Two students, spurred to action by life- changing events, have been working to spread messages of boundless hope and gut-wrenching need.

Emily Sernaker ’09 is raising money and calling attention to the plight of children in Northern Uganda, an impoverished nation that has been embroiled in civil war for more than 20 years.

She has garnered tremendous support from fellow students, traveled to Washington, D.C. to lobby a local representative and seen the tragedy and hope in Uganda personally during a visit last summer.

Cody Unser ’09 helped form the Cody Unser First Step Foundation to raise research funds to fight paralysis and build awareness of transverse myelitis.

Unser, the daughter of legendary racecar driver Al Unser Jr., was diagnosed as a pre-teen with the neurological disease, which causes inflammation of the spinal cord. It left her paralyzed from the chest down.

She has been to Washington, D.C. several times, urging Congress to pass stem-cell research legislation and fund studies aimed at finding a cure for spinal cord injuries and diseases.

“These students have this amazing willingness to go beyond themselves and to do what they can to improve the lives of other people,” said Tony Mueller, director of community service learning at Redlands.

Mueller said he has been impressed by the eloquence of the sophomores, who shared stories about their efforts with the university’s alumni board during a fall meeting.

“When you hear them talk about what they are doing, when they really start to share those stories, people are consistently impressed with them and all that they have done,” he said. “Being around them is absolutely contagious,” he said. “You can’t help but care about what they are doing and want to learn more.”