College Possible Omaha had the privilege of hosting Dr. Siva Kumari who was appointed CEO of the organization last May. Over the past several months, Dr. Kumari has met with College Possible teams across the country to learn more about our mission centered work and the communities we support.
During her visit in Omaha, Dr. Kumari attended several events, including the “Mission Possible Career Panel” at Bellevue East High School, our annual Community Partner Breakfast, and the UP Ties Chili Cook-off where College Possible was the featured charity partner. Following the career panel at Bellevue East, Dr. Kumari attended a group session facilitated by access coach Katie Engel that focused on the new FAFSA and the creation of the FSA ID.
Dr. Kumari speaks with College Possible staff and AmeriCorps members
AmeriCorps recruitment and training manager, Jasmine McCain, spoke with Dr. Kumari about the challenges and opportunities for AmeriCorps recruitment. “I shared my perspective from campus recruiting and meeting with College Possible students. There’s a great opportunity to engage and possibly recruit those students after graduation through an AmeriCorps service year.” At College Possible Omaha, we have had several AmeriCorps members serve who were previously College Possible students. “College Possible students are familiar with our programming and serve as great ambassadors for our organization and AmeriCorps,” shares McCain.
To provide AmeriCorps members with an opportunity to engage with Dr. Kumari, site leadership hosted a “fireside chat” which allowed coaches to ask questions and offer feedback, addressing various aspects of the program and seeking avenues for improvement. “I feel our chat with Dr. Kumari was really beneficial to our overall success here at College Possible,” shares college success coach, Jae Scott. “It was nice to be able to provide insight on things that we’ve seen work, and things that may need some adjustment, in aiding us to be the best coaches we can be to help students succeed.”
Katie Krzemien, another success coach, applauded Dr. Kumari’s leadership style, stating, “Dr. Kumari’s site visits are indicative of her leadership style. She is passionate about our mission and creating interpersonal relationships with individual sites.” Katie also emphasized, “Our chat with Dr. Kumari fostered a culture of openness and opportunities to improve at a national and site level. She listened to our pain points and offered solution-focused responses.”
