Get to Know your State Delegates: Jana Parks (KS)

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  • How long have you been in the profession? I have been in financial aid for 20 years, if you count work study years it would be 24. I am beyond lucky the financial aid director at the time, Jeanne Mott took a chance on me 20 years ago and hired me full-time.  
  • What do you do for your institution? I am the Director of Financial Aid and have the best team of co-workers on campus..
  • Some highlights of your time with RMASFAA and your state association. I was a member of the 2017-2018 Leadership Pipeline class. I had a wonderful mentor, Art Young. I served our state association through the Membership Committee, Outreach Training and Conference Planning. I had the opportunity to lead the Membership Committee during the 2019-2020 year.
  • What do you do in your free time?  I have three kids who keep me busy with activities. Our oldest, Anessa, is a Junior at Baker University. Our middle, Malachi, is a Junior in High School. Our youngest, Briley, is a 6th grader. Most nights are filled with watching games, practices, concerts or church events. I luckily have an amazing and supportive husband, Julian, who makes the crazy schedule a bit easier. If I have a free night I tend to spend it watching sports or a documentary. Our family also enjoys being outdoors, so when it is nice outside you might catch us taking a walk or biking around town.

23-24 Leadership Pipeline Mentee: Kyle Morrison

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Meet Kyle Morrison, 2023-2024 Leadership Pipeline Mentee.

I am a Financial Aid Counselor for Colorado College in Colorado Springs. I have been working in the office since June of 2022, and began as a Financial Aid Coordinator, overseeing front office operations.

My mentor is Laine Gibson, the Associate Director of Financial Aid at Weber State University. We met for the first time at the initial Leadership Pipeline meeting during the 2023 RMASFAA Fall Conference and met up again multiple times throughout that event. While we do share some similar values regarding the importance of family and personal growth, we found that our experiences in the higher education world differ greatly, in terms of length but also in workplace dynamics. This has led to some very engaging conversation on these differences, and how they can be used to lend different perspectives to what can otherwise be very insulated offices. We currently communicate about once a month via email and plan to meet more often as the program goes on and topics begin to intertwine. Laine offers a very different viewpoint compared to what I have experienced in higher education thus far, and uses this experience to challenge my preconceived notions, while also encouraging me to speak up and share my story with my peers whenever possible.

Why did you decide to join Leadership Pipeline?

In the summer of 2023, I attended the Intermediate track at Summer Institute, which was my first ever professional development travel opportunity. It was fascinating to see so many people from just our region gathered together, with no unspoken expectations of each other or their knowledge level, but instead committed to sharing what we know as a pool of community knowledge to draw from. The patience I experienced there, as someone fairly new to the financial aid world, was extremely helpful and was made significantly better by my instructors for the week. They held no one as above or below another and welcomed any opportunity to learn as a growth experience for all. Near the end of the week, we were informed about the Leadership Pipeline as a professional development opportunity, and I was immediately interested. What better way to gain the tools to be a contributing member of this community than by learning directly from those who have used this opportunity before and getting direct interaction from my peers at institutions wildly different than my own. I am confident the Leadership Pipeline will be a great asset to my professional career and will enable me to pay forward the patience and learning I have been given in my short time here.

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned so far?

The spirit of collaboration is alive and well in the financial aid community and is one of its greatest strengths. While many professions treat ideas and tools as assets to be guarded, or only given when something of equal value is offered in return, this community does the polar opposite. Information is given freely, support networks are created, and many colleagues are happy to hop on the phone and walk you through their experiences with no thought of what they get out of it. Even within our small group, everyone is quick to share their solution to difficult situations, forms they have created, contacts that may be helpful in the future. It’s inspiring to see the lack of ego and encourages me to branch out of my own comfort zone, to be that source of assistance for others knowing I can lean on them in the future as well.

What is it that you are hoping to come away with at the end of the program? Personal goal? Skill set?

My main hope is to walk away from this program with a solid support network of individuals who care and are willing to offer their support and be supported in turn. I have often struggled to make these professional connections, and I am hopeful the Leadership Pipeline can assist me in gaining the tools and confidence to maintain these contacts in the future. In addition, I hope to leverage the skills I learn here to take on more of a project management role within my department, to help grow the skills and confidence of my coworkers in an empowering environment without unspoken expectations.

Why you would recommend this program to others?

Leadership Pipeline really encourages you to look inward, as well as outward. To analyze your own entrenched processes and preferences and to think critically about their weaknesses and strengths when compared to other equally viable strategies. It encourages introspection and a willingness to see how others tackle problems you may have never thought of, and to recognize that your own bubble is not the only bubble out there. This is an especially valuable skill for those who are new to the field and are still grappling with learning the inherently complicated world of financial aid regulations and rules. If you can start your career with the ability to challenge what is “known” as the best course, and be able to evaluate alternatives without ego, you can be an immensely beneficial resource for your office and school as a whole. I would strongly recommend Leadership Pipeline to anyone who is looking to grow their own skill base and can see the value in having a dedicated group all aspiring to better themselves and those around them.

Interested in learning more about Leadership Pipeline? Visit https://www.rmasfaa.org/general_information.php

Get to Know your State Delegates: Ariel Mendez (CO)

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  • How long have you been in the profession? 13 years as of 9 am on January 3. Please don’t read into why I know that level of detail. 
  • What do you do for your institution? I’m the Director of Financial Aid at Arapahoe Community College. At this point I think my job is to attend meetings and keep people from doing really wild stuff that takes us out of compliance. And reporting. Lots of reporting. Sometimes I get my office to do fun things that other offices get really hyped up about like our annual gluten free pie contest and our Halloween group costume competition entries. We even have Valentines Day boxes that we decorate and give each other valentines like we did in elementary school. So it’s a bit of a mixed bag!
  • Some highlights of your time with RMASFAA and your state association. I haven’t had as much involvement in RMASFAA since I’ve been in Colorado as I have wanted so I’m glad that’s changed with this time on the board. I really enjoyed the most recent conference in Fort Collins and meeting people from so many states that I haven’t met before. My time with CAFAA has been wonderful and memorable for sure. I have served on the board in many roles from 2-year pubic rep to secretary and now president. I have fond memories of conferences in the mountains and getting to know my colleagues who became my mentors, role models, and life-long friends. Even my most chaotic CAFAA conference which fell right at the same time as our first annual HEERF reporting deadline was a fantastic and memorable time with really beloved people. I have deeply appreciated my time in these associations for professional and personal reasons and look forward to many more!
  • What do you do in your free time?  This feels like a trick question! What free time? I joke. Sort of. Mostly I spend time with my new dog, do random crafts, read silly novels, and try to remember to feed myself on a regular basis. And then I panic read legislation and new stories about regulatory changes. It’s a good little life!.

Connect with RMASFAA in 2024

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Happy 2024 from RMASFAA!


Are you subscribed to the RMASFAA Exchange Blog yet? What about our Facebook and Instagram?
The blog and social media will help you stay connected with RMASFAA – learn of upcoming events, follow along during Summer Institute, network with other RMASFAA members, and much more. We also post and share helpful information and resources. We have some new posts planned for this year and hope you will follow along for what is going to be an EPIC year in Financial Aid!

RMASFAA Exchange Blog:   https://rmasfaa.wordpress.com/

Subscribe to the Exchange Blog by going to the website above (you’re probably already here) and enter your email on the right side under “Email Subscription”. Afterward you will receive an email to confirm your subscription. If you don’t see the email right away, make sure to check your spam filter.

The Exchange Blog is where you can read posts introducing RMASFAA Board Members and Leadership Pipeline Mentees. There are posts about a variety of topics, from diversity and inclusion, to conference wrap-ups, to sharing favorite recipes. Sometimes there are opportunities to win a prize, so stay tuned!

RMASFAA on Facebook: Go to Facebook.com/RMASFAA, or search for RMASFAA on Facebook to find our page and make sure to Follow! You’ll be able to see our blog posts directly on Facebook.

RMASFAA on Instagram: Follow us @RMASFAA on Instagram. Whether you are active on Instagram or just there to view, make sure you’re following us to stay engaged with our posts. This is where you will see “takeovers” on Instagram Stories, like following along with Summer Institute attendees or state delegates.

RMASFAA on Slack: Coming soon!!

23-24 Leadership Pipeline Mentee: Allison Murray

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Meet Allison Murray, 2023-2024 Leadership Pipeline Mentee.

I am the Associate Director of Scholarships at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. I began working in the financial aid office in August of 2020 as a Compliance Coordinator.

My mentor is Janelle Cook, Director of Financial Aid at Colorado Mountain College. Janelle sat beside me before we knew we would be paired together, and it just made the discovery even more special. I feel that we bonded immediately and were able to get beneath the surface rather quickly with one another. I feel that we complement one another with similar personalities, personal values and areas of strength. We currently have plans to check in at least monthly with email communication in between meetings. I feel that her experience is going to greatly influence my personal growth as a leader. Our conversations are very easy as we share challenging situations, unique opportunities in our workplace, and ideas to incorporate within our respective teams. Janelle is compassionate, sincere, and open to sharing her journey so that mentorship can be most impactful. I am confident that our friendship will continue long after the year ends.

Why did you decide to join Leadership Pipeline?

I decided to join Leadership Pipeline because I was confident that this program would put me on a track to be able to enhance my experiences, knowledge, and skills to grow individually as a leader, and to provide a steppingstone for being in leadership roles outside my department (conferences, associations, etc.). Financial aid opened its arms to me at a pivotal time in my life. As the second person in a largely undefined position, I had to take the initiative in learning my role. I quickly took advantage of the training and material offered via NASFAA and FSA resources. Within my first 2 months, I set a personal goal to attain my FAAC during my first year in the job. The day after earning my FAAC, I accepted a promotion to my current position. Given my desire to further enhance my learning and professional growth, the opportunity to apply to be a part of Leadership Pipeline was not a hard decision.

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned so far?

Being early on in the program has shown me that everyone (mentors and mentees) has different leadership styles/strengths. I have learned that there is a place for different kinds of leaders and there is no “one-type-fits-all.” Everyone in the program comes from a different background, varied experiences and insight that will allow us to learn and grow from one another. The hardest thing to do sometimes is take the first step – but knowing that there are many cheerleaders and supporters along the way makes it a little less scary. This profession is filled with people who have been around the block (in a good way), and we all want to do the right thing. This leaves little room (in my experience) for competitive environments. We do better when we help one another – regardless of years of expertise. The work is never done, and neither is the learning!

What is it that you are hoping to come away with at the end of the program? Personal goal? Skill set?

By the end of this program, I hope to have a close community of contacts and resources as well as long lasting relationships with people who care about advancing our profession and their personal/professional lives. I’d like to be able to gain confidence to use my skills at a state/regional/national level. Personally, I hope to advance my leadership skill set and utilize my learning to grow in management ability and within my department. I would like to learn how to empower my team and those I work with while adapting to ever present change outside of my own control.

Why you would recommend this program to others?

I feel that the Leadership Pipeline program is evidence of ambition, dedication and ability to be a life-long learner and leader. I believe that this program is how you build networks and connections with great leaders in our organization and career. It provides an outlet for knowledge and information specific to what you experience in a more intimate setting perhaps than what a national or even regional conference could cover in a session. I also think that the learning from peer mentees provides the insight into peer institutions we may seek throughout the year for various instances. With the unique pairing of mentor/mentee, you are immediately set up for success as you navigate through the reading materials and prepare for the discussions with the group. Our profession needs to be strongly supported in the future and this program is helping to develop those leaders that will continue to contribute to the shared cause to expand what we do on our own campuses every day.

Interested in learning more about Leadership Pipeline? Visit https://www.rmasfaa.org/general_information.php