When Amy Schoepf agreed to become a leader for Drake University’s Christian group Intervarsity, she was not expecting to stay more than a year. She had just earned her degree in sociology at Drake and wanted to continue her schooling to become a teacher. But now, four years later, Schoepf ’s still in the job, placing her plans on hold to help others. She couldn’t be happier.
A 26-year-old Des Moines native, Schoepf has seen what giving a hand to those in need can accomplish, from poverty-stricken families in St. Louis to former child prostitutes in Ethiopia. Her favorite age group to work with, though, is college students since they are at a time in their lives where they decide who they want to be.
“College is crucial to human experience,” she said.
Schoepf ’s own college experience was transformational and came on the heels of a more difficult time in her life. When she was growing up in a self-proclaimed “staunch, Christian home,” all she had ever known was her family and her faith. Her father was a Baptist pastor and her entire family consisted of strong believers in God.
When her parents broke the news to her that they were getting divorced, everything she knew came crashing down around her. She and her family were excommunicated from both the church and their extended Christian family.
“Any faith I had as a kid was blown up, then, was gone,” Schoepf said.
High school was a time for rebellion and resistance. However, when she was a freshman in college, a Spring Break mission trip to the poorest areas of St. Louis, Mo., helped Schoepf realize her drive to minister to others. This trip allowed her to get back on track with her faith, and eventually led her to her current position with Intervarsity.
At this time in her life, Schoepf says working with Drake students is her “dream job.” Her favorite part is being able to provide a safe space and a sense of family for the students who are far from home.
“I feel like the people at Intervarsity are a group that you can’t find anywhere else on campus in a way that, no matter what, you can be yourself and you can be accepted,” sophomore Hilary Henak said. “That’s something that’s really nice to have when you are away at school.”
In addition to helping students on campus, Intervarsity enabled Schoepf to be part of a trip to Ethiopia where she, with other Intervarsity members, spent time serving as goodwill ambassadors.
For Schoepf, the trip validated everything she had been working for, and it cemented her drive to continue that work. Although Schoepf had several good memories in Ethiopia, like learning how to make Ethiopian coffee, the hard times were what led her to dedicate her life to serving others. For the entire six weeks they spent there, Schoepf worked with former child prostitutes, many of them AIDS orphans who had no other way to make money.
“Basically, I would say every 10 feet there was a shack lined up, about the size of a single bedroom, and young girls—like 12 or 13 (years old)—would be standing outside waiting to be purchased. Some shacks had cradles inside because the girls wouldn’t have enough money for proper birth control and ended up having babies. It was the most horrific experience, I can’t even describe it.”
Seeing how life was for these girls and other Ethiopian citizens not only instilled a lasting motivation for her to help others, but also created a need for her to continue efforts in Africa. She plans on taking another trip this summer, and would like to even end up adopting an Ethiopian child in the future to continue serving others.
“The most rewarding thing to me is helping people engage their soul.”
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