First Church Baptist · Level Up
Build the Future You
Rising 8th graders through seniors. Show up for workshops with your grade, earn points for everything you do, and watch your build grow all year long. When you graduate, those points become scholarship dollars.
$215,000 in scholarship funds for our graduates.
How it works
Sign up and set your build
Add your photo, your grade and school, and where you're headed — university, community college, a trade, the military, or your own business.
Show up and earn points
Every workshop, event, service hour and advising session with your grade-level cohort gets recorded by staff and added to your profile.
Watch yourself get built
Each thing you complete adds to your build. By the end of the year you can see everything that shaped you.
What Level Up is
Free for every student and family
Level Up — Build the Future You is a college and career readiness program of First Church Baptist. Students enroll as rising 8th graders and stay with their grade-level cohort through senior year. Every student picks a pathway, gets a lead who has walked that road, and earns points for showing up. Financial literacy, civic engagement and parent guidance run through all of it, and graduating seniors apply for our $215,000 scholarship fund.
How the year is structured
Phase 1 · Late September – October
Launch & Triage
Get organized and focused
- · Connect students to their pathway leads
- · Connect with parents and guardians
- · Complete the student survey
- · Attend the mandatory kickoff event
- · Finalize school and program lists
- · Begin test prep (ASVAB / SAT)
Phase 2 · November – December
Application & Financial Aid Blitz
Submit high-quality applications
- · Write and revise essays
- · Submit UC, CSU and early applications
- · Take the ASVAB
- · Complete the FAFSA and CSS Profile
- · Attend workshops and review sessions
Phase 3 · January – March
Decision & Transition Prep
Secure the best outcome
- · Submit regular decision applications
- · Hunt for outside scholarships
- · Compare financial aid offers
- · Select a military job or specialty
- · Prepare for the next step
Six pillars, three beams
Pillar 1
Four-Year College
College list, essays, applications, financial aid, comparing offers.
Pillar 2
Two-Year / Community College
Transfer programs (ADT, TAG), course planning, FAFSA and enrollment.
Pillar 3
Military
Branch comparison, ASVAB prep, MEPS screening, choosing a specialty.
Pillar 4
Trade / Vocational
Certification programs, campus visits, aid, applications and budgeting.
Pillar 5
Entrepreneurship
Idea to action, customer validation, a one-page business plan.
Pillar 6
Still Exploring
Career assessment, three pathway intro workshops, a first-step plan.
Financial Literacy
Money habits, aid, budgets and stewardship for every pathway.
Civic Engagement
Service, leadership and knowing how to move in your community.
Parent / Guardian Guidance
Families walk the process alongside their student.
Six pathways, one program
- Four-Year College or University
- Two-Year / Community College
- Trade / Vocational Program
- Military Service
- Entrepreneurship
- Still Exploring
Financial literacy, civic engagement and parent guidance run through all of them.
Scholarship levels
Points add up every year you're in the program. At the end of senior year they place you in a level and help the committee make its award decisions. Students who have been building the longest receive the strongest consideration.
Level 1
Cornerstone
1000+ points
Showed up, led, and built all the way through.
Level 2
Pillar
750+ points
Strong, steady engagement across the program.
Level 3
Beam
500+ points
Consistent participation across multiple years.
Level 4
Foundation
300+ points
Real engagement with room to keep building.
Level 5
Groundbreaker
0+ points
Getting started — still eligible for consideration.
Scholarship amounts are decided after applications close. A four-year university pathway receives a larger scholarship than a community college pathway because the expected education costs are different.