Tell us a little about yourself.
My parents are from Taiwan, and I grew up in Scranton, PA. I have a three-year old son and love to travel. I’m planning a two-week trip to Europe with my family next year.
I attended Temple University, fell in love with Philadelphia and have lived there since 2005. I got into higher education right out of college in 2009. My first job was a management trainee position at a for-profit institution where I discovered my passion for financial aid. I knew I wanted to transition out of the for-profit educational setting and secured a position as a Financial Aid Counselor at Widener University where I worked my way up to Sr. Associate Director of Financial Aid.
What are some of the FA tasks you have performed and excelled at?
My first consulting project at HEAG was reviewing and completing verifications for a college. Currently, I am handling direct loan PELL reconciliation, direct loan changes, file reviews and working on a policy procedure manual for a college. The manual includes general policies for the entire university and gets into the nitty gritty process of who does what in the financial aid office.
What advice would you give to a school looking to bring in an FA consultant?
It’s important to ensure a consultant has access to all the information they need so they can jump right in and do their job/assignment properly. Some schools restrict access making it difficult to do everything that needs to get done.
When you’re not consulting, what other hobbies/interests do you have?
I enjoy traveling and trying different cuisines. Currently, I’m learning to cook more Asian dishes.
