Scholarship Station

Students First Consulting
  • 5.0 (11)
  • EDUCATION
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Explore scholarships and the scholarship field with Erika Orsulak and her partners from Students First Consulting. Includes interviews and insights from leading practitioners at institutions of all shapes and sizes.

Episodes

  1. 11/18/2025

    Investigating Emergency Funds With Kelly Pietkiewicz

    Kelly Pietkiewicz from the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee joins Erika Orsulak to talk about her organization's research into emergency funds for scholarship recipients. Kelly shares some of the research data and also discusses her organization's decision to research the practice. Erika also shares resources from Students First Consulting: How to Create a Student Emergency Fund: https://www.studentsfirstconsulting.org/resources/emergency-fund-guide Addressing Hidden Costs Beyond Tuition: https://www.studentsfirstconsulting.org/resources/startup-grants The Scholarship Hotline: https://www.studentsfirstconsulting.org/resources/the-scholarship-hotline

    15 min

  2. 11/10/2025

    Mentorship & Meaning With Lindie Gardner

    The National Scholarship Providers Association recently named Lindie Gardner of WWIN the winner of the 2025 Ann Radcliffe Award. Lindie began her scholarship career at WWIN working closely with Erika Orsulak. The two of them sit down for a conversation about mentorship, keeping focused on students, and remembering what's meaningful about the work they do.

    16 min

  3. 11/06/2025

    NSPA 2025 Recap With SFC

    Erika Orsulak is joined by Sarah Battersby and Julia Da Silva to recap the 2025 National Scholarship Providers Association annual conference in Atlanta. They share the trends they noticed, and highlight some of the most inventive strategies they heard in panels and in lobby discussions. They also look forward to their upcoming webinar on using 529 Plans: https://www.studentsfirstconsulting.org/529s-what-you-need-to-know-landing-page

    15 min

  4. 10/25/2025

    529s: Ready for Launch With Ashley Gomez and Natalia Muniz-Martin

    Featuring Ashley Gomez of St. David's Foundation and Natalia Muniz-Martin of the Arlington Community Foundation. St. David's Foundation has implemented and expanded their use of 529s to disburse funds to their Neal Kocurek Scholars. The Arlington Community Foundation has recently chosen to do the same. They discuss why their organizations decided to find a new disbursement method, as well as the growing pains and benefits of implementation.

    17 min

  5. 10/20/2025

    Innovation Inside the Box With Natalie Grandison

    Natalie Grandison, philanthropy strategist, talks with Erika Orsulak about pushing boundaries even within large organizations. She shares her experiences with the Clark Foundation, and how she manages relationships with university partners for the good of students.

    18 min

  6. 10/16/2025

    SFC Previews NSPA 2025

    The team from Students First Consulting share what they're looking forward to at next week's NSPA 2025 in Atlanta. Sarah and Julia will preview their conference programs and Erika shares what will be on offer at SFC's vendor booth. Plus, they give insider tips on some of the best places to visit in Atlanta......including some of the best pizza you'll ever have!

    16 min

  7. 10/16/2025

    Coordination Across Campus With Joel Spiess

    Joel Spiess of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee joins Erika Orsulak for a conversation about coordinating scholarships across campus. He talks about the reasons UWM sought to improve scholarship practices, and how they implemented change with a small team.

    20 min
  8. NSPA 2025 with NSPA

    10/14/2025

    NSPA 2025 with NSPA

    NSPA's VP of Programs and Communications, Amy Moroney, joins Erika Orsulak for a conversation about NSPA's annual conference. NSPA 2025 kicks off on October 21 in Atlanta. Amy will highlight some of what she's most excited about, and share what she has heard from NSPA's constituency about what they're most concerned about.

    14 min

  9. 10/06/2025

    Meet the SFC Team

    Episode 01 - Meet the SFC team behind Scholarship Station. Julia da Silva and Sarah Battersby join host Erika Orsulak for candid, reflective conversation about scholarships and personal journeys.

    19 min
  • 9 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Explore scholarships and the scholarship field with Erika Orsulak and her partners from Students First Consulting. Includes interviews and insights from leading practitioners at institutions of all shapes and sizes.

Information

  • Creator
    Students First Consulting
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    9
  • Copyright
    © Students First Consulting and Milk Crate Media
  • Show Website
    Scholarship Station