Growing up in South Carolina, the Rev. Dr. Kimberly O. McManus knew the importance of education.
McManus graduated valedictorian of her high school and went on to Clemson University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in special education and a master’s degree in counseling with an emphasis in student affairs.
Those credentials catapulted McManus into the world of education, where she has made it her focus and mission to help serve students, particularly those with disabilities. That journey first began at Piedmont Technical College (PTC), a two-year school in Greenwood, South Carolina. There, McManus served as the coordinator of disability support services and worked as a minority retention counselor.
“I really was able to learn quite a bit about the challenges and barriers that so many students face in accessing higher education,” says McManus, who also dabbled in admissions before getting the opportunity to teach developmental English as an adjunct instructor.
Dr. Kimberly O. McManus
“I have had the great fortune of working with students, both in and outside of the classroom,” says McManus, who as an educator remains deeply committed to providing equal access and opportunity to all college students. “I believe that everyone has the opportunity to succeed, whatever that success looks like.”
After her time at PTC, McManus returned to her alma mater and worked as the coordinator of educational career services and placement. Then, she ventured into the nonprofit arena to serve as coordinator for Making Our Mothers Successful (MOMS), an initiative organized by the South Carolina Department of Justice that worked with adjudicated young women, who were either pregnant or were already mothers, to help them achieve their purpose.
“When a new governor came into office, all sex equity programs were cut across the state,” says McManus, who also worked as a counselor, program coordinator, and instructor inside the juvenile justice facility.
