In 1994, Sarah Hoit (MBA '93) became director of business planning in the White House Office of National Service, designing and implementing AmeriCorps, the Clinton administration's $600 million national- and community-service organization. As she worked with service issues, it became clear to her that one of the biggest problems affecting the country's youth was the number of children being left on their own after school hours. That realization inspired Hoit to look further into the situation - and do something about it. As she told the Chicago Tribune (October 27, 1999), "We are losing our kids after school. Children need quality after-school activities."

After completing her White House service in 1995, Hoit became managing director of Sylvan Learning Systems, a national supplemental education company. With that experience under her belt, in 1997 she founded Explore, Inc., a Baltimore-based company that provides before- and after-school programs at eighty schools in nine states. Half the programs are in poorer school districts and are supported by federal funds.

With a student-teacher ratio of 10:1 and a specific curriculum for each program, Explore's approach to learning emphasizes teamwork and fun. "Getting the ball down the field together is a lot more efficient than trying to do it yourself," Hoit said. "A lesson in teamwork is an important lesson to learn early on." To that end, students undertake community-service projects and develop businesses (creating and selling calendars, for example) to raise money for charities. Children in Explore's programs have already shown improvement in math, reading, and behavior.

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