Hello 2025 ??

After an incredibly full and busy 2024, we are moving forward with excitement into the New Year and would like to take a moment to officially welcome the team members who have joined us over the past 12 months.

Andrew Nelms (Head of Government Affairs & Strategic Partnerships)

Bio: Andrew Nelms has spent his career in government, politics, and non-profit advocacy. Nelms brings considerable experience with education and fiscal policy at both the federal and state levels. He has been intimately involved with every stage of the lifecycle of public policy, from drafting to design to implementation. Nelms has a particular passion for encouraging and facilitating partnerships and finding opportunities for collaboration.

Prior to joining Student First Technologies, he worked for over a dozen years with the Stand Together Community serving as a state director, regional government affairs director, and national director of strategic partnerships.

Married with four children ranging in age from eight months to 14 who are homeschooled, Nelms resides in Illinois about 35 miles west of Chicago.?He is active in his parish and his community as a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Sons of the American Revolution, and the Sons of Norway.

Hunter Hawley (VP of Operations)

Bio: Hunter grew up in rural Cloverport, Kentucky, teaching himself basic software engineering to start his first business. While at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, he founded Blueprint Stats, a sports analytics company. Starting with his high school basketball team as the first client, he raised capital, signed major customers like the Orlando Magic and DraftKings, hired over 500 data analysts, and sold the company in 2023. Coming off of several diverse and challenging consulting experiences, Hunter is excited to help guide Student First Technologies into its next phase of growth.

Mike Goggin (Staff Software Engineer)

Bio: Mike has 16 years of experience as a software engineer, 14 of which happen to be in our particular technology stack. He has worked in regtech, fintech, and fintech-adjacent his entire career. In each of his previous roles, Mike has positioned himself as a leader in engineering standards and code quality. He has also taken up mentoring and education opportunities in the hope of contributing to his peers’ success.

Mike is a polyglot programmer, able to learn and adapt quickly to new languages, frameworks, and processes. He has a learning mindset, giving him an edge when tackling new subject matter.

Samantha Summers (Director of Customer Success)

Bio: Samantha is a Customer Success Director at Student First, where she uses her expertise in customer relations, communication, and analysis to help states and SGOs administer their student choice programs seamlessly. A 2020 graduate of Indiana University with a BS in Apparel Merchandising and Marketing, Samantha helped to launch a tech startup before narrowing her focus to customer success at a global tech organization. Driven by a desire for purposeful work, she now applies her experience to help student choice programs—and ultimately learners—thrive.

Zachary Bowman (Product Owner)

Bio: Zachary is a dynamic Product Owner with a strong foundation in UI/UX design and a passion for delivering user-centered, scalable digital solutions. His career has evolved from web design and digital marketing to product ownership, allowing him to develop expertise in leading cross-functional teams, driving digital strategy, and creating products that align user needs with business goals. With a deep understanding of design principles, agile methodologies, and problem-solving, Bowman thrives at the intersection of creativity and execution.

We empower states and non-profits that support education funding programs through innovative financial technology and programmatic services. Our passion stems from our belief that students deserve to learn in environments conducive to their gifts and talents.

Interested? Follow for more updates and news!

?