Serving the Ones You Lead: Karina Adamovicz ’27

During her first week on campus, Karina Adamovicz ’27 went on a prayer walk that has shaped much of her Wheaton experience.

While walking, the communication major stumbled upon a statue outside Edman Chapel. The statue, which depicted an individual washing a person’s feet, read, “leaders serve those whom they lead.” “That moment marked me because I prayed to the Lord for opportunities to serve at Wheaton and to do it in total freedom from expecting love in return,” Adamovicz said.

God has provided her with many opportunities to do just that.

Shortly after Adamovicz made her request to God, she learned about the possibility of becoming a Wheaton Passage leader. As a freshman, she jumped at the opportunity to apply and participate in the process that was instrumental to her transition to college. “When I came to Wheaton, I was not just moving into college, but I was coming as an international student to a brand new country, and the Passage Program made me feel so loved and welcome,” she said.

In August of her sophomore year, she led the urban track of Passage, leading students through downtown Chicago. Three months later, she joined the Orientation Committee (OC), through which she gained more opportunities to serve others. When she was a member of OC ’25, she worked as the digital director and also supported her teammates and OC director with various tasks. “I grew so much as a person and as a student through that experience,” Adamovicz said. “I thrived in the new friendships and connections that came through being on OC, with staff especially.”

Towards the end of the term, Dr. Steve Ivester, the Dean of Student Engagement who oversees the committee, encouraged Adamovicz to apply for the role of OC director. She applied prayerfully and was selected, becoming the first international student in the position.

“Stepping into this new director role was a dream come true,” she said. “My freshman self could not have seen that coming.”

In addition to her excitement, she felt intimidation. “I felt like a little kid being given a coat that felt too big on me,” she said. “But the Lord really sustained me from the beginning, speaking to me through his Word and through being mentored by Dr. Ivester, who encouraged us to release any insecurities and embrace the beauty of counting it all joy when we face trials of many kinds.”

As Adamovicz and Dr. Ivester began to build a new team, Adamovicz pondered what kind of leader she wanted to be. “I knew I wanted to approach my leadership in a way that made the team feel like a family,” she said. “I wanted to lead in a way that, through prayer and intentionality, our team would be a team that is attentive to love our Wheaton community as we love ourselves.”

Adamovicz credits Dr. Ivester as being the one who helped make this a reality. “It’s because of him and his mentorship that I’ve been able to embody and become that leader I aspired to be when I was a freshman,” she said.

Service is a significant part of the reason Adamovicz dreamed of coming to Wheaton. At her international school in São Paulo, Brazil, she heard stories about alumni like Jim Elliot ’49 and other missionaries. Learning about them, in addition to being surrounded by Wheaton alumni at her school, gave her the desire to attend Wheaton.

When applying to the College, Adamovicz learned about an opportunity to be part of a cohort through the Aequitas Fellows Program. She loves the arts, so she applied to the Public Humanities and the Arts cohort. She was thrilled when she received her acceptance into the cohort and credits her cohort advisor, Dr. Tiffany Kriner, with being the reason she is at Wheaton. “Through her, God opened the doors for me to come,” Adamovicz said.

The cohort provided her with opportunities to use art as a medium to demonstrate hospitality to various communities in Wheaton. “Stepping off campus and engaging with people from Wheaton who are not our age and serving them was so fun to do,” Adamovicz said.

The community she served alongside also made the experience as special as it was, as they walked through this new season of life and faced the challenges it brought, including Adamovicz adjusting to speaking English 24/7. “God has given me a community of friends who are like my family here,” she said.

Throughout her time on campus, Adamovicz has learned to trust and rest in the God who led her to Wheaton, tying back to her prayer from when she first arrived on campus. “I’ve been so blessed to see the faithfulness of God, who has provided for and equipped me to thrive as a student leader,” she said.

That same prayer came full circle when she and OC’26 washed the feet of incoming students during a worship night at the beginning of fall semester. Quoting the footwashing statue, she said, “Leaders will serve the ones they lead.”

Karina is a student ambassador for the Wheaton Fund. To learn more about our student ambassadors, visit the Wheaton Fund webpage.