Vice President of Training Nominee

Amethyst Castro

Biography

Through the years, Ms. Castro has continued to cultivate her skills and blossom into an astute financial aid professional. She has worked in a variety of capacities in the Office of Student Financial Assistance including program management for Federal Work study and private scholarships. She currently serves as the Office of Student Financial Assistance’s Training Specialist. In this role, Ms. Castro develops training material as well as facilitates training sessions. If given the opportunity to serve as the Vice-President of Training, Ms. Castro would bring her expertise in the arena of training to the position, which would be an asset to the association. 

Statement of Candidacy

My name is Amethyst Castro. I am thrilled to submit my candidacy for the VP of Training within FASFAA, an organization that stands at the forefront of shaping and supporting financial aid professionals in Florida. As a dedicated advocate for life-long learning and professional development, I am eager to leverage my experience and passion for training to contribute to the continued success of FASFAA and its members.

Throughout my career, I have thrived in various financial aid roles, including verification, loans, Federal Work Study, Florida Work Experience Program, scholarships, and training. My diverse background equips me with an understanding of the complexities and nuances of financial aid administration.

I am currently the Financial Aid Training Specialist at the University of Central Florida. Serving as the Training Specialist during the period of FAFSA Simplification implementation has proven to be the most challenging yet rewarding task thus far in my career. To prepare staff for FAFSA Simplification, I built (and rebuilt when updates were provided) trainings regarding hand calculations for SAI, determining Pell calculations, nomenclature changes, a FAFSA Simplification Jeopardy Game, Protecting FTI, and ISIR changes in PeopleSoft. I was invited to present at the Fall and Spring FASFAA Region III Workshops on FAFSA Simplification topics which enabled me to share my expertise on complex topics and build camaraderie with other financial aid professionals thus reinforcing that we are all in this together and that we are each other’s unwavering support system. In addition to FAFSA Simplification and my experience with many positions and topics in financial aid, I also educate the full financial aid staff on numerous financial aid topics, keep abreast of regulation shifts, onboard employees, and work as the financial aid liaison to outside campus partners. I am extremely familiar and versed with training all levels of financial experience and backgrounds and those outside of the profession in higher education on the complexities of financial aid.

I firmly believe that investing in training and professional development is pivotal in fostering excellence and innovation within our field. By providing comprehensive and dynamic training programs, we empower financial aid professionals to stay updated on regulatory changes, adopt best practices, and deliver exceptional service to students and institutions alike.

I am deeply passionate about the mission of FASFAA and the transformative power of higher education. My dedication to life-long learning and my proven track record in financial aid roles uniquely position me to lead the training efforts of FASFAA effectively. Thank you for considering my candidacy. I am excited about the opportunity to contribute to the advancement of FASFAA and its members.