Get to Know the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient: Shandai Moore-Jenkins
Get to Know the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient: Shandai Moore-Jenkins
Back in May 2018, Peirce College had the honor of welcoming back Peirce College Alumni to campus for the 2018 Spring Alumni Reception. At this event, two alumni in particular were acknowledged for their dedication, support and excellence not only within the external community, but also within Peirce’s community. We featured our Distinguished Service Award winner, Janet Taylor, back in May, but today, we take a moment to meet and highlight the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award winner, Shandai Moore-Jenkins.
Just like a lot of Peirce students, Shandai always dreamed of attending college, but when she graduated from high school, she was not financially able to pursue this path just yet. Instead, Shandai entered the workforce and found herself immersed in building and co-founding a homeless outreach non-profit – Chosen 300. After launching this incredible business venture and considering what lay ahead, Shandai found herself re-thinking the possibility of heading back to school.
“I was really passionate about taking the organization to the next level. I knew, in order to be successful, I needed to gain the business skill-set to make this happen. Although, it was a challenging decision for me to make (due to my already busy lifestyle), it was more important for me to take the initiative to learn all I could about policies and economic development all while building effective business strategies,” Shandai reflected. With a dedicated mindset, Shandai searched for the right place to earn her degree. Thanks to a fellow staff member and Peirce graduate, Peirce College came up fairly quickly in conversation.
Shandai was in pursuit of a business degree with a concentration in public speaking. While public speaking was not a viable Peirce concentration, the college worked with Shandai to develop a course of study that best fit her need. In 2008, she entered the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program and didn’t look back.
As Shandai pursued her degree, she was pleasantly surprised with how Peirce fit her lifestyle and how Peirce continued to refresh and update its curriculum to evolve in alignment with workforce needs. One of the courses developed was ‘Public Speaking;’ this was perfect and Shandai was thrilled to connect everything she needed in one place. “My line of work demands a great deal of public speaking. Therefore, I knew I needed to gain more knowledge and confidence when communicating with the public,” explained Shandai. “Luckily, the Public Speaking course [at Peirce College] was made available, so I was able to fulfill my desire after all and I thoroughly enjoyed the course.”
In June 2011, Shandai was ready to proudly walk across the commencement stage. She finally earned her college degree and now it was time to put her public speaking skills to the test.
Shandai Moore-Jenkins was the 2011 student commencement speaker, beautifully leading the audience through her speech, inspiring others to never give up and to always reach for their goals.
After earning a degree and taking courses with Peirce, Shandai stated, “I am more knowledgeable and can make wiser decisions. My studies taught me to better manage my organization as a whole; this includes networking, public speaking, creating new programs and building new projects.”
Now as the Co-Founder and Senior Vice President of Chosen 300 and a proud Peirce College alumna, Shandai does a lot within the Peirce community and well beyond. Her hard work and diligence earned her the 2018 Peirce Distinguished Alumni Award. After receiving the award, Shandai shared her heartfelt gratitude with us, “It took me a moment to realize what it all meant. I am so humbled by the selection made, knowing there are so many great stories to be told from Peirce alumni. I am still in awe of the selection and feel totally blessed to represent Peirce College for the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award. Thank you once again!”
Congratulations to Shandai on receiving this award and on all her accomplishments within and beyond the classroom. Peirce College is honored to have served and now be represented by such an inspirational community member.
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