In December 2024, Angie Mendoza ‘98 broke new ground as the first female CEO of Mennonite Housing, a nonprofit dedicated to providing affordable housing solutions across Kansas.
Her transition into the nonprofit world marked a significant shift in her career path — and a deepening of purpose.
“I don’t have it in me not to commit everything to my work,” Mendoza said. “Now when I challenge myself to be better, do better and work harder, that effort is invested in changing lives for low-income families across the state.”
For Mendoza, it’s not just about leading an organization — it’s about transforming lives and making communities stronger.
“I feel very blessed to be a part of this organization and very humbled that the board felt I was equipped to lead it,” she said.
Building a foundation of leadership at Newman University
Long before leading a housing nonprofit, Mendoza was a determined student searching for the right academic home.
As a graduate of Goddard High School, Mendoza enrolled at a college in Springfield, Missouri, but didn’t like the “rigidity” of the school she chose, she said.
“I left before the first semester ended,” Mendoza said. “I loved school and didn’t want to wait until spring to go back, so I enrolled in 8-week classes at Newman, which was one of the only schools with that program at that time.”
Mendoza said she appreciated the size, values and community atmosphere of Newman University.
“I wanted to be at a Christian school, even though I wasn’t Catholic. Newman had small classes and the campus wasn’t overwhelming. It just fit,” Mendoza said.
Originally, Mendoza began her Newman journey as a secondary education major with the dream of teaching high school history. This dream shifted when she realized she was even more interested in college-level teaching.
“To me, understanding history meant understanding how people were shaped by their environment,” she said. “How can we make things better until we understand how they got to be so bad?”
Shaped by her Newman mentors
As a history and sociology double-major with a political science minor, Mendoza’s coursework challenged her for the better.
“All my experiences at Newman were amazing. Truly,” she said. “Dr. Love really encouraged me to dig into my Intro to Humanities class and it became one of my favorite classes at Newman. The history program was challenging. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and Professor McCormick was very much committed to ‘average students get C’s.’ I made it my mission to get an A in his classes.”
She was “extremely proud” of herself when she completed a difficult project and received an “unheard of” 98%.
Mendoza credits her professors’ many research paper assignments and constructive criticism for strengthening her work ethic and writing skills. A little over a decade after graduating from Newman, Mendoza won a book contest and had her novel, “The Unforgotten,” published.
“I certainly wouldn’t have been able to do that without my Newman education,” she said.
She also credits her residence director, Tim Schroeder, as a key influence during her time at Newman.
“He was such a great sounding board and mentor,” Mendoza said. “He helped me navigate my time away from home and all the drama that came with it. He was silly and funny and just made life at Newman so much better.”
In addition to her mentors, Mendoza was shaped by her two student mission trips to Guaymas, Mexico, during spring break. She was also an active fan of the university’s sports teams, especially baseball where she met her husband.
Transforming society for the better
Mendoza learned the early importance of “understanding differences and learning to thrive in that environment” by attending Newman, she said.
She brings that mindset to her leadership today.
“As a manager, I must understand people’s strengths and weaknesses,” Mendoza said. “With that understanding, it allows me to put people in the right positions and support them where they’re weak. To create a cohesive team, you need to celebrate differences.”
Mendoza described Newman as “truly the foundation for my success as an adult.”
“I learned how to think critically, how to push myself harder than I realized I could and I learned to write well, which is one of the biggest joys in my life,” she said.
The CEO believes leadership and service is always possible, no matter the circumstance.
“To me, transforming society is about being the good in the world,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if I am the CEO or a stay-at-home mom. Wherever I am, I have the power to make the world better. Sometimes that means not responding to something hateful that is said. Sometimes that means holding the door open for someone. Sometimes it means telling a stranger something uplifting when it seems like they’re having a bad day. Sometimes it means challenging a coworker to do more so we can help more people.”
She added, “I feel very blessed to have an amazing education that has led me to this new role and a bigger stage to do more.”
Newman was truly the foundation for my success as an adult.
Angie Mendoza
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