Texas-born and raised Kavaris Sims braves snowstorms and time changes as he begins his new role as associate dean of student life.
Sims fell in love with Ferris and the mission of the institution. He feels that Ferris’ goals and prospects align perfectly with his own.
“The founder’s focus on humanitarian efforts ensures that students have opportunities for college access,” Sims said. “That’s all in my bag, that’s what I love to do. I’m a first-generation high school graduate and so I pride myself on serving as an administrator that tries to find innovative ways to support students throughout their journey in college.”
Sims’ main focus is to help students who may “slip through the cracks” to find their way back on the path of graduating.
“I like to look at college as a pipe, and the students are the flowing water that goes through the pipe,” Sims said. “If there is a leak in the pipe that doesn’t stop the flow of water. The water continues to flow, some of it making it to the end of the pipe and some of it slipping through the leak. I like to think that my role is to figure out innovative ways to catch the leaks.”
The two main reasons Sims gravitated toward Ferris’ job listing were because of the administration and the support for students.
“In addition to so many resources provided for our students, there are a bunch of administrations who care about the well-being of students,” Simms said. “[At Ferris,] it’s a common thread that everybody wants to do right by the students, and that’s rare.”
The Department of Student Life supports student needs and aims to help students reach their goals despite what they may be going through. The assistant position was created this year to help the dean of student life Lina Blair.
“The institution is noticing that students are going through a lot and we want to support students through that, so Kavaris’ role is to help in that regard and to help oversee student conduct,” Blair said.
According to Blair, because of Sims’ years of experience in student life and student conduct, he was the prime candidate for this position.
“Kavaris was our top candidate, and he was such a strong candidate,” Blair said. “He came out to campus for a day and did an in-person interview but also got to meet some of our team and students. Within a week, we were able to make a job offer to him. He is very relatable to the students and has confidence, but there is an ease about him as well.”
Director of Student Conduct Becca Brumels has been excited to have a new staff member in the office. She would describe Sims as “fun and bubbly.”
“I love getting his exciting ideas and new perspectives,” Brumels said. “I would consider him a day one person. On his first day, he was ready to go. It’s nice to have a new supervisor who wants to continue to push you to be the best. He truly has a passion for serving students and I’m excited to see what we can do in the future.”
Sims would describe his transition into the office as smooth. His coworkers have been enjoying his presence and they are looking forward to the changes he will bring.