WASFAA - Western Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators

June/July 2002

Online Publication

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Our next conference has an added feature as it is being held in beautiful Hawaii!

Editorial Reflections ...
by Laura Whitelaw

What an awesome conference! I would like to say thank you to Barbara Alm and all of her conference committee. I had such a wonderful time in Idaho. The sessions were extremely helpful and informative, and the food, well I have never had a potato for dessert before. They were so creative in serving ice cream shaped like a baked potato, covered in powdered chocolate so it was the right color. They added a squirt of whip cream on the top, which looked like the potato was split open, drizzled chocolate syrup on it so it looked like it had gravy and sprinkled other yummies on the top which made it look like a real baked potato. I was kind of confused when I first saw it, as I was stuffed from dinner, but oh did it taste good!

One of my favorite sessions was the one on customer service. At first, I didn't think I really needed that session as I believe that I am pretty good with students and their parents. We role played, we shared experiences, and we expressed our frustrations of bad customer service that we have experienced ourselves. It was an interactive session, which made us think about how we interact with students and their parents.What an awesome session!

Every day students walk into our offices, often scared and confused. Good customer service is vital at this point, as they may turn around and walk out the door, feeling frustrated and hopeless. How we greet our students can make all the difference in the world. We have to remember that, with every single student. Sometimes we get so involved in what we're doing, or we have other things on our minds and then a student walks in. That student may have been so scared to walk in, but they did it. If they are treated rudely, or curtly, they may not pursue an education. The financial aid office can often be the determining factor as to whether a student continues their education beyond high school. Good customer service is vital, and we all need to be reminded of that.

Some of the other sessions that I attended were updates on tax information, federal issues, and getting along with our co-workers. All of the sessions I attended were great! Conferences are such a vital part of the financial aid administrator's professional development. Not only do you attend informative, inspiring sessions, but you get the opportunity to network with your fellow aid administrators and representatives from the Department of Education. With our profession being ever changing, it helps to be able to pick up the phone and call a colleague to bounce your thoughts and interpretations off of to ensure that you are on track.

Conferences are awesome! I hope that all of you have the opportunity to attend each year. Our next conference has an added feature as it is being held in beautiful Hawaii! Hope to see you there.

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