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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (August 5, 2015) — For Milligan College’s camp teams, visiting Christian summer camps for eight weeks in a row wasn’t just about perfecting the art of making s’mores.
Divided into two groups, Team Alpha and Team Omega, the camp teams traversed numerous states with a purpose: to spread the word of God and represent Milligan’s mission.
But these college students not only changed lives this summer; they learned important leadership and team-building skills that will prepare them for their future.
Hannah Simeon, a psychology major who hopes to work as a counselor in the mission field, felt she was able to significantly impact some of the junior high and high school students she worked with, like two students who were experiencing family issues.
“Talking with them helped the students learn to vocalize their issues and allow people to help them,” said Simeon, a rising junior from Bolingbrook, Illinois. “They learned they don’t have to do anything alone.”
As part of camp teams, Simeon learned skills that will help her career, including leadership responsibilities like giving testimonies at campfire circles and speaking to the camp about her Milligan experience.
They also learned how to function efficiently as a team while traveling to Georgia, Indiana, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina and Tennessee visiting eight middle school camps and eight high school camps.
“Members of camp teams are in a unique place to impact the hearts and minds of middle school and high school students,” said Adam Profitt, a 2011 Milligan graduate and student minister at First Christian Church in Johnson City. Proffitt served as dean of Appalachian Christian Camp during middle school week. “They sow seeds that God can use in huge ways and create space for God to continue working in their own lives, as well.”
Team Alpha consisted of Mike Mohsen, a Bible major from Palm Harbor, Florida; Casey Richardson, a nursing major from Kingsport, Tennessee; Caleb Nix, a business administration major from Jenison, Missouri; and Simeon.
Team Omega included Paige Pennington, a communications major from St. Cloud, Florida; Sarah Collie, a child and youth development major from Damascus, Virginia; Joshua Foote, a business administration major from Simpsonville, Kentucky; and Michael Birkner, a business administration major from Elizabethton, Tennessee.
“Milligan’s camp teams are well-trained and prepared servant-leaders who love sharing Christ and talking about their Milligan experience to campers across the region,” said Phyllis Fox, director of church relations and Youth in Ministry. “While Milligan is educating men and women in a variety of career fields, many choose to go serve in churches, their community and mission work around the world.”
Ultimately, Simeon hopes the experience of working with those campers will pave the way for her future.
“We’re all learning, no matter where we are in our walk with God,” said Simeon. “It was rewarding to get to know and help them.”
To learn more about Milligan, visit www.milligan.edu.