1. ucmo.edu
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI
{ {/UCentralMO /UCMLive/UCentralMO
choosered.ucmo.edu
Share your
success
story.
Ashley Hillier graduated from UCM in
May of 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in
Family and Consumer Science Education.
The Lee’s Summit, Mo., native found her
first job in her hometown. Hillier enjoys
being the Family and Consumer Sciences
teacher at Lee’s Summit High School. She
takes pride in teaching skills like clothing
construction, fashion merchandising and
culinary foundations. Hillier is also the
junior varsity girl’s volleyball coach.
“Teaching is such a rewarding career,”
Hillier said. “So far the best part for me
has been developing relationships with the
students. I can honestly say I feel like my
students need me. That makes getting up
and going to school easy and exciting.”
Hillier is thankful for the strong, accredited
FACS Education program and quality
student-faculty relationships at UCM that
led her to be a confident, motivated and
passionate teacher.
“The time I had at UCM definitely prepared
me for teaching,” she said. “I was able
to build up resources that have helped
me daily in the classroom. I was also
able to get hands-on experience through
observations and practicum work. Those
experiences allowed me to experiment with
classroom management and expectations,
which have played a major role in my
classroom environment today.”
Ashley Hiller
“The best thing about being
a teacher is being a constant
in a student’s life. I’m there
every day to greet them and
teach them lessons that go
beyond the curriculum.
”
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2. Ezekiel Vann, from Kansas City, Mo.,
graduated from UCM in December of
2010 with a major in Computer Aided-
Drafting and Design and an emphasis
in architecture. Immediately after his
undergrad, he started his master’s degree
in Technology Management and graduated
in the summer of 2012. Today, Vann works
as an engineer technician in the federal
division at Black and Veatch.
Vann consistently communicated with Black
and Veatch throughout the last few years
of his education. He received his first job
offer from the company after completing his
undergraduate degree, but he had already
been admitted into graduate school and
accepted a graduate assistant position at
UCM.
“I received the second job offer at Black
and Veatch by attending the UCM, fall
2011 career fair and speaking to the
representatives of the company,” Vann said.
“One of the representatives happened to be
a former student that I had class with in the
CADD program.”
Vann said he is thankful for the education
and experience he received at UCM.
When asked how UCM influenced him,
Vann referred to his instructors with worldly
perspectives who gave him well-rounded
knowledge of CADD and the engineering
industry.
“UCM prepared me for my career field
by having such a great staff of dedicated
instructors with real-world experience,” he
said. “I work hard and show an initiative to
learn and progress in my career, which in
turn shows Black and Veatch that UCM has
great potential employee.”
Already having earned his master’s degree
and landing a job directly out of school,
Vann still strives to further his education
and better his skills by earning certifications
that will help advance his career and create
more opportunities.
Cody Burgess graduated from UCM in
May of 2008 with a degree in Business
Administration. The Warrensburg, Mo.,
native now runs his own creative solutions
business in Overland Park, Kan., called,
CREO, meaning “I create” in Latin.
“At CREO, we focus on being a resource
for small businesses at a price they can
afford,” Burgess said. “We work with a lot of
start-up and growing businesses to provide
tools they need to reach their goals. Some
of our services include website design,
social media marketing and digital video
creation.”
Burgess began his interest in creative
solutions to marketing through a job at
NCES, a health and nutrition company. After
doing marketing for NCES, the social media
marketing specialist was in high demand
from business owners who were interested in
him consulting for their company.
“I started CREO to help businesses and
to fulfill my dream as a business owner,”
Burgess said.
Burgess credits his involvement and business
classes at UCM for his knowledge and
confidence in the business world.
”My four years at UCM did so much to
prepare me for my current career field,”
he said. “My business classes gave me the
knowledge I needed to build a business
from the ground up and manage day-to-day
operations.”
Although Burgess is hard working and goal
oriented, he always puts his family first and
lives by the motto, “Work to live, don’t live
to work.”
Cody BurgessEzekiel Vann
Jenna Kramer graduated from UCM in
December of 2010 with a major in Public
Relations and a minor in Corporate
Communications. Kramer, originally from
Lee’s Summit, Mo., is now the copy editor
and administrative assistant for the Aircraft
Electronics Association.
Kramer landed her job through a course at
UCM. During her public relations campaigns
class, her client was the Aircraft Electronics
Association, It. She approached the final
project in a serious and professional manner,
and it proved to have the ultimate reward.
“After the presentation, I told Paula Derks,
AEA president, that if she needed any help
with the upcoming convention to let me
know and I’d be glad to help,” Kramer said.
“A week later I had an interview with Derks
and was hired for an internship. I started my
internship Jan. 4, 2011, and was hired full
time a few months later.”
As the administrative assistant and copy
editor, Kramer works on the monthly
magazine, Avionics News, writes press
releases and compiles stories.
“I am starting a new section of the magazine,
’AEAviators’, where I will interview members
that are pilots and feature one every other
month,” she said. “I am also responsible for
the twice monthly e-newsletter, AEA Wired,
which is sent to more than 6,000 people in
the industry.”
Kramer has taken advantage of industry
opportunities, such as the EAA Air Venture in
2011 and 2012, where thousands of aviation
professionals gathered. Kramer also plans
to get her pilot’s license and believes it will
allow her to have well-rounded knowledge of
the industry.
From being a dedicated student to venturing
out to get her pilot’s license, Kramer is a firm
believer in working hard and challenging
herself.
Jenna Kramer
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“As long as I have the drive
and perseverance, I do not
doubt that I will surpass
my goals.
”
{{“I always say I am extremely
fortunate to have the job
I do. I am able to put
everything I learned in
school at UCM to use. I
truly enjoy my job.
”
{{
“Owning this business is a
huge lifelong dream for me,
but I constantly remember
to put my family first and
work second.
”