Page 2 - The Leadership Line: June 2024

Continuing Education

Continuing education creates opportunities for workers to attain skills
and advance careers. Employees recognize the importance of career
development. Opportunities to learn and grow are consistently ranked as a
top driver of a great work culture.

Employees’ top three motivations to learn are:
1. To help them stay up to date in their field
2. To address their personal interests and career goals
3. To help them get another job internally, be promoted, or get closer to
reaching their career goals.

If a manager considers learning to be as important as an employee’s other work, employees are more likely to see
the value and make time. Managers should have regular development conversations with employees and suggest
training to help further career goals.

People come from all different kinds of educational backgrounds. Some might be ready to jump into a full-fledged
four-year degree program, while others may be looking to complete their AA or pursue a professional certification.
Successful learning programs offer a variety of options to meet each and every learner where they are in their
education journey. At MIL, we support continuing education through our Tuition and Training Reimbursement
programs. In 2023, we had 23 employees seek educational reimbursement.

We celebrate the accomplishments and hard work of all our professionals who also fill the role of student.

Employee Spotlight

Kala Bowling to receive Master’s in Executive Leadership
REPS Sector staffer Kala Bowling will be graduating from Liberty University with a Master of
Arts degree in Executive Leadership on May 10th, 2024. The degree focuses on the soft skills
of business, such as organizational change, problem-solving, analysis, and communication.
In addition to her masters, Kala holds a Graduate Certificate in General Business from
Liberty University and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of Mary
Washington. After graduation, Kala plans on continuing her professional development by
obtaining a project management certificate and using her acquired knowledge and training
to further her career at MIL. Kala looks forward to bringing her advanced education and
experience to MIL. And we look forward to watching her excel!

Tina Fox is the winner of the Scholar Award!
A belated congratulations to Tina Fox, our 2023 Scholar Award Winner! Tina, a Project
Management Analyst in Charleston, completed 115 courses in 2023, her first year with MIL!
Tina wanted to share her experience.

Tina, who spent the first 29 years of her career as an educator, loves learning! She taught
math and computer science to both teenagers and adults since the mid-90s. Tina has two
dear friends who work for MIL and they have tried to recruit her for years. In the fall of 2022,
she finally asked Laura Johnston-Harrington to tell her more about MIL. Tina had been
thinking on and off about making a shift into project management, and Laura convinced
her that MIL would be a great place to do just that. In both her Computer Science and AP
Statistics classes, she used a lot of project-based learning, and developed many of the skills

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