Scholarship. Leadership. Service

Scholarship. Leadership. Service. // ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS

A life of scholarship, leadership, and service: this is Covenant’s mission. These three words provide the framework for how we teach our students, reach out to the community, and make Christ the center of everything that we do. All three are woven together to create the rich tapestry of faith, education, and relationship that makes up the Covenant community.

Covenant alumni are now over 1400 in number, and we realize many are living out our mission in ways we may never know. With each issue of this magazine, it’s our desire to share some of the stories that have been shared with us.

Mickenzie Roberts-Lahti Class of 2011

SCHOLARSHIP

“Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.” Proverbs 9:9

Mickenzie Roberts-Lahti (‘11) went to Princeton University and now works for the Department of Defense in various capacities and is in graduate school at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Georgetown University. Reflecting on her collegiate experience, she found that she was prepared for certain aspects of the renowned Ivy League school and that Covenant helped lay a foundation for her success.

She was recruited to play soccer at Princeton and she believes that her Covenant experience equipped her to balance sports and rigorous academics. “Covenant does well on focusing on the independent work and

analytical thinking, and the Worldview discussions made me well-equipped for the ideological content [Princeton] threw at me.” She said that her 120- page thesis during her junior and seniors years was easier because of the Worldview paper process. Mickenzie said that her experience as a leader on the Covenant girls soccer team also equipped her with the ability to be a servant-leader in a context that was quite different than her high school days.

Throughout her soccer career at Princeton, she had very little playing time, in part because avoided partying and team politics drama. “Having built that foundation firmly in Christ at Covenant prepared me to go into that environment with a lot of drama and a lot of new stuff with girls that didn’t share the same worldview and the same principles as me. Looking back, it was was very much the CCHS culture that was solid, which created leaders that were dependent on each other, so I tried to replicate that on the Princeton soccer team.” She said that her frustrating time on the team led to an identity crisis of sorts, but that she leaned on her experiences from high school to turn that tough time into a testimony.

“I didn’t realize how important being able to understand my worldview was until God pushed me to places I didn’t want to go, which for me helped me focus on my skills and unique talents, and knowing those, I can be open to new possibilities as they arise.

LEADERSHIP

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3

Kate Poucho (‘07) is a K-2 Art teacher at Danville North Elementary and was recently named Indiana Teacher of the Year 2019. Pourcho was surprised when she won the award, but now sees it as a unique opportunity to be a leader in her field, as well as a special opportunity to be a Christian leader in education.

“Early on in this process, I was learning how political this new honor position is, and I’ve been thinking about Esther and the way she showed leadership: It didn’t look like her ruling, but the way she approached leadership and the way she acted under the leadership of Mordecai, her listening to the Lord and waiting for the right time to speak up, led her to being able to start a movement through the holy spirit moving through her.”

As a student at Covenant, Pourcho fondly remembers being challenged to consider the larger implications of her impact on the world. “I remember sitting in Mr. Whitla’s Bible class junior year, I can’t remember the exact lesson, but he was explaining like I know it feels like you’re doing a lot of work and not making a change right now, how you have all these plans and dreams and desires and the Lord is preparing you for something ahead. I’ve Kate Pourcho Class of 2007

Ethan Neal Class of 2015

gone back to thinking about that through the years, seeing how God had prepared me, or the times it felt like nothing was happening, being patient in the world and how he’s using his time in preparing - Covenant helped with that in a lot of ways.”

Pourcho said she believes that a Covenant experience can help anyone become a leader. “Leadership is built from a series of moments; the moment of choosing to talk to your next door lockermate who you may not know very well and listening to them, that’s one moment. You don’t know how that moment will impact that person. For me, in the art room, I have learned that even the moment I’m tying a kid’s shoe, we start a conversation together, where I ask how was their night, what they had for supper, those are the moments that are most impactful. When students are willing to build up moments that lead to years of experience, that’s what makes a good leader.”

SERVICE

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10

Ethan Neal (‘15) has traveled the world since graduating, working as a program director and financial coordinator for All Hands and Hearts, a humanitarian aid and disaster response non-profit organization. In his work, his company would be first-responders to international disaster sites to help with the logistics for providing care, supplies, and reconstruction services in places like Nepal, Indonesia, Malawi, Peru, and Haiti.

“We were going into some of the worst places after the disaster and figuring out [how to help]. My company didn’t involve special skills like engineering or being a doctor. They needed help, and I could do that,” said Neal. He laughed and admitted that while he wasn’t the most motivated student in the classroom, he looks back on the bigger opportunities to serve like Gone Servin’ and smaller opportunities like cleaning up the hallways and the commons and thinks that inspired him to seek a non-traditional postgraduation path like disaster aid and recovery.

Neal has recently moved back to central Indiana and is now training to be a pilot, a motivation which came from his work with All Hands and Hearts. “I decided to go into flying so that in my free time I can come back and serve. I saw a lot of need with supply deliveries, especially for African countries, so I hope I can serve in disaster areas like I did with my previous job.”