This article reports on a collaborative partnership, based in principles of public scholarship and designed to serve local, at-risk or high-risk youth. The program is a six-week summer service-learning initiative in the Sacramento, California, area developed for transitioning 9th grade students through a multi-agency partnership. The project organizes the university to draw students who often do not make it to college toward a trajectory of high school completion and college enrollment. In addition, the article details opportunities, particularly for junior faculty, to establish local relationships that inform and support ongoing research, create sustainable opportunities to engage in more complex methodological work, and position faculty to participate in public discourse about the role of universities.