Allison Oster
Senior Public Relations Specialist
(626) 815-4518
APU Names Servant Leadership Award Recipients
October 6, 2006
AZUSA, Calif. –
In recognition of their commitment to service and leadership, four Azusa Pacific University students will receive the annual Servant Leadership Award at a luncheon on Oct. 17 at 11 a.m. in APU’s North Upper Turner Campus Center on East Campus, at 901 E. Alosta Ave., Azusa.
The 2006-07 award recipients include: Matt Brannon, for Service in the Community; Megan Klingensmith, for Service within APU. Giovanna Miraya, for Service within APU; and Megan Sievert, for Service Internationally.
Each student receives a $1,000 gift, $500 of which is donated to a service agency of their choice. APU established the Servant Leadership Award with the support of the Barney II and Moore Foundation and the SAJE Foundation. The award aims to promote the ideals of servant leadership in the APU community.
Matt Brannon, senior Business Administration major, worked with ministries such as Peach Factory, Walking with Azusa’s Youth (W.A.Y.), Urban Ministries, and Homework House. “Service is a personal decision to do something outside of yourself,” Brannon said. “I have realized that there is a considerable need for people who are willing to serve others.” Brannon will donate $500 to Oasis Street Ministry.
Junior Marketing major Megan Klingensmith served through classes such as Diversity in the Classroom, PE in the Elementary Schools, nursing and global studies courses, and L.A. Term. Klingensmith said, “Service occurs in that remarkable moment when we’re actually able to relinquish our own needs and desires and let them be eclipsed by those of another.” Kligensmith’s donation will support the Seattle-based Go Girls!
“My philosophy of service revolves around our call to love God with everything we have and to love our neighbors as ourselves” said senior Psychology major Giovanna Miraya. Miraya is recognized for her active involvement in Communiversity, Multi-Ethnic Programs, Admissions, Discipleship-Group ministries, and Residence Life. Miraya will contribute to C.R.O.P. Walk (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty).
Junior Sociology major Megan Sievert explained her philosophy of service: “It’s simple. I must love, because Christ first loved me, and serve because Christ has first served me.” Sievert has worked with Mexico Outreach, summer mission trips, overseas internships, and participated in the Global Learning Term. Sievert’s donation will support Compassion International.
For more information on the recipients, contact Kristin Gurrola, associate director for the Center for Academic Service Learning and Research, at (626) 815-6000, Ext. 2826.
Featured in TIME magazine and ranked as one of the nation’s best by U.S.News & World Report and The Princeton Review, Azusa Pacific is a comprehensive, Christian, evangelical university, committed to God First and known for excellence in higher education. Azusa Pacific’s main campus lies just 26 miles northeast of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley, while its seven Southern California regional centers bring convenience and extend quality programming. The university offers more than 50 areas of undergraduate study, 21 master's degrees, and 6 doctorates to a total student population of more than 8,300.
