struggle. If we have a kid whose parents are divorced, I’ll find a mentor who went through the same thing when they were growing up and now has overcome it so that they can speak into that student’s life in that way.”
Hudson Nutter, a junior at Highland Park High School, got involved in Ascent his freshman year because a friend invited him to an Ascent event.
“My favorite thing about being a mentee is getting the chance to hang out with someone older than me who has a genuine relationship with Jesus,” Hudson said. “Being involved in Ascent has helped me grow in my faith so much. Opening my heart to my mentor and reading scripture with him has really benefitted my walk with Christ.”
Luke Lackey, a class of 2024 Baylor graduate, is Hudson’s mentor. Lackey said he got involved with Ascent because he was looking for a way to intentionally invest in the next generation.
“My favorite part of being a mentor is getting to speak the words I wish I had heard when I was in high school,” Lackey said. “Being a part of Ascent Park Cities has challenged me to both engage my heart and my mind with the things God cares about, especially in this season after graduating college, in which it can be easy to drift.”
Molly Mitchell, a Highland Park High School junior, was matched two years ago with SMU senior Ellie Evans.
“Ascent … gave me Ellie,” Mitchell said. “I remember going to our first coffee date after we were matched as mentor and mentee and having no idea what that friendship would eventually turn into. She came into my life as a mentor, but somewhere along the way she became so much more than that. She’s genuinely one of my best friends.”
During the inaugural year of the Park Cities nondenominational nonprofit, there were 110 participants.
In the 2025-26 school year, there were over 500 mentor/mentee matches. Last year, two additional chapters were formed — one near Houston, and the other in West Palm Beach, Florida.
This fall, 11 new Ascent Mentors chapters will be launched, including at Lake Highlands Texas A&M, University of Tennessee, University of Alabama, Auburn University, SMU, Lake Highlands, Collective Dallas, Birmingham, New York City, Orlando, and Guatemala City.
“What they (mentees) are really looking for is someone who will be in their corner — a big brother or sister — who will give them wisdom and accept them as they are today,” Preston Todd said. “They are looking for their camp counselor. Imagine getting your own camp counselor all through high school who is just for you.”
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