For Jana Ibrahim, every emotion leads back to dance.

“When I’m sad, I dance. When I’m scared, I dance. When I’m happy, I dance. When I’m mad, I dance,” she said.

Jana was in third grade when she first came to A Step Beyond. Her school was promoting the dance program, and she decided to audition.

In that moment, Jana said she “fell in love with the community and dance and just A Step Beyond overall.”

A Step Beyond is a youth development organization that works with students from third grade through high school and beyond, combining dance education with academic support and family services.

For Jana, what started with that third-grade audition continued for the next 10 years.

Now, she’s an A Step Beyond alum in her freshman year at UCLA.

Beyond the Studio

Dance may be the starting point at A Step Beyond, but the organization’s work extends beyond the studio and into the classroom, including college preparation and family support.

A Step Beyond is a partner in San Diego Foundation’s Community Scholars Initiative, which brings together scholarships and college access support to help local students prepare for, attend and succeed in college.

Students can join A Step Beyond as early as third grade and continue through high school and into college and career programs. Over those years, James Wright, CEO and executive director of A Step Beyond, said students develop skills they can carry with them wherever they go.

“They’ve developed their voice, they’ve been empowered. (They find) that sense of agency, that sense of belonging,” James said. “And it really starts when they’re in that dance studio.”

Through A Step Beyond, students also receive tutoring and college and career support, including help navigating financial aid and college applications.

In the two years since joining the Community Scholars Initiative, nearly 30 A Step Beyond alumni have finished the program and gone on to colleges including UCLA, USC, Cal State San Marcos and many more.

Finding a Path Forward

For Jana, that support became especially important as she began planning for college.

During her sophomore year of high school, her father died. She had expected him to help financially with college.

“I opened up and became very vulnerable,” Jana said.

Working with mentors and A Step Beyond’s academic team, she transferred high schools and enrolled in a program with Palomar College. She went on to graduate from high school with two associate degrees.

“They just opened my eyes that my college dreams can’t end just because of one loss,” Jana said. “They showed me that, like, we’re not here just to let you dance. We’re here to also help you get to your future.”

With encouragement from her A Step Beyond advisor, Jana also applied through QuestBridge, a college access program, and became a finalist for schools including Harvard, Yale and Princeton.

She continued exploring her options, including UCLA and its nursing program.

The Next Step

“I don’t think I would have applied to UCLA if it wasn’t for A Step Beyond,” Jana said.

Now a freshman at UCLA, Jana is studying nursing with hopes of working in pediatrics. Her interest in working with children grew in part through teaching younger dancers at A Step Beyond.

As Jana begins this next chapter, she’s finding ways to keep dance in it, too. She’s excited to explore UCLA’s dance program and is even considering adding a dance minor to her studies.

Ten years after her first audition, Jana is looking ahead to where nursing and dance might take her, and how she can support others along the way.

“I want to give back to other people just like A Step Beyond has given back to me,” Jana said. “That’s my big life goal.”

Learn more about the Community Scholars Initiative at San Diego Foundation.