Teens recognized with St. Timothy Award for service

Cundall, Phillips have been active in Catholic youth groups through parish, diocese

Published: June 16, 2014

By Madeline Roberts
Special to Arkansas Catholic

Malea Hargett

Sean Phillips of Jacksonville and Kenzie Cundall of Little Rock, who recently graduated from high school, were honored May 10 with the diocese’s St. Timothy Award.

Malea Hargett

Sean Phillips of Jacksonville and Kenzie Cundall of Little Rock, who recently graduated from high school, were honored May 10 with the diocese’s St. Timothy Award.

The Diocese of Little Rock awarded its highest youth award May 10 to two high school seniors, Kenzie Cundall from Christ the King Parish in Little Rock and Sean Phillips from St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Jacksonville.

Every year during the Catholic Youth Ministry convention, the Diocese of Little Rock gives the St. Timothy Award to recent graduates who have been leaders in their faith. Based on 1 Timothy 4:12, the award honors two youths who act as positive examples to their peers, exhibit Catholic morals, illustrate Gospel values in their service to others and demonstrate exemplary leadership in their Catholic community.

Since before her freshman year at Mount St. Mary Academy, Cundall has been an active witness to her faith. She started by attending Christ the King’s CYM, helping with the parish’s Living Stations of the Cross, singing in the parish youth band Team Jesus and serving on the parish’s youth council for three years. She also participated in Catholic activities outside of her parish, serving for two years on the diocesan Youth Advisory Council and working on the Search team, eventually being “mom” for Search’s inside team.

For Cundall, one activity that meant a lot to her was ministering on the Search team.

“I really, really enjoyed being on Search team,” she said. “That was probably the highlight of my faith journey, especially when I was mom. That was really incredible.”

Like Cundall, Phillips, who graduated from Catholic High School, has also been very active in witnessing to his faith. According to his pastor and fellow parishioners, he is always one of the first to volunteer for projects and programs in his CYM. Whether altar serving or maintaining a positive attitude for his peers, Phillips said he is willing to do “anything and everything” he can to help his parish. Phillips has also participated in activities outside his parish, serving on outside team for Search.

One activity that Phillips particularly enjoys, and one that his pastor Father Andy Smith and fellow parishioners appreciate the most, is his singing during Mass. According to Father Smith, Phillips’ singing while in the pews and on the altar encourages and inspires others. Phillips sees it as a way to express his faith and serve as an example for others.

“I’m not very good with words, so if I can sing, I can profess my faith,” Phillips said. “You always have little kids in the sanctuary, and they’re looking up to you since you’re the altar server, so if they see you sing, they’re going to think, ‘Oh that’s pretty cool. I want to sing too.’”

Both Cundall and Phillips meet the St. Timothy Award’s requirements, especially through their leadership. However, they both explained they were quite surprised and “had no idea” they would receive the award.

“I really was blown away,” Cundall said. “You can’t be anything but humbled after that.” Phillips agreed, saying, “I was very shocked. I didn’t know what to do.”

They both give credit for their accomplishments to the leaders in their lives.

Cundall said growing up in a Catholic school aided her faith, but what truly guided her was her immediate family, parents Yancy and Rose and brothers Brian and Chase. Older brother Brian, who just finished his first year of formation at Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas, had the biggest impact on her.

“He’s just a really well-rounded guy, and he is strong in his faith,” she said. “It’s just a good example to look up to, and it definitely helped shape me.”

As for Phillips, he also credits his family with nourishing his faith, especially his mom, Rhonda Phillips.

“She was the one to show me the way,” he said.

Both teens plan to attend college in the fall. Cundall will attend the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, while Phillips will attend Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.