Applying his own optimism and zest to help students acquire leadership skills, leadership instructor Mike Finnegan’s famous red hair and bright smile parallel his fiery teaching style.
    Finnegan, a K-State graduate, began to teach in the school of leadership studies in 2006, six years after he received his bachelor’s degrees in criminology and geography. He said returning to K-State was one of the best decisions he’s ever made.
    “Realizing I could continue my involvements at K-State through working with first-semester freshmen got me really fired up,” Finnegan said. “I was asked to teach introduction to leadership concepts, which seemed like a natural fit for me.”
    Finnegan said his representation of and connection with K-State has continued to grow since his graduation.
    While he was a student, he was a yell leader, which he said filled the majority of his time, and was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity.
    “K-State helped shape the person I am today because it allowed lots of opportunities to be involved with others, and helped me learn a lot about working as a team and working with different personality types,” he said.

College to college
    Finnegan said after he received his bachelor’s degrees in 2000, he immediately began working as a K-State admissions representative until 2003. He then began working as the assistant director of new student programs at the University of Central Missouri, and also received his master’s degree in college student personnel administration from UCM.
    In 2006, Finnegan moved back to Manhattan to teach in the school of leadership studies, which began in 1998. He is also currently a Ph.D. student in higher education administration at K-State, and plans to achieve his degree in 2010.
    Finnegan said Susan Scott, director and assistant vice president of leadership studies, knew he was thinking about moving in another direction with his career path. He said she immediately notified him when a teaching position in the school opened, and he began pursuing it.
    “The job seemed perfect for me,” he said. “I had been working with the recruitment aspect of K-State, and I realized the immediate impact for retention I could give to new K-State freshmen. I wanted to help navigate students during their most critical collegiate times.”

What’s next?
    Finnegan said he had never thought about teaching before — he had only been involved with university administrative roles, and planned on working with law enforcement as an undergraduate. He said he developed his motivational, energetic and interactional teaching style through considering what would have made him want to learn while he was a student.
    “My teaching goal each day is to bring students to the forefront in discussion, and personalize the material,” he said. “I also try to channel all types of communication to students, and set them up with technology knowledge.”
    Finnegan said because he had never had fundamental teaching experiences or classes he had taken before, he began observing respected K-State teachers to learn how to effectively teach. He said Dr. Vickie Clegg, a principles of college teaching instructor at K-State, revealed to him what it takes to be a good college instructor.
    “I had never had experience before, and she introduced rubrics, assessments, student learning outcomes, and personal teaching philosophies to me,” he said. “She effectively introduced me to all that in a semester. I love teaching because there’s always somebody to observe.”

The reward
    Finnegan said his favorite aspect of teaching is helping students who want to learn, but have a hard time connecting the leadership theories to processes and practices. He also said he loves working with freshmen who don’t understand the material, and takes advantage of any moment that gives him an opportunity to teach.
    “I have the opportunity to model the way in a classroom, and try to identify what makes students tick,” he said. “I have the opportunity to direct that student to an area where that student can blossom and find strengths.”
    Although his students help him feel a connection to teaching, Finnegan said he grows increasingly passionate about leadership each day because of his colleagues.
    “Because of the people I work with, I work with full passion to be the best instructor of leadership I can be,” he said. “They have helped me have a growing appreciation for diversity and building inclusive teens, as well as the future of leadership studies.”

Self-perception
    Finnegan describes himself as a high-energy, caring, creative and understanding person, and some of his colleagues agree and appreciate his enthusiastic, goal-oriented nature.
    “Mike is an energetic, passionate person, and is caring as both a colleague and a friend,” said Todd Wells, assistant director of leadership studies. “He’s a dreamer and a big thinker. He’s always passing out ideas left and right, and puts these ideas into practice.”
    In addition to being an instructor, Finnegan is involved with Moore Hall’s 6th floor, which is a leadership cluster floor. He is also chapter adviser for Sigma Nu.

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