Cruisin' With Financial Aid
By Cub Reporters:
Jacqueline Brathwaite and Diane Morton
Boise State University

The Idaho Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators went cruisin' in Post Falls, Idaho from Monday October 16th till Wednesday October 18th.

Ships Log
Monday October 16th :
Flew in, or for the unfortunate few, drove in and registered for the conference. Most of the participants prepared for the evening's activity of games (shuffleboard anyone?) in Coeur d'Alene. No big winners, but we all had fun watching each other lose our few dollars!

Ships Log
Tuesday October 17th :
We were welcomed by the mayor of Post Falls, Mr. Gus Johnson who underscored the importance financial aid plays in the lives of his constituents. Our intervention gives students needed funds to pursue higher education and the re-turn is felt in the economy.

We then heard from Mr. Rob Spears of Deliberate Directions about Professional and Personal Growth. He made it clear to us (if you didn't know already, you might want to sit down at this point) that we should not take life seriously because we won't come out of it alive anyway. We are quite insignificant and if we can take that attitude to work each day, there will be very little that could upset us. With this attitude, we have the freedom to be wrong - who cares? We'll be dead in about fifty years or so. While here, we are the "Chancellor of the Exchequer" - simply giving out money to students and that, for a brief period of time. He explained how experience creates belief, which drives actions, and then we see the results or consequences. However, beliefs can change and we should never fall into the trap of jumping to conclusions about the students we see in the financial aid office.

Doug Severs then emphasized the importance of taking an active role in the various professional associations available to IASFAA members - to benefit from these associations, we should give serious consideration to volunteering in IASFAA, WASFAA, and NASFAA. He strongly encouraged supervisors to grant members time for participation.

This was followed by a delicious lunch on deck of the riverboat. The weather was absolutely beautiful and as you can see from the pictures, we all had smiles on our faces. The afternoon session started off with an update of the loan programs then followed by debt management and default aversion by Jennifer Freimund of NELA. Students may default on loans for a variety of reasons: leaving school before program completion; misunderstanding of loan; or a lack of money management skills. As administrators, we should assist students with a better understanding of borrower responsibilities.

We ended the day with a presentation by the beautiful and talented Jacqueline Brathwaite of Boise State University (me, if you haven't already figured it out)! Although difficult to keep everyone awake at the end of the day, the session emphasized the influence of perceptions on our actions. As financial aid administrators, we should be conscious of our perceptions when dealing with students.

We then headed off for drinks where, if we were lucky, someone bought us a drink or two… or three… before our dinner and very successful auction.

The auction, with proceeds going to scholarships, raised over $400. Members brought gifts to be auctioned off and then turned around and bid on those same gifts - what an idea, eh? You could have brought to the auction a gift worth $75 only to have turned around and paid another $50 for the very same item. Financial aid administrators are the only ones who could have developed the brilliance of this plan because we know that, when it comes to helping students, no one else could mastermind a plan as flawless as this one! James Martin (ISU), was a memorable auctioneer reminded us all, "It's only a dollar!"

IASFAA Attendees Enjoying the Conference	James Martin, Nina Schwarz, JenniferZimmers, Chris Bowles, Dwight Berreth & Beck Cady
Nina Schwarz &Jennifer Zimers College of Southern Idaho

Ships Log
Wednesday October 16th :
We all jumped ship on Wednesday after we'd been briefed on the latest Federal Updates. As you can see from the smiles of the participants in these pictures, we had a great time. Hopefully your state association conference will be just as much fun!

Conference Mishaps (always worth talking about): Gai McCune (ISU) losing her contact in her salad (yes, no worries, she finally found it). Margaret Matjeka (BSU) and Doug Severs (ISU) trying to open a case for one of the presenters (sorry brain and brawn, better luck next time). Finally, Dwight Berreth (BSU) trying to win more money than he lost at the casino (step away from the machines, Dwight).