Have you ever wondered what your future after Dowling might look like? Or where you want to go to college? I asked myself those questions too, and honestly, I didn’t know where to go… that is until I met Mrs. Koppes! She has helped me through college applications and given me wisdom on how to handle life’s obstacles and allowed me to think about the bigger picture. Come with me as we see what drives Koppes to bring success to the younger generation and what motivates her as well!

Koppes was born on September 26, 1988, in Storm Lake, Iowa to her loving parents Greg and Kathy Hansen. Greg was a dentist while Kathy was a special education teacher. Koppes has an older brother named Chris who is a dentist in Alta, Iowa, and an older sister named Beth who lives in Cumming and is a stay-at-home mom.

Koppes initially started off her schooling at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Storm Lake, attending from Kindergarten to 6th grade. Koppes later attended Storm Lake Middle and High school, graduating in 2007. In high school, she was on the swim team, competing in freestyle and relays as well. She played tennis as well, but there was more to her than her athletic side. She was on the student council and was a class representative. Koppes also sang in choir and did a stint in show choir as well. She was involved in NHS, Key Club (which is a service outreach group), and was a lifeguard at King’s Pointe Waterpark. 

After high school, she attended Iowa State University and majored in psychology and sociology. Originally, she was going into Pre-med but enjoyed psychology a lot. She switched her majors in college after one semester, which in turn, led her to major in psychology and sociology. She graduated in 2010, but she made her time worth it while attending. She was a part of the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma and also a psychology club as well. She was in the honors program and did a lot of undergraduate research in a lab. Another job she got is working in student counseling on campus. Koppes did a lot of volunteer work at Dance Marathon and the blood drive at Iowa State on top of all of her other activities. Initially, she applied to study abroad in Ireland but withdrew because she feared getting homesick; however, she regrets not going. Fortunately, later in life, she went to both Ireland and Scotland. During her downtime in college, she went to St. Thomas Aquinas Church & Catholic Student Center, which was fortunately just behind her sorority house. She later got an internship at MidIowa Family therapy Clinic and loved it there. She helped with academic advising, admission, orientation, and career services during her internship. 

After attending Iowa State, she got her Masters at University of St. Thomas. Interning during the day and going to classes at night was hard but paid off in the end. She got her masters in educational leadership, which is any area that supports students out of the classroom. Graduating in May of 2013, she put in a lot of hard work and effort. 

Completing all that hard work got her to her first job, which was at Minnesota State in Mankato, where she worked for three years. Koppes worked in the office of Admissions and was an admissions counselor. After that, her second job was in educational sales, which she did for a year at Mcgraw Hill. During her time there, she realized her passion was helping students through college, which is a scary transition for most. That got her to her third job, which was an Iowa State admissions office as a senior admissions counselor. Working there for four and half years, she had a lot on her hands. Koppes recruited people from Minnesota and Wisconsin to come to Iowa State and eventually got promoted to assistant director. Initially, she supervised a team of four, but with her promotion, it bumped up to eight people. 

This is now Koppes’ fourth year here at Dowling and she is the college and career coordinator. She supports students through life after high school whether its college, apprenticeships, military, religious life, or the workforce. She is also the AP and ACT/SAT testing coordinator. Koppes does a lot of organizing with DMACC and SLU for student’s who are doing dual credit classes as well. 

One impact Dowling has had on Koppes is from seeing the humor Dowling students have but also seeing them succeed in their next step in life. She enjoys seeing alumni thrive and succeed along with students navigate their future and next steps. Koppes enjoys the gracious students and is blessed to work with such good co-workers.

A piece of advice she stated to me was, “You are uniquely you, and you are loved.” Her reasoning behind this is that you have your own qualities and though we are all different, we are loved. This strongly relates to her experience as an admissions counselor and college and career coordinator, where she helps students write their own story, knowing that regardless of where their future takes them, they are still loved.

Here we go! The fun facts of Mrs. Koppes!

• She was valedictorian at her high school
• She has identical twin boys and married an identical twin
• Growing up, she found peace by water
• Her ultimate goal is to live by Lake Superior in Michigan
• She is an ISU, Minnesota Twins, and Detroit Lions fan
• Her favorite books are To Kill A Mockingbird and Scarlet Letter
• Her favorite shows are Laguna Beach, Emily in Paris, Nobody Wants This, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, and Ozarks
• She enjoys doing puzzles 
• Her favorite animal is a bison

Family is important to everyone I interview, and Mrs. Koppes is no exception. She is happily married to her husband, Andrew, for 10 years, and they have two identical boys named Ellis and Fin. They are both kindergarten students at Sacred Heart. Koppes met her spouse at Iowa State, where they started dating during their sophomore year. The family is a righteously Iowa State family and loves going to the games, whether it be for football or basketball. Andrew and Koppes also love going to Minnesota Twins games whenever they can. 

Faith is a hugely influential part in Koppes’s life, and she enjoys talking about it a lot. Growing up, she had two key figures that changed her faith: her mom and Sister Mary Margreat Donnely. Today, she loves serving and helping others come into the faith, reading the Bible, and she also serves as an altar server.

Koppes would always go to St. Mary’s every Saturday at 5:30pm and cherished that time spent in mass. She believes in the power of prayer and says it doesn’t have to be formal, but you must take time to talk to God when you can. “It’s gotten me through the best and worst times; it’s a constant presence.”

She loves how Dowling incorporates faith into the curriculum and that students can turn to God anytime they want. “It’s nothing compared to public schools.” Working in public schools, she felt that she had to repress her faith, but Dowling has certainly made her more comfortable expressing it. 

My personal experience with Koppes is that she has guided me through the intricacies of college applications and given me life advice along the way. It’s not every day you come across a college and career counselor that is funny and loves talking to students like Mrs. Koppes. I have seen her help numerous students with their applications and see her organize so much for the school. It’s not easy being a college and career counselor, but Koppes has proven how rewarding it can be.

Her concluding quote to me was from Mumford and Sons, and it was. “keep the Earth below my feet.” She reminds me to not forget where I’m coming from and  lose sight of my roots. It is always important to recognize where we started. 

So, if you ever see Mrs. Koppes in the halls, never be afraid to say because she is a very open and funny person. Also, if you ever need help with college, she is your go-to person for it. It’s not easy navigating your future, but she can always make it one step easier for you.