Joseph Snider was already comfortable in a successful managerial career and happily married by the time he enrolled at Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) in 1985. Despite his success, he and his wife, Julie, felt the desire to continue his education further. Enrolling in one of the first Master of Business Administration (MBA) cohorts the Leadership Education for Adult Professionals (LEAP) program ever offered, Joseph was on the cutting edge of adult education. He recalls his program being, “innovative and truly transformative. From the start, I was impressed by the collaborative, hands-on nature of the curriculum.”
One of the highlights of his MBA was having the opportunity to start a company with two of his peers. Together, they developed a product called Feliners: a cat litter sifting system that they advertised nationally in Fancy Cat magazine. “We manufactured the product ourselves out of a garage,” Joseph said. “We had nationwide repeat orders and when we were just about ready to graduate, Colgate-Palmolive bought us out – a testament to the real-world skills we developed at IWU.”
In addition to starting a company, Joseph’s time at IWU included being chosen by his peers to receive a leadership award and co-authoring an award-winning paper. He looks back on his IWU experience as being foundational to his personal and professional development: its practical, student-focused approach cultivating essential skills.
After graduating from IWU in 1988 with his MBA, Joseph went on to pursue a doctorate, drawing him into academia where he has helped share his extensive information technology (IT) and management experience with countless students.
Joseph has now spent 40 years in IT, working primarily in application development and project management. While IT can be stressful, Joseph finds working with teams and training people highly rewarding. Joseph credits his calm, solution-focused leadership style, especially in challenging situations, to his faith. He’s also used his extensive technological and mathematical expertise to train future generations for the past eight years as an IWU faculty member.
Although Joseph was raised in the Christian faith and accepted Christ at the age of 18, his true testimony began in 2000, when he was diagnosed with kidney cancer at age 40. The difficult journey that followed included hospitalization, surgery, and learning to receive help from others. During this time, he grew closer to the Lord than ever before, even gaining a church family. After praying that God would take the fear away, Joseph envisioned an image of a baby sleeping on his chest. While the meaning might have been difficult to understand, it provided an immense sense of peace and hope, helping Joseph believe that he would survive.
Late that year, both the kidney and the tumor that was choking it were removed, requiring 22 stitches. Joseph’s doctor noted that the tumor was the size of a volleyball. 17 1/2 years after his surgery, the image God gave him came to pass when his grandson was born.
Joseph looks back on his experience with an immense sense of gratitude to the Lord. “I have been able to minister to people through conversations about cancer, surgeries, how a church family can help, and also just listening,” Joseph said.
Since then, Joseph has written about his experiences in his book On My Knees, I See Clearly, which he has shared with many of his students, as part of his mission to share what Christ has done in his life with those who need to hear it. He’s also been able to combine his faith with his work through the book Devotionals for Business, which provides resources for professors to integrate their Christian faith into business courses.
From enrolling in one of IWU’s first LEAP cohorts, to starting a company, to teaching, Joseph Snider has had both God and his family by his side every step of the way, through good times and bad. After four decades of marriage, he and Julie have happily settled in Kentucky and both of their children have entered adulthood, with lives of their own. “My education allowed me to earn a living in a profession that then allowed me to raise a family,” Joseph reflected.
Though proud of his role in shaping leaders in education and business, Joseph considers his outspoken faith and devotion to family to be his greatest achievements. Joseph serves as a powerful example of what it truly means to be a world changer.
