Caring Heart Awards Honor Exceptional Students

Each year the senior academies throughout the North American Division select students who are outstanding in their community service and outreach activities to receive the Caring Heart Award. Funded by a private foundation and the North American Division, the award provides a $500 scholarship that may be used by the winner to participate in a mission trip or for tuition at an Adventist school. This year’s winners in the North Pacific Union include:

Jaron McClannahan, 2004 graduate of Auburn Adventist Academy, is the son of Skip and Danielle McClannahan of Puyallup, Wash. He has been on mission trips to Mexico, Costa Rica and the Philippines, led out in the No Boundaries Sabbath School program at Auburn, and participated in Bible and prayer conferences each year. His interest in water sports and other athletics has led to his spending three summers at Sunset Lake Youth Camp as instructor in these activities. He is planning to attend Southern Adventist University this fall.

Shane Wood, with his parents Kelly and Debi Wood, attends the Wenatchee (Wash.) Church. During his years at Cascade Christian Academy he has been editor of the school paper, student association spiritual vice president and a mission-trip participant. His scholarship will be used at either Walla Walla College or Union College to prepare to be a high school English teacher.

During her four years at Columbia Adventist Academy, Christina Perry was a class officer and member of the National Honor Society in addition to being involved in sports and music. Mission trips took her to Kentucky and Mexico. She and her parents, Mark and Gayle Perry, are members of the Orchards Church in Vancouver, Wash. Perry plans to study communications at Walla Walla College.

Southern Adventist University is the destination of Dalia Mellish, a 2004 Gem State Academy graduate. She plans to major in graphics and communications. The daughter of Sofia Mellish, she is a member of the Nampa (Idaho) Spanish Church. Mellish has participated in Rangers (a group involved in hands-on service projects) and Habitat for Humnanity and has assisted in an anti-drug rally. She has been on missions to Mexico and the Dominican Republic and helped plan the children’s outreach for a local evangelistic series.

Lyndsi Hersey from Medford, Ore., is the daughter of Michael Hersey and Patricia Lemons. She served her peers as a listener, mediator and encourager as Milo Adventist Academy's head resident assistant. She participated in several mission trips and has taught and led Vacation Bible School. After completing a double major in elementary education and art at Walla Walla College, she hopes to spend several years as a missionary and then open an after-school refuge for inner-city children.

“A leader or a great supporter of those leading out” describes Elizabeth Neuharth. As a Mt. Ellis Academy junior, Neuharth helped organize the Community Families program, finding places for students when a family wasn’t home for the night. The daughter of Audrey Ponaski of Kalispell, Mont., Neuharth has participated in mission trips to the Philippines and Mexico. In college she plans to major in music and physical education and minor in psychology.

Caleb Pal, son of Tom and Tammy Pal, graduated from Orcas Christian School in 2004. With his scholarship, Pal will go on a mission trip to Ecuador this summer. A veteran of mission trips, Pal spends hours training and serving as a volunteer fire fighter and assisting with community service projects at the Lopez Island Community Church, where he is a member. His experience as the school’s computer system manager as steered him to study computer administration at the University of Idaho.

Portland Adventist Academy is a long way from the Ukraine, birthplace of Svetlana Danilich. While at PAA she managed to learn English and maintain a 3.76 grade point average and still found time to be a leader in Portland’s Stone Tower Church youth group. She has gone on three mission trips and plans to attend Mt. Hood Community College and Portland State University to become a physician’s assistant. Her parents are Anna and Aleksandr Danilich.

Yulianna (Julie) Pandjaitan, daughter of Alfred and Luker Pandjaitan of Marysville, Wash., plans to take pre-med at Walla Walla College and then attend Loma Linda University Medical School. During her years at Puget Sound Adventist Academy, she was a positive Christian witness at school and spent many out-of-school hours volunteering at local hospitals and in puppet ministries. She was selected Student of the Year for 2004.

During each of his two years at Upper Columbia Academy, Danny Lamberton was invited to be a student week of prayer speaker. He showed a willingness to help others without being asked. During his senior year, he went to Borneo on a mission trip. The son of Greg and Karla Lamberton of Naches, Wash., Lamberton plans to attend Walla Walla College next year to major in chemistry and minor in business.

Sarah Grizzell, a 2004 Walla Walla Valley Academy graduate, will enroll this fall in Walla Walla College's pre-med or special education program. At school she participated in the Mission in Action team and was the puppet ministry director. She has volunteered for Walla Walla General Hospital and the Walla Walla Symphony and plays piano in the beginners division of her home church, the College Place Village Church. In August, she'll add Turkey to her previous mission experiences in Pohnpei and Jamaica. Her parents are Mary Lynn and Richard Grizzell.