Ohio University alum Derek Lambert ’14 graduated with a B.A. in Sociology and is now an AmeriCorps Ohio College Guide with I Know I Can, which is one of the largest and most successful college access programs in the country.
Derek Lambert
“Starting college can be a scary process, especially for first generation college students. Making this process easier for them is a very rewarding experience,” says Lambert.
In his AmeriCorps position as a college retention adviser, he assists Columbus City School graduates as they enter and start their college education with one-on-one advising sessions to help ensure that they continue receiving their I Know I Can funding and have a successful college experience.
Lambert helps Columbus City School graduates reapply for IKIC grants each year and helps them complete the FAFSA process.
He also hosts monthly lunch workshops at select universities on a variety of topics including strong start, learning styles, time management, and money management. He creates a monthly newsletter with similar information. He communicates online with students, as well as students on distant campuses.
“What I enjoy most about what I do is forming strong, one-on-one relationships with the students and helping them with their college process by sharing my own experiences as a recent college graduate.”
This is his second year serving with AmeriCorps.
The fall after he graduated from Ohio University, he served with AmeriCorps NCCC at the Southwest Region based out of Denver, Colorado, working on a diverse team of 18- to 24-year-olds serving various non-profits from six to 13 weeks at a time. This included working with children at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, tutoring K-12 students at Mountain Valley School, assisting staff at Boys & Girls Club of Farmington, doing recreational work for Roswell-Bureau of Land Management, and mucking and gutting houses after the Houston floods with All Hands Volunteers. During that year of service he worked in Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.
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