2018 Kentucky Newman Civic Fellows
Hunter Malone
Major: Sociology; Minor: History
Class of May 2019
HUNTER MALONE
Personal Statement
Although I was involved in service work prior to coming to Berea College, it wasn’t until then that I began to fully understand why I served. Being a spiritual person, I felt compelled to serve others. Being a queer man in the south, I feel compelled to be heard and acknowledged. The Center for Excellence in Learning through Service (CELTS) proved to be a catalyst for combining those two convictions. I have come to learn that it is not hard to find someone who is being oppressed or unheard, however, I found impressive amounts of resilience. Serving others opens my mind to think critically about policies and the people that are effected. I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to serve my community through being involved with training first-year college students to engage with the community and serve in the areas they feel called. It is my belief that everyone has something to offer, I hope to nurture those characteristics and work to build a stronger community.
Hunter Malone, a junior at Berea College, is a creative and collaborative student leader, who is actively involved in mentoring and training others. He is also committed to developing opportunities for others to learn and take action on the issues that are important to them. A sociology major with a history minor, Hunter is particularly interested in exploring intersections of human rights and social issues. He believes that “every person has something to offer” and works to help others develop their skills and knowledge so that they are empowered take effective social action. Hunter has worked for three years in the Center for Excellence in Learning through Service and currently trains and supervises first-year students who have committed to making service and civic engagement an integral part of their college careers. As a catalyst, Hunter has played a lead role in bringing a large-scale refugee simulation to campus and has developed trainings about diversity for other student civic engagement leaders.
Lyle Roelofs
President, Berea College
Lindsay Daniel
Human Services & Counseling / Communication
Class of May 2019
LINDSAY DANIEL
Personal Statement
As a first-generation college student, I am passionate about encouraging others to pursue higher education despite what level of education their caregiver(s) received. College was never mandatory or expected of my siblings and me, but I knew that I could foster change and develop skills that would help me to excel in a specific discipline despite the lack of understanding or support that I received from home. Individuals in my school helped me to recognize my potential, and that is what I strive to do as well. I have been able to work one on one with elementary school students who have been in and out of foster care and others who have been neglected to the point that they do not know how to read as a sophomore in high school. I relate to these students in a way that professionals may not be able to because I was once that at-risk child. Through the mountains and valleys I encountered while paving my way as a first-generation college student, I have been able to encourage and hopefully inspire others to believe that they, too, are capable of breaking the stigma attached to those who are not always dealt a privileged life when it comes to higher education.
Lindsay Daniel, a third-year student at Lindsey Wilson College, is a student leader passionate about addressing access to education. In the past three years, she has served over 1,120 hours within the local school systems, building capacity in their afterschool programs, and she served last summer with Upward Bound, a program designed to prepare high-risk and first-generation high school students for collegiate success. During her time with Upward Bound, Lindsay built and facilitated curriculum to encourage the students with whom she worked to not only excel academically but also to begin understanding and exploring social justice issues and policy in order to connect their academics with real-world applications. Lindsay works every day through various campus and community organizations to promote access to education and collegiate success.
Jade Gibson
Major:Psychology
Class of 2019
JADE GIBSON
Personal Statement
I have always had the urge to help people and always wanted to jump in and be of service. From a young age I started with helping at my church with choreography and crafts for the kids during bible study or Sunday school. I also would go with my aunt to RedBanks nursing home and help in any way that they would allow, which includes being extra hands when they held their annual prom for the elderly. As the years went on, I had become the president of “The Climate Group” for two years in high school which was a group focused on making positive changes in the school and community.
Since then I have volunteered some with Girls Inc., the Pork Producers, with my sorority, and Give Kids the World (GKTW). GKTW happens to be where my passion lays. I discovered this place and was able to go there because of my school and once I got there I quickly fell in love. I have now put in 70 hours at this magical place where “Happiness inspires hope” and plan to spend many more hours there along with spreading the word about the place that stole my heart.
Jade Gibson is a senior Psychology major at Kentucky Wesleyan College. She has been incredibly involved in our campus and in outreach in to our community. She understands that she has an obligation to use her talents to make the lives of others better. Jade spent this past summer working with “Give Kids the World” so that she could do what she saw as her part to make their quality of life better, even though their duration of their lives might have been shortened by sickness. She is a humble servant with a world view that is very re-freshing and much needed in these times. Jade has also been an extremely active member if Alpha Omicron Pi and through that sorority, she has given countless hours of public service to our community.
Jade has been this public servant and leader while also finding the time to be a strong student, a varsity cheerleader, an active member of the Psychology Club, and is involved in many other activities and initiatives on campus. Jade is always flashing her warm smile and makes everyone around her feel better and helps them BE better.