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Scholars Meet Famed Entrepreneur While Navigating Real-life Challenges

by Stephanie Ward, Ph.D., Director of the Greehey Scholars Program, Associate Professor of Human Resources

Stephanie Ward, Ph.D., a professor in the Bill Greehey School of Business who also directs the Greehey Scholars Program, put a twist on the students’ annual retreat this semester. They would have to get their hands dirty and learn firsthand to embody the program’s mission of learning, serving and leading.

Summer reading comes to life

In preparation for the weekend retreat at Mo-Ranch in Hunt, the 23 Greehey Scholars read Begging for Change, a book by Robert Egger, founder and president of a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit called D.C. Central Kitchen.

Touted by Oprah, Nightline and the Wall Street Journal, Egger’s nonprofit provides 4,500 meals to the homeless, made daily from 3,000 pounds of surplus food from the food service industry. In addition to outreach, counseling services and job training, the nonprofit aims to build long-term solutions to the problems of poverty, hunger and homelessness.

But the scholars did more than just read about Egger’s initiatives, they discussed them with the author face-to-face when he personally visited the students during their retreat and shared his entrepreneurial experiences as well as tools for how he got involved with the nonprofit sector.

“Egger’s inspiring words were exactly what we needed to prepare to come back to St. Mary’s,” says Lori Mayfield, a senior who plans to share what she learned with her peers and to apply lessons of creativity and service in her business classes.

Standing the heat in the kitchen

While scholars learned from Egger’s example of entrepreneurship and service, they were earning their stripes in a kitchen all their own.

The Greehey Scholars Program instills the values of service, collaboration and effective leadership. At Mo-Ranch, a made-to-order lesson taught them just that—they had to cook all meals for the group.

For some scholars, having to feed a large group was a new experience. But seasoned chef or novice, they all learned how to function as a team, execute a complex task, and withstand a little “heat in the kitchen.”

“The retreat reminds us what it means to be a Greehey Scholar and the responsibility we have to this business school and St. Mary’s,” says another senior, Sara Wilkinson.

The scholars had another teamwork lesson in the adventure races. The strength of their decisions would determine their team’s success.

Some students were asked to navigate a canoe while blindfolded, and found out how important is it to speak up and ask questions, and to know the difference between talking and being heard.

Others rose to the occasion in a ropes course in which students were harnessed to one another, challenging each to lead collaboratively and come up with creative solutions.

Spirit of teamwork prevails

In perhaps the most challenging event, scholars had to construct a raft that would keep a person dry as they crossed a river. Taking smart risks was critical, and knowing when to discuss and when to act meant the difference between soggy jeans and smooth sailing.

“My team had to assist a peer across a river because she was afraid to swim,” says junior Hayden Edwards. “By successfully overcoming this obstacle, we established the spirit of teamwork and leadership.”

The scholars were quick to make connections between these physical challenges and the academic challenges that await them this year.

“The retreat put my own mission statement into perspective,” reflects freshman Karl Wacker. “Its tenets to learn, serve and lead are more than simple, passive guidelines to achieve success. Rather, these are invaluable characteristics that all truly successful people take to heart on a daily basis.”