Learning to Use My Voice
Through my involvement with COABE, I found spaces where student voices were not just welcomed, but expected. Opportunities like the Students as Leaders Summit helped me understand how lived experience can shape conversations, influence programs, and inform decisions at every level.
In those spaces, I learned how a student like myself can:
Share their story with purpose
Speak alongside educators and national leaders
Advocate for Adult Basic Education systems that reflect real student experiences
This changed how I see Adult Basic Education. It's not just about helping individuals succeed, it's about building systems that listen, adapt, and grow because of the people they serve.
Student voice is not an add-on to Adult Basic Education, it is essential to building systems that work.
What Student Voice Helps Programs Understand
Student voices are important because some of the most difficult barriers in adult education do not always show up in reports, policies, or performance measures. As someone who has experienced adult education from both the learner side and the professional side, I know that listening to students can change not only what programs notice, but how they respond.
Student voice reveals barriers that are often invisible in policy documents and reporting systems.
Persistence is not just about motivation; it is deeply connected to support, belonging, and whether students feel seen.
Adult learners experience intake, testing, scheduling, transportation, childcare, confidence, and belonging as connected parts of the same journey.
Programs improve when students help shape the conversations about what is working, what is not, and what needs to change.
State Advocate for Adult Education Fellowship (SAAEF)
State Advocate for Adult Education Fellowship (SAAEF)
The State Advocates for Adult Education Fellowship (SAAEF) is a yearlong advocacy fellowship through COABE that prepares adult educators, adult learners, and supporters of adult education to engage with policymakers, communities, and the media. Through training, collaboration, and a community of practice, fellows learn how to elevate adult education issues and advocate for stronger systems that better serve learners.
I was selected to represent Iowa in this fellowship. For me, SAAEF reflects something I believe deeply: the people closest to the work, including students, should help shape the conversations, decisions, and policies that affect adult education.
COABE’s State Advocates for Adult Education Fellowship
Iowa Literacy Council Recognition
Advocacy in Action
COABE Student Ambassador
Serving as a COABE Student Ambassador gave Megan a place to use her experience as a source of leadership. It helped her see that adult learners belong in conversations about program design, student support, funding, data, and the future of adult education. Megan’s ambassador work continues to shape how she speaks about student voice: not as a nice extra, but as a necessary part of building better systems.
COABE Advocacy
COABE’s advocacy work aligns closely with Megan’s belief that adult education changes lives, families, workplaces, and communities. Her advocacy is rooted in the idea that adult learners deserve programs that are funded, respected, and shaped by the realities students face. Megan brings both personal experience and professional insight to this work, helping connect the human story to the systems and data behind adult education.
COABE’s State Advocates for Adult Education Fellowship
The State Advocates for Adult Education Fellowship reflects the kind of work Megan is passionate about: connecting lived experience with organized advocacy. Through this fellowship, student voices can help inform how adult education is understood, supported, and strengthened at the state and national level. For Megan, advocacy is about more than speaking up; it is about helping decision-makers see the people behind the programs.
Iowa Literacy Council
The Iowa Literacy Council connects directly to Megan’s commitment to literacy, adult learning, and opportunity in Iowa. Her involvement reflects both gratitude for the support she received and a desire to help strengthen pathways for future adult learners. Megan’s work with the council is part of her larger commitment to ensuring that adult learners are seen, supported, and included in decisions that affect them.
“My story didn't become powerful until I learned how to use it.”
Leadership & Board Service
Board Member - Iowa Literacy Council
Serving on the Iowa Literacy Council board allows Megan to contribute to work that supports literacy, access, and adult learning across Iowa. Her presence on the board brings the perspective of someone who understands both the student experience and the responsibility of helping others move forward. Megan’s service reflects her belief that adult education leadership is strongest when it includes the voices of people who have lived the journey.
Board of Directors - Scott Community College Foundation
Serving with the Scott Community College Foundation is especially meaningful because Scott Community College was part of Megan’s own educational journey. This role allows her to give back to an institution that helped open doors for her and continues to create opportunities for students. For Megan, foundation work connects gratitude with responsibility: supporting the next student who needs a chance, a scholarship, a resource, or someone who believes in them.
Iowa State Advocacy Fellow
This fellowship reflects Megan’s movement from student success story to statewide advocate. It gives her a platform to connect her personal journey with broader conversations about adult education access, funding, support, and student leadership. Megan approaches this work with both humility and urgency, knowing that the success of adult learners affects families, employers, and communities across Iowa.
