Class of 2008, Master of Business Administration
Class of 2007, Communication Major
Hometown: Fostoria, Ohio

In March 2008, just prior to the start of her final session in UF’s MBA program, Kim Haddix traveled to Washington, D.C., for Presidential Classroom, an organization that provides high school students the chance to explore the political process firsthand.

But she wasn’t there as a participant or as a presenter or even as a casual observer. She was there to see her ideas implemented during Global Health and the Environment Week – a program entirely based on a proposal she developed in fall 2006.

For her senior assessment project, a requirement to complete an undergraduate degree in communication at UF, Haddix wanted to develop a learning experience for students interested in boosting their résumés for medical school. She knew Presidential Classroom was the ideal vehicle for her idea.

Haddix participated in Presidential Classroom as a high school student and went back as a summer college intern in the organization’s communication office. Haddix got the idea for the health-focused program after a friend expressed concern about not having enough medical-related extracurricular activities to put on her medical school application.

It was a win-win situation. “It would give students an experience others may not have,” said Haddix. “And I needed a senior project.”

Included in her proposal were criteria for volunteer instructors, contact lists for possible guest speakers, suggested debate topics, a proposed interactive simulation focused on epidemic crisis management, sample communication pieces and more. Every detail was addressed.

Haddix noted that the UF communication faculty helped her develop the strong proposal, including the late James Greenwood who was her faculty adviser for the project. “He would suggest different places for me to find information. He gave me a lot of ideas and feedback, and he gave me a lot of support for my project.”

She also was appreciative of Jon Gordon, Ph.D., associate professor of intercultural communication, and Hiroaki Kawamura, Ph.D., chair of the department of language and culture, for their suggestions in helping to broaden her proposal to include a global perspective.

After receiving positive feedback from UF faculty members, Haddix sent her proposal to executives at Presidential Classroom, and the organization’s leaders quickly began making plans to implement the new program.

Kim, right, poses with her roommate Melissa Cowart from the college intern program. Melissa now works for Presidential Classroom.

While in the beginning stages of planning, Haddix received questions and requests for guidance regarding the development of the program. Haddix’s roommate from the internship program had been hired to work for Presidential Classroom and was in charge of executing the new project.

“They altered it a little bit to better fit their structure, but my project was the basis for everything they did,” she said. Nearly 100 students attended the inaugural week, and Presidential Classroom plans to continue offering the health-focused program to high school students.

Kim stands with Dr. Elizabeth Sherman, executive director of Presidential Classroom, at the closing banquet.

While in D.C., Haddix did have an opportunity to talk to some of the instructors and listen to students’ presentations, which she said were well thought-out and intelligent. The volunteer instructors she spoke with were complimentary of the program and said the students were benefiting from being there for the week.

“Doing this project allowed me to stretch my critical thinking skills, and forced me to be clear and thorough in what I was saying,” noted Haddix. “I made sure I covered all angles so that my work could speak for itself. I know now that I can tackle something this big. I had a lot of fun with it.”