For recent college graduates, the question of what comes next can be both exciting and overwhelming. Should you jump into a traditional career? Go to graduate school? Take time to explore what kind of work feels meaningful? For Ella Daniels-Koch and Emily Roberts, the answer was a year of service as AmeriCorps service volunteers with College Possible Minnesota.
As AmeriCorps coaches, Daniels-Koch and Roberts are spending their first years after college helping high school students navigate the path to college. Their experiences demonstrate how an AmeriCorps coaching position can be more than a job after graduation—it can be an opportunity to build professional skills, explore future career paths and make a direct impact in the lives of students.
Daniels-Koch graduated from Carleton College in 2025 and heard about great working experiences at College Possible Minnesota from several fellow alumni. She had been looking for a role where she could align with an organization’s mission and see the impact of her work directly. College Possible Minnesota was exactly what she needed and brought together several of her interests: education, social work and community-based service. “I knew I wanted a job that provided a sense of accomplishment and impact in terms of being a positive impact on the world,” Daniels-Koch said. Now coaching at Roosevelt High School, she works directly with students as they prepare for life after high school. Her own college application experience also motivates her work. Daniel-Kochs had significant family support and resources when applying to college, and she recognizes that not every student has access to those same advantages. For her, coaching is one way to pass on the high school experience and support all students deserve.
Roberts, who coaches at St. Louis Park High School, brings a similar perspective. When she was applying to college, a high school teacher provided the one-on-one guidance she needed to navigate her applications. That support ultimately helped her attend the University of Virginia.
Roberts knows that many students—particularly first-generation college students—do not have access to that kind of individualized support. As a College Possible Minnesota coach, she now has the opportunity to provide it to others. A year as an AmeriCorps service volunteer also gives recent graduates the chance to explore what comes next. Roberts hopes to attend law school, while Daniels-Koch is considering careers in law, nonprofit work or community-based organizations. Both see their year of service as an important step toward those goals.
Through one-on-one relationships with students, coaches develop experience listening, communicating, problem-solving and meeting people where they are. They also become part of a community committed to making college more accessible. For recent graduates who want their first professional experience to be about more than building a resume, AmeriCorps coaching launches a career with purpose.
Could you be a College Possible AmeriCorps coach? If you are a recent college graduate who wants to support students, grow professionally and contribute to a mission-driven organization, apply for an AmeriCorps coaching position with College Possible Minnesota. Our next cohort of AmeriCorps coaches start Jan. 1, 2027. Apply today and help shape the future of young Minnesotans.
