How the K-State College and Career program opens the door to success
Kansas State College and Career advisors help thousands of high school students find the best post-graduation fit, whether it’s college, trade school, military or the work force.
KSCAC started in 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas, with six advisors in six high schools. The program has grown to have advisors in high schools across the KC metro area, central Kansas and southwest Kansas, helping students with post-graduation plans.
“We’ve had initial success with schools inviting us in and students getting help,” said Chris Beggs, KSCAC executive director. “At present, we’re serving 6,000 students daily. We get a lot of support from local foundations in Kansas to help us do this as well.”
Many of the advisors are recent K-State grads themselves, so aren’t far removed from the questions, feelings and struggles faced by the students they advise.
“What’s been most impactful to me is building a relationship based off of what their hopes and dreams are or what they’re struggling with or what they really need to figure out,” said Kinsey Davidson, who advises at F.L. Schlagle High School in Kansas City. “Then throughout the course of the year, you see those students take steps toward their dreams and start to achieve them.”
Gabby Espinoza, an advisor for Onaga and Wellsville high schools, has found success working with the schools’ administration to get face-to-face with students. This cooperation opens the door for a deeper connection.
“A lot of them just had different personal things going on in their life that they opened up about,” Espinoza said. “Finances was a big one, but so is helping kids figure out how to live the life that they want — and how to get there.”
Figuring out what to do after high school can be a challenge. For some students, college may feel daunting or out of reach.
“This is part of K-State’s land-grant mission to help every Kansan,” Beggs said. “We recognize not everyone will choose K-State, but what’s going to happen with a program like ours is the students who are right for K-State are going to have a better connection because they’re going to have designed that life, tested it and decided ‘K-State’s my pathway.’”
How’s it working? KSCAC works with thousands of students daily to achieve their mission of finding the “best fit” after graduation. The advisors have held almost 48,000 one-on-one sessions, and students have received $273 million in financial aid and scholarships.
By Will Hudelson