This week’s LeaderBear is a Special Education major expecting to graduate in 2017. Dylan has been involved with our Commerce Bank Emerging Leaders program and currently serves as a Facilitator for that program. In this role, he helps our student participants grow and develop as leaders throughout their EL journey.

“What most impacted me about the Emerging Leaders program is the leadership I not only learned about myself, but the leadership I learned about others. It was a great experience to understand the differences each leader possesses and how to effectively and efficiently collaborate with each other to lead to the best of our abilities.”

Dylan also meets with a first grade student once a week for lunch through Big Brothers Big Sister of the Ozarks as a Lunch Buddy! Outside of just being great lunch company – he serves as a friend, mentor, and positive role model. He has a passion for youth and education. These interests came together in his role as Director of New Member Education for the Inter-Fraternity Council. In this role, Dylan worked hard to plan and execute New Member Day with his counterpart, review New Member Education programs from each chapter, advise Phi Sigma Upsilon, and collaborate with the IFC Executive Board on FSL issues. This wasn’t his first interaction with Phi Sigma Upsilon though. His freshman year he served as Director of Membership and Recruitment for that organization where he took charge of recruiting new members and dealing with membership concerns.

Dylan is a proud member of Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) fraternity on our campus. He has served as their Campus Involvement Chair and Greek Week Chair. Additionally, Dylan has been a Recruitment Officer since his freshman year and is a current member of their Judicial Board. Beyond Pike – we’re pretty proud of his involvement with Headbands of Hope. As an ambassador for this program he volunteered his time to a One-for-One program which donated one headband to a girl battling cancer for each headband sold on campus. With lots of help he was able to give back to over 100 children battling cancer. His advice for younger students?

“I would advise younger students to explore their collegiate opportunities. College is the time for finding your passions and acting upon them. In college, self-growth is extremely important and you have to take risks if you want to grow. Don’t be scared to try something new and step outside of your comfort zone, for you never know where that opportunity will lead you.”