Jessica Carara
  • Social Work
  • Class of 2019
  • Warrensburg, IL

Jessica Carara of Warrensburg, Illinois, honored by Olivet Nazarene University for servant leadership

2018 May 16

Jessica Carara is the 2018 female recipient of Olivet Nazarene University's annual presentation of The David and Ella Elwood Servant Leadership Awards. During the 2017-2018 academic year, she was a junior social work major at Olivet. Faculty, staff and fellow students nominated her for this honor. A resident of Warrensburg, Illinois, she is the daughter of Randy and Carolann Carara.

While at Olivet, Carara has served as a Connections mentor, with Women's Residential Life and in the Sister-to-Sister program. She has also been a leader in Diakonia, the social work club. In the local community, she has volunteered with the Kankakee County Center Against Sexual Assault (KC-CASA) and as a mentor at Kennedy Middle School in Kankakee, Illinois.

After graduation, Carara plans to serve others as a social worker. Her goal is to love people into God's kingdom as she walks alongside them through their struggles.

"Servant leaders should know they are servants first and leaders second," Carara said. "They help people discover Christ and His love."

Now in its 11th year at Olivet, The David and Ella Elwood Servant Leadership Award recognizes juniors who demonstrate - through a variety of service opportunities - the qualities of a servant's heart. As part of the award, each recipient receives $1,000. Of that amount, $250 is donated to the charity of his or her choice. Carara has designated Home Sweet Home Ministries, Bloomington, Illinois. She has volunteered with this organization since she was nine years old.

The Servant Leadership Award program is funded by the David and Ella Elwood Foundation to promote and foster servant leadership in the Olivet community and around the world. Dr. David Elwood is a clinical psychologist and the founder of Elwood Staffing Services, Inc., a leading provider of talent-based solutions. Ella Elwood is a Century 21 real estate agent in Columbus, Indiana. They have been married for 60 years and have three sons and eight grandchildren.

"The Elwoods represent all the qualities we celebrate as an Olivet community," said Dr. John C. Bowling, University president. "Their lives remind us that success is not just about the bottom line, but about relationships and achieving a higher purpose."