Kelly Boland

Hometown: Midland Park, NJ
Penn State University: Veterinary Biomedical Sciences
Employer: Cave Spring Veterinary Clinic
Host: Nick & Tara Floyd 
Mentor: Valerie Karras

Kelly is a recent graduate of the Penn State College of Agriculture, where she obtained a Bachelor’s in Veterinary Biomedical Sciences. From a young age, Kelly had a passion for animals, but during her time in State College, she was able to foster that passion with her growing love of science and learning. Kelly spent many early mornings at the research barns observing cow behavior as part of a reproductive research study. In addition, she was part of the swine research team, where she helped farrow piglets. When she wasn’t at the barns or in class, Kelly served as a leader in Cru, mentoring students, leading bible studies, and organizing ministry events. Kelly enjoys running with friends, hitting the ski slopes, or playing her ukulele. Currently, she works as a veterinary assistant at Cave Spring Veterinary Clinic and hopes to attend veterinary school to obtain her doctorate in veterinary medicine. And while Penn State certainly grew her love of large animals, her current interests lie in small animal medicine.  

Jordan BRyan

Hometown: Huntington, NY
Cornell University: Biological Sciences; Global Health minor
Employer: Roanoke Memorial Hospital - Medical scribe
Host: The Boxley Building
Mentor: Nathan Kerr

Jordan grew up in Huntington, NY out on Long Island, but he moved upstate for college to Cornell University in Ithaca. There he majored in Biological Sciences and minored in Global Health studies. During college, Jordan was involved in research with a biochemistry lab at Cornell where he conducted studies on protein mechanisms, as well as a microbiology lab at UC Davis where he studied and co-authored a paper on the genomes of aquatic microbial communities. He also held a number of leadership positions while at Cornell, including serving as an undergraduate biology advisor, general chemistry teaching assistant, co-founder of the Diversity Initiatives Peer Mentorship Program, prayer coordinator for the International Justice Mission, and community group leader within Cru. In his free time, Jordan enjoys outdoor activities, spending time with friends, and traveling. Jordan is currently working as a scribe at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, and would like to remain in the medical field and further his education through pursuing a medical degree. He hopes to have the opportunity to intertwine his faith, passion for global health, and love for traveling in the future through being involved in medical missions overseas. 

Nathan Folta

Hometown: Blacksburg, VA
Virginia Tech: Mechanical Engineering; Music minor
Employer: Virginia Tech: Teaching Assistant
Host: The Boxley Building
Mentor: Scott Scheuer

Nathan enjoys pursuing a broad range of interests. He graduated from Virginia Tech with a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Music, while currently pursuing his masters in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Assistive Robotics. During his senior year, he worked as Part Time Field Staff serving with Bridges International, Cru’s ministry to international students, with a vision to build community across cultural barriers between students from different countries – stemming from his experience living in Rwanda for 3 years. Also with Cru, he led a student culture exchange trip to North Africa. His passion for helping people coupled with his technical problem-solving skills has opened the door for his masters research, where he designs, builds, and tests wearable robotics for people whether they are disabled, in rehabilitation, or in good physical condition. Last year, he built a full body exoskeleton for lifting and carrying heavy objects, winning ASME International Mechanism and Robotics competition this summer. Nathan is a lifelong learner, and continues to pursue new interests such as being a Teaching Assistant, or learning to play guitar. He enjoys rock climbing, hiking, camping, competitive sports, and playing music.

Anna Ford

Hometown: Harleysville, PA
Eastern University: Nursing
Employer: Roanoke Memorial Hospital - Registered Nurse
Host: The Boxley Building
Mentor: Sara McCaffrey

While attending Eastern University, Anna studied nursing and was an active leader in Cru, a campus ministry. During her senior year as a nursing student, Anna worked for a local hospital doing community nursing and administering COVID-19 vaccines. Also during that time, she was spearheading a fundraiser for her cohort’s mission trip to Haiti. This led Anna to receive the Servant Leadership Award at graduation. Her education at Eastern inspired her love of nursing and holistically caring for her patients. This passion has led her to pursue a career at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in their Emergency Department where she works as a Registered Nurse.  

GEORGIA JACKSON

Hometown: Virginia Beach, VA
Virginia Tech: Human Development
Employer: Fringe Benefits
Host: The Boxley Building
Mentor: Kelly Vresack

Georgia is a Virginia Beach native and a graduate of Virginia Tech, majoring in Human Development with a minor in Psychology.  In addition to her academic endeavors, she served for four years as a volunteer Young Life leader at Auburn High School. During this time she cultivated relationships and mentored high school students through discipling, leading bible studies, and organizing group events. For two summers she was a counselor with Camp Hope, a summer camp that serves children from the inner city of Richmond. Georgia is passionate about serving and advocating for others in many capacities. She also spent time during multiple school years interning with the Department of Social Services, working with children in the adoption and foster care system. Her career aspirations are continually expanding with a strong desire to grow her entrepreneurial spirit and leadership skills. Currently, she works on the operations team at Fringe Benefits and is learning how to develop a new employee benefits platform in an ever changing Human Resources industry. In her free time she enjoys being with friends, spending time outside and traveling to new places. 

SAM LINDSAY

Hometown: Gainesville, FL
Davidson College: Chemistry
Employer: Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital
Host: Andy and Cynthia May
Mentor: Don Steinweg

Sam is a graduate of Davidson College, where he majored in Chemistry. While at Davidson, Sam worked in a chemistry lab that studied possible treatments for glioblastomas, a deadly brain cancer. Additionally, he rowed for all four years on Davidson’s Club Crew Team. During his time on the crew team, he served as Captain for three years and President for two years, winning multiple national and international races. He also served on the leadership team of Reformed University Fellowship, a campus ministry, for two years. Outside of Davidson, Sam volunteered at a local free clinic that provided free healthcare for the uninsured in his hometown. During his time in Roanoke, Sam will be working as a scribe in the Emergency Department at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. He hopes to continue his love of serving others in medical school and as a physician in the future.

TOM STARR

Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
Penn State University: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Employer: Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital
Host: Andy and Cynthia May
Mentor: Dan Felton-Petry

Thomas is a graduate of the Schreyer Honors College at the Pennsylvania State University where he majored in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a minor in Microbiology. While at Penn State, Thomas published a thesis based on the biochemical research he conducted in a Plant Biology lab. Thomas worked for the University as a tutor with the Penn State Speaking Center and helped to establish and lead two student organizations called Penn State Remote Area Medical (RAM) and the Christian Medical and Dental Associations (CMDA). Thomas was also involved in and helped lead Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) during his time at Penn State. He is currently employed as a medical scribe at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital’s level 1 Trauma Center. Thomas’ passion is to go to medical school to become a physician so that he may return to his hometown in Western PA with the hopes of starting a clinic and nonprofit organization of his own that will aim to serve the local community in numerous ways. 

SAM STEHR

Hometown: Malvern
West Chester University: Accounting and Finance
Employer: RAKE Digital Co.
Host: The Boxley Building
Mentor: Mike Massey

Sam graduated from West Chester University of Pennsylvania where he grew in analytical, critical thinking and personal skills through double majoring in Accounting and Finance. At the university, Sam was one of the founders of Alpha Gamma Omega, a Christian fraternity and also served in a variety of leadership roles within Cru, a campus ministry. He enjoyed investing in the personal and spiritual development of younger students throughout his four years at West Chester. Despite receiving an internship offer from KPMG LLP., Sam wants to extend his learning by venturing outside of the accounting industry. He currently works in accounting and business operations for RAKE Digital Co., an IT firm based in Salem, VA. Sam loves to travel, hike, and play a variety of sports with friends in his spare time. He has a passion for people and seeing them enjoy life in Jesus.

CAITLIN SULLIVAN

Hometown: Salisbury, NC
University of North Carolina at Charlotte: MS in General Mathematics; B.S. in Mathematics; B.A. in Spanish
Employer: Pike Corporation
Host: Andy Sullivan
Mentor: Elisa Scheuer

Caitlin is a graduate of UNC Charlotte (UNCC), where she obtained two bachelor's degrees, Spanish and mathematics, and a master's degree in general mathematics. While at UNCC, Caitlin had several jobs tutoring and grading papers for upper-level math courses, where she discovered that her love for math fueled a desire to help others love it too. In addition to her interest in math, Caitlin enjoys learning about new languages and cultures and dreams of one day becoming a polyglot. She took Spanish, Italian, and German courses in college, and spent part of a summer volunteering at a few English camps in Madrid, Spain. Today, Caitlin works as a Data Analyst for Pike Corporation and hopes to pursue a career in IT that integrates her love for problem-solving with her passion for educating and helping others.

XANDER WAGNER

Hometown: Harrisonburg, VA
University of Virginia: Economics
Employer: North Cross School
Host: Julie and Brian Wright
Mentor: Bob Blecksmith

Xander is a graduate of University of Virginia where he majored in Economics with a minor in Religious Studies. While at UVA, Xander invested consistently in the college ministry The Navigators, serving on the leadership team and worship team while mentoring younger men. Pursuing his interests in finance, he worked as a summer analyst at Athena Capital, a private equity firm, where he worked on a live acquisition deal. During his time in Roanoke, he is working as a finance intern at North Cross School. He hopes to attend seminary in the coming years to pursue pastoral ministry.