2007 - 2008
My name is Daniel Cenci and I just graduated from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. I majored in Religious Studies and minored in History. I lived most of my childhood in Parkville, Maryland but I now reside at my family farm in Tarboro, North Carolina. I love Alabama football and North Carolina basketball. I am an involved member of the Episcopal Church and I believe firmly in answering the call of God. I have a passion for rural ministries and outreach to the less fortunate.
In High School I played Lacrosse and ran Track. In college I was an active member of the Student Government, the Episcopal Student Ministries, and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity. I am looking forward to my participation in the Johnson Intern Program and I pray that God will certainly bless us over the next year.
I was born on August 25, 1985 in Wilmington, NC, I came into the world already blessed with the presence of two older brothers and two wonderful parents. Later I would have the pleasure of having a younger brother as well.
My family moved to Tarboro when I was two years old and it has been our home now for nearly 19 years. My two older brothers are married and my little brother, Joe, is about to be a freshman at UNC-Greensboro. My three brothers are my heartbeat, and I don’t really know where I’d be without them; the same saying goes for my parents as well. I am definitely a lucky girl in the area of “family.”
I went to high school in the neighboring town of Rocky Mount, NC, and after years of playing soccer, basketball, and tennis, I graduated in 2003 to go on and attend college at The University of the South in Sewanee, TN. My choice to go to Sewanee was a chance to move further away from home and retreat from my “security blanket” in Tarboro. This choice was one of the best I have ever made. My 4 years at Sewanee have taught me so much inside the classroom and out, in the areas of academia and service. I completed the pre-med program and finished this past May with a major in Biology and a minor in Anthropology. I also had the opportunity to travel a lot while in school and complete many service jobs. For instance, I built houses in Jamaica, learned and observed the culture in Haiti, and spent all last summer in Ecuador with the most amazing yet some of the poorest people I have ever met in my life. Sewanee has blessed me in so many ways and has also led me to my keen interest in The Johnson Intern Program.
I am really looking forward to this program and to meeting everyone involved. One of my favorite things to do is to meet and talk to new people…I love hearing about their pasts and what their ideas are for the future. Not to mention, expanding my horizons and views through others is very important in the maturation of my own mind and heart. This summer I am working in Topsail Beach, NC and trying to study for the MCAT. The word “trying” is key; it is so hard to study in the summer. As of now I plan to either attend medical school or look into a graduate program in the area of public health. I have always been interested in medicine, and I feel a deep calling to be in the health field. However, I also feel a deep calling in the area of ministry and community. I hope the Johnson Intern Program and the people I meet and get to know will help me figure some things out, especially in the processing of my future. Most importantly, I hope to help others out in this same process and in many other ways as well.
Matthew Lundy graduated from Muhlenberg College in May 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religion. From September 2005 until September 2006, Matt served with AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (*NCCC), which is a team - based, national service program for 18 - 24 year - olds. During the majority of his service year, he worked down in parts of Mississippi and Louisiana that were devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He has had the opportunity to travel a lot throughout the United States, as well as other countries.
Matt has traveled outside of the United States to Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Poland, Ireland, and Italy. While at Muhlenberg College, Matt ran cross country for four years and track for three. He is originally from Monroe, Connecticut, and enjoys running, baseball and all kinds of music.
Jesse Osmun, 27, hails from Milford, Connecticut but originally comes from Vermont, where he lived for 22 years and hopes to return. Jesse came back earlier this year from a 10 month mission trip to Kenya, where he worked with AIDS orphans, learned to speak semi-fluent Swahili, and evangelized local indigenous tribes and has truly enjoyed the experience of being a globe-trotter. He has a BA in English but his real interests lie in grant writing and program design, particularly around the issues of poverty and homelessness as well as immigrant issues, and in particular he is interested in African immigrants.
Jesse's hobbies include freelance writing, hiking, and playing guitar, which he has utilized to full effect in his Episcopal church's contemporary praise band( his father is the minister!). He looks forward to the challenges, skills, and making the best of his Johnson Intern experience.
Hello, my name is Karen Porter. I grew up in the Florida Keys along with three sisters. My parents worked at the school and church that we attended for most of our lives.
I have been living in the Raleigh/Durham area for the past year since completing my undergraduate work with a BA in English. For most of the year I have been working at a workshop for developmentally disabled adults.
I chose an English major while at school with the interest of teaching English as a second language in a foreign country when I graduated. While in high school I had begun to feel strongly about spending an extended part of my future life in a developing country. My focus shifted somewhat while in college, and I was impacted to first work on learning more of what it meant to follow Jesus’ alternative route while living here in America, and that’s the journey that I’m on now. I am pumped that the next phase in the journey will include beginning the Johnson Intern Program in the fall.
Part of that shift of focus in college also had to do with checking out the Anabaptist branch of Christianity, which has led me to becoming an active member at a Mennonite church here in Raleigh. Exploring this tradition and spending time with the different people it has brought me in contact with has both stretched and blessed my faith life in many different ways. It has also caused me to anticipate the furthered experiencing of the many ways people understand God and shape their worship around him throughout my life.
Some other things I’ll tell you about myself; I love the ocean, and most things outdoors, which has recently led to some exciting experimentation in gardening. I like to mingle among a broad range of people, and love time well spent, whether with a friend or on my own. I feel that something that has remained the same for me since high school is the call to be an advocate for or live in solidarity with those in poverty or marginalized. Something that has shifted a lot is my lifelong participation in either team sports or cross-country, and I have mostly enjoyed finding active ways to fill in the spaces this change has left behind!
I am excited about the chance to explore the various hopes and questions I have of life in intentional community. I look forward to living and growing through its challenges & rewards with the rest of the interns.
I am from a small town in Northern Minnesota, and I am the second oldest of five children. I graduated in May 2007 from Augsburg College in Minneapolis with degrees in International Relations and Religion. During my college experience I spent three semesters off campus studying in various countries in Latin America. I am passionate about immigration issues and am active in immigrant advocacy groups in Minneapolis. In my free time I enjoy biking, tutoring, reading, yoga, and long walks.
Katie Thompson was raised in Potomac and Bethesda, Maryland. She graduated from Villanova University in 2007 with majors in Marketing and International Business. She studied in Milan, Italy for a semester. Katie was involved on campus with the Blue Key Society, as a liaison for prospective university students. Additionally, she traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico for a weeklong mission trip and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity alongside her classmates in New Orleans and Arkansas. Katie is excited for a challenging year of service and community living to help her strengthen her faith and discern her call in life.
Matthew Wright grew up in the small town of Murphy in the mountains of Western North Carolina. He graduated from Hiwassee Dam High School in 2003, after which he served as a summer intern for his local newspaper, The Cherokee Scout. Matthew is a Class of 2007 graduate of the University of North Carolina and holds a B.A. in Religious Studies with a minor in English. He spent a semester studying in India, Nepal, and Tibet in the School for International Training's Tibetan Studies program. Matthew was raised in the Pentecostal tradition and began attending the Episcopal Church in 2003, later to be confirmed in the church in May 2004. He is considering a vocation to the Episcopal priesthood and is currently involved in the discernment process.
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