Bridgewater presents Christian service award to McMindes

Melissa McMindes is the president of the campus Habitat for Humanity chapter and has spent her three spring breaks participating in Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge.
Melissa McMindes is the president of the campus Habitat for Humanity chapter and has spent her three spring breaks participating in Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge. | File photo

Bridgewater College recently awarded senior psychology student Melissa McMindes the 2015-16 Merlin and Dorothy Faw Garber Award for Christian Service in recognition of her service leadership on campus.

McMindes, who is working toward a psychology major with a minor in cultural studies, is the member of multiple honor societies on campus, including the Pholomathes Society, Bridgewater’s scholastic honor society; Alpha Chi, a national scholastic honor society; Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society; and Psi Chi, a national psychology honor society. She holds leadership positions in the campus chapters of Alpha Chi and Psi Chi, serving as secretary and treasurer, respectively.

McMindes is also heavily involved in the Spiritual Life Board, through which she has organized two Spirit Café coffeehouses and an Oxfam Hunger Banquet. She is the president of the campus Habitat for Humanity chapter and has spent her three spring breaks participating in Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenges, working in Delray Beach, Florida; Athens, Alabama; and Tucker, Georgia. Off campus, she has taken part in mission trips and soup kitchens with her home church.

The Garber Award for Christian Service is named after Bridgewater College alumni who were pastors in the Church of the Brethren. In recognition of the honor, McMindes’ name will be added to a plaque in the Carter Center for Worship and Music.