President's WelcomeGreetings from the Grand Canyon state of Arizona, As some of you may have already become aware, the AASFAA community recently received some devastating news. Our AASFAA president, Rebekah Salcedo, passed away suddenly, following the 2019 AASFAA Spring Conference in Tucson. Rebekah was an amazing president. Since her first volunteer experience with AASFAA as part of the 2008 Decorations Subcommittee, Rebekah’s achievements, both professional and personal, are too numerous to list. Among the most notable however, are those she accomplished just this past year as president. With the help of the AASFAA executive board and committee members, she successfully set up multiple drive-in trainings at different locations throughout Arizona. She established a partnership with WASFAA to include a recent pre-conference session regarding SAP. Rebekah also helped forge valuable partnerships with various volunteer organizations, to help a diverse demographic of students be able to attend school. Her legacy continues as AASFAA is currently in the process of establishing a volunteer committee to help with similar projects around the state. Rebekah’s leadership shone as she assisted in setting up one of AASFAA’s most successful conferences in the month of February. We were able to partner with Scholarships A-Z and donate a $500 scholarship for DACA students who need funds to attend school. We also had a very successful out-reach campaign with our Native American partners to incorporate training and student assistance with Tribal Funding access and institutional admissions requirements. A huge advocate of education for all, Rebekah worked tirelessly to ensure that any student, regardless of their demographic, was provided the access to education and the help they needed to purse their higher education goals. We hope to pass her passion forward in the years to come and be as successful as she was as getting the community together on important education topics. Let us all remember Rebekah fondly, for her contribution to the AASFAA community, and for her collaborative spirit, which shall serve as a touchstone for all of us. Aside from Rebekah’s passing, AASFAA looks forward to other board transitions that will be happening in June 2019. We are also excited to be the host for this year’s annual WASFAA conference and hope to see everyone there. Kindest regards, Shaundra Coleman Director of Compliance, Arizona State University 2018 – 2019 AASFAA President |
