WE ARE LEARNERS. ACHIEVERS. PIONEERS. T H I S
I S
M N U .
GO INTO ALL THE WORLD ... MARK 16:15
WHAT TYPE OF CAREERS DO MNU ALUMS PURSUE? WHERE DO MNU ALUMS ACTUALLY WORK? WHAT COMPANIES HIRE MNU GRADUATES? These are real and important questions from students and parents. A college education is a great investment – in your professional life, yes, but also in the rest of your life. The best way to answer these questions is to show you some of our Pioneer alumni. They are working in a variety of industries and in cities around the world. During their time at MNU, they developed the skills and knowledge to succeed–and the vision to see what real success looks like. Transformed by Christ to serve others.
This is MNU. MNU.edu/value
Grace Wallace
‘15
GRADUATE STUDENT
Grace Wallace was just three years old when she sang for her first audience. Growing up, she wowed crowds at church and school while dreaming of Broadway and the Metropolitan Opera. After beginning professional voice training in high school, Grace transferred to MNU in 2012 to study vocal performance. During her three years at MNU, she participated in concert choir and Heritage choir, acted in countless theatre productions and also judged high school music competitions. When she graduated from MNU with a Bachelor of Arts in music in 2015, Grace immediately applied to graduate school at the University of Missouri at Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance. She is continuing her studies at the graduate level and secured a
leading role in the opera Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) in her first semester at UMKC. In between practices and class, Grace is HEART coordinator at Christian Youth Theater, advocating for inclusion for individuals with special needs in musicals and classes. She still dreams of Broadway, and hopes to pursue a career in vocal performance on a national level after she completes her graduate degree. “MNU has played a huge role in my success,” Wallace says. “As a means of helping you, I believe God puts amazing people in your path, and so many of the people who helped me came from this amazing school. Making the decision to become a Pioneer is one of the best choices I ever made.”
Grace loves anything related to Disney—Disney movies, Disney music, Disney characters… She finds fulfillment working with individuals who have special needs and advocates for their inclusion in the arts.
Ashford Collins
‘12
LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER
“At the end of the day, all you can be is salt and light,” says Ashford Collins. “When I came to MNU, I was just a football player. When I left MNU, I was a young man after God’s own heart.” Originally a criminal justice major, Ashford changed his major to education when he realized he could invest in the lives of young people. He graduated from MNU in 2012 and now serves his community as a 6th grade language arts teacher at Santa Fe Trail Middle School in Olathe, Kansas. He is also the running backs coach for MNU’s Pioneer football team. Ashford has devoted himself to a career in education because he is intimately familiar with the impact that strong male role models can have on a child’s life.
He represents two groups who are in great demand in America: African American men who devote themselves to a career in education and male teachers who represent just 17 percent of the teaching force in elementary and middle school in the United States. Reflecting on his time at MNU, Ashford says he learned to be intentional. “It became the theme here for me, for my personal life and for how I viewed people,” Collins says. “If you’re not building a relationship with them, nothing you say or do will matter.” Today, Ashford continues to build relationships in his role as a middle school teacher. “I wanted to be so much more than a football player,” Collins says. “And that is what I became during my journey at MNU.”
Ashford also coaches running backs for MNU. He is the proud dad of a young daughter and is devoted to and active in his local church.
Sarah Fredricks
‘14
CHILDREN’S PASTOR
Home is where the heart is, so it’s not easy being far from home. As a high school junior from North Dakota, Sarah Fredricks joined a group of prospective students visiting MNU during a MAX (MidAmerica Extreme) event. Dreaming of a future in ministry, she enjoyed leading worship in her youth group and sharpened her public speaking skills in high school forensics class. MNU was her first college visit, but she knew it was where she belonged. She hoped her MNU experience would help her find where God was leading her. Sarah was overwhelmed with the prospect of so many options in ministry. At MNU she began honing her choices, concluding, “A children’s pastor would be my least favorite job.”
As a senior, seeking advice from her professor—also a senior pastor at a local church—she chose to step out and apply for children’s pastor at his church. It took some courage, but she accepted the position when it was offered. To her surprise Sarah found she shared an eagerness for learning new things with her young flock. “Being a children’s pastor changed my view of ministry,” Sarah says. “It taught me how to be a servant.” Additionally, she runs the church coffee shop, which allows her to make more connections. With the support of coworkers on the ministry team, Sarah has found affirmation in her decision. Trusting God is a process, but for Sarah it led to a place that feels like home.
Sarah loves to hike, play classical piano arrangements and sing worship music.
Jonathan Boese
‘07
SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROGRAM FACILITATOR
Jonathan Boese’s strong interest in criminal justice led him to major in the field at MNU. He loved classes in law and says his major professor sparked an interest in him to “dig deeper and not just accept the status quo.” “I was challenged to examine my opinions and not just base everything on what had been my parents’ view,” he says. After graduation, Jonathan’s first job was in foster care and his bachelor’s degree “definitely” got him in the door. But he wondered if he’d ever use his criminal justice education. It wasn’t long though until that background led him to work with juvenile offenders in the foster care system, and by 2012 he landed his current position—substance abuse program facilitator at Lansing Correctional Facility. Always learning, Jonathan earned a certificate in addiction counseling.
“It was a natural transition from a degree in criminal justice, to working with inmates, to getting training in cognitive behavioral intervention,” he says. MNU played a significant role in helping Jonathan navigate the intersection of his faith with his professional career. “My job is not just about making money. I do this for a much greater purpose than myself,” he says. And though it was important to him when he was at MNU, now Jonathan says, “my faith is much more important to me now than I realized when I was 22.” If he could offer students advice, Jonathan suggests flexibility. “Stay open minded about your career. Don’t put yourself in a box because you have a certain degree. I’ve stayed in the nonprofit world, but I have a much different role now than I did in my first job [after college].”
With 4 kids, Jonathan and his wife Rachel have plenty of adventure. He reads everything he can get his hands on concerning social justice and policy. The family’s hobby is board games, and they love checking out games from MNU’s Games & Learning Center.
Lenzie & McKenzie ‘16 Vulgamore REGISTERED NURSES
Lenzie and McKenzie Vulgamore grew up in a small town in southeastern Kansas. With their family close by, their grandparents had an impact on their career choices. Their grandmother, a nurse, taught them about compassion, hope and prayer. And while they were young, they watched their grandfather die of cancer. During their senior year of high school, a representative from MNU shared her story at a church camp they both attended. They left camp knowing that MNU was where they belonged. When the sisters began MNU’s nursing program, they were excited for the opportunity to “be God’s hands and feet,” as Lenzie puts it. She said MNU’s nursing program is unique. Not only is it highly revered for it’s academic excellence, but the instructors teach their students how to care for people on a deeper level. “Our instructors invested in us personally,” says McKenzie,
“I remember one instructor walking through the aisles, praying for us as we took a very difficult test.” With graduation just around the corner, the instructors at MNU arranged mock interviews with several local hospitals including the University of Kansas Medical Center. Soon after, the Vulgamore twins attended an open house at KUMC, where they were surprised at the overwhelming welcome from the unit managers. They scheduled interviews, shadowed the hospital’s nurses at their jobs and were hired almost immediately. In fact, almost half of their nursing class was hired at KUMC. Working the night shift in the oncology department, the twins are finding a way to honor both their grandparents. At the same time, they are living their dreams of bringing emotional support, prayer and joy to people in need of hope. They found a way to be the hands and feet of God.
HOW TO TELL THEM APART: Lenzie, shorter name= shorter hair McKenzie, longer name=longer hair CREATIVE TALENTS: Lenzie loves painting & photography McKenzie plays guitar and tried out for American Idol BRAVEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Both have gone skydiving
Corey Young
‘14
NFL PLAY 60 YOUTH GUIDE
“It’s funny how the game of football can make a difference in someone’s life,” says Corey Young, an MNU sports management graduate. Growing up in a small town in southern Georgia, Young never imagined the life he has now. He came to MNU with a scholarship, but that didn’t keep him from working to save for his personal expenses. His coaches helped him find employment that worked with his academic and athletic schedules. During the summer months he worked for a moving company, while training for football. Young says it was the game, the hard work and the support of his college family that helped him develop discipline and confidence. Now he teaches those principles to the children he helps to mentor as an NFL Play 60 Youth Guide. Working with the Kansas City Chiefs in their Arrowhead Stadium sports lab, Young is part of a program
that invites kids from the community to stay active and learn about healthy lifestyles. As a bonus, they get a tour of the stadium. Loyal to his alma mater, he also works as the cornerback’s coach/assistant, defensive back coach and assistant strength & conditioning coach for MNU football. Young says what he loves most about this job is making a difference in young men’s lives. Bigger dreams are calling him. Young has plans to pursue them, and hopes to become an NFL coach and a general manager. “There is no promise,” he says, “Just prayer, hard work and dedication that keeps me going. It takes bravery to chase a dream.” And MNU is where it all started.
FOOTBALL ADDICT: Corey plays football, coaches football and watches football—even documentaries about football. FAVORITE HANGOUT: TOPGOLF, a state-of-the-art driving range. BEST TRAIT: Loyalty. His friends say you can always count on him.
Victoria Atencio
‘14
DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER
Victoria Atencio has always loved art. She hoped to find purpose for her life and passion for her art when a friend brought her to MNU for a college visit. She fell in love with the friendly campus and she enrolled. The instructors made a huge impact; they helped her find a way to express her love of art through her major, graphic design. Partnering with clients like Harley Davidson, the graphic design program gave her the opportunity to work on projects that “took us out of our bubble and into the real world,” says Atencio. As the digital marketing manager for Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Atencio designs venue posters, covers social media and peeks in on the behind-the-scenes lives of many celebrities. As
the adrenaline rush subsides after an event, she sits back and reflects, “It’s great to see your hard work pay off. I feel like I worked hard to get here. My company liked that I could multi-task in college; they knew I would be able to handle my job.” That confidence came in handy after a Colorado snowstorm brought on the cancellation of a large event at the venue. Atencio managed the social media response with personal and timely communication. While her college experiences included mission trips, community service and hospitality, Victoria believes that God is present in all our work, regardless of the field. For now, she’s enjoying living this Godinspired life full of purpose and passion.
FAVORITE ARTIST: Georgia O’Keefe MEMORABLE MOMENT: Seeing the Nile River on a Ugandan mission trip HER PERSONAL TIME: Prefers hiking or rock climbing vs. spending time on social media.
Tyler Hageman
‘13
MASS SPECTROMETRY INTERN
Tyler Hageman isn’t your average pharmacist. In fact, the 2013 MNU chemistry grad isn’t a pharmacist at all, though that was the career he wanted to pursue when he started grad school at the University of Kansas. He’s working on enhancing a mass spectrometry-based method as an analytical tool for protein therapeutic comparability studies at the University of Kansas – and if that didn’t make sense to you, you’re not alone. For the non-chemists of the world, Hageman is working to create a method of testing to ensure the greatest possible consistency between batches of pharmaceuticals – so every bottle of pills you get refilled from the pharmacy has the exact same chemical makeup. “We need to be able to analyze these complex drugs. The ultimate goal is that drug manufacturers can prove all their drugs are consistent from
batch to batch – not just simple ones like ibuprofen,” Hageman says. Hageman landed a prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) fellowship to continue his research. His first interaction with NIH was actually as a student at MNU. One of his MNU professors told him about a three-month REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) opportunity. He was accepted and spent a summer doing pharmaceutical research. “That was when I decided that was what I wanted to do,” says Hageman. He credits MNU with preparing him for his current work. His current role at pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb, gives him the opportunity to travel and present his findings at conferences around the country, and he looks forward to continuing his research through a doctorate in chemistry.
Tyler gets his exercise in by playing soccer and he often gets up early to golf for two hours before starting work.
Britney Lewis
‘16
EXECUTIVE TEAM LEADER
Britney Lewis is a firstgeneration college graduate. The corporate communications major from Kansas City, Kansas made MNU her college choice when she visited MNU as a sophomore in high school. Very involved, Britney was a resident assistant in the dorms, and worked part-time in admissions, marketing and university advancement. She also completed a public relations internship and worked summers at Youthfront LaCygne, a spiritual retreat center. Her major was chosen after trying several. “I like so much stuff,” Britney laughs. “Ultimately I didn’t want to be tied down to one thing. I wanted to leave space for God to speak through whatever I might do in the future.” As a senior, Britney knew the job search could be challenging so when the college recruiters for Target came to campus, Britney decided she would
apply. The process included four rounds of interviews, but she found it easy to express how her education at MNU might translate to the world of management. “Target has a thing called fail fast, recover quicker,” she says. “Essentially it’s about learning from what goes wrong and letting it teach you how to do it better next time. The number of group projects I had done in my major required me to be people friendly, read individuals and learn compromise.” Several weeks later Britney learned she would have a job waiting for her immediately after graduation. She accepted the role of an executive team leader in Target’s management training program. “MNU is that stable foundation for me,” she says. “I know if I need something there’s someone I can call. I can always go back. It’s my home away from home.”
Britney is learning to swing dance and hopes to enter competition soon. Her 27-pound puppy Mila, keeps her company during her coveted down time.
Ryan Rockwell
‘13
TERRITORY SALES MANAGER
For Ryan Rockwell commitment, discipline and goals are a part of every single day. Ryan, a marketing major, currently works as a territory sales manager for a leading developer of laser medical treatment systems and came to MNU from Des Moines, Iowa. “I came to college not knowing what I wanted to study or what career path I wanted to take,” he shares. By the time he was a junior, his major was still undeclared. Ryan credits his MNU professors with providing direction for a future career. “The professors at MNU don’t just teach class, they develop a personal relationship with you,” he says. One of Ryan’s business professors recognized that he had talent in sales. After taking a marketing class, Ryan knew this was a career he would enjoy. His professors continued
to challenge and invest in him, and he completed an internship that honed his communication and customer service skills. Grateful for his experience, Ryan helped launch a mentorship program for other MNU students interested in business. He also wanted to have a job secured before graduation, so he worked hard and landed a sales position in the medical device industry one month before finishing his classes. His dedication and hard work resulted in him completing his first year as the best sales rep in his company, exceeding his sales quota by 110%. Today Ryan works hard as one of the youngest, successful sales associates in his company. His advice to future college students? “Seek advisement and find mentors as quickly as possible,” he says.
Ryan’s hobbies are golf and competitive bass fishing. Twin sister, Rachenda, is also a 2013 MNU graduate.
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