About | Commence Your Career

Building Brighter Futures Together

Empowering students with the skills, mentorship, and opportunities to turn potential into lasting success.

Who We Are

The Commence Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering students to confidently navigate their professional journeys. We believe success begins with guidance, access, and action — not just information. Through expert mentorship, structured learning programs, and real-world experiences, we bridge the gap between education and employment.

Our mission is to equip the next generation with the skills, mindset, and support network they need to thrive — not only in their careers but in life as a whole. By connecting ambition with opportunity, we’re helping students turn potential into purpose and learning into lasting success.

Expert Mentorship

Learn directly from experienced professionals who share practical insights and real-world lessons.

Real-World Learning

Gain hands-on knowledge and career-ready skills designed to prepare you for every challenge ahead.

Career Empowerment

We help students translate their education into real opportunities — building the confidence, clarity, and connections needed for a successful career.

Alex Dripchak, CEO, Commence Program Leader

Alex's experiences include being a Senior Advisor at Mercer, where, through his proactive approach, client-centric mindset, and fastidiousness he had become one of the Top 10 producers at Mercer.

Prior to joining Mercer, Alex spent over 4 years at Oracle in their HR software practice where he was consistently recognized as one of the top producers nationally. Alex was the first person in Oracle's 40 year history and 140,000 employee population to become a regional sales manager and outside field sales account manager by the age of 25.

During his college years Alex spent three summers working for various divisions of the advertising & media conglomerate, Omnicom.
Alex has been trained in selling techniques such as Sandler, Costigan Methods and Miller Heiman. Additionally, Alex is an avid reader and has spent the last 4 years learning & teaching techniques from over 125 noted authors including Clear, Kwik, Manson, Carnegie, Foer, Holiday, Greene, Ferrazzi, Van Edwards and more.

Alex is a published author. His book: 100 Skills of the Successful Sales Professional: your guidebook to establishing & elevating your career has been published by Business Expert Press and featured in many award-winning podcasts including The Sales Evangelist and Negotiate Anything. He has also been published in Harvard Business Review, CEO World, Real Leaders Magazine, Destination CRM, and several other leading business publications.

David Dripchak, Evaluator, Financial Wellness Co-Lead

David recently retired as the North American Chief Financial Officer for Philips after a long and distinguished career in which he served in various capacities including regional CFO for both the Consumer Products and Lighting Divisions.

He is a Certified Public Accountant and has developed a boutique financial consulting practice providing services to both corporate clients and high net worth individuals.

David develops financial wellness materials for Commence course graduates to ensure they are well versed in developing a financial plan personalized to their individual needs. This includes savings and investment vehicles designed to maximize earnings, tax efficiency, and grow wealth to place them on a path towards financial stability and independence.

Our Purpose, Our Promise

Share your mission (helping students prepare for professional success) and your long-term vision (a world where knowledge and opportunity are accessible to all).

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Our Mission

96% of Chief Academic Officers believe their students are workforce ready. 11% of business leaders agree. Our mission is to close this gap.

To close the gap to deliver better, more equipped talent to the workforce, happier graduates who recommend and donate to their school more and most importantly, to close the gap for the next generation to succeed for a higher percentage of their life than us. "I Wish I Knew That Earlier" doesn't have to be a phrase. And we can be the ones to put an end to it.

Our Vision

College is very necessary and the best place to go for many; it just needs to do more to justify its ROI. College signals credibility and competence. College has committed students ready to do whatever they need for their GPA.

It just doesn't have all the curriculum in place to deliver what students want most: skills to secure a better life. Our vision is to be the unbiased, temporary resource at schools here to educate, grade, and credential talent and move on to the next school. We're not here to replace anyone, and we're not saying career centers aren't covering valuable topics.

We're here to cover more than resumes, interviews, and career path options; we're here to deliver the life bootcamp every student deserves an opportunity to partake in and every career center deserves to have leveled up talent to fill their corporate pipelines and keep their employer partners happy.