Q: What is your current job and location?
I am self-employed at jVid Art & Design, and I work for Gonzaga ESL as the Activities Event Coordinating Assistant.
Q: What program did you take part in at GU?
I have been part of the on-campus Organizational Leadership Program.
Q: What has your experience been with on-campus classes and why did you choose this delivery?
I have a personal relationship with nearly the entire staff of both the Communication & Leadership Studies and the Organizational Leadership Programs. I also have the influence of several Doctoral students which I have befriended. For me, taking a more traditional approach proved to be more successful than if I had done strictly online because I need the structure of personal interactions. I needed the one-on-one of the program.
Q: What made you decide to choose Gonzaga?
I wanted to go to a school that has a strong reputation and has the Jesuit mindset.
Q: How has the program changed you personally and professionally?
A: The program has given me more than I could have even imagined. I wish I had half of the leadership classes before I was commissioned as a Naval Officer in 2004. Now that I am almost finished with the program, I am better prepared and more well rounded to re-enter the professional business world for a long-term career.
Q: How has the program impacted your professional work?
The program has impacted me to the point of wanting to take on more responsibility in my community and continue to create new ventures with my wife. I would say that I did not take as many risks before I started the program.
Q: What would you say to your peers about this program?
To my peers, “get ready”… the program is not a walk in the park. Every time you think you have hit bottom, the Jesuit mindset of our professors ensures that you will be thrown a new shovel. They want you to dig deep as far as knowledge, personal experience and growth. Reflection and discussing failures is just as important as personal success. Anyone who takes this program will be enlightened to the concept of “Failing Forward” and the differences between management versus leadership.
If anything Gonzaga has taught me to be grateful, and I’m looking forward to the possibilities of the future.
LT (SWO) David J. Mauel, USN, ret.
Officer of the Deck of the USS MASON DDG-87 off the coast of Somali
