On this week's program, host Phil Tower speaks with Chad Somerville, Outreach Manager with MI Student Aid with MiLEAP — Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential. For parents and students preparing for college, after a long delay and some mistakes on the newly released FAFSA form, the federal government has just released a new and revised FAFSA — Free Application for Federal Student Aid form at fafsa.gov. This is the first year of using the new streamlined FAFSA, and any time a new program is rolled out, it takes some getting used to. Chad answered several common questions about the new form, including who should fill out the FAFSA and what the timing should be.
Online: The Federal Student Aid information website.
The Michigan College Access Network.
FAFSA.gov
Later, Phil speaks with Mike Gesler, Director of Escanaba in da Moonlight, and cast member Ron Jenkins, who plays deer camp dad Albert Soady in the new Lionheart productions presentation of Jeff Daniels’ Escanaba in da Moonlight. LionHeart Productions will present Jeff Daniels’ Escanaba in da Moonlight Live on stage at the Grant Public Schools Fine Arts Center March 21-24, 2024. Tickets for all the shows for Escanaba in da Moonlight are available at lionheartproductions.org/
LionHeart Productions
Online: The Federal Student Aid information website.
The Michigan College Access Network.
FAFSA.gov
Later, Phil speaks with Mike Gesler, Director of Escanaba in da Moonlight, and cast member Ron Jenkins, who plays deer camp dad Albert Soady in the new Lionheart productions presentation of Jeff Daniels’ Escanaba in da Moonlight. LionHeart Productions will present Jeff Daniels’ Escanaba in da Moonlight Live on stage at the Grant Public Schools Fine Arts Center March 21-24, 2024. Tickets for all the shows for Escanaba in da Moonlight are available at lionheartproductions.org/
LionHeart Productions
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
iHeartMedia West Michigan Weekend a public affairsprogram and welcome in Happy Weekend. It's
West Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio. Thankyou for listening and whatever iHeartRadio you're tuned
into across West Michigan. This isyour host, Phil Tower. Always an
honor and a pleasure to be withyou. We remind you every one of
(00:25):
our programs is available after you hearus on the radio atwoodradio dot com.
That's right, We're a podcast aswell, and this program has been downloaded
thousands of times thanks to you,the person on the other end of the
radio. We really appreciate that.Well, we have a topic that is
front and center and has been forsome time since really the end of twenty
(00:46):
twenty three, the government was taskedwith the Biden administration to update the FAFFA
form, and we're going to talkabout that form. That form means Free
Application for Federal Student Aid. Thegoal was a simpler, shorter version of
a very old form, and unfortunately, well it's the government, things didn't
(01:07):
work as planned. Fortunately, wehave some help for you, and a
lot of help available in Lansing,and that's where we come in with Chad
Summerville our guest in this segment ofWest Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio. Chad is
outreach manager with my Student Aid andmy LEAP, which stands for Michigan Department
of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential. That means Chad's got an extra long
(01:33):
business card is basically what that means. Chad Summerville, Welcome to West Michigan
Weekend. Yeah, thanks Phil,and you are definitely right. It definitely
filled up some white space on abusiness card. Indeed, well, this
is something I know you and yourteam have been busy with it, My
Student Aid and my LEAP, helpinga lot of confused and concerned parents and
(01:55):
students. This is college prep time, especially those who are graduate and it
may even be for some juniors whohave really you know, thought things out
and they know where they want togo and they want to apply early.
But let's talk about the revives FAFTSof form. First of all, this
is the free application for Federal StudentAid and it was updated, but there
(02:19):
were some challenges beyond that. Nowthe things are fixed, at least that's
what we understand. Can you updateus in terms of the form itself,
is it assumed to be the finalversion of the form, and then we'll
talk about who should fill out theform. Yeah, definitely, so it's
definitely in process of being improved.It became available the new facts that became
(02:45):
available December thirty first, and wewere definitely noticing concerns and at times the
facts that wouldn't be available for periodsof time because they were running through what
they were considering a soft launch ofthe new fast. Now that we're about
three months into the application, theUS Department of Education has made a lot
(03:06):
of effort in resolving a lot ofthe issues that we're known. A lot
of those things are resolved and we'reseeing a little bit more improvement on that
end. So definitely a piece ofgood news on that. And so we're
urging families to get out there andfill out the batsas as soon as possible.
Can you talk a bit, Chad, before we're talking about filling out
(03:29):
the form and who should be involveddoing that now or in the very near
future, talk about the role thatmy Student Aid and my LEAP play in
this process, what your organizations dohere in Michigan. Yeah, so my
Student Aid is located in the Officeof Higher education. In my leap,
what we do is we have astrong focused on administering the State of Michigan
(03:55):
financial aid programs, whether it bethe Twition Incentive Program, the Michigan Achievement
Scholarship among others that we administer.So we have a group of people that
are that are focused on policy andmaking sure that they're working closely with the
colleges and universities that way students aregetting paid their awards. But then we
(04:15):
also have a team that really activelypromotes the programs, spends a lot of
time in high schools with working withhigh school counselors, working one on one
with with students around the state,promoting the programs, letting students know that
they're eligible. And the key componentof all of this is the most state
financial aid programs require a FASA tobe completed. So you can see they're
(04:42):
like, yes, our main focusis promoting the State of Michigan financial aid
programs, but the FAFSA is thekey driver in all of this to allow
them to become eligible for the awards. So we also promote heavily the FAFSA
in you know, getting information tostudents and families and how to fill it
out. Let's talk a little bitabout who fills out the form. Obviously,
(05:05):
if you've got a high school student, typically a senior, that is
planning to go to college, whetherit's community college or a four year university
here in Michigan or anywhere across thecountry, they should be involved in this.
Talk about that process though, especiallythe timing. Is this typically a
(05:26):
senior year thing or can it happenin the junior year? Yeah, definitely
a senior year thing, So definitelyfocused on the class of twenty twenty four
right now. Our class of twentytwenty five students should definitely start researching opportunities
and all the different things that comewith the FASA, but they won't have
to do any of this until theirsenior year of high school. The other
(05:49):
piece of it is our returning studentsin college. If students are currently enrolled
in college or plan to enroll incollege, those students will all need to
complete a FAFSA in the fast thatneeds to be completed every academic year,
all right. And in terms ofgetting the form, it's available online or
(06:11):
do they get that through their highschool. Yes, it is available online
at FASTA dot gov. Another piecethat I figured that I would mention as
well, is just the other importantpart that students and parents will need to
create what's called an f said thatis used as their electronic signature, so
to speak, to not only signinto the FASTA form, but also sign
(06:34):
the fast of form to confirm thatall of the information that the input is
correct to their knowledge. The fsaid should be completed three days before going
into the actual FASTA form. Sothat's a big piece and really the first
step before actually filing the FAFSA.Okay, so the first step is actually
(06:59):
get that electronic key so you canaccess the website, you can digitally sign
the form. That is the firststep that you should do a number of
days ahead of actually beginning to fillout the form. Correct, That's correct?
All right? Next step is howis the FASTA form actually different?
I mean it is noticeably different forparents who maybe did this a couple of
(07:21):
years ago for a senior and nowthey've got another senior about to graduate and
entering this process. How is itdifferent? And I know you talked about
a soft launched CHAD in late December. Is it available now or might there
be some short delays? Yeah?Right? Now? The facts that is
(07:41):
available. Yeah, as I mentioned, when it became available December thirty first,
and through January, we were noticinga lot of delays, issues,
timeouts, and now that we're youknow, about three months into the application,
things have seemed to be result Thereare definitely still some issues, but
(08:03):
you know, those are those arethings that students and families can work with
Federal Student Aid on and I'll havemore information on that later in the interview
too, on where they can gofor that. But when it comes down
to what's different with the FAFSA isit definitely is more streamlined. It's taking
less time to complete. In thepast, on average, we probably take
(08:28):
families and students around an hour tocomplete. This year we're noticing times less
than thirty minutes for most people,which is great. And the amount of
questions went down significantly. Last yearthere were roughly one hundred and eight questions
on the FASA and this year it'sall the way down to thirty six questions
(08:48):
this year. So the other bigpiece of it is reporting income. That's
easier than ever because students and theirparents simply have to provide permission FASTA for
the FASA to link to the IRS. For income information, which eliminates a
lot of the manual reporting of incomeinformation, which I think most students and
(09:11):
parents are nervous about that because theydon't want to mess that up. So
that piece makes it easier of studentsand families. We're speaking with Chad Somerville,
outreach manager with my Student Aid andmy LEAP about filling out the new
and revised FASTA form, the FreeApplication for Federal Student Aid, a lot
of important information. If you're thegrandparent of a graduating senior or the parent
(09:35):
of a graduating senior, and you'reinvolved in their lives, you want to
make sure you continue to listen.We have some good information for you that
I think the biggest next thing tofocus on, Chad is that there could
be delays. Don't panic in thissituation because colleges and universities are aware of
these delays. I mean, youand your team are aware of these delays.
(09:56):
So there's a lot of communication goingon and the bottom line is we'll
get through this, right Yeah.Yeah. I think all of us are
in the same boat. The thestate agencies that are that are receiving the
facts that information in our systems,the higher education, Uh, you know,
(10:18):
colleges and universities nationwide are all inthe same boat. So yeah,
that's just the message that we're tryingto convey is just to don't panic.
Studentaid dot dov has information that canassist with chatbots, help centers and call
centers available to help. So we'reall in this together. It's going to
(10:39):
take the village and and we'll definitelyget through it. And this is not
This is one thing that I wantedto mention is this is not a normal
process. So typically the facts thatbecomes available October first, there are no
delays, so this is definitely aunique year. So that that's really the
message that we're trying to communicate.It's like hanging in there. It's only
(11:03):
this year. It'll get better andlet's get through it together. Absolutely,
and everybody is aware. I thinkthat's one of the most important things.
Is the colleges or university that yourson or daughter applying to are aware of
these delays and are working on plansto adjust their timelines. And you also
have help. As you heard Chadsay, student aid got gov. You've
(11:26):
also GOTMI college access dot org andif you have a high school counselor available
to you. They can help aswell. I mean there are a lot
of people. There might even besome parents who've just done this recently.
Although you want to be careful becauseit's a newer form, but the help
is out there, Chad, andit's really important that we stress that for
those listening. Yes, absolutely.As you mentioned, high school counselors are
(11:50):
a great resource. They work veryclosely with my student Aid and our team,
as well as the local college financialoffices that are near you. They're
definitely busy right now and will bebusy when all the fastas are delivered to
them, but they are a resourceas well if you need any assistance or
(12:13):
just a solid direction on where togo. That's good good wisdom indeed,
Chad Somerville with us from my studentAid and my leap here in Michigan.
I've got about a minute left,Chad. Any final words of wisdom you
want to leave with our listeners aboutthe FAFTS form, Yeah, absolutely,
(12:35):
so you can fill out the FASTAonline at fastera dot gov. In What
we really want, you know,students and families to understand too, is
is the amount of opportunities that it'sunlocking. So we're urging all Michigan students
and their parents to complete the FASTAbecause it really is the gateway to unlocking
not only federal financial aid, butour state financial aid programs and other community
(13:00):
based financial aid. One of thenew programs with the State of Michigan that
we're promoting is the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, which provides renewable scholarships and can provide
up to twenty seven five hundred overa five year period at a college and
university. So we definitely want studentsto be aware of that program. Right
(13:22):
now, we're noticing about seventy percentof students who are completing the FASTA may
be eligible for the Michigan Achievement Scholarship. So it's a true game changer in
our state, and we want studentsand families to know about it because it
really can unlock some really great opportunitiesfor our institutions in the state of Michigan.
(13:43):
He is Chad Summerville, Outreach managerwith my Student Aid and my Leap
Again. The website to get started, to get that electronical log information and
to get the form is fasts dotgov, FAFSA dot g o V.
Chad Summerville. Thank you as alwaysfor your time. Yep, thank you
for having us. He's been ourguest on this segment of West Michigan Weekend
(14:07):
from iHeartRadio. Stick Around. Wehave more coming up in just a moment.
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Lung Association's Lung Force Initiative and thead Council. Welcome in. It's West
Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio and in oursecond segment on this program, I am
(14:48):
pleased to connect again with our friendsat Lionheart Productions. It's a great local
theater group in beautiful Grant, Michigan. They perform all of their it is
at the Grant Public School's Fine ArtsCenter, and they've got a classic coming
up just around the corner for springof twenty twenty four. It's Escanama Into
(15:09):
moon Light, the one and onlyMichigan export Jeff Daniels. Because he does
have a place in Michigan, He'sgot places all around the country. Jeff
Daniels is the creator of Eskanama inthe Moonlight to Moonlight, and I'm pleased
to have with us on this segmentof West Michigan Weekend both the director and
(15:31):
well the star of the show.Mike Gessler's the director of Escanama in the
moon Light. Mike, welcome tothe program. Thank you. And Ron
Jenkins, who plays Albert Sody AndI don't know about Albert's character, but
I'm sure we'll learn about his characterby the end of this conversation. Ron,
welcome to the program. Thanks Phil. Good deed. I don't know
(15:54):
if either of you are actual upers. No, out of the way right
away, and you have actual upblood that I'm aware of. Okay,
Well, you're modeling this after yourfavorite uper right exactly exactly? All right,
(16:14):
Well, I'm going to start withthe director, Mike Gessler. If
you would please, first of all, give us a little bit of information
about Lion Heart Productions. You're alocal theater company. I always enjoy talking
with you guys because you're creating livelocal theater in Grant, Michigan, which
is a valuable thing. It's acommunity theater organization. It's been around in
(16:36):
Owego County for a while. Tellus about the story of Lionheart Productions,
Mike. Lionheart started up in nineteenninety seven, small group volunteers and it
has kept its way since then.It is a all volunteer organization. Nobody
gets paid. We do it becausewe just we love doing what we do
(17:00):
so and we attract some really goodtalent and we're always looking for more talent.
Both Run and I sit on theboard, have sat on the board
for numerous amount of years to makesure that we keep things going. And
you typically do a fall and asummer show. Is that right? Fall
and spring, fall and spring?Okay? And here's an interesting question.
(17:23):
We've got people listening all across WestMichigan and all across the United States for
that matter, if they're hearing usas a podcast or live on the radio
on this Sunday morning. Who canapply or who can audition? Not apply?
We already established it's not a paidjob. Who could audition for your
performances? Mighty oh? Anybody?Depending on the show. We always put
(17:48):
out the information ahead of time ofwhat show we're going to do and when
auditions are going to be and whatwe're looking for. And we have shows
that we try to do, showsthat involve children and shows that evolve adults,
shows that are more musical orientated forthe singers, and shows that don't
sing for those who are horrible singerslike myself. Thanks for putting that out
(18:17):
there. We have heard. It'sa wide variety like this. Coming up,
Fall will be doing Wizard of Oz, so wow, children all the
way up to you know, olderadults. Very cool. All right,
let's talk about Escanaba into Moonlight.This is obviously a Michigan centric play and
(18:40):
it's been around for a while.What drew you to want to present this
at Lionheart Productions in Beautiful Grant,Michigan. Well we've we did it about
five years ago. Okay. Itwas one that I'd been wanting to do
for some time, and I hadto kind of talk the board into it
because The board was pretty female orientatedat that point in time, and they
(19:02):
didn't see the humor until until theshow went on. Then they found it
quite funny and humorous. And wewere actually slated to do a different show
this spring, but circumstances led usto have to cancel that show, and
we were kind of last minute scramblingto put a show together, and Ron
(19:22):
actually had the idea and said,hey, what if we just reprise Escanaba
in the Moonlight. We have mostof our our actors from the last time
and they were all willing to stepup and do it again, so we
only needed to find a couple more. And we had, unfortunately, had
a board member who was involved inEscanava the last time passed away since and
(19:48):
so we said, let's let's dothis as a tribute to him. And
we reached out to his son,who is now an adult in college,
and said, hey, would yoube willing to play your dad's part?
And son, it's like, yeah, that I would be willing to do.
Oh, that's very well. Thrownthis together. Yeah, we've thrown
it together. And everybody's excited becauseagain, it is so funny of a
(20:11):
show as people are hearing us talkabout Escanaba Into Moonlight, we want to
make sure we give out the performancedates. It opens Thursday, March twenty
first, so that's just a fewdays away, just around the corner.
It plays Friday the twenty second,Saturday the twenty third, and then Sunday
the twenty fourth there's a two pmmatinee and on Saturday the twenty third,
(20:34):
there's a two pm matinee and aseven pm evening performance. So plenty of
chances to catch it. And ifyou missed it five years ago, you
just heard director Mike Gessler say,this is your time again. I would
think this plays very well in Grant, Michigan, even though it's Escanaba into
Moonlight fair enough, Oh it does. Anybody that's been a Deer camp is
(20:57):
going to find this one just simplyfunny. And if you like Jeff Daniels,
he's written a really good show.And the thing we found out last
time when we did it is there'sa real cult following for Uskanab in the
Moonlight. We had people coming fromall over the state of Michigan to see
(21:18):
the performance. Yeah, I loveit. Well, I'm really glad we
could connect to talk about it hereon iHeartRadio. The website where you can
get your tickets and make sure youhave a seat for one of these many
great productions of Escanaba Into Moonlight isLineheartproductions dot org. Lineheart Productions dot org.
I always like to mention, andI know your friend Brian, who
(21:41):
set this up, loves to haveme mentioned that you guys always would welcome
donations if there are theater supporters listeningacross the West Michigan area or anywhere in
Michigan hearing this interview on the radioor the podcast, if you'd like to
support local theater in Grant, Michigan, you can do that at Lionheartproductions dot
(22:02):
org. You can also buy ticketsfor Escanaba in the Moonlight and in the
fall we have Wizard of Oz.But I think it's such a vital thing
in a generally small town of Grant, Michigan, to have a local theater
company. That's just an incredible asset. And again, I know it's not
easy to do, but I wantto salute you guys on that. Also
(22:25):
a shout out for your Facebook page. You are on Facebook, and what
I love is you've got some castpictures This must have been some rehearsal pictures
for Escanama in the Moonlight, andI would say, it looks like you've
got the wardrobe. You nailed it. It looks pretty good. The sets
look great. Clothes that's just yournormal clothes. Of course I should have
(22:48):
sorry about that. Guys. Letme pick on Ron Jenkins, who plays
the lead character Albert Sodi. Ron, I'm assuming this is your first time
playing a genuine uper for Escanaba inthe Moonlight. What attracted you this part?
It is my first play uper.Uh. You know, growing up
(23:10):
just outside Saint Louis, Missouri,I've been received quite an education about upers
and the UP. It's been interesting. I do have some in laws that
live at the UP, so Ihad dialect coaches available. Good for you.
So, but coming from more ofus, I'm more of a Southern
(23:33):
boy, and so at the beginningthere was a lot of complaints like,
boy, you must be from thesouthern up But but I've I've got it.
Now, I've nailed it by now. Well, there is a difference.
The Western up does definitely have alittle bit of a different dialect.
They're sounding a lot more like Minnesottussuh in that part of the up So
(24:00):
indeed the story real quickly, Mikeand Ron, just let us know about
the story. What's essentially the backstoryfor Escanaba into Moonlight before we run out
of time here. The story isrevolves around the Sodi deer Camp. We
have Albert Sodi who is the fatherand his two boys, Ruben and Revnar,
(24:23):
who come up for you know,deer camp every year. It's opening
day and they're joined by the Gimmerand then just some crazy hijinks happen that
is, as Albert says, commonfor the up but just just interesting twists
(24:45):
and tails as they work to tryto get Ruben Sodi his first buck.
Well, there you have it.So if you have any experience with deer
Camp, and I'm talking real lifedeer camp, you might find a lot
of similarities with this performance of JeffDaniel's iconic Escanaba in the Moonlight put on
by Lionheart Productions. Again, thisis running March twenty first through March twenty
(25:11):
fourth at the Grant Public Schools FineArts Center in Grant, Michigan, and
again Mike Gessler's director. You canfolks hearing this on the radio on Sunday
morning. They can get tickets throughLionheartproductions dot org. Correct, Yes,
there's a link for tickets. Okay, there could be a run on tickets.
We never know. There might bea lot of people who missed this
(25:33):
time, so we want to makesure we send a lot of folks your
way. And again, what's greatabout this is you're supporting local theater in
West Michigan, in Grant, Michigan. And I know you guys, you
have a board, You put alot of work into this, So again,
congratulations on the production. Please nobodyharmed anybody else I know, dear
(25:55):
can't get a little wild. Nobody'sbeen injured during dress rehearsal like that yet,
right, No, not so far. I don't want to jinx anybody.
That's good to know. Well,this is uh, this has been
a real honor. Ron and Mike. Any final words you want our listeners
(26:15):
to know about Lionheart Productions and Escanabain the Moonlight, Just don't wait to
buy tickets by him now, allright, and you've got five performances over
several days to take advantage of.And again all at Lionheartproductions dot org.
(26:37):
Lionheartproductions dot org and uh, youknow, get your tickets now. As
these fine gentlemen said, I wantto thank both of you for being on
the program. Mike Gessler, directorof Escanaba in the Moonlight, thank you
for joining us. And Ron Jenkinshis first time playing a bona fide uper
as Father Albert Sodie. Good luck, Ron, break a leg as they
(27:03):
say. Thanks Phil, You're veryvery welcome. This is not going to
be a boring night. You willenjoy this very very much. Again.
Tickets and more information on Escanaba inthe Moonlight at Lionheart Productions dot org.
That, my friends, is ourprogram for this week. It's going to
wrap things up. Thank you somuch for tuning in. Be sure to
(27:26):
join us next weekend. Right hereon this iHeartRadio station for West Michigan Weekend.
I'm Phil Tower. Thank you forlistening. iHeartMedia West Michigan Weekend,
a public affairs program.
iHeartMedia West Michigan Weekend a public affairsprogram and welcome in Happy Weekend. It's
West Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio. Thankyou for listening and whatever iHeartRadio you're tuned
into across West Michigan. This isyour host, Phil Tower. Always an
honor and a pleasure to be withyou. We remind you every one of
(00:25):
our programs is available after you hearus on the radio atwoodradio dot com.
That's right, We're a podcast aswell, and this program has been downloaded
thousands of times thanks to you,the person on the other end of the
radio. We really appreciate that.Well, we have a topic that is
front and center and has been forsome time since really the end of twenty
(00:46):
twenty three, the government was taskedwith the Biden administration to update the FAFFA
form, and we're going to talkabout that form. That form means Free
Application for Federal Student Aid. Thegoal was a simpler, shorter version of
a very old form, and unfortunately, well it's the government, things didn't
(01:07):
work as planned. Fortunately, wehave some help for you, and a
lot of help available in Lansing,and that's where we come in with Chad
Summerville our guest in this segment ofWest Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio. Chad is
outreach manager with my Student Aid andmy LEAP, which stands for Michigan Department
of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential. That means Chad's got an extra long
(01:33):
business card is basically what that means. Chad Summerville, Welcome to West Michigan
Weekend. Yeah, thanks Phil,and you are definitely right. It definitely
filled up some white space on abusiness card. Indeed, well, this
is something I know you and yourteam have been busy with it, My
Student Aid and my LEAP, helpinga lot of confused and concerned parents and
(01:55):
students. This is college prep time, especially those who are graduate and it
may even be for some juniors whohave really you know, thought things out
and they know where they want togo and they want to apply early.
But let's talk about the revives FAFTSof form. First of all, this
is the free application for Federal StudentAid and it was updated, but there
(02:19):
were some challenges beyond that. Nowthe things are fixed, at least that's
what we understand. Can you updateus in terms of the form itself,
is it assumed to be the finalversion of the form, and then we'll
talk about who should fill out theform. Yeah, definitely, so it's
definitely in process of being improved.It became available the new facts that became
(02:45):
available December thirty first, and wewere definitely noticing concerns and at times the
facts that wouldn't be available for periodsof time because they were running through what
they were considering a soft launch ofthe new fast. Now that we're about
three months into the application, theUS Department of Education has made a lot
(03:06):
of effort in resolving a lot ofthe issues that we're known. A lot
of those things are resolved and we'reseeing a little bit more improvement on that
end. So definitely a piece ofgood news on that. And so we're
urging families to get out there andfill out the batsas as soon as possible.
Can you talk a bit, Chad, before we're talking about filling out
(03:29):
the form and who should be involveddoing that now or in the very near
future, talk about the role thatmy Student Aid and my LEAP play in
this process, what your organizations dohere in Michigan. Yeah, so my
Student Aid is located in the Officeof Higher education. In my leap,
what we do is we have astrong focused on administering the State of Michigan
(03:55):
financial aid programs, whether it bethe Twition Incentive Program, the Michigan Achievement
Scholarship among others that we administer.So we have a group of people that
are that are focused on policy andmaking sure that they're working closely with the
colleges and universities that way students aregetting paid their awards. But then we
(04:15):
also have a team that really activelypromotes the programs, spends a lot of
time in high schools with working withhigh school counselors, working one on one
with with students around the state,promoting the programs, letting students know that
they're eligible. And the key componentof all of this is the most state
financial aid programs require a FASA tobe completed. So you can see they're
(04:42):
like, yes, our main focusis promoting the State of Michigan financial aid
programs, but the FAFSA is thekey driver in all of this to allow
them to become eligible for the awards. So we also promote heavily the FAFSA
in you know, getting information tostudents and families and how to fill it
out. Let's talk a little bitabout who fills out the form. Obviously,
(05:05):
if you've got a high school student, typically a senior, that is
planning to go to college, whetherit's community college or a four year university
here in Michigan or anywhere across thecountry, they should be involved in this.
Talk about that process though, especiallythe timing. Is this typically a
(05:26):
senior year thing or can it happenin the junior year? Yeah, definitely
a senior year thing, So definitelyfocused on the class of twenty twenty four
right now. Our class of twentytwenty five students should definitely start researching opportunities
and all the different things that comewith the FASA, but they won't have
to do any of this until theirsenior year of high school. The other
(05:49):
piece of it is our returning studentsin college. If students are currently enrolled
in college or plan to enroll incollege, those students will all need to
complete a FAFSA in the fast thatneeds to be completed every academic year,
all right. And in terms ofgetting the form, it's available online or
(06:11):
do they get that through their highschool. Yes, it is available online
at FASTA dot gov. Another piecethat I figured that I would mention as
well, is just the other importantpart that students and parents will need to
create what's called an f said thatis used as their electronic signature, so
to speak, to not only signinto the FASTA form, but also sign
(06:34):
the fast of form to confirm thatall of the information that the input is
correct to their knowledge. The fsaid should be completed three days before going
into the actual FASTA form. Sothat's a big piece and really the first
step before actually filing the FAFSA.Okay, so the first step is actually
(06:59):
get that electronic key so you canaccess the website, you can digitally sign
the form. That is the firststep that you should do a number of
days ahead of actually beginning to fillout the form. Correct, That's correct?
All right? Next step is howis the FASTA form actually different?
I mean it is noticeably different forparents who maybe did this a couple of
(07:21):
years ago for a senior and nowthey've got another senior about to graduate and
entering this process. How is itdifferent? And I know you talked about
a soft launched CHAD in late December. Is it available now or might there
be some short delays? Yeah?Right? Now? The facts that is
(07:41):
available. Yeah, as I mentioned, when it became available December thirty first,
and through January, we were noticinga lot of delays, issues,
timeouts, and now that we're youknow, about three months into the application,
things have seemed to be result Thereare definitely still some issues, but
(08:03):
you know, those are those arethings that students and families can work with
Federal Student Aid on and I'll havemore information on that later in the interview
too, on where they can gofor that. But when it comes down
to what's different with the FAFSA isit definitely is more streamlined. It's taking
less time to complete. In thepast, on average, we probably take
(08:28):
families and students around an hour tocomplete. This year we're noticing times less
than thirty minutes for most people,which is great. And the amount of
questions went down significantly. Last yearthere were roughly one hundred and eight questions
on the FASA and this year it'sall the way down to thirty six questions
(08:48):
this year. So the other bigpiece of it is reporting income. That's
easier than ever because students and theirparents simply have to provide permission FASTA for
the FASA to link to the IRS. For income information, which eliminates a
lot of the manual reporting of incomeinformation, which I think most students and
(09:11):
parents are nervous about that because theydon't want to mess that up. So
that piece makes it easier of studentsand families. We're speaking with Chad Somerville,
outreach manager with my Student Aid andmy LEAP about filling out the new
and revised FASTA form, the FreeApplication for Federal Student Aid, a lot
of important information. If you're thegrandparent of a graduating senior or the parent
(09:35):
of a graduating senior, and you'reinvolved in their lives, you want to
make sure you continue to listen.We have some good information for you that
I think the biggest next thing tofocus on, Chad is that there could
be delays. Don't panic in thissituation because colleges and universities are aware of
these delays. I mean, youand your team are aware of these delays.
(09:56):
So there's a lot of communication goingon and the bottom line is we'll
get through this, right Yeah.Yeah. I think all of us are
in the same boat. The thestate agencies that are that are receiving the
facts that information in our systems,the higher education, Uh, you know,
(10:18):
colleges and universities nationwide are all inthe same boat. So yeah,
that's just the message that we're tryingto convey is just to don't panic.
Studentaid dot dov has information that canassist with chatbots, help centers and call
centers available to help. So we'reall in this together. It's going to
(10:39):
take the village and and we'll definitelyget through it. And this is not
This is one thing that I wantedto mention is this is not a normal
process. So typically the facts thatbecomes available October first, there are no
delays, so this is definitely aunique year. So that that's really the
message that we're trying to communicate.It's like hanging in there. It's only
(11:03):
this year. It'll get better andlet's get through it together. Absolutely,
and everybody is aware. I thinkthat's one of the most important things.
Is the colleges or university that yourson or daughter applying to are aware of
these delays and are working on plansto adjust their timelines. And you also
have help. As you heard Chadsay, student aid got gov. You've
(11:26):
also GOTMI college access dot org andif you have a high school counselor available
to you. They can help aswell. I mean there are a lot
of people. There might even besome parents who've just done this recently.
Although you want to be careful becauseit's a newer form, but the help
is out there, Chad, andit's really important that we stress that for
those listening. Yes, absolutely.As you mentioned, high school counselors are
(11:50):
a great resource. They work veryclosely with my student Aid and our team,
as well as the local college financialoffices that are near you. They're
definitely busy right now and will bebusy when all the fastas are delivered to
them, but they are a resourceas well if you need any assistance or
(12:13):
just a solid direction on where togo. That's good good wisdom indeed,
Chad Somerville with us from my studentAid and my leap here in Michigan.
I've got about a minute left,Chad. Any final words of wisdom you
want to leave with our listeners aboutthe FAFTS form, Yeah, absolutely,
(12:35):
so you can fill out the FASTAonline at fastera dot gov. In What
we really want, you know,students and families to understand too, is
is the amount of opportunities that it'sunlocking. So we're urging all Michigan students
and their parents to complete the FASTAbecause it really is the gateway to unlocking
not only federal financial aid, butour state financial aid programs and other community
(13:00):
based financial aid. One of thenew programs with the State of Michigan that
we're promoting is the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, which provides renewable scholarships and can provide
up to twenty seven five hundred overa five year period at a college and
university. So we definitely want studentsto be aware of that program. Right
(13:22):
now, we're noticing about seventy percentof students who are completing the FASTA may
be eligible for the Michigan Achievement Scholarship. So it's a true game changer in
our state, and we want studentsand families to know about it because it
really can unlock some really great opportunitiesfor our institutions in the state of Michigan.
(13:43):
He is Chad Summerville, Outreach managerwith my Student Aid and my Leap
Again. The website to get started, to get that electronical log information and
to get the form is fasts dotgov, FAFSA dot g o V.
Chad Summerville. Thank you as alwaysfor your time. Yep, thank you
for having us. He's been ourguest on this segment of West Michigan Weekend
(14:07):
from iHeartRadio. Stick Around. Wehave more coming up in just a moment.
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Lung Association's Lung Force Initiative and thead Council. Welcome in. It's West
Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio and in oursecond segment on this program, I am
(14:48):
pleased to connect again with our friendsat Lionheart Productions. It's a great local
theater group in beautiful Grant, Michigan. They perform all of their it is
at the Grant Public School's Fine ArtsCenter, and they've got a classic coming
up just around the corner for springof twenty twenty four. It's Escanama Into
(15:09):
moon Light, the one and onlyMichigan export Jeff Daniels. Because he does
have a place in Michigan, He'sgot places all around the country. Jeff
Daniels is the creator of Eskanama inthe Moonlight to Moonlight, and I'm pleased
to have with us on this segmentof West Michigan Weekend both the director and
(15:31):
well the star of the show.Mike Gessler's the director of Escanama in the
moon Light. Mike, welcome tothe program. Thank you. And Ron
Jenkins, who plays Albert Sody AndI don't know about Albert's character, but
I'm sure we'll learn about his characterby the end of this conversation. Ron,
welcome to the program. Thanks Phil. Good deed. I don't know
(15:54):
if either of you are actual upers. No, out of the way right
away, and you have actual upblood that I'm aware of. Okay,
Well, you're modeling this after yourfavorite uper right exactly exactly? All right,
(16:14):
Well, I'm going to start withthe director, Mike Gessler. If
you would please, first of all, give us a little bit of information
about Lion Heart Productions. You're alocal theater company. I always enjoy talking
with you guys because you're creating livelocal theater in Grant, Michigan, which
is a valuable thing. It's acommunity theater organization. It's been around in
(16:36):
Owego County for a while. Tellus about the story of Lionheart Productions,
Mike. Lionheart started up in nineteenninety seven, small group volunteers and it
has kept its way since then.It is a all volunteer organization. Nobody
gets paid. We do it becausewe just we love doing what we do
(17:00):
so and we attract some really goodtalent and we're always looking for more talent.
Both Run and I sit on theboard, have sat on the board
for numerous amount of years to makesure that we keep things going. And
you typically do a fall and asummer show. Is that right? Fall
and spring, fall and spring?Okay? And here's an interesting question.
(17:23):
We've got people listening all across WestMichigan and all across the United States for
that matter, if they're hearing usas a podcast or live on the radio
on this Sunday morning. Who canapply or who can audition? Not apply?
We already established it's not a paidjob. Who could audition for your
performances? Mighty oh? Anybody?Depending on the show. We always put
(17:48):
out the information ahead of time ofwhat show we're going to do and when
auditions are going to be and whatwe're looking for. And we have shows
that we try to do, showsthat involve children and shows that evolve adults,
shows that are more musical orientated forthe singers, and shows that don't
sing for those who are horrible singerslike myself. Thanks for putting that out
(18:17):
there. We have heard. It'sa wide variety like this. Coming up,
Fall will be doing Wizard of Oz, so wow, children all the
way up to you know, olderadults. Very cool. All right,
let's talk about Escanaba into Moonlight.This is obviously a Michigan centric play and
(18:40):
it's been around for a while.What drew you to want to present this
at Lionheart Productions in Beautiful Grant,Michigan. Well we've we did it about
five years ago. Okay. Itwas one that I'd been wanting to do
for some time, and I hadto kind of talk the board into it
because The board was pretty female orientatedat that point in time, and they
(19:02):
didn't see the humor until until theshow went on. Then they found it
quite funny and humorous. And wewere actually slated to do a different show
this spring, but circumstances led usto have to cancel that show, and
we were kind of last minute scramblingto put a show together, and Ron
(19:22):
actually had the idea and said,hey, what if we just reprise Escanaba
in the Moonlight. We have mostof our our actors from the last time
and they were all willing to stepup and do it again, so we
only needed to find a couple more. And we had, unfortunately, had
a board member who was involved inEscanava the last time passed away since and
(19:48):
so we said, let's let's dothis as a tribute to him. And
we reached out to his son,who is now an adult in college,
and said, hey, would yoube willing to play your dad's part?
And son, it's like, yeah, that I would be willing to do.
Oh, that's very well. Thrownthis together. Yeah, we've thrown
it together. And everybody's excited becauseagain, it is so funny of a
(20:11):
show as people are hearing us talkabout Escanaba Into Moonlight, we want to
make sure we give out the performancedates. It opens Thursday, March twenty
first, so that's just a fewdays away, just around the corner.
It plays Friday the twenty second,Saturday the twenty third, and then Sunday
the twenty fourth there's a two pmmatinee and on Saturday the twenty third,
(20:34):
there's a two pm matinee and aseven pm evening performance. So plenty of
chances to catch it. And ifyou missed it five years ago, you
just heard director Mike Gessler say,this is your time again. I would
think this plays very well in Grant, Michigan, even though it's Escanaba into
Moonlight fair enough, Oh it does. Anybody that's been a Deer camp is
(20:57):
going to find this one just simplyfunny. And if you like Jeff Daniels,
he's written a really good show.And the thing we found out last
time when we did it is there'sa real cult following for Uskanab in the
Moonlight. We had people coming fromall over the state of Michigan to see
(21:18):
the performance. Yeah, I loveit. Well, I'm really glad we
could connect to talk about it hereon iHeartRadio. The website where you can
get your tickets and make sure youhave a seat for one of these many
great productions of Escanaba Into Moonlight isLineheartproductions dot org. Lineheart Productions dot org.
I always like to mention, andI know your friend Brian, who
(21:41):
set this up, loves to haveme mentioned that you guys always would welcome
donations if there are theater supporters listeningacross the West Michigan area or anywhere in
Michigan hearing this interview on the radioor the podcast, if you'd like to
support local theater in Grant, Michigan, you can do that at Lionheartproductions dot
(22:02):
org. You can also buy ticketsfor Escanaba in the Moonlight and in the
fall we have Wizard of Oz.But I think it's such a vital thing
in a generally small town of Grant, Michigan, to have a local theater
company. That's just an incredible asset. And again, I know it's not
easy to do, but I wantto salute you guys on that. Also
(22:25):
a shout out for your Facebook page. You are on Facebook, and what
I love is you've got some castpictures This must have been some rehearsal pictures
for Escanama in the Moonlight, andI would say, it looks like you've
got the wardrobe. You nailed it. It looks pretty good. The sets
look great. Clothes that's just yournormal clothes. Of course I should have
(22:48):
sorry about that. Guys. Letme pick on Ron Jenkins, who plays
the lead character Albert Sodi. Ron, I'm assuming this is your first time
playing a genuine uper for Escanaba inthe Moonlight. What attracted you this part?
It is my first play uper.Uh. You know, growing up
(23:10):
just outside Saint Louis, Missouri,I've been received quite an education about upers
and the UP. It's been interesting. I do have some in laws that
live at the UP, so Ihad dialect coaches available. Good for you.
So, but coming from more ofus, I'm more of a Southern
(23:33):
boy, and so at the beginningthere was a lot of complaints like,
boy, you must be from thesouthern up But but I've I've got it.
Now, I've nailed it by now. Well, there is a difference.
The Western up does definitely have alittle bit of a different dialect.
They're sounding a lot more like Minnesottussuh in that part of the up So
(24:00):
indeed the story real quickly, Mikeand Ron, just let us know about
the story. What's essentially the backstoryfor Escanaba into Moonlight before we run out
of time here. The story isrevolves around the Sodi deer Camp. We
have Albert Sodi who is the fatherand his two boys, Ruben and Revnar,
(24:23):
who come up for you know,deer camp every year. It's opening
day and they're joined by the Gimmerand then just some crazy hijinks happen that
is, as Albert says, commonfor the up but just just interesting twists
(24:45):
and tails as they work to tryto get Ruben Sodi his first buck.
Well, there you have it.So if you have any experience with deer
Camp, and I'm talking real lifedeer camp, you might find a lot
of similarities with this performance of JeffDaniel's iconic Escanaba in the Moonlight put on
by Lionheart Productions. Again, thisis running March twenty first through March twenty
(25:11):
fourth at the Grant Public Schools FineArts Center in Grant, Michigan, and
again Mike Gessler's director. You canfolks hearing this on the radio on Sunday
morning. They can get tickets throughLionheartproductions dot org. Correct, Yes,
there's a link for tickets. Okay, there could be a run on tickets.
We never know. There might bea lot of people who missed this
(25:33):
time, so we want to makesure we send a lot of folks your
way. And again, what's greatabout this is you're supporting local theater in
West Michigan, in Grant, Michigan. And I know you guys, you
have a board, You put alot of work into this, So again,
congratulations on the production. Please nobodyharmed anybody else I know, dear
(25:55):
can't get a little wild. Nobody'sbeen injured during dress rehearsal like that yet,
right, No, not so far. I don't want to jinx anybody.
That's good to know. Well,this is uh, this has been
a real honor. Ron and Mike. Any final words you want our listeners
(26:15):
to know about Lionheart Productions and Escanabain the Moonlight, Just don't wait to
buy tickets by him now, allright, and you've got five performances over
several days to take advantage of.And again all at Lionheartproductions dot org.
(26:37):
Lionheartproductions dot org and uh, youknow, get your tickets now. As
these fine gentlemen said, I wantto thank both of you for being on
the program. Mike Gessler, directorof Escanaba in the Moonlight, thank you
for joining us. And Ron Jenkinshis first time playing a bona fide uper
as Father Albert Sodie. Good luck, Ron, break a leg as they
(27:03):
say. Thanks Phil, You're veryvery welcome. This is not going to
be a boring night. You willenjoy this very very much. Again.
Tickets and more information on Escanaba inthe Moonlight at Lionheart Productions dot org.
That, my friends, is ourprogram for this week. It's going to
wrap things up. Thank you somuch for tuning in. Be sure to
(27:26):
join us next weekend. Right hereon this iHeartRadio station for West Michigan Weekend.
I'm Phil Tower. Thank you forlistening. iHeartMedia West Michigan Weekend,
a public affairs program.
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