“It’s important to have role models that look like you, that you can use as an example in your mind that this is possible. If they can do it, so can I,” says Vilmer Alvarado, Kauffman Scholar and recent graduate of the University of Kansas.
“I know that was always incredibly important to me to have people within the program that look like me, and that went through similar experiences that I went through, to show me that regardless of wherever I came from, it’s possible to graduate from college.”
Alvarado and fellow Kauffman Scholar Michaela Brooks recently joined Kauffman Scholars Career and Alumni Program Coordinator AshleyMarie Marie (who was also a member of the inaugural class of Kauffman Scholar awardees) to discuss their experience as Kauffman Scholars and the impact of the program, at an ideal time for reflection.
As the decades-long Kauffman scholarship program prepares to sunset next year, the foundation continues to celebrate the scholars and examine the lessons learned from an effort that has impacted more than 800 students.
“I definitely feel like [Kauffman Scholars] gave my life some type of organizational structure,” says Brooks, a recent graduate of the University of Arkansas. “It was so foundational for me.” She describes her Kauffman experience as a worthy journey that’s still ongoing.
“Through the journey, you meet a lot of people, make a lot of connections, make friends. What more can you get out of life?”
The Kauffman Scholars program is a multi-year postsecondary access, persistence, completion, and scholarship program designed to help students in Kansas City prepare for and earn a postsecondary credential, diversifying the local career-professional pipeline. Entering the program in seventh grade, scholars receive the tools they need to achieve success, both in the classroom as students and as young professionals in the workplace. This includes high-quality, student-centered coaching for each scholar throughout their journey.
Listen to conversations with two Kauffman Scholars.
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation based in Kansas City, Missouri, that seeks to build inclusive prosperity through a prepared workforce and entrepreneur-focused economic development. The foundation uses its $3 billion in assets to change conditions, address root causes and break down systemic barriers.