Burnsville Native Making a Difference Through Service

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Burnsville High School graduate Mandy Motl finished her first term as an AmeriCorps member at Twin Cities nonprofit College Possible. As the organization’s events planner she coordinated college visits for over 1,200 students to 30 schools and organized 35 events. Motl has begun her second term of service as College Possible’s National Expansion Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA) member.

College Possible works to make college admission and success possible for low-income students in the Twin Cities by providing afterschool programming to 1,600 juniors and seniors at 20 public high schools. The organization also serves 3,500 college students as they work to earn their college degrees. Historically, 98 percent of College Possible students have earned admission to college and they are ten times more likely to graduate from college than low-income students nationally.  

“Joining College Possible felt like something I needed to do,” Motl said. “I wanted to serve and give back to my community. I have been extremely fortunate to have received such an amazing college education and feel that everyone deserves the opportunity for higher education, no matter their income level.”

Motl, a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate with a degree in community and nonprofit leadership, decided to serve at College Possible after volunteering with low-income students as a tutor and mentor.

“I was immediately drawn to the organization because of their mission to help these students in similar situations,” Motl said. “I saw how foreign the college admission process was to them and their families. College Possible guides and coaches them through the entire process, and I knew that was something I wanted to be a part of.”

Motl’s proudest moment came in May after spending months planning College Possible’s year-end celebration of the students’ accomplishments. The event also served as a send-off for college-bound seniors and an honoring of the program’s college graduates.

“The graduation celebration was my favorite memory from this past year. It was inspiring to see how successful these students have become and to hear about the colleges they will be attending in the fall. Hearing their success stories made me want to come back and serve for another year.”

This fall Motl will be returning to College Possible as the National Expansion VISTA member, assisting with researching potential cities for the organization to grow to and funders to make that growth possible. 

ABOUT COLLEGE POSSIBLE TWIN CITIES

College Possible™ is making college admission and success possible for low-income students through an intensive curriculum of coaching and support. Launched in 2000, College Possible Twin Cities serves 8,600 low-income high school and college age students through its college access and completion programs. Nationwide, College Possible’s innovative and award-winning model serves nearly 12,000 Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Oregon students in 2012-13 with plans to reach 20,000 students annually in 10 locations across the country by 2020. According to a recent Harvard study, the program more than doubles a student’s chances of enrolling in college. More information at www.CollegePossible.org