Adeola Adeoye
Hometown: Frederick, MD
University of Maryland: Nutritional Science
Employer: Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital
Host: Rachel and Caleb Cutherell
Mentor: Mary Vargas
Adeola is a graduate of the University of Maryland College Park where she majored in Nutritional Science with a double minor in Sustainability and Global Poverty. During her time in undergrad she worked with a professor on a research study that investigated how the national body fatness cutoffs related to disease presentation in a population of local South Asians. Through this research Adeola won first place at the Minorities in Agriculture Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) National Research Poster Presentation competition. Adeola has also worked in several leadership roles, including as a peer mentor, student ambassador, UMD MANRRS Chapter Treasurer, UMD Food Recovery team leader, and Roadie Team Leader for Maryland Cru. Adeola currently works as a Sustainability and Efficiency fellow at Carilion Clinic. In this position she will be spearheading a program to reduce the hospital's food waste and implement methods to allow excess food to be donated to food-insecure people. Adeola plans to attain a master’s degree in Nutrition Global Health and work in the field of hunger relief.
Ryan Dennis
Hometown: Centreville, VA
West Virginia University: Biometric Systems and Computer Engineering
Employer: Corvesta
Host: Cesar and Stacey Bravo
Mentor: Scott Scheuer
While at West Virginia University, Ryan cultivated a passion for creating new technology. During his four years he was on the ultimate frisbee team, was involved in the Solar Decathlon, and helped lead the EcoCAR 3 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems team to a first place presentation and a second place overall finish. During his junior and senior year, he was a student leader in Cru, a student ministry on campus. In Roanoke, he is working for Corvesta and developing a machine learning algorithm to revolutionize the way dentists read x-rays. Aside from work, Ryan spends his free time playing ultimate frisbee, basketball, guitar, and bass. After this year, he hopes to continue to apply his love of new and exciting technologies to push the boundaries of what humans are capable of.
Spencer Elliott
Hometown: Crozet, VA
Virginia Tech: Mechanical Engineering
Employer: Integrity Windows and Doors
Host: Mike and Shenna Massey
Mentor: DaRyan Horner
While studying mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, Spencer cultivated a desire to contribute to society through his education, all the while growing in his passion to work with and serve people. During his time at Tech, Spencer volunteered with Young Life for three years, an organization dedicated to befriending and reaching high school students with the gospel. He spent many hours each week engaging and mentoring students, leading bible studies, and organizing events. Between leading Young Life and classes, Spencer also found time to work as an equipment manager for VT athletics. He spent the latter half of college as a design engineer with Baja SAE, a team dedicated to designing and building off-road racing vehicles. Spencer is a lifelong learner and continues to pursue new interests such as cinematography and video editing. He enjoys mountain biking, camping, hiking, competitive team sports and being outside.
Meghan Ervine
Hometown: West Chester, PA
Pennsylvania State University: Public Relations and Sociology
Employer: Street Ransom
Host: Nick and Tara Floyd
Mentor: Elisa Scheuer
While at Penn State, Meghan studied Public Relations and Sociology. She served as a student representative on the Penn State College of Communications Advertising and Public Relations Board and was a member of the Phi Eta Sigma Honors Society. She had many leadership opportunities through Cru, including serving as an emcee, a mentor, a fundraising chair for Cru’s THON committee (the world’s largest student run philanthropy) and serving as secretary of the ministry. As a student, Meghan had many different internship opportunities. She was a marketing intern for the Penn State Auxiliary and Business services, an intern blogger for selflovebeauty.com, and a communications intern at The Council on Foundations, a nonprofit association through Penn State’s Washington Program. Through these various opportunities at Penn State Meghan has found a passion for ministry, public speaking and blogging. Currently, Meghan is working as the communications intern for Street Ransom, a nonprofit that spreads awareness about the issue of sex trafficking in the Roanoke area and provides aftercare to those who have been rescued.
Gibson Reine
Hometown: Edina, MN
Lehigh University: Mechanical Engineering; Design
Employer: Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital: Medical Scribe
Host: Cesar and Stacey Bravo
Mentor: Don Steinweg
Gibson enjoys pursuing a broad range of interests. As a student at Lehigh University, he studied both mechanical engineering and design, allowing him to engage in technical and creative problem-solving. He used these talents for several furniture design projects for the university and discovered a personal joy for sculpture and woodworking. During that time he was an active student leader in the Lehigh Valley Cru ministry and worked at directing the weekly meetings as well as personal student mentoring. He also has a passion for serving those with developmental disabilities and providing care throughout their daily lives. Gibson has a strong desire to go into medicine and use his gifts to honor God by serving others. While in Roanoke, Gibson is working as a scribe in the Emergency Department at Carilion Memorial Hospital and enjoys his free time running, cycling, and exploring the outdoors.
Alex Shema
Hometown: New Providence, NJ
Virginia Tech: Mechanical Engineering
Employer: Cardinal Valley Industrial Supply
Host: Kevin and Shari Coolbaugh
Mentor: Bob Williams
Traveling from his home in New Jersey, Alex attended Virginia Tech and studied mechanical engineering. He completed his senior design project on the Virginia Tech Baja team where he helped design, build and test an off-road racing vehicle. In addition, he gained valuable work experience as a process engineer with W. L. Gore and Associates as well as Michelin. During his time at Tech, Alex led a team of six other college students volunteering in Floyd County with Young Life, a Christian ministry dedicated to reaching local high school students. Some of his hobbies include hiking, mountain biking and reading. In the future, Alex hopes to continue his career in engineering or project management.
Lauren Skolrood
Hometown: Roanoke, VA
Virginia Tech: Human Nutrition, Food and Exercise
Employer: Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital: Medical Scribe
Host: Joel and Ann Claire Shepherd
Mentor: Faith Childress
While studying at Virginia Tech, Lauren was awarded a varsity letter for her efforts as a football athletic trainer aide. This allowed her to participate in concussion research with student athletes. As Secretary of Sports Medicine, Lauren was the supervising student for first aid at the Special Olympics Tournament. She was actively involved in her student-run campus ministry, Cru, as a mentor, promotion leader, and team member. Volunteering with multiple community service organizations, Lauren co-led exercise classes in a nursing home and was a captain for Relay for Life. After graduating in 2017, Lauren has continued to pursue her goal of becoming a physician by working as a medical scribe in a bone marrow transplant in Richmond, VA and is currently scribing in the Emergency Department of Carilion Memorial Hospital.
David Slaughter
Hometown: Westerville, OH
Patrick Henry College: Government: Political Theory
Employer: Faith Christian School
Host: Doug and Chriss Ross
Mentor: Dan Felton-Petry
David loves to learn, communicate, and compete. At Patrick Henry College he served as editor in chief of the Journal of International Social Affairs and the Associate Editor of the Arche Journal of Philosophy. He held leadership positions in college forensics including Mock Trial and Moot Court as well as participating in theater and sports. David was on the President’s List during all semesters at Patrick Henry, and his love of learning led him to a number of teaching positions during college and eventually to teaching high school music and middle school Bible at Faith Christian School in Roanoke, VA. David hopes to pursue a master’s degree in education or theology and a career in education and ministry.
Katherine Stine
Hometown: Norfolk, VA
Christopher Newport University: Interpersonal Communication
Employer: Cave Spring Veterinary Clinic
Host: Tina Canon
Mentor: Jamie Lee
As a student at Christopher Newport University, Katherine discovered her love of interpersonal communication and developed a passion for building strong working and personal relationships. She had multiple opportunities to apply what she studied and cultivate meaningful relationships, but perhaps her favorite was her role as a volunteer leader for Wyld Life, a Christian ministry to middle school students. In addition, she studied abroad for a year in Sevilla, Spain and further explored intercultural communication. After graduation, she spent a year living in Asheville, North Carolina working in the hospitality industry at the Biltmore Estate. She is now exploring other career options that will help her cultivate strong communication skills in herself and in others.
Yasmine Vaughan
Hometown: South Boston, VA
James Madison University: History/Pre-Med
Employer: Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital: Medical Scribe
Host: Chris and Robin Conrad
Mentor: Ashley Fellers
At the age of 15, Yasmine decided she wanted to become a medical missionary. She enrolled in the pre-med track at James Madison and quickly realized that there was so much more to being a doctor than just practicing medicine. Deciding to take a more interdisciplinary approach to achieve her goals, she pursued a variety of majors and minors. In particular, her English as a Second Language class along with her volunteer service in both Ghana and the Dominican Republic helped Yasmine foster a global health focus. Consequently, Yasmine has determined to pursue a master’s degree in public health prior to attending medical school. After finishing her education, she hopes to work at a non-profit focused on creating programs in developing countries that target the root causes of illness and suffering.