Central Starts Year Off Strong

McPherson, Kansas – The Central Tigers have started the year off in extraordinary fashion. Students have been excelling in multiple arenas – from athletics to academics. Phi Beta Lambda got the ball rolling during the summer with several students taking home awards. This included Central’s first PBL National Championship by juniors, Keyshawn Jones and Lisette Whiteside, competing in the Integrated Marketing Campaign. On the athletics side freshman, Mikayla Albert has shined on the golf course, already guiding the Lady Tigers to several top-place finishes this year. The Women’s Soccer Team has continued their recent success with a 7-1-1 start to the season.

CCCK PBL: National Champions

More than 12,000 participants competed from across the country convened online for the Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL) 2021 National Leadership Conference (NLC). The event connected middle school, high school, and collegiate level students through competitive events, leadership sessions, and networking provided students with the collective opportunity to win more than $110,000 in cash awards.

In McPherson, Kansas, Central Christian College of Kansas received national recognition during FBLA-PBL’s Awards of Excellence ceremonies for the collegiate division on June 26 and 27.

Hilario Garcia competed in Human Resource Management and brought home sixth place. This event consists of two (2) parts: an objective test and an interactive role-play situation that may include training, staffing, benefits, labor relations, and government regulations.

Rachel Schlagel competed in Impromptu Speaking and brought home seventh place. The speech must be of a business nature, and the topic may be related to the FBLA-PBL goals or business-related issues.

Keyshawn Jones and Lisette Whiteside competed in the Integrated Marketing Campaign and brought home first place. Participants demonstrate and conduct market research from the target market of the proposed campaign; interpret market research results; state the campaign goals and how the campaign will achieve goals; create a tag line or promotion slogan.

Mr. Heath Whitehouse, Division Chair of the Business Department was proud of the outcomes, saying,

It was another challenging PBL year under the Covid environment. We had to compete and operate the entire year remotely; however, the students rose to the occasion and placed first in an event at national for the first time in school history. As the Chair of the business program, I am proud of the group and individuals who did not allow adversity to keep them from rising to challenge and continue to set a standard of excellence for the program.

I have been blessed to take over a program that has strived for excellence under the leadership of Dr. Ferrell, Fithian, Hill, Regier, Dr. Hawkins, Dr. Alexander, and many more excellent professors. They have created a culture and environment for students to developed fit minds, hearts, souls, and strength and to use those gifts to impact the world and honor God.

The award is part of the National Awards Program, better known as competitive events; FBLA-PBL’s program recognizes and rewards excellence in many business and career-related areas. For many students, competitive events are the capstone activity of their academic careers.

The NLC featured 74 events at the high school level, 60 at the collegiate level, and 9 at the middle school level. Events were modified to accommodate the online experience. FBLA-PBL has forged partnerships with industry leaders to underwrite competitive events and scholarships for students achieving national ranking.

More information about the National Leadership Conference Information about FBLA-PBL’s NLC programming and highlights for the online event is available at www.fbla-nlc.org.

Albert Shines on the Golf Course

It has been an impressive start for Women’s Golf this season, led by freshmen, Mikayla Albert. Already, Mikayla has taken home two tournament wins and has led the team to a first-place and second-place finish. Her first individual victory came at the Clash of Conferences Tournament in Derby, Kansas. In addition, out of four teams, Central finished first. That was followed shortly by her second individual victory at the Central Kansas Classic Tournament in McPherson, Kansas. At their own hometown tournament, Albert took the gold and the women’s team as a whole took second-place out of four teams.

Coach Kyle Moody had great things to say about Albert, especially on her play at the Central Kansas Classic, saying,

Mikayla played a great tournament. She struck the ball well throughout and was well-deserving of the first-place finish. It will be exciting to see what’s in store for the Lady Tigers this season.

Women’s Soccer Nationally Ranked

Under the direction of Coach Cole Ouren, the Central Christian College of Kansas Women’s Soccer Team has started the year off with a bang. Over their first nine games, they have one of the best records in the NCCAA at at 7-1-1. Until recently they had remained undefeated with one of the hottest starts in Central’s history. With that hot of a start, the team has earned their way into the NCCAA Top 10 National Rankings – most recently at #7.

Coach Cole Ouren had this to say about his team,

I am extremely proud of the work that the team has put in this season! This year we have brought in a very talented freshmen class. That, along with our team not being able to participate in the National Tournament last year due to COVID, has given our players – especially our eleven seniors – a hunger to win. Our team is very talented, they are cohesive, and they care for one another greatly, which has created a great atmosphere. They have bought into our system and our culture and that has led to a quick start and early success.

I look forward to seeing the team continue to develop and progress and can’t wait to see how the season finishes up!

ABOUT CENTRAL CHRISTIAN COLLEGE OF KANSAS

Central Christian College of Kansas is a regionally accredited institution offering undergraduate and graduate-level programs. Central strives to offer Christ-centered education for the whole person – heart, mind, soul, and strength. Its history dates back to 1884, and it is located in the friendly town of McPherson, Kansas. Central is a strategically small college that offers over forty areas of residential study and a thriving online program for non-traditional students. To learn more about Central go to centralchristian.edu/about. Visit the Foundation of Central Christian College to see what projects and events are coming up.