OXFORD, OH — The Miami University L.I.F.E. (Leading the Integration of Faith & Entrepreneurship) Student Chapter officially launched its spring semester with a dynamic kickoff event at the Farmer School of Business, drawing more than 100 students for an evening centered on this semester’s theme: Do Good Work.
The Spring Kickoff Event featured a live entrepreneur panel with three accomplished, faith-driven leaders who shared their journeys of building businesses, navigating risk, and integrating faith into their leadership and decision-making.
Panelists included:
- Dan Owolabi, Author, CEO, Public Speaker, and Pastor, who encouraged students not to shrink back from their strengths or weaknesses. “Don’t apologize for the things you are gifted in and not gifted in,” he shared. “God gave you all of it.”
- Ann Thompson, Coach, Public Speaker, Author, Podcast Host, former CEO, and former Associate Director at Procter & Gamble, who challenged students to lead without fear. “We are simply stewarding the gifts God has given us to accomplish His will,” she said, emphasizing courage and responsibility in leadership.
- Kelly Dolan, Co-Founder of multiple companies and Board Member, who urged students to embrace uncomfortable opportunities. “Say yes to opportunities God is calling you to, even when it is uncomfortable,” she advised. “God can see past the mountain when we cannot.”
Throughout the evening, students heard personal stories of calling, discernment, failure, risk, and perseverance. The panelists offered practical wisdom on what it looks like to pursue meaningful, impact-driven work in today’s marketplace—work shaped by faith, purpose, integrity, creativity, and excellence.
The event marked the official launch of the L.I.F.E. Student Chapter’s spring theme, Do Good Work, a call for students to rethink how they view entrepreneurship. Rather than seeing business as separate from faith, the panel modeled that the two can be deeply integrated. Entrepreneurship, the speakers emphasized, is one of the most powerful avenues of work—an opportunity to create value, solve real problems, and positively influence communities.
For many students in attendance, the conversation reframed long-held assumptions about career and calling.
One student reflected, “I didn’t know that work and faith could interact together. These speakers totally changed my perspective.”
By hosting events like this, the Miami University L.I.F.E. Student Chapter seeks to equip students to lead with both competence and conviction. The organization’s mission is to help students explore how faith can inform innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurial action—preparing them to pursue work that is not only successful, but deeply meaningful.
As the semester unfolds, the L.I.F.E. Student Chapter will continue building community and providing opportunities for students to explore how they can “Do Good Work” in partnership with their faith and calling.
For more information about upcoming events, students are encouraged to connect with the Miami University L.I.F.E. Student Chapter.
This panel reflects a broader initiative to establish L.I.F.E. Student Chapters on college campuses nationwide, supported by curriculum designed to help students explore the intersection of faith and entrepreneurship.
