The chief finance officer for Danville Independent Schools, Nic Senak, is one of 20 recipients across the nation of the 2025 Emerging Leaders Scholarship from the Association of School Business Official International. 

According to ASBO International’s website, the scholarship “recognizes school business professionals with five or fewer years in the field and helps them develop into tomorrow's leaders.” It provides recipients with registration for ASBO International’s 2025 Annual Conference & Expo, as well as a $2,000 scholarship for travel and lodging. 

Senak, who took the position of CFO of the Danville Schools in January 2024, described the honor as “very validating.” 

“Over the last 18 months, we have seen so much growth in our district,” he said. “We've been able to get a lot of property projects started and some completed. We've been able to increase salaries for every employee. And all the while we have been able to remain in a strong financial position as a district.”

His biggest hope in what he will gain from the conference and expo in October is to expand his professional network for the benefit of the district.

“In this business you face unique, sometimes crazy, situations almost every day,” Senak said. “And something I have learned over the last four years of being in school business is that no matter how crazy the situation is, someone else has gone through it. I also truly enjoy being in learning environments, and it allows me the opportunity to brainstorm and run with ideas that aren't necessarily able to happen when sitting in my office or doing my normal every day work.”

His goal, he said, is to be the best CFO for Danville Schools that he can possibly be. 

“This isn't some groundbreaking statement, but I do believe it is important as professionals to know that we do not have all the answers,” Senak said. “We need to actively seek out opportunities and resources that will help us gain in knowledge and experience.”

Part of doing so combines personal humility with professional will, he said. 

“It is truly a rare privilege to be in this role,” he said. “I cannot describe succinctly how much I love my job. But there is not a day that goes by that I will not stop doing everything I can to live up to the standards of being the CFO of Danville Independent. Participating as an Emerging Leader with ASBO International is another opportunity to set more standards for my job, to learn more information about what it takes to do my job, and to gain knowledge in practical skills, whether it be through budgeting, school support, or best practices to plan.”