Our #LeaderBear this week is a PR major set to graduate next Spring. Brad participated in our Emerging Leaders program and has taken those skills with him to several other organizations and projects.
“This program [Emerging Leaders] taught me a lot about myself as a person and as a leader. I got the opportunity to learn what my personal strengths our and my weaknesses. This allowed me to develop my strengths more and work on my weaknesses. Also, I got the opportunity to work with other leaders to learn how I fit in a group and what roles I can take on based on my strengths to help the group succeed. I feel as though Emerging Leaders was a great stepping-stone for me during my freshmen year. It was a great building block for my college career and I can honestly say it is a reason that I am as successful and hard working.”
Currently, he is working hard to found a Best Buddies chapter on campus. Best Buddies is an international nonprofit centered around developing one-to-one friendships between individuals with and without Intellectual Developmental Disabilities. A chapter at Missouri State would be the first in the entire Show Me State. Brad got a quick start in campus leadership when he joined Phi Sigma Upsilon and served as their Fundraising Committee Head. He has also been very active in his fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi (Pi Kapp). As Pi Kapp’s Recruitment Chair Brad helped usher in the largest new member class his chapter had ever seen at the time. After doing a spectacular job in that position he was elected his chapter’s Vice President where he oversaw recruitment in a new role.
Outside of his own chapter, Brad has served the FSL community as Greek Week Committee Philanthropy and Service Co-Chair. In this position Brad helped the FSL community donate 15,000 lbs of food to Ozarks Food Harvest and 400 items to Ronald McDonald House. Who better than such an involved leader to talk with new students? First year students may recognize Brad from SOAR last summer. He will serve as a SOAR Leader for the second time this upcoming summer and help welcome our new Bears to campus yet again. Chief Communications Officer for Student Government is another job Brad does on campus. We asked him to share a little advice for younger students:
“Missouri State University gives you the opportunity to develop yourself as a person and leader; all you have to do is take on those opportunities. Getting involved here on campus will allow for you to grow yourself more than you would ever imagine, and it supplements your college career. Leadership Development Programs are a great place to start to develop yourself as a leader to enhance your college career and make you a better candidate for jobs when you graduate.”