Igniting a Culture of Innovation with ICC

In the Season 6 premiere of Ignite Cast, hosts Taylor Tutor and Judd Wilson welcome Dr. Jay Allen, President of Itawamba Community College, and Chief of Staff Tyler Camp for a powerful conversation on leadership, growth, and community impact.

From servant leadership and student empowerment to building a culture where failure fuels innovation, this episode dives deep into how ICC is shaping the next generation of leaders—both inside and outside the classroom. Hear how the college is expanding its footprint, investing in people, and staying future-focused while keeping heart at the center of everything.

Whether you're an educator, student, or community leader, this episode will leave you inspired to lean in, lead boldly, and make a difference.

🎧 New episodes drop every other Thursday, packed with insight, inspiration, and actionable ideas to help you grow as a leader—right where you are.

Want to learn more about the Ignite Leadership Conference?
Visit 👉 www.igniteleadership.com

Transcript

Taylor Tutor: [00:00:00] Hey, Judd. 

Judd Wilson: Hey Taylor. 

Taylor Tutor: Do you know what's coming up? 

Judd Wilson: When? 

Taylor Tutor: On Thursday, January the 29th. 

Judd Wilson: The Ignite Leadership Conference. 

Taylor Tutor: That's right, Judd. And where is it? 

Judd Wilson: The Orchard. 

Taylor Tutor: That's right. Again. One more. Do you know where to get tickets? 

Judd Wilson: Ignite leadership.com. 

Taylor Tutor: And you're right. Again, for more information on Ignite, you can follow us on social media.

Judd Wilson: Look forward to seeing everybody at Ignite 

Taylor Tutor: Ignite.

Taylor Tutor: Welcome to Ignite Cast, where ideas Spark action brought. To you by the Community Development Foundation, your Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Engine for Tupelo in Lee County. Thank you to our presenting sponsor, [00:01:00] iHeartMedia for powering this season of Ignite Cast. I'm Taylor. 

John Foley: I'm Judge 

Taylor Tutor: and welcome to Ignite Cast.

Taylor Tutor: We are back with season six of Ignite Cast. Today we have one of the best, actually the best community college in the state of Mississippi. At Womba Community College today we have with us Dr. Jay Allen, president of ICC, and his Chief of Staff, Tyler Kemp. Welcome. 

Judd Wilson: Look at that. They're here in the studio. I don't know if you should be excited or terrified.

(PEOPLE): So excited. A little bit of Thank you for having a both. Yes. Glad 

Judd Wilson: be here. Yes. And help tell you why I'm, I'm not, I'm excited you because you were saying the best in the state of Mississippi. I wanna say the best in the country. Can I do this? Say it again. Say This is the best in the country. Yes, Johnny. 

Dr. Jay Allen: Go Intergalactic.

Dr. Jay Allen: It's the best in the galaxy. Let's just be honest, Milky Way. It's the only 

Judd Wilson: community college that Space Force uses. It's intergalactic, but it's [00:02:00] good. But Taylor, you were introducing with such enthusiasm because. You can know that these guys extremely well, 

Taylor Tutor: extremely well. I had the privilege of being led and honor and honor of being led by Dr.

Taylor Tutor: Allen for four years. And it was great. 

Judd Wilson: Yeah. She, you used to work at ICCI 

Taylor Tutor: used to work at ICC. 

Judd Wilson: Roll, 

Taylor Tutor: roll, dry. 

Judd Wilson: Look at that. That's easy for me to say for certain reasons. Judd do know though. We will get her back. Yeah. 

Taylor Tutor: You guys don't fight over me, please. 

Judd Wilson: Well, we, everybody loves Taylor. Yes, we do. Everybody loves Taylor.

Judd Wilson: You 

Taylor Tutor: guys are sweet. But let's get started today. I wanna start this podcast by asking both of you really what is the best leadership tip you've ever been given? 

Tyler Camp: Go ahead. I have to let you go first, Mr. President. 

Dr. Jay Allen: So I've got, uh, I'll say a good friend of mine, former colleague, I don't know who said this originally, but she shared that, uh, [00:03:00] as she own, as Anna Fe would, people don't care.

Dr. Jay Allen: I'm sorry. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Hmm. And I found that, uh, showing up for people's events, showing up for, um, student events, showing up at funerals and things like that go a long way. It really does. And, um, I think it moves you to another level of leadership, um, when people know that you care and they begin to do work for you and with you and for the organization, regardless of, um, how hard it may be, simply 'cause they know you care and they want to, they wanna move the institution forward.

Dr. Jay Allen: That's good. And, and you think about it, 

Judd Wilson: um. I don't know Anna Fey, but I know she's a southerner 'cause she's got a double name double. She's, but it kind of really build that, that what she told you really kind of is the foundation of a servant leader. Absolutely. Right. I mean, because you're, you know, you're not only leading within your organization, but outside of your organization.

Judd Wilson: So That's right. 

Taylor Tutor: Also I'd like to add, it's easy to say one thing and it's a little bit harder to do another, but you [00:04:00] actually do live it out. You probably don't remember 'cause you go to lots of funerals. But my papa passed away after I had been at the college maybe. A semester. I don't remember how many months I did.

Taylor Tutor: It was four. Was that four? Anyways. But you came to his funeral and I remember that so vividly because it just meant so much to me. Okay. 'cause I was so new and you probably, you know, not that you didn't care about me, but I guess it made me feel seen and cared about. Well, I appreciate that. 

Judd Wilson: You ready?

Judd Wilson: You're on deck? Yeah. Okay. It's your turn. So 

Tyler Camp: I'm gonna, I'm gonna put mine more towards the conversation of Ignite so I can remember attending Ignite back in 2019. Justin Patton, um, was the speaker, one of the keynotes at that, um, conference, and I can remember one of the topics that he talked about was specifically that remember who you are at your best when you find yourself at your worst.

Tyler Camp: So on those days, whenever you were having those difficult conversations, whenever you're just not having a good day, nothing's going [00:05:00] right. How you act, how you react. It's gonna set the tone of, of the situation that you're gonna find yourself in. So, um, and how it moves forward. So, uh, Justin Patton, he's one that, you know, honestly, he's an executive leadership coach, but still reach out to him to this day.

Tyler Camp: And I think that's one of the pluses of Ignite is being able to have speakers that are reachable, that are real people. Mm-hmm. Yeah. You can follow up with after the conference to get feedback from. And he's one of those that I still do do that with. So, 

Judd Wilson: and there's a lot of people in the community that, that follow him on LinkedIn.

Judd Wilson: Yeah. But also actually reach out to him personally, Uhhuh. So it's good to do that. And, and for our night cast listeners, we interviewed him, was it season four or season five? One of those seasons. So it, he, he's always getting back to it. He's guard. So it's good, good to do that. But it, it is true because we're gonna have bad days.

Judd Wilson: Not every day is gonna be great. Absolutely. Um, most days are great because we're hanging out in folks with, [00:06:00] from I ccc. There you go. Which makes the day great. But on those bad days That's right. To remember that is always good. Right. For sure. Um, so Dr. Allen, tell us a little bit about. Your history of, of getting here to ICC and kind of your background as well, and how leadership kind of.

Judd Wilson: Guided you to the, to where you are now. 

Dr. Jay Allen: So Judge, it goes back, uh, a long way, about 30 years now. I've been doing this, I think this is my 31st fall semester, um, as a community college leader. And I was a community college graduate and had an idea that, uh, if ever was gonna work in higher ed, it would probably be in a community college setting.

Dr. Jay Allen: That was the case and was able to go back to Hines where I gwi I graduated and been a student leader. And then to be able to come in and, um. It grow in, lead, in, in leadership opportunities there. And one of the things I learned is Bob, my vice president, positioned me at a leadership decision making table quite often, probably too young to be at that table.

Dr. Jay Allen: I had to earn the right to stay there. So I had to contribute, I had to make impacts, I had to be a team [00:07:00] player and a problem solver. And that has served me quite well through the years. And then my, my transition after 16 years there, going to Mississippi Gulf Coast as a Vice VP for two and a half years of two of the campuses.

Dr. Jay Allen: And then moving to Kentucky to be president of Hopkins Hill Community College for three and a half years, and then eight years now at ICC as president has been, um, a wonderful experience, but all the way through is leadership challenges, growth opportunities, but probably more than anything is, um. Being at being wanted at the decision making table and then contributing and being that team player, not being caught in a silo.

Judd Wilson: Yeah. Yeah. And I, and I, and, and I look back at, at night, um, whenever I have the opportunity to be the, uh, mc of that event with Carol Ann, so I can kind of see who's in the audience. And when I look out, I mean, it is like everywhere I look, there's I, CCC Indians everywhere. So why, why is it important for you to, to send your staff and to.

Judd Wilson: So for them to get the glimpse of leadership there? No, 

Dr. Jay Allen: I've been, I've been blessed through the years to attend national [00:08:00] conferences, regional conferences, and what I have found is I moved more and more into leadership roles. Um. I needed that recharge that I got from what was hopefully a really great keynote speaker.

Dr. Jay Allen: John Maxwell's been at those, um, Malcolm Gladwell, some others, um, Jim Collins, and to have those people and you start hearing and you're like, wow, that really came to life. The book, the book's, the book, you know, but it came to life while they're up there speaking. And it, it, it re-energized me and it gave me maybe a sharper focus.

Dr. Jay Allen: So I think about, it's hard for us to send all of our employees all across the country to do those things, but when we're bringing that to our local community, why will we not take advantage of it? And if we can grow them, and if, if I remember correct, when, when Ignite was being planned and we listened to those, um, that that city of a state that came in and shared what they were doing, that was a city and I was seeing.

Dr. Jay Allen: The value of that. I was like, okay, this, we gotta grow our leaders. At the same time, the community's grow in their leaders, and so I think that's what we're doing. Mm-hmm. 

Taylor Tutor: [00:09:00] Speaking of growing leaders 

Dr. Jay Allen: Yes. 

Taylor Tutor: At the college, y'all. Pour into your employees and help them become better leaders. And I can attest to that every time they ask me, you know, I, I got asked one time like, where did, why are you so confident?

Taylor Tutor: Where'd you get your confidence from? And it was, 'cause I, I got a seat at the table at a young age. That's right, that's right. You're also pouring into students to become leaders. So how, how do y'all do that? How do you, you know. Bring up the next generation of leaders. 

Dr. Jay Allen: So it's, it's interesting, I have found through my years of being over student recruiting groups and the like that, um, and then young employees and then students in general.

Dr. Jay Allen: The leader that walks through the door right outta high school is easy to spot most of the time. But there's also another group that in the college setting, will find that they can be a tremendous leader. They just, for whatever reason, hadn't blossomed to that, but they find the leader within themselves and we've gotta give them a place to do that.

Dr. Jay Allen: And so it's important that we grow leadership opportunities. Um, we, I just had that [00:10:00] conversation this week already about how do we find the next set of leadership opportunities for our students. So, you know, we've built a, a situation where there's a tremendous number of engagement opportunities on all three of our locations.

Dr. Jay Allen: We wanna make sure that students get engaged with the college in and outta the classroom. Leadership is a way to do that. Um, we want our students to not only attend and have fun, but we want them to make those events happen. You know, uh, Taylor as, as your former role of, uh, director of student activities, that you couldn't have done all that without those students.

Dr. Jay Allen: At times. You had to have them help you make those things happen. But they got to be a part and see what it takes to make something happen. 

(PEOPLE): Mm-hmm. 

Dr. Jay Allen: And then they're growing through that. So that's one of the things we try to do. Always your faith, theta kappi, your honors society, be your honors program, those type of things gives that set of students leadership opportunities.

Dr. Jay Allen: But the same's true in band. Mm-hmm. The same's true in our sports, in our athletic programs. I tell all of our athletes, you're student leaders, you may not have thought you were signing up for that, but you are. 'cause [00:11:00] you're getting to do something that only a handful of college students get to do. And that sets you apart.

Dr. Jay Allen: And so your actions have weight. Mm-hmm. And so make sure your actions are leading not only you, your team, but the college in the right direction. 

Tyler Camp: Well, I think it's also too that you've, we've created an environment to where, um, it's okay to fail. Dr. Allen did a convocation speech back, I think in 2018. And the whole theme of that convocation topic as well as for the next year was being okay with failure.

Tyler Camp: Because if you're failing, oftentimes you're growing. We're gonna, as long as you grow from it. Um, that's the biggest key of it. But it's also that we created that with our students too. Like we know they're gonna mess up at times. We know that they're gonna hit roadblocks and obstacles, and so we're there to help them through that.

Tyler Camp: And so creating that, that environment of not giving up on them too soon, um, also allows them a, an extra opportunity to, to lead on the back end. So, yeah, [00:12:00] 

Dr. Jay Allen: and I think you have to keep in mind students are students, they're young, they're gonna make some bad decisions at times, and that doesn't mean we stop doing what we were doing.

Dr. Jay Allen: That's right. Because of that, we find we just have to know who we serve. And then you've gotta be prepared and you put all the barriers to, uh, maybe allow them to fail that you can, but also at the same time, they have to grow and learn from that. And so that's what we want to do and, and we want to be not only a fun environment, but a growth environment.

Judd Wilson: Good. Good. Tyler, I've known you for several years. You actually were in our, uh, Jim Ingram Community Leadership Institute class several, several years ago, and I've seen you in, in many different roles, and now with your roles at ICC as well. Um, I do remember hosting a 40 under 40 event for, for the local folks here.

Judd Wilson: And, and in your bio it said you had won friendliest person in Fulton. I I thought that was a great Inba county. I can never Was it all of Ow county. Ow. County. County, yeah. So, uh, twice I think. Justin, I know you hit the ceiling there of being the friendliest Oh, I did. But, um, kind of [00:13:00] tell us, uh, beyond that, how you work on your leadership skills and, and to keep that friendly spirit that you have.

Tyler Camp: So the joke has been. That ever since I moved into the role of Chief of Staff, I never won that award again, A friendliest person, um, which I don't think is a bad thing 'cause just in this role, um, that's just part of it. It's part of it. But yes. Won friendliest person twice in Iba County. Oh, I didn't know you were two time.

Tyler Camp: Not saying a Utah winner. I think that to it is, uh, it'll be in my obituary, no doubt, um, because that is my claim to fame. Uh, but I, I honestly, you know, it's, it's how I was raised. Um, I can remember in everything that I've, my parents, they provided a foundation for me, but outside of that foundation of the values that I was provided with, and, um, the understanding of this is how you can be successful.

Tyler Camp: Go forth and do great things, and they were there to support. [00:14:00] Um, so everything and every step that I have ever reached in my career path, um, has been because I've leaned in instead of being reclined. Dr. Allen uses that terminology often in leadership, but, um, so leaning in and saying yes to opportunities and no, it's not in my job description.

Tyler Camp: But I'll still do it because I was asked to do it, or it's something that just needs to be done. Um, you know, early on in my career, I can also remember that working the late hours and staying at the office till nine, 10 o'clock at night, getting back up there at six o'clock in the morning because things had to be done.

Tyler Camp: But I also went through the phase of trying to understand the life balance of work life. Um, thankfully now I'm on the other side of that to understand that, you know, it's okay, um, looking at Taylor as she's smiling because I helped her through that same life balance early on in her professional career.

Tyler Camp: And we all go through it. And I think that that's what's huge for leaders. [00:15:00] Is understanding the different journeys that we find ourself on through this journey of leadership. And every journey's gonna be different and every journey is going to provide us with, um, different scenarios of issues that we're gonna have to, um, maneuver.

Tyler Camp: Yeah. Um, and figure out and get to the other side of, but at the end of the day, the foundation, again, like my parents provided me with, of being able to grow professionally, but also now in the professional setting. That foundation is what we can always lean back on to be able to grow as leaders. Mm-hmm.

Tyler Camp: Good, good. 

Taylor Tutor: It is definitely a journey, you know? It is. It, no matter what stage you're in, I think there's always room to improve. That's right. The last convocation I was at, at ICC. The, the piece that Dr. Allen left with us was just 10% better each day, be 10% better. But, um, that also kind of goes into what one of our speakers at up this upcoming, um, ignite, um, McKnight [00:16:00] 2026, January 29th.

Taylor Tutor: Whoop. 

Judd Wilson: Right around the corner. Right 

Taylor Tutor: around the corner. Yeah, John, a lot of things 

Judd Wilson: are right around the corner. 

Tyler Camp: Taylor, can you do that, uh, sound effect one more time? Woo. 

Taylor Tutor: But he, um, um, John Foley is, um, a former Blue Angel, and we've got a clip for him that I think applies really well to icc. So let's listen to that.

John Foley: How come some people outperform others and some don't. How come some teams outperform others and some don't. How come some organizations consistently outperform are the best? And then a thought, hit me here. How did the best get better? So I started to thinking about that. It became my passion for the last two decades I've been trying to unpack, see, I know how we did it on the Blue Angels, but how do you do it in the real world?

Taylor Tutor: So being on the inside of ICC and also just seeing y'all from the outside as well. But I remember after my second year. They are thinking, well, how, how do we get any better than this? How do we go up from here? And so just [00:17:00] talk about that. And I, I know that a lot of departments, um, probably every department at the college feels like, you know, they are.

Taylor Tutor: Overachieving and high performing all the time. So just talk about that and how you kind of cultivate that environment. 

Dr. Jay Allen: Uh, um, so I think about, uh, somewhere in Tyler's early tenure with the, with me and the, the face you're making. 

Tyler Camp: I'm terrified. He's about to say 

Dr. Jay Allen: he came in nervous with you. He came in and he said, okay, you're about to kill cabinet.

Dr. Jay Allen: And you know, our, our, our VPs at the college, our cabinet members, you're about to kill cabinet. And I was like, wow. He goes. They, they, they got a lot going and I'm like, yeah, but there's so much to do. There's so many opportunities. And, and it is, you have to temper that. You have to figure out how do we balance what, what we know we can do, what needs to be done with.

Dr. Jay Allen: What can we truly manage knowing that we probably can manage more than we really think we can. And I think that's the other piece of a [00:18:00] leader. You're going to do your best work when you have to stretch, when you get uncomfortable, when you end up growing and that's where you look back and you're like, wow, I didn't know I could do that.

Dr. Jay Allen: I didn't know I could. I can manage all those things. Um. For me, I look at it as, I say this all the time, and you've heard it, heard it. Uh, Taylor, we want to get a little better every day. That's my goal for the college and for us as individuals, is that we'll make a little bit of improvement every day. And when we look back now, some days we're gonna take big leaps.

Dr. Jay Allen: And some days it's just really small. But when you look back over time, those gr that growth that has occurred is tremendous and we've seen that. So going back to that fall convocation where we talked about, what if we just did 10% better, 10% more, 10% less of something that's negative, 10% more, something that's better.

Dr. Jay Allen: And we talk about that this last year, about, wow, look at what's occurred with a couple of areas. That focused on that and the growth that's occurred, the better level of service we're providing students, the, uh, retention rates that [00:19:00] have increased, those type of things, it has real impact. It may not feel like it at the moment, but it really does.

Judd Wilson: And, and I mean, you see it from outside the college like, like we do. I mean, the new dorms, I mean that, that's a big thing for the students. I saw you Chick-fil-A, the, the Chick-fil-A as Taylor says, Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A tell us you're from Poto County. Well, pelvis, you're from, excuse me, PO County Chick-fil-A.

Judd Wilson: There you go. But yeah, things like that are, I mean. For making things better. And it, it's the li it's, it's really the little things that make the big things right? 

Dr. Jay Allen: It does. And, and we brought Starbucks to campus with, we proudly serve Starbucks in our bookstore, and we did that as an effort to drive more student traffic to the bookstore and, and for that matter, any kind of traffic to the bookstore.

Dr. Jay Allen: It has been a huge improvement for our bookstore, but it's really an amen. And it's something that students really expect in today's collegiate world. And so how do we provide that? It takes time to accomplish a lot of what we do. I always say time and money will solve most of our problems, and we rarely have enough of either [00:20:00] one.

Dr. Jay Allen: But Chick-fil-A, like, I want Chick-fil-A open today, but it's not gonna be today. It'll be January, but, but. I, I, I want it today because I know that it will make impacts. I know that students are gonna build memory sitting in that Chick-fil-A on our campus. Our community's gonna be there and we're gonna get little kids in there eating Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets on our campus, and they're gonna remember that experience and I hope I'm gonna get 'em as a student one day.

(PEOPLE): Mm-hmm. 

Judd Wilson: I have a feeling, Taylor. Yes. That. Sunday after church, Dr. Allen's gonna go in with his key, 

(PEOPLE): isn't it? 

Judd Wilson: And have a Chick-fil-A fix on a Sunday. I'm a little old Judd. I 

Dr. Jay Allen: did, I did step off the actual, counted the steps between the front door of Chick-fil-A on campus in my house, and it's 98 steps there, and my youngest would eat at seven days a week.

Dr. Jay Allen: If they rope and seven days a week, it's not 

Tyler Camp: gonna be good. You're just gonna go ahead and 

Dr. Jay Allen: turn. It's gonna be more expensive, those 98. Steps and I think the steps we've taken on the moon. Yeah, I really think that. So, uh, 

Judd Wilson: [00:21:00] exactly, exactly. Uh, Tyler talk about this because we were talking a little bit about the amenities.

Judd Wilson: Um. There in Fulton. But what, what, I mean, I'll tell you what I love about ICC 'cause I, I've spoken to a business class, I do it in Fulton, but I've spoken to the business class here in Tupelo. Man. The facilities and the on that Tupelo campus are absolutely amazing. The new truck driving school and then you go out to Belden with all the workforce development out there and that beautiful is absolutely building it is absolutely beautiful.

Judd Wilson: Kind of tell about the concept of. Of how everything is just, is not just in Fulton, it's through this whole area. 

Tyler Camp: So again, it goes back to us being a community college, so us truly reaching those in our community. So, um, the Tupelo campus that you're talking about is our commuter campus. So it has no residential facilities, it has no sports.

Tyler Camp: Um, however, the students that are coming to that campus are still looking for the same kind of. Environment that you would get as a student, um, in and out of the classroom at Fulton. [00:22:00] So student activities is something that we really have poured into, poured into for both Tupelo campus and our building center.

Tyler Camp: Um, you know, Tupelo campus is one that we have invested in, um, in small pieces through the years. Now we have an expansion at our health science center, um, that is currently, uh. Uh, under construction so it will move, uh, all of our paramedic program over Dr. Allen's 

Judd Wilson: always wearing a hard hat. I mean, know 

Tyler Camp: what's going on over there, but it's like you said, um, it, it, it's almost like we were behind, so we're trying to catch up.

Tyler Camp: That's where we're, we're just constantly playing catch up. Um, and we always will, um, because that's the world we live in now. And because everything is moving so quickly and the world is moving so quickly, so we have that expansion going on at health science. We have, um, of course the new academic and student center that's on the front of campus.

Tyler Camp: We still say new because it still feels new because we take care of our facilities. Um, then we have our natural science building that, um, we have partner community partners that are investing in [00:23:00] to be able to do a STEM lab in IT or a, a STEM lounge in it for students. Um, for research opportunities and collaboration.

Tyler Camp: Then we have a new fitness center that's going on our Tupelo campus as well that will not only be able to be utilized for our employees and our students, um, but also for the community as well to be able to utilize that fitness facility. And then you spoke of the building center. Um, Dr. Allen jokes often that you have to take breadcrumbs to be able to go through that facility because with it being a former furniture manufacturing site, um.

Tyler Camp: It's huge. And for us to be able to work through all these years, even before us, many years before us, for, um, individuals and then partners of the college to be able to work and be able to build it out like we have and we continue to. With the new Robotics lab being one of our most recent, um, additions to it, it, it truly shows the value.

Tyler Camp: The impact of the community college here [00:24:00] locally and how our local communities, the state and region, are also buying into it. And they believe, they see what's happening, so they're willing to come to the table, be at the table, um, and, and help make things happen. Sure, 

Dr. Jay Allen: yeah. No doubt. Good. I'll say this about the, uh, quote while ago that you shared.

Dr. Jay Allen: It made me think about going back to Jim Collins with the good great book, and that's one of the things I've, I've shared with folks on campus that we cannot let what we're doing that's good, really be that enemy of great, like Jim Collins said. Mm-hmm. And so often that's the case. We get complacent, we feel comfortable.

Dr. Jay Allen: It's good to feel comfortable. The only problem is. We will get passed up if we're not careful. So we have to continue to grow or we'll quit serving the very students that we wanna serve because we've not changed as they have changed. And so that's something that we have to continue to do. Unfortunately, that means sometimes spending dollars on facilities, and I say unfortunately, 'cause those are very high cost items to do.

Dr. Jay Allen: Sometimes it's simple [00:25:00] renovations of facilities, still high cost. And then sometimes it's bringing people to the table, like a tailor as director of student activities that will continue to grow. Um, that program and take it to new heights. And so that's what we have to do. It's definitely not a, well, we're good today because we did great yesterday.

Tyler Camp: That's not, you know, the quote that you played, the, how does the best become better, Taylor, you mentioned, uh, honestly, you were all, uh, that we feel like that's what we're constantly striving for. Um, us at the community college, but everybody in their, in their line of work, um, on that journey, again, of leadership.

Tyler Camp: And one thing for us at the college that we really focus on and Dr. Allen really, um, ignites us to do is hire game changers. Mm-hmm. Um, we wanna hire people that we know are leaned in, that we know are, are willing. To go the extra mile. Um, and that they believe in, in what we're doing and, and the direction that we're going.

Tyler Camp: So it's hiring game changers, but also [00:26:00] it's having the mindset, it all is in the mind. Mm-hmm. Honestly. So it's having the mindset that, that this is obtain. That we can get there and we can get there together as a team. Um, so, uh, 

Dr. Jay Allen: yeah, and I, I think it, it boils down to making sure that we have leaders that are empowered to create great things.

Dr. Jay Allen: Yeah. And that it, as we go back to the failure was o is okay. Was getting to the idea that if we're not really failing every so often, we're probably not really trying great things. We're just doing. A little more. You know, we're not really trying that next great thing because sometimes it's not gonna work, but we gotta learn from that.

Dr. Jay Allen: But that's one of the things I wanna do. If I'm coming up with all the ideas, we're in trouble. We're in trouble because at my age, after 30 years of doing this, I don't always understand what the students may be looking for. 

Tyler Camp: What's my least favorite thing to hear in the morning in the office for me? 

Dr. Jay Allen: I had a thought 

Tyler Camp: if he [00:27:00] comes in and I hear, I have a thought.

Tyler Camp: I had a thought 

Dr. Jay Allen: at eight 15. He starts, I'm, 

Tyler Camp: oh, here we go. Oh no, here we go. But oftentimes that thought is what then catapults us to, and at least gives us the, the, the springboard. Yeah. Sparks something for a, a new idea, a new concept. 

Dr. Jay Allen: Yeah. And you have to, you have to brainstorm. I mean, and some of those are, um, really crazy ideas.

Dr. Jay Allen: There's often that people just say, N no, no, no, no, we can't do that. But it's that issue of if we, we've, we brainstorm through that. Well, it may be three years later, something comes up where that idea can become a reality, 

(PEOPLE): but 

Dr. Jay Allen: it wasn't at their appropriate time. Right. And the college has closed programs before.

Dr. Jay Allen: Sonography is an example. I think the market may have got flooded. It was closed 10 years, we just brought it back. Great. Addition robotics was that way. It was probably just simply too early. But we brought it back and it is flourishing. Well, that's part of it is timing, but part of it is [00:28:00] we need to brainstorm on it, but we don't necessarily throw it away.

Dr. Jay Allen: Right. We'll keep it in our back pocket 'cause it may come available one day. 

Taylor Tutor: My favorite is you propose something to Tyler and he's like. Well, how about Yes. Yes. And you're like, oh, he's gonna go a totally different direction. 

Tyler Camp: But again, it goes back to like we've talked about, it's, and that's even our theme this year for, for convocation and then for the year as an entirety, is understanding the big picture and the power of one.

Tyler Camp: Mm-hmm. And understanding that your role and our, our employee's roles, my role, Dr. Allen's role, you know, we are one piece of a vigor. Masterpiece that we're painting, and even those that are painting in the corner to finish as out a masterpiece is just as important, right? As that person that's painting the big piece in the middle of the masterpiece that everybody sees.

Tyler Camp: Um, and, and so w with that you say that it, you know, you did, you would bring ideas, people bring ideas to us often. [00:29:00] Because we know a lot of times as, as leaders at, at our level of understanding the big picture of everything that's coming down the pipeline of, and so again, it goes back to being able to understand that big picture.

Taylor Tutor: And trusting. And trusting, trusting the people that That's right. Are making the decisions. And you're not just, you know, saying no, just 'cause That's right. You personally don't like the idea. No. Right. But because you do know the big picture and we have to trust that you know, that y'all have our best interest and.

Taylor Tutor: I remember coming to you right when I started student activities and thinking like, I feel like I'm not doing anything. Like this is useless. Nobody cares about this. And you're like, no, it's so important. 

Dr. Jay Allen: It is. It is important. And I think that's the, uh, we also have to understand not every student will like every activity, every event, just like they don't, like every class or every major, and that's okay.

Dr. Jay Allen: That's why we have the, the wide offerings set of offerings that we do. We had for homecoming week, laser tag last night. I did not go, [00:30:00] not because I don't support laser tag, but because had I gone. I, I, I would've been, I don't know if you've ever watched, uh, how I Met your mother, but Barney on there loves some laser T and I would be a little more like that.

Dr. Jay Allen: I would be, um, it'd be, it'd get, it could get ugly. I'd be looking like Navy Seals in there. And the problem is I'm not a team and therefore I can't. Do that and run around like that like I used to. So Dr. How have been in tracks for this Absolutely absolute you 

Judd Wilson: this morning, so, but what great things we've learned today.

Judd Wilson: Thank y'all so much. I love what you said where you said we brainstorm. You didn't say I brainstorm. And then what you said. It's all of us working together and I think that's true Leadership. I knew this was, conversation was gonna fly by and we were just gonna keep talking because it's, it's homecoming week right here.

Judd Wilson: Absolutely. With Taylor back with the boys here. It's, it's, it's great to see. It's great to see. Thank y'all so much. Appreciate Well, we appreci you in our community. Thank you for giving back to at night and, and, uh, to CDF [00:31:00] and we just appreciate both of y'all tremendously, y'all. Thank you.

Taylor Tutor: Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Ignite Cast, presented by iHeartMedia. For more leadership insights and engaging conversations, be sure to hit subscribe. And if you enjoy today's episode, we'd love for you to leave a review and remember, go for it and do good things.