Applied Innovations with Hilary Cook-Borg

 

The work of the Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) and its centers encompass a vast range of services, solutions, and partnerships. In our short interview series, Applied Innovations, we get to know some of the talented members of our team and their projects, across our many centers and various areas of impact.

In this edition, we meet Hilary Cook-Borg, Graphic Designer with Center for Educational Opportunity Programs. 

Can You Tell Us a Little About Yourself?

After graduating from KU, I started a job as a graphic designer at CETE/AAI in 2012. In 2019 I transferred to CEOP within AAI to be their graphic designer and have been there since. I live in Kansas City, Kansas with my husband Steven and our cats. We foster cats through a foster-only rescue organization, Meowy Matchmakers Cat Rescue. I love giving back to animals in the KCK community and helping them through the multitude of issues that arise in rescue. It is so fun to be a part of getting them into their forever homes! I also enjoy playing video games, trying new restaurants in Kansas City, going out with friends, and seeing family in my free time.

What Attracted You To Your Field?

I got interested in graphic design as early as high school. My high school offered graphic design and web design courses as electives. I tried them and loved it! After those courses, I knew that was what I wanted to do for a career. KU has an excellent graphic design degree program which was perfect for me since I was from the Kansas City area. I got a BFA in Visual Communications and a BFA in Art History from the University of Kansas in 2012 and got a job at AAI immediately after.

What Populations Do You or Your Center Support?

Center for Educational Opportunity Programs provides support to students, families, adult learners, and veterans in their academic, financial, social, and career goals. We collaborate with Kansas school districts and communities in Douglas, Franklin, Leavenworth, Shawnee, and Wyandotte counties as well as the Greater Kansas City Missouri area. Additionally, our evaluation team provides evaluation support to partners in Kansas, Tennessee, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. I work on the evaluation team and provide graphic and web design support for all our center’s programs and our in-house evaluation and research team.

What Are Your or Your Center’s Key Projects?

CEOP has 15 federally grant-funded programs that provide students and families with academic, financial, social, and career supports by partnering with school districts and communities. These programs include: 11 federal TRIO programs, School-district wide GEAR UP program, Child Care Access Means Parents in School program, K-12 English Language Learners program, and Heartland College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP).

What Are Some Future Opportunities or Upcoming Initiatives That Excite You?

At CEOP we are always pursing funding opportunities from state, federal and private sector entities to support, enhance, and expand services to participants and to the growth of the Center. Every time we get a new project it is exciting to be at the ground level of branding the new program and working with the director to get a style and look solidified for design materials for the duration of the grant-cycle.

Recently, our evaluation team got a grant with Oakland University for an NSF NRT evaluation contract. For that project I will be working with our Director Meghan Ecker-Lyster to design an evaluation dashboard in Excel. This way to disseminate is new to our team and I am excited to present our data in a new visual way.

What About Working at a Mission-Driven Organization Like AAI Appeals to You?

Working for AAI has allowed me to learn more about inequities in education and it is fulfilling to be a part of an organization that helps to offer solutions to those inequities. It is wonderful to see our students succeed and to be a small part of the center that is creating those successes.