Our mission statement at Westside states that we desire to see our students "impacting the world for Christ." The Servant Leadership project is designed to enable our graduating seniors to live out this mission in practical ways during their senior year, while developing a vision for how they might enter into a lifestyle of service and impact as they move forward from high school.

For this project, each senior was encouraged to find the intersection between the needs of the world and the unique ways in which God has shaped them to serve. At this intersection, they developed a way to serve others and meet the needs of our surrounding community. This year, students worked to meet a variety of needs including: feeding those without homes, bringing encouragement to lonely seniors, providing mentorship for young people, and assisting church communities. 

Through this project, we are encouraged to see the impact upon our community as well as the impact that this experience had on the lives of our own students. While reflecting on this project, students spoke about the ways in which this experience changed them. Here are a few of their comments:

"I definitely gained far more empathy for the poor, and the bonding that I had with them is what makes me eager to do some more volunteering at this place in my free time." Senior, Andrew Fritz

"After this project I realized how privileged I am to have access to good food and other good things every day. Some people in this world have so little, and after this project I have found a new appreciation for everything God has blessed me with in life." Senior, Caelan Richter

"This project has confirmed how much I love serving others. I actually have hopes to try to do a servant leadership project this summer just on my own and I’ve been praying that the Lord shows me a need that I can help meet." Senior, Emma Martin

"This experience taught me how to interact with people that society deems as unworthy- to continuously treat them with respect and dignity." Senior, Nick Thomas