By Chloe Stanley, NASFAA Communications and Engagement Assistant

MVP: Most Valuable Professional is an occasional series that features a brief Q&A with a different NASFAA member. Do you know a financial aid colleague with something interesting to say? Send the names of potential future MVPs and a short note about why you're nominating them to [email protected]. 

Meet Paul Friebus, FAAC®, director of financial aid training and compliance at Ivy Tech Community College.

Paul began his career in financial aid when he was looking for a fresh start. Taking a leap of faith, he joined the team at Ivy Tech Community College and never looked back. Over 10 years, he has been known for his positive attitude and unrelenting dedication. As the director of financial aid training and compliance, he works directly with the various campuses across the state to create training materials and host events. 

Paul’s secret for maintaining a positive attitude comes from “being able to step back and see the impact we have.” Empowered with the knowledge that financial aid changed his own life, he doesn’t lose sight of the bigger picture. “We have the opportunity to keep making a difference and helping people,” Paul said.

This year Paul served as the training committee chair for the Indiana Student Financial Aid Association (ISFAA), and he will also be an instructor for MASFAA’s Summer Institute and Leadership Symposium. Paul has also worked with the Professional Development Committee for MASFAA and has presented several NASFAA Credential AEs at the ISFAA and MASFAA annual conferences, and stand-alone sessions.

Working in financial aid encouraged Paul to obtain a master’s degree in training and communication, which has shaped his perspective. Paul sees training and professional development as an opportunity to make connections.

“Communication is about creating shared reality,” Paul said. “Both parties have to be engaged, with real dialogue and input from both sides. Without that, you can’t truly build understanding.

Learn more about Paul, his career path, and interests in the Q&A below!

How did you get your start in financial aid?

I spent most of my life working in retail and food service, but I was looking for a change. I jumped ship to help a friend with a startup IT hardware company, and it went well for about nine months — until it collapsed, as many new businesses do. After that, I was desperately searching for something new. I came across a financial aid assistant position and thought, I don’t know anything about financial aid. But I did know customer service.

Applying my customer service background shaped how I approached the job — not just in serving students and parents, but also in recognizing that it applies to departments within organization, too. We have to consider their needs and build strong relationships, just like we do with students. Because if we’re each paddling alone, we won’t get far. But when everyone’s manning the oars together, things work a whole lot better.

Tell us about your institution. What are some unique aspects of working at Ivy Tech Community College? 

Our training and compliance team consists of three people: our executive director, myself, and an associate director. We’re a huge school — 19 campuses across the state, serving nearly 200,000 students. We’re the nation’s largest singly accredited community college and rank among the top six in total size. That’s a lot of people to keep track of and ensure we’re all on the same page.

What do you find the most rewarding and fulfilling about your work?

The coolest thing is getting emails from people saying, ‘Hey, I passed my credential!’ So many come in with test anxiety, really struggling with taking that next step.

Hearing that excitement when they pass is incredible. It’s a lot like seeing a student you worked with walk across the stage at graduation. It’s on a smaller scale, but it’s the same kind of rewarding feeling.

If you could change one thing about financial aid - what would it be?

I really want to see SAP reform. I know it’s not a big hot topic right now with everything else going on, but it is an extremely impactful area. We talk a lot about getting adults back to school to finish, get their credentials, and have a better-educated workforce to be more competitive on the world stage, but SAP often creates barriers for those students.

Sometimes, students don't fail out because of poor choices — they may be struggling with depression or anxiety. A lot of students come from low-income backgrounds and don’t have the resources to get psychiatric diagnoses in high school or as they enter college. They might not realize they need disability support or accommodations. Without a diagnosis on file, they may not be able to make an appeal when they try to return years later. Instead, they hit a brick wall.

What is something you wish all higher ed folks knew about financial aid?

Offices outside of financial aid don’t always understand that we have so many rules. It seems every stroke of our pen is controlled by some regulation. So, we have to be very mindful of the rules. But we really want to see people succeed. We want to see programs succeed and fresh ideas come in that help make college more accessible and make working at the college more engaging. The best days I have are the days I get to say yes to something.

What advice would you give to someone just beginning their career in financial aid?

The first thing I tell everyone when I'm helping with onboarding is to give yourself grace. It's going to take at least a year to get a basic understanding of how your role works. Until you've been through a fall enrollment, a January enrollment, and figured out the quirks of summer term and summer term loans, you're not going to fully grasp what you're doing — even if you've worked in financial aid before. It takes time to learn how a new school operates. Be kind to yourself. There's enough stress already; you don’t need to add more.

What’s one thing you couldn’t live without?

I really love the self-study guides for the NASFAA credentials. The handbook is useful, but the self-study guides are so much easier to read. I actually use those more than the handbook. I use them just as much, if not more, than I use AskRegs.

Whenever we hire new people, especially at the assistant director or director level, I tell them one thing: download all of the self-study guides. Keep them saved on your computer so you can easily access them. They will save you so often. 

Do you have any surprising hobbies or skills? 

I have a hobby that blows everyone's mind — it’s kind of weird and nerdy, but I practice 16th-century sword fighting. Specifically, rapier combat, like the kind you see in old movies like Romeo and Juliet. It’s that kind of sword fighting, where you’re in street clothes with sharp swords — except our swords aren’t sharp. It’s full speed, fast, complicated, and incredibly fun. It’s like the wildest game of tag ever.

Are you looking forward to any particular spring or summer plans? 

I'm really looking forward to Summer Institute — I'm super excited about that. Also, our family is planning a trip to Disney at the end of May or the beginning of June. I’ve never been to Disney before, so I'm really excited. It's totally about the Star Wars stuff! Yeah, there's a good chance I’ll be building myself a lightsaber.

Publication Date: 3/18/2025

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