Todd Merickel
General Manager of WMDH FM & AM, Citadel Broadcasting
Emergence 2007
"When I moved back to Muncie and was presented with the opportunity to be a part of the Emergence program, I jumped at the chance. There were so many things that I treasure from the Emergence experience. The sessions were informative, challenging, thought provoking and reinforced to me the lessons my father taught me about giving back to the community. Best of all, I have formed friendships with my fellow members of the inaugural class. We stay in touch, help each other when needed and have worked together on community projects and charities. I am proud and honored to have participated in the Emergence program."
Jaime Faulkner
Business Services Officer, Mutual Bank
Emergence Fall 2009
"The thing that I found really valuable with Emergence was that I was surrounded by people who were wanting the same things; they wanted to learn how to better Muncie and they wanted to learn how to be better leaders. Emergence was also the first leadership training that I felt was practical. I could apply it. It helped to emphasize that me, being Jaime Faulkner, I have something to bring to the table. I don't have to change who I am, I just have to adapt to the people I work with. I felt that nothing in the whole course ever wasted my time. It was life changing and it is what you make of it."
Leslie Miller
Program Director, Youth Opportunity Center
Emergence Fall 2009
"Emergence is a good place to start for individuals who want to get acquainted to their community and connect with like minded emerging leaders. You get to know so many people and can build on the skills you have while learning new ones as well. It was also very reinforcing to see that the skills and positive characteristics that I have and use in the workplace can be applied to many different organizations and situations. While I always was confident that I could lead and facilitate groups at YOC, I now feel I can facilitate exercises and workshops in other settings that would be helpful to other organizations as well. "
Todd Terrill
Principal, North Side Middle School
Emergence Spring 2009
"We all get caught up in what we're doing day-to-day, and Emergence was a great time to step back and re-evaluate and find out exactly why you're doing what you doing and remind yourself of that. I found it very refreshing. I got to the point where I was looking forward to the meetings every week. Emergence was also a great opportunity to network with some of the great up and coming leaders in our community. The facilitators did a great job in helping you build those relationships with other people and then finding areas where you could plug yourself in to the community."
James E. Mitchell
Senior Assistant Career Director, Ball State University
Emergence 2oo7
"One way I feel Emergence has helped me to become a better professional is through the connections that I formed with my classmates. As I think back to that first class, there are at least 1/3 of the people that I still see about town, either intentionally through meetings or by chance. These relationships make it easier to feel like I fit in to this city, that I matter, and that I can have an impact. I also learned a lot from the training sessions themselves. The content was top-notch and provided me a laboratory to evaluate and strategize about my experiences in the workplace. Many of the activities have stuck with me and I have used them in other settings that I have led. Some content caused me to think differently about a situation or about myself in that situation. Other topics helped reaffirm my leadership style, skills and experiences."