Come be a part of something great!!
KASFAA is built and sustained on the hard work of volunteers in the financial aid community.
We have an amazingly diverse list of committees to join. Something to fit the needs and interests of everyone. From Archive committee and the Corporate Support team to Professional Development and the Conference Planning committee. No matter what you love to do we have a committee that will fit.
Let’s just dive right in …
Courtney – Cloud County Community College
I chose to volunteer for the Association News and Publicity Committee this year largely due to my academic history with journalism and mass communications and love of writing. We are all Financial Aid Administrators here but I love that committees like this allow us to still utilize some of our other skills and passions.
I was lucky enough to receive a scholarship to RMASFAA’s Summer Institute from KASFAA last year and wanted to do my part to repay the organization that provided so much for me. I previously volunteered with the Government Relations Committee because I was looking to get involved as a newbie to the Financial Aid world and I thoroughly enjoyed by time with that committee as well.
I’m so excited to see everyone in person this year at the Spring Conference in Wichita!
Nathan – Hutchinson Community College
Why did you volunteer for KASFAA? I was a new Director at Hutchinson and after visiting with staff they had mentioned we had been active KASFAA but when I came the school had not been very active for a couple of years before my arrival. So one thing I wanted to do after starting was to get us back into conversations and develop a network that we could use in the financial aid community. Also it was a good opportunity for me to start my professional network to get to know people in the state financial aid community.
Why did you pick the committee you did? I think I somehow got roped into the archive committee. I didn’t know what is was or what they did but it was an opportunity to get involved. It got me connected with Linda Oldham-Burns who I know work with pretty much every semester on military state aid. Then I ran for Treasurer but was asked to change gears and throw my name in for President-Elect from that point got elected and was fortunate to be elected President. The committees only scratched the surface of involvement. Becoming KASFAA President I got to serve on the regional board and was introduced more to the NASFAA and what they do in Washington, DC through the Leadership Conference. I was very thankful and privileged to serve as KASFAA President, KASFAA is very respected in the financial aid community and know that I was able to be the leader of this state organization was such a humbling experience.
Tell us one favorite thing you accomplished while in that committee? My best thing that I accomplished was that while I was President I was able to get the board and the state to support KASFAA moving from 2 conferences annually to have one conference and being able to provide multiple training opportunities through the Drive in training that we now do. I was trying to be respectful of all the colleges and their budgets at that point in time knowing we were seeing less and less dollars and how would we stretch those dollars to be used in the most effective way possible.
Diana – Butler Community College
Why did you volunteer for KASFAA? I love being a part of KASFAA. I enjoy going to the training sessions that are available or going to the conference. As a member of any organization, if you are getting something from that organization and they ask for volunteers it is only right that you give back. An organization that is run on volunteers is only as strong as the number that volunteer so the more that help the stronger KASFAA will be.
Why did you pick the committee you did? I did not technically pick the committee. I was asked to run for President and as such, am a part of this committee. I have been in Financial Aid for over 20 years and have been a member of KASFAA that entire time. I did not do much in KASFAA for the first couple of years but then started joining in the training and going to conferences. As I became more active in KASFAA activities I felt is was my responsibility to become more active as a KASFAA volunteer. I have been Vice-President also and have run for Treasurer. I feel like KASFAA has given me so much that when I was called to run it was my duty to answer that call.
Tell us one favorite thing you accomplished while in that committee? I will tell you as President Elect, helping to put on what I think was a successful on-line conference felt like a pretty big achievement. And this year we are maintaining a virtual option so that everyone that can’t attend or any college that does not have the personnel that allow them to attend or the budget, might still get the opportunity to be a part of the conference. I think it is a way that KASFAA can try and serve every single member.
Heather – Wichita State University
Why did you volunteer for KASFAA? I volunteered for KASFAA so that I could gain more knowledge from others outside of my office regarding Financial Aid as well as network/meet new people.
Why did you pick the committee you did? I was asked by a former member of the committee to be apart of it and then she had a change in employment. But this committee has been a great place for me to get my feet wet in.
Tell us one favorite thing you accomplished while in that committee? I thing that I wouldn’t consider an accomplishment but was reaching out to the members of KASFAA and getting to know them and their backgrounds.
Darcy – Emporia State University
I started volunteering for KASFAA 10 years ago after my first Spring conference (which was 5 months after I started in FA). Seeing the connections that my coworkers had with others in the state made me want to get involved and be welcomed like those I saw around me. Over time, KASFAA has given much to me, so my desire to volunteer now also stems from a place of wanting to give back and see KASFAA continue to thrive.
This is my third time volunteering for Outreach Training, and it is by far one of my favorite committees. I love to plan/organize events and I love training/sharing info with others. This committee combines those two, which is why I really enjoy it. Plus the work this committee does is important in helping our college access partners have the information to assist high school seniors and underserved populations.
Because I already knew the inner workings of the Event Administration, Forms Builder, and Zoom module admin areas of the KASFAA website, I volunteered to do registration this year, which included building the events and setting up the zoom links, coordinating with Mac to get them posted on the OTC page of the KASFAA website, and sending reminders to the registered participants the day before the session. Afterwards, I provided registrant and attendee data to Kaitlin so she can build a large master contact list, and evaluation data to Faye so she can compile for an overall view at the success of our mission.
There are two other things that did for the committee this year that are battling for top billing as my favorite. The first was having the opportunity to co-present with Daisha Holmes from JCCC. We tag teamed “this is what your students should be working on this spring to prepare for next year,” then she presented on Kansas Promise, and I covered all the FAFSA Simplification changes that we know about thus far. I’m so blessed that I was able to work with Daisha, as she’s an excellent presenter that brought an energy to her presentation that made the complexities of Kansas Promise not seem quite as cumbersome as they are.
The second was something I kind of took on extra. I had access to the zoom recordings, KASFAA YouTube account, and love using Premiere Pro to edit videos. Knowing that we had a lot of dead air at the beginning that would need trimmed, I decided to take it a little further, and add title cards and intro/outro music at either end of each video before posting it to YouTube. I also overlaid web links on the video in places that information was shared due to questions asked during the presentation. No one else may care, but doing this made my nerdy-self happy to make our videos look slightly more professional before posting them to the public. It’s these little extra opportunities that KASFAA provides to utilize ones skills that really make volunteering even more worthwhile. So remember, look for committees that you can bring a little something extra and don’t be afraid to speak up and say “hey, can I add this value to what our committee is doing?”
Linda – Kansas Board of Regents
Why did you volunteer for KASFAA? I volunteer for KASFAA for two reasons – one, to get to know other financial aid administrators across the state and two, KASFAA reminds me why we do what we do every day – to serve the students and their dreams!! It is easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day details of our work but KASFAA allows me to see a bigger picture of what good we are doing.
Why did you pick the committee you did? Throughout my time in KASFAA, I have been a part of many committees. While it is fun to explore new committees and their tasks, I do like the work that the Outreach Training Committee does. Again, it goes back to getting to know other FA people and meeting the high school counselors.
Tell us one favorite thing you accomplished while in that committee? I have enjoyed watching my fellow financial aid colleagues present on different aspects of financial aid. I always learn something new and they are all so clever and funny!!
If you want to remember why you are in this crazy business of financial aid and higher education, you need to be a part of KASFAA and volunteer for a committee. You will not be disappointed!!
Thank you to all of our volunteers for the amazing work they do!!!
Check out our past blogs for more testimonies and information on each committee or head over to kasfaa.org under the Members tab for a quick peek of the amazing things we accomplish. Under that same Members tab toward the bottom you will see the word Volunteer. Check it out.
If you have decided you would like to be a part of this amazing team go ahead and click the
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