Lissa Winter Alumni Spotlight

Lissa Winter graduated from Wichita South High School in 2017 at 18 years old. After graduation, she struggled with many career changes, not knowing what she wanted to do and not wanting to go back to school until she figured it out.

One day, when Lissa was 19 years old, she saw an application for a daycare and figured, “Why not? She loved kids.” She applied for the job, and Lissa was offered a floating position at a local Wichita daycare center, where she fell in love with teaching and nurturing children to be the best they can be! 

At age 20, Lissa had her daughter and realized she wanted to be able to tell her that she had put myself through college. So, in the fall of 2022, Lissa returned to school to earn her Childcare Directors License! She had no idea how she would manage to accomplish being a 23-year-old full-time college student, a full-time mom to a (then) two-year-old, and a full-time employee at the daycare she worked at! However, what was supposed to be only one semester turned into Lissa graduating from Cowley College in May 2024 with her Associate of Applied Science in Childcare and her Technical Certificate in Childcare at 25 years old with a 4-year-old. Lissa can now say, "The whole two years of school, four summer classes, seven classes in one semester, sleepless nights, exhaustion, procrastination, etc., was all worth it in the end."

In April of 2024, Lissa was the recipient of a Spotlight Award for having an impact on Early Childhood Education. Many families whose children she cared for nominated her for the award and said sweet things about her.

As of the beginning of September 2024, Lissa has accepted an On-Site Director position with the YMCA CDC that would not have been possible without her degree.

Hunter Ferguson | Integrated Communications Specialist
Cowley College
125 S. 2nd Street
Arkansas City, KS 67005
hunter.ferguson@cowley.edu