The Alumni Board, including President Kelli Roads, Vice President Jessica Moody Bruce and Secretary Aliza Beaulieu, works to keep students connected after graduation to help them succeed and stay a part of Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Christ-centered community. Roads, Bruce and Beaulieu all feel that as women in leadership, they have been gifted certain God-given talents to succeed in their roles and bring the board closer to reaching its goals.
“Alumni are the face of the school…. They have the ability to be in so many fields and cities, meaning they are able to continue PBA’s mission on a larger scale,” Roads said.
The Alumni Board’s Mission and Impact
Roads explains that while the school’s graduates are scattered around the world, the Alumni Association works to remind them of where their journeys began at PBA. Bruce agrees, saying the association works to keep a sense of pride and school spirit among graduates once they leave campus.
“It also helps current students see how, eventually, they will be able to give back and be proud of where they came from,” Bruce said.
According to Beaulieu, alumni are also instrumental in spreading the gospel by being good influences in their work environments. Using the moral foundations taught at PBA, graduates are able to successfully stand up for what is right and not succumb to the pressures of the world.
Beaulieu hopes that PBA produces students who possess “strong moral character who will do the right thing when no one is watching.”
The board seeks to advance these goals by building more opportunities for scholarships and networking for current and past students by exhibiting good leadership in their positions.
Beaulieu believes the main attributes of a good leader are the ability to make good, detailed decisions and knowing how to use feelings as an advantage to do what is right instead of letting them become a distraction from getting a job done.
Women leaders must learn certain lessons and overcome some specific challenges to succeed. Beaulieu’s best advice for women is to embrace the qualities that make them different from men instead of trying to compete or copy masculine traits. She estimates women can accomplish much more when they accept the unique design God has given them.
Embracing Feminine Strength: Advice for Women Leaders
Bruce, the granddaughter of one of PBA’s founders, remembers hearing how her grandmother, Doris Moody, helped support her grandfather, Dr. Jess Moody, when founding PBA. She says that their relationship was a good example of how behind every big dreamer, there is someone more practical who helps set a plan in motion. Her grandmother is an example of female leadership she has found inspiring in her own professional journey.
“As a woman, people like to put you in a box and limit their expectations of you. But I used that chip on my shoulder as fuel to shatter those expectations,” Bruce said.
Roads added to this by saying that one of her favorite things to notice when looking through history is all the women who accomplished firsts. She thinks that because we have had so many women open doors already, we often forget just how long those doors were kept shut. By celebrating Women ‘s History Month, people acknowledge those accomplishments and hopefully inspire new generations.
To Roads, Bruce and Beaulieu, Women’s History Month is a time to remember how capable women have always been and how much they can do when they are free from cultural constraints. The month is for highlighting how good leadership can reach people and inspire a better future.
“Women are amazing! We juggle careers, kids, relationships and all kinds of nuances. And the list goes on. Whether you are running the board room and/or your household, it’s all important work” Beaulieu said.
