Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Phil Chase. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Phil, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Early in your career, how did you think through the decision of whether to start your own firm or join an established firm?

I had taught high school and college for many years. By the 2010s, I had worked at Pepperdine and USC, but had come to realize that my work resonated most with high school age students who were just beginning to express their dreams, ambitions and unrealized abilities. In fact, the most common trait I saw in HS students was they sold themselves short, often because others had discouraged them from profound dreams. In the summer of 2017, I was in New York, and had dinner one evening with four of my former high school students, who were now approaching 30! Their stories were so inspiring that I decided to vastly expand the work I was doing with individual students, and create a non-profit that could assist many many more. That night, I listened to my former students talk about careers in law, finance, health care, and the military. One young man had graduated West Point at the top of his class, served five years in Kosovo and Iraq, returned to get his MBA from Harvard, and had earned his way to become the CFO of a solar energy corporation. One of the women had mastered finance at Columbia and Chicago, and was now a top hedge fund manager, supervising Chinese investments in the US. Then there was the former student who had conquered familial abuse, bulimia, and constant health issues to graduate from Brandeis, later study at MIT and Columbia, and was now the Vice President in charge of investor relations for CRISPR, the legendary gene therapy firm. Finally, there was the attorney who had graduated Princeton, but not before devising a program to educate girls in West Africa that was so brilliant the UN actually adopted it! All of these amazing people happened to have first names beginning with “S”, so when I began my firm I gave it the appropriate name “4S Education Foundation.” Since 20169, I have trained 44 mentors to work with aspiring HS students from around LA County (and as far as New Jersey), and of the 266 students we have assisted, 252 were admitted to one of their top 3 college choices. Many of them return as mentors, but one thing is for ceretain–none of our mentees will ever again sell themselves short!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have been teaching in public high schools and colleges since the 1980s. I was fortunate enough to work with students from all backgrounds and many neighborhoods, and I found that students everywhere were talented, curious, and eager to learn if they had the opportunity.. Since the 1980s, over 3,300 of my students have become college graduates. In 2017, I had dinner with four of my former high school students, and they were so successful, and such positive human beings, that I decided to expand my work with HS students on their college path, to a much greater degree. Because the four wonderful dinner companions all had names starting with “S”, I called my new non-profit the 4S Education Foundation. Since 2019, our mentors have worked with 266 students, mostly from LA County, and they have a 95% rate of admission to one of their top three college choices. We guide students from their junior year until they complete the college admission process, and many students stay connected to their mentors for years after. We are proud that our students can present their authentic selves to colleges, because with motivation and resilience there are no limits to what any individual can accomplish.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Cris had been living on the streets of Hollywood since she was 8. Parental abuse had caused her to run away, and for the next five years she had to survive in a world of transactional cruelty and apathy that no child should ever suffer. When she was returned to her mother’s custody at 13, the situation was fraught with tension. But just when her mother had decided to send her to a three-year church program in Africa where the minister would literally “beat the devil” out of her, someone told them about a HS program that might work for her. It was my program at Marshall HS in LA, the School for Advanced Studies. We took her in. Despite missing five years of school, Cris managed to catch up academically because of her great intelligence, but college seemed unlikely with a 0.6 GPA. Nevertheless, we applied to many schools, some realistic and others only dreams, such as Williams College in Massachusetts. Amazingly, Williams people thought outside the box, and they accepted this unique student. In 2013, Cris graduated from Williams with a degree in Philosophy. From the moment we met, I encouraged Cris to imagine a better life, and she created one through resilience, determination, and hope.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Since we work with HS students, our most effective recruiting tool is word of mouth. Most of our students are completely thrilled to experience professional help from our mentors, and they pass that on to their younger siblings, as well as many others at their schools.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://4sedfoundation.org
• Instagram: @4sedfoundation
• Facebook: 4S Education Foundation
• Linkedin: 4S Education Foundation
• Twitter: 4sedfoundation