Leadership and business strategy program awards scholarships
The program is a co-major, which must be paired with another major in any discipline. Students graduate having a powerful combination of field-specific skills and a flexible skill set in leadership, problem-solving and communication.
Bronconess Scholarship
The Bronconess Scholarship honors students who demonstrate the spirit of a Bronco: to have courage and enthusiasm in challenging situations. The scholarship is funded entirely from the profits of the Bronconess wine brand, a student-built and operated enterprise. Students who manage the brand get a full range of experiences in managing a business. Bronconess has raised $35,000 for student scholarships to date.
Sylvan Benton
One word describes Sylvan Benton’s reaction when she learned she was a recipient of the Bronconess Scholarship—joy.
“This scholarship is based on demonstrating a spirit of courage and enthusiasm in challenging situations, and I feel the love, appreciation and support of the leadership and business strategy community. This award shows that there is power in being vulnerable and learning from challenges.”
Benton found transformational experiences in the leadership and business strategy program that empowered her to be the best version of herself. “My experiences have pushed me beyond perceived limitations and also helped me be a part of something bigger than myself,” she says.
This past semester Benton was able to co-lead a team of peers to move the Bronconess wine brand forward. Successfully launching a new product—Bronconess Peach Bubbly—with St. Julian Winery this fall, the brand now has four products available. “The opportunity to be a leader especially during all of the events of 2020 was an invaluable experience, she says. “A lot went wrong, but a lot also went right because of our ability to adapt and work together as a team. Leading the Bronconess initiative was so meaningful because of how authentic the project is.” And her efforts will help to build the scholarship fund for future students as well.
With a second major in product design, Benton hopes to use her design skills to one day support children’s development through toys and active play. “My goal is to get children playing outside, playing with others, and solving problems. My education at WMU, through both my degree programs, has allowed me to truly own my work.”
Sarah Obermeyer
Sarah Obermeyer is a double major in leadership and business strategy and sales and business marketing and has set a goal for herself to be as involved with the WMU community as possible—she has reached that goal by anyone’s estimation. Obermeyer’s involvements include:
- Vice President, Campus Activities Board
Sarah Obermeyer - Director of Business Relations, Sales and Business Marketing Association
- Director of Diversity and Inclusion, College Panhellenic Council
- Active Member, Sigma Kappa Sorority
- Lab Associate, Robert S. Kaiser Sales, Negotiation and Leadership Lab
- Student Ambassador, Haworth College of Business
- Student Coordinator, TechNext Team at WMU
“The Bronconess Scholarship has allowed me to focus less on working to fund my education, and more on my extracurriculars, mentoring others, giving back and taking the reins during my time at WMU,” she says.
Obermeyer chose the leadership and business strategy major because she wanted to do more with her time at WMU. “I knew that the program offered classes and experiences different than what other universities could offer. Being surrounded by motivated and hungry students who are always looking to learn has helped me develop as a professional in my college career.”
Koch Family Scholarship
Supported through the generous donations of Jonathan Koch, B.B.A.’96, MBA’98, the Koch Family scholarship supports a driven student who is a Michigan resident with financial need.
Clayton Nolley
Solving complex problems, personal growth and faculty with industry experience. All these elements of the leadership and business strategy program attracted Clayton Nolley, and he has been evolving and contributing since day one.
Receiving the Koch Family Scholarship has been of significant financial benefit to Nolley, who will not have to take out additional loans before graduation next spring but will be able to begin to pay down his existing student loan debt. He also will be able to consider experiences for the 2021-22 academic year like a business study abroad trip to Thailand (pending the lifting of COVID-19 travel restrictions) and preparing for the graduate school entrance exam, among other things.
Leading his team through the spring 2020 consulting project with Rhino Media during the COVID-disrupted semester is the most meaningful experience Nolley has had in the LBS program so far. “My main goal for the semester was to see growth in my team members, like I did when I was a team member versus the team lead. My team was incredibly diverse in terms of educational backgrounds, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and sexual orientation, so seeing them go from complete strangers to watching them all become friends and staying up until 2 a.m. working on deliverables was a something I’ll never forget,” he says. “During final evaluations with my team members, I was able to hear their self-reflections about the massive amount of personal and professional growth they experienced during the semester, which made me very proud.”
Pride is also just what Nolley felt when he received the Koch Family Scholarship, which he says reinforced his pathway in the leadership and business strategy program. “With persistence, awareness and a goal in mind, you can accomplish anything you want to in life,” he says. “The LBS program has been the perfect example of this to me. It’s given me a community, led by professors with goals like mine. It’s given me an environment to push myself, to grow, to learn from others, and experiences that I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else which is something I’ll forever be thankful for.”
G.W. and Edna M. Haworth Principled Leadership Scholarship
Funded by a donation from the Haworth Family, the G.W. and Edna M. Haworth Principled Leadership Scholarship rewards outstanding students who demonstrate a commitment to leading with values during their time at WMU and in their professional lives in order to improve the lives of customers, their community and society as a whole.
Tyler Earnst
Tyler Earnst knows he made a smart choice in co-majoring in leadership and business strategy alongside his sales and business marketing major. “The job market is extremely competitive, and the LBS program prepares students to tell a unique story to employers about experiential, purpose-driven learning,” he says. “The culture of continuous improvement makes the work more challenging but also more rewarding.”
Earnst has had the opportunity to apply the skills in both the program’s consulting work and in a variety of other ways, including as:
- President, Business Influencers Organization
- Member, Business Association of Mentors
- Member, Sales and Business Marketing Association
- Brand Manager, Bronconess Wine
- Social Media and Podcast Student Lead, Center for Principled Leadership and Business Strategy
“I’m extremely honored and thankful for the generosity of the Haworth family in funding this scholarship,” says Earnst. “I am funding college 100% on my own, and this lifts a financial burden and allows me to focus more on my final two semesters.”
Those semesters will see Earnst focusing on continuing to grow the Bronconess wine brand, a summer internship at Dell, and devoting more time to mentoring pre-business students.
Post-graduation, his goal is to become an enterprise sales manager in the next several years, working to develop the entry-level sales team at a company. Ultimately, he would love to start a business one day that helps the community in which he resides.
Isabella Lenyo
“I chose the LBS program because I wanted to stand out,” says Isabella Lenyo. “Having leadership skills, being able to perform well on a team, and most importantly, being able to lead a team is something that can benefit people in all majors and in any job. I know that what I have learned will help me to be successful in my future job and my other courses.”
The Principled Leadership Scholarship has helped Lenyo finish her senior year strong. “The scholarship has motivated me to work harder in every aspect of my life,” she says. “I will carry what I have learned into my classes and career, and push myself to continue growing and help others to do the same.”
Her internship-level experiences have given her the most value. She first worked as an analyst on projects and was given progressive levels of responsibility for more significant work, preparing her for when she had to lead a team of her own. “I have formed friendships with my team members that have carried over into other classes and have even helped with professional opportunities. As a team leader, the most meaningful experience for me was seeing how much each of my team members grew both personally and professionally.”
Lenyo plans to work for a Fortune 500 company that aligns with her values. “I want to continue learning—and to work at a company with people who strive to do the same,” she says. “The leadership and business strategy program and WMU have provided a multitude of opportunities to be successful, from working with and presenting to CEOs, to practice interviews, to learning from some of the best and most dedicated professors in both leadership and business strategy and marketing.”
Brad Woodle
Real-world experiences and peers pushing each other to be better drew Brad Woodle to the leadership and business strategy program, and he has had the opportunity to work on several projects that have given him meaningful experience—including a consulting project with Newmind Group, where he led a team of his fellow students in providing a recommendation on growth strategy to the CEO and co-founder. That experience, conducted in an entirely virtual setting, gave Woodle skills in communication, team-building and leadership in a business environment that the COVID-19 pandemic has now made commonplace.
Receiving the Principled Leadership Scholarship helps lift a portion of the financial commitment to attend WMU, freeing up family resources in a way that will help all members of his family. “This scholarship and the program as a whole have given me confidence that I can do anything at a high level if I put the work in,” Woodle notes.
Planning to work in sales, long-term he has his sights set on a leadership role. This scholarship helps confirm his chosen career path. “I want to inspire people to be the best they can be and help them succeed in any way I can. I learned that was my purpose through the leadership and business strategy program.”
The leadership and business strategy program focuses on purpose and profit being intrinsically linked and culminates in two internship-level consulting experiences. For more information on the program and related activities, visit the Center for Principled Leadership and Business Strategy website.