Soderquist Center Proves Perfect Fit

Clayton Anderson will graduate from John Brown University with a master’s in business administration in May 2011.

Anderson is further distinguished by the time he spends as a project coordinator at the Soderquist Center for Leadership & Ethics, which has him co-instructing undergraduate courses in leadership studies at JBU. All of which highlights the bachelor’s in leadership and management he earned last May.

But if you ask Anderson what his claim to fame is, he won’t hesitate to mention his impending marriage to “a great fiancé.”

Born and raised in and around Chicago, he spent a season playing football on scholarship at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Ill.

But hope for a more fulfilling college experience – and knowledge of John Brown’s quality via an older brother already attending school there – ultimately pushed Anderson to make a life change.

“To be honest I didn’t even know where Arkansas was on a map,” he said. “It was kind of a leap of faith.”

As an undergraduate, Anderson excelled at JBU. Among other honors, he was a member of the 2008-09 Students in Free Enterprise competition team that finished fourth in the nation, and in April 2009 his team finished second in Arkansas at the Reynolds Governor’s Cup business plan competition. Last year Anderson was awarded John Brown’s Outstanding Christian Business Leadership Award. Anderson even found time to study abroad in Germany.

He calls his role at the Soderquist Center “a huge blessing.” His current position has him coordinating logistics for any number of programs and events as the center attempts to develop leadership within their participants.

“Here at the Soderquist Center we’re privileged to interact with customers at points in their career when they’re asking a lot of leadership questions,” he said. “Lots of answers revolve around people.”

Anderson is hopeful about his wide-open future. He also remains thankful for his parent’s sacrifices.

“I’ve really come to appreciate how hard-working they were,” he said. “I was impacted by their work ethic. They never complained. There’s no substitute for hard work. I learned that early on.”