Points of Pride

Missouri Western Music’s Jenkins receives national award

sfowler4 — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 20:46:55 +0000

Dec. 10, 2024–Dr. Derek Jenkins, associate professor of music composition and theory at ��߲��, received the Marian Anderson Award in Social Justice from The American Prize for his composed piece “Dreams of America” for brass band and still images.��

Dr. Jenkins is a composer whose music has been performed throughout the United States, Europe, Canada and Brazil by the Cheyenne and Dubuque Symphony Orchestras; Fountain City Brass Band; Dresdner Bläserphilharmonie; Czech National Concert Band; Banda Sinfônica Municipal de Hortolândia; Seattle Wind Symphony; U.S. Army Materiel Command Band; Youth Symphony of Kansas City; Mid America Freedom Band; the Carinthia, Joseph Wytko, and Saxophilia Saxophone Quartets; Ensemble for These Times; Songeaters; as well as individual artists, university bands, honor bands and honor orchestras around the country. Jenkins holds degrees from UMKC and Rice University. More information can be found at .

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts is the nation’s most comprehensive series of contests in the performing arts. The American Prize is unique in scope and structure, designed to recognize and reward the best performing artists, directors, ensembles and composers in the United States at professional, college and university, community and high school levels, based on submitted recordings.

Annual MWSU Art Faculty Exhibit

sfowler4 — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 21:20:07 +0000

The Drew Brown Art Gallery in Potter Hall at ��߲�� will host the 2024 MWSU Art Faculty Exhibition Oct. 17-Dec. 15. An opening reception will be held in the gallery from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17. The reception is free and open to the public.

This exhibition highlights the artistic achievements of the School of Fine Arts faculty, offering a glimpse into their professional practices and artistic explorations. Featured artists include Amy DeSitter, Alysa Ramsay, David Harris, Robin Vanhoozer and Holly Rubalcava.

The Drew Brown Art Gallery, open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is open to the public and free of charge.

��߲�� is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit

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2024 Griffs Give Back Day of Service

sfowler4 — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 12:54:24 +0000

On Friday, Sept. 13, ��߲��’s Center for Service will host its fourth annual Griffs Give Back Day of Service.

Approximately 200 Missouri Western students, faculty and staff will gather to clean up streets and sidewalks along a nine-mile stretch of roadway from Krug Park in the North End to Hyde Park on the South Side in just 90 minutes.

The Day of Service represents a collaboration with several groups in the community. Students from Lindbergh Elementary and Hosea Elementary will also be out cleaning up their school campuses. Members of the community from Community Missions and Beautify St. Joseph will also be joining in to help. The City of St. Joseph has donated litter collection supplies, and Buchanan County will pick up the bags of trash after the event.

For more information or to join the fun, contact Missouri Western’s Center for Service at (816) 271-4100 or via email at centerforservice@missouriwestern.edu.

Caleb Keling 2024 New Business Owner

sfowler4 — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 17:30:33 +0000

Caleb Keling, a 2024 Craig School of Business at ��߲�� graduate, was awarded an Auntie Anne’s franchise in the Spring 2024 competition sponsored by Missouri Western’s Center for Franchise Development. Keling, from St. Joseph, was a student in a senior-level Applied Business Ownership class this past spring. Students in the class prepared business plans, and Keling presented his plan to a panel of judges including Steven L. Craig, creator of the franchise competition, other business leaders and Missouri Western graduates who won franchises in previous years.

The Applied Business Ownership class is a senior-level course offered in the Spring and open to Business and Entrepreneurship majors, minors, and alumni. The franchise awarded to Keling is the 35th store to be awarded through the program founded in 2009. Caleb transitioned into ownership on August 13, 2024, at his store’s new location in Dubuque, Iowa.

United Way TEAM Player Award

crisler — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 17:06:00 +0000

On Friday, June 7, Roger Collins, Angie Osborn and Kim Sigrist with ��߲��’s Center for Service were recognized as the St. Joseph Mustangs’s TEAM PLAYER of the week award recipients. The Center for Service helps college students engage with a wide variety of nonprofits in the area. Roger, a recent graduate of MWSU, volunteered more than 400 hours at more than two dozen area non profits through the Center for Service.

Thank you, Roger, Kim, Angie & all of MWSU, for being TEAM PLAYERS through your volunteering!

Back-to-back perfection: 100% of December 2023 nursing graduates pass NCLEX on first try

kheier — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 22:23:18 +0000

For the second year in a row, all 40 of the ��߲�� students who received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in December, 2023 passed their NCLEX licensure exam on their first attempt. The 44 graduates in December 2022 also attained a 100% first-try success rate.

In April 2023, the NCLEX exam was updated.�� The new exam (Next Generation NCLEX) is designed to better measure nursing clinical judgment and decision-making skills.�� This includes the use of real-world case studies and innovative types of exam questions.��

A pass rate of 100% is rare. Prior to December 2022, the last time all Missouri Western nursing graduates passed the exam on their first try was almost 15 years ago, in May, 2008.��

To better prepare graduates for the exam, a face-to-face NCLEX review session has been incorporated into the last semester of Missouri Western’s nursing curriculum. Exams were also revised to include case studies and innovative exam questions that are consistent with those on the NCLEX.

Missouri Western nursing graduates are not only prepared for the exam, they are prepared for their careers. Dr. Kendall reports that when they crossed the stage to receive their diploma in December, 38 of the 40 graduates had a job in the field.

Students perform with St. Joseph Symphony

kheier — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 20:49:10 +0000

Two ��߲�� students performed with the St. Joseph Symphony at the Missouri Theater on April 20.

Student performers were aria and concerto contest winners Sara Poet, senior music major from St. Joseph, and David Welter, junior music major from St. Joseph.

Annual KC Design Studio Tour

crisler — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 20:10:19 +0000

��߲�� graphic design students visited two graphic design firms, Willoughby Design and Design Ranch, on their annual Kansas City Studio Tour on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
Students from Teresa Harris’s Graphic Design IV and Final Portfolio were given a guided tour of the facilities, an overall presentation of the studio’s clients and services, and an informative
Q & A arranged just for them. Students met with creative directors, art directors, and designers.
“Students were given invaluable, in-person information about the workplace environment in a small design firm, work flow, portfolios, internships, networking, and helpful tips on interviewing and job seeking.” Teresa Harris, Professor of Art and Graphic Design Program Director.Your Content Goes Here

Collegiate FBLA Students Compete at State Leadership Conference

crisler — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 20:05:36 +0000

Four ��߲�� business students competed at the Collegiate FBLA State Leadership Conference in Columbia, Missouri earlier this month, earning a total of 10 top-5 finishes to advance to the National Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida in June.

Students who placed include:

Andrew Fox
1st place – Marketing, Sales, & Communication Case Study
2nd place – Future Business Executive
5th place – Organizational Behavior & Leadership

Taten Piepergerdes
2nd place – Marketing, Sales, & Communication Case Study
2nd place – Sports Management & Marketing
3rd place – Impromptu Speaking

Jeffrey Henderson
2nd place – Foundations of Technology
2nd place – Foundations of Computer Science
Madi Taylor
3rd place – Foundations of Marketing
4th place – Foundations of Selling

Madi Taylor, a senior double majoring in Management and Marketing from Brookfield, Missouri, is the President for MWSU’s chapter and also a state officer serving in the role of Vice President of Membership. She was involved in planning the conference.

Alum and Auntie Anne’s franchisee, Hayden Glaubius, participated in the networking event and also was on a panel with other businesses sharing expertise with the students.

Pam Klaus, director of the Center for Franchise Development, is the RSO advisor.

Student wins Alpha Chi National Scholarship

crisler — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 19:57:24 +0000

Artemii Udovenko, a senior majoring in Psychology, was awarded one of eight H. Y. Benedict Fellowships from the Alpha Chi National Honors Society, for his Honors Thesis, entitled, “Prejudice and Comprehensibility of Accented Speech in Hiring Decisions.” The scholarship provides $3000 toward the first year of graduate study. Artemii was recently accepted to the Ph.D. program in Management at University of Memphis.