There may be a few more posts about college. There are some more thank you’s to take care of during that time of my life.

How many of would have been able to finish college without financial aid? I relied on it, it was the only way I was going to be the first in my family to graduate with a four-year degree. Every year I’d complete my Financial Aid form, send it home for my parents to sign and then make sure the Financial Aid office had what it needed for documentation. Of course everything is now done electronically, but then, it was all about the paper!

While my mother was my constant cheerleader, saying “one more semester, Kelly”, I often remember the Assistant Director of Financial as the woman who got me through college. Her name was Audrey Reed, and by the time she’d retired she had served as the Director of Financial Aid as well. Audrey’s office was in the lower level of Woodruff Hall. You were supposed to have an appointment to get in, but I always seemed to get to her when I needed to most, and she was incredibly patient with parents of students. Audrey kept students calm. She always seemed to find just the right balance between loans and grants and work-study. Audrey knew every student and their particular situation.

Audrey passed away in 2011. At basketball games, in the dining hall, or walking across campus, Audrey was supportive, knowledgeable and kind.  Thank you Audrey, for helping me to realize my dream of being a college graduate.