1. 20 | WINDOWS - SPRING 2015 ALUMNI
ON THE JOB:
CAREER
CONVERSATIONS
IN COMMUNITY
OUTREACH
BY: MARY ELIZABETH
GOODELL (’12)
A desire to serve and influence the community
and the world is a characteristic outlined in
the Westminster“Portrait of a Graduate” that
we strive to instill in each one of our students.
While many of our alumni volunteer in their
churches and communities outside of work, a
few have made it their primary profession. We
caught up with two of our alumni, Danny Linsz
(’88) and Libby (Gates) Daugherty (’00), who
have turned their passion for service into their
dream careers.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE
YOUR CURRENT JOB?
DL: I’m the director of recruitment at
Serving in Mission (SIM), and my job
description is constantly evolving. We are
an interdenominational and multicultural
organization that responds to need, proclaims
the Gospel and equips the church. The process
of becoming a missionary with SIM begins
when people inquire about SIM and then fill
out an application, and that beginning portion is
when I work with them. Most of the people who
apply are those who’ve read“Radical” or gone on
a mission trip and seen something God has used
to turn their lives upside down, and they realize
they don’t want the American Dream anymore.
LD: I am currently working as a social worker
for an adoption agency, Lifeline Children
Services. In this capacity, I work with families
through the process of adoption (both domestic
and international), including their home study,
education necessary to parent children from
places of harm and supporting them during their
waiting period, travel and then post placement.
I will also be working with birth mothers in the
Augusta area who desire to place their children
for adoption through Christian counseling,
connecting them with needed services, helping
them choose an adoptive family and supporting
them through the process of adoption and
afterward.
WHAT DREW YOU TO THIS
MINISTRY IN THE FIRST PLACE?
DL: I love kids and families. I ran a tutoring
program for at-risk kids at a middle school in
Wheaton and really enjoyed that. My church
took three different trips to Cuba, and I was
able to go on all three. That’s really what God
used to help my wife and me see ourselves doing
ministry as adults.
LD: I have always been drawn to adoption
because I have two siblings (Cullen and Emily)
who are adopted. Liberty University has a home
for unwed mothers and an adoption agency
that work hand-in-hand, and when I shadowed
a social worker there, I immediately thought,
“This would be my dream job.” I felt that with
the gifts the Lord has given me to serve and my
passion for orphan care, social work was the best
vocation for me.
WHAT HAS BEEN A PARTICULARLY
MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCE YOU
HAVE HAD IN YOUR WORK?
DL: I got to go to Ethiopia this summer with
my family to participate in a ministry called
Sports Friends, which uses sports to reach kids
and their families. In Ethiopia, tons of kids,
some Muslim or Orthodox, would come every
week to play soccer. I would host church teams
from the U.S. who would come to help with the
program and debrief with them every day during
their visit.
LD: The most rewarding case of my career
so far was when I was able to find an adoptive
home for a sibling group of four who had been in
numerous foster homes for six years. For many
children who I had the privilege of working with,
I was the only stable person in their life. Their
foster home, school, therapist and friends were
constantly changing. Although I was often the
“punching bag” because I represented an agency
that stepped in when their world fell apart, my
kids knew I really loved and cared for them.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO A
STUDENT WHO IS LOOKING
TO PURSUE A CAREER IN YOUR
FIELD?
DL: As young people, they should find out if
they love Jesus or if they love missions. Missions
is something cool and fun, but it doesn’t last.
I would encourage people to love Jesus first,
because you’re not always going to love missions.
Love Jesus first, then there will be missions
wherever you go.
LD: Social work is a difficult field because it is
often a very emotionally-draining and thankless
job. However, it is a wonderful career if you want
to be challenged and really make a difference in
the lives of those who are vulnerable and needy
in our community.
ABOUT DANNY LINSZ (’88):
After Westminster, Danny went on to study
youth ministries and adolescent studies at
Moody Bible Institute and Judson College.
He then worked at Franklin Middle School in
Wheaton, Illinois, for two years before moving
to Malawi, Africa, to work at ABC Christian
Academy. He has been with Serving in Mission
(SIM) for 14 years and is currently living in
Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife, Corrie,
and sons Tyler (12), Joshua (10), Samuel (8) and
Amos (3).
ABOUT
LIBBY (GATES) DAUGHERTY (’00):
Libby graduated from Liberty University with a
bachelor’s degree in psychology. After serving in
missions in South Africa and Qatar, she went on
to earn her master’s degree in social work from
Valdosta State University. Libby has worked
in foster care and adoption for the Division
of Family and Children Services as well as a
medical social worker at University Hospital. She
currently serves as an adoption worker for Lifeline
Children’s Services and lives in Augusta with her
husband, Patrick, and daughter, Madelyn.
DANNY LINSZ (’88)
LIBBY (GATES) DAUGHERTY (’00)
ALUMNI