Business graduates honored with Jabara Award

For the 21st year, Baker University has awarded two outstanding business majors—Jeff Moore and Alison Snyder—with the 2025 Professor Fran Jabara Leadership Award during commencement ceremonies on May 18. Graduates were chosen based on their academic excellence, career potential, involvement in the Department of Business and Economics, engagement with student organizations, and external achievement.

The award is named for renowned Wichita educator and entrepreneur F.D. (Fran) Jabara, a lifelong proponent of recognizing and promoting excellence in leadership. It recognizes a male and female graduating senior from each participating private university in Kansas and includes a $1,000 award.

JEFF MOORE         

Jeff Moore, from Topeka, Kansas, graduated summa cum laude with majors in accounting and business with concentrations in finance, management, and marketing. He minored in data analytics and economics. He was a member of the football team, volunteered with Baker Serves, and served as an assistant hall director, Student Senate president, and University Admissions Assistant. Moore represented Baker at the Kansas Independent College Association Day at the  capitol in Topeka.

“I know that the classes I took and relationships I formed with professors will serve me well in the business world,” Moore said. “My proudest accomplishment was achieving a 95th percentile scoring in the ETS Major Field Test Business Exam, showing that my coursework has stuck with me and compares well to students across the country.” The ETS exam is a national measure of workforce preparedness.

Moore served as a risk management intern with Evergy and has accepted a position as a risk analyst in Evergy’s Risk Management, Credit and Contracts Department. “[Serving] as a risk management intern has let me get my foot into the door of the corporate world and secure a job after graduation,” he said. “This helped me apply many of the things I had been learning in the classroom and prove that I am ready to work in the professional world.”

“Jeff has embraced so many opportunities offered by his Baker experience. Beyond excelling in the classroom and across his multiple majors and minors, he was a member of the football team. He has been a leader in student government, serving as class president. Jeff was recognized by Delta Mu Delta, a business honor society, for his academic excellence,” said Dr. Kevin McCarthy, professor of business and economics. “He has given back to this community through his leadership in the classroom, on the field, and across a range of student organizations.”

ALISON SYNDER

Alison Snyder, from Camas, Washington, graduated summa cum laude with a major in sports administration. While at Baker, she served as a manager for the softball team and assisted the Department of Athletics during home events.

“My experience in the Department of Business and Economics at Baker has been incredibly impactful in preparing me for what’s next,” Snyder said. “Over the past two years, the professors have not only shared their expertise and real-world insight, but they’ve also taken the time to get to know me personally. Because my professors understood my strengths and goals, they were able to challenge me in new ways. Specifically, Dr. Gerber was always there to provide suggestions on how I could network and gain valuable experience in the sports world.”

Snyder completed an internship with the Ridgefield Raptors, a summer college baseball team in Washington state. Serving as a stadium and game day operations intern, she learned processes for managing concessions, group events, and large crowds at a baseball game. During an internship with the Baker Department of Athletics she prepared for fall game days and then worked the games. “I gained experience in what it takes to run game day events at the NAIA level,” she said.

Starting next fall Snyder will serve as a graduate assistant in the Baker University Department Athletics while pursuing my master’s in sport management from Baker’s School of Professional and Graduate Studies.

“Ali has been a great asset to the sports administration academic program as well as the Baker athletics department,” said Dr. Chad Gerber, associate professor of sports administration. “In the classroom, she was a model of reliability, hard work, and steady improvement. Ali also had a hand in the game day operations for many of the Baker athletic events. Her future career in college athletics is bright.”