Students receive 2023 David Winter Award
by Sophia Sherman
April 26, 2023
Dean of Student Engagement Angela D’Amour presented two Westmont students with “The David Winter Award” at chapel.
The David Winter Award has been a tradition at Westmont for decades. D’Amour discusses the meaning behind the award, saying, “The power of somebody who is a strong effective leader but also is truly humble and kind. We are honoring his legacy and the spirit of [those qualities] in students at Westmont.”
In order to determine the recipients of this award, the Westmont community is given the opportunity to vote for their peers to be nominated. D’Amour explains that the award was initiated when Winter was president, which means the award was being given at least 20 years ago.
When asked what makes this award unique, D’Amour says, “There are a lot of places that encourage leadership, but I think it’s quite different to be a servant leader.” Although many colleges celebrate student leadership, the David Winter Award specifically honors students who lead by serving others.
Every year there are dozens of nominees for the David Winter Award, which shows how many servant leaders there are on Westmont’s campus. D’Amour regrets that there are only two awards given saying, “I wish we could honor them all because there are so many people nominated.”
One of the recipients of the award, Joy Sturges, is a fourth-year religious studies major. Sturges has been a Spiritual Foundation Coordinator for a year and half, she has been in a ministry internship course for the past three semesters and she has spent two semesters working as the children’s worship leader at Ocean Hills Church. This semester, Sturges has been working with Kingdom Causes and participating in Bread of Life.
Although managing the extra activities can be overwhelming, Sturges says, “[I] try to take it from a posture of ‘oh my gosh I am so stressed all the time’ to being ‘what beautiful things I have the opportunity to partake in.’”
When asked how she felt about receiving the award, Sturges exclaims, “I was so speechless and did not even know how to process it. It has meant a lot. It felt God’s hand of grace affirming to me that He gave me gifts and I am able to be used by Him as a faithful vessel.”
As she was working on her acceptance speech for the award, Sturges explains,“I wanted to encourage people that they are a light and they do not need to get an award to prove anything about that.” Sturges empowers students to keep shining their light on their community.
