The CRREST Podcast
Helping campus-based professionals and community partners bring the CRREST vision to fruition
This monthly podcast is the premier destination for Maryland’s campus-based professionals and stakeholders to share their successes, challenges, lessons, ideas, and tools for helping all college and career school students in Maryland become creditworthy, ready, resilient, empowered, successful, and thriving.
Episode 1: Scholarships, Social Media, and Student Empowerment
Featured Guest: Dr. Keia Brown
Dr. Keia Brown is the Associate Director of Scholarships at the University of Maryland College Park and Founder of Miss Collegiate USA, a public charity that promotes Academia, Sisterhood, and Scholarships.
In this episode, Dr. Brown shares her professional journey in financial aid including her passion for financial literacy. She also discusses how campus-based professionals can simplify the scholarship search for students and families, and harness the power of social media to reach diverse populations.
Episode 2: Helping Students Get Ready for the FAFSA, Feelings, and Finances
Featured Guest: Melanie Mason
Melanie Mason is the Director of Programs and Administration at the Maryland Center for Collegiate Financial Wellness. Prior to joining the Center, she worked as a financial aid administrator for several institutions in Maryland and also served as an avid volunteer and trainer with the Delaware-DC-Maryland Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
In this episode, Melanie shares guidance for prospective students and their families as they prepare to pay for higher education. She also discusses the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), changes for the 2024-25 academic year, and steps students and families can take to get ready for success.
Episode 3: Unique Challenges and Uplifting Opportunities for Undocumented Students
Featured Guest: Gustavo Minaya
Gustavo Minaya is a Financial Aid Outreach Counselor at Montgomery College and founder of Mi Futuro Education. Gustavo is a former undocumented youth and a first-generation college student and graduate with a passion for helping make higher education more accessible and affordable for all students, especially those who are undocumented and immigrants.
In this episode, Gustavo speaks of his own journey from Peru to the United States, and how he uses his personal experience and professional knowledge of admissions and financial aid to assist students and families with accessing aid.
Episode 4: When Commerce Meets Counseling-The Reality Check Every Student Needs
Featured Guest: Jennifer Volberding
Jenn Volberding is the Associate Director of Scholarships for the University of Maryland Baltimore County. With over 29 years of dedicated service in customer excellence, coupled with 8 years of banking experience and more than 13 years of Higher Education expertise, Jenn is a seasoned professional committed to empowering students and fostering financial literacy to help them achieve their academic aspirations.
In this episode, Jenn touches on why students and families should push through their fear of completing the FAFSA, the truth about trying to “shake down” the financial aid office, and how parents can talk with their children about the true cost of higher education.
Who should be our next guest?
The CRREST Podcast focuses on campus-based professionals and community partners in Maryland. Have an idea for who we should interview? Complete the form to suggest our next guest!