The Dauch College of Business and Economics, with support from the McKnight Family Endowment, will be hosting the next speaking event in the McKnight Life Calling Lecture Series on Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. in the Dauch College of Business and Economics.

The speaker, Ronald Spon, is a former Richland County Juvenile Court judge who spent a total of 42 years in public service, fulfilling such roles as assistant city solicitor for the city of Mansfield and assistant prosecuting attorney for Richland County, in addition to 26 years on the bench in the Domestic Relations and Juvenile Divisions before retiring in March 2019.

Although a major part of his public career, Spon was not initially a judge, and only found a passion for the job after standing in for an ill colleague from the prosecutor’s office, revealing in his retirement announcement that while in public service it was his “unceasing mission to make a positive difference in the lives of so many struggling youth and families.”

Karen Hagans, career coach and life calling coordinator at AU, said in a phone interview that these lectures generally happen once a year and feature speakers who “touch on different aspects of life calling.”

Hagans also said the speakers are selected by a group of professors in the College of Business and Economics that includes Drs. Khush Pittenger, Ray Jacobs and Dan Fox, with Fox being instrumental in the selection of Spon after seeing Spon speak at Lifework Leadership, an Ashland organization he is involved with, and was overall “very impressed” by his message according to Hagans.

Hagans called Spon an “extremely impressive person,” recalling the meeting she, the professors and administrative assistants who help coordinate this event had with Spon to talk about the Life Calling Lecture Series and classes. In the meeting, Spon asked to visit the Life Calling classes and even read the textbook for Occupational Life Calling I so “he could understand the class,” which Hagans said shows the level of commitment he has for the community and beyond.

In his presentation entitled “A Life Worth Living,” Spon will focus on several topics including the importance of perspective and practical considerations, in addition to building on a solid foundation and “experimental and experiential dynamics” as a way forward.

The McKnight Family Endowment, the sponsor of this series according to Hagans, also sponsors the Occupational Life Calling courses at AU, which are designed to help students explore career and internship opportunities during and beyond their college experience.

The classes, Occupational Life Calling I, II and III, can be taken individually and in any order Hagans said and are designed with the students in mind in order to help them see what is really out there beyond the assessments they have taken in the past or in the classes themselves.

“I compare assessments to icebergs. I believe the assessment results are what you see above the water. Digging into the assessment results and doing individualized research is what is under the water,” Hagans said. “I believe exploring what is under the water produces great results.”

In a YouTube video made by the College of Business and Economics, AU students spoke on their experiences in the Life Calling classes. Junior Laura Lodwick said that the class taught her to get out of her comfort zone and become more involved on campus, helping her to put her experiences to good use on her resume.

Although open to everyone, Hagans wants anyone who is motivated by the title or bio of the lecture to attend this presentation and believes that “everyone will walk away with something beneficial.”

The presentation is free and open to the public and will be held in Room 115 of the Dauch College of Business and Economics. If unavailable to attend the presentation, the event will be livestreamed at auvideo.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/McKnight+Lecture+Jan30th%2C+2020+ Dauch+115/1_styk6zb9.