The surprising truth about motivation

Transcription

Your Alumni Magazine | March 2012
THE MOTIVATION ISSUE
The surprising truth
about motivation
Q & A with
Stedman Graham
What motivates you?
Find out.
Rosa Sherk, MBA ’08
Engineer, author, motivational speaker
Raleigh, NC
Alumni Association
One person can
make a huge difference
in someone’s career.
Be the one. Be a mentor.
Alumni Mentor Program
alumni.phoenix.edu | 800-795-2586
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
motivation
PHOENIX FOCUS
is produced monthly
by University of Phoenix
Alumni Association.
Visit us at phoenixfocus.com.
Chief Marketing Officer
Arra Yerganian
Vice President
Kathleen Fern, MBA ’99
Having a mentor who challenged me to
turn my obstacle into an asset has greatly
impacted my career success.
Executive Director
Nikki Sandoval, MBA ’03
Editorial Director
Jenifer King, MBA ’11
Senior Editor
Amanda Flatten
Contributing Editor
JoBeth Jamison
Features Editor
Lee Jonsson
Editorial Assistant
Lindsay DeChacco
Senior Writer
Julie Wilson
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Contact us at
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Early in my career, I was fortunate enough to have author and
motivational expert Steve Chandler as my mentor. He once told
me about the time, in the late 1970s, that he interviewed Arnold
Schwarzenegger. Relatively unknown at the time, the young
bodybuilder told Steve he was going to become a big movie star.
Steve asked if he thought that his thick Austrian accent would be an
obstacle. Arnold replied, “People will remember me because of my
accent. It will be a strength, not a weakness.”
This resonates in my own life. When I was a kid, I was often told
that I talked too much. Ironically, my public speaking ability has
greatly impacted my career success. Knowing my career goal at the
time was to teach, Steve insisted I introduce him at his seminars. He
challenged me to practice and turn my speaking into an asset.
This month, we invite you to turn your obstacles into assets by
offering you the tools to self-motivate and tackle any adventure
that awaits!
Enjoy,
© 2012 University of Phoenix, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Nikki Sandoval, MBA ’03
Executive Director, Alumni Relations
University of Phoenix
[email protected]
Use your smartphone to
order a print subscription to
Phoenix Focus, now available.
phoenixfocus.com 3
Everyone has
a story to tell.
Share yours and you could be in an
upcoming issue of Phoenix Focus.
Email us at [email protected].
Upcoming issues:
• American spirit
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• Education
• Small business
alumni.phoenix.edu.
Jennifer Maggiore | BSB/MKT ’05
4 PHOENIX FOCUS | March 2012
Nikki Sandoval
Executive Director
MBA ’03
ASK NIKKI
Ask Nikki
Each month, I receive hundreds of emails inquiring about resources
available to alumni through University of Phoenix. Here are a few of the
more frequently asked questions.
Q: Is there a way to get our alumni magazine through the iPad newsstand?
A: We are just finalizing the last details and anticipate launching a Phoenix Focus app on
iTunes® very soon. This will be a free app that will allow you to view the current and
past issues of your alumni magazine.
Editorial team
Arra Yerganian
Chief Marketing
Officer
Kathleen Fern
Vice President
MBA ’99
Jenifer King
Editorial Director
MBA ’11
Amanda Flatten
Senior Editor
JoBeth Jamison
Contributing Editor
Lindsay DeChacco
Editorial Assistant
Lee Jonsson
Features Editor
Amy Wilson
Online Community
Manager
Bridget Gutierrez
Online
Communications Mgr.
Julie Wilson
Senior Writer
Q: Are there alumni discounts for classes?
A: As a University of Phoenix alumnus, you are eligible for a 10 percent alumni discount
on continuing education coursework. To learn more about the programs available
please visit phoenix.edu/continuingeducation.
Q: What resume resources does the University of Phoenix offer alumni?
A: Here are a few suggestions I would recommend to start:
Alumni Career Resources
If you haven’t already, you might want to review the resume tips and articles posted
on the new Education2Career portal at alumni.education2career.com. Simply
choose the “Career Services” tab on the top right, then “Resume Evaluation,” which
will walk you through a step-by-step resume-updating process.
For additional tools and resources, click on the “Resume Guidance” tab on
alumni.phoenix.edu/career-resources/resume-guidance.aspx.
Request an Alumni Mentor
As an alumnus, you can request to be connected with fellow alumni in
your industry. This is an opportunity to gain valuable career advice from
a peer and expand your network. You can also request a mentor specifically
to assist with resume, cover letter and networking advice. To learn more, visit
alumni.phoenix.edu/get-involved/be-a-mentor.aspx.
phoenixfocus.com 5
contents
Features
8
14
28
The surprising truth about motivation
Onward and upward: Moving ahead
one step at a time
On the Cover
12
Q & A with Stedman Graham
Rosa Sherk
Blazing a trail
Looking along a path that climbed from
the farm fields of her childhood to multiple
careers and college degrees, it’s safe to say
this is one motivated alumna.
CONTENTS
In this issue
18
32
42
Your Career
Alumni Profiles
Extra! Extra!
18 Quiz: What motivates you?
32 Tim Tobin
A reservation for success
20 Staying motivated during a
job search
24 The power of effective feedback
36 Diane Scanga
A law enforcement leader
40 David Fried
41 Amir Johnson
44
The Buzz
44 Published by alumni
45 Recognition
46
Your University
46 47
48 50 Events
University news
Campus news
Community relations
phoenixfocus.com 7
FEATURE | The surprising truth about motivation
The surprising
truth about
motivation
Take from the latest research to inspire
yourself to greatness.
By Emma Johnson
Who couldn’t use a little motivation to get things done,
accomplish goals or get out of a rut? The problem lies
in finding what works. What energizes us, makes us
happy workers, parents, spouses and citizens? What
inspires us to be our best and accomplish our dreams?
A recent spate of research and books has netted some unexpected
findings about what motivates us, perhaps the most curious of
which comes from Daniel Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising
Truth About What Motivates Us. After delving into the subject,
Pink discovered that most of what was assumed to be motivating
is in fact not at all. “The most surprising thing that 50 years of
research consistently found is how ineffective carrots and sticks
are,” Pink says. “There is a belief that motivation is really simple—
if we reward behavior, you get more of it, and if you punish, you
get less. But that is not true as often as we think.”
What Pink and other researchers found is that people are
motivated more by intrinsic factors than extrinsic rewards. Pink
contends that there are three essential elements for motivation:
autonomy, the desire to direct one’s own life; mastery, the urge
to get better and better at something that matters; and purpose,
the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger
than ourselves. Other researchers put forth
similar theories that support the idea that
motivation comes primarily from intrinsic
factors. Their studies show that making
incremental progress toward a goal,
making gains from “small wins,” having
a worthy purpose and acting in ways that
reinforce the story we want to tell about
ourselves are all powerful ways to stay
motivated.
Making progress
In the work arena, people who feel they
are making progress in their career are
substantially more motivated. Teresa
Amabile, a professor at Harvard Business
School and the author of The Progress
Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy,
Engagement, and Creativity at Work,
collected 12,000 daily diaries from 200
professionals around the world, and
examined what motivated these workers.
She and everyone else involved in the study
were surprised to find that progress beat
all other motivators by a landslide—even
when compared with passion for the work,
phoenixfocus.com 9
effects on participants’ motivation. “Backsliding
could be devastating to people’s inner work lives,”
Amabile says.
The power of small wins on people’s personal lives has
been studied, too. Daniel Mochon, professor of MIT’s
Sloan School of Management, studied the effects of
setting and achieving smaller, more personal goals—
including practicing yoga, exercising and attending
religious services. The study found that participants
experienced a positive boost after each activity, and
those boosts added up to happier individuals over the
long term.
Finding purpose
collaboration, interpersonal and instrumental support. “Progress was not
only No. 1, but progress absolutely dwarfed everything else,” Amabile says.
“On the days when people moved forward in their work in a meaningful
way, they had a strong intrinsic motivation and a positive perception of
themselves, their organization, co-workers and bosses.”
Before the study, the researchers asked business leaders what they thought
were the strongest workplace motivators, and just 5 percent said progress.
“Even if they were making their choices randomly, that would have been 20
percent,” Amabile says. “They were actively ignoring progress.”
Small wins
Breaking problems down into small steps and using incremental
accomplishments to inspire yourself to achieve a big win is the underpinning
of a school of motivational thought pioneered by University of Michigan
psychologist Karl Weick. Weick wrote that social and workplace problems
are most effectively tackled by establishing small, concrete steps. Likewise,
Amabile’s research found that even incremental steps toward progress were
significant and had an enormous impact on professionals’ sense of well-being
at work. On the other hand, any setbacks had disproportionately negative
Another motivating factor is knowing how your
work makes a difference. Adam Grant, a professor
at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School,
observed one university’s fundraising call center.
He found that after various unsuccessful attempts to
motivate the callers to secure more funding for the
university, what made the callers more successful
was knowing how the money benefited the recipients.
The callers stayed on the phone longer and secured
more than double the pre-study amount of funding.
Grant said there are many employees who do work
that matters and who don’t get to see its impact. The
engineer who designs safety equipment on cars never
meets the drivers and passengers. The writer never
gets feedback from the reader. Connecting what you do
with its impact proves hugely motivational. Grant cited
one study in which radiologists felt more empathy
and became more accurate in evaluating x-rays when
a patient’s photo was attached to the x-ray. In another
study, doctors washed their hands more frequently
when they were reminded of the benefit/impact to
patients. In each example, people were more motivated
when they understood how their actions benefited
someone else. They felt their actions had purpose.
Perpetuating (or changing) your self-image
One of the most powerful ways to motivate yourself
and others is to tap into what Peter Bregman refers
to as “the story you tell about yourself.” The business
consultant and author of 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus,
Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done
explains that we are naturally motivated to live out
the image we have of ourselves. If you see yourself as
a tireless worker, you will have no problem staying
late at the office to solve a problem. If the core of
your identity is that of an involved parent, you need
FEATURE | The surprising truth about motivation
little encouragement to spend your free time reading
and playing catch with your kids. “You don’t have
to motivate yourself to adhere to the story you want
to tell yourself—you naturally do things to reinforce
that,” Bregman says. “The real question is what to do
when you exhibit a behavior you’re not happy with?”
To change “the story you tell about yourself,” Bregman
says that you have to identify the trait or habit you
want to change, and ask yourself what story you tell
yourself to avoid the change. Are you unable to stop
smoking because deep down you see yourself as the
rebellious teenager you were when you first started?
Do you fail to go after promotions because you believe
you’re a shy person, and timid people don’t get ahead?
“We all have two people in our head—the person who
wants to accomplish the goal and the person who
is holding us back,” Bregman says. “Listen to the
conversation you’re having with yourself. That will tell
you what your story is.”
The following examples show how people were
naturally motivated to reinforce their “stories.”
Duke University professor Dan Ariely conducted a
survey in which participants were asked to drag as
many circles as they could across a computer screen
for five minutes. Some were paid $5, others 50 cents,
and a third group was asked to do it as a favor. The third group, presumably
motivated by altruism, dragged 168 circles, followed by 159 for those paid $5,
and 101 for those paid 50 cents. In this case, participants who saw themselves
as people who would do a favor for someone were more motivated than the
people who were paid 50 cents, and even $5.
Similarly, when AARP asked lawyers if they would provide legal services to
destitute seniors at a discounted rate of $30 hour, they declined. But the same
group of attorneys agreed to do it for free. “These lawyers tell themselves,
‘I’m a really expensive high-powered lawyer, but I help people who need it,’”
Bregman explained. The suggestion they provide their services as a favor
reinforced this narrative.
Finding that mix of effective motivators at work takes time and effort.
“Making people care about their organization requires collecting lots of
feedback and being really, really persistent in finding what works,” Pink says.
“Unfortunately there is a lot of short-term thinking at many organizations—
whether it’s about pumping up sales figures for the month or coming up
with a new product idea.” However, understanding what motivates people
and creating an environment and processes that support those motivational
forces ultimately leads to not only more productivity and creativity, but also a
happier, more stable workforce. 
Emma Johnson is an award-winning journalist who specializes in money, business
and finance. Her articles have appeared in dozens of publications, including The New York Times,
The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Success, Forbes, Wired, Glamour, Real Simple,
Woman’s Day and Psychology Today.
Master motivation
Based on recent studies, researchers Daniel Pink,
Teresa Amabile and Peter Bregman suggest the following
tips for motivating yourself:
DEFINE YOUR PURPOSE: Amabile says, at the start of each day,
write down the answer to, “Why am I doing this?” “This” might be
your job, raising your family, being married, an exercise routine,
or caring for a sick loved one. The answer might be as simple as,
“because I want to help people,” or “because my kids give me
the greatest joy.” Then examine how you can alter your daily
activities to support your core motivators.
MOTIVATE YOURSELF WITH PROGRESS: Pink recommends
that you take a few minutes each day and write down the
progress you made on a task that is important to you. After a
couple of weeks examine what you did on the days you made
progress. This not only celebrates your successes, but also
helps you systematically analyze your source of motivation. Try
idonethis.com, a free online tool which invites you to plug in your
daily accomplishments and creates a calendar of your progress.
MOTIVATE YOURSELF WITH SMALL WINS: Bregman suggests
you break down a goal into minute parts. For example, what are
the elements of going for a five-mile run each day? If five miles
is cripplingly long, set the goal for one mile. Once that goal has
been tackled and celebrated, up the distance each week. Or is
it the daily commitment? First make yourself go out twice each
week, and be proud once you reach that goal for one month. Or if
you find running difficult, walk five times each week, building up
to a slow jog.
USE SELF-IMAGE TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF: While you are
naturally motivated to do things that reinforce the story you
want to tell about yourself, Bregman says you can change your
“story.” This requires that you identify what you want to change
and ask yourself what holds you back from making that change.
Once you have a clear understanding of those two things, your
actions will adhere to the story you have redefined for yourself.
phoenixfocus.com 11
QA
&
with Stedman Graham
By Julie Wilson
Renowned executive, educator and speaker
Stedman Graham is building his legacy by
helping others chart their course to success,
one step at a time. Phoenix Focus sat down
with this author of 10 books to discuss
his latest, Identity: Passport to Freedom,
published by Pearson Education.
PF: You’ve made a career of motivating others. How
did you realize it was your calling to help others find
their path to success?
SG: I have always been passionate about helping
people. My passion is really to teach people, through
my own experience, how to develop an identity and a
life-management system that will help them maximize
their potential as a person.
PF: In Identity: Passport to Freedom, you discuss how
having a strong identity is pivotal to achieving success.
Why is this so?
Stedman Graham’s 10th book,
Identity: Passport to Freedom, was
published by Pearson Education.
SG: If you don’t have an identity, then essentially
you can sum up all your frustration, your anxiety, all
the misdirected things, to being lost. You get stuck
in a box doing the same thing over and over every
day. Some of the issues of the 21st century today are
because we’re not able to adapt to the new world order,
the new technology or the way the world is changing.
We don’t fit in anymore, and we have to reassess what
we should be working on. Identity is the foundation for
doing that.
FEATURE | Q&A with Stedman Graham
“The missing piece in our country right now is that we lack
creativity, innovation and the ability to create new businesses
and develop other career opportunities. We have to go back to
that. The marketplace is forcing us to go back to that.”
Stedman Graham
PF: How do you find your identity?
PF: How can we make the most of each day to reach our goals?
SG: [You find your] passions, what you love and care about and
what you’re willing to work on, on a continual basis. Then that
information becomes more relevant to developing that identity,
which now clarifies what you should be working on.
SG: Focus on what you do well, and you can turn it into a skill
set so you can build value. Ask what value you can create so you
don’t become obsolete in the new world order. That’s why I teach
my nine-step success program [in the book]. People can follow
the structure to make them competitive on an ongoing basis.
The other thing you’ve got to do is work.
PF: How will these individual efforts help boost our nation’s
economy?
SG: The missing piece in our country right now is that we lack
creativity, innovation and the ability to create new businesses and
develop other career opportunities. We have to go back to that.
The marketplace is forcing us to go back to that.
PF: How do you address this in Identity: Passport to Freedom?
PF: What trait is most critical to success?
SG: Determination. You may not have the resources, or all the
answers or be the smartest, but you don’t give up. You don’t quit.
Learn more at stedmangraham.com. 
SG: This book will raise consciousness about how important it is
to get back to the foundation of who you are and to be able to talk
about what your talents are for the future. People who understand
[the importance of finding their identity] have the competitive
edge. At the end of the day, ask yourself what you have done to
develop yourself. What have you done for your organization to
create a win-win?
phoenixfocus.com 13
Onward
and upward
Moving ahead one step at a time.
By Kimberly Johnson
Fortune cookies laced with ancient Chinese wisdom, personal trainers putting you through the
paces, even boot camp drill instructors barking orders—they are all onto something powerful.
They possess the knowledge that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
It’s a sentiment that is just as true today as it was
around 500 BC when Chinese philosopher Lao
Tzu uttered it, assuring his place in history and
on refrigerator magnets for the ages. The insight,
however, is more than a slogan meant to spur
motivation along whatever long and arduous path
lies ahead.
Scaling to the top
Twenty-six years ago, a horrific car crash almost took
the life of Paul Deegan. The British mountaineer was
just 15 when the accident left him pulverized by shards
of glass. Coming out of it, Deegan felt like he was
opening his eyes for the first time to all that he had
been taking for granted. That epiphany motivated the
teen. So much so, that upon learning of trash piling up
at the Mt. Everest base camp in Nepal, he suggested to
his boss at his after-school job at a camping
supply store that they should organize an expedition
to go clean it up. His boss, to young Deegan’s
amazement, agreed.
“Everything I’ve done since stems from that
remarkable experience,” Deegan admits. “In that one
moment, all my stars fell into alignment.”
While picking up trash at Everest’s base camp, his
eyes were cast upwards to its summit looming above.
At 29,029 feet, Everest is the highest mountain in
the world that very few ever conquer. From then on,
it became his passion. “Every expedition I did, every
mountain I chose to climb, everyone I met, I [asked]
‘How does this experience teach me a skill that allows
me to get closer to climbing Everest?’” Deegan says.
FEATURE | Onward and upward
phoenixfocus.com 15
Survivor guilt set in, and more of his mountaineering friends
weren’t returning from their expeditions. “The way I dealt with
it was by saying I wasn’t going to go back.” The next eight years
proved to be a tortuous mental journey as he tried to find other
things to swamp his desire to climb Everest, he remembers.
He began to prepare, practicing tying knots into
climbing rope with gloves and with his eyes closed.
It was all part of a continuous, competitive practice
that eventually paid off. In 1995, after seven years
of apprenticeship, he got a shot at scaling Everest
when he was offered a spot on a climb team. Despite
the intense learning experience, he had to confront
disappointment. “I wasn’t experienced enough and I
didn’t summit,” he recalls, adding that he had made
it to 26,000 feet. “It was the highest I had ever been
before. Yes, I had failed to get to the top, but it hadn’t
been a failure as an expedition.”
That, unfortunately, would come the following year.
In mid May 1996, two climbing teams making a bid
for the summit would become trapped by weather
conditions, leaving several climbers dead. Deegan and
his team, a day behind them, were stuck at a camp
below.
“I found it particularly hard to deal with. Up until
1996, I had this rose-tinted-spectacle idea about
what Everest was about. It was this romantic dream I
had,” he says. “It was amazing to me to be walking in
pioneers’ footsteps. And then suddenly, people who
you had been chatting with the week before aren’t on
the flight home. They’re still up there now. The rosetinted spectacles had been ripped from my face and I
came home and really struggled to come to terms with
what had happened.”
Finally in 2004, he decided to go back. “The tipping point was
booking a return ticket,” he says. “As soon as I took that first,
definitive, financially expensive, irreversible step, everything
began to fall into line.” Looking back, making that first step was
key, he says. “It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, you’ve got to
quit worrying about what’s going to happen, the outcomes, and
you’ve got to focus on the next thing.”
It’s a sentiment that is now a major life philosophy for the explorer.
“When your hand isn’t forced, then you have to engineer that
crisis yourself,” he says. “We live in a success-oriented culture,”
where failure is seen as a dirty word, he says. “We’ve got to make
friends with failure, otherwise nothing is going to get done.”
The science of success
That sentiment is especially true in the business world, according
to FORTUNE magazine senior editor Geoff Colvin, author of the
bestselling book, Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates WorldClass Performers From Everybody Else.
“In a way, it is pretty simple,” Colvin explains. “The research
shows that the secret is not an innate gift.” The great performers
in business, much like those in music or sports, are constantly
pushing just beyond their limits of ability. “It’s not that one-in-amillion mysterious something that you either have or you don’t.
The secret is what the researchers call deliberate practice,”
he says.
The deliberate practice isn’t really work or play, but is activity
designed to improve a person’s performance, he explained. “The
essence of it is constantly being pushed, or pushing yourself, just
beyond your current level of ability.” That advancement typically
isn’t sweeping, because then you’d be lost. However, neither
should it be within the current level of ability, because then there’s
no growth, he says. “The great performers of this world are people
who do that, essentially, every day for years on end,” he says.
FEATURE | Onward and upward
“It’s not that one-in-a-million mysterious something
that you either have or you don’t. The secret is what the
researchers call deliberate practice.”
Geoff Colvin, author of Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers
From Everybody Else
It’s a concept that is largely foreign in the business sector. “In business,
we don’t think about practicing. We just think about getting out there and
performing. The truth is there are ways to apply these principles in business
also,” he said. “If you’re pushing yourself just beyond your capabilities, then
by definition you’re going to be making mistakes and having failures because
you’re trying to do things you can’t quite do,” he says.
The power to heal
Sometimes, new found capabilities emerge under the worst of circumstances.
In early 2006, Lee Woodruff had her world rocked when her husband, ABC
News co-anchor Bob Woodruff, was critically wounded by a bomb while on
assignment in Iraq. “I don’t think there’s any way you can prepare for that
phone call,” she said. “Obviously it was a huge turning point in our lives. He
was at the top of his career. In one moment, everything changes.”
Suffering head injuries from shrapnel, Bob underwent surgery that led to the
removal of a portion of his skull to combat swelling. He was kept in a coma
for more than a month, and his recovery would stretch for more than a year.
Along the way, Lee kept a journal. “It was what I needed to do while he was in
a coma,” she recalls. “When so much was uncertain, I made sense [of things]
by coming back and writing what was happening each day.” A neurosurgeon
attending Bob suggested she turn the journal into a book, saying that it could
be helpful for the thousands of service members who were coming home from
war with similar brain trauma and injuries.
the journey from the family’s perspective and tries to
keep people aware of how important the family is in
the process,” she says.
It was a journey that brought her a life-altering lesson.
“Any fork in the road becomes a really pivotal moment.
I think you choose to respond, and decide what to do
with it afterward,” she says. “Sometimes it’s not about
just merely surviving. I think there’s a moment in
life where, in your own personal situation, you have
the power to not only heal yourself but to heal other
people, too.”
For her, hope was a motivating commodity. “No one
really has the right to take hope away from you,” she
says. “People can really overcome amazing things. We,
as human beings, are built for survival.” 
Kimberly Johnson is a freelance writer specializing in national and
defense issues. She has written for US News & World Report, USA
Today, Newsweek.com, National Geographic News, The Washington
Post and many others.
The suggestion hit home. “I think any tragedy becomes a milestone, and
I think the point is to take that moment and do something with it,” the
mother of four says. One year after his injury, Lee and Bob released
In an Instant: A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing. “The book highlights
phoenixfocus.com 17
The full-time job you would most dread
having would be:
What
motivates
you?
Take our quiz.
BHousekeeper.
Which of the following sets of
statements is most true for you?
B In competitive situations, I will do
almost anything I can to win.
Y I make choices that put me in charge of
my own time. I don’t like to just follow
orders and work in a very structured
work environment.
R I seek opportunities where I am
rewarded for my individual effort. If I
work hard, I want that to directly affect
my wallet.
G I want to be an integral part of a larger
effort that is doing something positive
in the world. I want to help people.
What type of reality show would you
have the best chance of winning?
By Jenny Jedeikin
Pondering which career to pursue
is an age-old dilemma. While
many people choose careers by
pursuing fields that interest them,
or exploring professions related to
subjects they were best at in school,
those strategies don’t always lead to
satisfaction.
By discovering what motivates you, and
makes you work harder, you can realize
your greatest potential. Who knows what
amazing things you can achieve?
Answer each of these questions to discover
your motivation type. It’s best to choose
the first answer that grabs you. Note:
While this quiz is based loosely on the
Myers-Briggs personality types, this is
only a rough guide to discovering your
motivation type and what careers you
might consider exploring.
R Sell it! A race to make a million selling
anything.
Y Make it original. The most creative
people compete to come up with
unusual ideas.
B Convince me! Contestants debate to win
arguments and influence people.
G Save them! A group of participants
compete to convert a group of hardened
ex-convicts to more altruistic people,
with something to give back to the
world.
In researching a new job, which of the
following would be a deal breaker:
Y It’s very routine work, long hours and
some weekends required.
R The pay is not the greatest.
G The company exploits people all over
the world.
B You’re working underneath a lot of
senior people who will take credit for
what you do.
G Army Commander leading invasion.
Y Toll collector.
R Unpaid volunteer, soup kitchen.
When you’re at a party, you
gravitate toward:
R Strangers who can advance your career.
B People who you know well and are
impressed by your abilities.
Y Fascinating folks with
interesting stories.
G People who could really use your
helpful advice.
In school, if you had to pick, you were
more of a:
B Debate team member/high achiever.
Y Artistic individual.
G Peer counselor, supportive friend.
R Captain of the basketball team.
If given an important work project
you prefer:
Y To do one portion of it alone, setting
your own schedule.
G To work within the group and take on
whatever role is most helpful.
R To manage the project, as long as
there is increased compensation for
completion.
B To be in charge so that it is done
correctly, and that you get the credit!
Your typical daydream tends to involve:
R A private jet and a luxury Ferrari.
Y A Pulitzer Prize for writing or creativity.
B Your photo on the cover of Time
magazine.
G Ending world hunger.
FEATURE | What motivates you?
Which act would you find hardest to
forgive? Someone …
G Dumping waste at your local lake.
Y Accusing you of being an unoriginal
copycat.
The super-power app that you would
love to have on your phone would
most likely involve:
R Generating a new source of income at
the touch of a button.
B Humiliating you in public.
G Connecting you to people that could
help restore balance and tranquility to
the planet.
If you have to play a game for
several hours, you would have the
most fun playing:
Y Providing you with sought-after sources
for selling your unique and original
ideas to others.
R Risk or Monopoly.
B Giving you a platform for leading the
masses to follow your lead and offer you
accolades.
R Judging you as having cheap taste.
Y Pictionary or Balderdash.
G The Mad Sad Glad Game about Feelings
or Make It Green!
B Trivial Pursuit or Go to the Head of Class.
Which set of activities most appeal
to you?
R Produce results, grow, fix,
construct, build.
B Lead, influence, persuade, perform,
command, manage, direct.
G Inform, enlighten, help, teach, heal,
develop, support.
Y Innovate, create, imagine, explore,
fantasize, intuit, sense.
You would most like to be admired
by others as ...
G the Martin Luther King Jr. of your
industry.
R the John Rockefeller of your industry.
Y the Michelangelo of your industry.
B the Neil Armstrong of your industry.
Your dream vacation just got a lot
better because it involves:
B Speaking at a convention to a
captive audience.
Y Spending quality time alone and being
creative.
R An opportunity to make some
big money.
G Volunteering at a shelter in an
economically developing nation.
Which of these phrases is most true
about you at work?
G I need to make a difference in the lives
of other people.
R I want to feel proud of the amount of
money I earn.
Y I just want to be left alone to do my
thing and do it well.
B I need to be in charge of other people.
Time to find your type!
Now that you’ve answered the questions,
it’s time to tally up your responses and
find your motivation type. Count up your
answers in terms of B, Y, R, G (blue, yellow,
red, green) symbols. Although each type
may apply to you to a degree, the type
with the most points is your dominant
motivation type. If there is a tie, you are
equally motivated by a variety of factors.
Read both types because both pertain to
you. Lucky you, you have a lot of choices to
pick from.
B: Praise-oriented achiever. You may
be strongly motivated by receiving
recognition in your work. In most things
you do, you probably like to be in charge, in
the spotlight and enjoy influencing others
to see things your way. You are likely to be
quite ambitious and feel driven to succeed
and enjoy positions of power. Occupations
that you might consider exploring include
corporate leadership jobs where you are
managing others, as well as lecturer,
professor, lawyer, head of industry,
lobbyist, politician or consultant.
Y: Independence-seeking creatives.
You prefer to have tons of freedom and
flexibility in whatever you do. Sure it’s
swell to earn money and receive accolades,
but you would never be motivated to trade
in freedom and independence for a very
predictable routine. It is important to you
to be able to be creative and innovative
when solving problems. Careers that
might appeal to you are artist, writer,
musician, photographer, publicist, graphic
designer, small business owner or creative
entrepreneur.
G: World-improving helpers. You are
motivated by a need to help others, and
better the world. Interacting positively
with other people on a daily basis is
essential to your happiness. It’s more
critical to you to help people than it is to
make money or receive praise. Careers
that might appeal to you are physical
therapist, nonprofit positions, doctor, flight
attendant, social worker, personal trainer,
teacher, nurse, veterinarian, travel agent,
armed service member, firefighter or
mediator.
R: Reward-driven responsives. You
like to be rewarded for what you do by
the factor that you consider to be most
motivating: money. After all, isn’t that
what you’re really working for? You tend
to be very effective at any job, especially
when your paycheck is directly tied to how
hard you work. Jobs that might
appeal to you are found in sales
departments of companies where you
can do what you do best, including
marketing, ad sales, stock investing, sales
management, high-end retail sales or
founding your own startup. 
Jenny Jedeikin lives in Northern California and her
writing has appeared in San Francisco Chronicle
Magazine, Rolling Stone and In Style, among other
publications.
phoenixfocus.com 19
Staying
motivated
during a job
search
How to keep your chin up when the
job market is down.
By Julie Wilson
You’re doing all the right things—networking,
customizing your resumes and cover letters
and writing your thank-you notes—but the
right job is still eluding you. Let’s face it.
Staying motivated during a long job search
can be tough.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 6.5
million people in the U.S. had been out of work for
27 weeks or more in 2010. As these Americans know
first-hand, being involuntarily unemployed can take
its toll on even the most upbeat person. “The two
greatest pains are loss of a loved one and loss of a
job,” asserts Jay Block, president of career coaching
firm The Jay Block Companies, LLC, and author of 101
Best Ways to Land a Job in Troubled Times.
But there are things you can do to ease the strain of a
prolonged job search. Experts share their best advice
for how to weather the journey to a job when the road
is a long one.
YOUR CAREER | Staying motivated during a job search
phoenixfocus.com 21
Best advice for long-haul job seekers:
Jay Block: “Take care of yourself first.”
Eleanor Anne Sweet: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
Hallie Crawford: “Evaluate what you are doing. See what’s working,
what’s not and change your strategy. Shake it up.”
Take care of yourself
Though unemployment might make you feel like you want to stay in bed
all day, experts agree that it’s important to tend to your own well being
when you’re out of work. This goes beyond the usual advice of exercising
and eating right. “Make a list of the things that boost your spirits,” suggests
Hallie Crawford, founder of HallieCrawford.com, a career coaching services
company based in Atlanta. “Take a hike or watch a movie. You can come up
with some easy, inexpensive ways to make you happy.”
Block agrees. “The most important thing is to take care of ourselves first
so we can take care of our job campaign,” he says. “Remember, you are not
defined by your job. You are defined by your character. Take care of you.”
Surround yourself with optimism
A positive outlook is an essential part of gracefully managing long-term
unemployment. “In my opinion, 90 percent of job search success is headset,”
insists Eleanor Anne Sweet, president of The Job Search Experts and author
of The New Rules of Job Search: How to Land an Executive Job in the New
Economy. “If you don’t feel good about yourself and have positive expectations
and optimism, then your job search is going nowhere.”
“You attract what you put out there,” adds Block. “If you hang out with highly
positive people, then anything is possible.”
Build a support network
Crawford suggests assembling a “dream team of support” to help you stay
positive. “Identify those people in your life who are great cheerleaders,” she
says, “and don’t be afraid to ask them for what you need.”
Block believes that a career coach should
be part of the team that will help you
as you work to rejoin the ranks of the
gainfully employed. “A career coach
is someone who has already done the
market survey and knows what employers
are looking for,” he says, stressing that
there’s no need to do everything on your
own during a job search. “I’ve studied
thousands of successful people, and I have
never seen one who has made it to the top
alone.”
Count your blessings
Being thankful for what you do have is
key to maintaining a positive outlook
during an extended job hunt. Sweet
advises her clients to start and end each
day by focusing on what they are grateful
for. “This creates positive energy and
momentum and helps you work through
your fear,” she says. “A lot of people feel
overwhelmed by fear, and it is holding
them back.”
Block has his clients write down a list of
ten things they are grateful for. “Success
YOUR CAREER | Staying motivated during a job search
comes from an attitude of gratitude and not an
attitude of lack,” he says. “When we focus on what we
have to be grateful for, our whole mindset changes.”
Get out there and do something
For many, our jobs give us a sense of accomplishment
at the end of the day, something that might be lacking
when we’re out of work. Taking a part-time job—even if
it’s completely unrelated to your industry or field—has
many benefits. For starters, it’s a way to earn money.
It also shows potential employers that you’re a hard
worker. “I think it shows that you are taking initiative
and are a motivated person who wants to be out there
working,” says Crawford.
Volunteering is another great way to get out of the
house and do something productive. “When you are
volunteering, you are giving of yourself,” says Sweet.
“This helps fuel the momentum of positive energy.”
Plus, “You never know who you’re going to meet.”
Evaluate your approach
At some point during a prolonged job search, you
need to take an honest look at yourself and, as Block
puts it, ask better questions. “We ask disempowering
questions, like ‘Why me?’ and ‘How long will it take to
get a job?’” he says. “We need to change our questions
and what we are focusing on.” For example, better
questions might be “Who do I need to meet,” “What
coach can I go to?” and “What book can I read?”
Sweet urges job seekers to educate themselves about
the realities of the current job market so they can be
open to opportunities that may not match their old
positions, dollar for dollar. “On average, compensation
is about 35 percent below what it was prior to going
into this recession,” she says. “Really go into your
heart and soul and be realistic about your expectations
in this current marketplace.”
And when there seems to be no end in sight to that job
search, Sweet gently reminds us that “Every ‘no’ gets
you closer to the ‘yes.’” 
phoenixfocus.com 23
“What’ll happen in the absence of explicit
feedback is that people will make things up.
And the things they make up are not neutral;
they make up things that are bad.”
John Weaver, psychologist and management consultant
YOUR CAREER | The power of effective feedback
The power of
effective feedback
Improving the workplace with
constructive commentary.
By Ashley Milne-Tyte
You’ve been laboring away, waiting for your yearly review,
hoping for the insights that could get you to the next level of
your career. Will you get the kind of feedback that revs you up
or the kind that leaves you deflated? Most of us have had both.
Feedback is a big part of what motivates us (even if some of us
dread that review). But research shows most employees feel
they don’t get enough of it.
Psychologist and management consultant John Weaver says when we aren’t
receiving enough feedback, our imaginations quickly fill the gap. He says,
“What’ll happen in the absence of explicit feedback is that people will make
things up. And the things they make up are not neutral; they make up things
that are bad.”
Unspecific feedback can have unfortunate repercussions. Judy Sheehan,
an executive director at Morgan Stanley, says during a review, one young
woman’s boss dropped this pearl of advice: “Maximize your presence.”
The employee started coming in earlier and leaving later, until, exhausted
but apparently not improving, she finally learned her boss had meant,
“Speak up more in meetings.”
Feedback tips for managers
Weaver says the annual review simply isn’t that
effective. Its focus tends to stay general, “because
you’re talking about very big things. It typically
focuses on the kind of information that is going to
be used to set or deny a raise, and as a result, the
day-to-day kinds of things people need to perform
at their highest level aren’t discussed.” Weaver says
feedback should be a continuous process where
manager and employee are always in touch.
Establish regular and frequent check-ins
Weaver suggests that to get the most out of these
meetings, “You need to do it at least weekly. Check
in, say ‘Here’s where it’s working; here’s where it’s
not working.’” That way, he says, the employee has
the tools they need to stay on target.
To many busy managers, the idea of weekly
conversations about someone’s progress may
be unappealing, unrealistic or both. And,
not all managers are blessed with great
communication skills.
phoenixfocus.com 25
In her role at Morgan Stanley, Sheehan trains the
company’s executives in management techniques.
To make the prospect of engaging in feedback more
enticing, Sheehan tells managers to “simplify the act
of feedback.”
Be specific
This means “taking the hurtful stuff out of it and just
getting highly specific about the actions.” Sheehan
says feedback should consist largely of nouns and
verbs, not adjectives. “So instead of saying, ‘You did
a really bad job running that team meeting today,’
diagnose what was bad about it. Was it that the people
who dialed in never got a chance to speak?” Instead,
she says, be descriptive: “You need to give people
on the phone time to speak up during meetings.”
Concrete suggestions work best.
Avoid words like ‘always’ and ‘never’ when
giving feedback
Any extremes are likely to make the listener less
receptive to what you’re trying to say.
Ditch the jargon
Sheehan says managers must drop the jargon if they
expect their words to do any good.
But feedback isn’t all up to employers. Much of the
responsibility for obtaining helpful feedback is yours.
Feedback tips for employees
Here are four pieces of advice from Judy Sheehan for
making sure that, as an employee, you get the best
feedback to do your job well:
Push for specific feedback
Consider the “maximize your presence” example.
Sheehan and Weaver emphasize that it’s up to you to
push for more specific information in the absence of
clarity. “People blow up their careers or short change
themselves because they’re afraid,” says Sheehan.
The young woman in that case “just kept accepting
and nodding and trying to do her best.” Sheehan says
pushing for more applies just as much to what seems
like a pat on the back. “Good job” isn’t enough. Ask
the manager what exactly it is they like about your
performance.
Ask for feedback
It’s your career. You can’t sit back and hope feedback
will rain down whenever it’s deserved. You need to
ask for it. Sheehan says managers tend to coach their
stars, and if you ask for feedback, “you become the
squeaky wheel—in a good way.” It’s flattering for the
manager to have you ask for their thoughts on your
progress.
Don’t be defensive
We’ve all been there. It’s never pleasant to hear a
superior telling you that you messed up (especially
when you’re inwardly screaming it wasn’t your fault).
It hurts.
Sheehan says it’s perfectly natural to first get angry,
then tell yourself it’s all someone else’s fault, then
rationalize the action under discussion, then collapse
in a pool of sadness and/or self-recrimination.
First, she advises, “try to step back and see yourself
going through those reactions. Then it will be harder
to be completely invested in all that emoting. When
you do come to accept you screwed up, she says it’s a
good idea to “apologize once, then move on.”
Weaver agrees. “Making mistakes is one of the most
important ways we learn.” Of course, he says, some
company cultures like to pile on the blame. If this
sounds familiar, it may be time to move on.
Follow up on your progress
Sheehan says too few people check back with their
manager at regular intervals. But they should. “It
shows a real investment in the manager’s feedback,
real respect. You can assume you’ve corrected [the
problem], but following up shows a kind of rigor of
self-improvement that, to many a manager, would be
very impressive.” Feedback, she says, should be “a
conversation, not a monologue.”
And finally, don’t forget to say thank you—
and mean it. 
Ashley Milne-Tyte is a New York-based writer and reporter who
specializes in communication issues. She has written for The
Wall Street Journal, the New York Daily News, Financial Times and
Independent (London). She has reported on numerous aspects of
business and the economy for public radio’s Marketplace.
University of Phoenix®
Leadership Circle
featuring
President Mikhail
Gorbachev
leader of the Soviet Union
from 1985 –1991
Attend Thursday, April 26, 5–9 pm
Venue SIX10
601 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60605
Can’t attend in person? Watch online:
phoenix.edu/leadershipcircle
Participate Take part in a conversation with President Mikhail Gorbachev, one
of the world’s most transformative leaders and Nobel Laureate. Ask
questions, gain insights and learn effective 21st century leadership
skills that you can put to work in your life and community.
Act now
Space is limited. RSVP today at:
leadershipcircle-gorbachev.eventbrite.com
Learn more Visit phoenix.edu/leadershipcircle for details, including videos and
photos of our first Leadership Circle with Madeleine K. Albright,
former U.S. Secretary of State (1997–2001).
From her youngest days, Rosa Sherk
has always been a trailblazer. As a
teenager, she helped integrate her
high school in North Carolina, later
becoming the first in her family to
attend college. Not one to take the
easy road, she then pursued a career
in engineering—an industry with few
African American women at the time.
After decades of breaking new ground, she decided
it was time to share the spirit that motivated her
to persevere through countless challenges. Today,
she owns her own consulting business where she
provides training, executive coaching and motivational
speaking so she can reach her ultimate goal of helping
others achieve greatness.
ALUMNI PROFILES | Rosa Sherk
Engineer, author, motivational speaker
phoenixfocus.com 29
Raleigh, NC
“I want to help young people
realize that it is not where you
start,” she says. “It is about the
journey and where you finish.”
A new path
Sherk, the daughter of share croppers and one of
10 siblings, grew up knowing what hard work was.
“Even then, as a young girl, I knew I wanted something
more than that,” she recalls. “I wanted to control
my destiny.”
She was a member of the second integrated high
school class in her town, an experience that solidified
her resolve for a better life. When she graduated, her
parents encouraged her to get a job at a factory, but she
had other plans. “I had to break that cycle,” she says. “I
had to get an education.”
After an illness sidelined her plans to earn a degree
at the local community college, Sherk went to work
for Duke Power Company, working as a switchboard
operator outside the engineering department. It was
there that she met an engineer who saw her potential.
“We competed almost every day to see who could solve
the hardest algebra problems,” she remembers. “He
recognized my math ability and encouraged me to go
back to school and study engineering. He made me
believe that I could do anything.”
Sherk enrolled at a local university as an electrical
engineering major. During her studies, she
participated in a cooperative education program that
enabled her to work as an engineer for a semester at
IBM in New York. Again, illness struck her family and
forced her to drop out during her junior year, but not
before she caught a glimpse of what her life could be
like if she completed her education. “IBM had opened
up the whole world to me, and I knew I had to continue
until I had a degree,” she says.
ALUMNI PROFILES | Rosa Sherk
The evolution of a career
Her engineering background was enough
for her to land a job as an electronic
technician at Nortel, where she worked for
many years. She later accepted a position
with Cellular One-GTE Mobilnet, now
Verizon Wireless, and moved to Texas.
Her boss saw her potential and sent her to
become a master trainer, an experience
that would change her life and reveal her
passion for motivating others.
After marrying and moving back to her
hometown of Rock Mount, North Carolina,
she continued her work as a trainer. “My
job was to train engineers from all over
the world on digital multiplex switching
equipment,” she says. After 9/11, her
training center closed and she made the
long-awaited decision to earn the degree
that had eluded her for so long. “I enrolled
in North Carolina State University where
I majored in sociology and graduated
with honors,” she says. Eager to continue
developing the training skills that brought
her so much fulfillment, she also attended
the Les Brown Institute, authored a
book and became a Les Brown-certified
motivational speaker.
Becoming an entrepreneur
In 2005, with her undergraduate degree
finally in hand, Sherk decided to pursue
her dream of motivating others to
find their greatness in whatever they
may do. She founded Mirror Training
and Consulting, where she works as a
certified master trainer, author, coach and
motivational speaker. “Most of my clients
are cities and towns that own their own
utilities,” she says. “I train their customer
service personnel and their managers.
I also train their field workers on soft
skills like customer service, leadership
and time and priority management.” She
conducts workshops and retreats for other
industries, too.
Sherk finds great satisfaction in helping
others excel. “One of my proudest
moments as a trainer and consultant was
when the mayor of the City of Kinston said
to me, ‘The citizens used to call me with
complaints. They now thank me for the
caring people who work for the city. You
are responsible for that.’”
During this time, Sherk was motivated
to continue to improve herself through
education. She decided to pursue a
master’s degree at University of Phoenix,
which she earned in 2008. “Having my
MBA gives me another level of credibility,”
she asserts. “University of Phoenix was
instrumental in giving me a new approach
with its problem-solving model.”
This approach is helping her to continue to
forge her own path and take her business
in new directions—with the full support of
her husband, whom she counts as one of
her greatest inspirations. As for the future,
she dreams of working more with youth
to inspire them to go after their dreams,
no matter how lofty they may be. “I want
to help young people realize that it is not
where you start,” she says. “It is about the
journey and where you finish.” 
Motivating
fellow alumni
Rosa Sherk was the keynote speaker at
the 2011 Alumni Homecoming Banquet
in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she
earned her MBA.
“After the Alumni Homecoming
Banquet, the students lined up at the
door to shake my hands, hug me and
tell me that I spoke to their souls. It was
in that moment I realized that I am truly
living my dream,” says Sherk.
phoenixfocus.com 31
A reservation
for success
Ask Tim Tobin what drives him in his career
in leadership development, and he doesn’t
hesitate for a second. “I can tell you what I
love about learning,” he says. “I love when
that light bulb goes off, that ‘Aha!’ moment
when someone you’re teaching becomes
more animated and you can’t stop them
from talking. They just roll with the ideas.
That’s what I love.”
It’s this passion that has inspired Tobin during his ten-year-plus
career in training and development for an array of respected
companies, a career that has culminated in his dream job at
Marriott International.
ALUMNI PROFILES | Tim Tobin
Tim Tobin, MAOM ’96
Senior director of global leadership development
Marriott International
phoenixfocus.com 33
“I just really want to create the best
possible learning experience that I
can at Marriott, to create experiences
that change people’s lives. That feels
good to me.”
Tim Tobin, MAOM ’98
The hospitality industry beckons
Tobin joined the Marriott team in 2010
as senior director of global leadership
development for the international
hospitality company, which operates 18
brands on multiple continents. Armed
with more than a decade of experience and
a team-oriented philosophy, he quickly
rose through the ranks. New to the hotel
industry, Tobin approached his job with an
inquisitive attitude, eager to learn all he
could about the organization so he could
spearhead its leadership development
programs. “I took a consultative, advisory
approach,” he says. “I asked a lot of
questions.”
His hard work paid off, and the following
year he was promoted to vice president
of global learning and leadership
development. “I was given the opportunity
to oversee all of Marriott’s training and
development globally,” he says. “The
challenges are complex but fun. We have
more than 140,000 associates in more
than 60 countries—with all the different
languages that are spoken. Here I am
responsible for the design and development
of their education. I love it.”
A path back to education
There was a time when this
accomplishment would have seemed
unattainable. After high school Tobin
attended a traditional university, admittedly earning his
undergraduate degree on autopilot. When he decided
to return to school to earn his master’s degree, it was a
different story. “It really allowed me to step back and ask
myself some questions about what it was I wanted to do
and what I wanted to study,” he says.
He earned his Master of Organizational Management in
1996, a feat that solidified his passion for education. “I
smile when I say that it was University of Phoenix that
rekindled my love of learning,” he says.
The relationships that got him there
While he can take credit for putting the sweat equity into
his education, Tobin believes he couldn’t have gotten to
where he is without others. “Without a doubt it starts
with my desire and love for learning, but somewhere in
the formula for my success has been the relationships I
have made along the way,” he says.
Earlier in his career at consulting firm Booz Allen
Hamilton, Tobin learned to embrace the collaborative
environment where he forged strong relationships
with his colleagues. “It’s a great thing when you are
surrounded by so many great people and have the
opportunity to learn from your peers,” he says.
Later, his work at Beers + Cutler, now Baker Tilly,
reinforced the same principles. “To this day I still
remember that their core value is to hire the best and
provide opportunities for growth and development,” he
says. “Sure enough, we went through a rigorous hiring
interview process, and they held true to all of their values.
It made it a great place to work.”
ALUMNI PROFILES | Tim Tobin
When he joined the team at Baker Tilly,
a member of the leadership team offered
him words of advice that continue to guide
him today. “She told me that the most
important thing to do is to build solid
relationships,” he remembers. “I listened
to her.”
In fact, years later, it’s a relationship that
got Tobin’s proverbial foot in the door at
Marriott, a company he had set his sights on
long ago. One of his former colleagues from
Booz Allen had begun working for Marriott
and remembered Tobin. “He put in calls to
everyone [on my behalf], and that helped
pave the way for introductions.”
Motivating a workforce
Today, Tobin is teaching others the
importance of relationships in his
leadership development role, something he
models for his associates each day. “I go out to my team and meet
with them individually to let them know they are not alone. I roll
up my sleeves,” he explains. “Creating that esprit de corps is pretty
important, but it’s not easy.”
Tobin fosters a collegial environment by helping associates at
Marriott see that their efforts, no matter what role they have at
the company, are making a difference. “Our vision is to provide
learning opportunities that change people’s lives,” he says. “We are
in a knowledge economy now, and nowhere is that more evident
than in a hospitality organization. If we don’t have enthusiastic,
motivated and engaged [employees] who can pass that along to our
guests, then that is really going to hinder [us].”
Just as Tobin never imagined where his career would take him,
he’s not making any predictions about his future. “I can’t imagine
what would be next,” he says. “I just really want to create the
best possible learning experience that I can at Marriott, to create
experiences that change people’s lives. That feels good to me.
Whatever is next will appear when the time is right.” 
phoenixfocus.com 35
A LAW ENFORCEMENT
LE ADER
As a teenager, Diane Scanga had the opportunity to go on
a ride-along with a veteran police officer. As she listened to
him describe his job, something inside her clicked, and she
knew she had found her calling.
Today, she finds satisfaction in sharing her knowledge with others through her role
as director of the Jefferson College Law Enforcement Academy. She’s also supporting
law enforcement leaders around the world by serving as the 2012 president of the
prestigious professional association, FBI National Academy Associates, Inc.
Diane Scanga, MBA ’08
Director, Jefferson College
Law Enforcement Academy
Hillsboro, Missouri
ALUMNI PROFILES | Diane Scanga
phoenixfocus.com 37
“My parents had always told me,
If you want it, go and get it.”
Diane Scanga, MBA ’08
Green behind the ears
After high school, Scanga decided to join
the cadet program of the Kirkwood Police
Department to pursue her newfound
ambition. When she arrived to apply for
the program, she asked for the sergeant
in charge, and a man offered to take her
to him. As they walked together to the
City Hall building, the man asked her why
she was at the police department. “I told
him, ‘I want to be chief,’” she remembers,
laughing. She didn’t realize it then,
but the man she was talking to was the
police chief, someone who would support
her throughout her tenure with the
department.
This was an auspicious beginning to a
career that would exceed her hopeful
expectations. “Once I got into the cadet
system, there wasn’t anything I didn’t like,”
she says. “That was the blessing of the cadet program. I thought I knew what I
was getting into, but it was even better than I thought.”
Scanga was undeterred by the fact that she joined the Kirkwood Police
Department when it was just starting to recruit women. “There were seven
females in my [police academy] class of 40,” she says. She shrugs off the notion
that this was a significant obstacle to her. “My parents had always told me, ‘If
you want it, go and get it,’” she says, simply. And so she did.
A blossoming career
At the time, Kirkwood was a bedroom community with a diverse population
of 30,000. “We had federal housing in one area and million-dollar homes in
another,” she notes. It made for a unique demographic, one that kept her job
interesting. Scanga quickly fell into the rhythm of her new career, enjoying
the broad range of duties that made up her days. “It was fun,” she says. Her
favorite assignment was when she worked in traffic patrol, becoming the first
female motorcycle officer in the greater St. Louis area. “I got paid to ride,” she
says. “I thought, ‘Can life get any better?’”
Over the years, Scanga served as a patrol officer, a patrol sergeant, a lieutenant
and finally a captain. “I was always training and working hard, always trying
ALUMNI PROFILES | Diane Scanga
A new opportunity
While she was working toward her MBA,
Scanga learned that Jefferson College
was looking for a new director for its law
enforcement academy. “When the director
job came up I thought, ‘What a great blend.
I can combine police work and teaching,
which is what I love.’” She landed the job
and later her role expanded. She is now
responsible for the EMT and paramedic
programs and the fire science technologies
degree in addition to the law enforcement
academy. “As much as I enjoyed the street,
no midnights or holidays is a nice way to
spend my ‘retirement’ from Kirkwood
Police Department,” she jokes.
to see what else was out there,” she says. “I [covered] everything except
juveniles and drugs.”
Time for education
In 1988, Scanga had the opportunity to attend the globally recognized FBI
National Academy, an 11-week training course for law enforcement leaders
across the country and around the world. “You’re housed with 199 total
strangers, and by the time your training is over, you would step in front of a
bus for them if you had to,” she says.
This life-changing experience also yielded her 15 college credits. “This jumpstarted my desire for a bachelor’s degree,” she says. “My goal was to get my
bachelor’s degree before our oldest child graduated high school.”
She did, and realized it was time to think about life after the Kirkwood Police
Department. Scanga, who also was teaching part time at a local community
college, knew that a master’s degree would be key to her future. “I looked for
a school that could work with my schedule, my family and life commitments
and my desire to learn. “University of Phoenix fit all my criteria.” She went on
to earn her MBA in just 18 months while working full time.
This “retirement” also includes her service
on the board of the FBI National Academy
Associates, something that is close to her
heart from her own training all those years
ago. Scanga was elected to this progressive
board in 2004, serving as a representative
for four years, then three years as the vice
president and today presiding as president.
Next year will be her last on the board
when she serves as past president.
For all her accomplishments over the
past 30-plus years, Scanga’s greatest
satisfaction is seeing the same light in the
eyes of her recruits at Jefferson College
that she once had as a starry-eyed cadet at
Kirkwood. It’s what keeps her motivated
to continue to serve her community and
fellow law enforcement professionals. “The
energy and optimism of the recruits—they
are a jump-start for anyone!” 
phoenixfocus.com 39
CLASS OF
’11
David Fried
Bachelor of Science
in Business
Administration ’07
Master of Science
in Industrial/
Organizational
Psychology ’11
Director of
purchasing and
vendor relations,
Massage Elements
Chandler, AZ
As a Six Sigma Black
Belt who owns and
operates Work of
Mouth Training, is
pursuing a doctoral
degree, and works
as a manager and a
consultant, David Fried
knows the meaning of
motivation.
WHAT DRIVES YOU
Improvement.
I identified an issue
within my organization,
proposed a solution,
and have been
executing it since 2007.
HOW HE MOTIVATES
OTHERS
I remind [my] team
of its goal and pose
questions.
WHY HE MENTORS
[My mentors] shared
their stories with me,
encouraging me to
continue, and they
provided insight into
the journey. My goal is
to do the same.
GREATEST
SATISFACTION
Witnessing the success
of others.
MOTIVATION IS
The impassioned will to
achieve, which may be
stimulated by external
forces, but originates
and is maintained from
within.
ALUMNI PROFILES
CLASS OF
’11
Amir Y. Johnson
Bachelor of Science
in Management ’11
Arabic linguist/
translator, The
Washington Post
South Carolina
The multilingual
Johnson, who served in
the U.S. Marine Corps
and in the Michigan
Air National Guard,
currently works as an
interpreter for The
Washington Post. On
the side, he and his
wife are launching
Reflective Perceptions,
a nonprofit program
that mentors at-risk
young people.
GROWING UP WITH
MILITARY PARENTS
I did things growing up
that people typically
wouldn’t get to do in
a lifetime. It wasn’t
stressful at all. It was
actually exciting.
RALLYING THE
TROOPS
I motivate the teams I
work with by creating
a partnership with
them and leading by
example.
PROFESSIONAL
COUP
My great professional
satisfaction is achieving
almost every goal [I set].
WORDS TO
SUCCEED BY
Don’t ever say
you’re not able to
do something. Set a
realistic goal and, when
you don’t think you can
go on anymore, push
yourself beyond that.
REASON FOR BEING
My greatest personal
satisfaction is seeing
my children grow up.
MOTIVATION IS
Seeing the fruits of hard
labor come to fruition.
phoenixfocus.com 41
Extra! Extra!
Must-reads and online resources to
explore motivation.
By Paula Boon
BOOKS
1. Drive: The Surprising
Truth About What
Motivates Us
By Daniel Pink
A bestselling author
draws upon research in
psychology, sociology and
economics to explain why
traditional carrot-andstick business practices
for motivating employees
don’t work as well as
providing opportunities
for autonomy, mastery
and purpose.
2. 100 Ways to Motivate
Yourself: Change Your
Life Forever
By Steve Chandler
Chandler’s seminars
have helped thousands of
people get unstuck and
create plans for living
the life they really want.
Find out how by reading
this internationally
bestselling book.
3. Creating PassionDriven Teams: How to
Stop Micromanaging and
Motivate People to Top
Performance
By Dan Bobinski
Bobinski, a top
leadership development
professional, teaches you
how to create conditions
that foster passion among
your employees, resulting
in an engaged team of
people who consistently
strive for excellence.
1
4. Great Motivation
Secrets of Great Leaders
By John Baldoni
Using the stories of wellknown leaders in politics,
business and sports as a
starting point, Baldoni
describes leadership
styles and motivational
techniques that have
been proven to engage
followers.
5. Punished by Rewards:
The Trouble with Gold
Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s,
Praise, and other Bribes
By Alfie Kohn
Kohn injects humor
into this explanation
of how rewards meant
to motivate students,
workers and children
can make things worse
by interfering with the
intrinsic motivation
necessary for positive,
long-term change.
6. Get Motivated!:
Overcome Any Obstacle,
Achieve Any Goal, and
Accelerate Your Success
with Motivational DNA
By Tamara Lowe
Every person is
hardwired with a unique
motivational pattern,
according to Lowe. Her
book teaches readers to
decode their own and
others’ patterns and to
take full advantage of
their new understanding.
7. Reinventing Yourself
By Steve Chandler
Author and public
speaker Steve Chandler
teaches readers how to
escape negative or limited
thinking about who they
are or what they can
become.
2
3
5
4
6
7
EXTR A! EXTR A!
MAGAZINES
1. Inc Magazine
inc.com/magazine
A resource for
business owners and
entrepreneurs. Many
articles provide insights,
advice, information
and resources about
motivating yourself and
your employees.
2. Mental Floss
mentalfloss.com
A smart, fun read chockfull of articles meant to
inform and inspire. One
recent piece revealed
that telling people about
your goals makes you less
likely to carry through
and achieve them.
MAGAZINE
ARTICLES
3. Psychology Today
July 1, 2007
“The Lure of Laziness”
By Nando Pelusi
An explanation of how
humans evolved to
conserve as much energy
as possible and the most
effective ways to work
against this natural
tendency.
4. McKinsey Quarterly
November 2009
“Motivating People:
Getting Beyond Money”
By Martin Dewhurst,
Matthew Guthridge and
Elizabeth Mohr
An exploration of
nonfinancial ways to
motivate employees,
such as praise, individual
attention from leaders
and the opportunity to
lead their own projects.
ONLINE RESOURCES
5. RSA Animate–Drive:
The Surprising Truth
about What Motivates Us
http://bit.ly/what_
motivates_us
Adapted from Daniel
Pink’s presentation at
the Royal Society for
the Encouragement of
Arts, Manufacturing
and Commerce, this
11-minute video provides
a fun visual summary of
the information found in
his book.
6. Tony Robbins Asks
Why We Do What We Do
http://bit.ly/tony_
robbins_TED
In this 22-minute TED
talk, Robbins encourages
audience members to
consider the invisible
forces motivating their
actions so they can
expand their capacity to
give and to understand
the behavior of others.
7. Motivational
Memo: Remind,
Energize and Activate
motivationalmemo.com
By Peter G. James Sinclair
This popular blog
contains sections
on successful living,
personal development,
leadership, goal setting
and wisdom. Sign
up to receive a daily
motivational memo or
news articles by e-mail.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8. Goal Happy
http://bit.ly/goal_happy
This is a free application
that helps you reach your
health, business and
personal goals through
self motivation and
tracking your progress in
a variety of ways.
8
Paula Boon is a freelance
researcher, writer and
editor whose work has
appeared in publications
in the United States and
Canada.
phoenixfocus.com 43
The BUZZ
We want to celebrate you in our alumni
announcements. Share your story and be part of
“The Buzz.” Email us at [email protected].
Published by alumni
H3LT: The Hair Three-Legged-Table
Solution for Education
Random Musings: Reflections of a
Black Intellectual
By Beatrice R.D. Hair
By Bernard Grenway
In H3LT: The Hair Three-Legged-Table
Solution for Education, Beatrice R.D. Hair,
Master of Arts in Education/Curriculum
and Instruction (MAEd/CI) ’04, equips
teachers and parents with the tools to
create an educational environment where
students can experience transformational
changes. Hair’s individualized educational
program offers readers a trademarked
learning tool that commands students’
attention and keeps them motivated.
Parents, teachers and students alike will be
inspired to reach their potential.
Bernard Grenway, Master of Business
Administration with a Concentration
in Global Management (MBA/GM) ’05,
focuses on the various racial and cultural
challenges facing African-Americans in
the context of present-day educational,
political and historical realities. The text
touches on a wide array of issues, including
the psychology of race and power, the
plight of the modern black intellectual
and the need to enhance the educational
standing of American citizens across the
board. Grenway uses the events of his life,
in the form of random musings, to examine
the much overlooked “black perspective”
on American life.
Hair, who dedicates her life to child
advocacy, is the founder and owner of
the Salisbury Tutoring Academy Ltd., the
One-on-One School, which is a franchised
tutoring academy for ages four to adult.
H3LT: The Hair Three-Legged-Table Solution
for Education is available for purchase on
amazon.com or by contacting the Salisbury
Tutoring Academy’s website at statld.com.
It is also available as an e-book.
Grenway is an associate professor at the
University of Maryland and full-time
professor of business studies at Kaplan
University. He is also the CEO of the
Evergreens Adult Medical Day Center in
Elkridge, Maryland, and the CEO of The
Grenway Consulting Group. He holds two
master’s degrees and is working toward his
second PhD.
Random Musings: Reflections of a Black
Intellectual is available for purchase on
amazon.com.
THE BUZZ
Recognition
Arizona
Surprise
Kristi Hunter, Master of Science in Nursing/
Family Nurse Practitioner (MSN/FNP)
’08, was presented with the Mentoring
Excellence award by the Arizona Nurses
Association at the 2011 Biennial Nursing
Convention in Phoenix. Hunter, a family
nurse practitioner, is a faculty member and
student mentor at University of Phoenix.
She works with nursing students in need of
assistance. The Arizona Nurses Association
is the largest professional association
of registered nurses in Arizona and a
constituent member of the American Nurses
Association. Nursing students, practicing
nurses and health care facilities from across
Arizona were recognized at the convention.
Florida
Tallahassee
Lisa D. Brown, Master of Business
Administration (MBA) ’08, was spotlighted
in a national publication as a “Woman
to Watch” in the credit union industry.
Brown, president/CEO of Tallahassee-Leon
Federal Credit Union, was featured in the
December 14, 2011 issue of Credit Union
Times magazine. In the article, Brown talks
about the career drive that propelled her to
her positon at the Tallahassee, Florida-based,
$39 million credit union. When she became
CEO of the struggling credit union in the
fall of 2010, Brown took a three-pronged
approach to repair the financials, get back to
basics and improve the member experience.
She partly credits the ensuing progress to
staff inclusion in strategic planning.
Missouri
Springfield
Sarah Schrader, Master of Business
Administration (MBA) ’09, was promoted to
assistant vice president, Missouri regional
deposit coordinator, at BancorpSouth Bank.
Schrader joined BancorpSouth in 2003
and has more than 14 years of banking
experience. Schrader oversees deposit
operations and branch management for all
BancorpSouth branches in the Springfield
and St. Louis markets. BancorpSouth Bank,
a wholly owned subsidiary of BancorpSouth,
Inc., operates approximately 290 locations
in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.
Nevada
Las Vegas
Wendy Wood, Master of Business
Administration with a Concentration in
Health Care Management (MBA/HCM)
’04, was named medical director of the
Sin City Blackjacks professional football
team. Blackjacks is Las Vegas’ newest
professional indoor football team playing in
the American Indoor Football Association.
In her role as medical director, Wood will
oversee all medical matters pertaining to
the team and incorporate her elite medical
advisory board, “CHAMPS.” Wood joins
Sin City Blackjacks with more than 20
years of medical experience, including
executive leadership, practice management
and marketing. In 2007, Wendy formed
Connections Consulting Group, which
specializes in medical advisory boards,
business development, networking and
consulting.
South Carolina
Columbia
Lindsey Spires Griffin, Master of
Business Administration (MBA) ’08, was
named development manager for the
S.C. Governor’s School for Science and
Mathematics Foundation. Previously,
Griffin was the director of annual giving
and alumni relations for Presbyterian
College. Her resume includes working for
New Carolina, South Carolina’s Council on
Competitiveness, and interning for the S.C.
Department of Commerce. Born and raised
in Columbia, Griffin is a member of the
Junior League of Columbia and serves as a
board member for Columbia Opportunity
Resource. The S.C. Governor’s School for
Science and Mathematics Foundation
is a two-year residential high school in
Hartsville.
Washington
Lakewood
Myles G. Schneider, Master of Management
(MM) ’08, was named a Cambridge
Who’s Who Professional of the Year
in Correctional Services. Schneider, a
correctional officer at the Washington
Corrections Center for Women in Gig
Harbor, has nearly 29 years of experience
in the Department of Corrections as a
correctional and lead officer and as a
sergeant at Rap House/Lincoln Park Work
Release and Tacoma PreRelease.
phoenixfocus.com 45
YOUR UNIVERSIT Y | Events
Events
March
April
Commencements
1
10
21
Kansas City
Western Washington
Central Valley
Alumni Chapter Inaugural Meeting
6-8 p.m.
Kansas City Campus
1310 E. 104th Street, Suite 100
Kansas City, MO 64131
3
Augusta
Augusta Alumni Chapter
Inaugural Meeting
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Augusta Campus
3152 Perimeter Parkway
Augusta, GA 30909
6
Oregon
Career Workshop:
Informational Interviewing
5:30–7:30 p.m.
Crusade Learning Center
9600 NE Cascacades Parkway, Suite 140
Portland, OR 97220
infointerviewingoregon.eventbrite.com
Alumni Appreciation Hockey Dinner
and Game Night
5-10 p.m.
The ShoWare Center
625 West James Street
Kent, WA 98032
28
Washington, D.C.
Career Workshop: Informational
Interviewing
5:30-7:30 p.m.
Washington DC Campus
25 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20001-1431
infointerviewingdc.eventbrite.com
April
14
Tulsa
Career Workshop: Resume Essentials
10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Tulsa Campus
14002 East 21st Street, Suite 1000
Tulsa, OK 74134
resumeessentialstulsa.eventbrite.com
Save Mart Center
2650 E. Shaw Avenue
Fresno, CA 93710
22
Augusta
James Brown Arena
601 Seventh Street
Augusta, GA 30901
YOUR UNIVERSIT Y | University News
University News
Directors Conference unites staff in service
Junior Achievement names UOPX Corporate Partner of the Year
As a result of 1,329 hours of employee volunteer service at 57 schools last year,
Junior Achievement of Arizona named UOPX its 2010-2011 Corporate Partner
Award winner. “We are incredibly grateful for the long-term partnership we
have enjoyed with University of Phoenix,” says Joyce Richards, president of
Junior Achievement of Arizona.
University of Phoenix’s partnership with Junior Achievement (JA) began in
1994. During the past year, University of Phoenix has served as the presenting
sponsor of JA You’re Hired!—a work- and career-readiness program for high
school students—and created a mock campus at JA’s BizTown in Tempe. The
JA BizTown University of Phoenix campus allows middle school students to
enroll as college students, earn diplomas and experience campus director and
academic advisor roles.
Far right: Governor Gary Herbert of Utah helps Junior Achievement open a mock UOPX campus in Salt
Lake City similar to that created for Tempe’s JA BizTown.
Service is the new standard at University of Phoenix
staff events. In November 2011, employees from across
the company met in Phoenix for the annual Directors
Conference. Held at the Phoenix Convention Center,
employees teamed up with HandsOn Greater Phoenix
to complete three projects. At one station, staff wrote
thank-you cards for Arizona veterans. More than 250
cards were sent to the Arizona State Veterans Home
of Phoenix (ASVH), a 200-bed facility for honorably
discharged veterans requiring skilled nursing.
Volunteers also lent their skills at the math and literacy
stations. At the math station, they cut laminated
images of pizzas into eighths and cut out fraction flash
cards. At the literacy station, volunteers created spoola-word tools by writing a series of pre-determined
letters onto spools, which were then threaded onto
wooden rods. These learning tools, totaling 240, will
be donated to Balsz and Brunson Lee Elementary. In
one year alone, nearly 200 third grade students in
seven classrooms will use these tools to enhance their
math and literacy skills.
Above: UOPX employee volunteers help fashion learning tools for
elementary school students.
phoenixfocus.com 47
Campus News
Madison Campus donates time and
items to Teen Gift Drive
In December 2011, the United Way of
Dane County hosted a Teen Gift Program,
the only holiday gift program for youth
ages 13-17 in Madison. Madison Campus
staff and faculty donated more than 70
items and participated in the week-long
event to assist roughly 1,500 families
with teens through its collaboration with
the Salvation Army, United Way and the
Marine’s Toys for Tots.
Bay Area Counseling Program hosts
site supervisor meet and greet
Indianapolis Campus staff enjoy fun with Boys & Girls Club members
The entire Indianapolis Campus staff of more than 45 employees volunteered
a whole afternoon at the local Boys & Girls Club of Indianapolis in December
2011. Staff members teamed up with children to make crafts and play a
variety of games. Approximately 100 Boys & Girls Club members were in
attendance.
Above: Indianapolis field placement administrator and Director of Academic Affairs Steven Balke make
crafts with members of the Boys & Girls Club.
Bay Area Campus hosts successful book drive
The Bay Area Campus College of Education September/October book drive
resulted in the donation of more than 400 books to stock classroom libraries
at Marilyn Avenue Elementary in Livermore and Christopher Elementary in
San Jose. This community service activity was headed up by Campus College
Chair Cathy Malone. As part of the efforts, instructor Erin Dixon organized
a service project with the fifth graders at Mohr Elementary in Pleasanton.
Students donated their favorite books and included book marks and book
reviews. Also contributing his time, Dr. Jason Jones retrieved discarded
books in great condition from the Roseville library. In addition to the book
donations, Apollo Community Investments added a $1500 cash donation to
the schools’ libraries. Staff at the Bay Area Campus hope to make the book
drive an annual back-to-school event for high-need schools in the area.
The Bay Area Campus Counseling Program
hosted a site mixer in December 2011.
Three clinical directors from local agencies
where students work were in attendance.
“We have had several [UOPX students
as] trainees and they are great,” says
Clinical Director Colleen MacAdam.
“One completed work with us a few
months ago and we have [other] students
right now. They are doing really well.”
Clinical Director Vicky Tamashiro adds,
“University of Phoenix students are
extremely prepared and professional.
We enjoy working with [them] and look
forward to receiving their applications.”
Highlights of the environmentally friendly
event included networking opportunities
for staff and students alike, an enjoyable
atmosphere and a warm response from
attendees.
YOUR UNIVERSIT Y | Campus News
Bay Area Campus hosts LinkedIn® for ‘Train the Trainer’ session
As employers increasingly turn to online social networks to look for hires, the San
Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Division (OEWD) Business Services
organized a workshop with key LinkedIn staff in November 2011. Participants learned
how to use LinkedIn to help unemployed San Franciscans. Twenty-four nonprofit and
city agency staff attended the “Train-the-Trainer” workshop, modeled after the popular
management training and development program. The session touched on ways to expand
job seekers’ LinkedIn networks as an avenue to benefit their job search efforts and assist
them in finding and applying for job opportunities. Kenny Yu and Greg Brauner of
LinkedIn shared helpful insights into what recruiters and hiring managers are looking
for, as well as how to optimize job seekers’ profiles to better stand out to recruiters.
OEWD looks forward to continuing to work with LinkedIn as they strive to help San
Franciscans get back to work.
Kansas City Campus collects toys for
local families
Kansas City Campus partnered with
Operation Breakthrough in adopting two
families for the holidays in December 2011.
The campus collected toys for a total of
17 children. In addition, they raised more
than $300 to help support the families
with a holiday dinner.
Above: Staff volunteer with Operation Breakthrough.
Minneapolis/St. Paul Campus prepares local families for winter
The Minneapolis/St. Paul Campus joined forces with the Salvation Army to help local
families. Volunteers worked to register families for the Toys for Tots program, reaching
close to 500 families in three days. Volunteers also helped make door insulators to help
families conserve energy and reduce heating costs through the winter.
Above: Heidi Myogeto, Lisa Kangas, and Lisa McGrath help make door insulators at the Salvation Army to help
families conserve energy.
phoenixfocus.com 49
YOUR UNIVERSIT Y | Community Relations
Community Relations
Industry Virtual Teams align education pathways with
industry needs
Workforce Solutions, a division of University of Phoenix, is committed to
helping organizations develop highly skilled workforces that will ensure
quality outcomes, continued innovation and the sustained success across
multiple industries. As part of this mission, Workforce Solutions has been
developing and launching “industry virtual teams” within select industries.
UOPX Volunteer Corps teams up with the
Diamondbacks at Winter Classic
In December 2011, a corps of 100 UOPX volunteers
spent the afternoon with children at the D-backs
Winter Classic. Each year, the Diamondbacks host
this special day, inviting children from local nonprofit
organizations to enjoy games, entertainment and
special visits from the players.
This year, 500 students from ICAN, St. Peter’s Indian
Mission School, Children First Academy Phoenix and
H.K. Cummings Community Center were invited to
the event. Volunteers helped with the Santa Station,
Reading Corner, Shoe Station, playtime, crafts and
food. Players Willie Bloomquist, J.J. Putz, Stephen
Drew, Ryan Roberts and Barry Enright worked hand
in hand with UOPX volunteers to give the children a
special day.
Above: UOPX Volunteer Corps at Winter Classic.
These teams are designed to connect industry relevance, business needs,
and academic curriculum—something University of Phoenix has pioneered.
The health care virtual team was recently launched and has been busy
collaborating with health care companies and organizations to help provide
relevant, industry-aligned education pathways for highly skilled nursing
and health administration leaders. With nearly 100 percent market share in
southern California, this industry virtual team has clearly been impactful
across local markets, even in its infant stages. In addition to the existing
manufacturing virtual team, the hospitality industry launched late last year,
and several more are scheduled to launch this year.
Giving initiative reaches 310,500 students
Last year, employees gave $200,000 to K-12 classrooms at DonorsChoose.org.
In November 2011, each University of Phoenix employee received a $25 gift
code to DonorsChoose.org‚ an online charity that makes it easy for anyone
to help students in need. Employees were invited to use the gift code to
donate to a K-12 classroom project of their choice. More than 7,000 employees
redeemed their gift codes, resulting in a total donation of $200,000. These
funds will help 3,308 classroom projects in all 50 states, impacting more than
310,500 students.
UOPX and NBC News donate 1,000 NBC Learn subscriptions
University of Phoenix partnered with NBC News to donate licensed
subscriptions to the award-winning “NBC Learn K-12” to 1,000 middle and
high schools in four cities. The gift grants schools two years worth of access
to the rich collection of NBC News videos, primary source documents, images
and resources specifically designed for use in the K-12 classroom.
University of Phoenix and NBC News presented 250 Phoenix-area middle
and high schools with the subscriptions at an Arizona Cardinals home
game against the San Francisco 49ers. The donation was received by State
Superintendent of Education John Huppenthal in a special ceremony.
Alumni Association
Benefits
Starting the day you graduate, the University of Phoenix Alumni Association becomes a resource
for you. Visit alumni.phoenix.edu to customize your account and confirm your profile.
Built-in career networking
Homecoming and events
Career resources
Scholarships
Discounts and savings
Get involved
Tap into an alumni network that’s more than 700,000 strong
by joining the Alumni Association.
Discover tools and resources to help you market your skills
to potential employers.
Find discounts on everything from computers and
electronics to insurance products, travel and more through
University Marketplace.
Reconnect with fellow alumni at Homecoming each fall or
attend special events throughout the year.
Apply for scholarships to return to school or nominate
someone you know for the chance to attend the University.
Become a mentor, join an Alumni Chapter or share your story
through Phoenix Focus alumni magazine.
Get started now
alumni.phoenix.edu.
Bettina Deynes | BSB/M ′04
phoenixfocus.com 51
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