First-Generation College Graduate Wins National Award for Nonprofit Leadership

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- College Possible, the pioneering nonprofit that connects high school and college students with near-peer mentors, announced today that its CEO and founder Jim McCorkell has received the Executive Leadership Award of Excellence from the National College Access Network (NCAN). Presented at the NCAN National Conference in Indianapolis, the award recognizes the dedication and hard work of an individual serving as a college access program's executive director, president, or as a member of its board of trustees or directors.

McCorkell founded College Possible in 2000 and has served as its CEO ever since. In its early days, the organization served a group of 35 students in Minnesota. Today, College Possible has expanded its reach to serve 25,000 students in Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.

McCorkell's motivation for founding the organization derived from his personal experience as a first-generation student from a low-income background navigating the college admissions and financial aid processes. He now holds multiple degrees – including a Master's of Public Administration from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government – and dedicates himself to creating a more equitable education system.

College Possible harnesses the power of the AmeriCorps service model for college access and success programming and has seen exceptional success. Under McCorkell's leadership, the organization launched its new Catalyze initiative to improve student persistence and success. Catalyze partnerships allow College Possible to embed its near-peer coaching model and curriculum on college campuses, expanding the organization's impact across the country.

Prior to founding College Possible, McCorkell managed strategic development for City Year, a national nonprofit public service and youth development organization.

For the 2019 Executive Leadership Award of Excellence, College Possible will receive $1,000 in support of a new, one-time scholarship to be made in McCorkell's honor. The award was presented by Steve Smith, an NCAN board member and CEO of Intellispark. Past winners of this award include:

• 2018: Bob Obrohta, Executive Director, Tennessee College Access and Success Network
• 2017: Tim Herron, President, Degrees of Change
• 2016: Austin Buchan, Executive Director, College Forward
• 2015: Kim Mazzuca, 10,000 Degrees
• 2014: Brandy Johnson, Michigan College Access Network
• 2013: Faith A. Sandler, Executive Director, Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis
• 2012: Nicole Farmer Hurd, Ph.D., Founder & Executive Director, College Advising Corps
• 2011: Bonnie Sutton, Executive Director, Access College Foundation
• 2010: Nancy Leopold, Executive Director, CollegeTracks
• 2009: Monica Montenegro, Executive Director, East Bay Consortium / California Student Opportunity Assistance Program
• 2008: Virginia "Ginny" Donohue, Executive Director, On Point for College
• 2007: Andrea Cockrun, Chief Executive Officer, The Fulfillment Fund

NCAN solicits nominees from its membership for the annual Awards of Excellence in College Access and Success. A committee of NCAN members reviews all nominations, with final decisions confirmed by the NCAN board of directors. This year's committee included:

• Judith Lorimer, Options Center at Goddard Riverside
• Cheryl Jones, ACCESS College Foundation
• Jamie Covell, Iowa College Aid
• Angel Garcia, Georgetown University Center for Multicultural Access & Equity
• Bob Obrohta, TCASN
• Kayla Boss, De LaSalle, Inc.

About College Possible: For nearly 20 years, College Possible has been focused on serving students when and where they need support. The key to its success is near-peer coaching —leveraging the power of young, passionate and dedicated recent college graduates serving as AmeriCorps members to offer advice, mentoring and support to students from low-income backgrounds as they navigate the often-complex world of college preparation and persistence.

Its Flagship program provides support to students from their junior year of high school through college graduation. The Navigate program provides outreach to high school students outside of metropolitan areas through coaches using the latest technological tools to offer virtual support and guidance. Catalyze partnerships allow College Possible to embed its coaching model and curriculum in college campuses across the U.S. College Possible is a proud partner of CollegePoint, a nationwide initiative with Bloomberg Philanthropies that helps students from lower-income families apply to, enroll in and afford top-performing colleges.

SOURCE College Possible