About Us
Welcome! We are so happy
you came to visit.
Here is a brief introduction about us and the heart behind what we do:
What We Do
Teaching students and families how to graduate college debt-free
Learning ranked 4.7/5 by students
Our Story
Meet Elease
During her senior year of high school, Elease made the difficult decision not to play basketball in college to focus on her aspiring career in STEM. Elease found herself excited about college, but did not want to take out student loans. After taking action and trusting in God who ordered her steps, she successfully graduated debt-free without taking out a loan along the way!
While a college student, Elease shared tips and strategies with her peers and they saw results too—from their housing funded debt-free to their entire school year funded debt-free!
Two weeks before graduating college, Elease gave a presentation on her college campus about how she went to college debt-free. The response from students after her presentation made Elease recognize that many other students were like her during her journey—willing to take action towards graduating college debt-free but in need of guidance.
Being led by God, at 22 years old Elease took the step of faith to bypass going to Medical School and founded The Student Navigator—which is now an award-winning brand teaching how to graduate college debt-free to students and families in the community.
The Student Navigator has been featured and recognized by platforms such as VoyageATL Magazine, Business RadioX, GGC Engage Magazine, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. In association with The Student Navigator, Elease was selected as a recipient of a GYP 35 Under 35 Award that recognizes top young professionals under the age of 35 within the Metro-Atlanta area.
Additionally, the strategies that Elease teaches have been distributed by online retailers, and The Student Navigator has been used as a resources by schools and non-profit organizations in the community.
Having given her life to Christ as a young girl, Elease grew up with God being an active presence in her life—including with school, sports, and her career.
During her college journey, faith in God and graduating debt-free were not mutually exclusive. Elease did not have a blueprint for how to graduate debt-free—yet it was God who ordered her steps along the way.
After graduating college and getting immersed in her career, Elease experienced the power of God reset her life and called her to use the platforms that she has for Him and His glory.
Although The Student Navigator was founded with God as the foundation (and has served families for many years), it has recently rebranded to publicly being a faith-based brand—providing the same award-winning guidance about paying for college debt-free, but in conjunction with openly sharing Biblical principles (that also played a role with helping Elease manage her money during her college debt-free journey).
You can also catch Elease speaking and volunteering in the community.
Foundation & Core Values
The topic of paying for college is a big one—with many different approaches that are taught. As a faith-based education brand, we provide guidance based on Biblical principles.
For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 (AMP)
Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. lockman.org
Our Heart
We are here to serve. (Mark 12:30-31; Philippians 2:3)
Our Money Mindset
We lean on God's Biblical truths and principles towards living a life of freedom, peace, and abundant provision. (2 Corinthians 9:8; Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 15:13; John 10:10; John 8:36)
Our Faith
As a faith-based brand, our faith in God is the “base” (the foundation) that we stand on. We hold onto God's promise that through Him (and having faith in Him), nothing is impossible and we can break the odds in life (Matthew 17:20; Philippians 4:13; Ephesians 3:20).
We believe and acknowledge the name of God the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and The Holy Spirit (1 John 5:7, Matthew 3:16-17). We believe and declare Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Romans 10:9-11).
In addition to having faith, God also calls us to take action and values characteristics such as self-discipline, perseverance, and not giving up (James 2:26; 2 Timothy 1:7; Romans 5:4; Galatians 6:9). Therefore, we also teach and emphasize these characteristics.
Our products, services, and other content are available regardless of background, and by proceeding to utilize our site, products, services, and content, you acknowledge the following: (read here)
Service & Impact
Community Testimonials
We are here to serve. Below are some testimonials from over the years.
(For guest speaking inquiries, please email us at info@thestudentnavigator.com.)
“Thank you so much for taking your time to meet with my daughter and I. We appreciate your wisdom and guidance as we venture into this new chapter of college preparation.“
“This really opened my eyes to understand that I need to pay attention and start looking into what I wanna do and what type of field I want to go into. It also helped me realize that I need to prepare more for college and it’s really made my mind a lot more alert with what I really want to do. I’m glad I did it. It was a great experience and I recommend it to everyone…it prepares you for the expenses so to you it’s like a head start to what you should be doing.”
“Before going into the boot camp I was very overwhelmed in my path to college funding but the camp has opened my eyes and motivated me as well as equipped me with the correct information to go about my journey.”
“The friendliness of my mentor really made me feel like I was an actual person instead of someone that could easily be passed off to another mentor. I feel better knowing the company values me as a person, even when it’s not in regards to what I signed up for.
I have had nothing but a wonderful and helpful experience with this company. I always felt as though I was in the best hands. My questions were always answered very thoroughly and a good portion of the time, my mentor was so detailed and forthcoming with information originally that I didn’t really need to ask any questions. She was of the utmost help and I feel more confident moving forward having learned the things from this company to help me apply myself better to both my school and future employment opportunities.
With the consistency I experienced, I feel as though I have set myself on a pace to continue applying for and possibly winning a multitude of scholarships. I truly want to thank The Student Navigator for bringing me to this point and I look forward to speaking with them again in the future.“
“My daughter is in her third year of college and has funded the last two years debt-free.”
“The Student Navigator bootcamp has been an instrumental tool for helping me structure my path toward debt-free graduation as a prospective grad student in terms of refining my purpose, school selection, scholarships by category, fellowships and more.
Highly recommended that anyone in industry, college, high school and even middle school to take this course as a preliminary for preparing for college. It will provide you with the solid foundation you need to have to make more informed decisions about college selection, timing, and building good habits on the path to debt-free graduation. It’ll be time well-spent on the front-end to save you from a lot of needless debt later on.”
“…beyond helpful, rather life changing! I am so grateful for the support offered and recommend anyone striving to have a debt-free educational experience to inquire and utilize the guidance available…You are bound to benefit!!!”
“My daughter is in her third year of college and has funded the last two years debt-free.”
“My daughter is in her third year of college and has funded the last two years debt-free.”
Awards and Features
Pinnacle Small Business Awards | Awarded by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
- Semi-Finalist: Rising Star of the Year Award (The Student Navigator)
- Semi-Finalist: Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Elease Dillard)
Pinnacle Small Business Awards | Awarded by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
- 2018 Nominee
Teen Aman Magazine
- Elease Dillard featured as the magazine’s Covergirl as the founder of The Student Navigator
VoyageATL Magazine
- Elease Dillard featured and interviewed as the founder of The Student Navigator
Delta Sigma Theta, Inc.
- Invited by the Stone Mountain-Lithonia alumnae chapter to be a guest speaker within their College Tour
Georgia Gwinnett College Engage Magazine
- Elease Dillard featured and interviewed as the founder of The Student Navigator
Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce Small Business Awards
- 2020 Award Nominee
- Category: Minority-Owned/Woman-Owned Small Business Award
- “This award recognizes a minority-owned and/or woman-owned organization that exhibits excellence and best business practices
GYP 35 Under 35 Awards
- 2021 Winner
- Recognized as the Founder of The Student Navigator
- This award recognizes influential young professionals/emerging business leaders under the age of 35 who are considered innovators and change-makers in their fields within the community
Moxie Awards | Awarded by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
- Category: On the Rise Award
- This awards recognizes a female young professional who is “innovative, community-focused, and going beyond her call to action.”
Let's Connect!
Schedule a free consultation to discuss how we can best serve you, your school, your church, or your organization.
By proceeding to schedule an appointment, you acknowledge that you understand that The Student Navigator is a faith-based brand (explained more on our About page). You also agree that you and the person you are scheduling for an appointment is 13 years of age or older, that you have consent from a parent/guardian (if under the age of 18), and agree to The Student Navigator’s Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy and Acknowledgement.
FAQ
We are not a debt-reduction or debt-settlement service; nor do we have direct relationships with student loan providers.
However, we are here to teach students on the proactive end strategies for how to graduate college without going into debt. If you already have student loan debt and are currently still in school, we are happy to teach you our strategies towards paying for the remainder amount of your education debt-free!
This is not a “get-funding quick” service. We do not have control over who colleges/funding programs select as recipients of funding, nor do we have control over the unique timelines of their selection process (different programs select their recipients faster than others).
Additionally, taking (consistent) action is a key to success on this journey. Think of it like this...
Have you ever wanted to get in better physical shape?
After one day in the gym, our bodies are not fully transformed, right? It requires us to consistently take the action of exercising to achieve results. The same applies with the college debt-free journey.
As someone who graduated college debt-free without taking out a loan along the way, think of Elease as your personal trainer and the guidance and strategies shared as your workout plan. She will coach you along the way as you learn and implement her award-winning strategies that have helped students acquire funding and enhance their application. However, the ball is in your court with regards to taking consistent action.
We encourage you to check-out some testimonials here.
Aside from being an award-winning brand, what sets us apart is that the strategies we teach about how to graduate college debt-free are taught by someone who has successfully lived it and done it debt-free! Elease has experienced many of the same feelings and perspectives that many students who are on this journey have felt. As a young woman herself, Elease can get on students’ level and connect with them in a relatable way. In fact, students have rated their experience 4.7 out of 5 stars!
Additionally, we teach students how to fund their education debt-free beyond just scholarships. (There are other funding opportunities available outside of scholarships.) Not only did Elease utilize that funding during her journey, but teaches about it!
Lastly, as shared in Elease’s bio—during her college journey, faith in God and graduating debt-free were not mutually exclusive. Elease did not have a blueprint for how to graduate debt-free—yet it was God who ordered her steps along the way. As a faith-based brand, we provide award-winning guidance about paying for college debt-free in conjunction with Biblical principles (that also played a role with helping Elease manage her money during her college debt-free journey).
You can learn more about our core values here.
Please email us at info@thestudentnavigator.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
© 2023 The Student Navigator. All rights reserved.