Lee University students Samuel Bowers and Ashtyn Stock, along with humanities professor Dr. Jared Wielfaert, received the Charles W. Conn Servant Leadership Award during a recent chapel service.
 
The Dr. Charles W. Conn Servant Leadership Award, established in 2003, honors President Emeritus Charles W. Conn. He served as Lee’s president from 1970 to 1982, and a spirit of servant leadership marked his tenure.
 
To emphasize the importance of service, this award is given to two rising seniors who continually show their commitment to serve. Each recipient donates a portion of the scholarship they receive to a charity of their choice.
 
Bowers is a theology major from Pendleton, Indiana. He has been involved in Lee’s Leonard Center and Food Bank since his first semester at Lee. Soon after, he became involved in Students for Life, Crossover, and The Breakfast Club, a campus organization that serves breakfast to residents of the Cleveland Emergency Shelter. He now serves as The Breakfast Club’s president. He is also active in his church and often invites residents of the shelter to join him.
 
“This award is such an incredible honor,” said Bowers. “Jesus commands us to love God and others, and that the way to love Jesus is by serving ‘the least of these.’ Hopefully, this award serves as an encouragement for others to get out and serve their communities and love others, especially those different from themselves.”
 
Stock is from Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, and is a biology major with a pre-physician assistant emphasis. She serves as president of both the Kairos Honors Program and TriBeta, and as secretary of Alpha Epsilon Delta. She has spent her summers working in a hospital in Ethiopia, leading health education classes in Nepal, and partnering with the Light A Candle organization in Iraq.
 
“I truly cannot express how honored and humbled I am to receive this award,” said Stock. “I believe that my life is a tool in the hands of the Creator, so I deeply desire that my service is an extension of my hope in Christ and passion to see His name carried to the ends of the earth.”
 
Wielfaert joined Lee faculty in 2010. He has modeled servant leadership through his work as a professor, chair of the faculty council, study abroad trip director, Gateway instructor, and through extensive committee work aimed at benefiting faculty and students.
 
“Dr. Wielfaert has contributed in countless ways to the culture of Lee by serving students, fellow faculty, and the mission of the university,” said Dr. David Broersma, professor of TESOL and linguistics. “His cheerful good humor and genuine care for every person he encounters have made him one of Lee’s most beloved professors.”
 
Wielfaert most recently organized NetVUE grants to help faculty and administration at Lee engage in meaningful dialogue aimed at enriching the academic and co-curricular experiences of students and faculty.
 
“I am deeply blessed to work at Lee University, where servant leadership is modeled by so many extraordinary faculty and students who deserve recognition,” said Wielfaert. “It is a great honor to receive this award dedicated to the memory of Charles W. Conn.”
 
Stock and Bowers are the 22nd group of students to receive this award, while Wielfaert is the 18th faculty member to be honored.