11.18.09 
Four Southeastern students win scholarships for servant leadership

By Southeastern University

Four Southeastern students became the university's first recipients of the Servant Leadership Award, a scholarship funded by two foundations and the schools that participate in the award program.

Seniors Danielle Shryock, Michael Hanlin, Stephanie Valencia, and junior Joy Skywalker won the scholarship this year for their involvement in ministry and community service. Each student received a $1,250 scholarship from Southeastern and a matching $1,250 from the Servant Leadership Award program for each of their remaining years at Southeastern.

The award also included a $250 donation to a charity of each recipient's choice.

The award, given only to college juniors and seniors, was created to provide a way for schools to honor students who were making a difference on campus and in their local communities, said Servant Leadership Communication Coordinator Dr. Mark Troyer. The award also is given to encourage philanthropy and giving, he said.

The Servant Leadership Award program began in 1995 under Marty Moore, president of the Indianapolis, Indiana-based Moore Foundation, and Bill Reichardt, president of the Barney II Foundation. Moore's father started the Moore Foundation in the early 1960s as a means to support the principles of sound education, morality, and spirituality. The Barney II Foundation, started by Reichardt's family, is named after Barnabas, a friend of the New Testament apostle Paul. The foundation's mission is "to encourage people that God has put in our path."

Shryock, Hanlin, Valencia, and Skywalker are among about 150 students throughout the United States, Kenya, and Albania to win a Servant Leadership Award. Southeastern will hold a banquet in honor of its four recipients in April.

The Servant Leadership Award is a great way to identify students who have a servant's heart, said Danita Joell, the executive assistant to Southeastern's vice president for administration and finance. "The students were thrilled when they found out they won."

Shryock, a management and accounting major, is the worship coordinator for Encounter, an on-campus contemplative chapel service. Shryock's chosen charity, Charity: Water, is a non-profit committed to bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

Hanlin, an accounting and finance major, is president of Southeastern's Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) chapter. His charity award will help support David Goldsberry, a missionary of High Point Church in Brandon, Florida.

Valencia, a junior, is leader of Adoración, a bi-lingual singing group at Southeastern. Her chosen charity, Mission of Hope Haiti, ministers to Haiti's poor communities.

Skywalker, a junior, started Sophia 1:28, an on-campus student prayer group. Her chosen charity, Love 146, is committed to abolishing the child slavery industry throughout the world.

The Southeastern University Scholarship Committee, comprised of university administration, faculty, and staff, selected Shryock, Hanlin, Valencia, and Skywalker to receive the Servant Leadership Awards.

In addition to the scholarships and charity donations, the students received a roughly foot-high version of Divine Servant, a sculpture that depicts Jesus washing the feet of his disciple Peter. A life-size version of the sculpture sits in Lambert Plaza on Southeastern's campus.