Emily the Diligent!

I am so proud of my friend, Emily Shanahan. She’s studying toward her Master’s degree in Arts and Christian Ministries with a concentration in Non-Profit Management (from Anderson University/Indiana). It was July 1, 1998 when I first met Emily at a Joni and Friends’ Family Retreat; back then, she was just a cute kid in a wheelchair with bouncy pigtails (she likes to say we’ve been friends for 64% of her life :-). Observing her joy in Jesus at that Retreat, we all knew she was heading places. Indeed, she was: at the age of 12, she knew that one day she’d attend Cedarville University, and she did (graduating in 2011 with her Bachelors degree). So what will Emily do with her Masters when she graduates? She has a passion to help other young people with disabilities develop life-management skills so that they, too, can learn to live independently. The path to Emily’s education is full of challenges, but as Proverbs 13:4 says, “the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.” Learn more about this remarkable young woman by watching her TV episode on our website. And keep up the good work, Emily!