Nonprofit Scholarship

I was raised with the fundamental notion of service to mankind, I have always been interested in society’s injustices and problems, and being a catalyst for change. This has brought me to applying to the University of Central Florida’s Master of Nonprofit Management program within the School of Public Administration. I am currently a practitioner in Social Work and serve as the Director of Social Services at the Orlando Area Command of The Salvation Army. I have received my bachelors and master’s degree in Social Work from Barry University in Miami, FL.

I became interested in missions when my family and I lived abroad in Laos, Singapore, and Costa Rica; we had adopted my youngest brother and were in the process of immigrating him back to the United States. I believe that I can use my majors, Spanish and music (piano pedagogy) in evangelism and in furthering Christ and His Kingdom.

Blessed beyond compare, God has initiated me into a community of faith! Surrounded by believers of Christ, I’ve become a well-rounded individual, and a contributing member of society. First Baptist Church of Merrifield has instilled patients, love, compassion, and most importantly the foundation of faith that leads me to do great things. Just as the Lord has blessed me with education, life, and health, I plan on giving back to other as he continues to do for me. In the capacity of the next 20 years, I will mentor youth, start a non profit organization to compel bulling, and advocate for economic change to work toward closing the income gap between minorities and there Caucasian counterparts.

My leadership and service have helped the community and my family for a positive difference. Though I have some experience, I can’t wait till college where I can gain knowledge and have a wider array of experience to help others. I know that my love of learning and a solid work ethic will be beneficial in college. I have been diligent in academics in high school, and now I hope that in college I can learn and gather the tools I need to make a difference in the world, even if it’s only in one person's life. It’s exciting to think about the future and what God has in store for me. With what I know and have learned so far, I plan on advocating for an organization that I will work with that helps women out of sex trafficking and into healthier lifestyles. If there isn’t one already on my future campus, I’d like to start a program that brings awareness about sex trafficking and teaches the women on campus about self-defense. After college, my life will consist entirely of service and leadership. My plan is to mentor women and help them into an improved life after being rescued from sex trafficking locally and

Volunteerism and willingness to serve others are magnificent character traits to discover while growing up. If one is involved with such activities, they will be able to contribute to society as a whole and “leave a mark” on the world for the better. However, such activities would not be available without the assistance of an outreach coordinator. Such people prepare service projects for the community, non-profit organization, or church in hopes of spreading good will among those affected by these actions. They also must be available to offer support to individuals who walk in and require the outreach coordinator’s services. Jeanna-Mar Simmons, a family friend, generously allowed me to shadow her on April 24, 2014. This wonderful lady is the outreach coordinator for Christ United Methodist Church. During my shadow, I was able to discover the intricacies of the organization behind all the service projects I participate in on a regular basis as well as learn about her relationship with God and how it intertwines with her work and the environment at the church.

I am a senior in the DMIN program pursuing a career path in small group ministries and counseling. I have the heart for people struggling with issues in need of loving kindness and a listening ear. I desire to work where God leads. Currently, works and ministers from home as well as teach

Although I have been afforded many opportunities to teach youth workers across the state and even on a National level, I believe that pursuing a degree in Biblical studies with a concentration on youth work would greatly benefit not only my personal ministry, but help other youth workers, and ultimately our youth which would help them develop a closer relationship with Christ, and live according the purpose God has called them to. Many youth workers have been brought up believing that the ways we’ve reached and taught youth in the past will continue to work for generations to come. This is not true. As the hymn writer, Charles Wesley wrote, “A charge to keep I have, A God to glorify, A never-dying soul to save, and fit it for the sky. To serve the present age, my calling to fulfill: O may it all my powers engage to do my master’s will! We must be mindful that what we had to deal with does not compare to what this generation faces from day to day. We did not grow up in the drug infested, gang ridden, over burdened, under loved, under nourished, crime infested, surrogate parent, impoverish, sexually explicit war zones that they live

I feel that I am called to a non-traditional role in ministry and that has been hard to explain to people, because when you tell people that you are going to school for ministry, yet you are not planning on working in a church, you honestly get weird looks, or even questioned why in the world then am I going to college for it. I feel that going to college for ministry is the best way for me to obtain the knowledge that I need on God's word, the history of it, and how to best answer things that I might be asked when I am reaching out to people, to help guide them to God. It is not that I would mind helping inside of the church if it is needed, it is just not where I feel that God wants me to spend most of my time. If I were to have to choose a traditional ministry, I guess it would be Compassionate Ministry or

In my Ministry Activity Logs, I noted various feelings: joyfulness, passion, sadness, curiosity, relief and etc. Whenever I realize that my talents, time, and enthusiasm are used to help, inspire, and encourage my congregation and the afflicted such as the Homeless and North Korean defectors, I am very happy for that. Especially, as I didn’t have any direct communication with the Homeless and North Korean refugees before this internship, meetings with those people make me sympathize with their sufferings and concerns. In addition, the more I study the Psalms, the more my desire to know deeply the Word of God grows in my mind. The preparation for my upcoming sermon and continuous listening to other pastors’ sermon also make me take enough time

Over the past two summers, I have ventured to different regions of Pennsylvania on mission trips with my church, First Parish Congregational Church. These mission trips are week long service projects set up by an organization called Group Mission Trips. This Organization sponsors mission trips all throughout the country, and I have had the privilege to attend two. My first in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 2014, and my second in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania last summer. Both of these mission trips provided plenty of opportunities to grow through service not only as a person but as a leader.

Francis is all of the opportunities to serve and participate in ministries. My favorite way to lead through ministry is participating in the St. Francis Worship Team. Worship Team helps to celebrate school masses with song. I love to sing at these masses, because the Worship Team is a group of students who are always excited to praise God through song. Being able to participate in the masses brings me so much joy. In addition, I participate in St. Francis ministry through service opportunities available through the National Honor Society. I volunteered for the Neighborhood Food Pantries multiple times over the summer, and always feel fulfilled when I serve others. I would love to find more ways to serve others in my community. I believe that Student Ministry Team is a great opportunity to lead by example and to share my faith with others. I would love to participate in SMT to grow my faith and to become more involved in St. Francis

Never in my life did I think God would lead me to become a pastor. However, around the end of 2012, I really felt God calling me toward vocational ministry. I wasn’t really sure what that would look like in my life, and I struggled with God for a long time about the idea of giving up a “sure thing” with the army, for the unknown of serving in ministry. I just kept thinking, “Is this really what God is calling me to do?” This went on for quite a while. One night, in May 2014, God made it abundantly clear to me. My wife and I were attending the wedding of some close friends of ours. The pastor who was performing the ceremony was the pastor of the church my wife and I attended before I joined the military in 2010. After the ceremony, I was talking with him and mentioned that I was feeling like God was calling me into pastoral ministry.

My name is Shirl Green. I became a student at Liberty University, because of a massive layoff, as a Loan Officer, in the legation department. However, God has blessed me with an amazing husband that has supported me throughout my educational journey. Remarkably, my spouse has carried the load and insisted on me not working but focusing on my studies. On the other hand, I'm expecting to gain Biblical and circular management principles. Once I complete my graduate studies, I intend to work as a Biblical Social Worker. I believe that there's a great need for Spiritual Social Workers because God word is more powerful that any

My future ministry is and always has been, the continued work of the Lord. To share His name and the great love that He has for all of His creations. That in my work I will be able to continue to do what God has given me the ability to do in the past. Share His name, bring more people to Him, pray for and help all of the lost find their way to salvation. Show those that have never known what the true love of Christ is all about and how to love them unconditionally through Christ. To continue to help those that are less fortunate. To feed those that are hungry. To give coats and blankets to those that are cold.

It wasn’t until I was a newly hired Youth Minister at just 21, employed full-time at a church in Indiana that I realized, I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. I went to Bible College, I had the training, but yet, something was missing. After a few months of frustration, I realized, the problem was, I literally had no idea what I had gotten myself into. So I began to wrestle with the question, ”What is ministry?” I had an assumption, but rarely are those well informed, or, at least in my case, even half accurate. My naiveté said if I just taught the bible, and made myself available to the students, that transformation in their lives would follow. Yet, the fruit that I was hoping to see, as the first year waned and we moved into our second, never quite seemed to make itself known.