“You have to make a conscious decision ever day: Am I going to be honest, am I going to be a person that acts with character, am I going to have integrity?”

Two important things brought Alex Jefferson to Missouri State: baseball and business.

“I have always wanted to play college baseball. My brother actually played here when I was younger.”

Alex Jefferson knew he’d be part of a team as an outfielder and pitcher for Bears Baseball, but he’s also become part of a larger team.

“I love how Missouri State can have 20,000 students, but still feel close. There’s a lot of people I see regularly on campus. I like that it’s a big university, but it has a smaller, family-type feel.”

“I think one of the coolest things about college is that you get to interact with so many different types of people with different personalities, and even people from different countries.”

Knowing how to interact with people is valuable, he said.

“The stronger you build those skills, the easier your life’s going to be in the future.”

Showing leadership by helping others

When Jefferson is not on the field or in the classroom, it’s likely you’ll find him giving back.

He has participated in volunteer work ranging from working at bone-marrow registration drives to participating in fundraisers to buy gifts for the needy children at the holidays.

He has packaged food for Meals a Million and built a house for a family in Mexico.

“You have to make a conscious decision every day: Am I going to be honest, am I going to be a person that acts with character, am I going to have integrity?”

To him, leadership is about having a sense of how you are.

“When you get in college, everything’s on your own. Whatever type of person you want to be, it’s totally on you. The qualities you see that you respect in other people, you have to take it on yourself to make sure that you’re displaying those qualities.”

Becoming trustworthy

He brings ethics into his major.

“In accounting, integrity is stressed to us. When you’re dealing with other people’s money, you have to be somebody people can trust.”

Jefferson is ready to join a public accounting firm after he graduates.