Though she be but little, she is fierce – W. Shakespeare
A note to my CASFAA colleagues,
In April, our university lost our registrar, Tara Buksaitis. My career in financial aid began when Tara hired me into the position of Financial Aid Officer at StFX in 2015. I reported directly to her, but she was so much more than a boss, she was a friend and mentor to me these past 10 years. Tara was a big part of bringing the 2025 CASFAA conference to StFX. I came home from the 2023 Yukon conference with a thought, what if we hosted the next East Coast conference in Antigonish? I walked into Tara’s office one day soon after and announced I had an idea! And so began several weeks of conversation and preliminary exploration, eventually blossoming into a successful proposal to host the 2025 CASFAA conference at our school.
Tara supported all my ideas over the past decade, the conference is one of the biggest! I am sorry that she is not here to see the outcome, I do believe she would be pleased with the efforts and the result of the planning committee and all those contributing to its success. Thank you to you all. I also believe that while she will not be at the conference as we had expected, she is still a part of it. Just as our work as financial aid administrators so often goes beyond awards and funding administration, Tara went above and beyond for our students, faculty, and staff in everything she did and I continue to see her impact on our campus daily.
I hope you will join me in dedicating our time together at this conference to Tara’s memory. She had a passion for students and for supporting her colleagues. She was generous with her time, her knowledge, and her ability to bring people together. She supported the work that CASFAA does and believed in the importance of professional community and development opportunities. Her voice continues to guide me in my work and it is with her in mind that we welcome you to StFX this spring.
Thank you,
Mary
StFX Financial Aid Officer
CASFAA Member-at-Large – External Relations