Class of 2006 Continues a School Tradition of Leading 

Jepson graduated its 12th class on May 14, 2006, and not surprisingly, leadership studies students once again ranked among the top students at the University in terms of their accomplishments.  

Consider the following: The Jepson class of 2006 comprised 35 majors and 24 minors for a total of 59 students, representing 7 percent of the University’s graduating class of 787 students. Yet Jepson seniors accounted for 14 percent of students admitted into Phi Beta Kappa (the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society), 18 percent of students admitted into Mortar Board (the national leadership, service and academic honor society), 32 percent of students admitted into Omicron Delta Kappa (the national leadership honor society) and 23 percent of students recognized by Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.  

But statistics don’t tell the whole story. A look at the curricular, co-curricular and extracurricular accomplishments of this class only serves to confirm the evidence gleaned from statistical data.  

The class excelled academically as a group and boasted Jepson’s first-ever (and the University’s seventh) Truman scholar, Jacquelyn Knupp. This past academic year, all four recipients of the Class of 1964 Scholarship, awarded to one student in each of the four undergraduate schools on the basis of character, leadership and scholarship, were leadership studies majors: Braxton Bragg, ’06, Robins School of Business; Jacquelyn Knupp, ’06, Westhampton College; Ethan McWilliams, ’07, Richmond College; and Theodore Straub, ’06, Jepson School of Leadership Studies. 

This past year marked the first time Jepson students presented their leadership studies senior honors theses at the Arts and Sciences Symposium. Alyson Emrick and Ashley Pyle made poster presentations on the topics of “The Effects of Single-Sex Student Leadership Positions” and “The Impact of Gender-Linked Tasks on Female and Male Leaders,” respectively. Jacquelyn Knupp gave a 10-minute oral presentation titled “How Should Physicians Be Motivated to Fulfill Social Obligations?” 

An article titled "Kant's Assessment of Motivation in the Fulfillment of Social Obligations" based on part of a chapter from Knupp's senior honors thesis appears in the current issue of the Penn Bioethics Journal, a well-respected publication of the University of Pennsylvania that features undergraduate research in the field of bioethics.

Members of Jepson’s class of 2006 held some of the top leadership positions in the University’s governing bodies, including the following: Hunter Allen, student representative on the Student Development Committee, Board of Trustees; Braxton Bragg, president, Richmond College Student Government Association; Elizabeth Friend, student representative on the Business Management Committee, Board of Trustees, and student representative on the Richmond Council; and Michelle Swartz, president, Jepson Student Government Association. 

Likewise, Jepson seniors held leadership positions in a wide variety of clubs and campus organizations, including the following: Ashley Bolding, co-chairwoman, the University’s Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund; Saona Chapman, co-captain, women’s basketball team; Meredith Clarke, president, Delta Gamma Sorority; Meredith Clarke and Ryan Kefer, co-presidents, campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity; Alyson Emrick, co-captain, women’s club rugby; Robin Hace, captain, SpinnURs Dance Team; Ryan Kefer, president, Delta Delta Delta Sorority; Jacquelyn Knupp, captain, University Dancers; Whitney McComis, co-captain, Student Athlete Advisory Committee; Courtney McRae, co-founder, Black Student Alliance; Ashleigh Smith, president, Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority; Theodore Straub, campus campaign manager, Teach for America; Michelle Swartz, co-captain, mock trial team. 

The highly competitive Teach for America program chose three leadership studies majors—Alyson Emrick, Whitney McComis, Theodore Straub—and one leadership studies minor—Elleni Ghebremicael—to serve in their two-year teaching program. In addition, leadership studies minor Kevin Panicker will work for one-year for the equally selective AmeriCorps.  

In a final salute to their alma mater, two leadership studies students spoke during the graduation ceremonies on May 14, 2006. Leadership studies major Jacquelyn Knupp gave the student address at the Baccalaureate Service and leadership studies minor Kevin Panicker gave the invocation at Commencement. 

Members of the class of 2006 certainly knew how to put the leadership in the name Jepson School of Leadership Studies.