What We're About

Ensuring Educational Opportunity for American Heroes

Operation Opportunity is a nonprofit organization recently founded by Yale University classmates Jesse Reising and Nick Rugoff that envisions America as a nation in which those who have made great sacrifices on behalf of their fellow citizens have the greatest possible opportunity to pursue their dreams. The mission of Operation Opportunity is to ensure educational opportunity for American heroes.

Operation Opportunity will provide assistance with the college application, admission, and assimilation process to both children of fallen service members and returning veterans. This assistance will take the form of a comprehensive array of services ranging from developing a list of target schools to advice on writing college entrance essays to training in the skills required for college and the establishment of peer-to-peer networks. Tuition assistance is an important part of the solution, but making sure these students have the proper communication channels and support networks and are best prepared to apply and assimilate to college, are key to ensure they thrive in the college environment.

Operation Opportunity will run three distinct programs: “Gold Star Scholars Project,” “Warrior-Scholar Project,” and “Ivy Corps.”

• The Gold Star Scholars Project will be launched on January 17, 2012 and will provide top-quality, personalized college preparatory services to the children of fallen service members, free of charge.


• The Warrior-Scholar Project will be launched in mid-2012 and will provide similar services to returning veterans, with special emphasis on making a successful transition from the battlefield to the classroom.


• Ivy Corps will provide both of these programs with mentors that are specially trained to help Gold Star Scholars and Warrior-Scholars prepare for, apply to, and adjust to college.