wfn.org | Twelve students interpreting Black College fund at conference

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sessions

April 27, 1998	Contact: Linda Green*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - Twelve students attending several historically
black United Methodist-related schools will promote the churchwide Black
College Fund at about 30 annual conferences sessions this summer.

The students, all members of  United Methodist congregations, will
travel across the United States as 1998 Lina McCord Summer Interns to
raise awareness of the Black College Fund and the role of black schools
in education and the life of the church. They will be joined by former
interns who will serve as "ambassadors," traveling and promoting the
fund on short-term assignments.

In addition to speaking at annual conference sessions, the interns and
ambassadors will address local churches, United Methodist men's and
women's groups and youth events. They will discuss the role the Black
College Fund plays in the success of  historically black institutions.
The students will thank people for paying their apportionments and
describe how the fund has changed their lives. More than 15,000 students
attend the 11 historically black colleges related to the United
Methodist Church.

Entering its 26th year, the fund is supported by local church
apportionments and promoted by the internship program. The program was
named for former fund executive Lina H. McCord.

Typical of this year's ambassadors is Gabrielle G. Mallory, a junior at
Bennett College in Greensboro, N.C. Assigned to the South Indiana Annual
Conference, she will discuss the fund and her plans to become a lobbyist
for the United Methodist Board of Church and Society.

Mallory is a member of High Street United Methodist Church in Lima,
Ohio. She was a 1996 General Conference delegate and a general church
youth officer.

Juliana da Silva, a sophomore mass communications major at Rust College
in Holly Springs, Miss.,  is the intern who will address the New Mexico,
Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest annual conferences. A native of Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil, da Silva aspires to produce biblical cartoon
stories.

Other 1998 ambassadors are: Joseph Jones, a political science major at
Philander Smith College, Little Rock, Ark.; Justin Roberts, a junior at
Dillard University, New Orleans; Monica Rolfe, a political science major
at Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta;  Raschanda Hall, a 1998 graduate
of Dillard University, New Orleans; Kevin Wilson, a junior at
Bethune-Cookman College, Daytona Beach, Fla.; and Tia Woods, a 1998
graduate of Paine College, Augusta, Ga. 

The remaining 1998 Lina McCord interns are: Tarnisha H. Adams, a
sophomore at Philander Smith College; Neda A. Brown, a sophomore at
Bennett College; Kia Fisher, a junior at Clark Atlanta University; and
Jeffery Thomas Smith, a sophomore at Paine College.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Following is a list of annual conferences and events to
which the interns and ambassadors will travel this summer.

*	Tarnisha Adams: Texas, North Texas, Louisiana.
*	Neda Brown: West Ohio, East Ohio, Dakotas.
*	Juliana da Silva: New Mexico, Rocky Mountain, Pacific Northwest.
*	Kia Fisher: South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, North Alabama.
*	Joseph Jones: The Student Forum, Wisconsin, Missouri West,
Missouri East, Celebrate III Back 2 Faith.
*	Gabrielle Mallory: South Indiana.
*	 Justin Roberts: The Student Forum, Illinois Great Rivers,
Detroit, SEJ BMCR.
*	Monica Rolfe: Minnesota, Western North Carolina.
*	Jeffery T. Smith: Alabama-West Florida, Mississippi, Kentucky,
Holston.
*	Kevin Wilson: Eastern Pennsylvania, Baltimore-Washington.
*	Tia Woods: New York, Peninsula-Delaware.
Raschanda Hall will assist in the training and debriefing sessions of
the interns and ambassadors.

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/