Since 2012, we’ve cheered on over 3,600 College Possible Oregon students. While staying alongside students is what we do day in and day out, one of our greatest joys is connecting with alumni and witnessing the incredible and influential things they accomplish in the Oregon community and beyond.
Time and time again, alumni prove that a college degree is anything but stagnant. Higher education equips them with the self-confidence, expertise and meaningful relationships that propel them forward and help them meaningfully impact their communities long after graduation.
Every year, as we welcome new students into our program and help them apply to college, we’re reminded of this bigger picture through stories like Kaitlyn’s. We call these ripples. Kaitlyn recently shared a ripple of her higher education journey:
To the next generation of aspiring college graduates, I hope that my story can serve as an encouraging illustration of how higher education can impact your life in meaningful ways.
My name is Kaitlyn, and I am a labor and delivery nurse. My family came to the U.S. in the 1980s with nothing. My parents didn’t get the chance to go to college. Instead, they built a life where I could attend college one day, so I did. During my time at Reynolds High School, I was a College Possible student and part of the Center for Advanced Learning in the Health Science Medical Program.
In the fall following graduation, I made the decision to enroll at Concordia University – Portland. I was accepted to many prominent colleges, but ultimately selected Concordia because it was the most financially logical choice.
I was able to live at home, commute to school and work as a housekeeper in a Level IV trauma center. With the scholarships and college credits I had earned in high school, I graduated with my nursing degree a semester early.
I passed my boards a couple of months before COVID-19 hit, and the world was at a standstill. In the midst of a pandemic, I was able to secure a job and pay off my college loan in the same year, the one loan I took out the last semester of nursing school. Compared to my colleagues whose paths also led them to the same job, I had the advantage of not having a six-figure student loan hanging over my head.
Because of that, I was able to buy two brand-new cars, one for myself and one for my grandma; buy a house, travel the world, and become a mom by the time I was 25.
In the years following graduation, I learned that it isn’t the school, the program, or the hospital that impacts you, but the people. My College Possible coach, Callie, served as a mentor and inspiration. She helped me with college applications, ACT prep and extracurriculars, and she also really cared for her students as a whole and got to know us outside of the college prep world.
Graduating from college requires so much more than just getting into and going to school. Callie helped us through the individual obstacles that would’ve prevented us from being college graduates, whether they were financial, social, or personal.
Even 10 years later, I still credit her for the difference she made for me. And somehow, the fate of the world allowed our paths to align again. I went from seeing Callie during our after-school sessions to unexpectedly bumping into her at the hospital this year. Imagine my surprise when I walked into her room as she held her newborn.
One of the greatest ways I could show my gratitude to Callie was by caring for her and her baby. They will forever be one of the most special families I’ve had the privilege of working with. Because of College Possible and because of Callie, I get to do a job that I love. I will always be grateful for the opportunities that College Possible led me to.
