| August/September 2001 | Online Publication |
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Cost of Attendance as well as Federal Methodology, presented by Julie Yeager Arthur, our Department of Education representative, were two of the presentations. 150 FA people performing hand calculations - what a sight! |
Cub Reporter: WASFAA Summer Institute  After 30 plus years I returned to college again, this time to
the WAFSAA Summer Institute held at Boise State
University in Boise, Idaho. Our dorm rooms were pretty
sterile, and I was lucky I packed some hangers and brought
a little radio. And I was lucky that the bathroom was directly
across the hall from my room!I arrived Sunday afternoon. As I entered the main room, Catherine King-Todd handed me my "bible" and my cub reporter pack (she volunteered me). I don't know that I have a more unique perspective on this week than anyone else, but I was "chosen" to do the job. And I have documented the week with my cub reporter camera.  I arrived in Boise on the last day of the River Festival.
Some of us walked down to the park across the river from
the school. Things were closing up and being dismantled,
but we got a basic idea of how things were. People were getting
set up for the fireworks, which we were able to see from
the dorm. It was quite a show.Monday was our first full day of training. It started with the arrival of a wonderful gem of a woman, Miss Verlene Van Amber (a.k.a. Jack Millis), her green bob signifying the color of the 2001-2002 FAFSA. She explained the FAFSA and application process in her own inimitable way and had us all in stitches. She returned a few times during the course of the week and was the negotiator between the Faculty and the Lizard Liberation group, whom we all despised. We dispersed to our small breakout groups for some "icebreaking."  Wednesday we sat through the calculation of Pell Grants and the FFEL and Direct loans. Our afternoon was to be devoted to "field research." Some researched white water rafting, others researched shopping and I took a tour of the Financial Aid office at Boise State and then headed into town with 9 others to do a little shopping and hear music in the early evening. Huddled under umbrellas, drinking our brew, we finally decided to get in out of the rain and head for food. The Irish Pub provided lots of laughs and fun. 10 women took our athletic (fullback Boise State football champions 2000), good looking and good smelling (!!!) waiter under our collective Financial Aid wing and promised him smooth sailing through his last period of enrollment in the coming academic year at Boise State. He schmoozed well and his tip reflected it. Thursday offered more training and the banquet in the evening. Ms. Verlene was in attendance. The lizard was returned and the members of the Lizard Liberation group were identified. Many photo ops and hugs as groups received certificates for completing the week. By the end of the week, our brains were mush and we looked forward to returning home to families and perhaps jobs. We appreciated the work that the Faculty put in for this institute. We collected each other's business cards promising to keep in touch. As I left the second floor of Chaffee Hall, burdened with the additional weight of a backpack and 40- pound notebook, I heard someone moan, "I can't wait until I get home to my own bathroom!!!" |
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