80 college students join Governor Mike Parson, including 4 students from College of the Ozarks, at the Missouri Governor's Leadership Forum.

POINT LOOKOUT, MO. — Four College of the Ozarks students attended the 39th Annual Missouri Governor’s Student Leadership Forum on Faith and Values, held Feb. 16-18, 2024, in Jefferson City, Missouri. The students who attended were Aubrie Fewin, senior video production major; Jackson Daniels, senior criminal justice major; Josiah Dagerath, senior business management major; and Jada (Wade) Williams, senior family studies and social services major.

The Missouri Governor’s Student Leadership Forum provided a platform for college students statewide to engage in a weekend focused on leadership within academic and prospective career domains. The event started in 1986 under the leadership of former Missouri Governor and 79th U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. For over 30 years the conference has distinguished itself through its environment of professionalism and servant leadership.  

Governor Mike Parson welcomed students of the Forum with a meet and greet in his office, followed by an inspirational message from Rebecca Welsh, Founder and CEO of HALO, a mission that provides housing, healing, and education to at-risk and homeless children. Students ended their time at the Capitol hearing from Missouri State Senator Travis Fitzwater.

Students were accompanied by Rebecca Drury, administrative assistant for Dr. Sue Head and event planner for The Keeter Center for Character Education office, who traveled with the students as their sponsor. A group met to pray over the attendees before their departure Friday morning.

“The Missouri Governor’s Student Leadership Forum offers college students from around the state a chance to come together for an engaging weekend of small group connections and discussions, along with hearing from speakers.” Drury said. “Speakers offered wisdom and reflections from their professional and personal experiences, applicable to any area of pursuit.”

The Forum encourages students’ character development by challenging them to reflect on their own decision-making skills, values, and belief systems. Students learned about how to reconcile relationships, stand for truth, and love others as they love themselves. The Forum’s guiding principle is teaching students to embrace altruism rather than egotism. Based on the belief that the future prosperity of our state depends on dialogue about the faith and values that guide a leader’s actions, the Forum allows students to meet with leaders in politics and business to discuss servant leadership. Participants of all faiths are invited to join the dialogue to create a diverse experience for all attendees.

“The forum was on faith and values but not necessarily the Christian faith, so there were many people from different religions there,” Fewin said. “It was insightful to hear from them. We had the chance to share our testimonies with our small group, and that was an outlet for me to share my faith and how God has impacted my life. We laughed and cried together. I plan to use these skills of expressing vulnerability in all my leadership roles in the future!”

“One part of the trip that I enjoyed was getting to hear about the personal experiences of those who serve in government and charity work,” Dagerath said. “Governor Parson shared how he came from a very humble upbringing, never had anything given to him, and now gets to serve the state of Missouri. We also heard from Rebecca Walsh and her experience of suffering from a stroke and being told her life would never be the same.”

The students visited the Jefferson City Correctional Center and heard firsthand testimonies from inmates, some of whom are serving a life sentence.

“I really enjoyed learning about the rehabilitation programs offered to them,” Fewin said. “I especially enjoyed learning about the program that allows prisoners to learn media skills — how to film and edit videos. This stood out to me because I am learning those same skills here at C of O as a video production major. It was awesome to see how they used it to give back to the community, by making PSA and short news casts.”