A Peek Inside KASFAA – Associate Member

This committee of one is extremely important as it is an elected position (Your name in lights). Cool things that come along with this position is that you get to sit at the head table by the President! That equates to you get to eat first. Most people would ask how you get elected. My response is I was asked to fulfill the previous representative’s commitment. The next thing I knew I was in for good.

Many of the duties associated with this position are driven not only by the KASFAA board but also by the members that you serve. The Associate Member representative is part of the executive board of KASFAA. So now not only your name in lights but people might think that you are an important executive. Wow! The time commitment is minimal as many of the tasks can be completed in your office. A major responsibility is updating the training calendar on the KASFAA website. Working with the conference planning committee is also part of the duties of this committee. Finally updating the associate members on any news that is affecting or that is happening in the KASFAA world.

-Bruce Lopez

Financial Aid Awareness Month

On Wednesday February 25, 2015, several KASFAA members traveled to Topeka, Kansas to meet with Governor Sam Brownback and be part of the governor’s proclamation signing declaring February Financial Aid Awareness Month.

Photo (Left to right):  Perry Diehm from Mid America Nazarene University, Tom Stuart from Washburn University, Governor Brownback, Ben Kohl, KASFAA president/ K-State, and Gail Palmer from Washburn University.

KASFAA BOD Transition Announcement

It is with mixed feelings that I would like to announce to you that Ben Kohl resigned from Kansas State University – effective March 6 – to join a nonprofit higher education firm called IDEA Education Center (http://ideaedu.org/).  While we will miss Ben and his passion for KASFAA, we wish him the very best as he begins this new chapter in his life.  I believe that Ben will be communicating about his new job to the listserv and blog soon (and has already posted on Facebook for those of you who are his friends there), meanwhile, I wanted to let you know how we will be handling the transition.

As you may or may not know, to be an officer in KASFAA, you must be an institutional member.  As of March 7 and in accordance with KASFAA Bylaws, I will be assuming the duties of President until such time as I am officially installed in April.  Because we aren’t quite ready to say goodbye to Ben yet – he will still represent the state officially at the RMASFAA board meeting this weekend and will be staying on through the conference as part of the Membership Committee to help out Mary.  In addition – he is invited as KASFAA’s special guest to the annual conference in April and will be in attendance on Thursday night for the awards banquet and Friday morning for the wrap up.  We are excited to have this opportunity to “send him off into the world” correctly!

I hope that you join with me to wish Ben the best in his new career.  He is answering emails at his KSU address until March 6.

Sincerely,

Brenda D. Hicks

Director of Financial Aid, A.F.C.®

100 College St Winfield, KS 67156

800-846-1543 ext. 6387

620-229-6387

Spring 2015 KASFAA Registration

A Peek Inside KASFAA – Publicity and Awareness Committee

Chair – Shannon Davis/Seward County Community College/Area Technical School

Co-Chair – Stephannie DeLong/Southwestern College

Members:

Melinda Harrington/Garden City Community College

Jana Parks/Baker University

Renee Wiesner/University of Kansas

This committee is responsible to publicize and create awareness of KASFAA and it’s resources to high school counselors, students and parents.  Each Fall our two biggest responsibilities are to send literature to the College Planning Conferences in the form of a Jr/Sr Checklist, and to update the KASFAA FACT poster and distribute it to Kansas high schools and colleges/universities.  The Jr/Sr checklist gives Juniors, Seniors and their parents the important steps to follow to apply for admission to college and apply for financial aid and scholarships.  The FACT poster lists most colleges/universities in Kansas and the federal financial aid and scholarships they offer, as well as an estimate of tuition, book and room/board charges for an academic year.

In the Spring our committee coordinates the signing of the Governor’s proclamation to make February Financial Aid Awareness month.  We work with the Government Relations Committee to be present at the signing and to try to visit with the State’s Legislators.  We also try to promote other financial aid literacy during the month of February.

It was decided at the Fall Board of Directors meeting in Dodge City that our committee would work towards revamping the way we present the material that has been on the FACT poster.  This will cut down on a huge cost and hopefully a lot of work that can be channeled to make the KASFAA website “High Schools” tab more appealing to counselors, students and parents.  It is still in its beginning stages but the outcome will hopefully include links to the financial aid pages for the states colleges/universities, financial literacy websites, and Department of Education websites.

We hope that when you decide to volunteer for a committee that you will consider the Publicity and Awareness Committee.  It’s an exciting time for our committee with many changes on the forefront.

KASFAA Member Spolight – Lynna Cherry

What school do you work for:   Eric Fisher Academy

How long have you been with your current school:   8 months

Tell us in what you do for the Financial Aid Team:  I assist student and parents concerning their Financial Aid Questions meet with Students to help guide them with their best Financial Aid practices. We are a small enough school, that I can meet with every student that wants to attend. Which is such a benefit for our student.

What are you most looking forward to as a KASFAA Member:  The Conferences! 

Where did you earn your degree(s):  The University of Kansas

What three words would you use to describe yourself:   Caring, Fun and outgoing

Outside of work, what do you like to do for fun:  Hang out with my family and extending family.  We all love to do thing together.  I’m also a big sports fan, so we love to watch games and go to games.

What might someone be surprised to know about you:  I’m a History Geek. Love History!

Who’s your favorite Superhero:  Wonder Woman, because she is smart, strong and Independent and is all about peace!

The best thing about Kansas is:  Basketball

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what 3 things would you bring with you:  My husband and 2 boys

A Peek Inside KASFAA – Keith Fitzsimmons, Treasurer

This is a busy time for your KASFAA Treasurer. Catch-up time for paying association bills for Fall conference, counselor training and NASFAA/RMASFAA/NACUBO conferences.  But the big one is the annual outside financial review. Lots of questions and forms for our CPA to make sure we are in good order.

Oh year, plus my real job stuff too. Which included auditors from every nook and cranny this year finding a replacement for Carla Brown as she has left us for the Budget Office of all places. Fortunately Lisa Arnold from Kansas State has moved in and is doing a fantastic job.

I am glad to say however that I continue to maintain my ever-charming enthusiastic and most humble personality.

I want a cape.

Keith Fitzsimmons, KASFAA Treasurer