On Thursday, Feb. 9 in Campus Center Meeting Room 5, Director of Student Development Jeffrey Wakeman announced the opening of the Character and Leadership application and encouraged rising Juniors and Seniors to apply on OspreyHub. Wakeman emphasized how the John R. Elliot Foundation offers its students advantages by providing networking opportunities at each Leadership Lunch session. At this session, Chief Financial Officer of Atlanticare Hak Kim shared experiences from his journey to reaching a high-ranking position in the healthcare field.

Kim graduated from Stockton in ’96 with a Bachelor’s in Business Finance. To this day, Kim tries to give back to the Stockton community by being a part of the Stockton Foundation Board and helping advocate for the John R. Elliot Foundation. Kim shared with students that the key to his success and character development is “finding the True North in what really motivates you and wakes you up on those hard days needing to go to work. What makes you try to do better?” His journey started at Stockton when a professor encouraged him to do an internship in his senior year. 27 years later, he continues to work for Alanticare after having worked his way up to a leadership role.

The founder of the John R. Elliot Foundation, Bill Elliot, also attended the session to promote the year-old Character and Leadership program and explain the importance of mentorship. Elliot remarked, “I have this basic belief that everyone in this room, all of us are leaders…sometimes it takes a mentor to bring it out of you.” Bill Elliot is the father of John R. Elliot, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis Maryland. Just two months after his graduation, John R. Elliot was killed by a drunk driver. With this devastating news, Bill Elliot was driven to mitigate future accidents by starting the Hero Campaign for Designated Drivers. After partnering with Stockton, the John R. Elliot Foundation’s efforts continued to expand with the creation of new programs like the Character and Leadership program, which is designed to build a generation of leaders.