FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2009

Beating the Recession and Bettering Society

ST. LOUIS, July 16, 2009 – In the past 11 months, Kevin Boggeman has walked in the sands of the Sahara, dived into the Danube and wandered the streets of Morocco. His passport is full and his travel miles are adding up.  But the Webster University Global MBA student and St. Louis native says nothing has developed more in the last year than his personal and professional growth.

“The year has really prepared me,” reveals Boggeman from his current home in Vienna, Austria, “both by the education of earning my MBA and by the experience of living in different countries and cultures.  It is sort of a training mechanism because it has put me into what some might consider uncomfortable situations that now I’m in a better place to handle.”

Through Webster University’s unique 11-month Global MBA program, Boggeman was a member of a cohort of full-time graduate students who spent nine-week terms at Webster campus locations in five international business capitals.

Having that international perspective gives Boggeman an insight few others possess when entering today’s post-recession job market.  After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English from St. John’s University, Boggeman moved to northern Honduras to volunteer at an orphanage.  It is there he realized that his passion to help people could benefit from the might of a business degree so he joined Webster’s Global MBA program. Boggeman started his studies last August in Geneva, Switzerland, followed by semesters in The Netherlands, London, China and now Vienna, Austria. 

Once he graduates this month, Boggeman plans to start a career in corporate social responsibility, disaster relief or non-profit administration, all areas hit hard by the recession.  A recent poll by the Listening Post Project found that 83 percent of nonprofit organizations responding experienced some level of financial stress since last September.  Boggeman says his international experience will help advance even the hardest hit of these organizations. The challenge has also revealed Boggeman’s strengths in being able to work with anybody to get a task done and operate between people of all cultures to get a job completed.

“I’m ready to get my feet wet and my hands dirty in a career that utilizes my skills and gifts while also contributing to society,” says Boggeman.” I know it takes a leap of faith to hire somebody.  But once in the door, I’ve found through my hard work and working well with people I’ve always found a way to succeed.”      

With its home campus in St. Louis, Webster University (www.webster.edu) is a worldwide institution committed to delivering high-quality learning experiences that transform students for global citizenship and individual excellence. Founded in 1915, Webster offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs through five schools and colleges, and a global network of more than 100 campuses. Its 20,000-plus student population represents almost 150 nationalities. The University’s core values include excellence in teaching, joining theory and practice, small class sizes, and educating students to be lifelong independent learners, fully prepared to participate in an increasingly international society.

Since opening its first campus overseas in Geneva in 1978, Webster has become a recognized leader and innovator in global education, with an international presence that now includes campuses in London; Vienna; Amsterdam and Leiden, the Netherlands; Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu, China; and Bangkok and Cha-am, Thailand. Webster also has educational partnerships with universities in Mexico and Japan.

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A video profiling Kevin Boggeman is available at www.webster.edu/sbt/kevinboggeman.  To interview Mr. Boggeman, please contact Susan Kerth in Webster’s Office of Public Affairs (susankerth14@webster.edu). More on the Webster University’s Global MBA program can be found at www.webster.edu/globalmba.