When Rikki Harry of Stevens Point decided to leave her almost two-decade career as a nonprofit fundraiser, she had two goals—start her own consulting business to help small to mid-size nonprofits become more efficient and effective and go back to school to earn another degree.

She has accomplished both. Her now year-old business LEAP Nonprofit Consulting is off to a great start, and she is a first-year student in Viterbo’s Ethical Leadership doctorate program.

“The Viterbo program aligned perfectly with both my career goals and values,” said Harry, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in mass communications from Augsburg University and a master’s in institutional advancement in higher education from Vanderbilt University. “Leadership development, the right values…everything I was looking for, I found at Viterbo.”

Like her business, Harry’s Viterbo experience is off to a fine beginning. She has learned a great deal about different leadership paradigms, including acquiring language to explain her own leadership style and ethical framework, and found a supportive community of classmates whom she can count on if needed.

“The program is hard work, but I love it,” she said. “I wanted to be forced outside my comfort zone, and I have been. But at the same time, we are supported and faculty know that as working adults we have many things going on in our lives. It’s been great learning from people who work in so many different disciplines.”

In her limited spare time, Harry enjoys reading and kayaking. Being on the water gives her the unique opportunity to disconnect from work and school for a while, and despite starting a business and pursuing a graduate degree, she managed to read 140 books for fun last year.

“I want to grow my business, and I would love to get involved in teaching in a non-profit degree program,” said Harry of her future goals. “There is a shortage of those programs across the state, and I want to be part of the solution. That’s what I’m passionate about, and my degree will help me do that.”