Ambra Reed of Western Nevada College's Financial Aid Office has devoted part of the past year advancing her leadership skills.

Reed recently completed the Western Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (WASFAA) Leadership Development Program.

The program assists professionals such as Reed craft and fine-tune their skills as a leader, which, in turn, will benefit WNC, Nevada, higher education and the WASFAA region.

“This experience has not only made me love our financial aid profession even more but has pushed me to new limits in my career,” she said. “I feel very blessed for the opportunities that I was given, the new colleagues I have met and lifelong friendships that were made.”

Besides providing Reed with one-to-one mentorship, the leadership program enhanced her skills at several conferences. Reed was one of only eight professionals in the Western Region selected to attend the Management Leadership Institute last November in Tucson, Ariz. She also participated in creating the Sister Dale Brown Summer Institute Conference on June 3-7 in Boise, Idaho.

“I learned so much in that conference that has helped me grow personally and professionally,” Reed said. “I have a new deeper appreciation for those that serve on committees and faculty to put on these conferences as there is so much that needs to be done.”

Reed, who has served students as the Financial Aid Verification Coordination at WNC, has recently been promoted to Assistant director of Financial Assistance.