New Aid Officer Workshop, CampWeeBeNu
By Fabian Vasquez, Senior Advisor, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

This year’s New Aid Officer Workshop was held on the campus of St. Mary’s University in beautiful San Antonio, Texas from May 19th thru May 22nd. The workshop is designed for professionals with less than 2 years experience in the financial aid industry to learn the basic skills and know-how of the financial aid world. The workshop covers topics ranging from student eligibility, verification, loans, packaging and anything and everything else in between. The topics are presented by seasoned professionals and colleagues from schools and organizations in the state as well as the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Department of Education. The classroom style setting allows the participants to learn and ask questions in a setting that’s not intimidating.

Christopher Baur, Assistant Director of Financial Aid for Lamar University, had this to say about the speakers at the workshop:

“I enjoyed all the speakers and the information that was given, especially the Dept. of Education speaker. I finally got to put a face to the organization and realized that the Dept. of Ed staff are people too.”

The workshop incorporates a camp-like feel to it to encourage the participants to interact and network with their fellow “campers” which makes learning much easier and fun. Networking plays such a big part in the financial aid industry because of the wealth of information we are required to retain, that it’s important to make those connections with other colleagues to ask questions and bounce ideas off of.

Christopher Baur also had this to say about the camp-like feel:

“Everyone I met was very nice, and given that I was the only one from my school, people took me in and invited me to certain functions and made me feel that I was with friends. I met wonderful people from all over Texas and enjoyed myself to the fullest. If all TASFAA conferences were like this one, you can count me in”.

Those who have attended the New Aid Officer Workshop before can agree with this statement. The transformation a camper goes through from the start of the workshop compared to when they leave is truly amazing!

If you would like to experience the workshop first-hand or know a fellow colleague who might benefit from this training, the workshop is held each year in May. TASFAA also provides a training opportunity before the Fall Conference called the ABC Workshop, which is a condensed version of the New Aid Officer Workshop. More information on the ABC workshop will become available as the TASFAA Fall Conference draws closer.

Melinda Swain, a Financial Aid Advisor with University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, sums up the New Aid Workshop best with this comment:

“The conference was very insightful. The workshops helped to reinforce what I’ve been learning on my job, and I would recommend it for anyone new to the industry.”

I personally would like to thank everyone who attended this year’s New Aid Officer Workshop as well as those involved with making the workshop a complete success, especially the NAOW committee and the speakers!