Avila Now

About one-third of all college students in the United States are first-generation — students those whose parents did not attend college. Being the first in their immediate family to pursue higher education, they often face significant obstacles in pursuing their education, including financial challenges and a lack of awareness about the college application process. Despite...

Marlon Jones was an Avila STEM Scholar and graduated class of 2021 with a bachelor’s in Biochemistry, and a minor in environmental science.  “I work for Trinity Biotech, a production company for HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography) instruments and point-of-care devices. I fell in love with both sciences [chemistry and biology] and merged the two,” said...

Kansas City local Jazlyn Epps is a professional actress, teacher, singer, and songwriter – a well-rounded performer and an Avila University alumna. She got involved in the arts at a young age and felt it was her true calling. After practicing her craft for several years, she refined her skills further with a BFA in...

Cameron Leathers was an Avila STEM scholar and recently graduated in May 2022 with a bachelor’s in computer science. He now works at WellSky in Overland Park as a Support Analyst.  “It’s the world headquarters. We supply medical, at-home personal care software to people all over the nation. I take incoming calls and emails from...

A Google search on higher education news today will turn up countless references to college “entry,” “access,” and even a call for “free college.” The federal government recently announced a student debt forgiveness program which will benefit millions of Americans. Several states, including Missouri, have created pathways to free community college, admirably seeking pathways for...

KANSAS CITY — On Thursday, Sept. 8, Avila University and KC Scholars announced a new scholarship partnership that will benefit up to 800 low-to-modest income students in the Kansas City area. Beginning with the 2023-2024 academic year through 2031-2032, Avila University and KC Scholars will award eight cohorts of up to 100 students per year...

What do you get when you mix Ecology and Literature? The beginning of a fruitful relationship. School of Natural and Applied Science Professor Karin Gastreich, Ph.D. and Associate Professor of English Amy Milakovic, Ph.D. teamed up to teach the Interdisciplinary Studies (IS) course Ecology Through the Writer’s Lens (ETWL).  “Karin has expertise in Ecology, and...

Shawna Pena-Downing ‘12 is the Coordinator of Career Services at Avila. Her favorite thing about returning to campus in this job is “building and cultivating student relationships that focus on their lifelong and professional development.”  “It’s interesting coming back as an employee. One thing it means is reconnecting with why I am here, and it...

“I was an award-winning participant in the Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair back when I attended Shawnee Mission West High School in the 1980s,” said Avila Professor Karin Gastreich, Ph.D. “That was the experience that launched my career in science.” At Avila, Gastreich mentors students to help launch their science careers by inviting...

“Adults over the age of 25 represent roughly 40 percent of enrollment in U.S. higher education. That’s nearly 8 million learners,” (Gallagher, It’s time to reboot our thinking about adult learners in a digitally transformed world – EdSurge news 2021).  When the pandemic hit in 2020, enrollment dropped sharply due to economic hardship, changing roles...