This brief summarizes the key qualitative and quantitative research findings highlighting the ways in which the Academy for College Excellence (ACE) helped build the capacity of individuals facing numerous obstacles to success to thrive as students, participants in the workforce, and members of the community. The main goal of ACE is to prepare students to navigate and succeed in college, work, and life. In particular, ACE is designed to help individuals who have historically faced a wide range of challenges to academic and career success--such as underrepresented groups, foster youth, veterans, and more--achieve their educational and employment goals. The program is designed to foster intrinsic engagement and motivation among community college students, providing support through curriculum and instruction that holistically addresses students' needs (Navarro, 2017; Navarro & Hayward, 2014).