College Possible AmeriCorps members, Malysha MacFarland and Lyndsey Johnson, were awarded ‘AmeriCorps Member of the Year’ by Serve Wisconsin at the Governor’s Service Awards! This honor is awarded to AmeriCorps members who have had a profound impact through service, going above and beyond the responsibilities of their role to meet the needs of the community they serve.
Lyndsey and Malysha each served a cohort of 140 college students with college tasks and socio-emotional support. Together, they were front runners in creating and establishing new resources and methods to better support the needs of students and team members.
“AmeriCorps is a catalyst for making a difference and personal reflection. Serving with AmeriCorps as a college success coach has been rewarding, challenging, and impactful,” said Malysha. “Fresh out of college in 2021, I joined AmeriCorps because I wanted to give back to the community, but I feel like I’ve gained even more than I could have imagined from this experience.”
Malysha served two terms with College Possible Wisconsin as a college coach. As a first-generation student, she uses her experience to inform her work with students. Her passion for supporting students comes from wanting to be the person she needed while in college. She had a special commitment to students, bringing a strong capacity for empathy and understanding, using this to meet them where they were at effortlessly. She built strong and genuine connections with students, many of which she worked with for two years. During her time at College Possible Wisconsin, she established new resources to meet the needs of scholars and team members. In addition, she played a major role in planning scholar events that didn’t previously exist, such as virtual trivia or on campus study sessions.
Lyndsey served three terms with College Possible Wisconsin, two as a college coach and one as a transition coach. She always strongly advocated for scholars and ensured they have access to the resources or help they need. In her first year of service, she launched a donation based hygiene pantry to provide all College Possible Wisconsin students with various hygiene products. She also played a major role in organizing student events, providing students the opportunity to connect to one another in person. Lyndsey always met students where they were at, and made herself readily available to her team members, too. This past year as a returner, she shared and created resources for her colleagues to utilize so they could better serve College Possible scholars.
Lyndsey said, “When I was in college there were a lot of people along the way who supported and guided me, and I wanted to do the same for others. I like to directly impact my community and the people around me.”
Malysha and Lyndsey were incredible support systems for scholars, model leaders on their teams, and truly embodied the College Possible Wisconsin mission. After service, Malysha will pursue her master’s degree in public service as a Trinity Fellow at Marquette University. Lyndsey will begin a new role as a promise scholar advisor at Alverno College, supporting student success. We are so grateful for their years of service with College Possible Wisconsin!
