"The Bottom Line"
McPherson College partnered with the McPherson Sentinel to bring the community a monthly column on the business page. The column features an analysis of key economic factors that affect McPherson. Adam Peer, Sr., provided remarkable leadership on this project. Adam worked with local business leaders to identify the key economic factors important to McPherson as well as the process of attaining the data. Adam also supervised the layout and design of the column.
McPherson Mainstreet Marketing Project
Justyn Shaw, Jr., business major, worked on the second phase of the marketing project that was started last year. Justyn trained the new people on the team, reorganized the data that was collected, and compiled it into a final report. Chris Wiens, Mainstreet Executive Director, commented that Justyn was extremely professional, met deadlines, and was very customer-service oriented.
Committee Service Program
An important part of leadership is committee service. In an effort to prepare our students for “life on a committee,” McPherson College students are given the opportunity to participate on local committees and boards. Students that demonstrate an interest in the McPherson community and passion for service are chosen by the Director of Career Services to participate in the program.
Leadership McPherson
Omar Mireles interned with the local Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Cheryl Lyn Higgins, participating in their leadership program in a variety of ways. Omar served as a member of the Leadership McPherson Board of Directors until he graduated. Ms. Higgins commented that Omar brought a unique perspective to the Board, as a minority and a young person, and the Board appreciated both. He accompanied Ms. Higgins for a two day workshop in Wichita sponsored by the Kansas Health Foundation, which focused on the significance of story telling in building relationships, and emphasized the need to focus on assets rather than deficits. Omar was a presenter during a Leadership Alumni retreat which focused on diversity and his personal experiences. Omar was instrumental in organizing a diversity workshop that was presented to the 2004 Leadership McPherson class, which also included several other McPherson College minority students. They presented a diversity simulation where the students asked Leadership members to participate with them in skits illustrating examples of situations in the workplace and socially that dealt with diversity. Omar feels that his internship experiences were a great benefit to him by preparing him for the workplace. He said, “Michael Schneider really helped him to gain confidence and gave him a foundation to understand what to do and how to do it in the business world.” Also, he felt his internship was an excellent way to network, not only on campus, but in the McPherson community. Omar encourages all students to participate in an internship in preparation for the workplace.
