Condry, Shoemaker given Servant Leadership Award
FOR RELEASE: Monday, May 14, 2007
Huntington, Ind. "Two Huntington University students received the Huntington University Servant Leadership Award, in partnership with the Barney II Foundation, at the Joe Mertz Center for Volunteer Service banquet earlier this month. The purpose of this award is to recognize students who have demonstrated leadership in the area of community and ministry service. This year's recipients were Megan Condry and Adam Shoemaker. Students are nominated by staff, faculty, and peers and must be juniors with a 2.5 grade point average or above to be eligible. Two $1,000 awards are granted, and recipients are awarded with $750 and asked to designate $250 to the charity of their choice.
Adam Shoemaker
Adam Shoemaker and Megan Condry are amazing examples of what servant leadership is all about, said Crystal Hippensteel, advisor of the Joe Mertz Center. With Jesus Christ as their model, they are committed to serving the university and the Huntington community. Their lives and actions are a true testimony of their servant hearts. I have been honored to work with them this year and watch as they continually put others before themselves.
Condry, daughter of Mike and Bonnie Condry, is a family and children's ministries major from Celina, Ohio. She has chosen to donate $250 to Huntington Kid's Club. At Huntington University, Condry has participated in mission trips to Chicago, San Francisco and Huntington. She serves as the JMC program coordinator for Open Door, Young Life, Love Church and Faith-Based Mentoring. She volunteers as a Huntington Kid's Club buddy and at the Huntington Boys and Girls Club. She also serves on the leadership team for the Huntington Kid's Club. Condry has been on the dean's list each year of her college career.
The more I serve others, the more I realize how little I am serving and how much I am learning, Condry said. It amazes me how service starts out by doing something, helping someone, and becomes who you are as well as a part of your life. Now I see the world through eyes of others and realize it is not about me. In countless ways, I have grown in my walk with Christ through the most unsuspecting things: the words of a child, my own discomfort, the pains of my body, and the fear of trying something new. Without giving to other people, I probably would not have realized I could do some things.
Shoemaker, son of Doug and Kris Shoemaker, is a not-for-profit business major from Sheridan, Ind. He has chosen to donate $250 to the Huntington Boys and Girls Club. At Huntington University, Shoemaker has served as the JMC program coordinator for Volunteer 911, Huntington Kid's Club, Connecting Friends and Upwards Basketball. He has participated in mission trips to Huntington, Chicago, Belize, and Jamaica. He volunteers as a Huntington Kid's Club buddy, Big Brothers/Big Sisters lunch buddy and at the Huntington Boys and Girls Club. He also serves on the leadership team for Huntington Kid's Club. Indiana's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives recently chose Shoemaker to serve as a youth member.
I am motivated to serve because I have gotten to know the community of Huntington and have seen how much need there is, Shoemaker said. Particularly, there is a need for people willing to take an interest in the life of a child, show them that they have value, and teach them that they have the ability to be somebody. In a more general sense, I am motivated to serve because of the example that Christ set for us. He met the needs of people physically, mentally and spiritually. Our faith isn't about a list of things that we do or don't do, but rather about our relationship with Christ, which transforms our relationships with everyone else.
Founded in 1992, the Joe Mertz Center for Volunteer Service has become an integral part of Huntington University campus life. This student-directed organization mobilizes the campus community for Christian service. The Joe Mertz Center aims to involve students in the local community, instill a lifelong tendency toward service, and promote the idea that one person can make a difference. More than 70 percent of resident students are involved in some form of volunteer service, and more than 10,000 hours of labor are contributed by the campus community each year. For more information, log on to www.huntington.edu/jmc.
