Just days before the official kick-off of the 2018-19 year, Hesston College unveiled a new campus feature. The Global Pathway – lightpole banners based on the flags of the 23 countries that make up this year’s student body – line the campus’ center walkway and emphasizes a collective mind toward global engagement.

A global focus is nothing new for Hesston. The college has long held the mindset, welcoming international students from its earliest days 109 years ago and fully embracing them as part of the community. Students also frequently travel to experience different cultures around the country and world, both as learning experiences and service assignments.

The arrival of President Joseph A. Manickam a year ago elevated the campus community’s global thought and action processes to the next level by building on the foundation already in place.

“Being globally engaged is unquestionably what it means to be faithful followers of Jesus, and that’s what we are at Hesston College,” said Dr. Manickam. “We can’t sit unto ourselves, in our own bubble. Hesston College has something to offer the world, and we are being beckoned to engage widely. It’s the missional mandate of following Jesus.”

New positions, job descriptions and initiatives with a global focus starting in the 2018-19 year will begin providing answers to the “What does the world need from Hesston College?” question President Manickam introduced during his first year in office.

“Many of our job shifts are to ensure we have a coordinated initiative to move all parts of campus in the same direction,” said Manickam. “It helps us better analyze the gaps in what we’re doing and shift to fill those gaps.”

The goal, Manickam noted, is to work toward mutually beneficial outcomes that moves Hesston College and its partners forward.

John Murray, who began as Director of International Admissions in 2017 and coordinated the recruitment of international students for the past year, has moved into an expanded role of Dean of Global Engagement. Murray will work intentionally across all aspects of the student experience to ensure student success. Global engagement is, itself, a new initiative in place for the fall. It goes beyond providing a good experience for international students and places a focus on appreciating the differences that exist in the community for all students – both international and domestic.

“It [global engagement] is our willingness to live in a mutually transforming environment,” wrote Manickam in an email to faculty and staff. “It is about all of us gaining greater understanding about how we interact with and learn from those different from ourselves. It is global – not domestic versus international.”

In that spirit, a new position was created to coordinate transcultural experiences. Student trips to learn and serve in a new country and culture are increasingly becoming part of the Hesston Experience. Having someone to coordinate those efforts will help the college become more effective in offering and carrying out the trips. André Swartley, who has served as director of the English as a Second Language program since 2014, was named to the role.

During the spring of 2018, the college began exploring the feasibility of creating an Intensive English Language program to increase global engagement while providing services and support for English language learners. After much research, the college’s board and administration felt that such a program fit Hesston’s mission, values and abilities well. Chandra Johnson was hired as the Intensive English Program Director and will spend the 2018-19 year developing and launching the program for fall 2019. The program will provide additional English language training to incoming Hesston College students and those attending other schools, and will serve as a resource for immigrants in the region to receive English language assistance.

Perhaps a more tangible way for current students to connect globally during the school year is the International Day of Peace that will be formally celebrated on campus in September. Known also as “Peace Day,” the celebration, established by the United Nations in 1981, is observed around the world every September 21. Peace Day provides a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to and build a culture of peace. The college is planning activities beginning on Friday, Sept. 21, and continuing throughout the weekend, including a masterworks concert by the music department of Vaughn Williams’ “Dona Nobis Pacem.”

It may seem that Hesston College is blazing into territory it had previously unexplored, but Manickam notes that these initiatives are the result of work that has been in process at the college for decades.

“The reason we are able to implement these initiatives so quickly is because the community was primed for them already,” Manickam said. “This kind of global engagement is at the core of who Hesston has been all along.”

Hesston College has a history of producing graduates who serve with empathy and sensitivity. Being more intentional about global engagement will increase students’ understanding of living as global citizens and be an asset to their future careers.

“We want to continue to graduate the highest quality student we can,” said Manickam. “To provide global awareness and engagement, we must be living in that space, offering opportunities for challenge and transformation in every aspect of campus life.”