Metropolitan State University of Denver has announced the hiring of Kerline Eglaus as the new executive director of Financial Aid and Scholarships, who will begin her role on Aug. 12. Eglaus, who across her career has served in numerous leadership roles, is motivated by her longstanding passion for student success, diversity, financial literacy and institutional effectiveness.
Since beginning her career as a financial-aid advisor in 2013, Eglaus has spearheaded numerous initiatives to increase enrollment utilizing financial aid leveraging technology to provide strategic-business insights that result in increased opportunities for students. She has served as a financial-aid manager and quality-control analyst at Saint Leo University, and most recently she served as director and interim executive director at Lone Star College System
Eglaus is committed to career and community mentorship and outreach and comes to MSU Denver with a passion for promotion and advocating excellence in higher education. She has expertise in:
- Strategic management and planning
- Progressive training
- Organizational development
- Designing educational strategies
- Data trend analytics
Eglaus spoke with the Early Bird about what MSU Denver values resonate with her, what she wants to learn from her soon-to-be colleagues and what she does when she isn’t leading the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.
What University values resonate with you most deeply?
Access and diversity are the University values that most resonate with me. As a first-generation Haitian-American woman from a low-income family background, I was able to accomplish so much because of the access and the diverse backgrounds of the faculty and staff who supported me as a traditional and non-traditional learner. As I worked to get my degrees, they met me at each step of my life without judgement. College access was about more than just credentials. It was about a sense of character, individuality, a renewed sense of determination, confidence, and becoming a role model for my family as the first to achieve such feats. MSU Denver’s commitment to [first-generation] students makes me proud to be part of the MSU Denver family.
How can your soon-to-be colleagues help you be successful in this new role? What insights, wisdom and advice might you want to hear from MSU Denver’s employee community?
My soon-to-be colleagues can help me be successful in my new role by demonstrating patience, cooperation, open minds and lots of humor and laughter as we learn, explore and grow together. To get where we are today, we had to start somewhere, and for many of us, it was a notion, a voice or a nudge. So, from our employee community, I’d want to hear about their experiences and difficulties to foster change, as well as any tips and sage advice for becoming a Roadrunner.
What passions, hobbies and interests drive you outside of work?
I consider myself to be a student for life, and as such, I take pleasure in expanding my knowledge and trying out new experiences. This may take the form of learning a new language, musical instrument(s), or even trying out new cuisines. When I get the opportunity, I enjoy traveling and spending time with my partner, fur babies, friends and family.