Student Services Counselor Level Ii

LISAMARIE RYKOWSKI 631-***-****

***** * ***** *** ********, AZ 85338 *********.********@*****.***

PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE

Grand Canyon University 10/3/2022 - Present

Student Services Counselor Level II – Managed a significant workload, assisting over 317 students daily by phone and email. Responsibilities include answering questions, scheduling, making program changes, adding and removing emphasis to their programs, managing calendars, and billing and financial reviews. I monitor their progress and develop action plans when they are not meeting GCU standards. Collaboration with university counselors (UCs) is crucial to ensure students are cleared to start financially and academically. I support students until graduation, meeting daily, weekly, and monthly goals. I conduct extensive research and communicate with staff and managers, demonstrating my adaptability in a dynamic environment. My leadership in team settings is evident in that I lead a graduation team of 7 university counselors. I have extensive experience with EXCEL, Word, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft Office applications daily, and I am proficient in using these tools to enhance my work efficiency.

Liberty School district – Rainbow Valley Elementary 07/21/2022 – 09/30/2023

5th-grade Emergency Certified Teacher - working in a fifth-grade gen ed classroom with 28 students, teaming with other third-grade teachers for 60 students, creating and implementing lesson plans, and managing behaviors. While working in the Liberty district, I demonstrated exceptional, effective, and practiced organizational and time-management skills while instructing the students and attending team functions. I actively contributed to all meetings, sharing my insights and ideas. I upheld strict student confidentiality and managed sensitive situations with the student's disabilities, always with tact and diplomacy. My excellent verbal and written communication skills were evident in my lesson plans and interactions with parents. I worked effectively with all staff, including paraprofessionals, fellow teachers, principals, and other team members, and my ability to engage and involve parents in their child's education was a key aspect of my role in the Liberty district.

Liberty School District – Blue Horizons Elementary School 11/15/2021 – 06/30/22

3rd Grade Emergency Certified Teacher – working in a third-grade general education classroom with 21 students, teaming with two other third-grade teachers for a total of 67 students. Creating and implementing weekly lesson plans.

Liberty School District -Blue Horizon Elementary School 10/11/2021-11/14/2021

Permanent Substitute Guest Teacher – working with a general education population of kindergarten through fifth-grade students. Substituting for all the buildings and teachers when they are on leave.

Liberty School District – Liberty Elementary School/District Office 03/16/2021-06/22/2021

Business Services Specialist – (Tuesdays/Thursdays) Accounts Receivable – Liberty District Business Office

Created Excel spreadsheets for all bank and county deposits, whether electronic or in person, for the six schools in the district. Prepared additional Excel spreadsheets and reported items such as fundraisers and tax credits and any changes to deposits in weekly reports to the Maricopa Accounting Financial office. SPED Paraprofessional (Mondays et al. during the school year) as described.

Longwood/Middle Country School Districts Coram, NY 8/2018 - 2/2020

Teaching Assistant/ Substitute teaching assistants in both school districts concurrently. Instructed special needs children ages 5-18. Assisted in teaching while assigned teachers attended special education/CSE and 504 meetings. Assisted in teaching first graders math and "Words-Their-Way" reading agendas. Organized and set up monthly activity worksheets and workbooks for the class. Coordinated, distributed, and graded weekly homework assignments. Prepared testing folders and art project folders to distribute throughout the month. Sat in as a substitute for kindergarten through 12th grade as needed.

Internal Revenue Service, Holtsville, NY 12/1984 - 12/2017

Appeals Settlement Officer/Customer Service Representative/Customer Service Specialist, Automated Collection Call Site Specialist, Lien Unit Manager, Receipt and Control Manager Specialist. Appeals Settlement Officer from 2014 through 2017. Conducted daily high-volume phone interviews, assisting Taxpayers with tax law questions. Performed complex and technical financial analysis to determine whether the taxpayer qualified for any relief programs offered by the Internal Revenue Service and the State of New York. Performed automated collections, conducting in-depth financial interviews to determine the collectability of the taxpayer's tax debt and their ability to repay debt to the government. Reviewed, researched, and answered tax law questions and adjusted financial information. Managed several work functions in the receipt and control area with highly technical tax examiners all year long, with up to an additional 150 seasonal employees during peak tax season. Collections analysis and collections activity, including filing liens, repossessing vehicles, and seizure of bank accounts to cover tax debt owed. Supported the staff with training in compassionate programs. Supervised and supported twelve different programs concurrently with up to 150 employees. Supervised a team of twelve highly technical tax examiners in the mid-town Manhattan Lien unit. Highly efficient organizational and time-management skills with multiple cases. Upheld taxpayer's confidentiality while managing many sensitive tax issues. Handled calls with care, empathy, tact, and diplomacy in all sensitive situations. Exceptional and awarded written and verbal communication skills on the phone, in person, and writing. Strict adherence to IRS policy and procedures. Handled financial and other sensitive information with sensitivity. Worked effectively and cohesively with my team of employees, taxpayers, and preparers.

Additionally, I processed taxpayers' requests, processed tax and collections payments, made changes in entity address, etc., determined and assisted the taxpayer in determining their liability or issues, and corrected them. I have interacted daly with hundreds of taxpayers by phone, email, and mailings daily. Handled conflicts, escalations, calming down extremely upset taxpayers, and suicide calls. I always displayed empathy, tact, and respect with taxpayers, even when irate or distraught. I was efficient and courteous when communicating with taxpayers on the phone and in writing and always worked efficiently, whether the case was difficult or complex. I could identify when to refer a call to the Customer Service Supervisor when necessary. I handled complex tax cases with large balances. I processed payments and audited taxpayers' and businesses' records. Performed general clerical and accounting functions for accounts receivable, tax payments, and collections. Performed basic and advanced clerical and administrative duties for legal reports, taxpayer records, and legal and routine correspondence.

EDUCATION

Grand Canyon University

Master of Science in Servant Leadership

Expected graduation date June 25, 2025 GPA3.889

University of Arkansas Grantham University, Lenexa, Kansas

Bachelor of Science in Business Management

Graduated with honors, Magna Cum Laude

Member of Delta Epsilon Tau - 01/04/2014

Suffolk County Community College, Selden, New York

Associate of Science in Business Management

Graduated with honors, 08/06/2004.

Member of Phi Theta Kappa and Alpha Zeta Nu

Alumni Parliamentarian of Phi Theta Kappa 2005 - 2020

CERTIFICATIONS

Arizona Dept. of Education - Certified Substitute Teacher/ Pre-K-12 -- educator ID:6511960 - expires 12/17/2027.

State of Arizona Dept of Public Safety Level I Fingerprint clearance card - Cert# - 2021G08437 / Educator ID –

6511960 / expires - 7/20/2027.

Volunteer Emergency Medical Technician (New York) 1995-2006

2023-2028 CPR/AED -First Aid Certified in the State of Arizona

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