Recently in People in your neighborhood Category

Sarah Johnson can remember pretty much anything. She remembers the exact date of her first concert when she was 14 (a 13-hour dance-a-thon hosted by KDWB called Thanks-going Hop). She can even remember exactly what she was wearing. She also remembers the first day she started in ASR.

About 33 years ago, Sarah started in the Office of the Registrar (OTR) as a senior clerk. Currently, Sarah is a student services support assistant.

Sarah is responsible for all degree applications and postings for the College of Education and the School of Nursing. She also works with those colleges on degree clearances.

On top of degrees, Sarah handles all student records and transfers for these two colleges. She is also responsible for transcript work, including transcript requests that come from students with the last names S-Z (excluding X) and being on-call for the transcript helpline.

Another task that she is responsible for is maintaining student grades prior to fall 1999. "If a student has an incomplete from a class they took prior to 1999 and they finish the class, I enter the new grade into the system and archive it," she said. "There aren't a ton of these requests, but there are more than you'd think."

"I have the good fortune of working with people who are mutually supportive and also stimulating, funny, and intelligent," she said. "I have so much history here at the U."

Before joining ASR, Sarah worked in the College of Liberal Arts for a few years. Overall, Sarah has been with the University for a total of 43 years.

"There is a level of intellectual stimulation at the U that you can't get anywhere else," she said. "People here are intellectually curious and informed about the world. It's a great atmosphere."

Sarah currently lives in a loft off East Hennepin in Minneapolis. She recently sold her big Victorian house to downsize. She has two children (a son who is 30 and a daughter who is 43) and four grandchildren.

Sarah loves to learn and has taken a number of journalism and art history classes at Stephens College in Missouri, Minnesota School of Business, and the U.

Her passions are books and music. She has collected records for years, but also enjoys using iTunes to create mixes for her friends. She also goes to a lot of concerts. Her favorite band is the Rolling Stones because "they are the greatest rock and roll band in the world."

Overall, Sarah's coworkers in OTR described her as someone who has a great memory and loves to laugh but is also opinionated and sentimental.

Suddenly Sarah
1. If Sarah could be anything she would be "on time."
2. Her favorite book is "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon.
3. For Halloween in 1973 she dressed up as Trisha Nixon.
4. If she could have a superpower, it would be to reverse environmental damage. "I want the world to be great for my grandkids."
5. Scotland is her favorite vacation spot.
6. She loves to cook and container gardening on her balcony.
7. She loves lutefisk.
8. She loves Indian food, especially with lamb.
9. Love Actually is her favorite movie.
10. "People may be surprised to find out that I'm basically introverted and I need a lot of alone time."

Family and running are Sharon Nollan's passions. Sharon and her husband Chris have three children--Michael, Erich, and Victoria. She grew up in Hastings, but has lived in Cottage Grove for over 20 years.

She says that the two things she could not live without are her husband and her kids. Victoria is a junior and Erich is a senior at East Ridge High School in Woodbury. Michael is a junior majoring in education at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and plans to become a math teacher.

Sharon's other passion is running. In 1990, Sharon ran her first marathon. Since then, she has run 41 marathons in over 20 U.S. states and on five different continents. She has yet to run a marathon in Africa or Australia.

"I enjoy distance running," she said. "It has given me the opportunity to combine things I love. I love to travel, I love to meet new people, I love to go to new places, and I'm passionate about running."

Sharon belongs to the 50 States Marathon Club and Marathon Maniacs. She travels with both groups to run races in different states and countries.

Most recently, Sharon completed two marathons in a 24 hour period on two different continents--South America and Antarctica. She started her marathon of marathons in Punta Arenas, Chile and ended her trip in King George Island, Antarctica.

"It was pretty incredible. I had to dig down deep to make it happen, but it was an extraordinary experience," she said. "It's an amazing feeling to be elbow-to-elbow with people who come from all walks of life and you're all running to the same goal."

Beyond marathons, Sharon has also completed an Ironman triathlon in 14 hours.

"I was smiling ear-to-ear once I completed the 2.4 mile swim," she said. "The swim was my weakest leg because I had just taught myself to swim about three years before and I'm scared of swimming in open water. So I knew I had it, once I completed the swim."

Sharon is also passionate about giving back to the sport she loves. She volunteers as coaching staff for the Moms on the Run and Girls on the Run. She coaches moms and middle-school aged girls to run their first races.

"I cannot express how rewarding it is to be by the side of a new runner as the cross the finish line of their first race," Sharon said.

After all the marathons Sharon has completed, she has a few favorite memories. She ran a marathon on the Great Wall of China. Sharon also ran a marathon in Walt Disney World. She received a Mickey Mouse medal when she finished.

"My time was awful because I stopped to take pictures with all the characters," she said.

But overall, she says that her favorite one is the Twin Cities Marathon.

After all these amazing accomplishments, Sharon still manages to be an amazing asset to ASR. In fall 2011, she started as a business analyst in the Student Financials Unit in ASR-IT. In January, she joined the ESUP Portal Project team. The team is currently gathering requirements for the Portal and encouraging stakeholder engagement.

"This is a great opportunity to create a dynamic and trend setting portal tool for the entire University," Sharon said. "I enjoy being part of a brainstorming think tank."

Sharon's Strides
1. Sharon loves Italian food. "Lots of pasta for this runner."
2. Sharon has a bachelors degree in psychology and business administration and a master's in software design and development.
3. Sharon has a fear of public speaking, but she is getting involved with the Art of Hosting to help ease that fear.
4. Phil Collins was her first concert.
5. Sharon loves to landscape and garden in her backyard.
6. If she could be anything, she'd be a landscape designer.
7. Sharon's favorite author is Wayne Dyre.
8. Sharon enjoys Jim Carrey movies.
9. Before coming to the U, Sharon worked on the IT web strategies team at Capella University.
10. Sharon loves traveling to the North Shore with her family.

A few months ago, Nate became the newest Assistant Director in One Stop Student Services. The new position is a perfect fit, because he has dedicated his career to helping students.

Originally from Hastings, he currently lives in St. Paul with his partner, Ryan, and their two cats: Binx and Orangey. If you've yet to meet him, he has often been described as an outgoing and witty charmer.

Nate has a bachelors degree in sociology and Spanish and a master's in higher education and student affairs. Before One Stop, he primarily worked in residence life at various universities across the country, including University of St. Thomas, The Ohio State University, and Loyola Marymount University. He says that working in One Stop is a totally different way of working with and supporting students.

Nate loves working at the U and in ASR because of the professional development opportunities that are available. He said that one of main draws of the U and One Stop is that they encourage and support professional development so much.

As an Assistant Director, Nate supervises the West Bank One Stop location and three counselors in the STSS location. He also supports staff development and supervises daily counselor tasks. Nate also sits on the Behavioral Care Team, the Financial Literacy committee, and the Welcome Week planning committee.

"Working in One Stop provides a lot of opportunities to reach out to people from all areas of the U," he said. "Having experience in residence life helps me understand the perspective of other departments and of students."

Beyond University work, some of Nate's more interesting jobs include waiting tables at a Chinese restaurant, working concessions at the Metrodome, and rebuilding and rearranging American Eagle stores. However, if he could be anything, he would be a stay-at-home dad.

In his spare time, Nate enjoys spending time with his nephews and being the "cool uncle." He is an avid runner, inside or outside. Being outdoors is very important to Nate, even in the winter. When Nate lived in Los Angeles, he said he hated not having four seasons. Nate also loves restaurant hopping and discovering new places to eat.

Nate is also in the market for a house. "My partner, Ryan, and I are house hunting currently," he said. "We've looked at over 50 houses in Columbia Heights, St. Paul, and South Minneapolis." They are also hoping to add a Boxer puppy to their family soon.

Music is also a big part of Nate's life. "I could not live without music. It just adds so much to every situation," Nate said. "I love the band Journey. I will never stop believing." He even has a Journey tattoo.

Nate's Nuances
1. Nate's favorite movie is Interview with a Vampire.
2. His favorite food is Oreos. "I can't walk by them without buying them.".
3. Nate's guilty pleasure: teen paranormal romance novels such as Twilight and Blue Bloods.
4. Last Halloween, Nate and a group of friends dressed up as characters from the Avengers, even some of the lesser known characters.
5. Nate wanted to grow up to be a country western singer. "I used to sing pop songs in a country western voice."
6. He has a fascination with Dolly Parton.
7. His biggest fear is soup and hot liquids. "I'm convinced it will melt my insides."
8. Nate loves the sound of freeway noise and traffic. "I like knowing there is traffic. It soothes me."
9. The Facts of Life, Hercules, and Xena Warrior Princess were his favorite shows as a kid.
10. His first concert was Wango Tango featuring Styx and REO Speedwagon.

Chris Dinger considers science and technology an essential part of his life. When asked what two things he could not live without he replied, "a computer and the internet."

He has always loved science. Growing up, he thought he may be an astrophysicist or an astronomer. Chris ended up with a degree in computer science from Mankato State University and will receive his master's degree in software engineering this May.

Currently, Chris is the Web Team manager. "My job is to act as a filtering mechanism for the team," Chris said. "I try to manage the deluge of incoming requests so the team can remain focused and effective."

Chris has been a member of the Web Team for more than six years, originally starting out as a web developer. In January, he was promoted to manager. One project he has been heavily involved in is the development of the Tuition and Fee Management System. He writes code and develops several applications and systems for ASR.

"People on the Web Team are really passionate and that's great to work with," he said. "Everyone cares about what they are doing and they're excited to be at work everyday."

Before starting at the U, Chris worked at a private company developing medical software, including an ambulance dispatch system. He decided that he didn't enjoy working for a private company and came to the U because of its diverse culture.

"You get to work with so many different people at the U," Chris said. "I feel like I'm doing something that matters."

Chris and his wife, Agnes, currently live in Minneapolis with their six-month-old son Kai and their Pomeranian Coco. Chris is originally from Inver Grove Heights, while his wife is from Indonesia.

Chris considers himself a nerd. In his spare time, he tinkers with various web programming and technology devices to keep up with the industry. He calls himself a "hobbyist electrical engineer."

He enjoys being outdoors and camping. He is also an avid musician. "I have a music room in my basement, though I don't use it much now that I have my son," he said. "I can play the guitar, drums, keyboard, and the trumpet."

"Now people are going to know the depth of my nerdiness when they read this profile," he said.

Covalent Chris
1. Chris's favorite food is Indonesian street food.
2. He enjoys nonfiction books, especially physics books. The last book he read was The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley.
3. Stone Temple Pilots was Chris's first concert.
4. The most adventurous thing he's ever done is travel across Europe for a month.
5. Chris' biggest fear is drowning. He went scuba diving once and said it was terrifying.
6. Chris says people would describe him as friendly, quiet, and nerdy.
7. If Chris could be anything, he would be a successful musician or rockstar.
8. Growing up, Chris' favorite TV shows were science shows like Bill Nye the Science Guy, Mr. Wizard's World, Newton's Apple, and Nova.

9. Though Chris considers himself a nerd, he hates video games.
10. His favorite vacation spot is Bali, Indonesia.

Anyone who knows Elyse Paxton can describe her in two words: sweet and bubbly. When asked what two things she couldn't live without, she immediately said, "Chapstick and sunshine. I'm addicted to chapstick and it would be really depressing to never have sun. Everyone needs sunshine."

A Minnesotan by marriage, Elyse moved to the Twin Cities area in 2006 after graduating from Iowa State University with a degree in speech communication. Originally from a suburb outside of Chicago called Mount Prospect, Illinois, she currently she lives in Plymouth with her husband Weston and Corgi named Max.

Almost a year ago, Elyse started working on the ASR Communications Team as a communications coordinator. She is the main communications contact for all Office of Classroom Management and One Stop student veterans communications. She is also the manager of most ASR publications, including The Ledger, News and Notes, The Record, and the Scheduling Update.

One of the major publications she has recently undertaken is the University course catalog. "I create and format the PDF version of the University catalog for all system campuses," she said.

On top of all this, Elyse also edits and approves courses and program descriptions in ECAS and PCAS.

"I love working in ASR," Elyse said. "The Communications Team is very collaborative. We don't have any projects where just one person handles everything; it often involves the whole team."

Feedback is an important aspect for any job she has. She frequently receives immediate feedback on her work. "I'm surrounded by so many smart people," she said. "It's inspiring to meet such bright, intellectual people."

Before joining ASR, Elyse worked primarily in magazine publications. Her last job was at a gardening magazine called Gardening How-To as an associate editor. Before that, she worked at an automotive magazine in St. Paul called FenderBender.

"I didn't know anything about cars," she said. "I learned a lot and my perceptions changed dramatically about the industry."

In her spare time, Elyse enjoys reading. She reads anything from historical fiction to nonfiction books about mountain climbing. "I especially like ones about climbing Mount Everest," she said. "It's just so interesting to read about how people can push themselves like that."

This year, Elyse is pushing herself by running a half marathon in June. Her other goal for the year is to learn how to cook better. "My husband does most of the cooking, but I'm trying to be better at it," she said.

Last September, Elyse got married at the University Landscape Arboretum in Chaska. She met her husband on Match.com. They went to Riviera Maya, Mexico for her honeymoon because she loves tropical locations, warm weather, and sunshine.

"If I could be anything, I'd be a famous author who works on the beach with a fruity drink in hand," she said. "That would be the life."

Elyse's Essentials

1. Elyse wanted to grow up to be a jockey.
2. She loves historical fiction. Her favorite book is A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers.
3. Her first concert was Green Day.
4. Elyse can name all of the U.S. presidents in order (Be sure to quiz her next time you see her!)
5. "Saved by the Bell" and "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" were her favorite TV shows as a kid.

6. Elyse is scared of snakes.
7. The most adventurous thing she's ever done is white water rafting in the Grand Canyon.
8. Her favorite band is Coldplay.
9. She can't whistle.
10. She sponsors a young girl in Rwanda.

We're always looking for interesting people to profile in our People in your Neighborhood features. If you'd like to share what you do at the U, and some cool things about yourself (And yes, you do have fun, unique, perhaps even awe-inspiring or hilarious experiences!), we want to know more about you! (And if you work in ASR-IT, we really want to hear from you.) If interested, email Mandee Kuglin.

Years ago, Richard Campo's life took a turn into the world of financial aid. A direction he never thought it would go in, but one he hasn't looked back from since.

In 2005, Richard was working for the U.S. Department of Education's TRIO programs, educational-access programs for first-generation, college-bound students. He worked with two different schools in Minneapolis/St. Paul providing students with advice on entering college.

"This job was how I got interested in financial aid," Richard said. "I was helping students and they didn't have in-depth knowledge of financial aid. I actually met Larry [Bloom] and Mike [Arieta] from OSF while working at this job."

In 2008, Richard began working in ASR as a One Stop Student Services counselor. He helps students, parents, and staff navigate the registration, billing, and financial aid processes.

"I really enjoy helping students," he said. "I feel like I am making a difference and that I have a chance every day to provide information that would really help a student."

Richard is also a member of two One Stop committees: the Tuition Refund Appeal (TRA) committee and the Financial Literacy committee.

As a member of the TRA committee, he reviews forms submitted by students who wish to have tuition charges forgiven or refunded based on extraordinary circumstances, such as medical reasons or military activation. As a part of the Financial Literacy committee, he presents to classes and groups on campus about how to make good financial choices.

Richard and his wife, Martha, live in St. Paul. They have been married for two years. Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Richard moved to Minnesota when he went to college at St. Olaf for his undergraduate degree in history and social studies education. He is currently finishing up his master's degree from the U in higher education policy administration.

When Richard isn't giving financial advice, he enjoys being outdoors. He loves camping and hiking, especially in the Boundary Waters. He loves water activities as well, including kayaking and canoeing. Reading is also a large part of Richard's life. He likes historical books, memoirs, biographies, and travel books.

Richard also enjoys spending a lot of time with family. His wife is one of 13 children so they go to quite a few family events.

Richard is also quite the do-it-yourselfer. He loves to garden and he even brews his own beer, usually 20 gallon batches at a time. Cooking is another favorite past time. He even built his own wood-fired pizza oven in his backyard.

"I got the inspiration from my co-worker Tom Taff in One Stop," he said. "It didn't take that long to build. It's not too big. It's on a steel cart in my garage and it's made out of the earth."

Richard also loves dressing up in interesting Halloween costumes. One year he dressed up as a toothbrush. He and his wife once went as Batman and Robin. Richard was Robin and his wife, who is much shorter than him, went as Batman.

Another year, he went as Pac-man and his friends were the ghosts. "We chased each other around," he said. "The costume was so big, I got stuck in a stairway at a bar."

Richard's Riddles
1. If he could be any character for a day, he would be Casper the Friendly Ghost. "I like making friends."

2. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell was the last book he read.
3. His favorite food is lasagna.
4. Richard's most interesting job was when he spent one summer driving a bread truck to catering companies, grocery stores, and local restaurants.
5. Groundhog Day is his favorite movie.
6. Richard would love to go back in time and live in Athens, Greece during the height of civilization. "I would love to hang out with Socrates."
7. He grew up wanting to be a park ranger.
8. His first concert was the Rolling Stones when he was very young. He remembers being very confused.
9. His biggest fear is leaving the gas on the stove or leaving his keys in the door.
10. If he had super powers, he would be Stretch Armstrong.

"Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death."

This line from the movie Auntie Mame is something that Christine Mounts takes to heart. Throughout her life, Christine has taken on many challenges, hobbies, and interests in the spirit of living life to the fullest.

Originally from Peoria, Illinois, Christine moved to Minneapolis in 2003 to the city she calls the "best kept secret of the midwest." She lives with two roommates and her 3-year-old cat named Action Jack. Her niece is living with her temporarily also.

Christine has two bachelors degrees. Her first degree is in aviation management from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Her interest was sparked because her father flew in the Navy and was "obsessed with aviation."

She even has her Commercial pilot's license, but doesn't fly much because it's expensive and she hasn't maintained her required flight hours. "If I had kept up my CFI, I could teach people how to fly," she said. "Flying is easy, landing is hard."

Christine's second degree is in information technology from DeVry University. "My focus on my second degree was on web design, but I basically developed skills to become an IT generalist," she said. "I can do desktop repair and software support as well as some web design."

This degree has guided Christine in many of her past jobs and her current job in OCM. Before coming to the University, Christine worked in Information Technology at various nonprofits in the Twin Cities and in Chicago.

Her most interesting job was at a nonprofit in Chicago that focused on small business and workforce development. She can remember once providing a workspace for a business that built things for NASA and another business that only made dance clothes. This nonprofit was also heavily tied to local politicians. A Christmas card from Rod Blagojevich, former governor of Illinois, floated around her office.

Since 2009, Christine has worked as the Scheduling Reports Coordinator in the Scheduling unit. She is the primary trainer for the scheduling software, including the new Astra Schedule program. She is also the the primary help desk contact for scheduling software issues and helps manage internal communications to departments regarding the scheduling software system.

She considers herself very cultural. Growing up, she frequently went to museums and concerts with her family. "My parents are very cultural and educated," she said. "I went to a million museums and performances with them. I developed a great appreciation for the arts."

Christine's arts include singing, playing the piano and clarinet, acting, dancing, writing, and photography.

She has seven novels written in various stages of draft. She primarily writes science fiction, but also enjoys writing literary short stories. If she could be anything, Christine would be a successful, professional novelist.

"I've been published in a journal, but getting a book published is very difficult," she said. "Anne Lamott said in her book Bird by Bird that you should not write to be published because getting published is not going to change your life in quite the way you think it will."

Christine also calls herself an amateur photographer. "I see beauty in patterns," she said. "I like to take pictures of nature from different perspectives."

She also spends a lot of time reading. She especially enjoys books that get her thinking about life. "I'm very existential," she said.

Traveling is also a big part of her life. Her most memorable trip was when she lived in Berlin, Germany for four weeks with her college roommate. She went and spoke minimal German. "I lived with the people but didn't speak fluent German," she said. "When you're there, you just remember and pick up the language as you go."

But, no matter what Christine does, she always brings everything in perspective and remembers to "live, live, live."

Christine's Culture
If Christine could be any character for a day, she would be Harry Potter. "It'd be a great time to be able to fly and use the invisibility cloak."
Growing up, she wanted to be a timpani player in an orchestra.
Christine's two favorite foods are anything Indian and steak, medium-rare.
Her favorite vacation spot is Santa Rosa Island, Florida.
Her favorite movie is Auntie Mame.
She really wants to dress up as Gossamer from Looney Tunes for Halloween.
Her favorite book is Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl.
Christine likes interesting music, but doesn't like lyrics much.
Peter Gabriel and Led Zeppelin are two of her favorite artists.
She doesn't like country or rap music.

She may work in financial aid collections, but Maggie O'Neill is all about giving.

For Maggie, making a difference is a priority. She lives by the Latin phrase, Non scholae, sed vitae discimus, which means "We do not learn for the school, but for life," and bases her goodwill around the actions of Mother Teresa.

"I feel very blessed and like to give others similar opportunities," Maggie said. "I couldn't live with myself if I thought I didn't make a difference or give back enough."

Maggie is dedicated to giving back in anyway she can. When she was younger, someone volunteered for her Girl Scout troop by cooking at various events. She decided to continue that legacy.

"I donate my time and cooking services to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts troops at encampments in the Minnesota and Wisconsin area," Maggie said. "I cook everything from scratch and I help kids learn how to make things like bread and cinnamon rolls. It's my way of paying it forward."

Not only does Maggie give back in her free time, but she also pays it forward at work. For five years, Maggie has been in Student Account Assistance as a Principal Collections Representative. And, though it may sound like she's all serious business, she views her job as less of a collections agent and more of an adviser and loan coach to students.

"Yes, we're collectors, but we don't pick up the phone and bark at people to pay their bill," Maggie said. "It's hard to admit that you need help when you get off track financially. We advise students on their rights and responsibilities and help them get back on track."

The aspect of Maggie's job that she is most proud of is her work on the new online Exit Counseling. She joined the project last January, after many issues pushed the launch off for a couple of years. After streamlining multiple processes, the new system launched in July 2012.

When Maggie is not at work or volunteering, she enjoys spending time with her family. She has been married for 27 years to her husband Mike. She has two kids, Caitlin and Kevin. Her daughter just received her master's in deaf education from Smith College & Clarke School for Hearing and Speech and her son is currently enrolled at the University of St. Thomas majoring in physics. For 30 years, Maggie has lived in her current city of Bloomington. Maggie also loves to cook and garden. She has a huge vegetable and flower gardens.

Prior to coming to the University, Maggie worked a few accounting and human resources jobs. Despite her experience in accounting, Maggie initially started at the U as an undergraduate student in the Occupational Therapy program while working accounting jobs to pay for school. A few semesters shy of her degree, Maggie decided to take a job in accounting.

Though she still has a passion for the health sciences field, she likes where she is at. "At the end of the day, if I can look at myself in the mirror and honestly say, "Today I did my best, whatever that best may be, I made a difference, then it's been a great day and that's all I need."

Magnanimous Maggie:
1. Maggie's favorite book is Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott.
2. Neil Diamond was her first concert.
3. She loves the movie Casablanca.
4. Maggie loves big band era music because she loves to dance.
5. If she could be anyone for a day, she would be Carol Burnett to make people laugh.
6. For Halloween one year, Maggie and her roommates debated between going as a six-pack of beer or a bag of jelly beans. They picked the latter.
7. Maggie says that people may be surprised to know that she is painfully shy. "I worked to overcome my shyness, but it's still hard to get up and talk in front of a group."
8. Maggie has always been fascinated by the health sciences field.
9. Her most interesting job is when she worked for the international engineering firm that created the recordable CD.
10. She loves Italian food.

Being a social worker in a financial aid office may seem like a strange fit, but Mike Arieta makes it work.

"Having a background in social work helps me connect with students on a different level," Mike said. "I can talk to students about sensitive topics pretty easily and make them calm down. Also, financial aid is a system that is hard to navigate, just like any other government system social workers typically navigate."

Mike has a bachelor's degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. His master's degree in social work is from the U. He is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker.

Mike has been in for ASR for 13 years: two years in Client Services (now One Stop Student Services) and 11 years in the Undergraduate Services office in the Office of Student Finance. For all 11 of those years, Mike has worked for his manager Larry Bloom.

"Larry often tells me that you will either really love this job or really hate it," Mike said. "I never thought that this was the direction my career would go in, but I'm loving it."

Mike is responsible for "mining the ISIR suspense files." Mike digs out the student records from the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) that were not loaded during the first process due to issues with name, date of birth, and/or social security number. He takes a look at these records and loads them into the system when the information has been corrected. He also does dependency overrides for students who have issues with the dependency status they were assigned.

"I work with students whose situations require a lot of attention," Mike said. "The best asset I have in my job is the amount of time I spend working with students. It makes my job worth it."

Previously, Mike worked multiple jobs in social work. He was a mental health counselor for a local addictions program for a few months and also worked at Eastside Neighborhood Services as a social worker to teens. His last job before coming to the U was in a nursing home for chemically dependent patients.

When asked why he would choose to be a financial aid counselor if he has a social work background, he replies, "Wouldn't you have wanted a financial aid adviser who had a background in social work when you were in school?"

Other than work, Mike enjoys spending time with his fiancee, a special education teacher for St. Paul schools. They have been together for 5 years, and have been engaged for about a year. They are thinking about getting married this summer. Currently, Mike spends his time between his place in Minneapolis and his fiancee's place in Apple Valley.

Mike also loves to travel. He has been to many places across the U.S., especially different, out of the way places like small towns. He likes to see how other people live in different areas. He has not had the chance to travel outside the country as much as he would like.

When it comes down to it though, Mike really enjoys working at the U. "I love the diversity of students we have here. I learn something new everyday," Mike said. "Students often have underlying issues beyond finances. I just help them understand finances and debt and navigate their options."

Mindful Mike:
Mike's favorite movie is Waiting...
His biggest fear is leaving his wallet somewhere.
If he could be any character for a day, he would be Indiana Jones. "He has a no-nonsense personality, but he likes to explore and find interesting things."
Growing up, Mike thought he may be a physical therapist or a doctor.
His favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird.
He loves modern rock music.
His first concert was Amy Grant.
The last book he read was Addictive Behaviors, third edition.
If he could be anything, he'd be a wolf.
Mike has five tattoos.