Saccoccio accepts position at International Justice Mission

As a photo slideshow played in the background, about 30 people gathered in the Seeley G. Mudd Chapel at the end of June for a goodbye reception for former associate chaplain Andi Saccoccio.

Saccoccio left her position at Whitworth on July 1 to become the director of student ministries at the International Justice Mission in Washington D.C.

"This job represents a confluence of all my interests and experience throughout my life," she said.

Saccoccio's position has been filled by Mindy Beard, the new campus pastor for small group ministry.

As director of student ministries, Saccoccio will be working to establish and support college chapters of International Justice Mission, a human rights advocating non-government organization.  

IJM focuses heavily on cases of human trafficking and bonded labor, as well as other human rights abuses, she said.

Saccoccio said she credits Whitworth for helping shape and mold her.

"I hope I have left people with a holistic impression of what the gospels [are], the importance of community," Saccoccio said.

Event attendees expressed that they will also miss Saccoccio's presence on campus.

"I'm going to miss my girl," said Stephanie Nobles-Beans, coordinator for ministry and multicultural affairs. 

Kathy Storm, vice president for Student Life, said Saccoccio was instrumental in developing a strong small group program through a dual emphasis on training and support.  

"What I always found in Andi was a kind of refreshing honesty, a refreshing take on scripture," Storm said, adding that Saccoccio took the characters from the pages of scripture and made them real. 

Terry McGonigal, dean of spiritual life, has known Saccoccio for six years, even before she came to Whitworth. McGonigal knew Saccaccio from InterVarsity, an organization with Christian fellowship groups on college and university campuses across the country.

She came to Whitworth, armed with skills she had learned from InterVarsity, to create an effective Small Group Program, McGonigal said. 

"It's sad to see her leave, but this opportunity to work with IJM is phenomenal," he said.

McGonigal said Saccoccio has a gift of being able to take scripture and show students how to apply it directly to their lives.

Evan Cate, '08 theology alumnus, said he never took a class from Saccoccio, but went on a Jan Term trip to Ireland led by Saccoccio.

She helped lead the group in digging deep into the biblical, social and political questions raised by their experience, he said.

"I appreciate Andi's ability to talk about the big topics and then relate them to your life," Cate said. "Some of the stuff is kinda heady and she'd be like 'so what.'"

Saccoccio said there is one aspect of Whitworth that she will miss the most.

"The people. Hands down. Duh," Saccoccio said, laughing. "The crazy, crazy, crazy people."

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