The Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships is a necessary destination for more than 84% of those entering public and private institutions each year. This office and its officers are tasked with the responsibility of helping hopeful students navigate a system that can launch or derail their access to the coveted tassel moving, cap tossing moment of higher education’s most significant achievement: the title of Graduate. For many, especially first-generation, low-income minority students, visiting this office can sometimes feel overwhelming.  Finding highly proficient financial aid officers who can help students navigate this system is key to helping ensure a successful college experience.

For the University of Oregon @UofO, leadership in this department comes from Jim Brooks @jimbrooks, the Director of Financial Aid and his dedicated staff.  Brooks holds a Masters degree in Sociology which, initially, may ring a bit odd. Why would someone schooled in the study of social beings be put in charge of a finance game?  After all, students just need someone to find them the bucks that can give them the biggest bang; a numbers cruncher, right?  On the contrary, what the University of Oregon has come to value in Brooks and his financial aid team is their ability to connect to the consciousness and the human condition of the students. 

“I’m comfortable with numbers, but if I were only a numbers cruncher, I think I would be less effective. You need to understand the connection to students, be in the community, talking to people about the opportunities and helping them see that accessing higher education is possible,” Brooks reflected.

Born in Trinidad, his birth parents were Afro-Trinbagonian. Due to his father being absent and his birth mother still in her teens, Brooks was adopted by a white missionary who raised him in internationally-influenced Trinidad. After high school, he was encouraged to attend undergrad school at Anderson College @anderson [University], followed by Graduate school at the University of Notre Dame @ND. Forced to confront his blackness in a way that was very different from his multicultural/ international upbringing, Brooks describes his experience as “soul searching” and leading him to where he is today as an advocate for access and equity.  Throughout each year, he and his team manage about $170 million in federal aid dollars and they are acutely dedicated to getting it into the hands of those most in need. Brooks feels this work is more than just a job, it’s his “calling”.

“Like most people who are in financial aid, I ended up here accidentally and then got bitten by the bug when I realized what an impact it has. It’s intense emotional work that requires sincerity, empathy, honesty and encouragement.  As money is coming in and going out, there becomes this whole science about trying to get it to the right students.”

Using an inclusive strategy focused on connecting with lower-income Oregonians, African-Americans, minorities and first-generation students, Brooks and his staff have made some impressive gains in favor of equitable access. One such example is the Pathway Oregon Program @POP, a scholarship fund that covers tuition/fees and has built-in support mechanisms that includes academic advising and career counseling for recipients. Most recently, this demonstrable commitment has resulted in the highest enrollment of African-Americans in U of O history, with an incoming Freshman class comprising 31% underrepresented, minority students.

“It feels great. It is still not where we would like to be, but it is getting better,” reflected Brooks.

Beyond the improvement in statistics, Brooks understands that real college success includes connecting students to empowering pathways. This means helping students like Brianna Hayes, a Pathway Oregon Scholarship recipient and active member of U of O  Black Student Task Force @UOBSTF and Black Student Union @OUBSU, who was selected to spend last summer in Washington D. C. as  NASFAA’s @nasfaa Dallas Martin Endowment (DME) Policy Intern, learning about federal aid policies and working in education. Hayes, who plans on attending law school after graduation and continuing her work advocating for student success, shared her excitement in a blog post.

 “My first week has been busy and full of learning experiences. From participating in meetings with NASFAA staff to discussing the potential effects of President Trump’s proposed budget cuts, the importance of advocacy continues to present itself. Outside of work, I have been taking the time to explore the wonderful features around town such as restaurants and the Washington Monument.  I even stumbled upon the White House!” wrote Hayes.

For Brooks, student success stories such as this provide confirmation that his department’s strategy of seeing solutions instead of problems is key to student engagement and education.

“We need to get the message out there, especially to African-American students, that accessing college is possible. We need to deliver a message to them to not stop before they even start and that they have many options. We just need to keep building the bridges and making the assist,” Brooks concluded.