BC Students Honored with Statewide Leadership Awards

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Two graduating seniors at Benedictine College were surprised with the announcement during commencement exercises of the Professor Fran Jabara Leadership Awards.  Michela Brooks and Ryan Boh were this year’s recipients of the annual award that goes to select graduating seniors at four-year, private colleges in Kansas.

Dr. F. D. Jabara, former dean of the Wichita State University College of Business Administration and founder of the Jabara Family Foundation, established the award in 2002 as a means of recognizing graduating seniors who display exemplary leadership skills.  The award indicates the high level of ability the recipients have displayed as well as the respect with which their peers and teachers view them.
 

Michela is the daughter of Michael and Kathleen Brooks of Las Vegas, Nev.  She has been very active in a number of capacities on the Benedictine campus. She has served the students of as a resident assistant, helping them to connect with each other and with the Benedictine community, first on Benedictine’s Florence campus, then in McDonald Hall, and this past year she has kept our campus houses engaged with the main campus.  Her charming smile and winning personality made her a natural as an RA.  Michela recently received the St. John Paul II Excellence in Accompaniement Award, which recognizes the RA who lives the daily example of an authentic Catholic life.Michela also served as an office assistant and tour guide for the Office of Admission where she was known for giving exceptional tours of the campus and making visitors feel at home.  She has also been a leader within the St. Paul’s Outreach organization on campus.

She is passionate about forming relationships and works hard to connect with others.  She is known for asking a lot of questions in order to better understand an individual and she shares easily of her thoughts, experiences and good humor.  She values learning and has come to love the sense of community she found at Benedictine College.  Her goal is to create that sense of belonging in organizations wherever she goes.

Michela also loves scholarship and has been an outstanding student, regularly making the Dean’s List and even carrying a 4.0 to make the President’s List.  She is graduating with a degree in Psychology that will serve her well in her chosen field of social work.  This fall, she will be pursuing a Master’s Degree at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, where she will also be a Graduate Student Staff Assistant. 

Ryan is the son of Tim and Traci Boh of Denver.  He originally came to Benedictine College out of curiosity, tagging along with friends who were coming to a Student Orientation weekend. But once he got to campus, he was hooked.  He enrolled and immediately embraced the mission of the college and its aspects of community, faith and scholarship.  He has worked hard in all those areas and has been successful because of it.

Like Michela, Ryan worked in the Residence Life area, serving as a resident assistant in Newman Hall before heading to the college’s campus in Florence, Italy, where he managed the student life program for that remote location.  His outgoing personality made him a popular RA whom students could easily approach.
 

He also was the guiding force behind the establishment of club lacrosse on the Benedictine campus.  He served as president of the club and wrote the club bylaws, managed the fundraising efforts, established a board and created both a men’s team and women’s team.  The club sport has been very popular, has joined a club league and the women’s team even went to the playoffs this year.  He has high hopes that lacrosse will eventually become a varsity sport at Benedictine.

Ryan is graduating with degrees in International Business and Management and he has taken full advantage of opportunities to increase his skills in these areas. He was Projects Director for the Student International Business Council and was a member of the Enactus team that taught business classes in the Lansing State Correctional Facility and went on to win the regional Enactus competition. On top of that he has worked part time for Novuscor LLC., a medical research and integrated care company, as its director of diocese outreach working with over 190 religious organizations.

Founded in 1858, Benedictine College is a Catholic, Benedictine, residential, liberal arts college located on the bluffs above the Missouri River in Atchison, Kansas.  The school is proud to have been named one of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report as well as one of the top Catholic colleges in the nation by First Things magazine and the Newman Guide.  It prides itself on outstanding academics, extraordinary faith life, strong athletic programs, and an exceptional sense of community and belonging.  It has a mission to educate men and women within a community of faith and scholarship.

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