Ten Marshall University freshman were placed as volunteer Young Life leaders at different area schools Sunday in the Young Life building downtown.

The new leaders, current leaders, parents and friends celebrated as area director Brad Bucklad revealed where each freshman would be assigned.

Huntington natives Lilly Dyer and Megan McCallister were placed at Huntington East Middle School. Bucklad said there has never been a team there, so the two girls will pioneer that team.

Claire Blackwood and Dom Difilippo, each from Charleston, will be leaders at Huntington High School. Franklin Norton and Macie McCallister, also from Huntington, were placed at Cabell Midland High School along with Josh Hastings from Bridgeport, West Virginia.

Marshall University’s Young Life College team gained Casey Mosrie from Charleston, Brooke Stratton from Barboursville and Claire Joswick from Cincinnati.

Young Life staff member since 2014 and volunteer since 2011 Alli Childers said the new leaders start their roles immediately.

“It starts right now,” Childers said. “They are leaders.”

Childers said the freshman were placed based on interviews and ongoing conversations. Childers said she and Bucklad took what each new leader wanted in consideration, paired with the need at each school.

“They’ve been going through new leader training all semester,” Childers said.

Childers said she thinks the new leaders will be great at forming relationships with students in their assigned schools.

Mosrie said he is excited to be on the Marshall team.

“I think college is a perfect opportunity to share my testimony with people,” Mosrie said.

Mosrie said his job as a volunteer leader at Marshall is to get people to come to Young Life events and share the Gospel with them.

Mosrie said he went to Young Life a few times in high school, but started coming consistently at Marshall.

“I’ve pretty much been every single week except for my birthday because I went home,” Mosrie said. “I love every single person that I’ve met this year.”

Childers said Young Life leaders’ role is to form relationships with students with hopes they will have relationships with Jesus.

“We believe that every kid deserves the right to hear about Jesus,” Childers said.

Lydia Waybright can be contacted at [email protected].