A521.5.8.RB_McNerneyLeigh

As the Eastern Region Financial Aid Counselor it is my responsibility to award roughly 1,600 financial aid recipients year round. I have around 63 campuses and the numbers are climbing every year. With this tremendous responsibility I have developed my own personal objectives that I would like to accomplish. One objective is to increase my customer service to my students and give them a more personal experience. I value having a better relationship with my students because to me each student is an individual with different aspirations and dreams. Every one of them struggles with their own battles and challenges daily. If a student is applying for financial aid it is not because they want to collect loan debt it’s because they have no other options. These students want to attend college no matter what situation they might be in.

Our students come to us for guidance and help attaining the funds needed to attend college and better themselves. Treating these students as a faceless number or email address really takes a toll on delivering the customer service they deserve, but being in charge of 1,600 plus students makes this objective unattainable as I am only one person and there are only 24 hours in the day. Since we are a Worldwide University we are all over the world. My eastern region campuses start in Florida and travel all the way up to the New Jersey and as far west as Indiana so this makes it impossible to develop the kind of relationship necessary to fulfill all my regions student’s needs.

I was faced with a conflict that arose due to our lack of customer relationships more specifically our lack of delivering better customer service to communicate what information we need from our students. We depend on technology to link the student to us and this can be quite the challenge. A lot of the other departments within the Worldwide Headquarters correspond with student via their personal emails, however with the sensitive documentation the Financial Aid Department is required to use a secured email address to protect our student’s information. This inconsistency presents many challenges and here is one that I experienced most recently.

I had a student that was selected for verification by the Department of Education and we were required to review the student’s federal tax return, a Verification Worksheet and Financial Aid Status form before we could award him financial aid. Since all correspondence was sent to the student’s Ernie email account it was the student’s responsibility to check this email for more information regarding their financial aid account. Well this student was a transfer student unaware of this and was getting frustrated because he felt that the Financial Aid Department was “taking advantage” of our students and not processing any of their requests. He was contacting our call center and not getting through to me, his Financial Aid Counselor, which posed the main problem because he wasn’t getting the information he needed to resolve his issue.

Once he finally reached me he was beyond upset and threatened to quit the University completely because of the lack of service. It took a lot of patients to calm this student down as he was screaming at me for not being able to process his requests. Once he was finished getting everything that was bothering him off of his chest I learned that the student had recently lost his job, was getting divorced and was depending on using his financial aid not only for classes but his living expenses as well. He was behind on rent and basically felt like his whole world was crumbling around him. He didn’t know to check his Ernie email and when he did he didn’t understand what to do because he had never been selected for verification before. My heart went out to him and his struggles. I went out of my way to attend to his financial aid needs and I was able to process his verification within the day, set his awards up and monitored it until his corrections were reviewed by the Department of Education. His financial aid disbursed into his account 5 days later relieving some of his stressors. 

Although I felt a sense of satisfaction in completing this students financial aid requests and I was able to retain him as a student I wasn’t happy that the student that was going through all of that turmoil and on top of that got so upset with the financial aid service he received. As the counselor it is my responsibility to manage the accounts and deliver great customer service and this instance I wasn’t able to until he was almost beyond consolable.

In order to prevent these instances from reoccurring the Director of Financial Aid conducts quarterly training for all of our call service representatives which has reduced many obstacles. We also remind students via technology services that the Financial Aid Department corresponds with students via their Ernie email. We send text alerts to student’s phones, state this on our website and this is also something the campuses are informing the students. Although these ways of communicating have helped, in my opinion the personal customer service is still lacking.

I would like to add a Skype option for our students at all of our campuses. To me this would better develop our communications with students because they could see and hear what we are trying to communicate with them. If I could talk to a student and see them and go through their account this would better serve their needs thus improve our customer service and promote a more personal experience between the students and their counselors. Obviously not every student requires this type of service however for the ones who do it would be available for them to use.

A521.5.1.RB_McNerneyLeighAnn

Working at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has taught me more about myself and what is important to me. The university in itself is a prestigious school giving students the chance to to excel in their programs and graduate with degrees. The education ERAU provides their students gives amazing opportunities to work for large well known organizations worldwide such as the Pentagon or NASA. I feel proud to call myself an Embry-Riddle employee and student because they set the bar high and remain at the top of their game. Embry-Riddle values their students, faculty and staff and motivates us to go above and beyond what is expected of us to accomplish our goals while also accomplishing the universities.

Although I enjoy the opportunities ERAU offers I have found that my current role as a Financial Aid Counselor will be short lived. I am a person with a wild imagination and feel the need to use my creativity daily to feel fulfillment. I love to be outside and I love a sense of adventure. Working an 8am to 5pm job sitting inside cooped up in a cubicle with no windows does not satisfy my needs. I feel like every day I live in a kennel and I use a mouse wheel for exercise. Every morning I wake up dreading going to work because I hate the way I am trapped inside away from the outside world. I am stuck sitting at a computer all day emailing and calling faceless students. I never see the people I am helping and this drives me crazy because I am a people person. At ERAU we are a school focused on handling all of our student’s needs and I enjoy this aspect of the job, however they use distant learning modalities in accomplishing these needs. In order for my values to correspond with ERAU’s I would prefer to actually see our students not just treat them as an email address or phone number. I like people and I like interacting with them every day.   If they could incorporate Skype in the Financial Aid Department I believe the lack of interaction would be less daunting on me. I feel like placing a face with a name or number would enable me to feel like I am dealing with real live individuals.

Work life balance and family life is an extremely important factor in any career I am in whether it be a waitressing job or my current position. I am a very dedicated family oriented person. I will do whatever it takes to take care of my family, but I will not sacrifice unnecessary time away from them. I feel ERAU also has strong values towards developing a work life and family life balance for students and employees. Every year employees are encouraged to bring their children to ‘family day’. This day is specifically tailored to employees with children. Employees bring their kids to work and attend a full day of activities while ‘working’. It is pretty fun from what I have heard and I plan on attending the next one. Also around Christmas they have a Santa Clause that comes to bring employee’s children, grandchildren, nieces or nephew presents that everyone chips in so that every child receives a present. This type of atmosphere is exactly what I am all about. I feel like the family or ERAU is about being a family and living every day with this mentality.  ERAU promotes this balance by also making discounted theme park tickets available to us and we are also given a full week off in December over the Christmas break to use for family time. These values ERAU promotes are exactly aligned with my same values.

ERAU is an organization on the cutting edge of technology and they are all about using technology to become more educated and educate their students. They are very concerned with being the best at everything they engage in and this value is not something I can relate to wholeheartedly. I am not intrigued by technology. I am not interested in adapting the newest software program because I am not really into computers. I would much rather develop a new way to get in touch with our community then learn how to build a robot. Everywhere I turn they are promoting the idea of research and exploration of technology and I just cannot relate. My values are with helping people and solving problems people are facing daily such as communicating better or working as a team.

I value being with people and helping them very much like ERAU does, however I would prefer to do it differently than I am currently practicing. I don’t want to be someone working in a small cubicle alone every day I would rather work in a livelier environment where I see the people I am helping. Embry-Riddle is a place focused on advancing technologically and I am not interested in that aspect. My values are to be mentally challenged not mentally bored and my challenges tend to be specifically with real life problems. I seek adventure and want to explore the world and feel the rush of excitement without compromising my work life balance with my family life. I feel that ERAU is a great place of employment for now, but not forever. I was never someone that was supposed to work inside handling financial aid issues I am supposed to be interacting with people solving problems creatively with flexible hours.

A521.5.4.RB_McNerneyLeighAnn

In an ethical community Denning identifies the three basic components that are necessary for an organization and they are trust, loyalty and solidarity. I am an employee at Embry-Riddle University Worldwide and I work in the Financial Aid Department. We are a team of only eight employees handling roughly 6,000 financial aid recipients yearly. Our Director is a very level headed, logical and organized individual that somehow keeps us running efficiently and happily. We call ourselves the “dream team” and live by the motto “one team one dream”. This idea or objective was imposed through the motivation our Director encourages within his department. He instills the three basic components upon our department every day.

Financial aid is a very private department in that we handle very sensitive documents with student’s personal information. This type of atmosphere requires us to be very trustworthy employees. About 30% of students are selected for a process called verification every academic year where they have to submit certain documentation to be verified before they can receive financial aid. The Department of Education requires us to review student’s federal tax transcripts, w2 statements, household clarification, divorce decrees, child support documentation and military paperwork. Students trust that when they are submitting these documents we are going to follow our process and procedures to complete their verification, which we do. Our Director stresses the importance of trust within our department and leads by example. When anyone in the department has an issue no matter what it might be about we know we can go to him and talk about it and he will keep the conversation private. Having a director that I can trust with anything and everything means more to me than making a higher salary because there is a sense of comfort and ease in our department that other department’s lack. I feel like because he is a trustworthy director we follow this same characteristic and remain trustworthy to our students and fellow coworkers.

Loyalty is an extremely important component in the Financial Aid Department as we are very close with each other. We are more like family then coworkers as we fight  and bicker as a family will, but then the next 10 minutes we are already over it and moving on to the topic at hand. If someone hurts one of us the other 7 coworkers are standing at the hurt coworker’s side ready to defend and protect against whoever caused the pain. This type of loyalty is also demonstrated by our director. I have never been in a situation where I felt like he has turned his back on me. If one of us makes a mistake he will defend us and take the blame and suffer the repercussions before he will ever let one of us receive the brunt of the consequences because that is the type of leader he is. He is loyal and trusts us to perform our job to the best of our ability without micromanaging us. Since we are treated this way we also treat him the same. No one in our organization is unaware of how loyal we are to our director because we make it known that he is the best, even though it really embarrasses him! We go out of our way to inform him and his upper management just how special, caring and hard working he is any chance we get because he deserves it.

The last component necessary according to Denning is solidarity and this is also a part of the theme in the Financial Aid Department. I practice solidarity for students all the time because if I believe I can make a difference for their benefit, I will. Recently I had a student who can be quite a challenge at times because he does not always hear what I am trying to explain to him. Recently he maxed out on all of his undergraduate loans he can receive and he’s a junior. Maxing out on your undergraduate loans as a junior isn’t good because he still has another whole year of schooling before he can graduate and he was using financial aid to pay for all of his classes. The student enrolled in May classes to finish up his junior year unaware that he was going to be required to pay out of pocket and he didn’t call to check on his financial aid until week 6 of the class. This was a very difficult predicament because I couldn’t award him any more Federal Stafford Loans according to the Department of Education, but I wanted to find a way for him to attend school because after talking to him I found him to be a very passionate man in his 50’s trying pursue his dreams. The student informed me that he was disabled and ineligible to receive a private loan because he didn’t work and didn’t have anyone to cosign for him. With all of this information I went to my director knowing I we couldn’t do much, but I wanted to try anything I could even if it meant bending the rules somehow to give him more funding. This was against my personal beliefs however since it meant so much to my student to attend college I had to exhaust my efforts for him. In the end I was able to find him an additional $500.00 dollars in scholarships he qualified for that we applied towards his balance for his May classes. Before ending our conversation we went through the different scholarships he could apply for during his senior year together. I have never felt more satisfied with my job then that day knowing my student didn’t lose hope. I empowered him to fight through this challenge. I reminded him to never to let anything stop him and he was so grateful for that.

The three basic components Denning discusses that are necessary in an ethical community are trust, loyalty and solidarity and these components are all found within my department. I don’t believe we are lacking in any areas except maybe we need more help to handle our tremendous responsibility in serving around 6,000 financial aid students. We are a pretty fortunate bunch of employees to be lucky enough to have a director that can lead by example. We all look to him for guidance in developing into successful leaders ourselves one day.

A521.4.5.GA_McNerneyLeighAnn

Communication is a very difficult task in its self let alone making sure you are communicating how you feel without coming off the wrong way. There are so many things a person needs to be aware of when they are in a professional atmosphere such as their body language, your paralanguage, meta-messages and hidden agendas. In order to become a successful professional you have to learn how to develop a way to deliver a positive message without showing your inner struggles. This can be a very difficult task because most people are unaware that they are communicating in an ineffective way. I have been guilty of saying “I am ok” but giving the opposite message to someone. I have also experienced what it feels like to have someone tell me one thing but their inner message comes out completely different.

My co-worker is a very sweet lady who would probably do anything for you if you needed her; however she would also make you feel like any favor was a complete inconvenience to her. I don’t believe she is aware of her tendencies to treat people this way. For example I came into the Financial Aid Department and took over her region so she was the person assigned by our Director to train me. Through my training she taught me an abundance of information and was very patient with me. We got to know each other very well and developed a great friendship. Now that I am on my own there comes times when I still have questions and must refer back to her for help in learning how to handle these situations. Recently when I have asked for her assistance she has made it very clear that she does not want to assist me with her body language, paralanguage, meta-messaging and hidden agenda.

The other day I asked her to help me with a scholarship questions which is her department as she is now the manager in scholarships and grants and her first reaction was a smile and then she said “well of course doll”, but then as she stood up she slammed her pen at her desk with a force. I knew right there I was annoying her. She then stood over my desk; arms crossed listening to my question. She replied with a very monotone answer that had no rhythm but was straight to the point. I felt stupid for even asking my question, as she stated after answering me with “is that all you needed?” emphasizing on the all. I answered automatically with a pleasant “yes!” feeling like I just ruined her day. Shortly after she returned to her desk she started talking about “how annoying it is when people ask you questions when she is in the middle of doing something”. I knew she was referring to me so I automatically responded with “sorry” and she replied “oh not you doll!” This experience had many incongruent messages that were not matching up with her true inner messages.  

From these experiences I have now made myself more aware of how I react when someone reaches out to me for help. Although I am new I have picked up certain aspects of financial aid that other people still struggle with. My other co-worker frequently asks for my assistance in completing a packaging process as he still struggles with it. When he asks me I always take a minute to reflect on my negatives experiences and react in a much different way. I simply let him know if I can’t jump up at that moment because I am in the middle of something to prevent my message communicating a sense of annoyance for being interrupted. If I am available I roll my chair over to him to make him feel comfortable and relaxed in knowing I am here to help and I will be right next to you at the same level. I keep my arms uncrossed; both legs on the floor and all of my responses are in an encouraging tone. For example in completion of a task I tell him “you’ve got it!” and smile. All of the words are emphasized to show I am very pleased with his results. My volume and articulation of words I use also show my enthusiasm for him. I am not phony in my responses or reactions as I try to focus at the task at hand and put all of my hidden agendas aside.

I am the type of person to have a hidden agenda of “I’m tough” giving off a degree of an overwhelmed attitude because I am currently dealing with more stressors than I have ever experienced.  I don’t want to convey these signals to whomever I am speaking with because I know that they don’t want to hear about my responsibilities anymore than I want to be overwhelmed with theirs. So in keeping a positive attitude and leaving my home life at home and vice versa when I leave I have been able to maintain a pretty healthy relationship with all of my co-workers from the sour attitudes to the positive ones. I regroup and try to recognize the type of person I am dealing with and then adjust my own responses to fit theirs as this allows me to remain friendly and drama free in my professional atmosphere.

A521.3.4.RB_McNerneyLeighAnn

In 1990 my parents owned a very successful dish garden business that they built from the ground up. We were living in Lake County at the time on 33.5 acres of beautiful property in a large house with 3 green houses surrounding it. My Mom was in charge of creating the dish gardens while my Dad maintained and delivered them all throughout Florida and Georgia. We lived a pretty luxurious lifestyle. We went on family vacations every year and there were many times my Mom would take us shopping at the mall around lunch time and she would not leave until the doors were closing for the night.

Times were good all around us until the economy took a hit. My parents business was no longer booming with business. They had to let their workers go and my Mom was forced to get a job with Publix because she married young and didn’t go on to college after high school. Sooner than later the bank would no longer let them borrow anymore money and they were forced to file bankruptcy. This was a devastating blow to our family. We eventually lost our beautiful home and we were forced to rent a small home in town from my Grandma. All of these events changed my parent’s relationship. They were no longer spending everyday together creating beautiful dish gardens they were now both working long hours apart in jobs they didn’t really enjoy. They began to fight and blame one another for all the mistakes they made along the way that eventually led to their bankruptcy.

We lost everything when we lost that business our house, income, happiness and family because my parent divorced shortly after the move. After my parents divorced my mom took my sister and I to live in an even smaller apartment where I actually had to share a room with my mom. I was now in middle school and I was sharing a room with my mom, this was very humiliating for me to experience. We lived right behind my middle school and instead of hopping the fence, because I of course had to walk with my mom always at work, I would instead walk around the entire block so that no one would see me coming from the apartment complex. I was so ashamed of what my life had become. I went from having it all to having nothing. As time passed my Mom was finally financially stable enough to buy a new home for us. She worked many long hours day and night to become a deli manager at Publix. With this promotion also came a few luxuries and we were able to start going on vacations again.

These experiences taught me to appreciate everything I have. I learned that in order to have nice things you have to work hard for them. I also learned that material items are not what matters in life because they can be taken away at any given time. What matters in life is working hard to earn a decent living to support your family. What my mom was able to do for my sister and I means so much to me now that I am older and have a family of my own. Her dedication and strength is what motivated me to graduate high school and continue on to college. Her highest level of education was a high school diploma and this made it very difficult for her to start over. My Mom encouraged my sister and me to be independent woman and to never rely on anyone to take care of us. Her message was to earn an education and get a job where you can take care of your family yourself.

Now that I am working at Embry-Riddle and earning a Master degree I am in the process of completing this dream she had for me. I am able to take care of myself as well as my husband and child and as I continue pursuing this degree I am opening up even more opportunities for career advancements in the future. I have learned that in order to have success you have to earn it. These experiences have kept me very humbled. Working hard for everything I have has also made me appreciate it so much more than when everything was just handed to me. I plan to continue pushing myself throughout life the way my mom pushed herself every long day and night. I have a greater purpose in life than just being rich I want to accomplish a lifetime of achievements. I plan to graduate with my degree and look for the next opportunity to grow wherever that may be. I want to inspire others around me to push themselves to accomplish these difficult challenges as my Mom did for me.

A521.2.3.RB_McNerneyLeighAnn

Chimamanda Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story had all the main points of a springboard story. It was told with a clear and worthwhile purpose, based on true events, it was positive and authentic. The stories she told the audience were based on actual examples from her life starting at the age of two years old. Chimamanda’s tone throughout the story was carried as if she were having a conversation with each individual rather than everyone at the same time. She related to her audience with her typical examples many of us could relate too, but each example was linked to her overall purpose of opening people’s minds to the dangers of hearing or telling single stories. Her confidence in herself as she presented and word selection projected a well educated experienced woman that we could all relate to and trust. As she told her story she was able to laugh with her audience and remain serious when need be and her ability to do this left me feeling inspired to change my bad habits of believing and hearing singles stories.

Chimamanda’s personal experience with her college roommate was a very interesting example of how a single stories’ misgiving can change the way we view an entire culture. This part of her presentation really opened my eyes and made me relate to her on a personal level, leaving me with a feeling of similar guilt. When Chimamanda arrived to the U.S. to attend college her roommate was shocked to learn Chimamanda was from Nigeria, or in her roommate’s mind Africa, and was nothing like she imagined her to be. For one Chimamanda spoke English very well, she could use a stove and her ‘tribal music’ was a tape of Maria Carey! Her roommate’s perception of what an African would be was quite different than what she actually was because her understanding had been influenced through different versions of single stories. Chimamanda changed her roommate’s perception and opened her eyes to the mistakes that can be made form only hearing a single story.

Instead of being an African who spoke a tribal language, using fire to cook their foods dancing to music in a native language Chimamanda was a well educated, English speaking young woman from Nigeria. Her country was not Africa, but Nigeria composed of many states. She had actually never even been to all the countries located within the continent of Africa. She grew up in a very nice middleclass family with domestic help. Her parents were educated and held respected careers who donated whenever they could to less fortunate families in nearby villages. In my opinion Chimamanda lived a better lifestyle then most Americans do.

My own experience of developing a stereotypical view was also similar to Chimamanda’s roommate. When I started Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide I was extremely excited to get to know a coworker better after learning he was born in Senegal located in Africa.  I imagined my coworker riding to school on an elephant, speaking a native language and dancing around a fire covered in paint. However, much to my disappointment he was raised in a much different way. My coworker grew up a pampered lifestyle full of lavish amenities. He is a son of a former highly respected political figure; his father was Foreign Diplomat with clout all over the world. He grew up traveling to countries I have only dreamed of going to. He is very educated as this was a main priority in his upbringing. My coworker loves Usher and has never even been on a safari! His first experience of wild animals was when he went to the Atlanta zoo. I could not believe he never had any experiences with animals like I envisioned from the television shows. My coworker is a very intelligent man with a huge fear of snakes to the point he ran from his own home to a nearby neighbor because he was so frightened and needed someone to get the snake. Although I assumed he was going to be more like the people portrayed on most news stories he is actually extremely different. He has lived a better lifestyle and had more experiences with other cultures than I have ever been able to.

Chimamanda’s ability to provide me with the example from her personal life allowed me to relate and come to the realization I am at fault with only hearing a single story and developing a stereotype. I have made a mental note to not jump to assumptions when I read, watch or hear stories from now on. I want to change this bad habit and evolve into receiving more than just one point of view. Instead I will try to use the lessons learned from Denning as well as the message in Chimamanda’s The Danger of a Single Story to change my entire outlook on everything I have ever learned.

A521.1.4.RB_McNerneyLeighAnn

A common story at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide or ERAU is our dedication to our students in providing them with the necessary learning modalities to enable them to pursue their education according to their lifestyle and schedule. Our goal is to give students the education they need the way they need it through our Five Ways to Learn. The Five Ways to learn include Classroom, Blended Learning, Eagle Vision Classroom, Eagle Vision Home and Online Learning.

Classroom learning gives the student the ability to learn in a traditional setting with a professor and a chalkboard. Blended Learning provides the student with a classroom environment as well as online technologies. Eagle Vision Classroom allows the student to attend classes in a classroom setting alongside with other students from all over the world at the same time. Eagle Vision Home gives the student the opportunity to learn from the convenience of their own home while participating with the rest of their classmates from all over the world. Online Learning gives our students the flexibility they need to continue their education no matter what their schedule may be.

ERAU’s Five Ways to Learn promotes the organization’s goal of providing our students with the opportunity to continue their education as adults, as they embark down the road to success. Embry Riddle gives a new meaning to flexible learning with their five different modalities offered. Many of our students are active military and are currently serving our country in the Middle East. With the opportunity to partake in one of our learning modalities it is almost impossible for students to be unable to continue their education. ERAU has brought the physical classroom to the internet giving students the ability to solve problems, learn together and engage with one another even though they may be thousands of miles apart.  Worldwide has more than 150 locations throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Middle East and now Asia giving our student population a culturally diverse education. Our aim is for adult learning and through this flexible program that is what our students receive according to their schedule and lifestyle.

The Five Ways to learn does describe who we are as a company in that it promotes our university to remain on the verge of technology.  “At Embry-Riddle Worldwide, we want to help you achieve those goals and advance your career even if work responsibilities and family obligations preclude you from attending classes on a traditional college campus” and that is why our Five Ways to learn enables students to do just that!

As a student myself I am partaking in Embry Riddle’s Online Learning. Through this program I am able to work full time, have a family full time and also pursue my Master degree. I have never been happier going to school because I choose what works best for my schedule not the other way around. I previously attended a traditional college where classes were always scheduled in the middle of the working day or at night when it was time to be with my family. This type of learning made it impossible for me to work in a professional career field. Once I graduated with my Bachelor degree I thought it was impossible to go back for my Masters as I accepted my position here at ERAU. However to my surprise I learned of the amazing Five Ways to Learn program and immediately changed my mind and decided to go back to school. Since starting the Online Learning I have maintained straight A’s while giving birth to my first child. This would not have been possible without Embry Riddle’s commitment in providing to their students with an adult learning style of education through the Five Ways to Learn.


https://ernie.erau.edu