Bound for Yale

David Baugham, former Student Government president, will pursue a master’s degree at Yale with the goal of a career managing a health-related nonprofit organization.

David Baugham, president of Student Government for the 2017–2018 academic year, is going to Yale University to pursue a master’s degree in public health.

Baugham first began working with Student Government as the director of academic affairs in 2015. Gavin Doll, the president at the time, encouraged him to join. Baugham then served as speaker of the House, working with Holley Mapel, who was assistant speaker and would later serve as vice president of Student Government. In 2017, Baugham was elected student body president.

Baugham’s role as a campus leader wasn’t limited to the Student Government Association. As a sophomore, he served as president of the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, a student organization that works with students interested in nonprofit management.

Baugham, who graduated in April, majored in supply chain management, with a minor in nonprofit management because he wants to work with nonprofit organizations, while being able to manage it well from a business perspective.

“My dad has always taught me that you can have a heart for service, but if you don’t know how to enact or lead or get things done, you can’t add as much as you hope to,” he said. “That’s why I pursued supply chain management because I saw and believe that public service needed business acumen.”

Baugham cited several experiences throughout his life as inspiration for his passion for leadership. He is an Eagle Scout and graduated as a valedictorian from his high school.

“My experience as an Eagle Scout launched me into this idea of what it means to be a leader, what it means to manage a team and cast a vision,” he said.

At Yale, Baugham will pursue a master’s in public health in health care management in a partnership with the Yale School of Management. This degree will help him to manage a health-related nonprofit organization with the skills of a business major.

David Baugham addressing his fellow graduates at Wright State’s commencement ceremony on April 28.

While he is excited to attend Yale, Baugham said Wright State will always hold a special place in his memory.

“I think a lot of my success has come down to the faculty, staff and students that have been so intentional about making a personal connection in my life and I can’t thank them enough,” he said. “I am excited right now to be an alumni, a donor and to be someone who comes in and interacts with students. The question for me is not ‘what do I want to be,’ it’s ‘how do I want to give back in 10 years?’ and I’m positioning myself to be able to give back.”