Congratulations to our May Member of the Month Sam Aleinikoff! National College Attainment Network (NCAN) staff asked him both professional and personal questions so you can get to know him and the work he does better.
Name: Sam Aleinikoff, he/him
Location: Atlanta, GA
Alma Mater: Cornell University
Title and Organization: Founder and Executive Director of College AIM
Professional Questions
Q: What brought you to the college access and success field initially? A: I was a high school math teacher and after class one day a student said quite simply to me "Mr. A, I want to go to college." It should've been an obvious statement, she was a high school junior with straight As, but for her, it wasn't. She was going to be the first in her family to go to college and fewer than 40% of the students from our high school continued onto postsecondary education. There wasn't a college counselor at our school and school counselors were already being asked to do way too much, so along with a few other teachers, I launched College AIM to support that student and her peers.
Q: What do you love most about your role or organization? A: I love that College AIM works with every student at our partner schools, ninth grade through twelfth grade, below a 1.0 to above a 4.0, artists and engineers, everyone. Because of that approach, we're truly a part of our school communities.
Q: What's your favorite thing about being an NCAN member? A: Policy and advocacy support! College AIM has been a direct service organization for the past decade and advocacy is still relatively new for us. We don't have an "advocacy person" on staff and we're relatively small, so moving the needle on our own would be very difficult. The training, support, team, campaigns, resources and events that NCAN leads allow us to plug in and still have impact, even with a small team.
Personality Questions
Every month, our MeMos will be answering some fun questions to help us get to know their “out of office” side!
Q: What's one thing you'd like to cross off your bucket list? Is there one thing you've crossed off already that you're really proud of? A: Broadcasting an NCAA tournament game. Back in college I was on our college radio station as the color commentator for our basketball broadcasts. Our men's basketball team was great during my junior year, and we made it all the way to the Sweet 16. I got to call games in Madison Square Garden, the Carrier Dome, the Palestra and a few other incredible arenas along the way!
What's your favorite food, and one food you don't like? A: Love vegetarian Mongolian beef, really don't like coconut (both the texture and the taste)!
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