Cracker Barrel employees take steps toward finishing degrees through MTSU partnership
Sherri Moore, left, and Seth Rice, right, were two of three Cracker Barrel employees who attended the most recent Applied Leadership Intensive.
Sherri Moore, Seth Rice, and Doug Hisel were three of several working adults earning four hours of course credit in just five days at MTSU.
The three have more in common than this course in the Applied Leadership program. All three are Cracker Barrel employees.
Because of a special partnership between Cracker Barrel and MTSU, the three were able to spend a work week on campus learning about different leadership qualities, what sets a leader apart from the pack, and other valuable lessons they can immediately take back to Cracker Barrel.
All three said the class was perfectly suited for a working adult because of the schedule. Sure, it’s five days straight in a classroom, but the class time essentially replaces a workday, making it easier to balance everything a working adult has to manage.
“Time is limited,” Hisel said. “Being able to take one week out and get the four hours of credit made more sense than spreading it out and taking a class or two a week online.”
All three adult students are officers at Cracker Barrel and carry a lot of responsibility with the company. Their schedules change a lot and Rice said the intensive “caters perfectly to the working adult.”
student upon completing one of four Applied Leadership Intensives
Moore says the class has been a “reflective experience” for her since Cracker Barrel’s mission has always been ‘pleasing people.’
“When you hear the professors speak today it’s still, ’take care of people you work with, lift others up and you become a better leader,’” she said. “While I am learning new things it also reinforces that it’s simple if you stay disciplined.”
All three are working toward finishing their degree, and the trio is excited about where their new degrees could take them within Cracker Barrel.
“I came to finish my degree, but it’s been refreshing to think about leadership in a different way and be challenged,” Hisel said before getting back to work during a group project. “It’s been a great week.”
If you or your company would like to learn more about MTSU’s Applied Leadership certificates and degree program, contact us at 615.494.7714.
