Working alongside President Obama’s campaign staff and lobbyists in Washington D.C. is not what most students characterize as a normal summer. However Pepperdine students are afforded some amazing opportunities – even some as lofty as Capital Hill. Senior Sara Ward from Mercer Island Wash. has taken full advantage of such opportunities walking the road from Obama “helper” to director of the Life Mission Fashion Show to ambassador for Pepperdine in the Malibu community.
Ward said her inspiration to enact change comes from a desire to represent Christian values. She believes this inspiration will help her come to know God’s purpose for her own life and for how she can be an influential part of others. Ward said she has discovered what it takes to find true fulfillment.
“Don’t sleep. Trust God a lot. Spend a lot of time in prayer Ward said. Don’t listen when people say things aren’t going to work out.”
Internalizing these ideals Ward accomplished a great deal in only three-and-a-half years at Pepperdine. As a Member of the debate team International Honors Society International Justice Mission Campus Ministries and various other campus organizations Ward is helping others take full advantage of every opportunity at Pepperdine.
Through her experience spearheading the Life Mission Fashion Show in the fall of 2008 Ward said she learned great lessons from those she worked beside. The event dealt with such serious issues as sex slavery and child homelessness in underdeveloped nations.
Crediting the success of the event to the trust she had in both her team and in God Ward explained the joy she felt working within such an atmosphere.
“It’s an inspiration to be able to work on behalf of people who are able to maintain such an incredible perspective and such incredible tenacity Ward said. What we do is a labor of love on behalf of everyone.”
As a member of the Pepperdine Ambassadors Council (PAC) Ward joins with other members to garner support from the Malibu community. Through her interactions with prominent members of the city Ward exemplifies the faith and spirit that Pepperdine has come to represent. ?
“With my work in PAC I’ve gained more respect and admiration for the administration and the jobs they do for us here Ward said, attributing many of her opportunities to the behind the scenes work of the university’s administration.
Since most of the Malibu community cannot see everything that happens on campus, PAC extends its reach in an attempt to bridge the gap between the administration students and outside community according to its mission statement.
Her effort to unify the Pepperdine community is just a brief reflection of Ward’s charitable personality.
Taking her determination 2,700 miles across the country, Ward broadened her influence to Capital Hill during the summer of 2008.
_Working within a group of 20 interns, her duties ranged from serving as a legislative assistant to acting as a press agent for the office. She said her time spent in Washington made it difficult to uphold the values she aspires to.
I learned a lot about maintaining integrity [through working in Obama’s office] in atmospheres where it isn’t necessarily the status quo Ward said.
Ward said she was proud of the fact that Obama was just as dynamic and full of character as he seems.”
Beyond an impressive student activities resume what makes Ward stand out at Pepperdine is the way she uses her faith as a personal mission statement.
“Success will happen because God is really good and as Lucile Ball said ‘I will succeed because I refuse to go away'” Ward said.