Reginald B. Smith does quite a bit of traveling in North Mississippi to help university students, and it's a job he loves.
Since late January, Smith, 34, has been financial aid adviser for University of Mississippi students at Ole Miss satellite campuses in Southaven, Tupelo and Booneville, in addition to spending one day a week at the main campus in Oxford
The Senatobia resident is in Southaven at the DeSoto Center campus from 2 to 8 p.m. each Tuesday and Thursday.
Smith got into his current role by way of the insurance business. After graduating from Ole Miss in 1995, Smith worked in areas that included claims, loss control and risk management for insurance companies.
"I enjoyed my time in insurance, but it seemed like any time I would get too comfortable, I would get downsized," he said, noting today's trend in corporate America.
He worked for a time in another job and noticed the university's advertisement of a vacancy in the financial aid position. He was attracted by the chance to work for his alma mater, and the fact that his work hours on the satellite campuses would be in the afternoons and evenings.
"My schedule is to accommodate the nontraditional students who work full time and go to school in the afternoons and evenings," he said.
Smith was born in Memphis, and his family moved to Senatobia when he was about 3 years old. He graduated from Independence High School in Tate County.
"I deal with students of all ages," he said. "I enjoy the variety of people and personalities."
As for what students need to know about financial aid, Smith said some students are missing out on available aid because they have not applied.
"There is a lot of available aid that students have lost," he said. "A lot of time, they may just need to be pointed in the right direction."
The first thing a person who plans to attend a college or university should do is complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Smith said.
"A lot of people are under the impression that only poor students, or students from poor families, need to complete the FAFSA, but that is not true," he said.
"There are a lot of non-need-based awards available from the federal government. A lot of them are based on merit."
Also, he said, FAFSA may be a federal form, but many schools use it in awarding state and college or university assistance.
Students need to list several colleges or universities on the form and make sure the FAFSA scores are sent to the schools, Smith said.
The scores are used to determine the expected family contribution (EFC) toward the student's college costs. That's important for colleges and universities to use in developing financial aid offers to students.
It's also important that a student gain admission to a school of his or her choice so that the school's financial aid personnel can contact the student and discuss specific aid awards.Labels: financial aid, free education, high school, scholarship, student loans, study abroad |
