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| New York City Summer Staff Team 2008
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Back row, from left to right: Tiffany Catron, Katie Bennett, Josh Lo, Luke Johnson and Mayonne Thomas
/ Front Row: Lauren Sheppard, Kristen Erbelding, Eric Knape |
Katie Bennett
Katie is currently attending Central Michigan University and will
be in her fifth year this Fall 2008. She is studying Elementary Education with a major
in child development. During high school Katie went on service trips through the
Appalachian Service Project where she helped to rebuild homes in the Appalachian Mountain
Range. While in college, she went to Buras, Louisiana to help with hurricane relief.
Most recently she went to the Dominican Republic to teach English and help at an orphanage
through Orphanage Outreach. While in college Katie went on two CSM trips, one to Philadelphia
and one to New York City in March 2008. At school Katie has been involved with an on-campus
ministry called His House Christian Fellowship. At her church she has had opportunities to
serve through ministry teams, small group bible study leadership, and service projects
participation in the community. Katie enjoys dancing, music, listening to others and learning
about them, playing and watching sports, and growing closer to God. She loves meeting with
and getting to know other people and spreading God’s love. “God has put a huge passion in my
heart for the inner city, the people there, and for youth. Summer missions in high school were
a huge cornerstone in my faith and I am thrilled to be used by God to help facilitate life
changing and faith building opportunities for students. I am super excited for God to teach me
new and challenging things and to learn from the youth this summer who come to serve in New York City.”
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Tiffany Catron
Tiffany is from Tazewell, VA where she attended Tazewell High School
until transferring in her junior year to a private boarding school in Lynchburg, VA
called Virginia Episcopal School (VES). Currently, Tiffany is a junior at George Mason
University and hopes to graduate in the summer of 2010 with a major in finance. She is
involved in campus life through organizations such as Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU),
Uganda Help/Invisible Children, and through Greek Life with the international woman's
fraternity, Alpha Xi Delta. Last summer Tiffany did mission work as a leader and
intern in Nicaragua for Amigos for Christ. "This summer is my first time working with
CSM and I'm excited to have the opportunity to serve God and share God's word
throughout NYC alongside of students!"
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Kristen Erbelding
Kristen is from Rochester, NY and attends Messiah College in
Grantham, PA. In the past, she has participated in mission trips to Appalachian Ohio
and Syracuse, NY, as well as Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Los Angeles with CSM.
Kristen worked with CSM in New York City as a 2007 Summer Host and loved it so much that
she decided to come back this year. Kristen has taught Vacation Bible School at her home
church, and is also involved with International Justice Mission at her school. She loves
knitting, playing basketball, running (occasionally), photography, scrapbooking, and
British literature. She also has an affection for musicals, BBC television shows, and
Bollywood movies. Being from Upstate New York, she is excited to again spend her summer in
the "other part" of the state, serving God. Her goal this summer is to simply better learn
how to love God and his people. "I am excited to see God moving in the city and in my life.
I hope that in whatever I do, God is glorified."
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Luke Johnson
Luke is from Mount Joy PA and attended Messiah College in Grantham PA
for two years. He will be attending Philadelphia Biblical University in the fall of 2008.
Luke has been on service trips to the Bronx at soup kitchens, after school programs and the
World Vision storehouse. He has served at the Syracuse Rescue Mission in the cafeteria and
men’s shelter. He also had evangelism training with SEMP (students equipped to minister to
peers) and did street evangelism in Baltimore. Luke has experience with junior and senior high
students through volunteering at youth centers. He has participated in and led Bible studies
at college and at a juvenile detention center. He was a Life Group Intern in his dorm at
Messiah College. Luke is not from the city but has a passion for the inner-city. He loves
basketball and other sports. He tries to glorify God by giving his best at everything
including school, sports, friendships and service. "My goal is to glorify God. I would like
to help others to grow closer to God and to serve alongside them. I am thrilled to serve to NYC!"
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Eric Knape
He was born and raised in the beautiful mountains of northeast Oregon and
now has no home. He graduated from Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho in May of ’08 with a
BA in Mass Communication. His first mission trip was to New York City during spring break of 2008 with
a group from NNU. This was the same week that he discovered CSM, interviewed, and applied for a host
position for the summer. He has loved the process of becoming a New Yorker (Brooklyn will forever be like
a home for him) and at the same time looks forward to being an Oregonian/New Yorker/Idahoan for however long
he is a resident of Boise, Idaho. Upon returning to Boise his first order of business will be to find work at
a coffee shop, volunteer with a youth group so he can take them of CSM trips, and travel whenever and wherever
he can.
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Joshua Lo
Josh lives in South Pasadena, CA. He is attending Pitzer College,
in Claremont, CA, class of 2009, where he is a Religious Studies and Sociology major.
Josh' mission trip experience includes three summer projects with CSM in Los Angeles, the
Los Angeles Urban Project through InterVarsity, and a trip to a small Taiwanese village.
Josh was also the 5th/6th grade teacher at a Christian summer program. At church he is a
youth worker and helps with both junior and senior high students. Josh loves music and
actually just bought a new guitar a couple months ago! He is looking forward to playing as
much as possible during the next three months. "At CSM I want to cultivate my skills in
interacting with people. I've never been to New York before, but I wanted to get a
first-hand experience of life in this hugely important American city."
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Lauren Sheppard
Lauren is from Ft. Worth, Texas and is a junior at the
University of Oklahoma majoring in social work. She has a passionate heart for
youth ministry, and is heavily involved in her church's youth program. Over the
course of several years, Lauren has had the opportunity to participate in several
mission trips, traveling to Nicaragua, Africa, and Mexico as both a student and a
leader. These experiences have cemented her belief that students need to experience
missions work outside of their own homes, and she is eager to be a part of that
experience. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, drinking coffee, random adventures,
and Sunday afternoon naps. "This will be my first experience with CSM, and I expect
great things from God in this new adventure in my life."
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Mayonne Thomas
Mayonne was born in Guyanna, South Africa, but has been living
and going to school in New York for the past five years. Currently, she attends the State
University of NY at Plattsburgh where she is a senior with a major in Psychology and a
minor in Sociology. Mayonne's first mission trip was to Philadelphia, volunteering with CSM
in the spring of 2006. In the summer of 2006, she worked at an all girls camp in Greely,
Pennsylvania. While at school, she volunteered as a mentor at a local elementary school.
Mayonne served has as the president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at her school for the
past two years. She also worked as a CSM San Francisco City Host during the summer of 2007.
"I love meeting and interacting with new people and learning about different cultures."
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