Central Missouri Alumni Stories is back! On this episode I'm joined by Tiffany Cochran, the Director of University Events at UCM. We discussed what back-to-campus has looked like in the midst of COVID-19, exciting events on the horizon for regional chapters of MuleNation around the country, and what the University is doing to promote involvement for current students upon graduation. Tune in!

This week’s guest on Central Missouri Alumni Stories needs no introduction! It was an honor to sit down with Dr. Best, the 16th President at the University of Central Missouri.

We covered a lot in our conversation. We discussed the road that lead Dr. Best to UCM in 1995 and the journey to being inaugurated over 20 years later. Additionally, you’ll want to listen to what Dr. Best has to say about the current state of the University, his top priorities, what the future holds for UCM and the biggest challenges ahead.

Finally, we talked about Alumni Involvement and Engagement. Did you know there are 100,000 UCM Alumni around the country (and world), and nearly 60,000 of them are in the Kansas City area? Dr. Best shares his insights on how decisions are made with Alumni in mind along with current students, and the one easy, actionable task for Alumni to take today to re-engage.

Andrew’s story begins long before RoKC, however. Andrew was in the Army ROTC Program at UCM and co-founded the UCM Climbing Club his junior year. After graduating in 2009 he spent six years in the Army serving our country. As a Captain in the 75th Ranger Regiment during his THIRD Tour in Afghanistan, Andrew found himself dreaming of climbing the cliffs surrounding the combat zones he was fighting in. Upon his return, his new mission became RoKC. A few short years later, RoKC has expanded to three facilities and continues to grow leaps and bounds!

This week on Central Missouri Alumni Stories, Cory Bittner, CRPC interviews Dr. Shannon Kennedy, DC. When it came to deciding what college to attend, Shannon was originally leaning towards KU but after several visits, she decided KU just didn’t feel like home. After talking to a friend about where she was going, Shannon toured UCM and found she felt at home on this campus. Shannon majored in Pre-Med Biology and shared her favorite classes she took while attending UCM. After attending UCM she went on to attend Logan College of Chiropractic, discovering this school wasn’t for her she took a year and a half off. During her year and a half off Shannon explored other colleges and developed her work experience. After her year and a half off, Shannon transferred to Palmer College of Chiropractic. Shannon is now a Doctor of Chiropractic and she is continuing to explore where she can go in this field.

In this episode, Cory Bittner, CRPC set up shop at the MuleNation Alumni Event in early August and talked with Alumni, the Director of University Events, and the V.P of Advancement, Executive Director of the UCM Alumni Foundation. We discussed favorite memories, why UCM, previous and current jobs, and much more!

This week’s guest, Toriano Porter, has an incredible story to tell. Born & raised in south St. Louis by a pair of high school dropouts, football afforded him the opportunity to attend college at the University of Central Missouri. He shared with me his journey as a scholar-athlete that lost a full ride scholarship as a freshman, flunked out as a sophomore, returned after a one-year hiatus to not only set multiple records on the field, but to develop and grow off the field. Be sure to stick around to listen to Toriano discuss an adversarial relationship with a Professor at UCM that transformed into a friendship, and how his professional career has evolved over the years. He is a Columnist and Editorial Board Member at The Kansas City Star, the author of two books (and working on a third), and a Speaker.

In this episode, we talk about
- What led Lisa to UCM
- Lisa’s memories from Warrensburg
- Lisa’s professional career
- What comes next for Lisa
- And much more!