Malone alumni outcomes stories
Brent May ’95 to serve in new leadership position
Plain Local Schools’ superintendent Brent May ’95 recently accepted the role of President of the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) to continue championing public education in the State of Ohio.
A Louisville native and educator in the district for 25 years, May is excited to lead his peers from around the state as they work to ensure that students from all backgrounds have quality opportunities to help them meet their full potential.
“I love our district because our students have a chance to experience the real world in daily life,” said May. “Our 6,000 students spanning 28 square miles come from all walks of life, bringing with them diverse perspectives and experiences. We believe this creates opportunities for us to teach respectful dialogue and critical thinking so that they’ll be prepared to give back to society in meaningful ways, whether they enroll in college or trade school, enlist in the military, or go directly into the workforce after graduation. That’s the value of a Plain Local education.”
May’s passion for education was nurtured and accelerated by attending Malone.
“Both Robert Starcher and my professors made a huge impact on my life,” he said. “They modeled leadership and character to me in ways that stick with me to this day. I often think of them as I mentor the teachers who work in our district or interact with our students, and I value the wise things they shared with me during my time at Malone.”
William Harris ’11 builds a winning marketing formula
William Harris ‘11 is the founder and CEO of Elumynt, an advertising agency specializing in the promotion and marketing of eCommerce companies.
However, it wasn’t a straight path to where he is now.
“I was actually an RN with Aultman Hospital after I received a nursing degree in 2005,” said Harris. “But when the economic downturn of 2008 hit, I found that my career wasn’t as stable as everyone said it would be.”
As Harris and his wife began to start their family, he knew that he had to make a change in light of the curves of life.
“As I thought about going back to school, I considered the utility of marketing,” said Harris. “One thing about life is that no matter where you end up, you have to market yourself in some way. Malone’s marketing program was very attractive and I knew that I wanted to diversify my background to better prepare for my future.”
The journey that would lead to founding Elumynt was one of learning and discovery for Harris.
“I first started in a marketing position at a company which built employee scheduling software, and eventually I became the vice president of marketing for an eCommerce company,” said Harris. “Through these roles, I came to learn about how these types of businesses run, and what makes them succeed. Too often I noticed that people in roles like the ones I held simply don’t understand the basic core of what makes a successful business in this sphere.”
With experience under his belt, and more people each day asking Harris for marketing help, he started his own marketing company focused on service and guidance.
“I have a nursing background, so that naturally makes me want to help people,” said Harris. “At Elumynt we look at how we can actually help a company grow, not just how we can get the most out of our advertising.”
Harris chose to attend Malone for his B.A. in marketing management for a multitude of reasons.
“I knew Malone very well, my wife had graduated from Malone and she had a great experience. For both of us, Malone’s Christian mission played a big part in our decision to attend,” said Harris. “The availability of night classes close to home was also huge. Ultimately, it mattered to me where I went to school. I wanted Malone’s name and reputation attached to my degree.”
Two-time Malone graduate inspires with TedX Talk
Delrica Grubbs ‘15, ‘20, always cared deeply about leadership.
With the help of her BA in organizational business management and MA in organizational leadership, she became equipped with the knowledge and rhetoric to help develop tomorrow’s leaders.
“Dr. Racine stressed in class the leader-follower diadic. It was everything that I believed; the leader becomes the follower, the follower becomes the leader, and it's a give and take of challenges, understanding, and growth. I totally bought into the idea,” said Grubbs.
However, this was not what Grubbs always experienced in her professional life.
“I come from several different industries,” said Grubbs. “I bring an understanding of workplace culture everywhere I go, and so often leaders believe that the culture they inherit cannot be changed. That’s just not true. Leaders must make workplace culture a priority rather than an afterthought.”
Now, as Training and Development Manager for Columbus City Schools, Grubbs wants to foster professional and personal skills for leaders to take into their workplace.
“I say all the time that professional development is personal development; these are not mutually exclusive - you need both. You can teach someone how to work a hammer and that’s great for the nail, but if you give someone a hammer and they don’t know how to talk to people, that hammer becomes dangerous,” said Grubbs.
In her recent TEDx talk, Grubbs issues a challenge to all listening, drawing on much of her experience in class at Malone that has carried her further than she could have imagined.
“Don’t bully yourself into boundaries, push those limits. Dr. Racine said in the opening of his class that we’re going to graduate and he couldn’t wait to shake our hands as we crossed the stage, and when we call on him to write our letter for our doctoral program he couldn’t wait - and I thought no way,” said Grubbs. “But, now here I am pursuing my EdD at Youngstown State University because I was able to move those boundaries away and Dr. Racine put that vision in my head. He helped me to see it. I encourage everyone to see something bigger and different.”