Students campuswide are practicing servant leadership as they prepare to spend their summers serving others.
According to YouthWorks, the purpose of their program is “to provide life changing, Christ centered youth mission opportunities.”
Each summer, they coordinate high school mission trips to various communities across the country. Each group stays in a community all summer and staff members are still needed. YouthWorks recruiters contacted senior K.J. Tencza about his experience working with them last summer in San Francisco . He plans to return this summer.
“The kids who come impact the staff, and the community impacts the kids more than the kids impact the community,” he said.
Tencza sparked interest among other Milligan students; he said approximately 20 Milligan students are applying to work with Youth Works this summer. Senior Amanda Ruble will work in St. Petersburg, Fla this summer.
Senior Kristin Kerkvliet said, “I found out about YouthWorks from some pamphlets that were on the bulletin board in the Sub. I became more interested when I saw KJ’s short video that was played in convo last semester, so I talked to K.J.”
Kerkvliet was hired to work at a Native American Reservation in Red Lake, Minn.
“I’m doing YouthWorks because it allows me to work with missions while getting paid as well as the opportunity to give of my talents and grow as a leader,” she said.
Senior Adam Samaritoni has also applied to work with YouthWorks. He went on a similar trip with a different organization following high school and wanted to do it again as a staff member.
“I didn’t want to just go home and work,” he said. He is looking for the “opportunity to learn more about servant-leadership...I’m always looking to go to new places because you are able to relate to people from that area. As a doctor I want to be able to relate to as many people as possible.”
Many students are also participating in mission trips this summer. Junior Janae Davenport will serve on a medical mission team from her church in Romania for the second time.
After spending a week in Mexico during Christmas break, freshman Tori Markiewicz decided to return this summer as an intern. She will assist with construction, food preparation, and discipleship of the high school students who will be in Mexico for short-term trips this summer.
“I just wanted to do more with my summer than just sitting around with my friends,” she said. “Christ has blessed me so much and I just feel an urgency to share Christ’s love.”