Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Brodie Croyle and his wife, Kelli, at ASCEND Village in Vestavia Hills. ASCEND Village is an expansion of Big Oak Ranch and will house the young adults of the ASCEND program.
The transition from high school graduation to the workforce can be daunting for anyone, but particularly so for those who grew up lacking stable families.
At Big Oak Ranch, young residents from difficult circumstances are raised in a safe environment, and graduation is “a mountaintop experience,” Big Oak CEO Brodie Croyle said. “For a lot of them, they’re the first-generation high school graduates. But after the thrill is over, many of them are uncertain as to the next step to take. They now stand at the bottom of another cliff — adulthood and independence — and they are wondering, ‘How do I climb that?’”
The new ASCEND Village planned in Vestavia Hills is meant to help those young adults make it to the top of the next mountain in their lives.
Big Oak Ranch was founded by John Croyle in 1974 and has given thousands of disadvantaged kids and teens an education, love and hope for the future.
John Croyle’s son, Brodie, and his wife, Kelli, saw a gap in their ministry and wanted to provide additional resources to the graduates of Big Oak Ranch and Westbrook Christian School.
The idea for ASCEND arose from the couple’s love of climbing. While celebrating their ninth wedding anniversary in Chattanooga, Brodie Croyle came to the realization that “this is what our kids need.”
“Rock climbing?” his wife asked him. He meant something else.
The Croyles realized that they were able to scale a mountain because they had a guide who “had climbed that mountain many times before.” ASCEND is meant to provide young adults ages 18-24 with guides who can assure them that they will not fall or fail in life.
This spring, ASCEND Village will be able to house up to 48 participants, called “Ascendants” and the Village Guides who run the program. The 2.3-acre development near Life Time Fitness will provide living and communal spaces for residents to stay one, two or four years.
In the ASCEND program, a young person’s gifts and abilities are taken into account to discover what pathway is best for them. Currently, half of the Ascendants are pursuing skilled trade certifications and the other half are pursuing either an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree. Those who fully commit to the program finish debt-free.
The crux of the ASCEND program is the 4:11 curriculum, which emphasizes life skills training ranging from interview preparation and resume building to relationship growth and financial responsibility.
“We spend lots of time on communication,” Kelli Croyle said, and they use personality assessments to help Ascendants identify their personal strengths and spiritual gifts.
By the time they leave the program, Ascendants “understand who they are,” she said. “They’re ready for their career, and they have a life skills training that takes some people 10-15 years to get, and our kids are getting it within two.”
Brodie Croyle added: “It’s a life 101 that unfortunately schools and the world doesn’t teach.”
The Croyles are excited about the village’s role in the community.
“I think it will bring an awareness to the people in the area who are also raising up kids ages 18-22,” Brodie Croyle said, “because a lot of the things that we’re implementing and creating are going to be shareable, so we want to help people raise up their kids as well.”
They anticipate that the young adults at ASCEND Village will make a positive impact on their neighbors and the local workforce.
“Our kids are awesome kids, they just come from tough circumstances,” Brodie Croyle said. “I truly believe that in time, when employers in Vestavia see ‘ASCEND’ on a resume, that they’re going to go, ‘I would hire that kid immediately’ … because they’re already going to know the accountability that kid lives under, … but most importantly the life that kid sees for themselves.”
Currently, there are 12 young adults in the ASCEND program. At the start of the fall 2024 semester, there will be 20 college-age Ascendants, and eventually there will be up to 48 in residence at the village. By the time they leave the village, Brodie Croyle said, they’ll be able to “go and live a life of purpose.”
Learn more about ASCEND Village at bigoak.org/ascend.
