Rebekah "Bekah" Fortney Baxter (18C) is a relatively new alumna, but her service while at Berry College and which she continues today is extensive. Starting in December 2012, she has completed extensive service work abroad, from leadership development in Ghana, West Africa to running a summer camp for impoverished orphans in Romania to starting a Kindergarten for impoverished children in Soard, a Roma village, the latter of which has provided an opportunity for 200 kids who otherwise have no access to education begin to break the cycle of poverty through education.
In March 2016, while a student at Berry, she started a nonprofit called Chosen Vessels, which seeks to encourage, equip, and empower leaders around the globe. In 2016, she lived in Soard for three months, working on the Kindergarten, teaching English, and facilitating the arrival of teams for various purposes, including medical, leadership development, and ministry development. In July 2017, she continued teaching English in Romania while also maintaining leadership development with the leadership team in Soard, Romania. In the summer of 2018, she continued to teach English to young students in Romania as well as continuing to partner in ministry development and community engagement, and in October 2018 she facilitated a marriage conference and business seminars for young individuals seeking to break the poverty cycle in their communities.
A fellow alum said, "Bekah's community is the world," a fitting description of the alumna who has now successfully grown Chosen Vessels to serve Romania, Ghana, and Greece. Bekah continues to run her nonprofit fulltime while pursuing her Masters full-time in intercultural studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.
