On July 23, Assistant Director of Financial Aid Christopher Pollard spoke to congressional staffers and higher education advocates on Capitol Hill about the basics of financial aid programs. The event, the National Profile hosted by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), gave Mr. Pollard the opportunity to share a financial aid administrator's perspective on working with students.
“NASFAA invited me to speak at their event and provide a boots-on-the-ground perspective on administrators of the challenges that students face in applying for federal student aid. I have a unique viewpoint though," Mr. Pollard said, "I was also able to speak from a student perspective because when I was pursuing my undergraduate degree, I benefited from federal student aid.”
Mr. Pollard said he had dreamed of pursuing a college degree since he was a child, and when it came time to apply for colleges, he had to decide how he was going to pay for school. After starting college at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, he became a mentor for high school students, eventually attaining a work-study position in the financial aid office.
Since then, Mr. Pollard has spent 10 years in higher education.
"I was able to give those in attendance not only a feel for the daily processing side of financial aid of reviewing FAFSA applications, processing requests, and awarding aid, but I also shared with them the amount of counseling we do with students."
A large part of Mr. Pollard’s job in GW Law's Financial Aid Office is counseling students on their financial aid and loan repayment options. The financial aid office provides counseling to students throughout their time at GW Law, but also offers counseling services to alumni as well. Mr. Pollard said in addition to individual counseling, the financial aid office works with AccessLex to provide financial literacy and wellness information to law students.
"I wanted to present because there are still populations of students who have a hard time accessing and navigating higher education," he said. "This can be a life-changing profession; helping students get access to higher education can change the entire trajectory of someone's life. I was a student who benefitted from these programs, so I think it's important to advocate on behalf of not only financial aid administrators but for students who actually receive financial student aid."
Phillip Hawkins, Director of Financial Aid at GW Law, said he was proud to have Mr. Pollard advocating for not just GW Law students but all students who receive federal student aid.
“Christopher Pollard is a tremendous asset to the students of GW Law. He is committed to thoroughly explaining the complexities of the financial aid process to our students so that they have a better understanding of what can be an overwhelming process,” Dr. Hawkins said. “Along with his participation with NASFAA's Diversity Leadership Program this year, his daily demonstration of professionalism when working with students made him an excellent choice for NASFAA when selecting someone to participate in their educational program with Congressional staff regarding the Administration of Federal Student Aid.”