May 8, 2007 issue
Before I came to Eastern Michigan University, I worked as a vendor on
the outside with the University. I saw some things that could be handled
differently in terms of student collections.
At the time, an engineering firm hired me and I had my resume in here.
EMU wanted to interview me. I said I had some pointers to give EMU from
the perspective of an outside vendor. I figured I at least owed that to
my alma mater.
The engineering firm turned out not to be very solid, and kept delaying
my start date. I was offered the position at EMU and felt
this was a tremendous opportunity to make a difference.
I started here in March 1997.
Obviously, I'm able to affect all students from all walks of life. As
much as I'm the collection manager, my staff and I are
financial counselors in a sense. We want to maintain students in school
and help them succeed in college and a career.
When students have financial issues, they may have to sit out a semester.
Sometimes, you can point them in a direction they didn't think of before.
There have been times where students have received a church scholarship
or the community helps them out.
What I really never want to do is put a student in a situation that is
worse. I always try to do the best thing for the student. Out in the community,
I've had people come up and say, "You really helped me out." It feels
great.
Our job is about customer service. Being able to work with students to
help them attain their goals is really what we're all about.
