Diego Alvarez

Diego Alvarez has directed the Office of Financial Aid since 2019. His team, at the Alkimi One Stop in Harlan Hall, awards federal, state, and institutional aid, from need-based grants and merit scholarships to student employment, and helps families through the FAFSA and CSS Profile. The office also reviews Satisfactory Academic Progress at the end of each fall and spring semester.

Alvarez was the first in his family to go to college, and he paid for it with a Pell Grant, loans, and a work-study job in his university's financial aid office. "I was the student who didn't know what a verification form was," he says. "Nobody should leave college over paperwork they didn't understand." That shapes how his office works: award letters in plain language, and counselors who call students before an aid problem turns into a billing hold.

He came to Alkimi in 2013 as an assistant director after four years in financial aid at Vantry State University, where he earned his bachelor's degree in sociology. He also holds a master's degree in higher education administration from Corwin University and serves on the board of the Lakes Region Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. He and his wife have two sons, and he helps coach their youth baseball team.

See also: Office of Financial Aid