In the News

Theatre to present “Silent Sky,” a powerful portrayal of a woman’s work with the stars

The Hesston College Theatre department will present five performances of “Silent Sky,” a play by Lauren Gunderson about pioneering astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, portrayed by sophomore Kaytlen Keough. The show is directed by theatre professor Rachel Jantzi and will feature live music by Hesston faculty members Dr. Holly Swartzendruber and Ken Rodgers. Performances will take place at Hesston High School Auditorium Feb. 27 and 28. Saturday’s showtimes are at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday’s show begins at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for adults and can be reserved through the Hesston College Bookstore by phone at 620-327-8105 or may be purchased on site. Seating is limited and will be socially distanced and masks are required. The show is rated PG + 10 and up.

Inspired by actual events, Leavitt’s story starts early in the 20th century, during which time she discovered more than 2,400 variable stars, which was about half of the known total in her day. However, Leavitt’s most important contribution was calculating distances to stars up to 10 million light years away. According to PBS, Leavitt’s measurements became the “yardstick to the universe.”

“We are so excited to tell Henrietta Leavitt’s story,” said Jantzi. “The play is an exploration of not only the stars, but the extraordinary woman whose work helped us get a little closer to them.”

The cast and crew for “Silent Sky” are as follows:

Cast . . . . . Role
Kaytlen Keough (Albany, Ore.) . . . . . Henrietta
Savannah Zink (McPherson, Kan.) . . . . . Williamina
Kelly Miller (Archbold, Ohio) . . . . . Annie
Rachel Weaver (Broadway, Va.) . . . . . Margaret
Xavier Jang (Siheung-si, South Korea) . . . . . Peter

Crew . . . . . Position
Alex Miller (Arlington, Kan.) . . . . . Stage Manager
Kayla Gunn (Hillsboro, Kan.) . . . . . Assistant Stage Manager
Tristan Costin (Goddard, Kan.) . . . . . Assistant Light Designer
Jacob Hess (Harrisonburg, Va.) . . . . . Light Board Operator
Josh Fleming (Raymore, Mo.) . . . . . Sound Board Operator
Shanti Kauffman (Sheridan, Ore.) . . . . . Costume/Hair/Makeup Crew Chief
Diane Soguilon (Newton, Kan.) . . . . . Costume Crew
Madison Higdon (Fort Collins, Colo.) . . . . . Props Master
Silas Nicholson (Hesston, Kan.) . . . . . House Manager
Isaac Tice (Hutchinson, Kan.) . . . . . Head Usher

College begins spring semester with modified quarantine, rise in enrollment

Despite a continued global pandemic, Hesston College experienced a mid-year enrollment rise as students returned to campus and participated in a two-week modified quarantine.

New student enrollment increased by 32 from fall to spring semester. Many of those students arrived on campus from other countries after electing to stay home during the fall, choosing instead to begin their on-campus experience in January.

All Hesston students provided proof of a negative COVID test conducted in the week before they returned to campus. As with fall semester, Hesston College once again provided single rooms for all dorming students.

Once on-campus students returned to the dorms, Hesston initiated two full weeks of modified quarantine. All students stayed in their rooms unless working on-campus jobs or practicing with their athletic team, music ensemble or other college-sanctioned performance group. Classes were delivered virtually, and students took their meals to their rooms to eat.

At the close of modified quarantine on Jan. 24, Hesston had no known active COVID-19 cases among its dorming or commuter student populations. Students resumed socially-distanced classroom learning on Jan. 25.

During spring semester, every Hesston student will complete an app-based self-screening each morning, and all campus community members reporting COVID-like symptoms will be evaluated and (if necessary) tested with the college’s new on-campus rapid testing machines. Along with a compressed spring schedule, the college is planning to conduct its 2021 commencement and nursing pinning ceremony online in the event an in-person celebration isn’t possible.

“As a high-touch institution, our preference would be to celebrate these students in person,” said Dr. Carren Moham, associate academic dean. “We owe it to our graduating students to plan commencement activities that honor their achievements and protect their health and wellbeing. In the event that COVID-19 remains a threat to the safety of our students, faculty and staff, we will plan a lovely virtual ceremony to celebrate this milestone.”

Sunflower Performing Arts at Hesston College makes a new start

It hasn’t been an easy year for a lot of folks. And the performing arts have had an especially hard time. When you make your livelihood with your body and your breath, and when your audience has traditionally gathered in confined, close quarters to hear and see you, finding ways to entertain others while keeping everyone safe can be a challenge.

So, in a year when everything changed, Hesston’s long-running arts and music series made some changes as well, including shifts in partnership, a new name and for the first time in its history, a postponed season.

As it was when the series first began in 1982, Hesston College is now the sole presenter of the 38-year performance series. What was then known as the Hesston Performing Arts (HPA) series was then expanded to include a new partner in 1998: Bethel College. Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts (HBPA) shows alternated between the two campuses for two decades until, after the 2019-20 season, Bethel left the partnership.

This new arrangement meant the venerable arts series needed a new name. Working with stakeholders and the college, director Holly Swartzendruber decided on a new name for a new era: the Sunflower Performing Arts at Hesston College, or SPA. Swartzendruber says that “the name ‘Sunflower Performing Arts at Hesston College’ both acknowledges the beloved state flower of Kansas, and signifies a fresh start for the series.”

Though the series has a new name and a new configuration, its long history of excellence will continue. “HPA and HBPA established a tradition of providing world-class artistry for Harvey County and the surrounding area,” said Swartzendruber. “The performing arts should reflect society: help us see who we are and who we can be. With the series, we hope to highlight especially the vocal/choral and theatre arts, as Hesston College has strong academic programs and performing opportunities in both of those areas.”

While Sunflower Performing Arts may not be a familiar name as yet, the series has a long history and many loyal patrons. And Swartzendruber intends to put together seasons that keep them coming back.

“Personally, finding a balance of familiar favorites and the new and unexpected in each season is one of my favorite aspects of my job as director,” Swartzendruber said. “I compare creating a season to putting together a jigsaw puzzle—occasionally challenging, always rewarding.”

Swartzendruber looked forward to experiencing a first under the name Sunflower Performing Arts alongside her fellow music and theatre lovers. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced a change of plans.

“While we were obviously saddened to do so, we decided to postpone the 2020-21 season,” Swartzendruber said. “We felt this was the safest route to take.” The scheduled slate of performers, including Canadian Brass and Mad River Theater Works, will return to Kansas for the 2021-22 season.

The first concert of the 2021-22, featuring renowned chamber ensemble Canadian Brass, will occur on December 5 at Hesston Mennonite Church. Further scheduling information can be found at the SPA series’ Facebook page @SunflowerPerformingArtsHC.

Bryan Kehr named athletic director

Hesston College has appointed Bryan Kehr as the Larks’ new athletic director. Prior to the appointment, Kehr served as interim athletic director during the Fall 2020 semester, as well as coach for the women’s soccer team.

Prior to his hiring as Hesston’s women’s soccer coach in 2010, Kehr served as athletics director and instructor at Bethany Christian Schools in Goshen, Ind. Kehr launched the varsity girls’ soccer program at Bethany and subsequently led the team to four sectional titles and one regional title.

“It has been my honor to work closely with Bryan in this interim role as he navigated COVID realities for our Athletics department,” said Dr. Joseph Manickam, president of Hesston College. “Bryan’s willingness to keep the program engaged with all parts of campus and his ability to clarify complex issues allows the Hesston College Athletics department to move forward despite COVID uncertainties.

“He has developed crucial new strategies to bring greater alignment between our Athletics program and the college’s mission,” Manickam said.

“I look forward to building bridges between the Athletics department and the rest of the college,” said Kehr. “Hesston athletes participate in their education both on and off the playing field. The Hesston experience develops the whole person, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I look forward to fielding competitive teams and educating the next generation of leaders.”

Kehr accepted the interim athletic director role last summer and will continue to serve as women’s soccer coach through the spring of 2021.

Follow the Larks at hclarks.com.

College announces fall 2020 Dean’s List, Honor Roll

Hesston College Registrar Sandra Hiebert announced the names of full-time students whose fall 2020 semester grades earned them a place on the Dean’s List (3.90 to 4.00 GPA) and Honor Roll (3.50 to 3.89 GPA).

Dean’s List – first-year students
Katie Alaniz, Longmont, Colo.
Shelby Bontrager, McPherson, Kan
Jack Brinkley, Mckinney, Texas
Alyssa Burkholder, Hillsboro, Kan.
AnDena Collins, Hutchinson, Kan.
Emily DeMartino, Virginia Beach, Va.
Bella Dietrich, Wichita, Kan.
Alisha Dorsing, Othello, Wash.
Mariah Gilmartin, Wichita, Kan.
Ethan Hildebrand, Stafford, Kan.
Fortesa Hysenaj, Istog, Kosovo
McKayla Long, Highland, Calif.
Kelly Miller, Archbold, Ohio
Alyssa Nolt, Dalton, Ohio
Carson Orpin, Canton, Kan.
Shunsuke Otonashi, Tenri, Japan
Samuel Otto, Orrville, Ohio
James Peters, Hesston, Kan.
Hauw Raharjo, Semarang, Indonesia
Justin Smith, Beaumont, Texas
Aidan Swartzendruber, Henderson, Neb.
Marshall Woolf, Stafford, Kan.

Dean’s List – sophomores Aidan Boettcher, Benton, Kan.
Jacob Boller, Kalona, Iowa
Sydney Bontrager, Milford, Neb.
Jessica Buckwalter, Yona, Guam
Devin Catlin, Dexter, Kan.
Olivia Galbraith, Millersburg, Ohio
Myley George, Woodland Hills, Utah
Kauy Kuhn, Cheney, Kan.
Kara Longenecker, Rockingham, Va.
Sidorela Mjeshtri, Lac, Albania
Kanade Morita, Chigasaki, Japan
Claire Moyer, Thompsontown, Pa.
Yuya Muranaka, Hiroshima, Japan
Daniel Ochs IV, Hutchinson, Kan.
Caleb Oesch, Caldwell, Idaho
Mikayla Ognissanti, Rocklin, Calif.
Mason Richer, New Paris, Ind.
Tannah Tilley, Derby, Kan.
Tanner Unruh, Washington, Ill.
Hannah Williams, Corning, Calif.

Dean’s List – juniors
Alexis Avalos, Yucaipa, Calif.
Dara Ness, Goddard, Kan.
Andrea Pickering, Wichita, Kan.

Dean’s List – seniors
Tess Anderson, Williamsburg, Va.
Annalys Hanna, Fraser, Colo.
Emerald Packard, Hutchinson, Kan.
Daisy Pham, Wichita, Kan.
Laura Riehl, Hutchinson, Kan.
Morgan Walter, Wichita, Kan.

Honor Roll – first-year students
Shinju Baxter, Sedgwick, Kan.
David Beachy, San Nicolas, FIN, Philippines
Sara Bianchi Muschio, Trento, Italy
Benjamin De La Rosa, Dallas, Texas
Maria Gerber, Dallas, Texas
Kimberlin Hopson, Sanger, Texas
Madison Huber, Wichita, Kan.
Bethany Masters, Dundee, Ohio
Jacob McKenzie, Andover, Kan.
Madison Michalek-Rosales, Lakeside, Calif.
Jewel Norris, Bel Aire, Kan.
Julia Seifert, Columbia City, Ind.
Samantha Stiles, Bentley, Kan.
Chyandra Teague, Claremore, Okla.
Porclein Unruh, Newton, Kan.
Paige Weber, Freeport, Ill.
Coby Winters, Wichita, Kan.
Alexis Zehr, Burrton, Kan.

Honor Roll – sophomores
Caroline Barger, Newton, Kan.
Courtney Crane, Wichita, Kan.
Cayden Diccion, Piedmont, Okla.
Morgan Graybill, Freeport, Ill.
Cristal Guzman, Dominican Republic
Destiny Kessay, McNary, Ariz.
Brayden Ketley, El Dorado, Kan.
Ethan Klassen, Mountain Lake, Minn.
Natalie Ladd, Hesston, Kan.
Jaden Lais, Grantsville, Md.
Grace Litwiller, Hopedale, Ill.
Alexander Miller, Arlington, Kan.
Natalie Paramo, Plumas Lake, Calif.
Erin Peters, Hesston, Kan.
Jennifer Rodriguez, Corpus Christi, Texas
Lesly Tello, Kansas City, Kan.
Benny Thawng, Yangon, Myanmar
Romina Xhari, Lezhe, Albania
Quinton Yoder, South Euclid, Ohio
Benisa Zogu, Lezhe, Albania

COVID-focused online event helps pastors confront the question: What if the faithful don’t come back?

The Center for Anabaptist Leadership and Learning at Hesston College, also known as CALL, will host David Fitch, Betty R. Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology at Northern Seminary, Chicago, Ill., for a special online Weekend College event for pastors, congregational leaders and conference leaders on February 20, 2021. The event is titled “What If They Don’t Come Back? Pastoring through COVID.” Event attendance is open to all. Those interested in attending can register online at www.hesston.edu/weekendcollege.

Dr. Fitch, who is also an author at Missio Alliance and founding pastor of Life on the Vine Christian Community in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, will open the event by leading a discussion on the topic, “What Does It Mean to be the Church?” In light of the ongoing pandemic, pastors may be struggling to balance the pressures of keeping their congregations safe while simultaneously keeping their congregations going. The Church needs strategies for managing the growing anxiety of pastors and church leaders that some people may not come back when it is safe to be together. Fitch will help attendees understand how they might find ways to be the Church even if it may look different than it did before COVID.

Hesston College Bible and Ministry prof Michele Hershberger will then lead attendees in an interactive hour of spiritual guidance, self-care and surrender, exploring the principles of the 12 Steps as they apply to John the Baptist and all of us. Can something as disruptive as COVID be an opportunity for new life? Can believers grieve well, let go and look forward?

In the afternoon, Jessica Schrock-Ringenberg, director of the CALL program at Hesston College, will lead pastors and congregational leadership teams through a coaching session to help them work through their challenges and identify the unique opportunities COVID has presented the Church within each particular congregational context.

“I have heard from so many pastors about the burden and anxiety of ministry in the midst of a pandemic,” said Schrock-Ringenberg. “We have a unique opportunity to learn from each other how we can be the Church in such a historical time. If ever the Church was handed a gold ticket for renewal and reformation, it’s now. I just hope we take it, join each other, learn from each other and help carry each other forward.”

College’s School of Aviation invited to join prestigious intercollegiate organization

Hesston College’s School of Aviation has been invited to join the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA). Membership in NIFA offers Hesston College aviation students invaluable opportunities to compete and network with students from some of the largest and most prestigious collegiate flight programs in the United States.

According to the NIFA website, the organization was formed “…for the purposes of developing and advancing aviation education; to promote, encourage and foster safety in aviation; to promote and foster communications and cooperation between aviation students, educators, educational institutions and the aviation industry; and to provide an arena for collegiate aviation competition.”

In November, Hesston College received a formal invitation to join NIFA as a member of Region VI, which spans much of the northern Great Plains and upper Midwest. Other member schools in Region VI include K-State Polytechnic, Iowa State University, University of North Dakota and University of Wisconsin.

Three juniors – Jessica Buckwalter, Ellie Yoder and Austin Kunert – participated in two NIFA competitions, both conducted virtually. Though it was the college’s first intercollegiate flight competition, Buckwalter, Yoder and Kunert competed well with students from other Region VI institutions. Hesston College aviation students will be preparing for additional competitions to be held nationwide in February and March 2021. Due to COVID-19, all flight skill competitions have been cancelled for the remainder of the academic year.

“We are extremely pleased to join Region VI of the National Intercollegiate Flying Association,” said Mike Baker, director of aviation at Hesston College. “Membership in NIFA affirms Hesston’s fifty-year tradition of rigorous aviation education. We look forward to a time when Hesston aviation students can fellowship with other aviation students from across the nation.”

Board of directors appoints Dr. Joseph Manickam to second four-year presidential term

Hesston College’s Board of Directors voted unanimously to appoint Joseph Manickam to a second four-year term as president during the college’s fall board meetings, held virtually in late October 2020.

Manickam was named as the ninth president of Hesston College in fall of 2016 and assumed office on July 1, 2017. Previous to his appointment, Manickam served as director of the Institute of Religion, Culture and Peace and faculty member for peace studies at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Manickam and his family moved to Hesston from Thailand in 2017.

During his first four-year term, Manickam has overseen the completion of a major capital campaign, the construction of new and refurbished buildings on campus, and the creation of new four-year programs in nursing and aviation. Under Manickam’s leadership the college will further explore offering four-year degrees in business and engineering, as outlined in the college’s “Vision 2025” growth plan.

Manickam’s reappointment signals a continued commitment on the part of the college’s leadership to Manickam’s vision of an expansive, inclusive, globally engaged Hesston College. Primary among his tasks has been evolving Hesston from a “college for Mennonites” to a “Mennonite college for all.”

“The board’s unanimous vote to reappoint Dr. Manickam to his second term is not just an affirmation of the work he has done for Hesston College in the past four years, but a vote of confidence and endorsement of the strategic direction for the next four years,” said Ken G Kabira, Bartlett, Ill., chairperson of the Hesston College Board of Directors. “Under President Joe’s leadership, we are confident Hesston will not just survive the current pandemic but emerge stronger and more capable of living its mission to educate and nurture every student in a Christ-centered community.”

College proactively elevates CARES level of concern in response to state, county and campus COVID-19 landscape

In response to rising COVID-19 community spread across Harvey County and the rest of Kansas, as well as an uptick in on-campus cases, Hesston College will proactively raise its CARES Level of Concern on Saturday, November 21, from “R – Restricted” to “E – Elevated.” An “Elevated” level is initiated when “community spread of a COVID-19 outbreak affects students across campus.”

Hesston College’s Administrative Council initiated the rise in CARES level out of an abundance of caution and in an effort to ease the potential burden of care on local healthcare systems. Harvey and surrounding counties have increasingly raised alert levels and tightened restrictions on gathering sizes, and the college has recently experienced a slight increase in active COVID cases. Current active COVID-19 cases at the college include eight students and two employees. Students and employees with COVID-19 are isolating at off-campus locations.

According to the Hesston College website, an “Elevated” CARES level further restricts on-campus gatherings. Classes and campus activities may go fully online, all athletic practices are suspended and access to campus is closed to the community. Students may return home over the pre-Thanksgiving weekend if they wish and complete the semester online. The college’s revised plans were finalized in consultation with the Harvey County Health Department.

“Hesston students were already scheduled to return home over Thanksgiving break and complete fall semester classes online,” said Deb Roth, vice president of Student Life. “Given the timing, it makes sense for us to offer students the opportunity to head home early without penalty, if they so choose.”