My first domino came through joining the John Marshall Emerging Leaders program as a freshman. JMEL was the launchpad of my student leadership journey, an early exposure to campus involvement that pushed me to step outside my comfort zone. However, I still needed a strong support system to reach my full potential: a mentor.
A lot of students have trouble finding a good mentor, but Glen Midkiff found me. All it took was me nudging one more domino, responding to a random email inviting me to join a student group, and my life was changed forever. From our first conversation, Glen believed in me. Every word of guidance and encouragement helped me believe more in myself, and we’ve truly become a dynamic duo of sorts in every group or project we’ve worked with together.
Glen is my greatest mentor, and his support is one of the greatest confidence-builders a student could find. Remember as you’re reading this: if I had not taken the initiative to get involved on campus, I never would have met Glen, or knocked over many of the dominoes you’ll read throughout my story.
Soon after, I accepted my first major leadership role as vice president of the Residence Hall Association and began representing the university at conferences. I was nervous, unprepared, and felt a touch of imposter syndrome. Stepping into that role showed me I could rise to challenges I once thought were beyond me. Each small success nudged another domino into motion, and gradually, a cascade of confidence began to build.
Thanks to Glen, I then began taking on bigger roles in the Society for Advancement of Management (SAM) and in my professional business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi. As an upperclassman, I went from timid and hesitant to someone who could spearhead meetings regularly, mentor students and step confidently into opportunities that once scared me. Each time I overcame that fear, my confidence grew. The dominoes continued to fall, not only for me, but through me, helping others find their own confidence.
With that foundation, I even found myself leading teams to win an international case competition in SAM and placing third in the 2021 Microsoft Office Specialist U.S. National Online Championship as an individual against over 40,000 other students.
As an undergraduate, I ended up being active in more than 15 student organizations and earning many leadership honors, including the Outstanding Service to Marshall University Award. I served as president of two groups, including SAM, which was recognized as Marshall’s 2021–22 Organization of the Year. However, I also began contributing to projects that made a real impact on campus.
I served as an event manager for TEDxMarshallU 2024: Connecting Threads, founded the Shark Tank Innovation Challenge pitch competition, helped reduce campus move-in waste by 50% by working hands-on to launch the Marshall Thrift Store, and presented a research project on how to boost student engagement in our Lewis College of Business. Serving in so many leadership roles and being responsible for such projects was intimidating, but each success reinforced what I had learned. Confidence grows when you act despite fear, and that confidence can ripple outward.
During my graduate years, the domino effect continued. I am finishing my MBA this semester and have returned as a volunteer advisor and mentor for Delta Sigma Pi, helping other students find the confidence I once lacked as they continue to push our chapter to great success as Marshall’s 2024-25 Most Improved Organization. Watching a friend win a regional award at a conference in Chicago, another close friend graduate after six years, and recently helping our DSP collegiate members plan an initiation for President Brad D. Smith are some of my happiest moments at Marshall. Seeing students I care about succeed reminds me that growth is contagious. The domino effect spreads through every student I mentor, every event I organize and every project I support.
In my last year as an MBA student, that domino effect has come full circle. At the 2025 West Virginia Student Success Summit in Charleston, I was honored with the first-ever West Virginia Higher Education Student Action and Impact Award, which recognized the impact my work had on other students and the broader Marshall community.
Not only that, but my first year as a volunteer for Delta Sigma Pi culminated in supporting my chapter and networking with brothers from all across the United States during one of the greatest trips I’ve ever experienced: the fraternity’s 2025 Grand Chapter Congress in Palm Springs, California.
I was also selected as an official speaker at the 2026 SAM International Business Conference this semester, where I traveled to Rhode Island with Glen and co-presented a workshop about the Shark Tank Innovation Challenge, its impact on student entrepreneurs, and how SAM chapters can organize a pitch competition to make a similar impact at their own institutions.
These milestones, and the many others I’ve had in my journey here, made me reflect on how far I had come – from doubting myself to realizing the impact I could have, and how that impact can help others grow. Looking back, I see that first domino I tipped at JMEL has set a cascade in motion. Each time I overcame self-doubt, one domino fell, creating momentum that carried me forward. In my new staff role as a program specialist in the Lewis College of Business, I continue to see how growth begins when you say yes to challenges that scare you. The domino effect is not over. It will continue through me as I keep building myself up, supporting projects, and helping others create their own Marshall moments, like Glen and many others did for me.
For any students reading this: Get involved! The mentors you’ll find, the students you’ll meet and the experiences you’ll have will show you the amazing things you’re capable of accomplishing, and how much of a difference you can make. Doing just that for myself was one of the greatest decisions I’ve ever made, and even after becoming a two-time graduate here, I will forever be a proud Son of Marshall.
