College Visions

College Visions Names Executive Director

Providence, RI.
The College Visions Board of Directors announced that Tina Meetran has been named the next Executive Director of College Visions. This change is effective July 27, 2020.

According to College Visions Board Chair Deborah Obalil, “I am extremely proud to announce that Tina Meetran will be the next Executive Director of College Visions. Tina is an accomplished alum of College Visions, and her leadership presents an exciting new phase for our organization. The CV Board is committed to building organizational leadership that reflects the students and communities that the organization serves and Tina is an extremely talented embodiment of that goal.”

Tina was born and raised in Providence. She holds a B.A. and M.A. from Clark University. She has previously served as Board Chair of Providence youth organization PrYSM and created Rhode Island’s first comprehensive guide to advising undocumented students. Tina has served as Acting Co-Director of College Visions for the past six months.

“Becoming Executive Director of College Visions is still so surreal to me because it’s more than just a job. It is proving to this society that a low-income, woman of color can thrive in leadership,” stated Meetran. “It is reassuring young people who face multiple adversities that they will continue to surpass them all and get to where they want to be. And it is validating the immigrant parents who have made many sacrifices to build opportunities for their children. I am beyond excited to serve my community in this new role and lead College Visions to empower students in their growth through college enrollment and degree attainment.”

From College Visions Founding Director Simon Moore: “I’m thrilled about Tina’s appointment! It represents College Visions’ ultimate goal of building power and leadership in low-income communities of color in Rhode Island. The team has always pushed for equitable college access in service of this greater purpose. With Tina ascending to the organization’s highest leadership role, College Visions is a model for the sector and takes another powerful step toward real community-ownership. I’m deeply confident Tina will thrive in the role. Early in her career, she aspired to be an ED, and she’s done the hard, intentional work to be ready for this. Tina’s selection only deepens my ongoing confidence in and commitment to College Visions.”

Founded in 2004, College Visions is supporting 500 low-income, first-generation Rhode Island students to prepare for college, apply, enroll, and persist to earn degrees. College Visions accepts students with a wide range of academic achievement who demonstrate a need for support as they apply to and attend college. The highly effective programs offered by College Visions help students set high goals and achieve outstanding outcomes. 98% of College Visions students enroll in college after high school compared to 48% of low-income RI students, and 67% of College Visions students earn degrees within 6 years compared to 38% of low-income RI students.

Contact:
Moira Hinderer, Development Director
College Visions
401-490-3996, phone
401-415-6066, fax
moira@collegevisions.org

Advising Undocumented Students in Rhode Island for College Access

Our mission at College Visions is to empower low-income and first-generation college-bound students to realize the promise of higher education by providing advising and resources to promote college enrollment, persistence, and graduation. College Visions advances equal access to educational opportunities in historically under-served communities.

At College Visions, we believe our work is an embodiment of our core values:
– Empathetic, compassionate, and transformative relationships drive strong organizations.
– Equity creates strong communities.
– In our community we honor the voice, agency, and identities of all.
– Success means reaching our goals through hard work, failure and growth.

We live and operate through these values daily within our two core programs, the College Access Program (CAP) and the Kolajo Paul Afolabi College Success Program (CSP).

The College Access Program provides the intensive, individualized advising that closes the gap between college aspirations and college enrollment for first-generation, low-income students. Students are provided with one-on-one admissions advising, college knowledge workshops, campus visits, family engagement opportunities, access to technology, financial aid coaching.

The College Success Program provides our college students and graduates of CAP with continued support through college. Students are provided with one-on-one coaching, college success workshops, connection with on-campus resources, transfer coaching, financial aid renewal assistance, and access to our emergency grant fund.

Both of our programs are free to our students and are supplemented with providing social-emotional support for our students. At College Visions, we understand that the journey to and through college can be met with many different challenges, as well as the great successes, especially for first-generation low-income students. We are proud to be a resource for our students, help them navigate through different challenges, and celebrate their accomplishments.

Tina Meetran
College Access Program Director
College Visions

CLICK HERE to download the guide: Advising Undocumented Students in Rhode Island for College Access, 2019-2020

STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Gleyribel Rodriguez

This month, we had the pleasure of speaking with our very own alum Gleyribel Rodriguez, Mount Pleasant High School class of 2008 and University of Rhode Island class of 2012. Gleyribel is a CV three-fer—a CV alum, a current CV advisor, and a CV donor. Gleyribel is an amazing combination of compassionate and dedicated youth worker, and highly organized fund development coordinator. We are very lucky to work with her. Thank you for sharing your story Gleyribel, and thanks for everything you do to support CV!

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