At their monthly meeting on Tuesday, June 18, the Taney County Prayer/Action Chapter of Concerned Women for America/Missouri enjoyed hearing from Madelyn Sestak, President of the Young Women for America chapter on the College of the Ozarks campus. YWA is an affiliate of CWA that encourages young women on college campuses across the U.S. to stand up for conservative, patriotic and faith-based values.
Ms. Sestak said that during the Spring 2024 semester, she felt a strong prompting to focus on support for Israel, including prayer that other people would realize the battle in Israel is also a spiritual battle. She shared the many ways God prepared and equipped her for the semester, including a campus visit and major convocation with cultural theologian Dr. Jim Denison and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. She was also selected for an educational trip to Washington, D.C., where she heard first-hand accounts and learned how other student leaders were responding to the situation; and she met Shirah Miriam Aumann (“Mimi”), whose work with the Antisemitism Education Foundation of the Ozarks brought artist Mary Burkett to the area during Holocaust Awareness Week. In another not-so-coincidental event, Chaplain Capt. Caleb Dunnam spoke at the College of the Ozarks Prayer Vigil for Israel, sharing about the importance of Christian awareness of Jewish culture; the topic was personally very relevant for him as he deployed to the Middle East shortly after the vigil.
Madelyn will be a junior at C of O this fall. After living with her family in Nixa, Missouri, and then in northwest Arkansas, she felt C of O was the right school for her. Although initially involved in sports, she decided to step away to focus on helping develop the Young Women of America group.
Madelyn is majoring in business marketing, with minors in social media and speech communications. She has worked at the Keeter Center, where she enjoyed interacting with guests and was inspired by the commitment to excellent service, and is looking forward to working in the public relations office for the 2024/2025 school year, further honing her communications skills. This summer, she is putting those skills to work as a grassroots coordinator for Brad Hudson’s Missouri Senate campaign.
The Fall 2024 semester focus for YWA at C of O will be on sanctity of life. Ms. Sestak hopes to help equip young women on campus to engage knowledgeably in conversation about abortion with their legislators in Missouri and nationwide, as it is likely an upcoming Missouri ballot will include some type of petition initiative, and the issue is ongoing in other states.
In closing her remarks, Ms. Sestak thanked the CWA chapter for their prayers and support, saying she is a firm believer in learning from the wisdom of older generations of women. The CWA members, in turn, were inspired by meeting Madelyn and realizing that there is hope for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, through young women like her stepping up in leadership.
Asked what older women can do to be supportive, Madelyn said the number one thing is prayer. She would also like to see some cooperative events planned, with younger and older women encouraging one another in their shared values.
Stay updated on activities and planned events by liking and following Ywfora.cofo (Young Women for America College of the Ozarks) on Facebook and Instagram.
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