Brigadier General Alex Fink with his wife Janet, left, and mother Dana, right. following his Army ROTC commissioning ceremony in 1990 at Mizzou. Photo courtesy of Brig. Gen. Alex Fink.
Dec. 12, 2019
Brigadier General Alex Fink has plenty of memories from his time as a Mizzou student. From living with his fraternity brothers of Alpha Gamma Sigma and attending football games with them to meeting his wife, Mizzou alumna Janet Heckman, Fink’s Mizzou experience had a lasting impact on his life; an impact so great that their children have decided to follow in their footsteps and become Tigers as well.
Fink’s children are the fifth generation of his family to attend Mizzou. Both of his parents, grandfather and great-grandfather attended Mizzou as well.
Brigadier General Alex Fink, chief of Army Enterprise Marketing, is a Mizzou alumnus. Photo courtesy of Brig. Gen. Alex Fink.
In November, Fink was one of the newest inductees into Mizzou’s Army ROTC Hall of Fame to recognize his service and dedication not only to his country but to Mizzou as well.
Fink grew up in Oregon, Missouri. He says that living on a farm in this small town taught him a strong sense of responsibility at a young age.
“There are jobs that don’t get done if you don’t do them, or roles that don’t get filled if you don’t fill them,” Fink said. “I was involved in about every activity my community offered from athletics to band, student government, Boy Scouts and church.”
After graduating high school in 1986 with a class of 20 students, he made the choice to leave Oregon, and further his academic career at the University of Missouri.
Fink said the confidence that he gained during his time at Mizzou was invaluable.
“Entering Mizzou as a freshman, I underestimated my skills and abilities.” Fink said. “I assumed that all the other freshmen were smarter and more prepared than me, and I had grown comfortable with the idea that I’d need to work harder than others in order to survive. I learned early through activities like the Chancellor’s Leadership Class and Army ROTC that I belonged at Mizzou, and, after some early successes, I grew more confident in my approach to work ethic and challenges.”
During his time at Mizzou, Fink studied agricultural economics and was involved in Army ROTC, Greek Life and was tapped into two secret societies, QEBH and Mortar Board.
Now, with nearly 30 years of service in the U.S. Army, Fink, 51, is working as the chief of Army Enterprise Marketing — the Army’s new marketing organization — and is enjoying making even more Mizzou memories in his role as a parent.
In this 2016 photo, the Fink family, from left to right, Brig. Gen. Fink, Caroline, Janet, Henry and Jack. Photo courtesy of Brig. Gen. Alex Fink.
“My favorite Mizzou memory is meeting and dating Janet Heckman,” he said. “Janet and I now have two of our own kids at Mizzou. Jack is a junior in the business school, and Caroline is a freshman in journalism. We are now making a whole new set of memories with them.”
