Evangel University double graduate Chaplain (Captain) Delana Small was honored this week as runner up for the inaugural “CCCU Young Alumni Award,” from the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.
Chaplain Small is a 2008 graduate of Evangel and 2012 graduate of the AG Theological Seminary of Evangel.
The CCCU is a higher education association of more than 180 Christian institutions around the world, including more than 150 in the U.S. and Canada. CCCU institutions are accredited, comprehensive colleges and universities whose missions are rooted in the historic Christian faith.
“This alumni honor is presented to individuals who have graduated within the last 10 years and have achieved uncommon leadership or success in a way that reflects the values of Christian higher education,” according to the CCCU.
“As a runner-up for the award, Delana Small was also recognized for her work as a U.S. Army Chaplain who has shattered several gender barriers as she has ministered to soldiers around the world,” stated the CCCU announcement.
Small is the first female Army chaplain to serve in a Special Operations Unit, and she was also the first female chaplain to report to an Army combat arms unit when she served with the 101st Airborne Division’s “Screaming Eagles.” She has supported hundreds of soldiers and civilians at two different bases in Afghanistan.
“Given that CCCU institutions enroll 445,000 students in the U.S. and have more than 3.5 million alumni around the world, it is an extraordinary honor to see one of our outstanding graduates recognized as one of the top two young alumni across CCCU institutions,” said Dr. Carol Taylor, president of Evangel.
The Young Alumni winner for 2018 is Angie Thomas, a graduate of Belhaven University and author of the N.Y. Times Best Seller, “The Hate U Give.”
Thomas, Chaplain Small and two others will be honored Feb. 1, at the 2018 CCCU International Forum in Dallas, Texas.
The story of Angie Thomas and Delana Small can be read here — https://www.cccu.org/news-updates/author-angie-thomas-named-2018-cccu-young-alumni-award-winner/
Honored alumna
“At Evangel, people are trained to be the best in their field,” said Chaplain Small. “That’s what Evangel did for me. They didn’t tell me what to think; they taught me how to think.”
She graduated from Evangel University in 2008 with a major in Biblical Studies and minors in Military Science, Leadership, and Spanish. She then completed her Master of Divinity from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (AGTS) in 2012.
For her many distinguished accomplishments, Chaplain Small was honored during Evangel’s 2016 Homecoming celebration as the Outstanding Young Alumnus.
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