Fran Jabara Leadership Award with Alumni Spirit

Baldwin City, Kan. — Since graduating a decade ago from Baker University, the university’s first recipients of the Fran Jabara Leadership Award have embodied the spirit of the honor. Christy Renyer, a 2004 graduate, and Jason Webb, a 2005 graduate, received the award during the May 2005 commencement ceremony for, as the mission of the honor states, demonstrating a capacity for future leadership based on his or her leadership in the classroom, with service clubs, on the athletic field, or in student government.

In September, the two alumni, both members of the prestigious Bronston Fellows program while undergraduates, reminisced during lunch at a restaurant in Overland Park, Kan., about life after Baker and discussed their plans.

“My Baker experience was amazing,” says Renyer, originally from Sabetha, Kan. “From the beautiful campus to the smaller class sizes, it was such a nice feeling to really know the professors and be surrounded by familiar faces. The connections I made with so many people definitely stand out in my mind.”

A member of Delta Mu Delta, the national honor society for students in business administration, Renyer participated in as many events with the organization as she could. Before graduating as a business major in December 2004, she accepted an analyst position with Cerner Corporation in Kansas City, Mo., and worked there 3 1/2 years, primarily in the consultant department. During that time, she was a member of a five-person team responsible for starting up a new line of business. Renyer is currently an independent contractor, working in sales in the brand marketing industry.

“I feel like sales is a really good fit for me,” she explains. “Having the opportunity to be an independent contractor has really forced me to grow in many ways professionally. I’ve always been independent and never a fan of unnecessary boundaries. My parents were great about encouraging me and my siblings to lead by example and do our best, but they never pushed. They empowered us to take responsibility for our own successes and accountability for our failures. I think that’s a large part of why I feel comfortable leading. I’m confident I can do what needs to be done and am aware and comfortable with the fact that there might be some missteps along the way. You just have to keep moving forward.”

Webb has a similar leadership mindset.

“From my perspective, a leader has to be full of integrity and also willing to make tough decisions, and have some tough conversations when they need to be had,” Webb said.

Webb, a dual major in economics and business management, says Baker faculty played a key role in preparing him for the leadership honor and a successful career.

“If there ever was something I needed to understand more, the professors were always willing to take the time and help,” Webb remembers. “That’s what I appreciated most during my time at Baker. The doors were always open. Looking back I realize how valuable that is.”

Webb also made the most of internship opportunities. He finished high school at Shawnee Heights in Tecumseh, Kan., where he served as an international trustee for the Key Club. As a Baker student, he secured internships at U.S. congressman Jim Ryun’s office in Washington, D.C., Cerner and Sprint. His internship at Cerner included meeting a class once a week at the Kansas City facility. Each team was challenged to develop a solution to a business problem and gain an understanding of software development life-cycle technologies and processes.

“The internships paid off for me,” Webb says. “I was able to convert an educational experience into a paying job and career.”

For nine years, Webb has worked at Accenture, a multinational management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. His roles have consisted of analyst, consultant and now senior manager. Active in the Kansas City community, he serves as board chair for Passages Youth Center, an organization in Kansas City that serves gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth.

“The liberal arts, critical thinking aspects of Baker absolutely prepared me for my career,” Webb says. “Coupled with incremental and experiential learning opportunities, Baker absolutely gave me the extra edge to get to where I wanted to go.”