About Me
Hello, my name is Hannah Kish and I'm glad you're here!
I want to tell you a little about myself...
I have lived in many places. I was moved around quite a bit when I was younger, but I spent a majority of my childhood in Valencia, California and in Kona, Hawaii. After graduating high school in Hawaii, I moved to Flagstafff, Arizona to attend Northern Arizona University (NAU).
In the first few months of my undergraduate career, I began working at the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid at NAU. Little did I know that this would be the moment that would take me down a path towards a career in higher education.
After four years, I completed my Bachelor's degree in Finance at NAU. I then relocated to Davenport, Iowa for a little over a year for my husband's job training program. Knowing I wanted to continue in higher education, I found a job at Ashford University. In my roles as a Student Service Advisor and Re-Entry Counselor, it was my responsibility to advise students on their account inquiries. This included enrolling and adjusting schedules, discussing financial aid, setting up payment plans, checking grades, and helping students stay motivated to continue or return to finish their degree.
Shortly after relocating back to Flagstaff, Arizona, I worked as a Consultant for a company called Higher Technology Solutions, Inc. Their main focus was to contract with higher educational professionals and higher education institutions to upgrade the processing systems. During my time as a Consultant, I was responsible for helping Cornell University test for their PeopleSoft upgrade.
Once my contract with Higher Technology Solutions, Inc. came to an end, I returned to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid at NAU as Program Coordinator, Sr. In this current role it's my responsibility to manage the Personalized Learning program. What's special about this program is that NAU is the first higher education institution in the world issuing and managing financial aid for a non-term competency-based-education (or the CBE) program. Over the last year, I have become an expert in non-term financial aid and learned what it takes to build a new program up so it can be successful. This includes developing better business processes which will allow financial aid to be managed more effectively and working on a team which continues to drive change that will increase the quality of the program we serve. I have also had the opportunity to develop my leadership and supervisory skills as I now have three full-time staff and a part-time Graduate Assistant who report directly to me.
In December 2016, I will be graduating with my Master's degree in Educational Leadership with an emphasis on the Community College/Higher Education. The amount of growth I have had within the last year is easily related to the challanges of working full-time and being a full-time graduate student. I'm thankful for opportunities like this as it has taught me that I can accomplish anything I set my heart and mind to.
My goal is to become an Assistant Director in the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid at NAU. This position will help me lead on a larger scale, where my leadership will have a direct impact on the quality of service we provide our students in the financial aid office.
On a more personal note... I enjoy hiking, running , playing with my dog, watching crime shows, and spending time with my husband, family, and friends.
Thanks for reading! Please go to the 'Contact Me' tab if you have any comments or would like to have a conversation.
- Watch the following video for more about my career aspirations, skills, talents, expereince, and higher education knowledge. -