Meet the KCPS College Access Specialists

KCPS actively advocates to increase choices and decrease the barriers in a student’s initial steps of selecting a postsecondary school and financing this journey. This year, we are excited to announce additional help for students navigating the college admissions process. Our College Access Specialists will be available to provide support to students at all of our high schools.

 

Bri Walker, Central High School

Bri Walker is a product of KCPS, attending Central Academy of Excellence her freshman year before graduating from Paseo Academy of the Fine and Performing Arts in 2011. She attended the University of Missouri, where she received her degree in Performance Theatre. Bri attributes who she is and her passions today to her experiences as a Kansas City urban youth.

“I learned early on what it felt like to be academically underserved. It is this lived experience that drives me to continue down a career path in education,” Ms. Walker said.

Since graduating from college in 2015, Ms. Walker has focused all of her professional work on the advancement and equity of education for students of color. She has worked as Coordinator of Culturally Diverse Recruitment for Mizzou, a College Preparation Coach for high schools in St. Louis, Director of Equity Outreach and Inclusive Education for St. Teresa’s Academy and now as College Access Specialist for KCPS.

 

Chris Fuentes, East High School

Chris Fuentes is responsible for supporting students and their families to strategize a plan for college whether it is FAFSA application support, college application support, resume support or other needs during their college journey. Before this position, Chris was in City Year for seven years, supporting high school students in three key areas: attendance, behavior and course work. His primary goal was for the students to graduate on time with the support of mentors and tutors. Now, he has an opportunity to do the same work in a different capacity, which excites him as he supports our KCPS students.

“I am the first one in my family to attend a 4-year university, and I was not a traditional student,” Mr. Fuentes said. “I went to community college and then transferred to a 4-year institution. I am a proud University of California, Riverside alumni. This is where I developed my passion to support youth. Now I am attending the University of Missouri, Kansas City, where I am pursuing a master’s in school counseling.”

Mr. Fuentes’ future career goal is to be a school counselor to assist students in their academic and social emotional journey.

 

Brionna Taylor, Northeast High School

Brionna Taylor is from Santa Clarita, California. She is a first-generation college graduate from Los Angeles Southwest College, where she received her Associate’s degree, and Kansas State University, where she received her Bachelor’s of Science in Entrepreneurship. After college, she served as a College Adviser at Olathe North High School for three years, managing a senior caseload of 400+ seniors, producing social media content for the College and Career Center and advising students virtually and in-person on their post-secondary plans.

In her spare time, Ms. Taylor enjoys boxing, dancing, going to the movies, trying new KC restaurants and hanging with friends.

 

Daryn Williams-Bounds, Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts

Daryn Williams-Bounds grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Upon graduation from high school, he decided to leave Iowa to attend the University of Missouri, where he graduated with his bachelor's degree in psychology.

Mr. William-Bounds’ career began by serving with the Missouri College Advising Corps (an AmeriCorps program) as a college advisor at William Chrisman High School in Independence, Missouri. Following this transformative two-year experience, he continued college access work with the Kansas State College Advising Corps and the Educational Opportunity Center at Metropolitan Community College.

“I care deeply about the well-rounded development of students in their academics and socio-emotional maturity. As a fellow creative, I am excited about the opportunity to serve students and families at Paseo Academy,” he said.

Mr. Williams-Bounds is studying for a master’s degree in school counseling. 

 

LaChelle Nichols, Southeast High School

LaChelle Nichols is a native of Kansas City. She graduated from Lincoln College Prep Academy and then went on to graduate with B.S. in Industrial Technology from Virginia State University. She holds a M.S. in Adult Education with a concentration in Higher Education from North Carolina A&T State University.

LaChelle spent the past eight years helping young people prepare for life after high school. She has worked with the federal TRIO Programs Upward Bound and Talent Search, where she helped navigate students to the college application process, FAFSA and college scholarship applications. She has also spent four years working as the Student Support Coordinator for Communities In Schools at Southeast High School.