Fuel for Future Leaders Direct from the Dealership

For Eve Knudtsen (MA ’16) and Lauren Benedict (’15, MA ’19), going to Gonzaga was a family affair.

“The joke at the time was that my mother followed me to college,” Benedict said. But Eve and Lauren’s journey at Gonzaga was no joke. In fact, both consider it to have been a blessing that changed the course of the family’s business and their lives — so much so that they are offering to match donations in support of the School of Leadership Studies up to $10,000 October 1-4, 2024.

The Knudtsens’ Gonzaga story begins in 2011, when Eve was beginning to re-think her place in the retail automotive industry. Credit markets tightened, economic uncertainty washed over consumers around the world, major automakers restructured amidst government intervention, and preferences shifted toward more fuel-efficient models — it was a perfect storm leading to widespread dealership closures in the United States. The Knudtsen family of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, had been in business since 1939, but Eve wasn’t so sure she and her brother Eric were going to be able to carry their father and grandfather’s legacies any further.

“The Great Recession had been really hard on us,” Eve admitted. “There were a lot of tearful nights followed by days when we knew we had enough operating cash to open but weren’t sure we’d have enough to close.”

She began thinking of ways she might translate her highly specialized education and experience into another industry. Researching graduate programs, she found Gonzaga’s Master of Organizational Leadership (ORGL) program in the School of Leadership Studies. She had family who spoke highly of their experiences earning Master of Business Administration degrees from Gonzaga, and with it being so close to home, it seemed it might be a good fit for the “reset” Eve was seeking.

“I reached out,” she explained, “and the next thing I knew, I was enrolled!”

In class after class, Eve tried to unplug from the business, but she kept getting pulled back in as she leaned into applying what she was learning in class to her work with the dealership. As a Chief Executive Officer, she had a unique real-world perspective of how to use what she and her ORGL classmates were learning.

“My experience at Gonzaga helped me fall back in love with my field,” Eve said with a smile. “Even beyond ORGL, things like the Women Lead conference helped me reengage. I am now the chair of the General Motors Women’s Dealer Advisory Council, working with 11 other amazing women from around the United States and Canada to provide crucial input to leadership at GM. None of this would have happened to me if I hadn’t hit that turning point and sought out the ORGL program at Gonzaga.”

While Gonzaga’s proximity to the family’s home was a feature to Eve, for Lauren, it was a bug. Like many teens who itch for independence, Lauren was hoping to find the path to her future far from home. National attention on the basketball team and a friend who had a great experience as an undergraduate at Gonzaga helped convince her to apply.

“We visited campus and at first, I thought, ‘this is too close to home!’” recalled Lauren, “but once we were there, I could instantly feel the sense of community. Plus, Gonzaga accepted all my dual-enrollment credits I earned in high school from North Idaho College, which was a big plus for me.”

Over the next few years, Lauren worked toward her bachelor’s degree in business with concentrations in law and public policy. She had originally planned to pursue a career as a lobbyist or advocate for nonprofit organizations, but wasn’t so keen on moving to Boise or Washington, D.C. After all the time she spent thinking Gonzaga was too close to home, she admitted, “The funny thing was that after I graduated, I didn’t want to leave.”

Lauren started working at the family dealership alongside her mother, and soon found herself bitten by the same lifelong learning bug that had gotten Eve, too. Lauren reached out to the School of Leadership Studies, and just like Eve, “before I knew it, I was enrolled.”

During their experiences in the School of Leadership Studies, Eve and Lauren found that Gonzaga and Knudtsen had a lot in common: they are both communities of people who treat one another like family and share a mission to do good in the world.

“The program was so transformative,” mused Lauren. “Learning about myself while giving others the opportunity to learn about themselves and how they work best in the world and together — it was fantastic. And the truth is, we need more leaders.”

Eve agreed, sharing that the combined impact on their lives and business along with the potential for more leaders to develop at Gonzaga inspired their support.

Eve and Lauren invite all School of Leadership Studies alumni and current students to join their organization in helping make the kind of leadership formation they received from Gonzaga accessible to others with a gift of support.

“Whether it’s scholarships or enhanced and expanded offerings, the donations we match are going toward cultivating leadership and passion for lifelong learning,” said Eve. “Let’s see what we can build together.”

Lauren added, “let’s see who we can build together.”