UNMC’s financial aid expert is Gold U winner

As director of the UNMC Office of Financial Aid, Paula Kohles is respected as an expert in the often-complicated landscape of student financial aid.

Across the student population at UNMC, Kohles also is known for her caring connections.

This month, she will be recognized as UNMC’s Gold U Award winner for bringing that blend of attributes to her work. Kohles will be honored at the University of Nebraska Board of Regents meeting today (June 19).

“I love what I do,” Kohles said, “and getting an opportunity to make a difference in students’ lives and helping them finance their education has just been so rewarding.”

Kohles came to UNMC in 2020 as director after serving in the Creighton, University of Nebraska at Omaha and University of Nebraska-Lincoln financial aid offices during her career. That career started as a fluke, she said, when she took a federal work study position in financial aid at UNL.

It has grown into an expertise, leading to Kohles’ involvement in state, regional and national financial aid professional organizations. She knows the financial aid system well, keeps up to date on changes and is prepared to help students navigate it all.

Kohles said she appreciates working with the smaller student population at UNMC and students who are strongly focused on their education. And she loves working with health sciences students.

“Our students are very driven and very determined,” she said.

The situation gives her the opportunity to work more individually, more 1-to-1, with students.

For some students, Kohles said, moving on to graduate medical education is the first time they have to look in depth at their own personal finances. Kohles is there to help.

She’ll walk students through the importance, for instance, of monthly living expenses or spending choices – and how those decisions contribute to how much they take out in student loans.

When students reach the end of their time at UNMC, Kohles finds that rewarding, too. She likes to volunteer at UNMC commencement ceremonies to see students graduate after she’s had the chance to help them along the way. She also enjoys hearing about students’ student aid successes, such as receiving loan forgiveness for public service.

“This is why we do what we do,” she said.

Kohles was nominated for the award by Andrea Swett, director of the UNMC Center for Healthy Living and a colleague within the UNMC Division of Student Success.

In her nomination, Swett said Kohles stays on top of federal student aid changes to ensure that students have the support and information they need to help fund their education. She said Kohles takes pride in her role and cares for everyone.

“She is always thinking about others,” Swett wrote, “and willing to make her team and the student success community feel supported and cared for. … She is just so sweet and kind to everyone!”

Philip Covington, EdD, UNMC’s associate vice chancellor for student success, said Kohles’ work ethic and commitment to students and to UNMC is unparalleled.

“Paula fully embodies our mission in the Division of Student Success to help our students thrive into, throughout and beyond their time with us as learners,” he said. “She is a selfless collaborator and always carries more than her fair share of the weight when partnering with others.

“Her kindness, generosity and genuine care for her colleagues make her an invaluable member of our community.”

Kohles offers credit back to Dr. Covington and her team in the UNMC Office of Financial Aid. She said her colleagues are remarkable employees who put students first.

“It means a lot for others to recognize the work I do, but also my team,” she said. “We’re a small group. It takes all of us.”

But for herself, she said, receiving the Gold U Award is an honor.

“There’s so many amazing colleagues here,” she said, “and I totally never expected anything like this.”