Reagan's Contribution Changed My Life
Reagan Fellow Alumni Share Their Experience
Beginning in 2008, alumni of Eureka College's Ronald W. Reagan Leadership Program have been asked to submit quotes about the impact of the program on their lives.
The Ronald W. Reagan Leadership Program was established in 1982 by President Ronald Reagan and Eureka College. It is the only such program created by a sitting U.S. President of its kind.
For more information on the program >
"My participation in the Ronald Reagan Leadership Program included: excellent study programs about leadership retreats during which we played out leadership scenarios, intense discussion about world affairs, the study of the virtues of leadership, and three mentorship experiences. I approached these experiences with an open mind and intellectual curiosity.
The apolitical objectives of the program allowed me to explore leadership as a concept and the many manifestations of leadership. The opportunities, offered via the program, led me to a deep understanding of service leadership and the desire to implement it in my life, career and community.
I especially note the influence of the program as I critically observe "leaders" in the professional arena and in the wider political and cultural world. My assessment is that the serious and sincere study of leadership is necessary as the global community deals with significant challenges."
Mark H. Brown
Reagan Fellow '87
"The Reagan Leadership Program helped define my interest in public service and the law. The program was in inspiration for me that is still meaningful today."
Allen G. Fore
Reagan Fellow '87
Senior Vice President
Fleishman-Hillard
"The Ronald W. Reagan Program showed me that
there are so many ways to lead and it gave me the confidence to dream.
I have passion for my work and know that I've been able to utilize my vision for progress in the leadership roles I've held in medicine. Other leadership traits that I learned such as honesty, integrity, confidence, empathy, and professionalism have helped me to mature in my roles."
Cathy Fakler
Reagan Fellow '88
"I enjoyed the experience of the Reagan Scholar retreats (in which all of the scholars got together to discuss issues) where I discovered that
like-minded people with the goal of service to the community can inspire and challenge each other to succeed."
Samuel Harrod, IV
Reagan Fellow '88
Attorney
Meltzer, Purtill & Stelle
Chicago, IL
"The Reagan Program and Eureka College provided me an opportunity to grow as a young adult and to expand my leadership skills. My life experiences at EC are central to the person I've become and my career."
Tony Byerly
Reagan Scholar '89
President & COO
"One of the lessons I have learned during my time as a Reagan Scholar was
the importance of using the talents God blesses me with to serve others,
to lift them up and help them see their own value in this world."
Anne Shaw Heinrich
Reagan Fellow '90
Freelance Writer & Public Relations Consultant
"I am personally and financially indebted to Eureka College. Nothing I did prior to attending Eureka College make me deserve a full tuition scholarship and a leadership development program. Eureka College took a great risk when making this large investment in me. I feel I must try to repay Eureka College's investment in me with my continuing financial support and an effort to become a better person."
Philip Stiles
Reagan Fellow '90
"The Ronald W. Reagan Leadership Program at Eureka College provided me a forum to take my talents and develop them to serve the greater good.
By developing in me the ability to lead (by word, deed, and example) I am a successful person,
not only a successful physician/surgeon."
Erika Ketteler
Reagan Fellow '92
Assistant Professor of Surgery
University of New Mexico
"The Reagan Leadership Program is a unique program where young people of all backgrounds have the opportunity to learn, grow, and share their life experiences with others. It is a program where tomorrow's leaders receive tremendous knowledge and insight from classroom experiences, Reagan Leadership retreats, and mentorship experiences. All of
these experiences help build a solid foundation where individuals can commit themselves to public service
and gives Fellows an avenue to inform others of the many opportunities for success."
George Leal
Reagan Fellow '92
"The Ronald W. Reagan Leadership program opened many doors of opportunity beyond my four years at Eureka College."
Toyoka Nishihara-Johnson
Reagan Fellow '94
Freelance Interpreter and Translator
"As a first generation college student from a poor, rural Kentucky community, I benefited greatly from the Reagan Scholarship program. My mentorships offered me opportunities to travel aboard and experience social situations with U.S. diplomats that I would not have encountered otherwise.
These early cross-cultural experiences have informed my day-to-day life and my scholarship, from my first teaching position to my current research."
Kirstin Hamblin Squint, Ph.D.
Reagan Fellow '95
Department of English and Philosophy
Southern University at Baton Rouge, LA
"The Ronald W. Reagan Leadership program at Eureka College provided me with numerous valuable educational opportunities. In addition to supporting my tuition at Eureka College, where I benefited from the instruction of many talented and inspiring professors, the Reagan Program supported my internship on Capitol Hill and my participation in a United Nations conference in Beijing, China. Both of these experiences informed my decision to pursue a career in international development and global public health."
Sarah Lunt Ewart
Reagan Fellow '96
Ewart Consulting, Inc.
Seattle, WA
"The Reagan Leadership Program was what drew me to Eureka College. I was very attracted to the service leadership orientation of the scholarship and the opportunities that it provided to learn about the international community. When I came to campus,
I discovered that this approach permeated my Eureka experience. I packed more learning experiences into three years than any other period of my life.
I traveled to Japan, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Brazil before graduation, and would not trade any of my experiences. The Reagan program taught me how to be a community organizer and understand my relationship to the world."
Natasha Somers Whitton, Ph.D.
Reagan Fellow '96
"The Ronald W. Reagan leadership program allowed me to explore my interests,
it required me to challenge myself,
and it allowed me to meet some fantastic people."
Tracy Pine Hogate
Reagan Fellow '98
"Ronald Reagan once said that everything that was good in his life began at Eureka College. I could not agree more with that statement.
All of the opportunities I have had both professionally and personally have a beginning point at Eureka College.
I continue to be amazed at how my life grows because of relationships I formed or connected at Eureka College."
Sarah Gohl Isabel
Reagan Fellow '98
Powell Goldstein LLP
Atlanta, GA
"The Reagan Program provided opportunities for travel and study that would otherwise have never been available to me, and the experience made possible by the Reagan Program opened doors to unique career opportunities."
Jared Hansen
Reagan Fellow '01
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
San Francisco, CA
"The Reagan Fellowship at Eureka was integral in developing the ‘whole me'. Through the fellowship, I was given the opportunity to spend significant time with professional people in my chosen path and in places I would not have been able to visit on my own. I was given job-related and life experiences that are unique and marketable. I was set apart from the crowd. Through my experiences, I was also able to learn more about myself. When you are truly out on your own in the real world, you learn your make-up and are strengthened or broken.
I was certainly strengthened."
Matt Kean
Reagan Fellow '01
IT Analyst
Caterpillar
"The Ronald W. Reagan Leadership Program was an awesome opportunity that I will always be thankful that I was chosen for. My internships to Hawaii and Australia taught me about other cultures and
gave me a better appreciation for how others live.
In addition to learning about other cultures, my internships helped me to grow on a personal level. Learning to function on my own while in Australia and learning my strengths and weaknesses during my time alone helped me become the person I am today."
Amy E. Braman
Reagan Fellow '02
Mental Health Clinician
Methodist Medical Center
Peoria, IL
"While Eureka College is a wonderful institution I was so blessed to be a Reagan Fellow. During my two year mentorship I saw the best and worst of humanity, and
I learned how important it is to serve your fellow man.
The Reagan Program gave me the opportunity to see the world and instilled in me a love for travel, exploration, and lifelong learning that I treasure today. The concept of leadership through service is something that I embrace and has helped me in my personal and professional life."
Lindsey Doughman Griffith
Reagan Fellow '02
"Through internships and on-campus leadership I was able to widen my scope of career and educational experiences.
I learned more about my own strengths and was able to discern where I did and did not was to direct my life.
Through my study in Europe, working at the US embassy in Buenos Aires, and working with Eureka High School theater, I ultimately ended up back where I began: in education."
Linnea B. Carlson deRoche
Reagan Fellow '03
Middle-school teacher
Philadelphia, PA
"The experience of the Leadership Program taught me my most important lesson:
how to communicate with a variety of people
with a whole array of interests and background. It is crucial in my career as a veterinarian."
Carole Brashers Richards
Reagan Fellow '03
Eastern Exotics Veterinary Center
"The Reagan Program opened my eyes to the possibilities I had in front of me to travel overseas. My first time on an airplane was our freshman class trip to London & Paris! God has used the Program to stretch me in my thinking of the world."
Melissa Dent Marsden
Reagan Fellow '04
"Quite simply there is no other program at any institution that will give you more opportunity than the Reagan Fellowship.
While at Eureka I pursued more interests that I knew I had. All the while receiving an education of the highest caliber of which Eureka has been bestowing upon its graduates for Generations."
Jordan Vardon
Reagan Fellow '05
"The Ronald W. Reagan Leadership program
facilitated development of strong interpersonal skills and elevated my understanding
of biology well beyond the typical undergraduate education via opportunities for extensive research experience often only available in graduate degree programs."
Travis Wilcoxen, Ph.D.
Reagan Fellow '05
"The Ronald W. Reagan Leadership Program allowed me to gain real world knowledge and experience in the subjects I was studying at Eureka College. Academically, those opportunities to apply my knowledge gave me insight into the kind of career I wanted to pursue, as well as the kind of life I wanted to live."
Oliver Bade
Reagan Fellow '06
Director of Youth Ministry
St. Mark's Lutheran Church
Washington, IL
"The Reagan Leadership Program
provided me with real-life experience and perspective
which sets me out in front of my colleagues. By working hand-in-hand with professionals in my field, I acquired my own contacts and was able to open my own doors."
Corrie Heck
Reagan Fellow '06
Chief Communications Officer
Governor's Office
Honolulu, HI
"The Reagan Program gave me a larger support system network. Being from out of state, it took me a while to adjust to the Eureka community. But I always knew that if I needed anything, the Listers, Ann Shoemaker and other fellows would be there to stand by me. I knew they had my back."
Maureen Verlin Lyons
Reagan Fellow '06
"The Ronald Reagan Program at EC enabled me to find God's will for my life, even though I didn't end up going the direction I once had intended.
Through my travels and mentorships I learned more about people, the world, and myself
than I would have ever been possible in any normal college setting. The Reagan Program afforded me opportunities that were incredible-and through those opportunities awesome things continue to happen in my life!"
Jenny Rohr McAdams
Reagan Fellow '06
Director of Outreach
Good Sheppard Lutheran Church
Elgin, IL
"I traveled around the world, interned at prestigious organizations, met my best friends, played sports and held leadership positions all while receiving a rigorous undergraduate education as a Reagan Fellow. The opportunities you are a part of in the program are unmatched."
Meghan Lazier
Reagan Fellow '07
"As a Reagan Fellow, Eureka College holds you to a very high standard; not just the faculty, but students as well.
That level of high expectation from others pushed me to set my personal goals at a higher octave.
As my peers looked to me and the other fellows of my class to set the bar, we made sure it was raised high, and that level of self expectation is something that has stuck with me."
Abbigail Stuaan Cawley
Reagan Fellow '07
National Association of Broadcasters
"The Ronald Reagan Leadership Program allowed me the opportunity to gain applicable, real world experience that has been invaluable to my development as a student, person, and now as a young professional."
Nicholas Easley
Reagan Fellow '08
"The Fellowship transplanted my educational experiences into a level of the professional world unattainable by most other means; the program opened the door to the governor's office of Hawaii, which led to an internship with Focus on the Family, where I returned for my first job. At the same time, once the door was opened, it was my responsibility to do the rest, which taught me the importance of setting and achieving personal goals.
Without the Reagan program, my life just wouldn't be the same."
Aaron Pilcher
Reagan Fellow '08
Ronald W. Reagan Leadership Program
reagan@eureka.edu
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