Amanda Orders
by Bethany Leatherwood
Amanda Orders
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When Amanda Orders went to South Africa to work in an orphanage last summer, she found herself surrounded by co-workers - women - who to her were "mysteriously joyful."
They worked 12-hour shifts and made $170 a month. They took care of babies all day, then went home to take care of the four or five children that they had at home. They were still happy and thankful to have the job that they had. "The fact that they were so joyful," says Orders, "encouraged me while I was there and really made me realize my situation in life."
Orders, who is a graduating senior majoring in Elementary Education, has been selected as one of the two Graduation speakers.
She took the trip last summer to Johannesburg in South Africa. The Baptist Student Union of North Carolina paid for the trip. She was sent to an agency called Doors of Hope, for babies or toddlers under two years of age that had been abandoned or orphaned. Orders jumped in and started helping. She started changing diapers, washing clothes, vacuuming carpets, and preparing meals.
In the city where she was, she explained to LifeWorks, around 50 babies a month get abandoned. There are many reasons for this, such as the lack of jobs and education. At one point she met a 15-year old with a two- month old baby who was "pondering what would happen once she began to feel the effects of her HIV-positive status."
Another encounter that Amanda remembers is visiting a township in rural South Africa. It was June or July, which was winter for South Africa, and even though it wasn't extremely cold, it was still cold enough for her to be wearing a sweatshirt and pants. However, she saw children who were outside all of the time with nothing more on than a tattered shirt, which is all they had. "They were some of the poorest children that I've ever seen in my life...To see that scene left a big imprint in my memory."
Orders saw a lot while staying in Africa, but says that she's still a "materialistic American." "I wish I could say my life style changed in big ways, but we forget the things that we have seen." She tried to make some changes when coming back, like not using as much heat as she did in the past. She also quit using plastic bags. "Where I lived you had to pay for the bags when you go to the grocery store. So I learned not to carry my stuff around in a bag. Now when I go to Ingles people think I'm crazy because I don't need a bag or say 'Can you please put those all in one bag, please?' when they want to give me twelve."
This spring Orders received the Michael H. Emory Award for Outstanding Christian Servant Leadership - for a student who shows "Christ-like compassion, loyalty, and service to the economically, socially, or emotionally oppressed...."
Overall, Orders says, "My South African experience was very defining for me in a lot of ways...At Mars Hill I've learned a lot about what's on the inside of me, and how important it is to listen to yourself. Before I went to South Africa, I was 100 percent convinced that this was the move I needed to make. There were moments that I wondered, 'What in the world am I doing here?' I'm thankful that I listened to myself and that I was able to have that experience, because for me, it was a lot about knowing what was right, and not having to ask all the voices around me, thinking this is where my life should go."
Orders will be giving this year's graduation speech on some of the things that she has seen and experienced while here at the school. As for her post-graduation plans, she will be staying close. She has accepted a job in the Admissions office as an Admissions Counselor, where she will be recruiting new students to the college and helping them get through the admissions process.
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Andrew Lee Cope
by Kevin McMahon
Lee Cope
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During the spring semester of 2003, Lee Cope was finishing up his courses and getting ready for a tough set of finals when he was pulled out of class and told that his father had been in a terrible four wheeling accident. He rushed home to learn that his father had a broken back, a broken leg, eight broken ribs on his right side, three broken ribs on the left side, and a punctured lung.
For weeks he shuttled between home and school not knowing if his father would ever walk again. At this same time Cope was juggling his busy schedule of classes and extracurricular activities.
This year on May 8, his father and the rest of his family will be there as Cope addresses the Mars Hill College Graduating class of 2004. He is one of two student speakers and the first in his family to graduate from college with a four-year degree.
When Cope arrived at the hospital near his home in McDowell County, he learned his father needed surgery on his back but would have to wait two weeks for his body to recover enough to handle the surgery. The longer he waited for the surgery; the less was the chance that he would walk again.
While this was going on, Cope also had to deal with his finals and finishing up the spring semester. He was traveling back and forth between school and the hospital almost every day.
"The hardest part about the situation was the idea of never seeing my dad walk again," says Cope. "I had always looked up to him and thought of him as a superman type person. He had always been there for me, and now I had to be there for him."
Cope recalls how helpful the school was. Professors and staff members were very understanding about his situation. They wanted to help in any way possible, offering extra time if needed and trying to work around Cope's full schedule. Tom Sawyer, Weston Burgess, Debra Huff, and Gerald Ball all spent a lot of time visiting Cope and his father, doing whatever they could think of to help. Cope is also very grateful for all the other people on campus that helped him. He received tons of cards, phone calls, and almost everyone he came in contact with told him they were praying for his father.
Finally the semester ended and his father's surgery was a huge success. The doctors told him he had only a 10% chance of walking again, yet two days after the surgery Cope's father was on his feet, moving down the hall of the hospital with the help of a walker.
Despite this tragic situation, Cope was able to work hard and finish the semester successfully, being there for all of his on-campus responsibilities, his classes, and most importantly his family. It was important for him to remain on schedule to graduate because he takes great pride in the fact that he a first-generation four-year college graduate.
Cope has done much more than earn a degree here at Mars Hill College. He is involved in a huge variety of activities and has received many awards. He is the Chief Justice of the student body. He is on the Executive Board of SGA. He is a student representative of the religious life committee. Cope has also been a student teacher for LAA 111 for the past three years. He is a member of the Alpha Chi National Honors Program. He is a College Marshal. In 2001 he was the Biblical Language Scholar of the year. Cope is also mentioned in Who's Who Among American College Students.
While juggling this very busy schedule, Cope is also an associate pastor at Piney Hill Freewill Baptist Church. "I always want to put my relationship with God first. It's the most important thing to me in my life. I want to stay best by God. My family comes second. They are the two most important things to me," says Cope.
During his time at Mars Hill Cope has always wanted a chance to express his ideas and beliefs to a large group. This was the main factor in deciding to speak at graduation. "I wanted a chance to give advice to graduating seniors, speak to students that are returning to Mars Hill, and speak in front of the staff and everyone else at graduation," says Cope. Cope has been thinking about his speech for two years and looks forward to the chance to share and give a part of himself to the people listening.
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