Each year, McPherson College recognizes the accomplishments of young alumni during the Honors Convocation at Homecoming. This year, the five alumni receiving Young Alumni Awards on October 18 in a ceremony at Brown Auditorium included Nathan ’95 and Amy ’94 Brubaker, Brent Paul ’96, and Shane ’03 and Jennifer ’04 Netherton.
The Young Alumni Award recognizes the achievements and life-long potential for accomplishment of the college’s younger alumni. The award is given to alumni who address and overcome professional challenges, serve others or their church, and actively support McPherson College.
Amy ’94 and Nathan ’95 Brubaker
Nathan and Amy Brubaker, Trophy Club, Texas. Nathan Brubaker, a fourth-generation alum, graduated from McPherson College in 1995 with a degree in accounting and business finance and started his career as a staff accountant at Koch Refining company, now Flint Hills Resources. Today, he is senior vice president at Flint Hills Resources and is responsible for all commercial activity, refined products, and asphalt. His career has taken him from Austin, TX, to Anchorage, AK, with responsibilities ranging from sales, marketing, and logistics to pipeline operations and renewable fuels. Amy (Diaz) Brubaker is a 1994 graduate of McPherson College with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. She is the evidence custodian and patrol assistant for the Trophy Club Police Department. Her career includes positions as vice president for the Keller Youth Association in Keller, TX, parole/probation officer duties in Texas and Alaska, para-professional crisis counselor and teaching positions in Texas, and elementary school teacher at St. Joseph Catholic School in McPherson. She has served on the McPherson College Board of Trustees and is currently on the Texas Advisory Council for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and is chair of recruitment and engagement for the Texas Women for Children, an initiative of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Nathan is a board member of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, and both are active in the Hillside Community Church. They are long-time President’s Club donors and leading contributors to the Pat Noyes Men’s Basketball Endowed Scholarship, while supporting Bulldog Athletics as a whole. Nathan’s grandfather, Earl, and father, Tom ‘68, both served on the McPherson College Board of Trustees for many decades. The Brubaker family established and continue to support the Earl Brubaker Memorial Scholarship endowment at McPherson College.
Brent Paul ’96
Brent Paul, Bakersfield, CA. Brent Paul graduated from McPherson College in 1996 with a degree in agriculture economics: farm management. He is president and CEO of Paul Farm Management, Inc. and Paul Property Management, Inc. He is involved in several community organizations and has served on the Wasco Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture and the Pond-Shafter-Wasco Resource Conversation District. He is a former Wasco Youth Wrestling and Wasco High School football coach. Since 2004, he has served on the Bakersfield College football coaching staff producing seven All-Americans, 12 division-one players, three NFL players, and a Canadian football MVP. He’s been involved in many championship seasons and bowl wins, including four 10-plus win seasons and a junior college national championship. In 2019, the Paul Family Field at McPherson Stadium was named in gratitude to Brent and his family for their charitable giving, which includes sponsoring an MC Power Day match each year and supporting Bulldog athletic programs. Brent is an elder at the Grace Community Church and serves as the chairman/moderator of the Elder Board. He’s also served as treasurer and was a Sunday School teacher.
Shane ’03 and Jennifer ’04 Netherton
Shane and Jennifer Netherton, Urbandale, IA. Shane Netherton earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Business Administration from McPherson College in 2003. He is chief financial officer for Bernau Capital Partners. He was comptroller and then chief financial officer of Tulsa Community College from 2011 until 2016. Shane also served as business manager then vice president for finance at McPherson College from 2007-2011 and was controller then chief financial officer for Stine Seed Company for seven years. He is a community board member at Liberty National Bank, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and a past board member for Goodwill Industries and Ronald McDonald House of Tulsa. Jennifer (Schuyler) Netherton graduated from McPherson College in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education and is a second-grade teacher at Bergman Academy in Des Moines. She was the recipient of the Golden Apple Award for Teaching in 2021. She volunteers for Samaritan’s Purse, Meals from the Heartland, and at the Valley Church. Together they volunteer to operate the aid station for the Des Moines Marathon, where they keep runners hydrated during the race. The Nethertons support MC’s Power Day annually as President’ club donors and regularly participate in the Pat Noyes Golf Experience and other Bulldog Athletic fundraisers.
While on campus, all the 2024 Young Alumni Award recipients participated in Alumni Panel sessions, hosted by McPherson College faculty and their academic divisions. The panels give MC students the opportunity to hear from accomplished alumni about what their McPherson College education did for them, along with career advice and tips for preparing for life after college.