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MISHAWAKA--At Bethel, great minds are cultivated and brilliant young leaders learn to step forth from the shadows. While every Bethel graduate is unique and brilliant in their own way, every year Bethel chooses a select few to recognize as being clear demonstrations of excellence and service.
This year, four individuals were chosen to receive these awards: Joel Boehner ‘05, Alumnus of the Year, 2019; Kory and Alison Lantz ‘09, Young Alumni of the Year, 2019; and Kristy Mikel ‘05, Timothy Award for Service, 2019.
“Throughout the course of the year, I collect nominations from staff and faculty,” said Emily Sherwood, Director of Alumni and Donor Relations. “Then, we also collect nominations from the alumni population as a whole.”
Once the nominations are narrowed down and organized in a form, the alumni board votes on their choices for the year.
Boehner, the Alumnus of the Year, is currently Executive Director of IN*SOURCE (Indiana Resource Center for Families with Special Needs), a non-profit organization that provides Special Education Parent Support throughout Indiana.
According to the Bethel website, the alumnus of the year award is “in recognition of an outstanding alumna or alumnus of Bethel University who exemplifies the values of the college in his or her personal and professional life.”
Kory and Alison Lantz, the Young Alumni of the Year, currently serve at Transformation Ministries, an organization that provides support for middle school and high school students living in the Keller Park area.
According to the Bethel website, the young alumni of the year award is “in recognition of an outstanding young alumnus or alumna of Bethel University, who exemplifies the values of the college in his or her personal and professional life.”
Kristy Mikel, the recipient of the Timothy Award for Service, currently lives and works in Mae Sot, Thailand, located on the Myanmar (Burma)/Thailand border. Here, she co-founded Braverly, a cafe and sewing center that empowers women by serving as a training center for business management, sewing, culinary arts and product development.
According to the Bethel website, the Timothy Award is given “in recognition of an outstanding young alumnus or alumna of Bethel University, who exemplifies the values of the college in his or her personal and professional life.”
Sherwood closed by saying how proud and amazed she is of Bethel’s alumni.
“I would just like to communicate how proud we are of our alumni and the work that they do,” said Sherwood. “Every year, it never ceases to amaze me when we pick these award recipients… the more we dig into their story and learn about them, every year I think, ‘These are the exact right choices, and these alumni are worthy of recognition.”
The award recipients will be recognized at the Annual Alumni Dinner on Oct. 5.
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