Consultant Reaches
Inc. 500 List

Southern Adventist University

by Aimee Bradshaw

William McKnight, 1987, was working with some big-firm consultants when he realized he had found his true career path.

“In one position I held, I inherited scores of big-firm consultants who were not doing the job I knew I could,” explains McKnight, “so I made the jump myself.”

Eager to experience a new work environment and explore his capabilities, he formed a consulting company called McKnight Associates in 1998. Seven years later, McKnight was doing such an excellent job of running his company that someone suggested he apply for the Southwest Entrepreneur of the Year award.

“I didn’t realize it had reached a point that would mean anything to anybody other than my team,” says McKnight. “But somebody said I should apply so I did, expecting to be laughed out of the process, but it took a different path.”

Shocked and appreciative when he was presented the award that confirmed the worth of his work, he was right back to work the next day. His focus remained on those things that had made the award possible: delighting clients and delivering returns on investment.

McKnight’s hard work was also reflected when his company was included on the prestigious Inc. 500 list. “I’m humbled every time I look at the list,” says McKnight.

Having recently sold his first consulting company, McKnight formed a second company, McKnight Consulting Group, this year. He has also recently published the book "90 Days to Success in Consulting."

“Consulting is my passion, and I’ve seen and learned a lot in my 15 years of doing it,” says McKnight, whose book is for readers who are looking to self-consult or working for a consulting firm.

McKnight has come a long way since his days as a computer science major, but he hasn’t forgotten the role Southern played in his road to success.

“The college experience,” he says, “taught me how to learn, how to focus, and how to demonstrate my learning.”

Courtesy of Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, Tenn.

Academic Dean Named a Fellow by the American Health Information Management Association

Loma Linda University

Reprinted with permission: Paula Hinely, Media Relations Specialist, Medical College of Georgia

Dr. Carol Campbell, associate dean for academic and business affairs in the Medical College of Georgia School of Allied Health Sciences, has been named a fellow of the American Health Information Management Association. Of the association’s 52,000 members, only 64 are fellows. Campbell is the first Medical College of Georgia recipient of this honor.

“I’m humbled by this,” Campbell says. “While it’s a recognition of my accomplishment, more importantly I know it comes with a responsibility to continue making significant contributions to the field and to mentor others.”

Her most significant contributions have been in academia. Since Campbell came to Medical College of Georgia in 1984, 294 students have earned health information management degrees. “It’s a privilege to shape and mold the profession by educating our future colleagues,” she says.

During her tenure as chair of the Department of Health Informatics, she helped establish the Master of Public Health program in health informatics. Campbell is a professor in the Medical College of Georgia Schools of Allied Health Sciences, Graduate Studies and Medicine. She received the 2006 Outstanding Service Award from the School of Allied Health Sciences.

Campbell earned a doctoral degree in business administration from Nova Southeastern University, a master’s degree in management from the University of Redlands, Calif., and a bachelor’s degree in medical record administration from Loma Linda University in 1978.

Courtesy of Loma Linda Unviersity, Loma Linda, Calif.

Graphic Design Grad Accepts Position at Tennis Magazine

Walla Walla University

Dennis Huynh, a 2006 graduate from Walla Walla University, recently accepted a position as Assistant Art Director at Tennis Magazine in New York City.

Tennis Magazine is a 10-issue-a-year American sports magazine that has been in print for over four decades. Aside from articles about the most recent events and most active players in the world of tennis, the magazine also includes the recent rankings for both the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). It also includes information on upcoming tournaments and their participants, as well as past tournament winners.

As Assistant Art Director, Huynh, who holds his Walla Walla University degree in graphic design, is responsible for assigning artwork for the front- and back-of-book. He then is responsible for designing those sections as well as some of the magazine’s feature articles.

“I really feel quite spoiled and blessed to have this job,” says Huynh. “The publishing industry is notoriously exclusive, cut-throat and recently shrinking. Here I’ve been given an opportunity to design for a national audience, with lots of creative freedom and responsibility, in an environment that is supportive and fun.”

Huynh feels his experience at Walla Walla University prepared him well for his career. Immersing himself in as many design opportunities as possible, Huynh worked for the Mountain Ash and the Collegian, and led marketing and advertising campaigns for departments and programs such as wwudrama, the technology department and the student-led worship service, the Awakening.

“The byproduct of that kind of experience,” he says, “was that I began to learn how to collaborate with those who are talented in other creative fields like photography, writing, videography and leadership.”

Courtesy of Walla Walla University, Walla Walla, Wash.

Sonography Graduate Launches Business

Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences

By Chad Hall,
RDMS, RDCS, RVT
Owner, Weston Diagnostics

Personal reflection excerpt from alumni newsletter

Aside from hard work, which is a given for anyone starting their own business, I’ve learned that there are just a couple of core values that have enabled me to provide great service and to continue to grow our company and this team, Weston Diagnostics. The sonography program at Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences is the foundation of this and with the tutelage of my professors, we were prepared to move forward with it all.

"I think the most valuable tool any of us has as business owners is our team. I could never be where I am today if it weren’t for the talented group I am blessed to work with each day. I work side by side each day with our songoraphers and am continually reminded of how lucky I am. Working with my team, day in and day out, has made me a better sonographer. Without such a well trained, very dedicated, and accurate group, Weston would not exist as it does today.

Quality versus quantity is another key component to the success of Weston. Not only did Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences prepare me to be a sonographer, but it also taught me one of the most important things I could have learned: the importance of GREAT images. We frequently hear physician comments regarding poor quality of images and how much it impedes the ability to arrive at an accurate diagnosis. Patients and physicians alike are inconvenienced. It’s always comforting to both our physician partners and myself to know that when they come to us, they are going to get the best possible results.

The third, possibly most important, component is relationships. Everything depends on the relationships we have developed over the past decade that we have been in business. Patients and physicians know that they can trust us. They know that when they come to us they can be confident that they are getting the best possible service. Physicians, especially, trust us to ensure the best possible outcome for their patients through accurate studies and reporting.

All of these things, an amazingly talented team, quality images and great relationships and partnerships have brought us to where we are today. Because of our reputation, we have had the opportunity to work on various research projects with several specialists in some of the best accredited facilities in the area. We currently have a staff of fifteen and have new plans to diversify our service offering while continuing to provide great service. I truly thank Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences for preparing me for a great future and for teaching me what’s important.

Courtesy of Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences, Orlando, Fla.

Investment Banker Grows
Innovative Companies

Atlantic Union College

Henry Noel, Jr. is very positive about his educational experience at Atlantic Union College. “My education gave me a good foundation in economics and finance,” he said, “and the personal attention from teachers gave me a high level of confidence in my own skills.”  These professors included Drs. Alywn Fraser and Joseph Ghosn.

“I was always bent on becoming a doctor," Noel said. "However, after taking Intro to Microeconomics with Dr. Alwyn Fraser during the second semester of my freshman year, I fell in love with business and finance. That is what I have done ever since.”

After graduating from Atlantic Union College, Noel next earned his Master of Business Administration in finance from Hofstra University in Long Island, New York.

Today, Noel is an investment banker with Nile Capital, an investment boutique based in Newton, Massachusetts. As vice president, he raises capital for new and small business interests.

“I really enjoy meeting new clients and learning about the new and exciting technologies they are working on," Noel said. "I primarily work with growing, innovative companies with revenues between $5 – 50MS and assist them in accessing the capital markets. I essentially play matchmaker to these companies and the individual and institutional investors looking for the next big thing.”

Courtesy of Atlantic Union College

Surgeon Inspires Sacrifice and Freedom

Pacific Union College

By Lainey S. Cronk

Sacrifice and freedom are not things people typically pair in the same sentence. But orthopedic surgeon Scott Nelson, a 1992 alumnus of Pacific Union College, wants his life experience to inspire people to just that — “to make sacrifices and live with freedom.” When his long-term work in the Dominican Republic put him in the perfect place to respond to Haiti's recent earthquake, Nelson had an even more intense opportunity to live this motto.

Starting when he was 8, Nelson's direction toward medical missionary work was influenced by such people as his grandfather Olavi Rouhe, a surgeon who spent 25 years of his career in central Zaire (and also a 1929 graduate of Pacific Union College), and by Adventist education and heritage. “I owe a great deal of thanks to Pacific Union College, Adventist education and a heritage of sacrifice and mission which we can proudly share with the world,” His wife, Marni Miller, Pacific Union College Class of 1991, has also contributed to the process. “It is largely because of her sacrifices and encouragement that we have been led to do the work we do,” Nelson says.

The Nelsons made the decision at the end of 2004 to move to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Nelson works for CURE International, an organization that seeks to combat diseases that often destroy lives and families in the Third World, but that are very treatable with modern medicine in the Western World. As the medical director of the CURE hospital in Santo Domingo, Nelson had administrative responsibilities, clinical teaching of orthopedic residents, and a full-time surgical practice mostly serving children with developmental, congenital, and post-traumatic deformities and disabilities.

Nelson traveled to Cap Haitien in northern Haiti regularly to perform corrective surgery for some of the poorest children in the western hemisphere, a connection that became crucial in January of this year. Just two days after the earthquake in Haiti, Nelson and four others from CURE arrived to perform life-saving surgeries first at Hopital du la Communitie Haitien and then at the Adventist hospital in Port-au-Prince, Hopital Adventiste d’Haiti. "I worked day and night for six days until I felt like I was starting to loose my focus and was able to escape the hospital and get a full six hours of sleep," Nelson wrote in his account on his CURE Caribe blog.

Courtesy of Pacific Union College, Angwin, Calif.

College President Completes North Pole Marathon to Raise Scholarship Money

On Wednesday, April 7, Oakwood University president and '75 graduate, Delbert W. Baker, Ph.D., completed “the world’s coolest marathon” — the 26.2-mile North Pole Marathon, or “The Grand Slam of Marathons,” as it is commonly known. Baker is one of the few athletes to have completed marathons on all seven continents, thereby earning the athletic privilege of joining the exclusive North Pole Marathon Grand Slam Club. This comes just a little over a year following his successful run of the Ice Marathon at the South Pole in December 2008.

For several years, Baker has enjoyed running marathons, having completed 48 altogether, including the seven continents, and 34 states; however, as the chief executive officer of Oakwood University, his primary motivation is his students. Baker’s passion for raising scholarship money and his love for athletics has fueled the successful Running for Scholarships campaign.

Florida Hospital in Orlando, Florida, sponsors Baker’s marathon quest by covering all expenses associated with running the marathons, allowing every dollar raised through this campaign to be applied directly to student scholarships. Currently, the marathons that Baker has already run have generated approximately $400,000, which goes to assisting students who otherwise may not have the finances to complete their college education. Baker has challenged himself to raising an additional $100,000 from this North Pole race for the scholarship fund.

Courtesy of Oakwood University, Huntsville, Ala.