Staff

Rufina Nelson has worked at the Kansas City Educational Opportunity Center for over 25 years. She enjoys working with the students, hearing their stories and helping them in any way she can.

Jaime Alabi began her career in higher education in 1999 as a student worker in the financial aid office at Butler Community College.

She was the first in her family to go to college; she felt like an outsider trying to navigate college processes and maintain good grades while working road construction during summers to make ends meet.

Notwithstanding a few bumps in the road, she completed an associate degree, followed by a bachelor's degree in Spanish at Emporia State University and began working as a financial aid counselor. Ten years later, she returned to school and completed a master's degree in counseling at Concordia University Chicago.

Upon returning to KC, she eagerly accepted a position with the EOC in January 2017, allowing her to draw from her financial aid knowledge and experience as a student to assist those in the community interested in pursuing a college path. Acknowledging that even though she first stepped foot on a college campus as a first-generation student, she still entered with a lot of privilege.

She values the opportunity to assist students from all backgrounds and walks of life in working toward their academic and career goals.

"I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed."

 ~Booker T. Washington

Eyyup Esen, EOC Academic Advisor, was born and grew up in Turkey. He received his BA in foreign languages teaching from the Black Sea Technical University in Turkey, a MA in educational studies from the University of Cincinnati and a second MA in communication and leadership from Park University.

He received his PhD in higher education from the University of Kansas with high honors and was awarded the most outstanding international student, only given to one graduate student a year by the University. Eyyup also holds a certification in peace education. 

He is currently involved in the work of the Dialogue Institute, also known as Movement of Global Warming of Hearts, in his own words.

In addition, before joining the EOC - MCC team, he worked as a college access advisor at Wichita State University. He enjoys working with students from diverse backgrounds to help them whenever needed.  He is interested in establishing dialogue with anyone of different cultures and ethnicities and organizes a variety of events to promote peace and dialogue.

His goal is to contribute to the global warming of hearts to depolarize the world. He published his first book, Global Warming of Hearts! in 2018 and his second book, I am Not Color Blind in 2020.

Tiffany considers herself to be an unconventional, non-traditional student.

She is a retired military brat who was homeschooled from grades k–12 and graduated by earning her GED after attending a local Adult Education & Literacy (AEL) program in 2007.

After taking some time off for good behavior, she decided to go to college and earn a degree. Tiffany then earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and a minor in Digital Media Production (2017) from the University of Central Missouri (UCM). And because she is a glutton for punishment she then decided to return to college and earn a Master’s of Science in Educational Technology from UCM (2023).

Over the last decade she has been working in the educational field in one position or another. She started by working her way up from a classroom aide in an AEL program (where she had attended classes previously) in the West Central Missouri region, to be an instructor of said class after earning her bachelor’s before moving over to the administration side of higher education during the COVID Pandemic.

Due to her own unconventional path through education, Tiffany has developed a passion for education and loves helping students achieve their academic goals. While working on her undergraduate degree, she had been involved with the TRIO program, which was offered at her college at the time, and fell in love with that program and their mission. Once she learned of an opening at the TRIO Educational Opportunity Center, she knew she wanted to apply, work with TRIO, and help students on their academic path.

Tiffany has also had the privilege to live and travel around the world, and she is grateful for the opportunity to broaden her worldview and cultural horizons.