Welcome to the MASFAA Newsletter’s 20 Questions.

We're quizzing members of the MASFAA community about work, play and other fun stuff.

If you guessed Patricia Reilly, Director of Financial Aid from Tufts University as the subject of our Spring edition Twenty Questions you are absolutely correct! Thanks for participating Patty!

If you would like to be a future Twenty Questions participant send an e-mail to Dave Kelly or Ray Nault. It’s time to play again! See if you can guess who our mystery person is – answer in the Fall Edition of the MASFAA Newsletter.

How long have you been in Financial Aid?
19 years

Have you served or do you presently serve on any MASFAA Committees?
Yes, I’ve been on PD&T, Just the FACTS!, and Executive Committee

Pepsi or Coke?
(Diet) Coke. With lime!

What do you like most about your job?
So many things, but mostly being able to collaborate with colleagues to enable students to enroll and ultimately graduate from college. Also, the FISAP. Who doesn’t love that? What is the most difficult aspect of your job? Having to tell a student/family that there just isn’t any more funding available for them. And, supervising Raymond Nault.

If you could change anything in our industry what would it be?
Lessen the regulations that force aid administrators to be tax experts, selective service agents, social security personnel, and divorce lawyers. Also, FFELP/DL wars. There’s room for everyone!

What is the most unusual place you have traveled?
All the countries I’ve visited are pretty mainstream. For unusual...Las Vegas, perhaps?

What is the most rewarding part of your job?
See “What I like most about my job”!

What was your favorite MASFAA session and why?
Lots of good ones, but one of the most memorable sessions was by Kelly Baran and David Goldberg about financial aid staff participating in admission application reviews. (I kept hoping they’d end with a song and dance production, but perhaps that’s something for a future session…)

Who has been the biggest influence on your career?
Bob Shorb, Bernie Pekala, Paul Lynsky, and Robin Randall

If you were not in financial aid what would you be doing?
Collecting unemployment after being laid off from a Bank or financial institution…or enjoying the fruits of my labor on a Caribbean island because my many hair salons proved lucrative!

What case/student will you most likely remember for the rest of your life?
An independent student who was deserving, persistent and charismatic enough to make sure she received the funding she needed to complete her degree. (I was there to help.)

Where do you call home?
Woodcrest Drive.

What type of entertainment do you enjoy?
In no particular order: comedians, baseball games, live bands, movies, TV, and dancin’ in da clubs. Pretty much anything! Well, maybe not rodeos. Unless I could sit in the sun with a beverage. Then it might be fun.

What are your hobbies?
Laundry, yard work, paying bills…oh, wait, that’s what my kids would say. When I have time, I try to play tennis, complete scrapbooks, read. Not all at once.

How do you cope with stress on the job?
Vent with colleagues. And arrive to work with a LARGE coffee from DD.

Who is your personal hero?
|My sister. She keeps me sane, and she just lost 120 lbs!!!

What is your favorite restaurant?
I always hate this question, because I’m happy to eat out anywhere!! Low maintenance.

What is the last book you read?
Dead Men Hike No Trails, by my friend Rick McKinney. It’s his personal account of his hike of the Appalachian Trail while fighting depression. It sounds a little ominous, but it’s very entertaining!

Any advice for your fellow financial aid professionals?
Keep collaborating, stay optimistic, fight the good fight.