CENTER for STUDENT MISSIONS

Cassidy Akers

Cassidy was born and raised in Kenova, West Virginia. She enjoys track, soccer and dance. Her dad has a pizza business and her mom is a teacher. Cassidy wants to be a elementary school teacher some day and attends Marshall University in Huntington, WV.

Emily Gillespie

Emily is from Shreveport, Louisiana. She will be a senior at the University of Alabama majoring in Broadcast Journalism. Her missions experience includes serving in Russia, Mexico, Tennessee and Texas. Emily enjoys traveling, going to sporting events and watching movies. She is excited about her opportunity to serve God through CSM in Nashville.

Alicia Marie Edwards

Ali grew up all over the United States, but claims Colorado as where she’s from and Washington as her home. Her family is kind of half Korean, half South Dakota Swede. She likes indie rock, and describes herself as a geeky bookworm/tomboy in heels. She attends Pierce College in Steilacoom, WA and hopes to eventually double major in politics and philosophy and then go to law school.

Karen Bencke

Karen grew up in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. She now attends Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas and is majoring in biology with a minor in Religion and also studying Spanish. She spent the past semester in Quito, Ecuador studying Spanish through her college. She enjoys traveling, working with children and playing games with her friends at school.

Chris Ball

Chris also was born and raised in Kenova, WV (Chris and Cassidy are from the same church). He enjoys gymnastics and movies. He is a sophomore at Marshall University and is thinking about a major in counseling. With several mission experiences in small towns, he is glad to serve God in the city this summer in Nashville.

Katie Cox

Katie will be a sophomore at Davidson College, near Charlotte, NC. She’s majoring in Sustainable Development. Her goal is to live in Central America after graduating so she can live and work with the people living there. Katie grew up in LaGrange, GA and went on trips with her own youth group to CSM’s Chicago and DC sites. She’s looking forward to exposing others to the city where she had such wonderful experiences and learned so many lessons.