QuickNotes | January 2026

After graduating with a degree in social work, Sonya Reaves, ’07, held various roles in nonprofit work on four continents before returning to the Chattanooga area to make it her home. The Family Justice Center (FJC) is proud to have her and the decades of international experience she brings to her position as the education coordinator. In this role, Reaves works to connect people with resources to make the community safer for all.
 
This is work that is deeply meaningful to Reaves. “I love that I am a part of something bigger than myself because I work for the city,” she says. “I get to be part of the One Chattanooga plan. I get to make friends and build community and make Chattanooga safer, one person at a time.” 

Reaves’s first visit to Chattanooga was when she came to Southern. A defining moment of her college experience was traveling to Ground Zero to do relief work in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. She assisted people who had been displaced by the event, learning how to help in the face of tremendous loss. “It confirmed to me that social work was what I wanted to do,” she says. 

Soon after that, she went to Honduras as a student missionary, where she served in a children’s home. After completing her degree, she moved to Chad to work at a rural hospital for a year. She loved it there, though the living conditions were rough and she struggled with frequent bouts of malaria. One thing that made her time in Chad memorable was that, as the only O-blood type in the area, she was a valuable universal blood donor and was called upon to provide a life-saving transfusion for a local woman. 

Reaves returned stateside and spent some time as a chaplain at Georgia Cumberland Academy before the allure of the open road called to her once more. This time, she relocated to Norway to serve as the dean of students for the European Bible School. The cold, dark winters motivated her to move back to the States, where she served as the Outdoor Education Instructor at Camp Wawona in Yosemite National Park. 

After that, she went to Tanzania to work for an American non-profit organization that was building an orphanage. “I learned a lot about non-profit best practices from that experience,” she says. In her current role with the city, Reaves teaches on cultural intelligence and says that the time in Tanzania, while very challenging, was highly educational.

After that, she returned to the Yosemite area and served as the teacher and principal at Oakhurst Adventist Christian School for 4 years, taking summer classes to earn her teaching credentials. By 2016, her feet were getting itchy for travel once more. She moved to Cambodia to serve as the head of education for RAW Impact, an Australian non-profit organization. Her job was to train local teachers, as there is a massive shortage of teachers in rural areas of Cambodia. 

By 2020, she had been promoted to the agency's country director. Unfortunately, one of her first official actions as the director was to send everyone home and return to the states herself due to the pandemic. 

During the disruption of the next few years, Reaves spent time in Chattanooga visiting friends and fell in love with the place all over again. She completed a master's degree in international community development, then returned to Cambodia in 2022 to help restart programs that had been put on hold since 2020. A year later, Reaves made her way back to the Scenic City. “I could have lived anywhere in the world, but I chose little old Chattanooga,” she says.

Reaves has been working for the city for two years and says that in her role with the FJC, she gets to use everything she’s learned from her many international experiences. She learned several languages while living abroad, and though she doesn’t find many opportunities to speak Swahili, she does regularly use her Spanish skills in the workplace. She hosts monthly learning sessions on a variety of topics through the FJC Institute and teaches on cultural intelligence, equipping Chattanoogans to be good global citizens. Much of Reaves’s job is leading training sessions on topics related to domestic violence reduction, as well as doing outreach for the center to ensure that Chattanoogans know about the life-saving resources available. 


- Chrystal Houston, City of Chattanooga Internal Communications Coordinator; Adapted for QuickNotes

This past fall, 11 teaching faculty from the School of Religion at Southern Adventist University participated locally in the North American Pentecost 2025 initiative.

The revival was a call for Seventh-day Adventists in North America to engage in hometown mission opportunities, with Southern joining more than 5,200 other Adventist schools and churches across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

“We praise God for what resulted from these evangelistic campaigns,” says Greg King, ’81, PhD, dean of the School of Religion. “The Spirit was truly at work!”

The local series, entitled “Revelation Today: The Future Unfolding,” highlighted 16 messages focused on end-time prophecies in the books of Daniel and Revelation. Southern professors preached at four Adventist churches in Northeast Georgia over the course of two weeks. Those who spoke included Stephen Bauer, PhD; Matthew Bronson, ’19; John Doh, PhD; Eliezer Graterol, PhD; David Hartman, ’82, DMin; Michael Hasel, PhD; Esteban Hidalgo, PhD; Greg King, PhD; Douglas Na’a, PhD; Alan Parker, DTh; and Barry Tryon, ’82, PhD.

Additionally, Southern students were involved in the series through the Soul-winning And Leadership Training (SALT) program. This university program offers dynamic evangelistic training on campus in partnership with It Is Written. The students connected with community members, invited them to upcoming services, greeted attendees every evening, and participated in worship activities.

“It was really gratifying to see the energy and the enthusiasm of these students from SALT,” says Hartman.

“This is just how evangelism should be done,” agrees King. “Our faculty linking arms with students and joining together with church members—this makes for a winning combination!”

Attendees commented on the friendly atmosphere in the churches and appreciated the enlightening information from the sermons. Those with the most revitalizing experiences chose to be baptized or rebaptized.

“I looked forward to this series for a long time, especially as the culmination of our witnessing efforts in the area,” says Bradley Privat, freshman SALT student. “I was so excited to see community members attending and expressing interest in joining the Adventist church!”

“The meetings showed me what godly public evangelism looks like,” adds Giovanna Burgos, another freshman SALT student. “I could see the power the truths of the Bible can have when they are presented in a Christ-centered way, followed up by the intentional love of Christ-centered people.”

Attendees were not the only ones blessed by the experience. “There is absolutely nothing that revitalizes my heart and my soul like sharing Jesus,” says Hartman. “My purpose statement is ‘to add to the great multitude that will one day stand around God's throne singing eternal praises.’ Every day when I wake up, I pray, ‘Lord, use me to reach somebody today.’ Preaching nightly for this series and seeing people come to a fuller understanding of Jesus is the fulfillment of that prayer.”

Hartman hopes that this series will urge Southern students to witness with boldness. “Our preaching was a model for students on how to be evangelists for the rest of their lives,” he says. “Regardless of major, the real purpose of Southern is to raise up apostles to reach a lost world for Christ.”

- Isabella Dixon, sophomore English major

This Christmas season at Southern Adventist University, the Student Blessing Tree in Wright Hall stood tall once again. Begun in 2023 by Kim (Ford) Mendoza, ’17, administrative assistant and hiring process coordinator, the tree enables students to ask for needs in the Christmas season by filling out a card and placing it into a burlap bag on a tree branch; then, employees select requests and meet these needs to the best of their abilities.

Mendoza shares, “The Blessing Tree provides a unique way for students to experience the love of Jesus.”

The blessings have been growing each year. In its first year, about 50 individuals received gifts as a result of the tree. Last year, the number grew to 75, and this year it officially exceeded 100 students.

“I love being part of something that directly impacts students,” Mendoza says. “For example, being the ‘elf’ for employees and donors who wish to remain anonymous is such a rewarding experience.”

Mendoza recalls a time last year when she got to act as ‘elf’ for a participant who requested warm clothes and shoes for the winter. “The employee wanted to remain anonymous but deliver the gift in a way that would create an experience.” Mendoza took the student shopping in the employee’s stead. She says, “It was such a blessing to be able to get to know her and help her carefully pick out items she liked.”

The Student Blessing Tree has enabled miraculous experiences. In 2023, one individual asked for tuition assistance, and the staff member who drew her name found a donor who paid off the full school bill, enabling her to finish her senior year. Mendoza explains, “The student shared that she had completely surrendered her future at Southern to God, and He came through for her in a way she never expected.”

Star Stevens, School of Religion resource secretary, has donated to a student’s bill previously. “I liked the idea of doing something specific to help a student who needed it,” she says. “It was a wonderful feeling to know that someone’s entire life might be impacted by my gift.” The recipient was so overwhelmed by the gift that she took steps to directly thank Stevens.

Mendoza says, “The Blessing Tree is just one way that employees at Southern act as the hands and feet of Jesus.”

- Chehalis Eno, senior English major, and Becky (Baerg) Brooks, ’03, editorial manager

Southern has been awarded a $1.36 million federal TRIO Student Support Services grant to enhance support for students who are first-generation college students, meet federal low-income guidelines, or have a documented disability.

In response to receiving the grant, Southern established a new student support initiative called THRIVE, which stands for Tools for Higher-Ed Readiness, Involvement, Vision, and Excellence. The initiative will implement the funding and goals of the grant, expanding support to help participants thrive academically and personally during their college experience, with the ultimate aim of leading them to successful graduation.

THRIVE will provide participating students with a wide range of services, including individualized tutoring, dedicated peer mentors, counseling and coaching, skill-building workshops, career exploration, assistance with course selection, and guidance in identifying and securing scholarships. Since student success is shaped by more than classroom performance alone, THRIVE is intentionally designed to help students navigate the non-academic aspects of college life, such as personal and financial challenges, in addition to their academic pursuits.

Southern applied for the grant in 2024. In the fall of 2025, the university learned it had received a perfect score on the application and was awarded $272,000 annually for five years, which will yield $1.36 million in total. The THRIVE initiative was implemented in January 2026.

 “We’re very grateful to have received this funding, which represents an important investment in our students and their futures,” says Kimberly Crider, THRIVE initiative director. “THRIVE allows us to come alongside student participants who may be facing additional challenges and provide consistent encouragement, practical resources, and individualized support as they work toward graduation.”

The initiative will serve up to 140 students each year and includes the opportunity for a $500 scholarship per semester for students who successfully complete the initiative requirements, encouraging students to progress toward graduation.

Together, Southern’s THRIVE initiative and the TRIO grant provide a new opportunity to help students reach their graduation goals while advancing Southern’s mission to nurture the whole student. By expanding access to academic, financial, and personal support, the initiative represents a significant step in helping students succeed at Southern and beyond.


- Isabella Dixon, sophomore English major, and Becky (Baerg) Brooks, ’03, editorial manager