One of Madelyn deVega’s earliest ministry experiences is also her most memorable.
One early morning, she was helping with the Open Arms relief ministry at Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa, where her father, the Rev. Magrey deVega, is senior pastor. While serving food, she made a mistake and was chastised by one of the patrons.
The comment stung, but the next patron offered consoling words.
“‘You’re doing the best you can, and I think you’re doing God’s work for us, and I really appreciate you being here,’” deVega recalls him saying. “And then I broke down a little bit and had to step aside.”
That experience, she said, served as a springboard to becoming more involved in her church’s activities.
“What this money actually means (is) more than just paying for college. It’s opening my eyes for how I want to serve God continuing forward in my college life.” — Ely Nieves, 2021 Sinclair Scholarship recipient
“I think that kind of impacted me in realizing the church is a place where you can bring the community in and hopefully impact the community in really positive ways,” she said.
As she got older, deVega continued to do what she could to impact her community through her church’s ministries, and it’s one reason she was one of four United Methodist high school graduates to receive a Sinclair Scholarship this year from the Florida United Methodist Foundation.
The scholarship, established by Aleen and Carson Sinclair, longtime members of John Wesley United Methodist Church in Tallahassee, provides the next generation of United Methodist church leaders with funding for their undergraduate educations.
The awards are designed to acknowledge their academic success, but also the leadership roles they’ve had at their churches and schools.
Awards range from $2,000 to $3,000 per year and can be renewed annually for up to three additional years, giving recipients a significant boost throughout their college careers.
On a mission to heal
Ely Nieves is passionate about becoming a physical therapist, although it’s a passion that stems from a painful experience.
While playing in a high school basketball game during his sophomore year, Nieves was injured, but he continued to play. What he shrugged off as a muscle ache turned out to be a fractured hip. And playing on the injury prolonged his recovery process.
Part of his treatment included physical therapy sessions, and looking back, Nieves says they were a place where he was able to heal more than his injured hip.
“It was there when I realized how much physical therapy has done for me, not only … helping recover physically but emotionally, mentally,” Nieves said. “And at that moment, that’s kind of when I decided that’s what I wanted to do.”
He was able to make a full recovery after three months and return to playing basketball, but it was a challenge to get back to top form.
Around the same time, he was taking an anatomy class and became fascinated with the science of the body and how it works. Connecting his injury experience with what he learned in the classroom, he knew exercise science was what he would study in college.
Basketball has also played an important role in Nieves’ faith journey. On a mission trip to Puerto Rico in his sophomore year, one of the stops was a halfway house for formerly incarcerated adults learning to reintegrate into society.
“They had a basketball court,” Nieves said. “We played basketball for hours. … I’ve got to say that was my favorite project out of all of them.”
The game quickly brought Nieves and the residents together.
“Once that first interaction happened, we were all comfortable from there, being able to spend some time together,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, they are people just like us.”
Nieves will leave his home church, First United Methodist Church in Kissimmee, where his father, the Rev. José Nieves serves as senior pastor, to further both his studies and spiritual development at Florida State University in Tallahassee. He says he is looking forward to the opportunities there, particularly getting involved with the campus Wesley Foundation.
And while the scholarship will help him afford school, he says it provides something much greater.
“What this money actually means (is) more than just paying for college,” Nieves said. “It’s opening my eyes for how I want to serve God continuing forward in my college life.”
Fostering connections
deVega also plans to continue serving God, but through work as a child psychologist — helping children navigate the challenges and adjustments of life.
It’s a dream born of her own experiences and an initiative she launched to support students in the Hyde Park church youth group.
When deVega was in her junior year, she reached out to her youth director about some personal issues she was facing. She found it helpful, but also realized not everyone in the youth group would feel comfortable doing the same.
To ensure her peers would have a support system and potentially ask for help sooner, deVega and the church youth director created a position called the encouragement connector. deVega filled that role, setting aside time to talk personally or via email with other youth.
The basis for the idea was that some youth might feel more comfortable starting an intimate conversation with a peer. The plan worked, and youth soon began reaching out to deVega.
“I think it’s something I really needed when I was younger,” she said. “And I hope that continues on after I leave.”
For deVega, leaving means attending American University in Washington, D.C., where she will study psychology and political science.
And whether in the classroom or the political sphere of D.C., she plans to explore her call to be an activist, speaking out against racial injustice and other social issues.
“I do really love American University, and that’s a United Methodist school, and (the scholarship) making that dream of going to that school more of a reality is really, really special to me,” deVega said.
Focus on science and faith
For Laney Mulhollen, the scholarship is the answer to years of hard work, including hands-on medical research.
While at Sarasota High School, she conducted a research project with MaST Research Institute that involved experimenting with different supplements to help prevent traumatic brain injuries and neurological disorders.
The study allowed her to work with rat brain cells and cellular models at the microbiology lab at Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
In the spring of 2020, Mulhollen won fourth place in the 66th Annual State Science and Engineering Fair for her work on the project, after having two first-place wins at the county level.
She plans to build on this early research experience at the University of Florida in Gainesville, one of the top research universities in the state, where she’ll major in microbiology and cell sciences.
In addition to building research models, Mulhollen has also been Kingdom-building. In 2018, she joined a team from her church, St. John’s United Methodist Church in Sarasota, on a trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to do home repairs for residents still recovering after Hurricane Katrina. And in 2019, she went with a team to Alajuela, Costa Rica, to help build a church and run a free medical clinic.
The scholarship, Mulhollen said, is the answer to many prayers.
“I prayed that I would be able to get through college and not have to worry about college and not worry about the financial burdens later on,” she said. “Receiving the Sinclair scholarship is really meaningful to me because I know how difficult it is to get the scholarship, and I know that it’s a testament to God’s will in my life.”
It takes a village
Growing up in the small town of Williston, Adam Sistrunk says he feels like a reflection of his church, community and school.
Attending the town’s First United Methodist Church since he was a child, he has learned from five pastors over the years, each with their unique personality and Biblical interpretations.
“They have been mentors and role models to me forever, and I am grateful to have learned from so many different teachers,” Sistrunk wrote in his scholarship essay.
In school, Sistrunk served as class president for all four years of high school. And for two years, he was president of his school’s Future Farmers of America chapter, which he cites as the organization that helped him cultivate his leadership skills.
Along with the youth leaders at church, Sistrunk says his U.S. history teacher helped him become who he is today.
“I definitely didn’t get here alone,” he said.
Like Mulhollen, Sistrunk will study microbiology and cell science at the University of Florida. After that, he’ll do graduate work at dental school.
Going to school close to home has its benefits, he says. One is the short drive back home to attend worship at First Williston.
“I couldn’t be where I am without my church and my community,” Sistrunk said. “I’m thankful for their involvement in my life. And I’m thankful for them making me who I am.”