For the last decade, Kim Davalos has quietly shaped one of Skyline College’s most transformative student support programs. As the first counselor hired for the Promise Scholars Program (PSP), she helped grow a small pilot initiative into a district-wide model centered on equity, community, and culturally grounded counseling. 

Yet, behind her leadership and impact lies a much more personal story, one that begins long before she arrived at Skyline.

Originally from the Central Valley, Davalos went straight from high school to San Diego State University, ready to start her adult life. What she didn’t anticipate was how difficult the transition would be. Suddenly far from family and support systems, she struggled with mental health and the emotional weight of entering adulthood. 

“I was that student who got A’s and B’s, but was really struggling personally,” Davalos said. 

​​To cope, she began attending personal counseling and working as an academic mentor, which unknowingly nudged her toward her future career. 

She began attending personal counseling on her campus and later got a job as an academic mentor who helped students in her residence hall to pick classes. While navigating her own challenges, she helped herself understand the power of support. After switching her majors six times, she discovered psychology and a minor in Counseling and Social Change, finally finding her path.

Davalos’ introduction to Skyline came later through hip-hop education. While working at SFSU, she was invited by fellow Skyline counselor, Nate Nevado, to lead a spoken word poetry workshop for Center for Innovative Practices through Hip Hop Education & Research (CIPHER). The experience immediately resonated with her. It blended creativity, community, mentorship, and cultural expression, everything she valued.

Davalos later continued assisting Nevado with his own educational hip-hop program called Rock the School Bells. She assisted with coordinating the conferences that were held on campus, way before she even became a counselor. 

“I always say it’s CIPHER and Rock the School Bells that brought me here, and it’s Promise Scholars that kept me here,” Davalos said.

Davalos applied for a full-time counseling position but didn’t get the job. Instead, Skyline’s then-president, Regina Stanback Stroud, offered her a spot in a brand-new pilot initiative called the PSP. Davalos accepted the job offer and has since then impacted the trajectory of the program.

Today, PSP serves more than a thousand students each year, supporting first-gen, low-income, and transfer-bound students through comprehensive counseling, financial resources, and academic guidance. Davalos helped set the tone for what the program has become. She has proudly assisted with creating a student-centered, culturally grounded, and rooted in community program for Skyline students to enjoy.

Dovalos’ counseling philosophy is guided by her own framework, SWAG: Self, Why, Agency, and Grit. “Self” stands for knowing who you are; “Why” is for understanding your purpose; “Agency” is for navigating your systems and advocating for yourself; “Grit” is for facing your challenges with perseverance. 

She comments on how she holds herself to the same standards as her students to be as authentic as she can with them. 

“So what I ask of my students, I can’t ask you without having asked myself as well,” Davalos said. 

Her framework, inspired by hip-hop culture and individuality, was even used in statewide counselor training. 

Beyond counseling, Davalos is also a poet. In 2018, for her 30th birthday, she self-published her poetry book, “Delilah’s Daughter,” inspired by her mother and her own journey. English professor Liza Erpelo now teaches the book every semester in English 105 and 110 courses. Students often approach Davalos to tell her how a particular poem resonated with them.

“It reminds me I’m more than just a counselor,” she said. “Just like our students are more than just students.”

Her warmth, creativity, and authenticity have made her a cornerstone of Skyline’s Promise Scholars Program. Whether guiding students through transfer plans, helping them find their purpose, or sharing pieces of her own story, Davalos continues to shape a community built on care, culture, and connection.