Finding My Voice at MASFAA 2025

 Reposted from my LinkedIn reflection on the MASFAA 2025 Conference experience.

The MASFAA 2025 conference was a reminder of why I love this profession.

Serving on the Program Committee gave me a front-row seat to collaboration at its best. I worked alongside incredible colleagues from all over the MASFAA region to build a program that reflected our members’ needs, from a dynamic keynote to pre-conference sessions that delivered real value, to eight full session blocks filled with timely and thoughtful topics that spanned job functions. Even when a few unexpected absences required quick pivots, our team rose to the challenge. Kudos to the entire program committee for an AMAZING conference!

As a financial aid communicator, I felt especially proud to help present Fueling Your Enrollment Objectives: The Value of Transparency and Simplicity in Connecting with Today’s Students. The conversation reinforced how much clarity and trust matter in the work we do every day. Thank you to my co-presenters, Heather and Elyse, for your expertise in this area as well!

I left the week energized by sessions like I’m Worth the Investment: Practical Strategies for Aspiring, New, and Season Leaders, Driving with Data, Advising Professional and Graduate Students from Pre-Enrollment to Graduation (& Beyond), and Ladies Night: Empowering Women in Financial Aid and Beyond. I heard rave reviews from so many attendees about other sessions, too; the depth of expertise in our region is unmatched.

The biggest surprise of the week came on Monday night when Dr. Betsy Johnson began announcing the Outstanding New Professional Award. I remember thinking how special it must feel for the recipient to have the MASFAA president presenting it. Then she started describing experiences that sounded awfully familiar. When my name was called, I was caught completely off guard and honestly moved. To be recognized by such an inspiring, thoughtful, and impactful leader made the moment unforgettable. It reminded me how generous and supportive this community truly is.

I love the work I do every day in my financial aid office, but being part of Iowa Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (IASFAA) and Midwest Association of Financial Aid Administrators (MASFAA) has amplified that purpose. The people, the collaboration, and the shared drive to serve students...it all matters.

And yes, I ended the week singing my heart out at the legendary karaoke night with Tim, everyone's NASFAA BFF. I didn’t make it to the stage, but that didn’t stop me from joining in from the floor. Next year, I promise to come prepared with a song or two.

Working with Michelle Trame, Alexandria Miller, MBA and Dr. Betsy Johnson was a masterclass in leadership and teamwork. I learned so much through the process. Now, the excitement continues! I can’t wait to work with Emily Haynam, MBA, FAAC® and Sarah Freestone, M.Ed, FAAC to bring another incredible MASFAA conference to Iowa next October. MASFAA 2026 will be something special.

The Bump {12} - Little Owen's Baby Shower!

I've got to say, my sisters and family went way beyond my expectations for Owen's baby shower. It was so darn adorable and the details... Seriously, the details were amazeballs. I am so lucky to have such creative family members and am so happy that everyone who could come got to enjoy all of it with us.

When we were thinking about what to do for a baby shower, I thought back to my over-the-top-delightful wedding shower. That, too, was ever so stunning but I really felt bad for Gspice. I got to enjoy all of it without him. I wish that he could have been there even though it was such a feminine shower. He, I'm know, just wanted to enjoy the food. SO, for Owen's shower, that was my main wish. I wanted Gary to be a part of it. This also allowed us to invite all the gents in our families which was fun too. Having a boy probably made this a bit easier - blue tones and mustaches really play well with "man-ing up" a baby shower.

Just because I think this is the most adorable-est invite ever, here's a picture of the invite my sister Bridget created online. 

Below are photos taken at the shower. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The photographers - Leta & Zach

The amazeball details!

The child book themed table decor - seriously? Adorbs.

The little mini-s at the shower - Miss Arya & Miss Erin

Shower fun!

From the diaper raffle (best idea ever!) to the child book themed decor to my dad, the Grill-Master, this baby shower was the bomb! I just want to say one more time to everyone involved - THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH! Gary and I seriously are overwhelmed with gratitude. We know Owen will be loved and all the gifts and well wishes we received are so very welcomed. He is so darn lucky!

Recipes from the Past {6} - Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

This was one of the very first recipes my college roommate (Kendragon) & I made together our senior year. It was quite tasty. So much, in fact, that when I was in Chicago, I offered our apartment to serve an Entree for the progressive dinner we had. Three rooms took appetizers, three rooms (including mine) took entrees and three took dessert. I like to think ours was one of the best of the night. We also served Caesar salad. SO GOOD!

Recipe from the Past {6} - Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

from August/September 2009

1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)

2 tbsp olive oil

½ cup cubed chicken breast

½ cup diced onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes with juice

1 cup shredded mozzarella

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

¼ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup bread crumbs

¼ cup grated Parmesan

1 tbsp butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Memories I Love - 200th Blog Post!

I have been thinking for awhile how to make this 200th blog post different. That's kinda hard when all my posts are different...Regardless, I've been looking back at all the things in life that I've loved, memories, foods, etc. Thus, that's what this 200th blog post will be about. All the memories I love :)

First off, here's one thing I don't love: laziness. I have practically jumped off the wagon and ran from it in regards to my daily exercises. Not a single push up in February and none so far in March. Same with sit ups, crunches, and squats. Seriously, I NEED MY MOTIVATION BACK. Where did it go??? I need some encouragement, folks. Bring it :)

Okay, like I said, I've been thinking a lot lately. I find myself drifting back to my favorite memories and favorite times in life.

**Growing up in Strawberry Village. After my mean stage :).
I am always reminded how blessed we all were to have grown up in Strawberry Village with the parents we had. Having three sisters wasn't always a blast in a glass but we learned from each other. I know that I became who I am by how I was raised and I tend to think I'm a pretty good person. All my faults are my own and I own them completely. Yes, I'm lazy; yes, I eat too much pasta; yes, I can have a really sharp tongue sometimes; but these are my own. I know that all of these things are not showing my best side, but the fact that I am aware of these faults shows how I was raised to be a good person. I'm not blind to these things and I can (try) to work on them as I get older. Thanks Mom, Dad, Amanda, Bridget, and Leta. You are my favs! My other favorites? My mom's goulash :)

High School.
High School wasn't all that great but my absolute favorite memories about that time is how close Leta and I became. We were NOT close for such a long time and my poor parents can attest to how ridiculous we were. Putting tape down the middle of our bedroom was not our most shining moment :) I think I recall that one of us wasn't able to leave the room based on our divider...(Leta, do you remember that??) Despite all that, we came together at such a critical time in my life. I was happily a floater all throughout high school but sometimes it's nice to have a solid group of friends to hang out with during the school hours. Leta and her friends became that for me. We had soooo much fun riding to school together, getting ready for different concerts together, going to different events together. I love thinking back to those times :).

**College, but more specifically, Sophomore Year.
I had THE best time during my sophomore year at Luther. It seemed that my friends and I had not quite grown up yet and were still in that slightly immature, yet really fun stage of our lives. We drank a whole lot and did a lot of dancing at Scoes. Seriously, I LOVED going to scoes, but I had a routine. Go early, be drunk because I never drank at the bar, dance it up and go home when I started elbowing people out of my way. I'm glad there aren't many pictures though. Gross.

Miller 717 was THE best room on campus, so cozy and tiny. We were a room full of dead animals (my dwarf hamster(s) and fish, Kendra's fish and crabs (more on this in a second). I'm SO glad we never let Kendra buy a bunny that she desperately wanted, probably would have died! Despite the dead animals, we had a blast in that room. My favorite memories? Tubs have little baby dwarf hamsters, the crab that somehow escaped out of Kendra's fish tank and scuttled across the room for god knows how long (and may have done the same in the room next door. We heard some screaming...), all the times Kendra would waltz into the room next door thinking it was ours, tuna raid night (see this post for more details!), and having Andrew and Spencer in the same building.

If I could go back to college, that's the year I want to go back to. We grew up a lot that year so Junior Yr & Senior Yr became more about school and work and finishing than having all that fun. And freshman yr? I'm not quite sure about freshman. We had our campus celebrities that year but man it was weird.

Gary.
I truly love how Gary and I met. I was a little high schooler crushing on a boy that worked in the caf. I would read in Marty's just hoping he'd be around playing pool so I could spy on him. It took a couple of years before we became anything more than friends. At the time, I had just come out of a very crazy sophomore year and I was on the brink of making some incredibly bad life decisions. Gary was there during all of this and I fell so hard because I knew he was the absolute perfect guy for me. He was everything that I needed and could have ever asked for. He cared for me more than anyone had ever cared for me before. I knew very early on that I loved him and it makes me smile every time I look back to the summer of 2008. It was a very special summer.

I love you too, honey bear :)