New director takes over financial aid department

When Ed Kerestly is not at GVSU as the new director of financial aid, he enjoys spending time with his wife and three children, participating at his church and watching sports he loves, like soccer and basketball.

But when he steps into his office, his prior experience comes out to shine.

Kerestly has been a residence hall director and active in student life, as well as director of financial aid, in his previous jobs at locations such as Calvin and Cornerstone.

“I was open to a number of opportunities, but found work in financial aid to be very fulfilling,” he said. “You work with numbers, but you also work with people. It’s a ncie mix. Those skills, serving the customer, are sometimes overlooked. That’s what keeps me going in it. I can help students pursue their goals and go to college. That’s exciting and fulfilling, and lives up to the goals of the colleges I work for.”

Kerestly said the mantra he has developed as a philosophy is to provide families with the information they need when they need it to make an informed decision, and then provide them with the tools to take action.

“It’s an environment of constant change,” he said. “We need to deal with and communicate those changes to families. How do we help them get the funds they need to come to college? Helping them look at the situation with fresh eyes is what I can contribute.”

Kerestly said the biggest challenge is the cost to students for education is growing, and federal and state sources have not kept pace.

“So the challenge is working with limited resources to help students,” he said. “There aren’t enough dollars to go around; that’s nothing new, but demand has grown.”

Kerestly said with his experience in financial aid, he has a lot of the experience needed to deal with this new role.

“A lot of what you do in financial aid is similar,” he said. “You work under the same principles and goals. You have to learn how to apply the principles to the institution. I felt well prepared not only from a financial aid standpoint, but from professional organizations I was a part of, where I’ve had an opportunity to do training with colleagues from other universities.”

Kerestly said when he took over as director of the financial aid department at Cornerstone, he had very little experience, But he had a list of names of those who have done the job before him to call if he needed help. One of those names was Ken Fridsma.
Kerestly had known that Ken Fridsma, the former GVSU director of financial aid for many years, would retire. Working in the Grand Rapids area in financial aid, Kerestly was well aware of Fridsma’s influence.

“I was really excited about the opportunity to interview and take over this role,” Kerestly said. “I worked at Calvin and Cornerstone in Financial aid in Grand Rapids since 1994. I pursued opportunities to leave Grand Rapids, but my roots were deep here and I wanted to stay, so I wanted to stay, so I was really excited when Ken’s spot opened up.

Kerestly said he has some big shoes to fill, but at Grand Valley, he feels like he is coming into an office that has served the campus well for years.

“It can be a bit daunting, but I can adjust it and make it my own,” he said. “We all have a common goal of wanting to help students. If you are willing to help and you want to work hard, you came to the right place. That’s why I think I’ll fit in well here.”