Kristin Jung, Hannah Lui, and Abigail Jung: Extraordinary Silent Servants

At the Peter R. Marsh Foundation, we do not ordinarily give the Silent Servant Awards to a group. But Kristin Jung, Hannah Lui, and Abigail Jung of the Dreamcatchers Club at University HS in Tucson, AZ are no ordinary high school students. And the Dream Catchers are no ordinary club. The Dreamcatchers do extraordinary things!

The Dreamcatchers are an amazing group of high school students who have dedicated their time and talents to, “granting the wishes” of elderly Tucson citizens, most of whom who are in nursing homes or Hospice care.

Founder Kristin Jung is a senior leader and during a home visit, she learned from an Agape’ Hospice patient that her one wish was to have her home decorated for Christmas, just as she had done for many years, but could no longer do for herself. Kristin and the Dreamcatchers granted this patient’s wish by closely following the patient’s direction and completely decorated her home inside and out, just as she wanted and had always done.

When asked why this was important to her, Kristin said that she believed, “Having the connection between the younger and older generation will make our society a better place”.

Hannah Lui and Abigail Jung are current Co-Presidents of the Dreamcatchers Club. As club leaders they have helped organize many fund-raising activities and projects. Their Dreamcatchers have worked to provide hairstyle and makeup sessions, manicure appointments, and musical entertainment for many elderly patients. She once organized a Disney-themed Tea Party for a group of nursing home patients, and a Mexican-themed party with a live Mariachi band for others!

When asked why the Dreamcatchers Club was important to her, Hannah said that she believed, “We’re not just giving to these patients, we’re learning life lessons”. We can all learn something from Hannah’s selfless service to others. Abigail said that she believed, “A lot of students my age don’t really think a lot about what senior citizens are going through”.

Kristin, Hannah, and Abigail are always the first to think of others. They, and their Dreamcatchers, actively and outwardly demonstrate what it means to have a true Silent Servant’s heart!

You can learn more about them from this story that ran on the CBS Evening News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arizona-high-school-students-make-dreams-come-true-for-elderly-hospice-patients/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=news_tab

You can learn more about the Peter R. Marsh Foundation here: https://www.prmfoundation.org/

About Jim Warford

Jim Warford is the author of, The Chemistry of Culture: Strategies You Can Use to Create a Culture of Learning. For 15 years Jim Warford was Senior Advisor and Keynote Speaker for the International Center for Leadership in Education. Jim is an author, speaker, Leadership and Instructional Coach. He was named in March 2003 as Florida’s first Chancellor of K12 Public Schools. He stepped down in September, 2005 to become Executive Director of the Florida Association of School Administrators, representing over 10,000 Florida school leaders. As a Senior Advisor for the International Center for Leadership in Education, he works with states, districts and schools to provide coaching and executive training and support to school leaders and their staffs. As Florida’s Chancellor, he led the creation and state-wide implementation of Florida’s Continuous Improvement Model, FCIM, which resulted in that state’s dramatic gains in student achievement and an 80% reduction in the number low-performing schools. FCIM remains Florida’s required intervention for all low-performing schools. As Superintendent of the Marion County, Florida Public Schools, he first implemented the Continuous Improvement Model district-wide. As a result, school grades went from three “F”, eight “D” and only one “A” school in 1999 to twenty “A”, 16 “B” and no “F” schools in 2003. Under his leadership the high school dropout rate was cut in half. He taught applied technology courses at the high school level for 17 years and created a Computer Graphics/Video Production program that won many national and state awards. He was named Vanguard High School Teacher of the Year three separate times.

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