AMES, Iowa – A new leadership program will take Iowa State University students beyond the classroom to better understand global challenges, such as clean drinking water, poverty and food insecurity, and the impact for international corporations.
The Vermeer International Leadership Program is a year-long, in-depth leadership experience, in which students will learn how companies operate on an international scale. The program is sponsored by Vermeer Corp., a global industrial and agricultural equipment company, and coordinated through Iowa State’s Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, which facilitates the university’s leadership studies program.
The 18 students selected will identify and research a global challenge as part of their leadership courses, address those challenges through local service projects and travel to Vermeer’s headquarters in Pella to interview employees and participate in case studies. They will also spend a week at a Vermeer facility in Europe, Asia or South America over winter break.
“Students are going to experience an intense year of leadership development,” said Clint Stephens, lecturer in leadership studies, who will coordinate the program. “It will positively change the lives of participants as they build their skillset for leading in our global community.”
The leadership program will launch this fall, and a new cohort of 18 students will participate every year over the first four years of the program. All full-time Iowa State students are eligible to apply. Students are selected through an application and interview process, with priority given to students who have an interest in engineering, business or agriculture.
“Congratulations to the students selected. This program is an exciting new way for us to contribute to the development of future leaders in the state of Iowa and beyond,” said Mary Andringa, CEO and chair of the board at Vermeer Corp. “We look forward to engaging with these students both on campus and during their trip abroad at our international facilities.”
Vermeer’s financial support for the program will provide each student with a travel stipend and a $2,000 scholarship. The inaugural class of students and their majors are listed below by hometown or country.
IOWA
ADEL - Carter Kemmet, statistics
AMES - Christina Paulson, accounting
CLEAR LAKE - Reed Rognes, accounting
COLUMBUS CITY - Eli Sents, agricultural systems technology
DONNELLSON - Cassie Krebill, animal science
IOWA CITY - Alex DeGaetano, pre-business
KESWICK - Dakota Olson, global resource systems
POLK CITY - Francis Kelly, mechanical engineering
MUSCATINE - Olivia Carrasco, mechanical engineering
SIOUX CITY - Dequan Burnside, software engineering
WILLIAMSBURG - Arlette Rufer, industrial engineering
ILLINOIS
BLOOMINGTON - Madison Abel, supply chain management
GURNEE - Madelyn Sislow, animal ecology
MINNESOTA
BLOOMINGTON – James Hartley, agricultural engineering
TEXAS
AUSTIN - Erika Suessmith, animal science
INTERNATIONAL
PUERTO RICO - Adamarie Marquez-Acevedo, general pre-veterinary medicine
CHINA - Minhao Wang, mechanical engineering
SAUDI ARABIA - Nurul Ahmad Ridzuan, geology