ASOEF AKAdette Mentoring Program

The AKAdette Club is a mentor organization for high school girls.  It was established by the Alpha Sigma Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Columbus, Ohio.  The program is now under the auspices of the Achieving Standards of Excellence Foundation (ASOEF).  The ASOEF is the charitable organization, founded by Alpha Sigma Omega Chapter, for the express purposes of encouraging and assisting individuals in achieving educational excellence. 

The purpose of the AKAdette Club is to cultivate and encourage high scholastic and ethical standards to help alleviate problems concerning black young women.  The club offers guidance to high school girls and helps develop interests in higher education and learn to be of service to all mankind.  This mentoring program focuses on providing educational, social and leadership development as the club members complete community service throughout the year.

Each year, applicants from the greater Columbus area, that have proven to be of high moral and ethical standards and have displayed potential leadership and high scholastic qualities, are selected as members.  A member in good standing will retain membership through completion of her high school career..

ASOEF AKAdette Application Information

Applications to join the AKAdette Club for the 2024 – 2025 school year are now available.

Eligibility Criteria:
1.    Be a young lady entering grades 9, 10 or 11 for the 2024-2025 school year.
2.    Must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5 (4.0 scale).

Completed Applications:
To prepare to submit a completed application you will need to gather the following pieces of information, Essay Question Responses, Current School Transcript or Report Card and Two Completed Recommendation Questionnaire Forms. You will be asked to submit all 3 items as a part of the application. 

1.    Essay Questions Responses (Please ensure you answer each question completely in 3-5 sentences)

  • Please tell us why you are interested in joining the AKAdette Club. Please state at least 2 reasons.

  • What qualities will you bring to the AKAdette Club? Please list at least 2 qualities. 

  • How do you believe joining the AKAdette club will contribute to your own personal goals?

  • Please tell us 2 things you hope to learn from participating in the AKAdette Club.

2.    Current School Transcript or Report Card

  • Must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5 (4.0 scale).

3. Two Completed Recommendation Questionnaire Forms

  • One must be from a school official (i.e. teacher, counselor, principal) AND one of your choosing (i.e. supervisor, clergy). Questionnaires completed by a family member will not be accepted. 

You will be asked to fill in demographic information first and then required to upload your documents prior to submitting. Please save your documents as PDFs using the following formats:

  • lastname.firstname.transcript

  • lastname.firstname.recommendation1

  • lastname.firstname.recommendation2

All applications are due on Monday, April 1, 2024, at 11:59 pm ET. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

Application Assistance:

For application assistance and or to meet the AKAdette advisors, join us at one of the optional sessions. We can review essay questions, help with uploading or downloading materials and answer any additional questions you may have. Feel free to stop by anytime between 6 and 8 pm.

  • Option 1: Mon., March 11 – 6 to 8 pm – MLK Library Meeting Room 3

  • Option 2: Thurs., March 21 – 6 to 8 pm – Parsons Library Meeting Room 2

Membership Notification:

Applicants will be notified of a decision on Monday, April 15. If selected, all new members and at least one parent or guardian must attend both of the following in-person events. Locations will be announced at a later date.

  • Mandatory New AKAdette & Parent Meet and Greet on Wed., April 24 – 7 to 8 pm

  • Mandatory Induction Ceremony, Sun., August 18 – 1:30 to 4:30 pm

You will then be expected to attend monthly meetings every third Sunday, 2:30 to 4:30 pm, September through May at various local libraries. 

For questions or concerns, please email asoakadette@gmail.com.

ASOEF Leaders in Training for Excellence (ASOEF L.I.T.E.)

Alpha Sigma Omega Leaders In Training for Excellence (ASOEF L.I.T.E.) is a mentoring program for middle school young ladies. The program aims to instill and enhance leadership skills and qualities before they embark on their high school journeys and beyond. 

The ASOEF L.I.T.E. members will participate in leadership training, workshops, community service, and mentoring with fun interactive development activities.

Applicants are young ladies in 6th-8th grade attending middle school in Central Ohio.  The young ladies must be committed to grow and flourish as future leaders.  A member in good standing will retain membership through the completion of her middle school career.

School Supply Drive

For the Achieving Standards of Excellence Foundation’s school supply drive, done twice yearly, we identify either elementary schools or social service organizations serving families in high poverty areas. We either partner with the organization (in both collecting and distributing the supplies) or just donate the supplies that we have collected to the organization for their dispersal through their regular procedures. We have found it helpful to buy supplies before school starts to catch the sales but to donate to 2-3 schools after Christmas by which time student supplies need to be replenished.

For the last four years we partnered with Al Edmonson who founded Making a Difference, Inc. and sponsored a “Cover Me Back-To-School Rally which also had community leaders, churches and nonprofit organizations coming together to help prepare young children with back-to-school supplies and families with information on community programs that can help strengthen them and the community. These supplies were distributed in early August at the Mt. Vernon Plaza.  The members of ASOEF help in collecting the supplies.