Three seniors win 2025 Global Citizenship Award

First place: Fernando Daza

When Fernando thinks about the values of a global citizen, he immediately thinks of his mother. She was a woman of strong faith with a servant’s heart, and she taught Fernando kindness, compassion, generosity, selflessness, and uplifting others. When someone needs help, Fernando is well-known to say, “I can do that!”

Fernando is a high-achieving student in the business department and has set challenging goals for himself. He is motivated by curiosity and the desire to learn. He describes having “restless passion.” As a first year student he changed his major three or four times, not, he writes, because he didn’t know what he wanted to study but because he was curious and passionate about everything: Computer Science, Theater, Women’s & Gender Studies, Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL), Math, Biology, Sustainability, Secondary Education, Peace, Justice & Conflict Studies, and Political Science.

Fernando values being actively involved in community life. The list of his activities is long and distinguished. He is a Peer Financial Coach with Everence, a member of the Convocation/Chapel Student Committee, a two-time Maple Scholar, a volunteer at the Center for Healing & Hope, a member of the United Leaders of Goshen College, Opinion Editor for the Record, a member of the Community Response Team student subcommittee, an Academic Response Team member, an Orientation Leader for Welcome Week, a leader with the Prevention Intervention Network, and the longest-serving leader of the Latino Student Union. He is also pursuing membership at Waterford Mennonite Church, where he actively participates with the Young Adult group. Fernando writes that all of his leadership roles were shaped by his lived experience as an immigrant and as a first-generation, queer, Afro-Latino college student in the U.S. He has worked to promote diversity and learning across languages, ethnicities, and affinity groups, and his activities celebrate culture and resilience. He shows respect to his peers and is respected by them for his gracious attitude and desire to listen and learn. He has felt personally challenged to embody peacemaking and global citizenship values through action. At a recent United Nations Seminar in New York City, he came away inspired about the power of nonviolence and conflict resolution “as a daily practice that promotes justice and creates safer spaces.” He writes, “What fills my cup is knowing that my actions help current students feel seen and supported, and hopefully inspire prospective students to see a place for themselves here. That sense of belonging through leadership is what has carried me this far, and it’s what I hope to continue offering to others.”

Runner-up: Lindsey Graber

“The hands and feet of Jesus.” That’s how Lindsey Graber sums up what Goshen College has helped her discover within herself. And she has found plenty of meaningful ways to do just that. She has worked to make worship more accessible and a place of belonging, has been a Peer Wellness Educator, a member of the Goshen Monologues Committee, a Features Editor for the Record, a Horswell Fellow with the Broadsides and Pinchpenny Press publications, a participant in the Peace Oratorical Contest, a speaker at convocation, an organizer of food drives, and a participant in the Prevention Intervention Network and New Student Orientation. She also chose to travel to Northern Ireland to learn about the Troubles between Catholics and Protestants and the tangible power of communities praying and working towards peace and reconciliation. These activities and experiences transformed Lindsey and taught her the value of a supportive community that truly cares about the well-being and growth of others.

In the classroom, she has chosen rigorous coursework to challenge herself, and she has excelled in all of her academic pursuits. Each semester, Lindsey’s intellectual curiosity and growth as a scholar are apparent, as she continues to refine her analytical skills, deepen her critical thinking, and contribute thoughtfully to class discussions. She is driven to promote justice, reconciliation, and understanding, and has chosen a legal career to advocate for restorative practices and healing, both in individuals and in communities. Lindsey strives to be a “Christ-centered vessel for love through leadership and service,” actively learning, modeling integrity, and showing care for others while advocating for justice. She is dedicated to these principles, both at home and on campus.

Runner-up: Aysia Adkins

Aysia Adkins has immersed herself in every musical learning context she can at Goshen College. You’ve heard her powerful, expressive singing voice, and you would know her from the chapel singing team, Parables, Voices of the Earth, Chamber Choir, Queen Singers, and her roles on the Mainstage. She is also a talented musician, studying both piano and violin, and playing in the orchestra and the Steel Drum Band. Aysia has discovered an affinity for working with young singers, the Shout For Joy children’s choir, and the summer vocal institute, Elevate Vocal Arts. She is talented and gifted in profound ways, and yet she remains professional, humble, eager to support others, and respectful to teachers. She has a mature, reflective capacity for working through conflict in relationships, including her own inner conflict about religion and faith. Aysia writes about her faith journey and the example of her beloved grandmother, who took her to church every Sunday. But Aysia became disillusioned trying to develop a faith like her grandmother’s. At Goshen, she made a conscious decision to join the campus ministries team and lead singing in chapels. Through singing, Aysia connected with a deeper meaning behind the music. This openness freed her to let her faith journey take her where she’s meant to be. This journey extends to activism, community building, and working for justice. Her teachers describe her as having enormous potential for contributing to our world, not only as a musician, but as a global citizen. Aysia intentionally chooses courses and experiences that challenge her, like the Inside Out program. For Aysia, Inside Out was an opportunity to show love and respect, and form deep, genuine, unforgettable connections. Even though the Inside Out students came from very different backgrounds and belief systems, they gave each other respect, trust, and vulnerability. She writes, “Learning alongside each other with open minds, hearts, and compassion built meaningful connections that are the foundations for peacemaking.” Aysia has learned that servant leadership is about love and new relationships with people who are different from you, and dreaming of an interconnected world.

Those who know Aysia well recognize her propensity for tears. Growing up, she was a little girl with big emotions that often made her ashamed. She has come to cherish her tears because they are not tears of sadness or being out of control, but of the love and understanding she carries, both for people she cares about and people she has just met. They are love and deep passion, culminating in compassion for all.