Service ... to others ... to God ... to community ...

In his own words, Brett Allen Stidham believes service and good works “to be part of my daily life. When you see another individual in need, you take time to help them. When you see an individual that just needs to talk, you lend them an ear.”

“God commands us to show love and charity to the least of those among us, and I consider that to be a daily challenge to myself, considering the natural human tendency is to be selfish and self-concerned,” he said.

And Stidham’s life is a mirror of those qualities, whether it be in his home, his classroom, his church or any of his roles in the world of man.

The 2007 Plainview High School graduate, who is a student of human resources management and nonprofit organizational studies at the University of Oklahoma, blends spirituality and humanity with grace and selflessness in everything from getting good grades to advocating for other students or to seeing that the high standards of his university aren’t compromised by others with lesser intentions.

Stidham is the son of Shirlene and Eric Dellinger of Ardmore, and the late Bobby Stidham.

During his freshman year at OU, Stidham was elected president of Alpha Lambda Delta, the Freshman Honor Society. All four years of college he has been a member of the OU Integrity Council, whose job

it is to advise the provost’s office on academic misconduct cases. And during his sophomore and junior years, Stidham was elected chair of the Oklahoma Student Association Budget Committee and was responsible for administrating the allocation of $700,000 of Student Activity Fee funds to the student organization at OU.

As a senior next year he will serve as chair of the UOSA Undergraduate Student Congress, the chief advocate for undergraduate students to the university administration, including Pre

sident David Boren, the dean of students, financial aid, housing, etc. He’s served as legislative leader to 48 elected representatives, presiding over the business of the legislature and overseeing the initiation and completion of projects to beneficial students at OU.

His other on-campus involvements — the Student Activity Fee Committee, the Student Code Committee, being elected chair of OU’s delegation to the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature and elected as OU’s Oklahoma Ethics Consortium representative — all point to his leadership skills, but also his intense desire to help his fellow students and, in return, his fellow man.

During the spring of 2009, he completed a pastoral-care internship at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Norman. His principal objective was to construct an electronic system for tracking pastoral-care visits and assist in the formation of special service plans. During the course of the internship, Stidham became a licensed Eucharistic visitor and reader for services.

Next month, Stidham plans to apply for the program Teach for America, which will allow him to teach in an economically disadvantaged school district for two years while earning his master’s degree.

Upon completing the program, he intends to pursue a legal education, which he will use in the realm of public service in elected office, writing better laws, and also in private family law practice.
It’s just yet another way Stidham fulfills what he sees as an inborn desire to serve others.

“On occasion, I feel like a parent or Dr. Phil to my friends when they come to me for advice, as they often do,” Stidham said. “I find just listening and offering advice to them in their hour of need to be a use of my talent God has given me to empathize with others. Another way I use talents is through tutoring mathematics at all levels form pre-calculus to Calculus II.”

Stidham cites one of his greatest accomplishments at OU as “creating a more cordial atmosphere in our student government, embracing one another with friendship instead of the animosity and back-biting that once filled its place.”

Another proud moment occurred last year when Stidham was an advisory, non-voting member of the Student Activity Fee Committee.

Despite his non-voting status, Stidham said he was able to persuade members of the board to increase funding to the counseling and testing center to employ a psychiatrist for more hours to accommodate a greater capacity of students who require medication for ADD, ADHD, anxiety, depression and a wide range of other psychological diagnoses.

“Additionally, I feel as if I have an accomplishment each day as I am able to aid others in my daily life,” he said. “My faith is ever-present as I make decisions on which activities to pursue, (with) whom I associate and where I dedicate my time. I feel that living the spirit of Christ in love and charity toward my neighbor is my primary objective, as well as putting to optimal use my time and talents that God has given for my use and His glory.

“Some have sought to compartmentalize their faith as they serve in any secular capacity, so as not to offend anyone, but I feel that that is completely contrary to the heart of service,” Stidham said. “All faiths have common principles and themes such as peace, hope and charity, that all individuals are able to agree upon.”