Leadership Program Student Alex Mitkovikj ’21 Aids Oakland Nonprofit Focused on Seniors

Saint Mary’s BA in Leadership & Organizational Studies (BALOS) Program, a degree completion program designed for working adults, allows them to incorporate practical and immersive experiences into a flexible education. Three BALOS students, Cecilia “Ceci” Gomez ’21, Alex Mitkovikj ’21, and Jesus “Armando” Machado ’21, overcame limitations brought on by the pandemic to raise funds and volunteer with the Mercy Brown Bag Program, a local nonprofit dedicated to serving seniors in need. Their work has gone beyond the classroom as they continue to address the needs of the nonprofit after their project. We talked to Alex Mitkovikj about the BALOS Program at the Kalmanovitz School of Education and his contribution to the community. 

How did your project come to be? What did you do? 

Alex Mitkovikj: The project was part of a Communication and Public Relations class taught by Vice Provost of Enrollment and Communications William Mullen. The assignment was to create a fictitious PR campaign for a non-fictitious organization of our choosing. Ceci suggested the Mercy Brown Bag program, as she was aware of their mission. Armando then suggested creating a GoFundMe campaign, to which I chuckled a bit at first. However, the more we learned about the program, the more it made sense to make a real-life contribution, water two plants with one hose, so to speak. The pandemic affected everyone, but low-income seniors were hit the hardest, shown by the demand for the program’s services increasing 60 percent in the past year. It was a logical step to jump right in and try to help. We ended up creating a GoFundMe campaign, volunteering every Friday for a couple of hours, and designing a flyer that was included in a thank-you basket for the program’s volunteers. Moving forward, we continue to volunteer every Friday, and I serve on the program’s advisory committee. The GoFundMe campaign is still ongoing, and we would like to invite the Saint Mary’s community to extend their Lasallian spirit to low-income seniors through donating or volunteering for the Mercy Brown Bag Program. 

What did you gain from this experience? 

Alex Mitkovikj: I think I speak for the three of us when I say that this project has been one of the most gratifying experiences we have had in the program. We all have very demanding “daytime” jobs, so dedicating our scarce free time to volunteering and going an extra mile with the project felt rejuvenating in a way. It enabled us to extract our minds from the pandemic blues and plant them in the fertile soils of caring for others. 

What attracted you to the BALOS Program? What kind of skills do you learn? 

Alex Mitkovikj: It became apparent throughout my career that lack of skillful leadership negatively affects every spore of society, not only businesses. As an immigrant and a trans man, I have a keen eye for the marginalized, a tender heart for the unappreciated, a sharp moral compass, and a strong urge to make a positive impact. The BALOS Program was the logical next step for me. I learned a lot about myself. Good leadership starts by learning to lead yourself. I learned to listen and to appreciate opinions different than mine. The women leading the program, Annalee Lamoreaux, Grete A. Stenersen, Lynne Baker, Barbara J. McLaughlin, and LeAnn McGinley, were instrumental in my development as a human and a leader. Their wisdom, compassion, and holistic approach to problem solving allowed me to dig deeper within and outside myself. I am a more wholesome person as a result of it, and they are partially to blame.

To access the GoFundMe for the Mercy Brown Bag Project started by the students, follow this link. 

For more information regarding the BALOS program, see their website.