Jim McCorkell ’90 grew up just a few blocks from Carleton. But even as his mother worked in the college’s library and his father, a painter, spent more than a decade with the campus maintenance crew, McCorkell never dreamed that a kid from a low-income household like his would ever attend college—let alone an elite liberal arts institution in Northfield.
The mentorship and support of some neighbors changed all that. With their encouragement, McCorkell applied to Carleton, was accepted, and graduated with a degree in political science. A decade later, he founded a nonprofit dedicated to coaching and supporting kids from low-income backgrounds as they navigate the college admissions process and first year of school. What started as a test pilot with 35 kids at two Twin Cities high schools is now known as College Possible, a national nonprofit that has helped more than 25,000 students in seven major cities. “It was a labor of love all along,” McCorkell says. “But as we saw more evidence of kids getting into good colleges and having success when they got there, that fueled our fire.”
Over the past 20 years, College Possible— which partners with the volunteer organization AmeriCorps—helped dozens of low-income high school students get into Carleton and employed a number of alumni. The organization’s mentors also reap benefits, says Rehmi Abrams-Fuller ’08, who spent a year working with College Possible clients at a Minneapolis high school and is now associate dean of admissions and director of diversity outreach and access at Carleton.
“I originally wanted to be a college softball coach,” she says. “But my experience with College Possible changed the trajectory of what I’ve done ever since.”
In June, after a brush with colon cancer, McCorkell relinquished his role as CEO. Travel obligations were taking a toll on his health and he wanted to spend more time with family. “I may develop some new hobbies,” says McCorkell, who is now cancer free. “I just made blueberry cobbler for the first time in my life.”