By Elena Groholske, student news writer

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. -Campbellsville University honored two students, Olivia Brainard from Somerset, Ky., and Jordan Cornett from Lexington, Ky., as the 2011 recipients of the Barney II and Moore Foundation Servant Leadership Award during Honors and Awards Day and again at a luncheon in their honor following the awards ceremony.

Dr. Michael V. Carter, president of the university, said at the luncheon, “caring for others in Christ's name and doing it in a humble fashion,” as the reason for the awards.

Dr. Russ Barclay, visiting professor of public relations, nominated Cornett, a public relations major, for the award. She is the president of Lambda Pi Eta, a national communication honor society; has been awarded academic all conference in softball, Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, received the Baptist Leadership Scholarship, and academic and softball scholarships.

 

“She's a genius, a scholar and athlete and an all-around ‘good egg,'” Barclay said.

She has volunteered at Grandview Nursing Home for two years and at Campbellsville Baptist Church Youth Group. Cornett spent last summer in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where she worked in an orphanage named Alex's House. Alex was a Haitian who was killed in the Haiti earthquake whom Cornett had met two years earlier.

Cornett said she defines a servant leader as the most challenging call of a Christian. She said being a

servant leader requires a great deal of humility and love.

“To be an effective leader, one must serve as Christ did, by focusing on others and not oneself,” she said.

“After spending last summer in Haiti, God opened my eyes and made me realize life is about a lot more than me,” Cornett said. “I came home with a whole new perspective and a desire to spend my life overseas doing missions.”

Cornett will be donating her Servant Leadership Award money to Alex's House.

She is the daughter of Nathan and Betty Cornett of Lexington and is a 2008 graduate of Henry Clay High School. She attends Porter Memorial Baptist Church in Lexington.

Joan Stansbury, secretary in campus ministries, nominated Brainard after working with her on a mission trip in Manchester, Ky. She is an active member of Baptist Campus Ministry, working as a Presidential Ambassador and as a student mentor for the FIRST CLASS program. Brainard works with the Central Kentucky Crisis Pregnancy Center and with Campbellsville Baptist Church youth and various Bible studies in the community.

“She took it upon herself to do so many extra things and went beyond what was expected,” Stansbury said.

Olivia Brainard of Somerset, Ky. receives the Servant Leadership Award from Campbellsville University president Michael V. Carter, left, and Josh Anderson, dean of student services, at Honors and Awards Day. (Campbellsville University Photo by Munkh-Amgalan Galsanjamts)

 

“I really enjoy volunteering in Campbellsville,” Brainard said. “I help with the pregnancy center on occasion and I am really involved in Big B's (Campbellsville Baptist Church's) youth group. I enjoy building relationships with different people and that was a lot of the reason I got involved in those groups.”

Brainard is majoring in social work and she defines a servant leader as “one who paves the way to serving others by actually taking steps to better their circumstances and do so without seeking recognition.”

After graduation, she intends to use her training to work in international adoptions and perhaps live overseas and work in an orphanage.

She will be donating her Servant Leadership Award money to the Central Kentucky Crisis Pregnancy Center.

She is the daughter of John and Mischa Brainard of Somerset. She attends Beacon Hill Baptist Church and is a 2008 graduate of Southwestern-Pulaski County High School.

“Thank you for everything you do for the university,” Josh Anderson, dean of student services, said. “Through this lunch we are thanking you.”

Students at Campbellsville University are recognized for their skills as leaders through the Servant Leadership Program.

Anderson said, “We are most appreciative to the Barney II and Moore Foundations, particularly William Reichardt, president of the Barney II Foundation, and Martin Moore, president of the Moore Foundation, for their initiative to help those of us in Christian higher education take our students to the highest form of leadership - servanthood in Christ's name.”

Other faculty and staff receiving Servant Leadership Awards were: Dr. Robert VanEst, associate professor of education; and Connie Wilson, academic coordinator.

Others honored at the luncheon were: Dr. Darlene Eastridge, dean of the Carver School of Social Work, received the Distinguished Faculty Award from the CU Advancement Board, and Mr. and Miss Campbellsville University - Micah Spicer of Wingo, Ky. and Alison Medders of Florence, Ala.

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with over 3,000 students offering 63 undergraduate programs, 17 master's degrees and five postgraduate areas. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.