Morningside College has announced the selection of 22 emerging student leaders to be part of the inaugural class of the Connie Wimer Women’s Leadership Program. The new leadership program is named in honor of alumna Connie Wimer, an active Iowa business leader and member of the Morningside College Board of Directors.

Morningside College has announced the selection of 22 emerging student leaders to be part of the inaugural class of the Connie Wimer Women’s Leadership Program.

The new leadership program is named in honor of alumna Connie Wimer, an active Iowa business leader and member of the Morningside College Board of Directors. Wimer has championed leadership development for women and their advancement throughout her career. She is chair of Business Publications Corporation in Des Moines and was the first woman to chair the Des Moines Chamber of Commerce. She also was the first woman elected to the Greater Des Moines Committee’s Business Hall of Fame. In 2007, Wimer was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame.

The semester-long, co-curricular program at Morningside is designed to help undergraduate women accelerate their professional growth through seminars, workshops, and other events focused on personal leadership development, negotiation, skill building, networking and ethical behavior training. Faculty and staff nominated students for the program, and a steering committee selected the participants.

Students accepted into the program include:

Iowa – Sara Bauermeister, junior, elementary education major from Spencer; Payton Boer, sophomore, business administration major from Sioux Center; Alejandra Castillo, junior, psychology counseling major from Storm Lake; Sabrina Guerra, senior, non-profit management major from Red Oak; Haley   Hines, sophomore, nursing major from Sioux City; Nicole Langbein, junior, applied agricultural and food studies major from Sac City; Ashley Mace, junior, psychology counseling and business administration major from New Virginia; Hope Philbrick, junior, nursing major from Council Bluffs.

Nebraska – Morgan Fogelman, senior, business administration major from Elkhorn; Brittany Gill, senior, biology major from Lincoln; Brayton Hagge, senior, English major from Fordyce; Madison Harpenau, senior, nursing major from Omaha; Natasha Hongsermeier, senior, biology and chemistry major from Phillips; Laura Peters, sophomore, American history and education major from Ainsworth; Kensly Schuelke, senior, biology major from Greenwood; Allyssa Stevens, junior, political science and social and behavioral science major from Omaha; Katelyn Stewart, freshman, music performance and music education major from Crofton; Dominique Swanson, senior, business administration and mass communication major from Bloomfield; Jenna Winkler, sophomore, biology and chemistry major from Papillion.

Other states – Rachel DeJong, sophomore, general business major from Leota, Minn.; Tracy Gates, senior, biology major from Escondido, Calif.; Sarah Yankowski, senior, nursing major from Colorado Springs, Colo.