Front row, Tiffany Butler and Alia Sheya. Back row, Kassie Kreissler, Sam McClary, Janica Lowry and Tobias Pointer.
The annual Barbara Sprong Leadership Challenge added a new component this year – an opportunity for a community service trip over spring break. Six of the 21 students who participated in the Challenge took advantage of the opportunity and traded fun in the sun for helping those in need in New Orleans.
“I wanted them to walk away with a stronger sense of giving back,” said Isaiah Collier, assistant dean of student development and student life and leadership director. “It’s easy to think of service locally, but I would like students to think more globally and become stronger humanitarians.”
Tobias Pointer, a speech communications major from St. Louis, said he enjoyed working in a school in a Knowledge is Power program, where the college students tutored the younger students and interacted with them.
“It was a great experience,” he said. “Working with the kids and seeing their smiles, I think that did more for me than the kids.”
Those who couldn’t attend the alternative spring break worked one day for Habitat for Humanity in St. Joseph.
Collier said he plans to continue the alternative spring break opportunity next year, but possibly stay closer to home so more students can participadiste.
Each year, the Challenge meets weekly in the spring semester and hosts guest speakers. The 2014 speakers included Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president; Dr. Mark Laney, president and CEO of Mosaic Life Care; Latoya Fitzpatrick, Center for Multicultural Education coordinator; and Christopher Lu, former U.S. Cabinet secretary. Students who complete the program without absences receive one hour of credit.
The program, which began in 1992, is named for Barbara Sprong, a community leader who had served as president of Missouri Western’s Board of Regents. Barbara, who passed away in 2012, and her husband, Gerald, supported the program with a $50,000 gift. Last year, Gerald donated $25,000 in Barbara’s memory, and their daughter, Lisa Norton, recently donated $15,000 for the program.
“Having ‘challenge’ in the name is appropriate,” Collier said. “We definitely push our students to step outside of their comfort zone.”