Sioned Kirkpatrick, Texas Lutheran University
Sioned Kirkpatrick is a junior double-majoring in chemistry and biology at Texas Lutheran University. Embracing the role of Civic Engagement Coordinator, she works as a student staff member of the TLU Center for Servant Leadership. In that role, she collaborates with professors to integrate civic engagement into courses, functioning as a co-educator, liaison, organizer, communicator, and mentor. Thanks to Sioned, a highly-successful Dash for Disabled Vets has been established to raise awareness and funds for Disabled American Veterans chapter 61 in Seguin. Similarly, Social Problems (SOCI 232) has been overhauled to feature group service and research projects with a variety of Seguin community organizations. Sioned’s persistence, vision, tenacity and hard work have yielded fantastic results and deeper partnerships between TLU and the larger Seguin community. As Sioned notes in her personal statement, she believes in the transforming power of relationships. To her, service and other forms of civic engagement provide vehicles toward meeting and connecting with new people, especially those on the margins of society, people the Bible refers to as the “least of these”. Sioned is acutely aware that social change begins through authentic relationships that inform, inspire, and collaborate toward a better future.
-Stuart Dorsey, President
Participating in civic engagement has been a central part of my college experience here at Texas Lutheran University. Through academics, work, and my social life, a sense of community has always been something that I have craved. When I began working as a student Civic Engagement Coordinator at the Center for Servant Leadership, I never anticipated the relationships and revelations that I would soon experience. Since I have worked with the CSL, I have worked alongside a wide variety of people ranging from the elderly to children, and from veterans to battered women. Although I take great pride in my work and am always excited to see the impact that I directly have on these groups of people, it is the impact that they make on me that truly drives my passion to serve. As a coordinator, I believe that my work is the type of service that truly never stops giving. By building relationships and inspiring others to connect with the community, the effect we can have on society is exponential. It is through teaching our peers and connecting with others that we truly begin the never-ending cascade towards changing the world around us.
-Sioned Kirkpatrick, Texas Lutheran University
