The Charles E. Jones Achievement Award is named in memory of Chuck Jones, who dedicated his career to helping students. A member of the financial aid staff at The College of the Holy Cross, Chuck was concerned about the access and delivery of aid to ALL students. Chuck was a wonderful person who had an extremely promising career that, unfortunately, was cut short by a terminal illness.

This year’s recipient began her career at Brandeis University after ten years at an outside scholarship organization. During her tenure in the scholarship industry, the recipient was exposed to the FAFSA, costs of attendance, aid packages and individuals at college financial aid offices across the county. Her interactions with these aspects of college financial aid inspired her to become involved in the higher education side of awarding scholarships and financial aid to students. Upon her arrival at Brandeis, the recipient exhibited an extraordinary level of enthusiasm toward her new duties and was very eager to learn everything about the financial aid field. She was very quick to learn the ins and outs of need analysis and began meeting with students and parents almost immediately. This person delights in counseling families about the financial aid process, financing, etc. and is the first person to volunteer to meet with a student or parent who shows up without an appointment. She enjoys the counseling portion of her job so much that her colleagues joke that she holds the national record for the longest conversation with a student or parent, both in person and via phone!

The recipient puts in very long hours, often staying late and coming in on weekends, to make sure that she can not only complete all of her work, but also so that she can give each and every student and family the counseling that they need to make Brandeis an affordable option.

Despite all of the time the recipient devotes to her job, she very eagerly volunteered at the College Goal Sunday site in Waltham after only 10 months in the field and agreed to become the Statewide Site Coordinator for the program the following year. She also participated in MASFAA's first Emerging Leaders Program in 06-07 and agreed to step up as Tri-Chair of College Goal Sunday for 07-08.

This person is a very hard worker who is very devoted to all aspects of her job and, in particular, helping students gain access to college in any way that she can. Her enthusiasm for financial aid is infectious and it helps to remind everyone around her why it is that we are all in this field in the first place. She is a born leader and will contribute greatly to the field, as well as to MASFAA.

It is my pleasure to award the Chuck Jones Achievement Award to Catherine Nelson.