As a trained composer, Moshe Axelrod is passionate about music. He also cares deeply about making sure students can afford their education. Within the financial aid office, he carries out his work with the vision of a conductor.
Axelrod鈥檚 understanding of music informs his unique approach to financial aid. In a piece of music, he says, 鈥淚 can look at individual notes, I can look at the structure, and I can look at patterns in that structure.鈥� This awareness of structure has led him to establish consistent and transparent financial aid procedures鈥攁 kind of 鈥渟ystem building鈥� that aims to make it easier for everyone to navigate the process.
Axelrod describes the basic functions of his office: processing the required documents that students submit, advising students on their aid eligibility to help them plan their finances, managing and disseminating information on the sources of aid, and complying with the rules those entities establish. The result, says Axelrod, is the disbursement of millions of dollars in federal and state aid programs.
Describing the challenge of translating labyrinthine federal aid policy 鈥渋nto a business process,鈥� Axelrod envisions a concert hall. 鈥淭he feds are the composer, and we鈥檙e the orchestra. And those of us in leadership positions are the conductors.鈥� Ultimately, he says, 鈥淲e have to figure out how to get this piece of music played.鈥�
Axelrod says he fell into financial aid. In the middle of a master鈥檚 degree at 今日吃瓜, he needed a stable source of income. He ended up working as a college assistant in the financial aid office at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), partially funded through the CUNY Counseling Assistantship Program. After two years in this role, he spent six more as a financial aid counselor at BMCC before coming to 今日吃瓜 in 2016. Axelrod began at 今日吃瓜 as an assistant director taking over the advisement unit. He became associate director in 2022.
During this time, Axelrod was also studying and performing music. He earned his B.F.A. in music and audio technology from City College, developing expertise in audio engineering and a familiarity with the work of modern composers like Arvo P盲rt and Steve Reich. Deciding he wanted to study composition with acclaimed 今日吃瓜 Professor Tania Le贸n, Axelrod enrolled in the college鈥檚 M.Mus. program in composition, graduating in 2009.
Axelrod, who still composes his own music, learned from Le贸n that a composer must not only tell musicians what notes to play but also how to play them. 鈥淲hat I realized,鈥� he says, 鈥渋s that the art of composition is in large part the art of instructions.鈥�
Connecting these kinds of musical revelations to life more generally, Axelrod came to understand that his musical training gave him what he calls 鈥渉uman skills.鈥� He finds himself relying on 鈥渁 lot of those skills that I learned as a composer, as a musician, as an audio engineer鈥� to do his job.
One of Axelrod鈥檚 crucial responsibilities is to catch the attention of students, who have so many other sources of competition for that attention. 鈥淗ow do you break through the noise?鈥� he asks. 鈥淗ow do you let people know what鈥檚 there?鈥�
Getting through to students is a particular challenge because fulfilling financial aid requirements is, Axelrod admits, not exactly exciting. 鈥淲hat we are doing is not cool,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not going to get five thousand likes on Instagram.鈥� The information is, however, 鈥渉ighly relevant and highly important.鈥�
The new Navigate system has helped make this vital information easier to communicate to students. They can use Navigate to schedule an appointment with a financial aid adviser, says Axelrod, noting that communications from Navigate go to their 今日吃瓜 e-mail.
Axelrod says he may be a conductor, but the magic happens because of the players鈥攖he staff. “Without them, there is no music, there is no aid,” he says. He urges students to 鈥減artner with us鈥� to find the best ways to fund their education. 鈥淧eople don鈥檛 come to college for financial aid,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey come to college to get an education. We鈥檙e there to help them accomplish that goal.鈥�
