Congratulations to Enrollment and Student Services Program Manager, Kari Meyers, who was named College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) October 2022 Staff of the Month.
A member of the CWI community for nearly five years, Meyers works to help and serve students, so they can achieve success — something she values greatly in life.
Meyers works with all areas of Enrollment and Student Services to ensure work is documented in the College’s Planning Tool, collaborates with other departments to help with requests for work in and out of Enrollment and Student Services, and identifies obstacles to work in progress and assists to remove those barriers. Part of her role is to also train the department to use the CWI Governance Framework and Planning Tool.
In addition to her role with Enrollment and Student Services, Meyers is the Scrum Master for the Academic Enterprise Tactical Advisory Council (AETAC).
Prior to working as Program Manager, Meyers worked in the Financial Aid Office as the Financial Aid Scholarship Coordinator and Special Process and Financial Aid Systems Analyst.
Before CWI, Meyers worked at her alma mater, Simpson University, in Redding, California, within the Student Financial Services office, which handled Financial Aid and Student Accounts. She worked there for nearly 13 years before moving to the Gem State and beginning her CWI journey.
“When I moved to Idaho in 2018, having previously worked in a four-year, private institution, I was looking to get more experience in a public institution,” Meyers said. “I was impressed with the reach that CWI had and their mission to provide affordable education to the community, especially because I was planning to continue my work in financial aid, which is all about helping students access education through the use of funding.”
Through her willingness to help students succeed, Meyers holds several certifications through the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), including the Financial Aid Administrator Certification (FAAC), and earned her Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification. She also is part of several CWI committees and outside organizations, such as the Western Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (WASFAA), NASFAA, and its Rapid Response Network Taskforce.
“Kari is always working toward improving processes and how we can do things better as a department and college, excellence and innovation,” said former CWI employee, Alice Baldazo. “She is always checking to ensure we are following compliance and staying within the national and state rules and regulations. If any issues arise, she will be the first to step up and bring them to attention. She also will be the first to admit she’s wrong if she messed up, or had an issue and will own up to it and address it accordingly, all of these I believe fall under integrity.”
One of Kari’s favorite things about CWI is the people she gets to work with. In addition to student success, the people around CWI is what has made the College a great place to work.
“CWI has such a wonderful group of individuals working and serving the students and each other every single day,” said Meyers. “I have been so blessed to be able to serve alongside many of them.”
“She is constantly caring for her team and the work she does to ensure the students are the first priority,” Baldazo said. “She shows tremendous respect toward all.”
Meyers grew up in Turlock, California, and upon graduating high school, moved north Redding, California, to attend college at Simpson University. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English with minors in History and Bible and Theology staying in Redding for 13 more years. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Human Resource Management from Simpson University and a Master of Science in Management and Leadership from Western Governors University.
Outside of CWI, Meyers enjoys reading, listening to true crime podcasts, and watching true crime documentaries, and learning about other cultures. Her latest venture has been exploring more of South Korean culture and language. In addition to her fascination to with other cultures, she loves to travel and has been to more countries than other states in the United States.
