Oakwoodites Participate in South Central Conference Camp Meeting

The 70-year history of the South Central Conference's legacy of service, evangelism and education, is being celebrated this week on Oakwood University's campus during the Conference's Camp Meeting, which will conclude on June 18.

Dr. Leslie Pollard is scheduled to deliver the evening message on June 17. Dr. Ron Smith, president of the Southern Union Conference, is scheduled to speak for the ordination service on June 18, where Michael C. Mickens, '09 (pictured), will be ordained into the ministry. Mickens currently pastors the First Tuskegee and First Union Springs Seventh-day Adventist churches in Alabama. He received the "E.C. Ward Young Prophets Award" for pastoral excellence among intern pastors by the South Central Conference in 2015.

This year's camp meeting theme is "At The Cross." The nightly and weekend camp meeting services are streamed on the Oakwood University Church's website.

Click here to view the schedule of camp meeting activities.

Oakwood Students Engage in Summer Mission Service

Mphasto Khuzwayo, child development and family studies major, spent the early part of summer vacation interning at the Ikhaya LikaBaba Orphanage in South Africa. "It was amazing and an experience that I will take with me forever! I worked with children ages six months to nine years old. Some of the kids are dealing with parents who have neglected/ abandoned them or have HIV. Another Oakwood student, NyJah Walters, and I poured love in to the kids, taught various early childhood academic lessons, and talked to them about Jesus. South Africa is home to me, but taking time and being there with the children gave me a new perspective on life. From this experience I am taking away peace, joy, and a full trust in God. It definitely brought me closer to Christ."

Also this summer, Associate Chaplain Ronald Pollard from the Office of Spiritual Life is leading a mission engagement in Nairobi, Kenya, with 14 students along with Eunice Muriu, assistant professor in the Department of Nursing. Click here to see some of the stories of our 4HIM students who are serving in Kenya this summer.

Oakwood's Blue & Gold Challenge Continues Through June 30

Join us in the Blue and Gold End-of-the-Year Challenge by making a gift to the Oakwood Annual Fund by midnight, June 30. Our goal is to increase the annual giving participation rate of our alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, and friends.

Your participation at any level is valued, appreciated, and counted!

For your convenience, you may give at www.ougiving.com, or you may send a check, payable to Oakwood University (Annual Fund), to the Office of Advancement and Development, 7000 Adventist Blvd., NW, Huntsville, AL 35896 by midnight, June 30, 2016.

Your commitment, demonstrated through your tax-deductible, charitable gift, is important to our students, employees, and the advancement of "our dear Oakwood."

Together, we can make a difference. Thank you for your generosity.

Alumni News

We continue to hear from some of our 2016 graduates, alerting us to what they are doing this summer, as well as their plans for the fall.

Ashley Frazier, '16, has been admitted to the honors program at Drake Law School and the Drake College of Business and Public Administration, in Des Moines, Iowa. She majored in political science with a psychology minor at Oakwood, and is now pursuing a joint JD/MPA degree. Her career goal is to become a public interest attorney.

Kyanna Garrett, '16, graduated with a B.S in Accounting. She was hired as a Program Control Analyst with S3 Inc. in Huntsville, AL, following an internship at the company.

We solicit your prayers on behalf of the family of Leslie Phipps, '86, who passed away earlier this week. Leslie was serving as the Regional Vice President of the Oakwood University Alumni Association for the Northeastern Conference, and as Chairperson of the OUAA Scholarship Committee. The funeral service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 19, at the Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church, 101 W 123rd Street, New York, New York.

Correction: Last week, we mentioned that Raquel Everett Bellamy, '07, earned a degree in finance and French at Oakwood University. She actually has a degree in finance and Spanish. We apologize for any confusion caused by this error.

Would you like to share Alumni News with us? Please send to pr@oakwood.edu.

Pollard's Places

This past Sunday, Prudence and I had the honor of attending the funeral of one of our great leaders and an internationally regarded alumnus, Elder C.D. Brooks. Widely considered an exemplary servant-leader, Elder Brooks served as role model to thousands of younger ministers. Hundreds gathered at a packed Sligo Church in Takoma Park, Maryland, to say goodbye and celebrate the life of this pillar of Adventism. At the conclusion of the service, each of the ministers in attendance answered a call to rededicate our lives to the service of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Picture of the Week

Members of the Oakwood University Alumni Association pose with Bahamas Academy seniors. They had an opportunity to visit with them during the recent "Celebration at Sea Cruise to the Bahamas" sponsored by the Greater Orlando Chapter of the Alumni Association. Congratulations Bahamas Academy Class of 2016!

About Oakwood

The mission of Oakwood University, a historically black, Seventh-day Adventist institution, is to transform students through biblically-based education for service to God and humanity.