Jeremy Francis had decent grades in high school, his stepfather’s encouragement to become the first in his biological family to finish college, and his own ambition to achieve a degree.

Now the vice president of Fidelity State Bank and Trust Company in Topeka, he is responsible for information technology and human resources. He feels that his degree helped him get his current position, and he encourages aspiring college students to go after what they want.   

“I would definitely recommend that they go to a place like Friends University and at least inquire about it,” Francis said. “What they would learn is that it’s not as difficult as they think.” Financial stress and the workload can be intimidating, “ … but the rewards, in my opinion, are great.”

While taking night classes once a week, he worked at Fidelity, and eventually the motivation to complete his education came from seeing that the lack of a degree would hinder his progress at work.

“My schooling helped me being offered the IT position,” Francis said. “I just wanted to enhance that and add more tools to my toolkit.”

Friends University was the venue, first with his bachelor’s in Organizational Management and Leadership (OML), then with his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in January 2009. Francis found Friends University accommodating and liked the small class sizes. The experience left him wanting to give back; he will serve as president of the Topeka Alumni Advisory Board in 2009-10.

“That’s an opportunity I’m definitely looking forward to,” Francis said. He has been serving on the board for the past 3 years and helped come up with some valuable ideas.

Two years ago the board decided to hold a golf tournament for the Topeka area to help raise scholarship funds. It wound up being a huge success and became an annual event. The other idea the board came up with was to expand scholarship offerings for the degrees in Topeka. Francis awaits even more chances to influence change.

He now sees possibilities that were not apparent before. A self-described homebody, he envisions visiting or living in places he once deemed unreachable.

At home, Francis sees the influence on his daughters. “My oldest is in school now, and she definitely knows what it means to finish college,” said Francis. “I can give them the real-world view – it can be done. Here’s proof in your own family that it can be accomplished.”