Carolina People: Sam Chhorm
Working in Scholarships and Student Aid, he helps students find resources and motivation to engage with Carolina at its fullest.
Sam Chhorm
assistant director, processing and summer programs
Office of Scholarships and Student Aid
17 years at Carolina
What do you do at Carolina?
My role is the assistant director of summer programs and special programs within the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. We sometimes begin to prepare for summer in February. In the meantime, I do other things. From day to day, I review the financial files: looking at FAFSA forms, checking employment status and income. In February, we build the budgets for the summer and configure the system to do the summer processing. By mid-April we usually have the summer awards ready for the students. Throughout summer I help make sure students get the correct aid on time.
Tell us about a meaningful time you worked with a student?
I had one student who was a Carolina Covenant Scholar, and I was working closely with her regarding aid. She was not a traditional student, having transferred from a two-year college, and she was also commuting. In the beginning it was difficult for her to adjust to campus. I not only navigated her through the financial aid process but also tried to guide her through the different resources on campus, such as Hispanic organizations.
(The data show that) it’s crucial for transfer students who come into the four-year institution to transition well that first year because it’s an indication of whether they can continue to do well. She never thought of herself as going to a graduate program, and so I shared some of the related things that I thought might be helpful. I, too, was considering grad school and didn’t know what to do, so I shared that with her. I think that gave her inspiration.
Now she’s in her last year at NC State’s master’s in counseling program. She wrote me an email, expressing her thanks for not only trying to engage her financially but also with the different aspects of being a student. Sometimes when a student comes to an institution, and they feel like they may not be able to do well, it’s seeing other people who come from similar backgrounds that helps motivate them.
Who at Carolina has most impacted you?
I am originally from Cambodia, and when I started, I didn’t know that there were Cambodian Americans attending the University. I attended an event I found out about from a Southeast Asian mailing list. I met some (other Southeast Asians) who are part of the Southeast Asian Student Association. They were organizing a traditional dance for the international day event within their own network. Those students inspired me.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
One of the challenges is finding ways to say no without really closing any doors. Sometimes, there is really nothing we can do, because of the federal and state and local policy. We try our best to find ways to make it work, but sometimes we hit the end of the road. It is hard to say no.
What is something you do for you?
One day when I was living in Chicago, I walked past a studio, and I saw people doing yoga poses. In the beginning, I thought they were strange. That was two decades ago. That looks easy, I thought. I mean, they’re not moving. I had this misconception of what yoga was, but next time I tried the class. It opened my eyes in terms of what exercise is. After the class, we were walking on the sidewalk, and I felt like I was floating, like almost walking on air. So, I kept practicing on and off. When I moved to Chapel Hill, I wanted to find a place where I could feel like I belonged. So now I practice at the Loving Kindness studio in Carrboro. It’s not just the physical aspect, but also the mental and the emotional aspect of doing it. It helps me, in some ways, deal with my everyday life.
