Shenandoah University student Jolonnie Reed ’25 was commissioned in a virtual ceremony with four other student leaders from across the country as a new member of the World Student Christian Federation-US Student Leadership Team on Jan. 20. Over the course of the next year, Reed will participate in the work that the WSCF-US Student Leadership Team is doing to organize and strengthen the student Christian movement in the United States and deepen relationships with student Christian movements around the world.
Reed, of Manassas, Virginia, is double-majoring in psychology and public health, and is also on track to complete SU’s Faith Seeking Justice (FSJ) Christian Leadership undergraduate certificate. Through this certificate program, she first attended a WSCF-US national conference at Princeton University in September 2022 with other members of her FSJ cohort as well as with support from the Shenandoah University Leadership Academy (SULA). The relationships formed through this experience proved transformative for Reed, who led the charge in bringing a larger delegation of Shenandoah University students to the WSCF-US 2023 national conference last October, held at Elmhurst University in Illinois.
“Being on the team will allow me to explore different aspects of my faith while also learning about myself and the type of leader I am,” Reed said. “Through this opportunity, I can learn how to use my voice to advocate for change while uplifting marginalized voices and dismantling oppressive systems.
“I’m very excited to serve on this leadership team,” Reed added. “I’m very grateful to the Spiritual Life team at Shenandoah University for introducing me to this wonderful organization, and I can’t wait to serve as a student leader for the next conference!”
Reed’s appointment to the WSCF-US Student Leadership Team, which is composed of 13 other undergraduate and graduate student leaders and young adults, is the product of two years of engagement between chaplains and student leaders in the Office of Spiritual Life.
“This connects deeply with our university’s Wesleyan roots – a joining of personal and social piety,” Shenandoah University Chaplain Rev. DeLyn Celec said of Reed joining the Student Leadership Team. “In other words, while we value the need to focus on ‘do, do, do’ to help others, we also balance it with investing in a commitment to ‘be, be, be,’ so we remember why we do what we do.”
Since 1895, the WSCF has provided global, ecumenical leadership training for students exploring the connection between faith and social justice. Today, the WSCF has member movements in over 100 countries around the world. For well over a century, student Christian movements related to the WSCF have been engaged in advocacy for civil rights, women’s rights, and LGBTQIA+ justice. As a new member of the Student Leadership Team, Reed joins in a rich legacy of anti-war, anti-imperial, and anti-racist theologians and activists as well as church and ecumenical leaders who are committed to global justice and global engagement. More information about the WSCF-US can be found at wscftrustees.org.
The Office of Spiritual Life at Shenandoah University is dedicated to unleashing students’ spirit and potential by giving them a variety of settings in which to explore their faiths, questions, gifts, hopes and dreams as they prepare to be leaders in their faith communities and around the world. The Office of Spiritual Life is committed to developing student leaders who are seeking authenticity, inclusion, and a call to justice.
