Belton, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor honored seniors Sam Bentz of San Antonio and Gabby Shbeir of Cypress today with the Gary and Diane Heavin Servant Leadership Award. This annual award recognizes students who have devoted extraordinary time and energy to ministry and community service during their time at UMHB. The recognition included a $1,000 cash award for each student, a portion of which was donated to an organization of his or her choice.
The son of Renita Bentz, Sam is a senior majoring in both International Business and Accounting. He has maintained a 4.0 grade point average throughout his college career.
Bentz serves on the College Ministry team at First Baptist Church of Temple and is part of the Baptist Student Ministries lead team on campus. He has served as co-director of Missions Emphasis Week and is an active member of the McLane College of Business Student Advisory Board. He is also Vice President of the Institute of Management Accountants chapter on campus. During his years at UMHB, Bentz has studied abroad in both Ecuador and Lithuania and spent a summer in North Africa.
Shbeir is the daughter of Joe and Nicole Zatopek. She is a senior Marketing major with a 3.9 grade point average.
Shbeir has served in a number of leadership positions during her years at UMHB. She is a College Ministry leader at First Baptist Church of Temple and is a leader in the Called to Play after-school ministry. She served on the executive committee for The Big Event, a day of service for UMHB students, and helped charter the UMHB chapter of Enactus, an organization that focuses on bringing about change through entrepreneurial action. It was Enactus that mobilized our campus community last spring to open The Source, a food pantry for students experiencing food insecurity. In addition, each spring Shbeir has recruited students and led them on spring break mission trips to Costa Rica.
