News from Kansas

Becca Diskin has moved from USA Funds University as a trainer to her new role as an Account Executive with USA Funds Services. Becca will be working with schools in Kansas in the RMASFAA Region.

Mandy Peterson joined the USA Funds University team as the new Regional Training Executive. Mandy began her new position in January.

News from South Dakota
Submitted by RMASFAA Exchange Committee Member, Pam Lane

Jodi and John DeBerg are the new proud parents of baby girl, Abbie Marie, born October 23, 2006. She was 5 lbs. 3 oz. – 18 ½” long. Jodi is the Financial Aid Counselor at the University of Sioux Falls. Congratulations!!

The first College Goal Sunday event on February 11, 2007 was a success. The SDASFAA membership comprised most of the 94 volunteers at the twelve sites in South Dakota. There were 323 people in attendance, exceeding expectations when considering the weather conditions. The surveys completed by students/parents had only one person stating it "was not worth attending" a College Goal Sunday site. Other information showed the "one-to-one help" was the most beneficial reason for attending, and the Guidance Counselor was the predominant answer on "How did you learn about College Goal Sunday?"

The Volunteer Survey had very positive results; nearly all would volunteer again. The web page at www.collegegoalsd.org provides more information. Thank you to the SDASFAA membership for their dedication in helping the college goal for students who have one or more characteristics of first generation, foster, low income, or minority status.

Good work Jay Larsen, South Dakota College Goal Coordinator, SDSU Financial Aid Director.

Mary Fedders joined the Financial Aid Office at USF as the Financial Aid Counselor and Loan Counselor. Mary has been at USF in the Career Development area for over 20 years.

Amanda Fenolio joined the USF Financial Aid Office as the Financial Aid Associate. Amanda will be working with EDExpress, importing ISIRs, and processing Pell Payments

News from Utah
Submitted by RMASFAA Exchange Committee Member, Megan Larimer

The UASFAA Spring conference will be held in Cedar City, UT on April 25-27, 2007.

UASFAA has continued our 'postcard' mailer project where we send our Financial Aid Application information to all of Utah's graduating high school seniors. We've done this for the last 5 years and it appears to be very successful.

The Utah Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (UASFAA) has initiated a project with the primary purpose of informing graduating high school senior students and their parents about Federal Student Aid. In January of each year for the past five years, the UASFAA association has mailed out postcards to an estimated 97% of all graduating senor students throughout the state of Utah. As we have completed this, the impact of this project has extended well beyond the primary goal. We’ve concluded that the high school senior students and their parents who receive a postcard are either introduced to or reacquainted with the option of Federal Student Assistance. As we continue to provide this service, our hope is to benefit the general population of Utah. We see our postcard as another source of information, which promotes, builds and encourages ALL individuals who seek further education, the option of financial aid when pursuing higher education. By these means, we hope to advance diversity and access of higher education for Utah.

New People in the Utah Financial Aid Community

• Jed Spencer, Director of Financial Aid, Weber State University
• Shawn Hancock, Assistant Director of Operations, University of Utah
• Derek Boyle, Athletic Financial Aid Coordinator, University of Utah
• Max Sergeev, Financial Aid Counselor, Scholarships, University of Utah

People Who Moved On to Greener Pastures

• Brett Lutz left University of Utah and moved to UHEAA.
• Amanda Jacobson left University of Utah and moved to Salt Lake Community College to be an Advisor.
• Steve Rogers stayed at the University of Utah but moved to the College of Nursing.

Promotions

• Steve Sharp has been promoted to Director of Financial Aid at Utah State University.
• Kymm Perrine has been promoted to Advisor of the Salt Lake Community College South Campus.

Recent Retires

• Peggy Leavitt from Dixie College
• Judy LeCheminant from Utah State University

UASFAA Members

• Dina Nielsen, UASFAA President Elect for 2008
• Art Young, UASFAA Associate Member Vice President-Elect for 2008

News from Colorado
Submitted by RMASFAA Exchange Committee Member, Thomas Rockwood

University of Northern Colorado welcomes Justin Davis to the financial aid counseling staff. Justin is a graduate of Michigan State University and comes to UNC from Anoka Technical College in Anoka, MN, where he has been a financial aid specialist for the past year. UNC also hired Mary Pleiss as an administrative assistant in client services. Mary comes to UNC from the private sector, but has lots of experience with college-age students, having helped put three members of her family through UNC. UNC also welcomes Raul Cardenas as assistant vice president for enrollment services. Dr. Cardenas came from Arizona State University where he most recently held the position of senior associate dean of admissions and executive director for Access ASU.

Sunny Staninger is leaving TCF Bank - Colorado to be the Manager of University Programs at Jones/NCTI. She is excited at the new responsibilities and wishes everyone in Colorado the best. She will miss you very much!

College Goal Sunday-1st Year
We had a fantastic turnout for the first College Goal Sunday event in Colorado. We had over two hundred volunteers: Financial Aid people, Gear Up Counselors, TrioCounselors, High School Counselors, Daniels Fund, and Denver Scholarship Fund are only a few of the organizations that helped out. We had approximately 1500 attendees (our goal was 1,000), directly serving more than 650 students. We gave away a $1,000 scholarship at each of the ten sites for college attendance in the fall. Each site had a bilingual representative to assist the families that needed it.The Mayor of Denver (John Hickenlooper) gave the CGS steering committee a proclamation declaring it to be College Goal Sunday in Denver on February 11th, 2007. Mayor Hickenlooper also attended the event on the Auraria Campus to show his support and to welcome parents and students.

Channel 9 News came equipped with TV cameras and used footage from the event on the evening news. The week before the event and the day before the event, Channel 9 News hosted a call-in show about financial aid and the opportunities available by attending the College Goal Sunday event. They were great partners and helped us promote College Goal Sunday as a community project.

Our site coordinators deserve a warm congratulations on their efforts and dedication:

• Phil Schroeder – Alamosa, Colorado – approximately 200 attendees
• Joy Jeffers – Aurora, Colorado – approximately 115 attendees
• Kim Sanders – Colorado Springs, Colorado – approximately 144 attendees
• Peg Mason – Downtown Denver, Colorado – approximately 500 attendees
• Kristan Crow/LeAnne Schnader – Fort Collins, Colorado – approximately 102 attendees
• Curt Martin – Grand Junction, Colorado – approximately 104 attendees
• Aimee Rogers/Nancy Gray – Greeley, Colorado – approximately 48 attendees
• Jeff Paolucci – La Junta, Colorado – approximately 51 attendees
• Marti Golden – Longmont, Colorado – approximately 190 attendees
• Audrey Osswald/Rosina Chaparro – Pueblo, Colorado – approximately 40 attendees

We are looking forward to another year and expanding our site locations in 2008!

2007 RMASFAA Conference – Breckenridge, Colorado
October will be here before we all know it and we will all be enjoying the beautiful mountain setting of Breckenridge Colorado. What a great place to gather for our conference. From speaking with our RMASFAA conference committee member from Colorado, it sounds like things are coming together quickly.

As the state host for the conference, I have one additional item of interest – CAFAA will be celebrating it’s 40th year as an association. Please make sure and join us in recognizing the CAFAAA organization.

News from Wyoming
Submitted by RMASFAA Exchange Committee Member Carle Williams

WyASFAA Spring Conference, April 23 & 24, Casper WY – Our guest speaker will be Marion Loomis, WY Mining Association. His topic will be geared towards the amount of money the state of Wyoming receives from the solid mineral industry. Some of the money has allowed our state legislators to develop a state-wide scholarship program called Hathaway. The scholarship money is available for Wyoming students to attend any of the WY Community Colleges or the University of Wyoming.

College Goal Sunday was held on February 11. Statewide, we had 663 student and parent participants. The two schools with the most participants were Central Wyoming College and Casper College.

News from Nebraska
Submitted by RMASFAA Exchange Committee Member Sara Sell

First of all, we would like to congratulate Janet Dodson, Director of Financial Aid at Doan College in Crete, NE on the extraordinary job she is doing as NASFAA Chair!! We are extremely proud of the hard work and dedication she has demonstrated during her time as Chair, and feel very honored to have her talent and expertise based here in Nebraska!

Our Professional Development Committee (headed by the amazing Mary Sommers, UNK) has been hard at work to make this year’s Spring Conference the best in 40 years! The conference will be at the Holiday Inn Downtown in Lincoln, NE, April 11-13. Our keynote speakers are:

Dr. Kaye Monk-Morgan, Director of Upward Bound, Math Science Regional Center at Wichita State University – Dr. Monk-Morgan is a dynamic speaker. Her work on behalf of needy students and her personal story of success despite great odds will inspire us and remind us why we do all that we do.

Dr. John Dudley, Educational Consultant – A national speaker and published author, Dr. John Dudley is one of today's most respected and popular educational consultants. John Dudley has helped school districts across the nation prepare for and respond to school/campus tragedies.

Larry Zaglaniczny, Director of Governmental Relations, NASFAA – In case you hadn't noticed, there's quite a lot happening right now in Washington D.C. No better person to bring us up to date on the latest than Larry Z who spends 100% of his time advocating for student aid on our behalf and on the behalf of our students.

Session topics for our break-outs include ACG and SMART Grant administration, Return of Title IV Funds, Satisfactory Academic Progress, Having Fun at Work, Loan Limits, Helicopter Parents, What is your Academic Year and Why does that Matter.

Extra added bonus: Thursday night, April 12 will be our annual awards banquet. But this year will be all the more special because it will be our 40th Anniversary Celebration!! This will be a formal occasion that will be a wonderful celebration of the people who have made NeASFAA great over the years. We know the committee that has been designated to plan this very special event (headed by the ever-beautiful and energetic Kathy McConnell from ASAP/Union Bank&Trust) will surely make it a memorable one for us!

We have also recently elected new NeASFAA officers!! Congratulations go out to the following people:

• President Elect – Lisa Gdowski, Central Community College – Columbus
• Secretary – Penny James, Midland Lutheran College
• Sector Reps:
  • Two Year Public – Juanita Czarnick, North Platte Community College
  • Two Year Private – Steve Carper, Omaha School of Massage Therapy
  • Four Year Public – Jean Phillips, University of Nebraka - Omaha
  • Four Year Private – Mark Araujo, Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing
  • Associate Sector – Franny Madsen, ASAP Union Bank & Trust

Movers and Shakers
Penny James has taken on the role of Financial Aid Director at Midland Lutheran College replacing Dean Obenhaur, who is now a Regional Director for NSLP.

Wendy Olson, formerly of NSLP, is now a Lender Relations Manager for EdFund.

Northeast Community College welcomes Kimberly Nathan as a part-time Financial Aid Specialist!

Bailey Nelsen has been promoted to Financial Aid Assistant Director, Processing.

At Bellevue University, JaMese Kelley has been promoted from Specialist to Counselor. Megan Brazier and Samantha (Sam) Stepanek have been hired as new Specialists. Nicole Schneekloth has left to pursue other opportunities.

NeASFAA welcomes its newest members:

• Edfund
  • Wendy Olson, Lender Relations Mgr, Lincoln, NE
  • Michael Amaloo, Sr. Client Relations Mgr, Parker, CO
• Little Priest Tribal College
  • Billie Kitcheyan, DFA Regent
  • Jeff Lorton, Western Regional Sales Mgr, San Francisco, CA
• Campus Door
  • Bree Howell, Territory Executive, Carlisle, PA

Congratulations go out to Mark Schilmoeller of Nelnet and his family who welcomed a new member to their family on February 9th. John Frances weighed 5 lbs. 15 oz. and received a warm welcome from his 5 older siblings.

News from North Dakota
Submitted by RMASFAA Exchange Committee Member Lance Hill

In March, 2007, Holly Schirado of Bank of North Dakota transferred from her position of Loan Processing Supervisor to that of Data Processing Coordinator.

News from Montana
Submitted by RMASFAA Exchange Committee Member Amber Dushin

Montana State University - Bozeman new employees this year:

• Kelly Dinan, Program Assistant, Work Study
• Casi Frazier, Financial Aid Specialist, Customer Service Lead
• Tom Jewell, Assistant Director of Scholarships and Grants
• Sarah Luksha, Administrative Associate II, Loans
• Julie Watson, Customer Service Representative

Cassandra Lewis was promoted to Program Assistant, Grants & Scholarships area

Carroll College Director of Financial Aid, Janet Riis, has been named the Outstanding Financial Aid Professional of the Year by the Montana Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. As part of the award, Riis will receive $2,000 to attend the financial aid training of her choice.

Corena Benjamin, Default Prevention Manager at MGSLP, has written an online Money Management Counseling in conjunction with Mapping Your Future. Similar to Perkins and Stafford Loan Entrance Counseling, it teaches money management skills to students. This is available on Mapping Your Future.

Shauna Savage has accepted the Campus Outreach Manager position with Student Assistance Foundation. The office is located on the Montana Tech of The University of Montana campus in Butte. She will also provide outreach support to University of Montana - Western campus and the areas in and around Butte. Shauna was the Financial Aid Specialist in the Montana Tech Financial Aid Office.

MASFAA hosted several trainings this past fall: RMASFAA Decentralized Training, Federal HERA Training, MASFAA Support Staff Training.

Volunteers at 17 Montana College Goal Sunday sites across the state helped 1,566 students and their families complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). In addition, Student Assistance Foundation's (SAF) community partners awarded $17,000 in scholarships to the winners of drawings at each Montana College Goal Sunday site for the students to use at the school of their choice. According to Libby Siebens, SAF's College Goal Sunday program manager, attendance at the event was up 57 percent from the previous year.

MASFAA was also involved with the MPSEPC high school counselor update through MetNet. We were able to connect with 8 sites around the state to answer high school guidance counselor questions regarding changes to financial aid.