Ron Herrell
Director of Financial Aid
Ivy Tech Community College
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
Barely graduated high school.
Then I began working in factories.
Then I began working as a bartender.
Then I decided I was tired of those jobs.
Then I went to college after 10 years since graduating high school.
Then I accepted my first position in financial aid because of my Career Services department.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
New Haven High School
New Haven High School
Career
Director of Financial Aid
Manage multiple financial aid offices, making sure we are following all rules and regulations.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Education
Numbers
Helping People
Day to Day
Traveling a lot! I manage seven campus financial aid departments. I would start by deciding what campus I needed to work at that day. We would be in multiple meetings throughout the day with many different departments figuring out how financial aid and their department could work together for our students. Training, making sure financial aid staff know the latest and most important details about federal, state, and institutional rules and regulations.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
Be sure this is where you want to be, financial aid is not for everyone. It can be stressful, fast paced, and very hectic. If you are looking for a calm, easy work environment, then financial aid is not for you. Be willing to learn new things constantly, financial aid rules and regulations constantly change. The only consistent thing in financial aid is the knowledge that it will probably change soon.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Family:
"You will never follow through with college, you never follow through with anything."
Challenges I Overcame
Financial
Didn't think I was smart enough
