After a year of hard work on college essays and admissions, completing the FAFSA, scholarship applications and enrollment procedures, seniors are ready to make the transition from high school to college student. On Saturday, May 13, College Possible Milwaukee hosted “Launch!” - a celebration of the accomplishments of nearly 800 high school students.

Ilias Hassan, a senior at Riverside University High School won a tablet, one of the many raffle prizes available to students. Ilias will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the fall with most expenses paid for. He

also won a Dell Scholarship good for $20,000 and a free laptop.

“Launch was a fun event and it was cool to see how many students College Possible serves,” said Ilias. “I was definitely inspired by what the coaches had to say about their students. They believe in their students and that they can get through college no matter what challenges they may face.”

This year, 97% of College Possible’s high school seniors have earned acceptance to a 4-year college or university, up from 94% the previous year. Students have been admitted to

more than 160 colleges and universities across the country.

“Launch!” is also a celebration for high school juniors and a welcome to sophomores who are just beginning their journey with College Possible.

Vincent High School junior, Chelsie Vang, enjoyed seeing the bond between students and coaches at so many different Milwaukee high schools.

“College Possible is amazing,” said Chelsie. “It has really benefitted me and keeps me on track to achieve my goals.”

Celebrating student achievements is one of our favorite things to do at College Possible. Whether it be growth on the ACT, scholarship dollars earned or college acceptances gained, we relish the opportunity to publicly celebrate the success of our amazing students.

THE GATETRI-ANNUAL NEWSLETTER OF COLLEGE POSSIBLEVOLUME IX • SPRING 2017 • OPEN A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITY

Senior coach Kyle with his students from Milwaukee High School of the Arts. Each senior and junior coach gave a speech during “Launch!”

“Thanks to College Possible, I feel as though

I am prepared and knowledgeable enough to

make the r ight decisions in col lege.” – Ilias

High school students ‘Launch’ into the next level

Ilias will attend the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the fall.

COLLEGE POSSIBLE’S GATE

College Possible is supported by

AmeriCorps and Serve Wisconsin

MILWAUKEEBOARD

MILWAUKEELEADERSHIP

Edie TurnbullExecutive Director

Kelly SchaerProgram DirectorSuzie Considine

Program ManagerAmanda Leigh Albert

High School Program CoordinatorSomkhit Boonheuan

College Program CoordinatorTre’nace Fitch

High School Program Coordinator Erica Harwell

Program CoordinatorSam Mott

Associate Development OfficerIzzy Ramirez

Administrative AssociateKatie Reinhart

Major Gifts OfficerLiz Smith

Communications and Events Associate

Rowan TannerHigh School Program Coordinator

NATIONALLEADERSHIP

Jim McCorkellChief Executive Officer

Laura LiuChief Operating Officer

Traci KirtleyChief Program Officer

Beth GieseSenior Director of External Relations

Kendra KrolikSenior Director

of Strategic GrowthErin Campbell

Vice President of Site Operations

David Gay - Chair EY

Christine HollowayCDW

Kim IrwinCommunity Volunteer

Louis JohnsonSysLogic

David KundertRetired, JPMorgan Fleming

Matt KurlinskiLittler Mendelson, P.C.

Katie LuceyIndependent Consultant

Laura MalugadeHusch Blackwell LLP

Susan MikulaySt. Croix Productions

Dick SeeselRetailing in Focus LLC

DONORS Thanks to contributions from a broad base of supporters, we can help make college possible for greater numbers of low-income students! Contributions are from May 15, 2016 to May 14, 2017.

CORPORATIONS, FOUNDATIONS, INDIVIDUAL, HONOR & MEMORIAL GIFTS

$1,000,000 +Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation & Affiliates•▲

$500,000 - $999,999Burke Foundation▲United States Department of Education▲

$100,000 - $499,999Brady Corporation▲Serve Wisconsin

$50,000 - $99,999Greater Milwaukee FoundationThe Richard & Ethel Herzfeld FoundationRay and Kay Eckstein Charitable Trust

$25,000 - $49,000Thomas and Nancy Florsheim Family FoundationPeter and Sue HitlerUnited Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha CountyM&I Foundation▲Gene and Ruth Posner Foundation•▲Real Estate Alliance for Charity•▲The Travelers Companies, Inc.•

$10,000 - $24,999Anon Charitable TrustCharles D. Jacobus Family FoundationDonald C. and Laura M. Harrison Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation

Billie and Michael Kubly (In honor of the Mary and Ted Kellner)ManpowerGroup Foundation•Susan* and Robert MikulayNicholas Family Foundation TrustThe Marjorie L. Christiansen FoundationWells Fargo Foundation Wisconsin•Weyco Group Charitable Trust

$5,000 - $9,999AnonymousHelen and Bruce AmbuelCroen Foundation, Inc.EYJennifer and Tom FlorsheimGardner FoundationJackie and David* Gay•General Mills FoundationGreater Milwaukee Foundation’s Luedke-Smith FundKim* and David Irwin•Camille and David* KundertMadeleine and David LubarMary Martha & Emmett J. Doerr Charitable TrustPhysicians Realty TrustMary Sprague•Silver Lake CollegeWeiss Family FoundationUniversity of Wisconsin - Milwaukee^

$2,500 - $4,999The Catholic Community FoundationEverett Smith Group Foundation Ltd.Stephanie and Peter FlemingFrieda & William Hunt Memorial TrustFour-Four FoundationChristine* and Barry Holloway (In honor of Edie Turnbull+)

Husch Blackwell LLPMeg and Matt* KurlinskiMarcy Lichterman and Paul Florsheim• (In honor of Jennifer Florsheim)Katie* and David LuceyMilwaukee Bucks FoundationRhonda and Gregory OberlandWendy and Randy PodolskyTracy and Jay Rothman / Foley & LardnerSchlitz ParkShelly and Dick* Seesel•MJ and Andy SmithV & F Roof Consulting & ServiceEllen and Robert VenableWe EnergiesLindy Yeager and John Florsheim

$1,000 - $2,499Associated BankCarrie and James BedoreBrad BertlerGeorge Beyer•Lori and Richard BoorMelanie and Steven BoothCedarburg-Grafton Rotary ClubCharter ManufacturingDavid & Julia Uihlein Charitable FoundationDigital Measures MilwaukeeDorothy Inbusch FoundationEvan & Marion Helfaer FoundationEver-Green EnergyBarbara and Jim FlintMolly and David Fritz•George and Julie Mosher Family FoundationGreater Milwaukee Foundation’s Judith A. Keyes Family FundGreater Milwaukee Foundation’s Patricia Smith Wilmeth FundBarbara Gurican and Scott Lamers (In memory of George E Doty III)Azita Hamedani and Peter MasonMike Heyer and Susan HoffHH CampNancy JacobsJack Jacobson•Barbara and Louis Johnson*Sangeeta and Raman KhannaKrause Family FoundationChristie and Bill Krugler

College Possible wins Governor’s Service AwardCollege Possible was named “AmeriCorps Program of the Year” at the Governor’s Service Recognition event on Thursday, June 8. The event honored outstanding national service participants and programs that have helped address serious social problems to meet their community’s needs.

Richard Esparza, former College Possible student and current senior coach presented the award.

“I can honestly say that I would not be standing here as a bachelor’s degree holder—with a triple major and certificate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison—if it were not for this program,” Esparza said.

The Governor’s Service Recognition event is an annual event held by Serve Wisconsin, the state

AmeriCorps organization, and its partner, the Corporation for National and Community Service State Office.

Richard Esparza with Executive Director, Edie Turnbull. Photo courtesy of Serve Wisconsin

CollegePossible.org/MilwaukeeNancy and Arthur LaskinLinda and Barry Allen FoundationLittler Mendelson, PCJoan Lubar and John CrouchMadison Community Foundation’s Sally Wilmeth and Terry Geurkink Family FundMilwaukee Public Schools FoundationHeather Nasca and Pat Finger •Northwestern Mutual - Lueder Financial GroupConnie and Marcus PerryPieper Electric, Inc./Ideal MechanicalCandy and Bruce PindyckPuelicher Foundation, Inc.Heather RamirezKatie Reinhart+ and David Domres Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.Nancy and Michael Roos (In honor of Susan* and Robert Mikulay)Suzanne and Bud Selig (In honor of Mary and Ted Kellner)Mary L StaudenmaierSysLogic, Inc.Mark TheineJardine Lloyd ThompsonEdie+ and Andy TurnbullUniversity School of MilwaukeeDiane and Edward Zore (In honor of Mary and Ted Kellner)

$500 - $999Kevin Anderson•JoAnne Anton•Carla and Burt BartlettNicole BestDavid BlackHeather and Ron Boecker (In honor of Erica and Audrey Slottke)Gretchen and William Burns (In honor of Susan Mikulay*)Anne and Jon ButtCardinal Stritch UniversityCarthage CollegeTina Chang•Beth and Roger Clark•Sue Connor•Rebecca and Brad Dallet•Alberta DarlingThe David and Donna Marks Stewardship FundMarsha and Sam DennyAmy and Jason Diamond (In honor of Virginia Taylor)Barbara and Kenneth DonnerKimberly and Gary Draeger•Ellen DroughtDoug Eckrote (In honor of Christine Holloway*)Jennifer FotschCarol and Bill GehlGreater Milwaukee Association of Realtors Youth FoundationGreater Milwaukee Foundation’s Colton Charitable FundErica Gumieny• (In honor of Pulaski HS student)Jill and Peter HolbrookMarsha and Rick JamesKadie and Steve JelenchickBradley KomisarJanice and Ben Levy•Linda and Earnell LucasLaura LueckNicole and Eric MaassenLaura* and Philip Malugade•Liz and Bill ManningLinda and Jim MartenKate MartinMilwaukee Area Technical CollegeMilwaukee Institute of Art & DesignAnne MongovenJeff and Brian MorinLinda and Jock MutschlerKaren NelsonSusan NemetzKristy Nielson and Bill Lorber•Jamie and Doug O’ConnorKris and Mark O’MearaPatricia O’Brien & Co^

Gwenn and Rory PetersEdie and Dave RadtkeKelly Rourke and Andrew Hargarten (In memory of Hal Topel)Marianne and Basil SalaymehMary SchrothKristin SchultzCheryl and Andrew SeterJoshua Smith (In honor of LB Smith)Jeff Spence•Sara Swanson and Mark Mone•Patricia Wesner and James HoffmanCharles Whitaker•Thomas Windsor•Beth and Timothy WnukMelody and Rich WolskeErika and Jim Zaiser

$250 - $499Alverno CollegeSofija and Jonathan AndersonSusan Apple (In honor of Mary and Ted Kellner)Aileen Aragones+~Debra BaesmannCathy BergJohannes Britz and Barbara SimonWendy BurkeSteven J. CariniCathy Carlson and Michael BauschEmma Carollo•Concordia University WisconsinDaniel F ConnollyLydia Cooley and Andrew LechtenbergChris DomesPaul Doucas (In honor of Sophia Doucas)Emily and Avraham Eisbruch (In honor of Gil Bisbruch)Timothy ErdmannCarolyn and Brian EssweinFaye FinneganAnne and Dean FitzgeraldCasey and John-Michael FlemingBarbara FuldnerSusanne and Bill Gay (In honor of David Gay*)George L. N. Meyer Family Foundation, Inc.Michael and Kelly Grebe (In honor of Mary and Ted Kellner)Jingle Hagey and Keach Harris (In honor of Pat O’Brien Longabaugh)Dorrie and Greg HaggeAndrea and Bill HarrisonMargaret and James HartwigJaime and Zachary HennessyJonathan JacksonJan and Frank Janzow (In memory of Dr. W Th Janzow)Amy and Jim JaskolskiJericho Road ChurchNiven and Pete Kingwill (In honor of Susan Mikulay*)Lakeland UniversityLawrence UniversityLeslie and Santino Laster•Peter Layde and FamilyJan Lennon (In honor of Edie Turnbull+ and Susan Mikulay*)Hope Liu and CJ WautersLaura Liu+ and Kenneth PomerantzKay and Elmer LorenzenHillary McCown and Rick DonnerPam MillerMitch MoserDeb and Chris MoserSam Mott+~Cindy MuElizabeth and Travis MuellerLinda and Tim MuthKelly and Rob OlejniczakKirk PelikanPerformance Running OutfittersJulie PetersonLaurie and Matthew PietteAlice Read and Drew PalinMary ReinhartMary and Fred RewoldtAlicia and Bryan SadoffKelly Schaer+ and Wendel Hruska•

Francie SheaBrenda Skelton and Jim Bendtsen (In honor of our parents)L William StaudenmaierKaren SteggallAnn Terrell•Lisa Van LandeghemNancy VandenBergKaty and Dave VettaMarcus WhiteLee-Ann and Adam Wiensch

$100 - $249Abigail & David Nash Donor Advised Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of MilwaukeeSarah AdamsDawn and Merlyn AlbertRebecca and Jim AuerbachThe Brookby FoundationMegan and Marc Barbeau (In honor of Morgan McKissick° and Israel Gonzalez°)Erin Bennett~Katy Resop Benway~Δ (In honor of the The Saint Joan Antida Class of 2012)Llyswen Berna~Paula and Jim Bickel (In honor of Christine Holloway*)Somkhit Boonheuan+~Chantel ByrdMary Ann ByrneSiri CarpenterJanet CarrPam and Mike CarrollLauren Carson~•Thomas CassidyDave Celata•Mary and John ChandlerLeigh Barker CheesebroPaige and Dan ConleySuzie Considine+~ and Kevin Layde~ΔBarbara Cook (In honor of Eli Marten~)Bailey and Devon CopelandJulie CullAlexander CurrieLaura and Sylvester CutlerDanae DavisMichele and Derek DeubelKara DriverJulianna Ebert and Frank DailyJeannie FenceroyBarbara FranczykSarah and Matt FrazierFund Development CorporationLara and Mark GeronimeEllen Gilligan•Paolo GuttadauroLaurie Haig and Mark HuberBarb Haig and Dan Schley (In honor of Eli Marten~)Anna HajdikHeidi and Bob HanleyCari Hanrahan~Erica Harwell+~ (In memory of Anna Kelm)David and Mary HertelDarla HiumPatricia Holt•Kari Houghtaling~ΔKaren and Joel HuffmanEmily IhrkeMeredith and Trevor Jessessky•Bernice Bahena Jurado (In honor of Kathy Calvano)Ellen Paige JonesCassandra and Casey KaiserGarrett KamerlingSusan KaraskiewiczLynnea Katz-PettedDolores and Chuck KendallPhyllis and Theodore KingRobert KirstJill KohlerElaine KressinJackie KukowskiRuth LopezMary and Dan LuckwaldtJacob MaechtleHeidi and Robert ManakSean McGreal (In honor of John McGreal)

Connie Meltzer~ (In honor of my 37 former students)Chelsey MetcalfMilwaukee Academy of SciencesMilwaukee SucceedsMartha MooreMolly Moore~Donney Moroney•Holly MorseDavid MoserLinda and Whitley MottNicholas MulveyMary and Terry MurphyAmy and Sara NolanLisa and Jeff Pereles (In honor of Katie Reinhart+)Suzanne M. PossellMara and Samuel Poullette•Jay RabideauxIzzy Ramirez+~Miriam Reading and Dick MillerLucy ReeveJill ReichPatricia and Al RieselbachMatt RollerMarina and John RosenbergVivian M RothschildImy SchleySchools That Can MilwaukeeMary SchoppMarsha SehlerJeffrey Senese•Liz and Tim Sheehy•Staci+ and Mark ShepherdSiebert Lutheran FoundationBecky and Jim SmithSue and George SotirosMatthew SoucyAmy and Cory SovineMary Ellen SpiegelbergJennifer and Charles StearnsCourtney Steggall~ΔBecky SteimleLiza StenzSusan StraitRebecca SurgesRowan Tanner+Vicki and John TurnerSusan and James WeichselbaumSam Wilson•Hannah Wrobel~Amanda Wysk~ΔMartha and Kent YarnellSusan and Ben Zarwell

MATCHING GIFT COMPANIESAnonymous Artisan PartnersAssurant Foundation Matching GiftsAXA Advisors, LLCBrady CorporationCDWCharter Manufacturing Company, Inc.GE FoundationGE HealthcareGoogle, Inc.Lubar & Co. IncorporatedThe Lubrizol FoundationStoneHill Reinsurance Partners, LLCU.S. Bank Foundation

CONNECTS PARTNER COLLEGESAlverno CollegeLakeland UniversityLawrence UniversityNorthland College

Legend:* Board Member+ Staff Member~ Current or Alumni Corps Member Δ Corps Alumni Council Member° College Possible student• Is or includes pledged commitment ^ In-Kind Donations ▲Multi-Year Gift

CLOSING THE DEGREE DIVIDENATIONAL NEWS

Research-based text “nudges” support persistence

Across the country, 20 percent of incoming college

freshmen “melt away” over the summer, and students

facing financial, cultural and logistical challenges are at the

greatest risk. In 2012, Drs. Ben Castleman and Lindsay Page

designed a texting program to fight summer melt and ensure that

students made it to college in the fall.

Castleman and Page used Signal Vine, a texting platform borne

out of their research, to send 10 timely reminders to students and

their parents about summer deadlines in the enrollment process.

Students who received text-based outreach—“nudges”—were 11

percent more likely to matriculate than their peers who did not.

The following year, with support from the National College

Access Network, College Possible implemented Castleman

and Page’s summer texting nudges with graduating high school

seniors. The program showed early promise—students were

responsive and coaches found the tool helpful.

“Signal Vine allows us to send personalized texts to many

students at once, and hold one-on-one text conversations,” says

College Possible Program Manager Nankya Senungi. “We send

reminders and check-in questions, and students can text the

College Possible phone number any time if they have questions.

Students’ messages are automatically sent to their coach to reply.”

In 2015, College Possible built out Castleman and Page’s texting

program, tailoring it to maximize our curriculum. The messages

started earlier—before school had let out—and included

reminders to attend College Possible’s Summer Bridge coaching

sessions.

The following fall, College Possible launched a pilot to test year-

round texting outreach with a small group of students entering

their first year of college. In fall 2016 the program was expanded

to include all College Possible college students in year-round

outreach. Now the program team is conducting an evaluation of

its data on the texting program to measure its impact on students’

enrollment, persistence and graduation.

The team is also exploring new ways to use the texting platform,

like including parents and guardians in the text outreach, and

sending high school students video messages from current

college students about the common challenges they’ve faced.

“We want our students to go into college with the right

mindset so when they encounter a challenge they know

they aren’t alone in having those experiences,” Nankya says.

“Hearing from another College Possible student about visiting a

professor’s office hours or going to the writing center will help

remove some stigma or intimidation in those situations.”

Introducing the new CollegePossible.orgCollege Possible’s website has a new look! Visit us at our new mobile-friendly home on the web.

Students become leaders in college access

Four College Possible students were selected to join the first ever Better Make Room Student Advisory Board. Better Make Room is an initiative launched by former First Lady Michelle Obama to change the national conversation about education and help more students navigate the college-going process.

The Student Advisory Board, which is made up of 17 students from across the country, will support this work by fostering a college-going culture at their schools and making sure their peers have the information and resources to succeed.

We’re pleased that College Possible students’ voices

will be heard at the table. Their contributions on the Student Advisory Board will help more young people achieve their dream of earning a college degree.

The inagural advisory board was announced in January at the White House. As part of the event, Mrs. Obama gave her final speech as First Lady, reminding students that America has a place for them.

“For all the young people in this room and those who are watching, know that this country belongs to you—to all of you, from every background and walk of life,” Mrs. Obama said.

Better Make Room launches Student Advisory Board

Ana Perez-Vollagomez High school senior in Omaha, NE“Advancing my education in mathematics will allow me to be a voice for oppressed women and minorities who, like me, are rarely seen pursuing a degree in the STEM

field.”

Ghawayne CalvinHigh school senior in Omaha, NE“My main goal as a Better Make Room Student Advisory Board member is to educate my peers about financial aid and other opportunities to help students get a higher education.”

Kevin Ji High school senior in Palo Alto, CA“I want to make sure that students across America have the opportunity to connect with the resouces they need to choose their best path for education beyond high school...”

Kitana Holland College freshman in Minneapolis, MNKitana’s motto is, “if opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” She says, “It’s important to not only highlight the positives, but dig deeper into the disparities that block students from attending and getting through college.”

Meet all of the Student Advisory Board members and learn more about their work by visiting Medium.com/@BetterMakeRoom

College Poss ib le is a national nonprofit organization making college admission and success possible for low-income students through an intensive curriculum of coaching and support. Our services include:

guidance in the college transition

support toward college degree completion

financial aid consulting

college application assistance

academic support through ACT/SAT test preparation

COLLEGE POSSIBLE1515 N. Rivercenter Drive, Suite 105Milwaukee, WI 53212 Phone: 414.220.9450CollegePossible.org

NONPROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGE PAID

MILWAUKEE, WIPERMIT NO.

Celebrating another successful Dream Big Dinner

Here at College Possible Milwaukee, we’re still basking in the glow of an amazing night of camaraderie, story-telling and community. The 2017 Dream Big Dinner on April 27, 2017, proved to be another successful gathering to showcase the amazing accomplishments of our Milwaukee students. As a community of caring and idealistic individuals, corporations and foundations, we

are pleased to announce that nearly 370 guests raised $250,000 to support students toward becoming college graduates.

A record number of sponsors committed their support to our students. Thanks to all sponsors, table captains, donors and attendees investing in Milwaukee students who are dreaming big. See you next year!

Nearly 370 guests raised $250,000 to support students and their dreams of becoming college graduates

Mary (right) and Ted Kellner were honored with the Pat Wilmeth Most Likely to Succeed Award by Executive Director Edie Turnbull.

Student speaker, Erika (left), pictured with her high school coach Erin (center) and classmate Nury.

Tina Quealy (left) and Jessica Herzog of Foundation Friend Winner, the Burke Foundation.