DHE Adds Five Undergraduates to Leadership Fellows Program

Five undergraduate students will join the Division of Higher Education Leadership Fellows Program, a group of students preparing to take leadership roles as laypeople or ministers in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

"The purpose of the Division of Higher Education is to nurture men and women, both lay and clergy, for transformational leadership in the church and the wider human community through the church's institutions of higher education," said DHE president Dennis Landon. "We believe these students embody future leaders for our church and for society in general."

The five new Leadership Fellows, who will all be incoming freshmen during the 2003-2004 academic year, are:

• Carissa Cullumber, a member of Avon Christian Church near Indianapolis, Ind., plans to major in social work and religion at Bethany College.
• Rebekah Cypert, who worships at First Christian Church of McKinney, Texas, plans to major in religion at Bethany College.
• Emily McIntyre, a member of New Hope Christian Church in Beaufort, S.C., will attend Hampton University.
• Cassie Poncelow, who worships at Heart of the Rockies Christian Church in Fort Collins, Colo., plans to major in architecture at Montana State University.
• Jessica Sandwell, who worships at Journey Christian Church in Lebanon, Mo, plans to major in religious studies at the University of Missouri.

Cullumber	Cypert	McIntyre	Poncelow	Sandwell

• Casey Abney, a senior at Texas Christian University from Corsicana, Texas, majoring in studio art (First Christian Church, Richardson, Texas)
• Sara Blackwood, a junior at Texas Christian University from El Paso, Texas, majoring in art history (Bethany Christian Church, El Paso, Texas)
• Sarah Carter, a junior at William Woods University from Garden City, Kansas, majoring in elementary and secondary education (First Christian Church, Garden City, Kansas)
• Jenny Dale, a sophomore at Grinnell College from Chicago majoring in history (Latin American studies) (University Church, Chicago)
• Natalie Dixon, a junior at Eureka College from Wellington, Kansas, majoring in psychology (First Christian Church, Wellington, Kansas)
• Charlie Hall, a sophomore at Oklahoma State University from Duncan, Okla., majoring in computer science (First Christian Church, Duncan, Okla.)
• Michelle Harvick, a sophomore at Texas Christian University from Arlington, Texas, majoring in music education and vocal performance (First Christian Church, Arlington, Texas)
• Titus James, Jr., a sophomore at Kansas State University from Wichita, Texas, majoring in pre-veterinary medicine (North Heights Christian Church, Wichita, Texas)
• Laura Jennison, a junior at Mount Holyoke College from Spokane, Wash., majoring in history and religion (North Hill Christian Church, Spokane, Wash.)
• Brandon Johnson, a junior at Transylvania University from Cedar Falls, Iowa, majoring in religion (First Christian Church, Cedar Falls, Iowa)
• Krista Johnson, a junior at Ball State University from Indianapolis, Ind., majoring in public relations (Southport Christian Church, Indianapolis, Ind.)
• Emily Klingenfus, a junior at Grand Valley State University from Grand Rapids, Mich., majoring in mechanical engineering (Cascade Christian Church, Grand Rapids, Mich.)
• Steven Mason, a senior at Drake University from Lincoln, Nebr., majoring in music business (First Christian Church, Des Moines, Nebr.)
• Amanda McFarland, an undeclared sophomore at Centre College from Paris, Ky., majoring in undeclared (First Christian Church, Paris, Ky.)
• Shannon Smith, a senior at American University in Rome from Boise, Idaho, majoring in international studies, Spanish, and communications (Red Rock Christian Church, Boise, Idaho)
• Jeremy Spitzer, a junior at Virginia Tech University from Winchester, Va., majoring in accounting and information systems (First Christian Church, Winchester, Va.)
• Valerie Steffen, a junior at Drury University from Cushing, Okla., majoring in secondary education and English (First Christian Church, Cushing, Okla.)
• Ralph Wesley, a junior at Delaware State University from Washington, D.C., majoring in mass communications (Michigan Park Christian Church, Washington, D.C.)
• Alison Williams, a junior at Indiana University from Indianapolis, Ind., majoring in secondary English education (Franklin Central Christian Church, Indianapolis, Ind.)

"Again this year, choosing just a handful of students for our new class of Leadership Fellows was extremely difficult. There were so many students with such great leadership potential. However, because of the limited resources available, due greatly to the downturn in the stock market, we could only award five scholarships, and that's very unfortunate since we could have added 20 students based on their leadership potential alone," Landon said. "Considering the quality of all the applicants, we have great hope for the future of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)."

Since the scholarships are renewable, DHE plans to work with participants on developing their leadership skills through graduation.

"In the two years since the Leadership Fellows program began, we have watched some of our fellows recognize they have been called to ministry. We believe this program is just beginning to show its potential impact for the church — developing the young leaders, both in the pulpits and in the pews, the church needs in the coming years."

This year's fellows will receive a $2,000 scholarship for educational use. In addition, DHE Leadership Fellows will covenant with DHE to participate in planning and leading campus ministry programs or similar activities. The campus chaplain, director of church relations, ecumenical campus minister or another appropriate official will oversee this participation. DHE Leadership Fellows also attend annual leadership conferences; the next conference will be held November 14-16, 2003, in Oklahoma City.

To be eligible for the fellowship, students must be entering a regionally accredited American college or university as a full-time student, participate in a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregation, and express a commitment to serve the church as a clergy or lay leader and to participate in the leadership development activities required by the DHE Leadership Fellows Program.

DHE seeks to nurture transforming leadership for the church, working in partnership with Disciples higher education institutions, campus ministries, congregations, regions, and the other general ministries. Including cooperative efforts with local congregations, DHE helped distribute almost $269,000 in scholarships in 2002. Recognizing students who demonstrate leadership potential for the church and the world, DHE also works with the Phillips University Legacy Foundation to award additional annual scholarships to students attending Disciples colleges and universities.