Montana State senior Erika Hardy completes year of service with Gallatin Valley YMCA

BOZEMAN - At Montana State University, senior Erika Hardy fully committed herself to a slate of extracurricular activities. From her consulting internship to holding leadership roles in several clubs to finding the best trivia nights in Bozeman with her friends, she has approached her college experience with equal parts energy and enthusiasm.

This spring, just weeks away from commencement, Hardy added another achievement - completing her term of service as a Boardroom Bobcat.

Originally from Lehi, Utah, Hardy is set to graduate in May with a major in finance and a minor in international business, programs both housed in MSU's Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship. During her time in the business college, Hardy served as a Jabs Ambassador, planning college-wide events and mentoring first and second year students; supported the Finance Club as its vice president; and steered the financial decisions of the Women in Business Club as its treasurer.

She was also one of 17 students in the Boardroom Bobcats program, an initiative of the MSU Leadership Institute that connects service-driven students with a local nonprofit, where they serve as non-voting board members for a full academic year. The program began in 2016, and nearly 100 students have participated since.

Hardy was paired with the Gallatin Valley YMCA for her year of service. She was recommended to the program by her friend Emily Fettig in the Women in Business Club, who participated in Boardroom Bobcats last academic year.

Hardy thought the experience would be a good way to get more involved in community service while also broadening her experience beyond business-focused activities.

"We don't often discuss nonprofit operations in my typical business classes," Hardy said. "So, I thought (Boardroom Bobcats) would be a good way to get involved and learn more about that world."

At the YMCA, Hardy was able to use her education in finance to help the nonprofit. For example, she worked on using financial models to make future financial projections, which are used to inform critical business decisions.

Beyond that, Hardy provided input and a student perspective for event planning and budgeting decisions during the nonprofit's bimonthly board meetings. Because only one board member, the CEO, is paid, and the rest are volunteers, Hardy helped out wherever she was needed, filling in volunteer gaps and assisting with tasks when outside help was unavailable.

Her experience culminated into volunteering at the YCMA's 5K Color Run on April 25, which is the organization's largest fundraiser of the year.

Hardy said that overall, her biggest takeaway was feeling inspired by the volunteers and their work-life balance. There are so many people deeply involved in the YCMA, she said, pouring in time and effort without compensation while also balancing full-time jobs and families. Seeing people she admired be able to do both made her feel like she could do the same in the future.

Upon graduating, Hardy hopes to find a job in the finance field. She currently serves as a project coordinator intern at the consulting group Profitable Ideas Exchange and she plans to continue that internship and remain in Bozeman through the summer.

As she enters this next chapter, Hardy is focused on continuing to collect the experiences and skills that interest her while trusting they will ultimately lead to her next opportunity. Being flexible and open-minded are traits that her MSU business professors strongly emphasized, she said, noting how many of them took nontraditional career paths to academia.

"Erika's experience with the YMCA is a great example of what happens when students have the opportunity to apply what they're learning in real community contexts," said Sienna George, director of the MSU Leadership Institute. "Her experience in Boardroom Bobcats shows how students gain direct insight into the nonprofit sector while developing the skills they carry forward into their future careers."