hesston college today
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alumni magazine for Hesston CollegeTRANSCRIPT
START HERE, GO EVERYWHERE SPRING 2010 www.hesston.edu
Business
Table of contents
A L U M N I N E W S
4 Cover story: Business Depart- ment focuses on market and student needs. Since the program’s inception in the 1970s, experiential learning has been at the core of Hesston’s Business program and continues to bring vitality to student learning today.
6 New scholarship honors Bill Mason. Mentoring students and helping them recognize their potential has been a passion for Bill Mason for almost 40 years. A new scholarship for sopho- more business students will honor his legacy at Hesston College.
8 LeVan brings variety of experi- ences to the classroom. Meet Hesston’s newest member of the business faculty.
10 A woman with a plan. Hesston College freshman Sarah Lederman is carrying on her family tradition in more ways than one.
Visit the events calendar at www.hesston.edu for a list of upcoming events.
The 2009-10 Centennial year has been an amazing time of celebration. Let’s not let the enthusiasm and energy end! Hesston continues to need your advocacy for our second century. Homecoming Weekend is a special time for alumni to connect to and engage with the college and your classmates. See the back cover and article on page 13 of this magazine for details on A Hesston Homecoming 2010. We’ve retooled the weekend to welcome alumni from all walks of life. Special emphasis will be given to science/math alumni to gather and share their expertise with the college and each other. Also, your special student small group of friends is invited to come to campus, and weekend events are designed especially for young alumni and alumni with young families. The campus is also still brimming with Centennial Celebration features to be enjoyed in 2010.
Class Reunion Representatives are needed for College ’50, ’85, ’90 and ’05. Let us know if you can assist with the class gathering.We look forward to seeing many of you September 24 to 26!
Dallas L. Stutzman ’76 —Director of Alumni and Church [email protected] 866-437-7866 (866-HESSTON)Hesston College Alumni Office, Box 3000, Hesston, KS 67062
Hesston College Today is the official publica-tion of Hesston College, published three times yearly at Hesston, Kansas, for alumni and friends of Hesston College. Address correspondence to Hesston College Today, Box 3000, Hesston, KS 67062, or e-mail to [email protected].
Editor Marathana ProthroAlumni News Dallas StutzmanGraphic Design Nancy MillerPhotography Larry Bartel Printing Baker Bros. Printing
Hesston College Board of OverseersNorm Yoder ’67, Henderson, Neb., ChairKelvin Friesen ’73, Archbold, Ohio, Vice
ChairDee Custar ’98, West Unity, Ohio, SecretaryDale Beachey ’66, Sarasota, Fla., TreasurerGinny (Davidhizar) ’68 Birky, Newberg,
Ore.Wilbur Bontrager ’73, Middlebury, Ind.Annette (Steider) ’83 Brown, Frisco, TexasLuke Hartman ’89, Harrisonburg, Va.Denton Jantzi ’94, Hesston, Kan.Harley Kooker ’66, Christiana, Pa.Phyllis (Liechty) ’69 Nofziger, Goshen, Ind.Jorge Vallejos, Sandy Springs, Ga.Alumni OfficersMark Yoder ’80, President, Wichita, Kan.,
316-440-2813, [email protected] (Swartz) ’74 Erb, Vice President,
Hesston, Kan., 620-327-2321, [email protected]
Alumni Advisory CouncilKermit Ac57, ’60 and Clydene (Jantz) ’61
Gingerich, Mountain Home, Idaho, 208-845-2875, [email protected] ’69 and Shirley (Good) ’70 Kempf, Shickley, Neb., 402-627-7595,
[email protected] Patsy (King) ’75 and Doug ’74 Unruh,
Perryton, Texas, 806-435-4558, [email protected]
Lynn ’80 and Janice (Leichty) ’80 Hostetler, Kalona, Iowa, 319-656-3022,
[email protected] ’88 and Rhonda (Yoder) ’88 Rhodes,
Arthur, Ill., 217-543-2440, [email protected] ’97 and Angie (Book) ’98, ’02 Savanick,
Scottdale, Pa., 724-887-0193, [email protected]
Jeremy ’00 and Erin (Nebel) ’00 Kempf, Goshen, Ind., 574-903-0577, [email protected]
Dave Miller ’07, Milford, Neb., 402-761-4393, [email protected]
12 Fair Trade and Hesston’s con - nection to the Ten Thousand Villages movement Doug Dirks tells Hesston students about Fair Trade and alumna Edna Byler’s legacy.
17 Sending your best. 98 alumni families sent students to Hesston this year.
18 Alumni news. Catch up on the lives and accom- plishments of classmates and friends.
22 Common Threads weaves its way across U.S. Tony Brown and John Sharp’s program of story and song explores the way Anabaptist religious persecu- tion and African-American racial suf- fering have intersected.
23 College welcomes new coach, faculty, staff. Since December, the college has added a new development officer, women’s soccer coach, director of Pastoral Ministries and director of Marketing and Communications.
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The business of interaction
This issue of Hesston College Today features the contributions of our Business Department, and I am pleased to be able to add my com-ments to the articles that follow.
I am especially pleased that we are able to honor Bill Mason, past administrator and current faculty member, with a scholarship that bears his name. The scholarship is funded by a generous donor who is recognizing Bill’s positive influence on the lives of many students who have taken their places in leadership across the country and around the
world. David LeVan is a newer face to Hesston College, bringing a strong academic back-ground along with teaching and leadership experience. He is already gaining a reputation as a fine instructor. Along with Bill and David, Vickie Andres as chair of the department and Bob Harder and Lorna Harder as instructors give us a strong, diverse faculty.
Sarah Lederman is one example of a student leader whose entire family has been influenced by their experience at Hesston College. In this academic year, I have met with successful business leaders from Washington to Florida and points between who tell mov-ing stories of their formative experiences here. I often wish I could somehow capture those stories and bring them back in the same form to encourage our faculty.
It is appropriate that we focus our attention on faculty and students, rather than facilities, equipment, or even programs. At its best and most basic, education occurs at the interaction points between teacher and student. At Hesston College, we add the value of personal attention, opportunities for internships and project-based learning, and interac-tions with people who are active and successful in their fields.
One example may illustrate what I have attempted to share above. In the fall of 2009, eight students, along with Vickie Andres and Bill Mason, attended the Mennonite Eco-nomic Development Associates annual convention in San Jose, Calif. They were able to interact with business leaders from all economic sectors and parts of the country, as well as attend fine programs. Each year, MEDA holds a case competition, with entries from Men-nonite colleges. At this convention, the winning entry was Eastern Mennonite University, whose entire team was made up of students who transferred to EMU after two years at Hesston College.
Thank you for your interest in the mission and work of Hesston College.
Howard Keim, President
p e r s p e c t i v e
Their end jobs will be in sales, accounting, finance, marketing, human resources, manufacturing or information technology. Someday they’ll inter-view for that dream job and sign on the dotted line. But for today, students at Hesston College—expected majors as well as those still deciding—learn about all aspects of business.
Chad Newcomer, a sophomore from Mount Joy, Pa., is one of the busi-ness majors. In late March, Newcomer and 13 other students in Bill Mason’s
Business Seminar course drove to Abilene to eat at the Brookville Hotel which serves family-style fried chicken.
“For that class we’ve gone to four different busi-nesses, and we will be going to about four more, including some restaurants, to meet with the own-ers so they can tell us their stories,” Newcomer says. “They help us gain the knowledge we need on how to be better business leaders.”
Experiential learning is valuable, according to Business Department chair Vickie Andres, who has taught at Hesston College for 20 years. While foundational understandings form the solid base of the Business and Computer Information Technology Division and are designed for the four-year transfers,
Andres and other instructors help all students, including those moving directly into jobs, learn hands-on business and computer skills.
Newcomer, for example, spent two months last summer at Harper (Kan.) Industries, Inc., in an internship, supervised by co-owner Heber Ramer ’75 and former Hesston College instructor.
“I redesigned their manuals, making them more appealing for their deal-ers. I used Adobe InDesign, a little bit of Photoshop, some Illustrator, Adobe PDF files,” Newcomer says.
Knowing how to use appropriate computer software tools is just one of the Business Program’s outcomes. Students are also expected to understand the free-market system, including entrepreneurship, and be able to talk about the differences in the global economic market. They create business plans and show they can manage various business operations. They assess career options and personal strengths.
“I enjoy the business field because there are so many career options available in business, yet all begin with a set of common core courses,” An-dres says. Business majors continue to study accounting and other required
Business Department focuses on market and student needs by June Galle Krehbiel
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Wilbur Brontager ’73, Hesston College Board of Overseers, spoke to several business classes the day before board meetings on campus in March. Wilbur is chairman and chief excecutive officer of Jayco, Middlebury, Ind, a privately owned R.V. manufacturer.
Faculty member Bob Harder (center) works with Alan Leichty, freshman, Wakarusa, Ind.
courses as they have since the 1970s when the program began. But the department has adapted through the years to meet the needs of Hesston College stu-dents in general, many who come in with little job experience or who are undecided on their majors.
Recent changes in the program have included the addition of the Exploring Business course, which offers students a broad sweep of the department. The course is ideally suited for students still deciding on a degree focus and those with few high school business courses. Business courses are also compatible in combination with other programs, such as Aviation or Disaster Management.
Another addition is the Personal Finance course, which, according to An-dres, responded to students’ needs when “the economic drop hit that negative 1% savings nationwide.” In this course students learn about personal taxes, in-vestment choices, the stock market, savings options, insurance and budgeting.
In the Business Communications course students do mock interviews and prepare for presentations or proposals.
During spring semester students in the Desktop Publications course produced documents for area businesses. Entrepreneurship students, taught by David LeVan, launched a couple of short-term on-campus businesses.
During the year other out-of-class experiences include regular trips to the annual MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates) conventions for as many as 10 or 12 business students. Hesston students attending the convention are regularly the largest college delegation at these meetings.
The annual business department dinner encourages the students in leader-ship and lets them hear from guest speakers not only at the dinner, but during classes. Last fall the dinner’s theme focused on the international fair trade organization Ten Thousand Villages.
Summer internships, like the one Newcomer participated in at Harper, as well as cooperative learning experiences throughout the year, allow students to experience business ideas and operations first-hand.
Current programs of study for Hesston College students are the Associate Degree Program in Business, the Four-Year Transfer Business Program and Computer Information Technology. Currently faculty are looking into add-ing an additional two-year program option.
“Business is constantly changing, and we continue to look at new ways to address market needs and meet our students’ needs. It is critical to our depart-ment,” Andres says.
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Business faculty
Faculty member Vickie Andres leads students in a class exercise.
Vickie Andres Business Department ChairSpecialties: Business, Com-puters, Accounting
Bob HarderSpecialties: Computers, Networking
Lorna HarderSpecialties: Web Design
David LeVan Specialties: Business, Economics
Bill Mason Specialties: Management, Marketing
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Bill Mason visits with students at a celebration marking his 80th birthday.
Students Weston Troyer (sophomore, South Bend, Ind.), Krystal Hathaway (sophomore, Goshen, Ind.), Elliot Wilder (freshman, Hesston, Kan.), Brittany Albrecht (sophomore, Sebawaing, Mich.), and Chad Newcomer (sophomore, Mt. Joy, Pa.) and Bill Mason listen as Harper Industries President Tim Penner leads a tour.
Scholarship for sophomores honors faculty member Bill Mason by Marathana Prothro
That which you focus on, flourishes. People don’t expect perfection. Have your employees spend 10 percent of their time each year learning something new. Look for the margins of difference. Don’t just work harder, work smarter. Build trust with your customers. Find your niche. Students are like people.
If you’ve ever been a student of Bill Mason these aren’t new concepts. They’re strikingly simple, to the point. Effective. They’re a lot like Mason.
When Mason arrived on campus in 1970 to work with public relations as part of a two-year break from a lucrative position at an ad agency, he had no idea how the calling to Kansas would shape the next 40 years of his life, or the lives of the hundreds of others he’s nurtured since getting his start here.
Beginning next school year, Bill Mason Business Scholarship will be available to four second-year business students each year. Made possible by an anonymous donor, the scholarship honors Mason and recognizes students with passion and aptitude for business.
Not one for personal accolades, Mason simply says, “I feel honored.” “Bill is a wonderful mentor for many students at Hesston College and
in the Business Department,” says Vickie Andres, department chair. “He makes himself available to students, and I often find him discussing either his business or personal insights and experiences with them.”
When you ask those Mason has mentored, you get a clearer picture of who he is and the legacy he’s left with his students. Take John Sharp ’73, for instance. The history professor was never enrolled in one of Mason’s courses, rather he learned from him as a part of the Student Services staff that Mason supervised in the early 1970s when the college was going through significant changes.
“‘Students are a lot like people’ was a memorable phrase,” Sharp recalls. “That meant we were on staff to value, respect and serve them; and yes, treat them like people!”
It’s something he carries with him to the classroom today. “Since students are a lot like people, each is unique, and I view each
as a person of value, deserving of my respect, and from whom I can learn as well as teach.”
Pam (Brenneman) ’83 Weaver was a student worker for Mason when he was director of Student Services and was struck by the trust he instilled in her and the ways he challenged others to “think outside the box.”
“The biggest influence for me was the emphasis on customer service and
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Students in Bill Mason’s Business Seminar toured several businesses this spring including Harper Industries in Harper, Kan. The tour included lunch and presentations by several Harper administrators and staff.
the way to treat others both from a moral and ethical point of view as a way to distinguish myself and my business,” Weaver says.
In 1983, Mason left his work at Hesston to start a consulting company. During that time, he did some consulting for the college, but it was 13 years before he came back to teach part time as a “retirement” activity.
Lavonne (Roth) ’72 Mullet was a first-year student in fall 1970, which was also Mason’s first semester. Mullet was not a business major, however the two connected and she became a marketing student several years later as part of her journey that took her to a top-level management position at Compaq Computers. She recalls being invited to teach Marketing at Hesston in the spring of 2000.
“I told them I would only do it if I could team teach with Bill,” Mul-let says. “We did three or four courses together. One student wrote on their course feedback ‘Bill is wise.’ I think that’s an accurate representation of who he is and how his students perceive him.”
In particular, Mullet values the way Mason combines the importance of relationships with critical thinking.
“It’s not often that I’ve met people who are able to bring those two things together,” Mullet says. “He has great insights and a boat load of common sense, and he is willing to mentor students long after they leave his class.”
A member of the Hesston College Board of Overseers, Annette (Steider) ’83 Brown is appreciates the ways Mason continues to encourage her and stay connected.
“The affirmation and confirmation of my skills that Bill gave me when I was a student is something I still go back to when I’m doing tasks I’m uncom-fortable with,” Brown says.
Assistant director of Admissions and men’s basketball coach Dustin Ga-lyon ’04 still has lunch with Mason on a regular basis.
“Bill continues to have a major influence on my approach to business and work,” Galyon says. “Bill has really challenged me to understand my natural strengths and my weaknesses and how to manage both, how to be productive and not busy.”
“I always tell my students that if you’re in management, you’re in the nurture business,” Mason says. “I’ve discovered it’s the same if you’re a teacher.”
The Bill Mason Business Scholarship has been established to award four selected business students with a one-year, $2,500 scholarship for their sophomore year at Hesston College. Recipients will be selected by the Business Department faculty from all qualifying* business students based on the Business Practices of Excellence: 1. Demonstrate high personal standards 2. Maintain a positive outlook 3. Take personal responsibility for ALL you do 4. Be decisive and persistent 5. Demonstrate urgency and a sense of imperative 6. Be a team player — cooperate and collaborate 7. Ask questions and be curious 8. Be service and result oriented 9. Pursue self-development and keep learning 10. Communicate effectively — verbally and in writing 11. Promote new ideas — share your knowledge, time and skills 12. Be there every time and on time Business Department faculty, in col-laboration with Bill Mason, will evalu-ate and select the recipients near the end of the spring semester. Recipients of the Bill Mason Business Scholarship will be announced publicly each year at the Larks Fest. *Qualifying students must:• beadvisedbyabusinessfaculty member• bedeclaredbusinessmajors• haveaminimumGPAof3.0in business courses• beareturningstudenthaving taken business courses during their freshman year at Hesston College.
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“Everything is business. If you want to be a pastor, a teacher, a lawyer, a CEO or a chef, everything ultimately is business—whether you like it or not.”
David LeVan offers this succinct introduction to students in his courses at the start of each semester. The same David LeVan also admits that he went out of his way to avoid business classes during his own undergraduate days.
“I thought I could be a teacher and never have to worry about numbers,” he says. “I was incredibly naïve to think that way because any organization, even a nonprofit, has critical aspects of business in it.”
In his first year at Hesston College, the full-time business instructor brings a variety of educational and work experiences to the classroom.
He grew up in Oklahoma City and, for high school, fol-lowed his father and grandfather to Culver Academy, a boarding school in Indiana. He majored in English literature at College of the Holy Cross, a Jesuit school in Worcester, Mass. The liberal arts college has 2,700 students.
“Hesston is a smaller campus and creates a closer commu-nity, but in terms of class size and faculty interaction, there are similarities,” he says. “I think liberal arts education is incredibly important. That’s one of the reasons I was attracted to this posi-tion.”
He earned a master’s degree in English at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. LeVan taught for 10 years at Westminster School in Oklahoma City. There, as a civics teacher, he began to understand the importance of business so he returned to the Uni-versity of Oklahoma for a master’s degree in business administra-tion. He later served as Westminster’s business operations officer.
When he and his wife, Karen, decided to make a life change, they moved with their two children (now 10 and seven) from Oklahoma to Newton where she grew up. In 2008 she began teaching English at Hesston College; David taught one year at Hesston High School and then accepted his current position at the college.
He teaches Managerial Accounting, Exploring Business, Business Com-munication, Marketing and Sales, Entrepreneurship and two Economics courses. LeVan appreciates the opportunity to shape the courses and to work with the same students in multiple classes over multiple semesters. One of his goals for the Entrepreneurship class is to create student business projects.
LeVan brings variey of experiences to classroom by June Galle Krehbiel
David LeVan queries a panel of faculty and staff about their responses to presentations by his Entrepreneurship students.
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“I have really enjoyed working with the students. It’s exciting to me to be in an environment where they take a lot of ownership,” LeVan says. As an educator, he is commit-ted to helping students think critically and to understand how new learnings fit into real-life scenarios.
In Economics recently “we were talking about perfect competition,” LeVan says. “The students were struggling with the concept. Suddenly, one student said, ‘Oh, just like the iPhone and all the competition it is now facing.’
“I enjoy those moments in teaching.”
I hope one of my strengths is to help people think more critically so they can be better people in the world.” —David LeVan, business instructor
At Hesston College David LeVan also enjoys the wonderful facilities, the people committed to this institution, the hospitality of the Mennonite community and “the opportunity to lose in racquetball to Jim Yoder every Tuesday.”
Students in David LeVan’s Entre-preneurship class got a first-hand look at what it takes to start and run your own business this semester. The class was split into two teams, and each one was responsible for conceptualizing, developing and running its own business. Students created The Cookie Jar (an affordable, late-night snack shop) and Hesston Dunkball Tournament (a three-on-three basketball tournament played with eight-and-a-half-foot rims). Assignments included conduct-ing market research and assessing the overall need and desire for the kinds of businesses they were interested in operating. To get the necessary start-up capital to open the businesses, students made presentations of their business plans to a panel of Hesston College faculty and staff who served the role of prospective investors. “I like the class because it’s a com-pletely new experience,” says fresh-man and part owner of The Cookie Jar Jennifer Lecklider of Lyons, Kan. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it, especially if we want to open our own business someday. This class is an insight to what things are really like.” Once the funds were allocated, students actually ran the businesses and got a glimpse of what it’s like to make payroll, handle customer service, implement marketing strategies, and adjust spending to stay in the black.“I’ve learned that it’s the little things that make the business complete,” Lecklider says. “You’ve got to work to-gether as a team and make sacrifices for the good of the business.” —Marathana Prothro
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Sarah Lederman is a woman with a plan – and it’s not just any plan. Hers is a plan to own and operate her own business.
Sarah is goal-oriented and practical. Before the Hesston freshman set foot on campus, Sarah earned her cosmetol-ogy license and was prepared to work while she pursued a formal business education. She appreciates learning about how to pay taxes, handle payroll and bills and how to effectively manage employees, all while also putting in a few hours each week as a stylist at Studio 400: A Salon on the Plaza in Hesston. It’s all a part of her plan.
Few college freshman have decided what they really want to do with their lives, and even fewer contemplate the possibility of owning their own business. Of those who ponder it, even fewer are as confident as Sarah in their decision to work for themselves and recognize their gifts as leaders. However, when you consider Sarah’s family, it’s no surprise she’s got a streak of the entrepreneurial spirit.
Sarah is the daughter of Todd ’81 and Cindy (Troyer) ’82 Lederman of Middlebury, Ind. She and her two brothers, Joel ’06 and Kenyon ’09, grew up in the world of family business.
“Growing up, my parents were able to set their own hours and make time for family,” Sarah said. “I like the idea of being in charge and using my leader-ship abilities just like I saw my parents doing.”
Her parents weren’t the only ones she watched handling their own busi-nesses. Sarah’s grandparents, Ora and Mary Troyer of Goshen, Ind., were also an influence on her decision to pursue a life of running a business as a person of faith, she says. The reports they had heard of Hesston College’s ability to translate that kind of practice into the classroom is what gave them peace of mind when they sent their children Eric and Cindy half-way across the coun-try to attend college.
“We heard people talking about Hesston and recommending it as a nur-turing place,” Ora says. “We saw it as a good place to get started on college.”
A woman with a planby Marathana Prothro
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One generation later, all of Cindy and Todd’s children have gotten their start at Hesston, too.
To hear Sarah tell the story, she “never had other options” for where she would go to college. Both of her parents are Hesston alumni, and she fell in love with the campus on visits to see her older brothers when she was in high school.
Todd sees it a little differently. He and Cindy encouraged their children to consider other colleges as options, “secretly hoping they’d choose Hesston.” After all, the family’s alumni connection also extends to Bethany Christian High School, with all five of them graduating from there as well.
“As a result of the early years Cindy and I spent in Kansas, Hesston really became a beautiful home for us,” Todd says. “As our children were raised and growing up, the love of the community and school just developed naturally in them, too.”
“It’s been very exciting for us to see all our kids go to Hesston,” Cindy says.
Kenyon, Joel and Sarah all opted to pursue business, just like their father. It doesn’t surprise their parents when they reflect on family dinners where the topic of conversation was business or all the times the kids pitched in and helped out. It was important for the Ledermans that their children also grow up learning that it’s possible to be Christian businesspeople.
“My education at Hesston let me know that it’s possible to run your busi-ness as a Christian,” Todd says. “If you take the high road and do what’s right, that’s what I believe God calls us to do.”
A lot of that business education came by way of classes with long-time Hesston College business professor Bill Mason. The practical knowledge and real-world perspectives that Mason shares with his students is one of the things that made Todd most excited about having all of his children take business classes from the same instructor who played such a significant role in his own life.
In addition to the practical knowledge Todd and Cindy know their chil-dren have gleaned from getting their professional starts at Hesston, they’re also moved by the way the college also shaped their children into whole adults.
“We firmly believe in Christian education that focuses on the social, spiri-tual and academic experience,” Todd says. “It’s why we continue to support the college as Partners; we see this kind of an education as an investment, not an expense.”
Sarah is particularly grateful for the spiritual and social growth she’s experi-encing as a student.
“My life would be so different without the spiritual focus on everyday life I’ve gained,” Sarah says. “Having Bible class everyday makes a huge difference of being surrounded by other Christians. It’s a good way of growing up in my faith.”
“I know I’m going to be a better businesswoman after I’m done at Hesston than I would have been otherwise.”
Todd Lederman Cindy (Troyer) Lederman
Joel Lederman Kenyon Lederman
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Students can make the world a better place for everyone by choosing to pur-chase gifts and coffee that are fairly traded and by pursuing careers that will open and expand work opportunities for people around the world.
This was the message that Doug Dirks, Akron, Pa., public relations director for Ten Thousand Villages, conveyed in his presentations at a Hesston College cha-pel service and meetings with business and anthropology students, Nov. 22 to 24.
Dirks, a native of Abbotsford, B.C., Canada, has traveled to some 36 coun-tries to meet with artisans and business leaders participating in the Ten Thousand Villages fair trade network. Along the way, he has learned their stories and cultural and business practices, which, although unique to each individual, often have uni-versal applications. No matter where people are when they begin to improve their livelihood through their work with Ten Thousand Villages, they all want to do work that gives them dignity and hope; provides opportunities for their children to get an education; is sustainable; and, ultimately, leads to a fair world. Dirks illus-trated how these goals that result from implementing fair trade practices are being achieved by telling the artisans’ stories and showing photos of fair trade workers in Bangladesh, Egypt, Peru, India, Laos, Tanzania, and Kenya.
Edna Ruth Byler, a native of Hesston and alumna of Hesston Academy, led the fair trade movement that has become Ten Thousand Villages. In 1946 Byler saw the need for poor women in Puerto Rico to earn income so their daughters could go to school. She purchased their needlework and marketed it to friends back in her home community in Pennsylvania. Later she traveled across the U.S., telling the stories of the artisans whose needlework she sold out of the trunk of her car.
Her individual efforts provided the impetus for what is now one of the largest fair trade organizations in North America. Ten Thousand Villages has also been recognized as one of 100 most ethical companies in the world today.
If Mennonites had saints, “Saint Edna” Byler would be one of them, Hesston College social science department chair Dwight Roth said.
Roth knew Byler when he was a boy growing up in Pennsylvania. His visit to the Mennonite Central Committee and Ten Thousand Villages headquarters this past summer prompted him to find a way to honor Byler’s memory and bring the story of fair trade to Hesston College during its centennial year celebration.
Jim and Belle Boyts, also Hesston alumni and current residents, provided much of the funding for Dirks’ college and community presentations.
Jim Boyts says that exposing students to the stories of people such as Byler, who “just looked at an opportunity and said, ‘let’s do something about it!’” can stretch their minds and expand their vision.
Ten Thousand Villages has 75 retail stores in the United States and 50 in
Ten Thousand Villages Public Relations Director Doug Dirks speaks to Hesston College students in David LeVan’s Exploring Business class.
Doug Dirks of Ten Thousands Villages tells Hesston students about Fair Trade, alumna Edna Byler’s legacyby Susan Miller Balzer
continued on page 22
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A Hesston College Homecoming September 24-26, 2010
“The View from Everywhere” will be the theme for A Hesston College Homecoming 2010. The event will be Sept. 24 to 26 and includes a science and math symposium featuring successful alumni experts. Nelson Kilmer, long time faculty member and current science and math division chair noted that “In coordination with the alumni relations office and director Dallas Stutzman, the overall goal is to have a Science Math Symposium of gen-eral interest to all alumni but especially to science and math alumni. The intent is to bring them together for a time of building affinity and sharing from their life experiences including research and applications of science. Former Hesston science and math faculty have also been invited to join in for the weekend.” Confirmed speakers include: • Dale Kempf ’75, senior chemist, Abbott Laboratories (Ill.), Keynote• Glenn Smucker Ac64, ’66, senior consultant U.S. State Department, Smucker Consulting (Wis.), Keynote• Gene Zaid ’71, president/CEO, JACAM Chemical Company, Inc. (Kan.), Keynote• Chris Alliman ’95, family practitioner, Southwest Blvd. Family Health Care (Kan.)• Janelle Yutzie ’97 Blubaugh, general surgeon, Sumner Regional Medical Center (Kan.)• Matt Sears ’92 Kauffman, president, Stewardship LLC (Ill.)• Ron Kilmer ’85, director of Chief Engineers for Aerospace Electronics, Honeywell, Inc. (Ariz.)• Quiet Ncube ’83, physicist/Radiology, University of California Los Angeles• Brian Nebel ’83, director of Engineering, Excel Industries, Inc. (Kan.)• Lynn Newcomer, former faculty, president, Plains Environmental Services (Kan.)• Jean Polynice ’93, president, PolyUltra-Haiti (country development)• Ron Umble former faculty, Math professor, Millersville University (Pa.) • Gary Yoder ’91, Physics professor, Eastern Kentucky University
Several of the science and math alumni guests will speak at other events throughout the weekend. Alumni with high-school age children interested in pursuing science and math in college are invited to bring their students along to interact with other successful individuals in their field who got their start at Hesston College.
All Hesston alumni and friends are invited to the weekend celebration, and special class reunions will be for years ending in 0 and 5. In addition to the spe-cial science and math symposium, A Hesston College Homecoming will include children’s activities; the Partner Appreciation Breakfast; an Alumni and Friends Luncheon; Campus Community Worship Service; affinity group reunions; Hesston College volleyball matches and men’s and women’s soccer games; a cof-fee house for young alumni; the Golden Gables Luncheon for classes celebrating 50-year and greater anniversaries; a Tailgate Picnic Dinner and Festival for the
entire family; an Alumni and Friends Banquet featuring Science and Math alumni; the traditional complimentary coffee and cinnamon roll breakfast, and more.
Hesston College works to use resources wisely and provide A Hesston Homecoming 2010 that is environ-mentally friendly. While all alumni are invited to attend this special event, class reunion members will be the only group to receive a hard copy brochure and registration form to be mailed mid July for the weekend.
All alumni are invited to visit www.hesston.edu after July 25 and register by one of the following op-tions:1. Register online at www.hesston.edu
with an early bird discounted dead-line of Sept. 1.
2. Download a PDF of the brochure/registration form at the Hesston website and mail it to the Alumni Office as indicated.
3. Call Alumni Relations toll-free at 866-437-7866 (866-HESSTON) for a brochure to be mailed and completed/returned. In addition, phone call and e-mail
reminders will be sent to all alumni to register during the summer and as the final deadline of Sept. 17 approaches.
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The 137 members of Hesston College’s 100th graduating class walked the stage on May 9, 2010, in a 9 a.m. service at Yost Center, and were addressed by faculty/staff “polar opposites” Tony Brown and Dustin Galyon on the topic “We must be the change.” Brown, who is a social science faculty mem-ber and artist-in-residence, described himself as “intro-verted, quiet, drawn to the mystical and contemplative, African American, sometimes reluctant and cautious and at times find it difficult to trust.” He wondered how much time it would take to bring together a collaborative commence-ment address with Dustin Galyon, the extroverted public speaker who is Hesston’s associate director of Admissions and men’s basketball coach.
“Despite my initial impulse to question, I am honored to have had the privilege of working with Dustin,” Brown said. “Crafting this address collab-oratively in a give and take fashion was a metaphor for what is needed as we look ahead to life in the 21st century.”
“I understand now that this exercise was an important lesson in realizing the importance of interdependence,” Galyon said. “The seductive pull towards individualism is an ongoing challenge for most U.S. citizens. What is impera-tive now is that we must find the way to be in relationship with each other and to be changed by each other.”
Angela Bishop, in her student address, picked up on the relationships theme as well, noting that the all-inviting community of Hesston College made her feel welcome when she arrived and shaped her into a “stronger, more confident person” during her two years there.
“This is the strength of Hesston College—valuing its students, making room for them and welcoming them to a Christ-centered community,” Brown continued in his address. “This is a place where educational and emotional growth occurs. It is a sacred place where we are on the journey to discover our calling and how we will be related to the world. This is a place where we all are challenged to live committed lives that make a difference.”
Galyon noted that through technology, people can have face to face con-nections with people all over the world, and classrooms have limitless bound-
Centennial class graduatesby Carol Duerksen
Angela Bishop Travis Duerksen
Commencement speakers Dustin Galyon and Tony Brown
Hesston College’s 100th graduating classKayci Detweiler of Kokomo, Ind., receives her Hesston College diploma from President Howard Keim at the college’s centennial commencement. Detweiler and 136 classmates received diplomas. Other weekend events included a pinning ceremony for the 45 nursing graduates in this year’s class, a commissioning service for five pastoral ministries graduates, and recognition events for graduates of the college’s disaster management (7) and aviation (3) programs. The college’s European Chorale presented a concert before departing May 11 on a three-week tour that includes stops in The Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy. And sophomore Matt Lehman directed a production of Doubt, a one-act play.
Celeste Begaye ’10, center, with her parents Danny ’94 and Lillian ’95 Begaye.
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aries, but “we must not lose sight of the importance of living in community where we meet and touch the souls of those where we live. The world needs us to be present, our families need us to be present, and our culture needs us to be present.
“We are living in a rather exciting time as an interest in Anabaptism is springing up all around the world,” he continued. “Anabaptism must stress the importance of Jesus as central in all we do. He is the reference point around which we center our lives.... The inclusive movement must embrace people of all walks of life, accent Christian discipleship, emphasize peace and justice consistent with the values of Jesus Christ, and serve a wounded and broken world.... We can live in exclusive communities or we can celebrate, invite and seek those who would join with us in living out the Anabaptist vision.”
“Though we must be informed by the past, we cannot allow the past to control the future,” Brown concluded. “What is clear and spoken so eloquently by Mahatma Gandhi is that for the sake of our future, ‘We must be the change we want to see in the world.’”
Travis Duerksen, student commencement speaker, encouraged graduates to embrace uncertainty. “The months of April and May start to bring the wonderful questions of relatives and friends: ‘Well what are you doing after this?’ ‘Why?’ ‘Where are you going?’ ‘How will you live?’ ‘Can you cook?’” Duerksen said. “But must we know exactly what will happen tomorrow? In a month? In the next decade?
“(I prefer to) trust in the one certainty that truly exists in this world, be-cause when you look at it, all of the other ‘certain’ things that we plan on, plan around, and plan for, aren’t really certain at all.”
Quoting a phrase Melissa Roth, pastor of Mountain Community Menno-nite Church (Palmer Lake, Colo.) shared with him; Duerksen said “Just walk through the doors that God opens for you.”
continued on page 16
Hesston College’s 43rd nursing classNursing graduate Olivia Quiring of Newton, Kan., receives her Hesston College nursing pin from faculty member Rita Peters at the Nursing Pinning Ceremony Saturday, May 8. Quiring was one of 45 nursing graduates in Hesston College’s 100th graduating class. This year’s nursing graduates took the ATI Comprehensive Predictor Exam, a standardized test taken by students in more than 700 two-, three- and four-year nursing programs across the country. Hesston’s students scored in the 98th percentile nationally.
Pastoral Ministries CommissioningHesston College faculty member Luann Yutzy places a stole on the shoulders of Pastoral Ministries graduate Dan Coburn of Accident, Md., as Coburn’s wife, Marlena looks on. The Pastoral Ministries Program commissioned five graduates at a Saturday, May 8 service. This year’s graduates are the 24th class to complete the program, bringing the total number of Pastoral Ministries graduates to 133.
Disaster Management graduate recognitionHesston College Disaster Management Program graduates Barry Weber (Brooks, Alberta, Canada), Jake Ressler (Hesston, Kan.), Amber Repp (Park City, Kan.),
So Young Choi (Gangneung-Si, South Korea), Andréa Dück (Panambi, Rio Gran, Brazil), Jordan Penner (Newton, Kan.) and Keith Zehr (Harper, Kan.) stand together after receiving framed certificates of completion at the Disaster Management graduate recognition Saturday, May 8. This year’s graduates will scatter to summer service assignments in New Iberia and New Orleans, La.; Saskatchewan and Bolivia. One of the graduates completed his summer assignment during spring semester by working on research with Dr. Brenda Phillips, an Oklahoma State University Emergency Management professor and author. The six freshman Disaster Management students will all serve for eight weeks in New Iberia, La.
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“I like it because it keeps that uncertainty, that excitement of not knowing exactly how everything will work out, just knowing that God is ahead of you...and all that is required on your part is that ac-tion of stepping through the door, and being okay with following for awhile, and not always leading, knowing everything, and planning about how stuff will work out. Be-cause in the end, it’ll all work out.”
In other weekend events, the college’s Nursing department presented pins to the 45 mem-bers of the nursing class of 2010 Saturday morning, May 8. Bible faculty member Michele Hersh-berger returned from a sabbatical at LCC International University in Klaipeda, Lithuania, to address the class which includes her daugh-ter, Erin. Hershberger spoke on the theme “Sleeping in the Boat” based on Mark 4:35-41.
Hesston’s Pastoral Minis-tries faculty commissioned five graduates at a Saturday afternoon ceremony. Pastor David Greiser of North Baltimore (Md.) Mennonite Church preached on the theme, “View from the front.” Greiser shared from his experiences of returning to the pastorate after serving for three and a half years as director of Hesston’s Pastoral Ministries program.
The college’s European Cho-rale presented a home concert Sat-urday afternoon before departing May 11 on a three-week tour that includes stops in The Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy. And sophomore Matt Lehman directed a production of Doubt, a one-act play.
Carol Duerksen is a 1974 graduate of Hesston College and a freelance writer from Goessel, Kansas.
Hesston College is part of FAA Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative
continued from page 15
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced April 12 that Hesston College is one of five new colleges and universities that will be part of the Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI). This is the third year the FAA has added schools to the AT-CTI program bringing the total number of schools participating to 36.
Dan Miller, director of Hesston’s Aviation program, sees Hesston’s inclusion as “a significant affirmation of the quality of our program and the dedication of our staff. Becoming an AT-CTI school is an opportunity to serve students with expanded offerings that prepare them for the FAA’s program in Oklahoma City and in-demand jobs.
“To have Hesston College listed among the many esteemed FAA approved col-leges and universities nationwide is exciting. And to be the only AT-CTI school in Kansas is a great responsibility and honor as well.
“We will continue to prepare our students—both aviation-flight and aviation-air traffic control—to be competent and professional with an orientation toward service that is rooted in Christian faith.”
The FAA AT-CTI program was first established in 1990 at Minneapolis Com-munity and Technical College. The program helps recruit candidates for terminal and en route air traffic controller positions.
Twenty-one institutions submitted applications early last year to join AT-CTI. The applications were evaluated based on the school’s organizational foundation and resources, organization credibility, air traffic basic curriculum and facilities.
The five schools joining the program are: Sacramento (Calif.) City College, Florida Institute of Technology College of Aeronautics (Melbourne), Texas State Technical College (Waco), Western Michigan University (Battle Creek) and Hesston (Kan.) College.
CTI institutions are not given federal funds to teach air traffic control courses, however the FAA does provide curriculum and instructor notes on air traffic basics. The institutions independently incorporate the material into their aviation pro-grams.
The AT-CTI curriculum provides appropriate education, experience and train-ing which meet the basic requirements for the terminal and en route air traffic occupations. As a result, AT-CTI graduates may be permitted to bypass the initial five-week air traffic basics training when they report to the FAA Academy in Okla-homa City.
No jobs are promised to students, but from fiscal years 2005 until 2009 more than 3,000, or 41 percent, of the air traffic controllers hired graduated from an AT-CTI school.
Hesston College’s Aviation department began offering courses in air traffic control in fall 2009. The Hesston program aims to help meet a growing need for Air Traffic Controller Specialists—tower, ground, and radar controllers—as current controllers reach mandatory retirement at 56 years of age.
Hesston’s program is unique in that all students will earn their private pilot’s license in addition to taking air traffic control courses. “We want our graduates to see both perspectives in the aviation world,” Miller added. “We think it will give our graduates the potential to be a better resource to pilots and to the aviation industry.”
Tyler Abraham-Daryl ’83 and Valerie (Stauffer) ’84 Abraham, Glendale, Ariz.Brittany Albrecht-Barry ’85 and Cheryl (Litwiller) ’85 Albrecht, Sebewaing, Mich.Kate and Kendra Alison-Renae (Roupp) ’76 and Dean former staff Alison, Hesston, Kan.Stefan Baughman-Joan ’77 former staff and Tracy Baughman, Harrisonburg, Va.Celeste Begaye-Danny ’94 and Lillian ’95 Begaye, Chinle, Ariz.Andrea Birky-Merv ’70 and Venita (King) ’70 Birky, Colorado SpringsJordan Bontrager-Jerre ’70 and Lucy (Gerber) ’73 Bontrager, Hesston, Kan.Kalen Boshart-Merlin ’80 and Annette (Boese) ’80 Boshart, Wayland, IowaCraig Buller-Darlene (Diller) ’80 former staff and Chuck former faculty Buller, Hesston, Kan.Phoebe Cloud-Dorothy (Naffziger) ’76 and Don Cloud, Chandler, Ariz.BJ Coblentz-Glenn ’92 and Viola Coblentz, Navarre, OhioJessica Coffman-Paul ’84 and Shelly Coffman, LaGrange, Ind.Kayci Detweiler-Randy ’82 and Joy Detweiler, Kokomo, Ind.Tabitha Diener-Dale ’75 and Anita Diener, Lyons, Kan.Matthew Diller-Rod ’77 and Gwen Diller, Goshen, Ind.Travis Duerksen-Marlo ’77 staff and Lynette (Slagell) ’78 former faculty Duerksen, Canton, Kan. Connor Dyck-Regina (Nebel) ’75 former staff and Tom Dyck, Hesston, Kan.David Eigsti-Janice (Long) ’83 and Michael Eigsti, Goshen, Ind.Nathan Ensz-Jonathan Ensz ’83, Newton, Kan. and Vickie Schroeder, Goessel, Kan.Jodi Ferguson-Emily (Erb) ’82 and Mike Ferguson, Kalona, Iowa Megan Foudray-Joe Foundray ’06, Newton, Kan., and Linda Amerson, Pittsburg, TexasLauren Franz-Raymond ’78 and Janet Franz, Hesston, Kan.Jacob Garver-Jill (Krehbiel) ’87 and Troy Garver, Newton, Kan.Laura Gehman-Hannah (Schrock) ’81 and Michael Gehman, Dalton, OhioLaura Good-Jeff ’81 and Kendra Good, Fisher, Ill.Kirsti Graffenberger-Brian ’84 and Susie (Lather) ’84 Graffenberger, Albany, Ore.Brooke Gugel-David ’79 and Julie (Link)’79 Gugel, Wauseon, OhioKrystal Hathaway-Dave ’87 and Jeanette (Kauffman) ’87 Hathaway, Goshen, Ind.Erin Hershberger-Michele (Schrock) ’81 and Del Hershberger, Hesston, Kan.Josiah Hershberger-Roger ’75 and DeAnn (Willems) ’76 Hershberger, Richmond, Va.Malerie Hertzler-Tim ’85 and Lauri (Estle) ’93 Hertzler, Halstead, Kan.Brett Hochstetler-John ’69 and Sheila Hochstetler, Salem, Ore.David Hochstetler-Tim ’81 and Becky (Steider) ’81 Hochstetler, Strang, Neb.Melina Hunsberger-Dan ’88 former staff and Mariela Hunsberger, Hollsopple, Pa.Sarah Jantzi-Dave ’82 and Lori (Miller) ’82 Jantzi, Albany, Ore.Andrew Jensen-Beth (Yoder) ’76 and James Jensen, Everest, Kan.Jessica Juhnke-Mari-Ruth (Ressler) ’88 and Alan Juhnke, Hesston, Kan.Michael Kauffman-Joel ’80 faculty and staff Kauffman, Hesston, Kan., and Carol (Lederer) ’90 Claassen, Whitewater, Kan.Sam Kauffman-Galen ’76 and Betty Jean Kauffman, Mountain Lake, Minn.Katelyn Kaufman-Peter ’77 and Janel (Beyeler) ’78 Kaufman, Fonda, IowaJuanita Klassen-Ray ’80 and Eileen (Eigsti) ’80 Klassen, Goshen, Ind.Tarik Kheshgi-Janelle Landis ’70 and Omar Kheshgi, Evanston, Ill.Donovan Krehbiel-Royce ’83 and Bella Krehbiel, Pretty Prairie, Kan.Jason Kuhns-Gary ’82 and Diane (Litwiller) ’81 Kuhns, Goshen, Ind.Matt Lehman-Sherri (Sommers)’82 and Galen Lehman, Kidron, OhioMegan Leatherman-Dean ’80 and Sondra (Wedel) ’80 faculty Leatherman, Hesston, Kan.Sarah Lederman-Todd ’81 and Cindy (Troyer) ’82 Lederman, Middlebury, Ind.Alan Leichty-Roland ’72 and Betty Jo (Stuckey) ’73 Leichty, Wakarusa, Ind.Rudy Litwiller-Russell ’72 and Sherry Litwiller, Minier, Ill.Ana Loucks-Randall ’75 and Cindy staff Loucks, Hesston, Kan.
Brenton Luty-Connie (Wiens) ’79 and Scott Luty, Wichita, Kan.Allison Martin-Calvin ’78 and Karalee (White) ’76 Martin, Crawfordsville, IowaJennifer Martin-Judith ’87 and Russel Martin, McPherson, Kan.Jaimie Metzker-Jim ’77 and Sheri (Loganbill) ’77 Miller, Lebanon, Ore.Kaitlyn Mast-Delvin ’78 former staff and Anita (Nyce) ’80 Mast, Weatherford, Okla.Andy Miller-Craig ’84 and Jenelle (Weaver) ’85 Miller, Marion, S.D.Cassie Miller-Lewis ’01 and Norma Miller, Beemer, Neb.Liz Miller-Lois (Miller) ’80 and Mike Miller, Partridge, Kan.John Murray-John ’81 and Krista (Miller) ’82 Murray, Hesston, Kan.Taylor Nebel-Brian ’83 former staff and Brenda (Hooley) ’83 Nebel, Hesston, Kan.Sheralynn Neff-Kathleen (Bitikofer) ’76 and Dana Neff, Newton, Kan.Naomi Nussbaum-Wayne ’84 and Karla (Steckly) ’85 Nussbaum, Happy Valley, Ore.John Oyer-Gary ’81 faculty and Louisa Oyer, Hesston, Kan.Shawnti Peachey-Ed ’76 and Gwen (Heyerly) ’76 Peachey, Corvallis, Ore.Devin Pierce-Jina Brenneman ’83, Palmer Lake, Colo., and Michael Pierce, Pueblo, Colo.Jordan Penner-Lee ’83 and Debra Penner, Newton, Kan.Leah Rittenhouse- Jane (Birky) ’78 Rittenhouse and Don ’78 Rittenhouse (deceased), Mount Pleasant, Pa.Alex Roth-Clark ’82 former faculty and staff and Deb (Swartzendruber) ’83 faculty Roth, Hesston, Kan.Solomon Rudy-Carolyn (Peachey) ’79 and Jon Rudy, Manheim, Pa.Cory Rychener-Carolyn (Diller) ’77 and Kent Rychener, Hesston, Kan.Josiah Simpson-Teresa (Kaufman) ’80 and Ross Simpson, Lytton, IowaKelsey Schrock-Dawn (Schlabaugh) ’80 and Ezra Schrock, Wellman, IowaPhil Shoemaker-Ronald ’75 and Patti (Springer) ’75 Shoemaker, Goshen, Ind.Ryan Sprunger-Jedd ’80 and Nanette Sprunger, Dalton, OhioDanielle Stauffer-Lora (Leichty) ’76 and Gene Stauffer, Burlington, IowaAlyssa Steiner-Mitch ’81 and Dawn (Birky) ’83 Steiner, Dalton, OhioRachel Stoltzfus-Arthur ’78 and Regina Stoltzfus, Elkhart, Ind.Scott Swartzendruber-Sharon (Krabill) ’77 former staff and Stan Swartzendruber, Hesston, Kan.Stephanie Swartzendruber-Marge (Kempf) ’80 and Will Swartzendruber, Shickley Neb.Breezie Sims-Anita (Buck) ’87 and Jim Hudson, Wichita, Kan.Steffen Sommers-Mick ’83 and Julie (Zehr) ’83 Sommers, Elkhart, Ind.Alex Steiner-Roger ’71 and Nedra Steiner, Kidron, OhioClayton Stewart-Beth (Nebel) ’78 former staff (deceased) and Howard Stewart, Tucson, Ariz.Laura Unruh-John ’81 and Elaine (Slagell) ’82 Unruh, Newton, Kan.Joel Unzicker-Tony ’87 and Carol (Snyder) ’87 Unzicker, Goshen, Ind.Kyle Vogt-Royce ’96 and Marla former staff Vogt, Harper, Kan.Collette Weaver-Burnell ’84 and Shanda Weaver, Goshen, Ind.Chloe Weaver-Herm ’79 and Cindy (Ruhl) ’79 Weaver, Nederland, Colo.Julie Weaver-Don ’83 staff and Pam (Brenneman) ’83 staff Weaver, Hesston, Kan.Adam Weaver-Bob ’70 and Phyllis (Miller) ’70 staff Weaver, Hesston, Kan.Rachel Weaver-Ken ’82 and Linda (Troyer) ’84 Weaver, Inola, Okla.Rachelle Wenger-Ron ’82 and Rebecca Wenger, Bloomfield, Mont.Ryan Wengerd-Dave ’81 and Sherry (Wells) ’80 Wengerd, Goshen, Ind.Janae Woodfield-Tammy (Lagree) ’97 and Joe ’06 Foudray, Newton, Kan.Caleb Wheeler-Susan (Headrick) ’75, ’00 and Lee Wheeler, Hesston, Kan.Heidi Wiebe-Carl ’79 and Mary (Meyer) ’80 Wiebe, Millersburg, OhioAnna Yoder-Velma (Zook) ’78 and Willard Yoder, Garden City, Mo.Conrad Yutzy-Mark ’79 and Susan (Wenger) ’78 Yutzy, Wayland, Iowa Heidi Zehr-Cal ’80 and Carol Zehr, Tiskilwa, Ill.
Feb. 11, 2009
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THANK YOU FOR SENDING YOUR VERY BEST.98 alumni families sent students to Hesston this year.
Here are their names.
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1920-1929DeathGus Harder Ac29, Whitewater, Kan., Oct. 3,
2009
1930-1939DeathsWilliam Schrag Ac30, McPherson, Kan., Dec.
14, 2009Willie Entz Ac31, Whitewater, Kan., Dec. 25,
2009Bernice (Widmer) Ac36, ’40 Yoder, Albany,
Ore., July 11, 2009Virgie (Hostetler) Ac37 Headings, Hutchin-
son, Kan., Nov. 11, 2009Josephine (Naffziger) Ac37, ’40 Schmidt,
Harper, Kan., Dec. 19, 2009Esther (Swartzentruber) Ac38, ’41 Diener,
Archbold, Ohio, Oct. 17, 2009Gus Entz Ac38, Newton, Kan., Oct. 7, 2009Oscar Entz Ac39, North Newton, Kan., Jan.
8, 2010
1940-1949Vera (Beyler) ’49 Yoder, McPherson, Kan., recently celebrated her 80th birthday and continues to work full time as a para at Inman (Kan.) Elementary.
DeathsArlene (Hackenberg) Ac40 Doty, Hesston,
Kan., Jan. 5, 2010Pauline (Miller) Ac42 Swartzendruber, Iowa
City, Iowa, July 16, 2009Dwight Bender Ac44, Kalona, Iowa, Oct. 8,
2009Rosalie (Graber) Ac44, ’47 Stoltzfus wife of
Daniel Stoltzfus ’47, Goshen, Ind., Dec. 3, 2009
Florence (Short) Ac45 Aeschliman, Arch-bold, Ohio, July 10, 2009
Audrey (Swartzendruber) Ac46 Hochstetler, Kalona, Iowa, Oct. 1, 2009
Erma (Zook) Ac46 Zimmerman, Goshen, Ind., Feb. 7, 2010
Minnie (Kehn) Ac48, ’50 Koehn, El Dorado Springs, Mo., Oct. 2, 2009
Virgil Miller Ac48, ’54 husband of Oletta (Zehr) ’61 Miller, Hesston, Kan., Nov. 22, 2009
Anna (Slabaugh) Ac49 Haarer, Goshen, Ind., Dec. 8, 2009
1950-1959Wally Jantz ’51 former faculty, Hesston, Kan., has retired from active service as the Coordinator of South Central Confer-ence’s Regional Conference Ministers. Af-
ter serving for many years as Conference Minister for the former Rocky Mountain Mennonite Conference, Wally and Sylvia (Andres) Ac48, ’52, Jantz, former faculty, retired to Hesston. They served in a variety of interim pastorates and Wally has served on the South Central Conference Ministerial Commission and represented South Central Conference on the board of the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary-Great Plains Extension in North Newton, Kan.
Donald White Ac55, ’57, Chevy Chase, Md., works full time as an IT specialist at the National Institutes of Health.
DeathsGeorge Lapp Ac51, Columbia Falls, Mont.,
Sept. 8, 2009Phyllis (Egli) Ac51, ’53 Schmidt wife of Ken
Schmidt ’53, South Hutchinson, Kan., Jan. 13, 2010
Richard Shank ’52, Elkhart, Ind., Sept. 13, 2009
Dewayne Unruh Ac53, Southlake, Texas, Jan. 11, 2009
Vernon Chupp ’54, Soquel, Calif., June 12, 2009
Jim Unruh ’57, Hesston, Kan., Nov. 8, 2009
MarriageDon White Ac55, ’57 and Betty Wenger
Good, Chevy Chase, Md., Jan. 2, 2010
1960-1969Carolyn (Fry) ’60 Fox, Albuquerque, N.M., after leaving Hesston, earned a Ph.D. in psychology and is active in work and church.
Ron Koppenhaver ’64 former faculty, El Dorado, Kan., was inducted into the El Dorado High School Booster Club Hall of Fame at halftime of the boys basketball game on Dec. 18, 2009 and was honored with an appreciation get-together after the game.
DeathsArla (Miller) ’60 Neuschwander, Harrisburg,
Ore., Jan. 12, 2010Varden Lease ’68, Downingtown, Pa., Aug.
4, 2009
1970-1979Patricia Gerber-Pauls ’71, Carrot River, Sask., enrolled in the CERTESL program
in August 2009 working toward certifica-tion as a teacher of English as a second language.
Virginia (Schrock) ’71 Veeder, Paint Lick, Ky., recently moved to the Berea, Ky., area and works at Eastern Kentucky University as administrative assistant in the College of Education, Office of the Dean.
Anita Culp ’73, Bel Aire, Kan., retired af-ter 30 years in federal government service.
Pamela Dintaman ’73, Yuma, Ariz., is participating in a one-year Clinical Pasto-ral Education residency at Yuma Regional Medical Center. She recently completed eight and a half years of work as pastor at Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster (Pa.).
Betsy McCree Headrick ’73, Lakewood, Colo., was ordained by Mountain States Mennonite Conference as a pastor at Glennon Heights Mennonite Church in Lakewood on July 19, 2009.
Kurt Horst ’73, Harrisonburg, Va., began as lead pastor at Whitestone Mennonite Church, Hesston, Kan., in April.
Colette (Swartzendruber) ’77 Garcia, Palmer, Lake, Colo., graduated from Regis University (graduate honors) with an M.Ed. in adult learning, training and development in May 2009. She is work-ing as a human resources consultant-in-structional designer for CIGNA Univer-sity (CIGNA Healthcare) in Greenwood Village, Colo. She also freelances, doing editing and APA formatting for graduate students.
Onie (Fretz) ’77 Ward, Edmonds, Wash., is the director of Creative Design at CRISTA Ministries in Seattle, Wash.
Janine (Yoder) ’78 Miller, Ellensburg, Wash., works as office staff doing book-keeping and clerical work for an excavator. Janine has a master’s degree in pastoral studies with a women’s ministry emphasis from Multnomah Biblical Seminary and is working as a volunteer with CASA and advocates for children who have been
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abused or neglected in the court system. She has also been certified as a Title 26 Guardian ad litem, one who advocates for children in custody battles.
Craig ’79 and Jana (Srof ) ’79 Gingerich, Aurora, Ore. Craig is executive director of Hope Village, a faith-based, non-profit re-tirement community in Canby, Ore. Jana serves as associate youth pastor at Zion Mennonite Church in Hubbard, Ore.
DeathsLarry Bontrager ’70, Middlebury, Ind., Nov.
28, 2009Ken Lubbers ’74 husband of Sharon (Ken-
nel) ’75 Lubbers, Kearney, Neb., Aug. 27, 2009
BirthTimothy Schrag ’78 and Sheryl Cornell,
Manhattan, Kan.: Piper, July 13, 2009
1980-1989Tim Miller ’80, Lakewood, Colo., is a drawing teacher at Golden High School and was featured in a local newspaper in December 2009 for his advanced art stu-dents display Homelessness: Spirit of Souls, a compilation of the artists’ drawings and their written reflections of their experi-ences interacting with homeless people.
Jeff ’82 and Cindy (Moody) ’81 Ressler, Mt. Vernon, Ill., serve as missionaries in a poor community in southern Illinois with Southern Illinois Mission Project.
Michael ’84 Garber, Jackson, Minn., works for Jackson County Highway De-partment and is seeking the Republican nomination for the District 22 Minnesota Senate.
Caroline (Cherry) ’85 Adams, Allen-town, Pa., works as the director of clinical services for a company providing IV ac-cess to clients in LTC and SNF’s.
Bev Bontrager ’85, Houston, Texas, graduated in May 2009 with a master of social work from the University of Houston and works as an individual and group therapist at the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Center in Houston.
Jose Perez ’85, Lakeland, Fla., graduated from the Pasco Hernando County Crimi-
nal Justince Academy in June 2009 and has become the fourth Hispanic sworn of-ficer at Winter Haven Police Department.
Ed Zuercher ’85, Phoenix, Ariz., was named the new Phoenix assistant city manager in December 2009. Zuercher oversees three deputy city manager posi-tions, the public safety manager and city departments including Public Transit, Budget and Research, Street Transporta-tion, Information Technology Services and the city’s light rail program.
Curtis Sharp ’87, Heredia, Costa Rica, is an ordained minister with Zion Fellow-ship in Waverly, N.Y., and serves as a pastor of Iglesia Sion, has a Bible school (Instituto Ministerial Talamanca) and works with short-term missionary teams from the United States in Costa Rica.
DeathsBrenda (Porter) ’80 Jungbluth, Sharon, Pa.,
Feb. 3, 2009Bruce Hostetler ’84, ’09 husband of Cheryl
(Stutzman) ’70 Hostetler, Milford, Neb., Jan. 21, 2010
Kevin Yoder husband of Jill Yoder ’89, Den-ton, Texas, Dec. 11, 2009
MarriagePhil Jantz ’80 and Cynthia Collins, Elkhart,
Ind., Oct. 10, 2009
BirthsDave ’81, former staff and Casey Stauffer,
Peoria, Ariz.: Chloe Grace born Aug. 7, 2009, received for adoption
J.T. ’84 and Tess Roetlin, Kalona, Iowa: Johnny Ace, Oct. 20, 2009
1990-1999Marlies Knijnenberg ’90, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, works as human resources manager for Service Point Neth-erlands. He also works as a volunteer at The Giving Back Foundation which offers mentor programs for talented children from all backgrounds who need support achieving their goals.
Dayvid Graybill ’93, Denver, Colo. continues to serve as transitional pastor to Mennonite congregations and leads An-other Way, a gathering of people who have a deep awareness of their spirituality but have struggled with traditional church.
Jeff Fast ’95, Maple Grove, Minn., re-ceived his master of business administra-tion from St. Cloud State University.
Derek ’96 former staff and Joy (Smith) ’96 Yoder, Cassopolis, Mich., Derek concluded his service as youth pastor at Whitestone Mennonite Church, Hesston, Kan., in December 2009 and they have relocated to Camp Freidenswald where Derek volunteers as a weekend host for visiting groups.
Michael Ross ’98, Salem, Ore., is in his sixth year of teaching third grade and was recently awarded teacher of the year for the Salem school district. His class has received numerous awards for performing Shakespeare.
DeathsDonna Taiclet ’90, Newton, Kan., April 27,
2009Joe Olney husband of LaVonne Olney ’91,
Newton, Kan., Feb. 2, 2010
MarriagesAmy Brenneman ’97 and Nathan Fick, Well-
man, Iowa, Nov. 28, 2009Christel Kautz ’97 and John Briggs, Rock
Hill, S.C., Oct. 24, 2009
BirthsLisa Guengerich ’91 and Jason Way, Evan-
ston, Ill.: Henry Thomas, Dec. 9, 2009Kirk ’91 and Jenee (Winkler) ’02 Hilty, Or-
rville , Ohio: Noah Carson, Sept. 26, 2009Greg ’93 and Jennifer Larson Sawin, Med-
ford, Mass.: Zane Karabo, July 7, 2009Karl ’95 and Lara (Reeb) ’97 Stempel, Tuc-
son, Ariz.: Andrew Charles, Sept. 5, 2009Jeff ’95 and Peggy Fast, Maple Grove, Minn.:
Eliana Kay, Aug. 22, 2009Myron ’95 and Marsha Kauffman, Green-
castle, Pa.: Milo Daniel, Aug. 5, 2009Stacey ’95 and Angie Ropp, Ronan, Mont.:
Hannah Elizabeth, Nov. 22, 2009Patrick ’96 and Lisa (Diller) ’96 Jaberg,
Wichita, Kan.: Eli Benjamin, Sept. 24, 2009
Lester Recinos ’96 and Amelia (Carrera Guerra) ’98 Carrera de Recinos, Guate-mala City, Guatemala: Lester David, Nov. 5, 2009
Ryan ’96 and Rachel (Rempel) ’96 Koehn, Newton, Kan.: Isaac John, Nov. 3, 2009
Angela (Wagler) ’96 and Tyson Stuckey, Archbold, Ohio: Logan Lee Sergey born Oct. 9, 2008, received for adoption Nov. 17, 2009
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Wayne ’96 and Melody (Miller) ’96 Stuckey, Wichita, Kan.: Aubrey Kathryn, Jan. 15, 2010
Rebecca (Sieber) ’97 and Jonathan Den-linger, Columbus, Ohio: Solomon Beck, March 8, 2010
David Gingerich ’97 and Erica Histand Gingerich, Canby, Ore.: Josiah Douglas, Aug. 9, 2009
Joel ’97 and Jenny Kempf, Shickley, Neb.: Nadia Grace, June 26, 2009
Mark ’97 and Sarah Schoenhals, Harrison-burg, Va.: Heidi Elizabeth, May 14, 2009
Matt ’98 and Chanda Jackson, Thomas, Okla.: Piper Riece, Jan. 4, 2010
Grant ’98 and Suzanne (Hett) ’98 Siemens, Hutchinson, Kan.: Natalie Alexis, Oct. 10, 2009
Ryan ’98 and Ashley (Harvey) ’98 Troyer, El Mirage, Ariz.: Jordan Easton, March 10, 2010
Brad ’99 and Jessica Miller, Englewood, Colo.: Silas Emerson, Nov. 1, 2009
Ben ’99 and Julie Rheinheimer, Goshen, Ind.: Hannah Elise, Dec. 16, 2009
Rachel (Stuckey) ’99 and Hollins Showalter, Indianapolis, Ind.: Jillian Kaye, Nov. 10, 2009
2000-2009Jeremy Kempf ’00, Goshen, Ind., led a workshop titled “Beyond the notes: Preparing to lead meaningful worship” at Hesston (Kan.) Mennonite Church on March 27, 2010. He also performed a concert featuring songs from his solo album Conversations.
Wesley Ngwenya ’01, Lusaka, Zambia, works for Zambia’s largest private televi-sion station.
Mark ’07 and Kendra (King) ’01 Horst, Hutchinson, Kan., are managing the Sun-flower Inn of Yoder in Yoder, Kan. Mark has also started his own pottery studio.
Rene Hostetter ’01, Indianapolis, Ind., was licensed toward ordination as associ-ate pastor at First Mennonite Church, Indianapolis, on June 21, 2009.
Maria (Tschetter) ’02 Paff, Chicago, Ill., began serving as guest services host for groups and families at Laurelville Men-nonite Church Center, Mt. Pleasant, Pa., in September 2009.
Jared Hostetter ’03, Denver, Colo., is a full-time business student at University of Colorado in Denver. He also recently piloted the Learjet in the movie Brothers which premiered in December 2009.
Casey Rohrer ’03, Springs, Pa., was ordained at Springs Mennonite Church on August 23, 2009. Steve Sauder ’91 of-ficiated at the service and Kurt Horst ’73 delivered the message.
Jonathan Fridley ’04, Albany, Ore., began a two-year term as a leader for the Service Adventure program in July 2009. Fridley will live in community and help to provide support for young adults in a unit house in Albany.
Nathan Ramer ’05, Elkhart, Ind., enrolled in his second year at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary and serves in an internship at shore Mennonite church.
Nicholas Stoddard ’05, Harrisonburg, Va., was the keynote speaker at Eastern Mennonite University’s annual Intercol-legiate Peace Fellowship Conference in February 2010. He is a first-year student in the master of divinity program at East-ern Mennonite Seminary.
Audra Christophel ’06, Moundridge, Kan., is working in a voluntary service assignment with the Tucson Community Food Bank in Tucson, Ariz.
Micah ’06 and Lucy Loucks, Blooming-ton, Ill., began a two year service assign-ment with Brethren Voluntary Service on March 15, 2010, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They work in a group home for developmentally disabled adults and will be responsible for volunteer coordinat-ing, developing a business plan for a soup kitchen and garden plot.
Jessica Penner ’06, Harper, Kan., began a one-year term of Mennonite Voluntary Service in August 2009 in St Louis, Mo. as an assistant manager with Plowsharing Crafts.Eric Miller ’07, Hutchinson, Kan., was ordained at South Hutchinson Mennonite Church (Yoder campus) on September 13, 2009.
Isaac Shue ’07, Harper, Kan., is serving with DOOR in Miami, Fla., teaching in a Christian school in Little Haiti, relating primarily to five Haitian male teenagers.
Stephanie Friesen ’08, Denver, Colo., began a one-year service term with the Radical Journey program in August 2009 with a team in Australia.
Andrea (Gable) ’08 Gallardo, Wichita, Kan., was honored by Kansas Health Eth-ics with a Young Professional Achievement Award on November 19, 2009. Andrea is a staff nurse at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.
Kris Miller ’08, Goshen, Ind., was featured in an article in The Elkhart Truth about participating in Super Tuesday, an event sponsored by Goshen College to give students practice in mock interviews to give them an edge in the competitive job market.
Naomi Blosser ’09, Goshen, Ind., began a one-year service term with the Radical Journey program in Augsut 2009 with a team in Paraguay. Heidi (Baker) ’09 Charles, Terre Hill, Pa., is employed full time in accounts receivable at Brubacher Excavating, Inc. in Bowmansville, Pa.
Rebecca Friesen ’09, Aurora, Neb., began a one-year service term with the Radical Journey program in August 2009 with a team in United Kingdom.
Alyssa Hostetler ’09, West Liberty, Ohio, began a one-year term of Mennonite Vol-untary Service in August 2009 in Ameri-cus, Ga., as a renovation crew member with Habitat for Humanity International.
Shae Miller ’09, Amboy, Ind., began a one-year service term with the Radical Journey program in August 2009 with a team in Australia.
Daniel Penner ’09, Harper, Kan., began a one-year service term in August 2009 with Radical Journey in Asunción, Paraguay, and works with a Mennonite church-based program that relates to youth in
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public schools. He will also work with MEDA Paraguay in small business devel-opment activities.
Jennie Warkentine ’09, Wichita, Kan., began a one-year term of Mennonite Voluntary Service in August 2009 in Hutchinson, Kan., as a kitchen and office assistant with Camp Mennoscah.
DeathMark Fulkerson ’10, Newton, Kan., Feb. 2,
2010
MarriagesPatrick Buller ’01 and Abbe Votaw, Seattle,
Wash., Oct. 4, 2009Sara Kauffman ’01 and Joseph Mwagura,
Greencastle, Pa., Jan. 1, 2010Melinda Martin ’01 and Brent Eisenberger,
Lancaster, Pa., Sept. 19, 2009Geoffery Kimel ’02 and Danielle Smith,
Glendale, Ariz., Oct. 10, 2009Jon Trotter ’02 and Meredith Wine, Dayton,
Va., June 20, 2009Veronica Amstutz ’03 and Cristian Costa,
Hubbard, Ore., July 25, 2009Nathan Detweiler ’03 and Karla Stoltzfus,
Coralville, Iowa, Aug. 15, 2009Andy Krabill ’03 and Megan Gibbs, Goshen,
Ind., Sept. 5, 2009Jeremy Miller ’03 and Jami Crawford, Way-
land, Iowa, June 13, 2009Jessica Roth ’03 and Marcos Stoltzfus, Den-
ver, Colo., June 20, 2009Myra Karina ’04 and Jeremy Chapman, Gos-
hen, Ind., May 9, 2009Amy Koehn ’04 and Shawn Christy, Newton,
Kan., Oct. 10, 2010Carmen Schrock ’04 and Joseph Fernau,
Kalona, Iowa, Oct. 24, 2009Erica Shirk ’05 and Adam Bowen, Lakeside,
Calif., Aug. 27, 2009Neil Detweiler ’06 and Rachel Versluis, Little
Rock, Ark., June 27, 2009Morgan Sayles ’06 and Patrick Einspahr,
Seibert, Colo., Sept. 5, 2009Ashley Schlabach ’06 and Chris Steiner, Hart-
ville, Ohio, Aug. 8, 2009Ingrid Vendrely ’06 and Bryan Kauffman,
Middlebury, Ind., July 25, 2009Justin Weaver ’06 and Andrea Slater ’06,
Lancaster, Pa., June 27, 2009Kevin Eby ’07 and Kara Schlabach, Harrison-
burg, Va., May 30, 2009Alicia Hertzler ’07 and Zachary Hurst, Har-
risonburg, Va., Aug. 15, 2009Seth Troyer ’07 and Abby Steury ’07, Wa-
karusa, Ind., July 7, 2009Caleb Miller ’08 and Megan Pinkerton ’08,
Middlebury, Ind., Oct. 18, 2009
Heidi Baker ’09 and Scott Charles, Terre Hill, Pa., Oct. 17, 2009
Craig Miller ’10 and Jacquelyn Nelson, Hess-ton, Kan., Dec. 26, 2009
BirthsAndy ’00 and Dana Bartel, Derby, Kan.:
Peyton Ann, Jan. 11, 2010Anna (Burkey) ’00 Dick-Burkey and Jayme
Dick ’03 Dorchester, Neb.: Josie Shalom, Oct. 5, 2009
Joel ’00 and Leslie (Giesen) ’06 Gerber, Harper, Kan.: Cora Belle, Oct. 30, 2009
Travis ’00 and Heather Morris, Souderton, Pa.: Aubrey Nicole, Dec. 18, 2009
Jeremy ’00 and Amanda Schrock, Freeman, S.D.: Elliot Ervin, June 17, 2009
David ’01 and Ashley (Claassen) ’01, former faculty Enns, Whitewater, Kan.: Caleb James, received for adoption Aug. 5, 2009
Raina (Stoltzfus) ’01 and Timothy Foote, Inola, Okla.: Ainsley and Aubrey, Oct. 2, 2009
Troy ’01 and Sarah Jantz, Hesston, Kan.: Hudson Kendall, Dec. 3, 2009
Chris ’01, former staff and Rebeca (Amstutz) ’01, former staff Strong, El Salvador: Mat-ias Adrian, Aug. 31, 2009
Daniel Yoder ’01 and Talashia Keim Yoder ’02, Goshen, Ind.: Malachi George, March 10, 2010
Isaac ’02 and Melissa (Hochstetler) ’02 Landis, Souderton, Pa.: Owen Wesley, Sept. 8, 2009
Tim ’02, former faculty and Hayley (Thomas) ’04 Lawson, Minot, N.D.: Gage Michael, Aug. 10, 2009
Jessica (Schrock) ’02 Schrock-Ringenberg and Shem Ringenberg, Bryan, Ohio: Eliza-beth Anne, March 7, 2010
Jesse ’03 and Carly (Keirn) ’03 Koehn, Lan-caster, Pa.: Marshall Andrew, Dec. 4, 2009
Rod ’03 and Melanie Miller, Plain City, Ohio: Cadence Gwen, July 30, 2009
Andy ’04 and Keli Wray, Hesston, Kan.: Zaylah Jewel, Oct. 8, 2009
Chris Mendez ’04 and Britni Torrez, Hesston, Kan.: Ruby Jane, Nov. 14, 2009
Tanna (Yoder) ’05 and Tony ’06 Boshart, Kalona, Iowa: Marryn Alexis Nov. 18, 2009
Jared ’06 and Addie (Miller) ’07 Leaman, Middlebury, Ind.: Sophia Marie, Sept. 9, 2009
Rendilyn Cress ’07 and Mike Schill, Newton, Kan.: Keaton Edward, March 12, 2009
Erin (Goedde) ’07 and Lyndon Entz, New-ton, Kan.: Tyson Anthony, March 25, 2009
Faculty/StaffPalmer Becker, former faculty, Kitchner, Ont., published What is an Anabaptist Christian via Mennonite Mission Net-work in 2008 and is now translated and available in seven languages. He taught at Bethlehem Bible College January to June 2009 and will teach and lead workshops in emerging Mennonite churches in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau, China and Korea during spring 2010.
Jim Dunn, former faculty, Hesston, Kan., is teaching a Peacemaking and Jus-tice course to 30 men at Ellsworth (Kan.) prison. Marion Bontrager ’57 faculty has assisted in teaching.
Arthur Marks, former faculty, Long Island City, N.Y., is an internationally acclaimed singer, director and choreog-rapher. He made his professional debut in 1992 with the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra. Since then, he has performed on stages and classical venues in Rome, London, Berlin, Paris and Vienna. Some of his favorite roles include the Ugly Duckling in HONK! and Ernest Green in The Infamous Nine. Marks directed and choreographed regional Little Shop of Hor-rors, Sophisticated Ladies, and co-choreo-graphed two productions of SWING!
Brad McCarty former faculty, Dillsburg, Pa., led the Messiah College men’s soccer team to its seventh NCAA Division III title this decade in his first year as head coach. McCarty also serves as the assistant athletic director for facilities and equip-ment.
DeathsDoris Dreier former faculty, Newton, Kan.,
Feb. 19, 2010Hal Jantzi former faculty, Pittsburg, Texas,
April 2, 2010Pearl Johnston former faculty, Newton,
Kan., Nov. 17, 2009Carol Niehage faculty emeritus, McPherson,
Kan., Nov. 9, 2009
BirthMatt former faculty and Michelle Pankratz,
Wichita, Kan.: Otto Nicklaus and Hugh Augustine, Feb. 26, 2010
c a m p u s n e w s
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Common Threadsweaves its way across the country
The Hesston College Alumni Office
has taken the program Common Threads: Anabaptist and African American Songs and Stories of Suffering and Hope across the United States this semester.
Common Threads is a program of story and song that features current Hesston College faculty members Tony Brown and John Sharp. In the program, they give voice to Anabaptist martyrs and enslaved African Americans by singing their hymns and telling their stories. It is an exploration of the way Anabaptist religious persecution and African American racial suffering have in-
tersected. Both groups have suffered at the hands of legitimate govern-ments, and both found hope in the midst of pain and humiliation.
“Thinking about how we can connect with others and finding those common threads can offer promise for humanity,” Brown said. “In the end we as a human species are more profoundly alike than
different. It is the idea of differ-ence that formed the basis for racism, persecution and systematic oppression. Humanity needs to find value in difference while at the same time exploring the common threads that bind us together.”
Common Threads has been presented in schools and churches in Califor-nia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kansas, Arizona, Ohio and Indiana.
Canada. Items are also sold at festivals and online. In 2007, the volume of fair trade totaled $2.8 billion.
There is room to grow – the market is hardly saturated, Dirks said. Only about one dollar of every $5,000 is spent on fair trade.
Fair trade businesses try to estab-lish long-term, sustainable relationships with producers and artisans. They offer cash advances and prompt final pay-ment in contrast with other marketers who pay by credit after the products are in the North American warehouses.
This effort includes educating arti-sans so they value their labor and skills and realize that even though they don’t pay for grass to make baskets, their ef-forts to collect it should be included in the calculation of prices they receive for products.
Students majoring in business, social sciences, communication, art, and technology will find many ways to use their education and skills in work-ing with fair trade organizations. Fair trade needs leaders who can show and teach entrepreneurial skills; buyers and product designers to help artisans adapt their traditional jewelry and handicrafts to appeal to shoppers in the Northern Hemisphere; and people skilled in advertising, research and graphic art. Cross-cultural communication skills, business ethics and a willingness to serve others with humility are impor-tant qualities for all fair trade workers.
Dirks uses skills his degree in com-merce and his story-telling ability give him to promote Ten Thousand Vil-lages. In his presentations at Hesston College, it is clear his sense of curiosity and adventure, and deep appreciation for others makes his job rewarding.
continued from page 12
John Sharp
Tony Brown
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Since December, Hesston College has welcomed two new staff, one coach and one faculty mem-ber to the college community.
Marathana Prothro of North Newton, Kan., began as director of marketing and communica-tions in December. She works closely with the Advancement, Admissions and Alumni teams as well as departments across campus as she leads the college’s marketing and communication efforts, and she directs the Communications office staff.
Previously, Prothro was identity director for Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership where she also served as communications director and creative manager. She also worked as news editor for The Newton Kansan from 2003 to 2005.
Prothro has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and film from Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan., and a master’s degree in communication from Wichita (Kan.) State University. She and her husband, Brett, attend Shalom Mennonite Church in Newton, Kan.
In January, Hesston College announced Bryan L. Kehr of Goshen, Ind., as its new head coach for women’s soccer. Kehr immediately became involved with recruiting and signing athletes, though his coaching responsibilities won’t begin until August.
In addition to his work as head coach for women’s soccer, Kehr will be director of intramurals and an instructor for Physical Education at the college.
Kehr is a Goshen (Ind.) College graduate with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a minor in family life education. He has coaching licenses and certification from both the United States Soccer Federation and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Kehr is a member of Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship in Goshen where his wife Anita serves as pastor.
Kris White began work as a development officer in February. He is a Hesston College alumnus (class of 2000) with fond memories and good connections to a variety of alumni and friends of the college. White’s primary role is to connect with and visit Kansas alumni.
White’s professional experience includes eight years at FYInetworks, LP, in Newton, Kan., where he was a full-time service provider to Lehman Brothers. He has completed multiple sales and train-ing seminars as well as personal and professional leadership training programs. In addition, White has a unique gift for developing relationships.
White and his wife, Megan, are members of Whitestone Mennonite Church in Hesston. They have two sons and live east of Hesston.
Tim Lichti took on his role as Pastoral Ministries director in February. As director of the Pastoral Ministries program, Lichti will be charged with providing a vision for the program, recruiting stu-dents, teaching classes and raising awareness of the program within Mennonite Church USA.
Lichti served as a regional conference minister for Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference for nine years and was executive director of Menno-Hof in Shipshewana, Ind., for 13 years. He served as pastor of Marion Mennonite Church in Shipshewana for eight years.
Lichti has a master of divinity degree from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind., and a bachelor of arts in psychology from California State University, Long Beach. He attended Hesston College in 1968-69.
Lichti and his wife Carolyn are members of Clinton Frame Mennonite Church in Goshen, Ind.
New faces join Hesston community
Marathana Prothro
Kris White
Tim Lichti
Bryan L. Kehr
Non Profit Org.U.S. Postage
PAIDWichita, KS
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ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED(If you are a parent receiving your child’s mail, please forward his or her current address to Hesston College Today)
Box 3000
Hesston, KS 67062
Reunions
All Science/Math alumniAcademy 1950Academy 1955Academy 1960College 1950College 1955College 1960College 1970College 1980College 1985College 1990College 1995College 2000College 2005
Academy ’35, 40, ’45 and College ’35, ’40, ’45, class members are invited to attend the Golden Gables Luncheon, Saturday Luncheon, and Evening Banquet during the weekend.
A Hesston College Homecoming September 24-26, 2010
SCHEDULEFridayGuest alumni speak in Friday classesScience/math alumni speaker at campus chapelGolden Gables Luncheon—for classes celebrating 50-year and greater anniversariesScience/Math symposium presentations and receptionTailgate Picnic Dinner and Festival -- Fun for the entire familySmall affinity group reunionsHesston College varsity volleyball matchesCoffee House at The Lincoln Perk-Uptown for Young Alumni and at the Larks Nest for the “Older Set”SaturdayPartner Appreciation BreakfastMorning class reunion gatheringsChildren’s activitiesAlumni and Friends LuncheonScience/Math SymposiumVarsity vs. Alumni softball and baseball gamesHesston College varsity women’s and men’s soccer gamesAlumni and Friends Banquet featuring Science/Math alumniSundayHesston’s traditional complimentary coffee and cinnamon rollsCampus Community Worship Service Lunch and visitingAnnual Alumni Advisory Council Meeting
Brochure and registration form will be online at www.hesston.edu July 30.