Retiree Profile: Daniel Sistarenik (Financial Aid)
When Dan Sistarenik was appointed SUNY New Paltz Director of Financial Aid in 1986, he stepped into a role very different from the position he leaves in 2015.
In the nearly three decades since he joined the staff, a series of state and federal regulatory changes added layers of complexity to the work of helping prospective students access higher education; increasing numbers of applicants strained and diffused available resources; and advances in data storage and network technologies called for an overhaul of the way the office kept records and kept in touch with families.
Throughout this period of great change, Sistarenik was instrumental in ensuring that the office met those challenges and remained focused on supporting the students and families who needed guidance through complex processes.
“I was and am quite an advocate for access for students, for the EOP program, for the financial aid profession and for simplicity in the rules,” Sistarenik said. “A good financial aid professional needs to be very well-balanced, see through the complexity and get to the meat of the matter with all different kinds of families. Helping students was the most important thing. During challenging times I used to go around the office asking my colleagues, ‘Did we do something good for a student today?’”
Sistarenik came to New Paltz from the Financial Aid office at Dutchess County Community College. His work earned frequent laudation and recognition from his colleagues, as in 2012, when the School of Business made him an honorary inductee to Sigma Beta Delta, the international honor society of business, management and administration.
“Working at New Paltz has been very enjoyable because we were always allowed to be innovative, to have an opinion,” Sistarenik said. “We worked very well with the other offices and were successful with our off-campus job locator programs helping students to get jobs.”
His career spanned more than 40 years, during which time he advocated for financial aid programs and professionals with the SUNY System, the State of New York and the federal government.
Notably, Sistarenik was active in SUNY Financial Aid Professionals (SUNYFAP), a state-wide membership organization that organizes professional development workshops, regional meetings and an annual conference for SUNY financial aid workers. At the 2015 conference, SUNYFAP honored Sistarenik’s years of service by dedicating a new Advocacy Award in his name.
Sistarenik is looking forward to an active, if somewhat less demanding, retirement. He is on the Board of Trustees at the Rhinebeck Library, where he is currently working on an initiative to encourage summer reading among young children, and expects to spend this and every subsequent summer attending as many Yankee games as his schedule allows.
“I want to thank my very dedicated and loyal staff,” Sistarenik said. “We worked many long hours in the summer and in the evenings. This is the first summer I’ve had off in I don’t know how long, and it’s really a joy not to have to be the last one out of the parking lot!”
Upon Sistarenik’s retirement, Maureen Lohan-Bremer was appointed Director of Financial Aid.