by Allison Phillips | Jan 17, 2013 | Current Students
Over Christmas break I had the opportunity to spend five days in Buena Vista, Colorado participating in COBA’s 15th annual Leadership Summit.
That’s right; I earned three hours of upper level business credit while listening to some of the most prominent church and business leaders in the world and living in the midst of this:
Because I was so busy hiking through the Rockies and eating dinner with guests like Stephen Quinn, Chief Marketing Officer of Wal-Mart, I didn’t have time to blog while I was at Summit. As a result, I’m now playing catch up, and while a couple of paragraphs come nowhere close to capturing the life-changing experience that is Leadership Summit, I’m going to do my best to give you some highlights from each day. Hopefully this meager snapshot will give you a better idea of the life-changing five days that compose Leadership Summit.
Leadership Summit: Day 1
Because Summit supports the perspective that leadership should transcend all aspects of life, our first day on the mountain was about leadership in the family. As a result, our speakers on this first day were very family-oriented.
This remarkable ensemble of presenters was made up of Greg and Erin Smalley, of the Marriage and Family Formation department of Focus on the Family, Glenn Stanton, director of Family Formation Studies at Focus on the Family, and Lisa Anderson, director of young adults for Focus on the Family. Together, these speakers delivered powerful, humor-infused lectures on everything from the importance of communication in relationships to the top reasons young adults don’t mature.
While I was impressed with the messages delivered by all four speakers, my favorite part of the first day was actually the time we got to spend in small groups with mentoring couples. COBA invited four couples young couples to talk about what life had been like as they entered the real world, pursued careers, and started families. As a result, they were able to give us students some insight into how the next ten or fifteen years of our lives might play out.
As I listened to these incredible leaders share stories from their lives and advice on how to deal with other people, one of them reminded us of this quote from Teddy Roosevelt:
“People don’t care how much you know unless they know how much you care.”
This is why relationships matter, whether in the family or in the workplace. At COBA, we understand that knowledge alone is not what makes a great leader. A great leader goes beyond knowledge, because a great leader is someone who cares.
by M. C. Jennings | Jan 7, 2013 | Current Students
Dr. Andy Little
COBA has named Dr. Andy Little as Director of Global Programs in the College of Business Administration. In this role, Dr. Little will help craft and oversee COBA study abroad strategy and operations and will act as a resource for SITC study abroad programs and liaison to ACU’s Center for International Education (CIE). Dr. Little will help COBA identify and evaluate study abroad non-hub sites as needed and will serve as a resource for ACU hub (Oxford, Montevideo, Leipzig) and COBA/SITC non-hub faculty hosts.
Dr. Little brings a passion for study abroad, experience co-leading the COBA 2012 study abroad experience in Honduras, broad multi-disciplinary interests, and strong networking skills.
Prior to Dr. Little assuming this role, Dr. Darryl Jinkerson did prodigious work on a new study abroad philosophy and strategy for the college. He propelled us forward with his plans and networking. We are thankful too for Mike Winegeart‘s leadership for several years previously and to Stephen Shewmaker‘s ongoing partnership and leadership in the CIE for ACU study abroad.
by M. C. Jennings | Dec 19, 2012 | Current Students
Dear COBA students, alumni, and friends,
During the Christmas holidays, we often have a chance to reflect on the past and the new year just around the corner. Among the blessings I’m thankful for this year are you and your talents, our faculty and staff, and the opportunities we all have had to learn during the fall semester. I’m thankful for our graduates who are launching their careers after Saturday’s commencement service, and I’m thankful for our community of growth and support. As thoughts around the nation go to families in Connecticut this winter, we are keenly aware of the need for Christ to come and heal broken hearts and lives in our world, perhaps even close to home. May we live toward that end and be instruments of His peace. I wish you a joyful holiday with friends and/or family. We look forward to seeing you in the New Year.
Merry Christmas!
Dr. Monty Lynn
by Allison Phillips | Nov 30, 2012 | Current Students
Many students hope to travel the world and rise to lofty positions in international corporations, while some hope to work with monetarily impoverished people on the other side of the world.
Kara Ulmer has done it all.
Kara Ulmer
A 1998 graduate, Kara has put her International Business degree to good use as she has worked in various capacities for several prominent organizations. Although the myriad of companies for which she has worked would be impressive on its own, what’s even more significant is the weight of the positions she has held. At Verizon, Kara worked as an analyst during the company’s inception and initial growth as a new merged entity. She then worked as the Director of Analytics for the US at Alliance Data Systems, Inc. before accepting a position at Barclays Bank in Northampton, UK that eventually led to her promotion to Director of Strategic Planning and Analytics for the Barclaycard division.
At this point, you’re probably thinking that Kara really can’t do much more. If that’s the case, you’re wrong.
In fact, Kara now works as the Executive Director for Freedom Stones International, an international social enterprise that seeks to provide employment for women and teenagers who have been sexually trafficked. “As an international social enterprise, we are a unique combination of business principles, marketing strategy, and international development,” explains Kara. “It is a specific challenge to employ people who have been through significant trauma as they work toward full capacity and healing.”
Because Freedom Stones believes that poverty is at the root of trafficking, the enterprise partners with local organizations around the world to set up micro-lending programs that generate income for individuals who previously had no good way to earn a living. Through this process, Freedom Stones strives to assist individuals in acquiring independence, or, in their words, to “enable families and individuals to move from a place of brokenness to a place where they are ready to move beyond dependency on an organization and into a local sustainable livelihood.”
In her role as Executive Director, Kara leads the organization in both strategic planning and marketing and operations, a role that she enjoys in part because of the unique international relationships it facilitates.
“I love to see our artisans flourish through fair and supportive work environments,” observes Kara. “I also love to see our consumers join in the struggles and healing process that so many women and girls face in South East Asia regarding sex trafficking.”
A Freedom Stones Artisan at Work
Kara believes that the time she spent at ACU, both in COBA and studying abroad, effectively prepared her for the workplace. Even learning to successfully balance the various aspects of college was sometimes challenging.
“In order to complete the semester abroad, I took 21 hours of coursework and worked in both the COBA lab and the cafe. Managing this workload on campus and balancing social time was challenging but reflective of real-life,” explains Kara. “The semester abroad also helped me to adapt to various cultures and people. In my senior year, a class on business writing helped me prepare my resume and job search skills, which served as practical preparation for graduation.”
One look at Kara’s resume should leave current COBA students wondering what it takes to be as successful as Kara. Her advice is to be bold. “Never be afraid to constructively challenge the status quo in your job, always look for opportunities to improve your work and the performance of those around you. If you do this with respect and integrity, you will be recognized for your diligence and innovation.”
She certainly is.
by Allison Phillips | Nov 29, 2012 | Current Students, Special Speakers
Linda Egle with one of the artisans of Eternal Threads
“The women we work with are my heroes,” Linda Egle said yesterday as she spoke to COBA’s Women in Business group. Linda is the Founder and Executive Director of Eternal Threads, an organization that seeks to empower women in the third world by providing training and resources that jumpstart their abilities to provide for themselves and their families.
With an audience of nearly thirty, Linda talked about the entrepreneurial spirit of the women with whom she works. Linda explained that these women, her heroes, work tirelessly at their crafts, sometimes even walking for miles to purchase supplies. As Linda explained, Eternal Threads is able to partner with these creative, driven individuals and provide a market for them to sell their incredible craftsmanship here in the States.
The Eternal Threads website eloquently explains this mission and vision by saying, “Part of this vision was the desire to connect women in the developed world to women struggling to survive in underdeveloped nations. By selling their handiwork Eternal Threads is able to tell the story of these women and by purchasing their work you can be a part of providing them with hope and a future.”
A true social entrepreneur, Linda transitioned into her current line of work from a job as a flight attendant. She explained that her years of traveling experience empowered her to work independently in countries all over the world. Interestingly enough, Linda also believes that part of her success comes from the fact that she started Eternal Threads with nothing more than her own money.
Linda explained that this monetary independence has helped Eternal Threads maintain its integrity. She explained that because the organization was able to keep its focus on the end goal of empowering women rather than on the importance of maintaining donors or earning back investments.
This integrity is something that Eternal Threads has retained over the last ten years as it has expanded to employ over two-hundred-and-fifty women from countries such as Nepal, Madagascar, and Afghanistan.
Be sure to visit the Eternal Threads website to learn more about what they do or to do a little bit of Christmas shopping!
by Allison Phillips | Nov 20, 2012 | Current Students
At times this year has been a difficult one for the College of Business. However, in spite of the hardships that students, faculty and staff have battled in their personal lives, there is a lot to be thankful for in this community.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said,
“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”
As a COBA student, I am constantly provided with unique opportunities. I’ve had the chance to listen to speakers like Dan Austin and April Anthony who have come to campus and interacted with students who are below their level of expertise and below their pay grade. I have also the opportunity to study abroad in Oxford and in the next six months will get to spend a week in Colorado at Leadership Summit as well as two weeks studying abroad in Honduras. All of these opportunities are incredible, wonderful, and potentially life changing, but this year, none of them are at the top of my list of things I’m thankful for.
Emerson points out that “all things have contributed to your advancement,” and he’s right. Every time I look up I find myself face to face with another chance to better myself and to develop skills for life. These prominent opportunities to travel or hear big name speakers are incredible, and I’m more grateful for them than I can say. However, I think that more than any huge trip or business superstar, I am thankful for the relationships COBA has allowed me to have, not just with fellow students, but with faculty.
Any COBA student you ask will tell you that the individuals who teach here, such as Ms. Jozell Brister, teach them more than just business skills. They teach us how to have integrity in the workplace and how to be responsible and plan ahead. They teach us what it means to take time out of our days to serve others and what it means to show hospitality to our neighbors. But more importantly, through all of this, they’ve taught us what it looks like to live a life of faith every single day.
So this year, I’m thankful, not for the fact that I can go somewhere beautiful or listen to someone interesting speak, but rather for the fact that here at COBA I am learning habits that change who I am from day to day, not just who I am in my career.
This Thursday is Thanksgiving. You’ll undoubtedly sit around a table, and you may even tell your friends and family what you’re thankful for. That’s all well and good, but if you leave your thanks at the table, you’ve gained nothing.
Follow Emerson’s suggestion, and cultivate a habit of thankfulness this year.
Happy Thanksgiving from COBA, and THANK YOU to our COBA faculty!
