Established under the leadership of Mayor A C Wharton, Jr., STEP is the post-secondary education initiative of Memphis and Shelby County. STEP Prep, the STEP Scholarships, and STEP Mentoring were designed to assist students where they are today and guide them beyond high school and throughout their post-secondary experience. Our students receive supplemental counseling and mentoring from the STEP Coaches and the Mayor’s 100 mentoring team.
 
Working with a dynamic collaboration of philanthropic partners, community leaders, local industries, non-profit organizations, high schools, and post-secondary institutions, STEP provides 400 students each year a combination of college readiness instruction, career planning, financial literacy training, and post-secondary scholarships. STEP is more than a pipeline of support. STEP is a call to action.