The day started off with a welcome from PD&T Committee Co-Chair Jason Shumaker, who thanked everyone for showing up and explained the agenda for the day. He encouraged everyone to join a MASFAA Committee.

The first session was "Work-Study 101," presented by Matthew Long from Yale University. Matthew did a tremendous job explaining how Work-Study doesn't simply put spending money in the pockets of students, but also contributes to the Campus Community. He shared some interesting statistics about the way in which Work-Study affects (or doesn't affect) a student's GPA. He kept the crowd engaged—in fact, after the session, a line of people waited in line to ask additional questions and obtain his contact information.

The next session, presented by Jason Shumaker, was titled, "Merit, Need, and Other Types of Aid." Jason delivered an interactive discussion in which he presented an overview of the various types of Financial Aid. Attendees were asked to play a game of Financial Aid "Pin the Tail on the Donkey." Jason was thorough and did a fantastic job of describing the types of aid to a group that consisted primarily of novice aid administrators.

The last two sessions of the day were "After Loan Exits," presented by Eleanor Wolcott of MIT, and "Managing Student Workers" by Steve Podeszwa of USA Funds. Eleanor described what can occur to students who do not repay their loans. She told real, interesting stories of students she has encountered over the years at MIT and illustrated just how far a school will go to ensure that their Cohort Default Rate stays low! Steve ended the day with a presentation on managing student employees in the Financial Aid Office. He did a great job of creating open dialogue between himself and the attendees. He offered tips on everything from how to get student workers to dress appropriately in the office to phone and email etiquette. People shared stories (both good and bad) about their student workers and some best practices they use to keep them working efficiently.

All in all, a great day was had at the Support Staff Workshop, by the end of it everyone was happy they made it through the storm to attend and learn something new!