Heather Conley, '08 graduate
Malone College, Canton, Ohio
Major: Educatio

During her freshman year, Heather Conley wrote a research paper about compassion and pity. As she worked on the paper, she discovered something she'd never thought much about. "Pity is where you feel sorry for someone," she said. "Compassion is when you feel sorry with them and it compels you to action." This revelation set the stage for Heather to later form the non-profit organization Love The Children Ministries (LTCM).

"The Holy Spirit tugged again at my heart later that year when one of my professors made a comment about how local charities couldn't serve all the children in need," she said. "I thought of all the children in Canton who wouldn't have Christmas due to lack of funds."

Right after class, Heather called her youth pastor. "I told him that I was doing a toy drive and if he could find the needy kids, I'd get the money for the toys," she said. She sent out scads of e-mails to family and friends, pleading for help. Her goal was to help 50 kids. She ended up providing for 90. "So many people came through," she said. "Still none of this would have been possible without Malone. They helped so much." Now, just four years later, LTCM has served more than 700 children, and raised nearly $15,000.

For information on how you can get involved in this mission, visit lovethechildrenministries.org.

Kathryn Castillo, '08 graduate
Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, Florida
Major: Pharmacy

Kathryn Castillo saved a woman's life thanks to her classes at Palm Beach Atlantic University.

"I simply did what I was taught to do," Kathryn said. "I asked the patient a lot of questions. She described her symptoms. I knew they were all signs of a deep vein thrombosis [or blood clot], so I urged her to go to the emergency room right away."

Those actions led Kathryn's Palm Beach Atlantic professors to nominate her for the One to One Patient Counseling Recognition Award given annually by the American Pharmaceutical Association. "I was really surprised," Kathryn said about winning the award for her exemplary patient counseling skills. "Only five students and ten pharmacists are chosen nationwide annually."

Besides any awards or attention, Kathryn is just happy to get to use her skills—both God-given and trained—to serve others. "I believe God gave me the gift of communication that allows me to relate to, listen to and understand patients," she said. "But my professors have also played an important role in preparing me. Palm Beach Atlantic University has been one of the greatest experiences of my life."

Robert Maystrovich, junior
California Baptist University, Riverside, California
Major: Mechanical Engineering

Ever since he was a teenager, Robert Maystrovich has been tearing things apart and putting them back together. "I've always loved to see how something worked," he said. When he was 15, he rebuilt the engine of his pickup.

But all those past projects pale when compared to building the Humdinger—a wind machine that's being created specifically for developing countries. "It was really cool to rebuild my 1988 truck engine," said Robert. "But building the Humdinger was even cooler because I was doing it to help others."

To accomplish this difficult task, Robert and a team of California Baptist University engineers worked with Popular Mechanics' Innovator of the Year Shawn Frayne. After several hard months of designing and building, the project is nearly finished. Great effort was made to use the most affordable methods and get the best results.

"It was a lot of hard work," Robert said. "Every week, we would turn in sketches of our ideas to our professor. And every week, he'd throw them out. We'd routinely have to come up with something new. But even though it was so hard, I learned so much about mechanics and working in the real world."