Higher Learning U Inc

Built on 35+ Years of Experience, Relationships & Impact

The African American Young Ladies Summit (AAYLS) began with a powerful belief: when girls are surrounded by people who see them, believe in them, invest in them, and create opportunities alongside them, their possibilities expand.

Today, AAYLS is more than a summit. It is an ecosystem surrounding girls—from elementary school through college—designed to help them belong, grow, learn, lead, and thrive.

Through Higher Learning U, girls are connected to peers, mentors, educators, families, community leaders, colleges, businesses, employers, and caring adults who help turn exposure into opportunity and possibility into pathways.

The AAYLS experience includes School Hubs, Sista 2 Sista, the Day of the Black Girl: AAYLS Summit, Issues 2 Action, the Global Leadership Retreat, Black Excellence Showcase, and youth leadership opportunities. And because AAYLS is part of the larger Higher Learning U ecosystem, girls and their families can also connect to opportunities such as B1st STEAM FUTURES and the Black Homeownership Project (BHP)—expanding pathways to STEAM, careers, economic mobility, homeownership, and generational wealth.

Together, these experiences do more than provide programming. They strengthen the community around girls—supporting identity and confidence, developing leadership, expanding career and STEAM exposure, building meaningful relationships, connecting families to resources and opportunities, and empowering girls to use their voices to create change.

At the heart of AAYLS is a simple commitment:

See Me • Know Me • Hear Me • Value Me • Support Me • Partner With Me.

We know young people do not thrive because of one event, one mentor, or one organization. They thrive when an ecosystem of people, relationships, resources, opportunities, and pathways surrounds them.

That is what Higher Learning U builds.

When you give to AAYLS, you are not simply funding a program or an event. You are investing in the ecosystem around a girl. Your support helps build the relationships, experiences, leadership opportunities, resources, and pathways that allow her to say:

I belong here.
My voice matters.
I can lead.
My future is full of possibility.

Together, we are building a village where girls can learn, belong, lead, and thrive—and carry that strength into their families, communities, careers, and futures.