Summer Institute Testimonial

by David Peterson, SI Faculty 2016

Director of Financial Aid, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne

I attended MASFAA Summer Institute in 1995 at Illinois State University.  That was only 21 years ago, but 1995 was a very different time than now.  Cell phones were rarely seen.  Internet access wasn’t a concern.  Nearly all of the presentations for the 135+ participants were done by overhead projector.  All of us sat in one ballroom for the training sessions.  We got huge binders that we had to carry with us everywhere.  Still, Summer Institute in 1995 was cutting edge training for new financial aid professionals.  In fact, MASFAA was viewed by financial aid leaders from all of the regional associations as having the best new professional training in the country.

In 1998 I was given the opportunity to serve as faculty for Summer Institute.  The other faculty that year included Pam Fowler, Zina Haywood, Rebecca Babel, Ginny Washington, David Woodward, Will Shaffner and Jerry Wade.  It was like a who’s who of MASFAA leadership at the time.  I was completely in awe of every one of them!  I think they realized it, and each of them went out of their way to help me out.  Serving on faculty was an incredible experience, and allowed me to really develop myself as a financial aid professional.

Now I have been given the opportunity to serve as a Summer Institute faculty member once more.  Things have changed a lot since back then.  I remember the NASFAA training materials in 1997 were more like the pirates code in the Pirates of the Carribean movies - what you'd call "guidelines" for the presenters rather than actual rules.  Now in 2016, all of us have to be certified by NASFAA just to teach the subject matter.  One thing that hasn’t changed is the enthusiasm and knowledge of the faculty itself.  A really amazing group of financial aid professionals are coming together to provide our association with a Summer Institute and Leadership Symposium that will be second to none.  Participants will get training that prepares them to meet the demands of their campuses as well as the NASFAA credential examinations.  Illinois State University will once again serve as our location, an incredible site for an incredible event.

So get excited for the MASFAA Summer Institute and Leadership Symposium, and see you all at Illinois State University this June!

THE MASFAA SUMMER INSTITUTE WILL BE HELD ON JUNE 13-17 AT ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY IN BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS.  REGISTER AT WWW.MASFAAWEB.ORG