Graduates of the Collaborative MBA program, from four states and two countries, pose for a photo before Sunday's commencement ceremony at 草莓社区. From left: Jesse Johnson, Priscilla Magliari Saade, Ruben Dyck, Melissa Stoner, Matt Lehman Weins, and Aubrey L.B. Kreider. Not present: Emma Brewster. The primarily online academic program is jointly administered by EMU, Goshen (Indiana) College, Bluffton University and Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg. (Photo by Jon Styer)

Collaborative MBA program graduates third cohort

by Lauren Jefferson

Seven students in the received their degrees during the May 6 Commencement ceremonies at 草莓社区.

Administration of the joint 22-month program, including residency weeks, rotates between four universities 鈥� EMU, Goshen (Indiana) College, Bluffton University and Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg.

For much of the program, the students participated in live video conference classes. But they came together for a face-to-face session at EMU in August 2016 and then midway through for an experiential learning trip to Costa Rica. Given their choice of locations for concluding presentations and graduation, the group decided to return to EMU, said , program director and chair of the division of business studies at Bluffton University.

A guiding principle of the program is 鈥渓eadership for the common good.鈥� The program focuses on personal formation, competency in business and economic skills, and building relationships.

One reason that Aubrey Bauman-Kreider, vice president of marketing at AMERIgreen Energy, enrolled in the Collaborative MBA program two years ago was for 鈥渢he opportunity to learn with professors and classmates from across the country and the world.鈥�

That certainly happened: Gathering together for graduation meant air travel for most of the cohort, who hail from four states 鈥� Pennsylvania, Kansas, Michigan and Minnesota 鈥� and two different countries, Brazil and Mexico.

Ruben Dyck is pastor of youth in the Blumenau Mennonite Church in Chihuahua, Mexico, where he also helps with various organizational and administrative aspects of the church.聽The online format fit his full-time work schedule, but he also appreciated the emphasis on leadership, common good in the global context, sustainability and the 鈥渋ntegration of faith into business,鈥� he said.

As many members of his congregation are businessmen, Dyck says the knowledge and skills he has acquired through the Collaborative MBA program will allow him to 鈥渂etter connect and provide advice鈥� in a challenging economic environment.

Matt Lehman Weins鈥� final presentation linked his coursework to specific projects he developed as director of donor relations at Mennonite Mission Network.

鈥淭here was direct applicability of coursework to many challenges I face in my working environment,鈥� he said, adding that classes allowed him to focus new skills on those challenges. Especially beneficial, Wiens said, were discussions about leadership, which included time to explore his own leadership style and the concept of servant leadership.

鈥淚 think this program teaches you how to be a better person, which can benefit you in all aspects of life, whether it鈥檚 business leadership or relationships,鈥� said聽Melissa Stoner, leadership and planned gifts officer for American Friends Service Committee. 鈥淎nd the understanding that the concept of sustainability for an organization goes beyond environmental conception is important.鈥�

The next cohort meets on the Goshen College campus Aug. 9鈥�12 for the opening residency and to get started on MBA 522 Leadership & Management for the Common Good.

Graduates

  • Emma J. Brewster, New Buffalo, Mich.;
  • Jesse Aaron Aiah Johnson, Minneapolis, Minn.;
  • Aubrey L.B. Kreider, Lancaster, Pa.
  • Priscilla Magliari Saade, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;
  • Ruben Jacob Dyck Stoesz, Chihuahua, Mexico;
  • Melissa A. Stoner, Philadephia, Pa.;
  • Matthew R. Lehman Weins, Wichita, Kan.

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