HEUG Famous: Dana Pawlowicz Interview

Where do you work? How long have you been there?

I work at the University of Cincinnati. I am a Sr Business Systems Analyst and I work with a team of BSA’s and Developers that support PeopleSoft. I mainly support the Financial Aid module. I’ve been with UC for 30 years. I was a student worker in Pathology and was hired in a permanent position after graduation. I moved to Financial Aid about 4 years after graduation. I did have about a 5 year stint with our IT office but went back to FA. When we implemented PeopleSoft, I moved to the implementation team, and then stayed on to help with support and maintenance.

Are you working on-site, remotely, or hybrid?  What has that experience been like for you?

We are hybrid but it’s been all over the place since the pandemic hit. We worked remotely for months, then went back into the office once a month. We now work in the office once a week and the rest of it is remote. I didn’t think I’d like working remote because I’m a talker, but I actually prefer it now. I didn’t realize how much time I was wasting driving to and from work. There are more distractions in the office so if I had a choice, I’d chose to be 100% remote. I do really like my team and enjoy our time together, but that time savings is huge.

What Student or ERP system do you work in, and what modules do you primarily work with?

I work in Campus Solutions and I support the Financial Aid module. I do tinker in the other areas, mostly to help with Equation Engine. Equations is my favorite tool in PeopleSoft. The days I get to work in Equation Engine just fly by because I find it fun.

When did you get involved with HEUG?  How did that happen?

When we implemented PeopleSoft, each module had their own consultant. Mine was Douglas Futch. One of the first things he told me was to get onto HEUG and sign up to get the emails real-time on the FA List. He said, “You need to read every question and every answer. Every single email. And the first chance you get, you need to get on the PAG.” And that’s exactly what I did. He also told me to get on HEUG and look through presentations. I currently have 799 downloaded presentations from both regional and national conferences on just about every topic relevant to Campus Solutions. Everything that I had built during implementation, the solution came from a presentation. I can’t thank the presenters enough for sharing their knowledge. And, I’ve been trying to give back. We were just going live with the 2017 aid year when I joined the PAG. I can remember we went to the 2014 Alliance as a kick off to our implementation and the only thing that made any sense to me was Katherine Granfield’s presentation on Trees. She talked about Even and Odd aid years and we used that concept in our mainframe student information system so I was so excited to get back and do something with trees. Then, right before we went live, I was trying to figure out a solution for loan fees. We only wanted to assign a loan fee if the student accepted their loan and you couldn’t do that with delivered Budgets back then (you can now though). Eric Gentz had a presentation from Alliance 2016, right in the nick of time, and it contained my solution. I love the HEUG because everyone is willing to share their experiences, both good and bad, so we can all learn and move forward. Douglas told me to get involved very early on and to stay active and I hope I’ve made him proud. I just finished my second 3-year PAG commitment and I’ve signed on another year as an alternate member.

In what capacities have you been involved with HEUG?

I have been on the FA PAG for 6 years, and I’m currently in my 7th year as an alternate. I’ve presented at both regional and national conferences. And I try to stay as active as possible on the listserv.

Do you have a favorite or meaningful story regarding your time in HEUG?  

There have been times when I’ll get an email offline asking for more details on a solution I either mentioned in an FA Coffee Break (we have them once a month) or in a list post. When I can help someone solve a problem, like so many before me, that gives me real joy. I don’t have one that sticks out, but if I can help, I will. And maybe helping is pointing them to a colleague I know is better at that topic. Also, being involved has helped me network and I feel like I have a really strong list of friends that are knowledgeable in so many topics. I always have someone I can go ask a question to. The friendships is probably what means the most.

What has been your favorite Conference location? Why? 

I’ve enjoyed them all but probably the first one I attended, 2014 in Las Vegas. Most of us on the implementation team didn’t know each other so it was a bonding moment to help us kick off 2 years of implementing PeopleSoft. I really enjoy each conference because over the years I’ve made friends from other institutions and this is the only time I get to see them in person.

What is your first HEUG related memory?

Probably Katherine’s tree presentation. I felt very overwhelmed because nothing really seemed to make any sense that first conference and then she started and I was like, she’s speaking my language, I actually know what she’s talking about. Equation Engine is my first love, but Tree Manager is probably second. I’ve implemented several trees since that 2014 presentation.

What is YOUR value proposition for HEUG?

I agree with Douglas. You will get out of this what you put in. Be active. Read the emails. You don’t have to know the answer to a question, but it might help you in the future, so read the question and the answer. My involvement in HEUG is worth it to me because I’m surrounded by amazing professionals that are all willing to share their mistakes, solutions, and ideas.   I feel like everyone can improve with a little bit of group participation. By the way, I’m so honored you consider me HEUG famous. I’m still learning and my number one reason for being so active is to learn from the rest of HEUG.

Do you have a work-related philosophy you would like to share?

Don’t be afraid to get it wrong the first time. Sometimes you have to tweak it, test it, tweak it, test it, until you get it right. Don’t be afraid to ask a question. There really is no bad question and if you don’t ask it, you still won’t have the answer. We are all human. We all make mistakes. Learn from it and move on. Some of my best QA queries came from a mistake I made.

What new app/technology/platform is intriguing to you right now? 

I’m not sure anything will top Equations for me but I know that AI is a hot topic right now so I’d like to learn more about that.