Bring Change with a Year End Gift
WCIU alumni are serving in challenging places and using their training to bring hope and practical help to their communities. This page gives you a look at the work they’re doing and the impact your support makes. Will you stand with these change-makers as they continue their studies and ministry? Curious what our alumni are working on? You can start finding out below.
Stories Your Gift Makes Possible
Meet a few of the students and alumni whose lives—and communities—are being shaped through WCIU’s programs and institutes. Your generosity keeps stories like these going.
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![Group of young people working together at a wooden table with laptops, some wearing headphones, in a cozy room with wooden walls.]()
Sarah Mullin: Hospitality, Research, and Refugee Neighbors
After years of mission work, Sarah returned to WCIU to deepen her understanding of cross-cultural identity and third-culture kids. Today she serves a creative-access people group, building relationships with refugees on a college campus, combining research, practical care, and community. Her time at WCIU pushed her to keep asking, “How will I apply this?” and to live out an obedience-based response to the gospel.
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Scott Bessenecker & Kumar Aryal: Recognized for Global Impact
In April 2025, two WCIU alumni, Scott Bessenecker and Kumar Aryal, were honored with DEAC’s Outstanding Alumnus Awards for their leadership in justice, mission, and community transformation. Scott’s work in marginalized communities and Kumar’s development leadership both reflect WCIU’s vision for graduates who serve with both theological depth and practical skill.
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Ellen Iyasu: Education Pathways for Eritrean Children
MA-DS student Ellen Iyasu felt God calling her to create educational pathways for Eritrean youth, especially those in refugee camps and displacement. Through her focus on Global Women’s Empowerment courses at WCIU, she is shaping a capstone project around this vision and taking concrete steps toward establishing an educational center that serves vulnerable children and families.
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Nicole Lin & Anastasia Dewi: Launching Flourish Café
In the series Faith and Leadership Journeys of Inspiring Global Women, Dr. Andrea McAleenan interviews Nicole Lin and Anastasia Dewi, whose shared calling led to Flourish Café—a ministry walking with rescued sex workers into healing, skill-building, and sustainable livelihoods. From South Korea to Indonesia and beyond, their story mirrors WCIU’s heart for community-rooted, Christ-centered change.
Alumni Journeys: Watch the Replays
Catch up on the Alumni Journeys webinar series and related conversations featuring WCIU graduates and leaders. Each session shows how God is using WCIU-formed leaders to serve in real communities around the world.
You Have a Part to Play
Every scholarship, every regional hub, every student who can stay rooted in their calling while they study—these are all made possible through partners like you. As you pray and plan your year-end giving, would you consider a gift to WCIU so more students and alumni can “be changed and bring change” in the communities they love?
On November 14, our monthly Alumni Journeys webinar welcomed Paul Cornelius, President of WCIU, for a conversation with alumni across the globe.