In the News

Sophomore among 19 students state-wide to receive scholarship for service and success

The Kansas Independent College Foundation, (KICF), on behalf of its 20-member institutions, is proud to announce the 2019 Maud Wyatt Recognition Scholarship Recipients. KICF awards up to 20 individual scholarships, for a student at each Foundation member institution. The recipients are all full-time, degree seeking students on the cusp of graduation, and have each demonstrated excellence in academics, character and integrity, and a commitment to the value of a private college education in Kansas. These students maintain GPAs of 3.5 or above while also contributing to their respective communities.

Hannah Klusman, a sophomore from Ford, Kan., is the recipient from Hesston College. Klusman is studying English.

Recipients from the other member institutions are:

• Baker University – Caelan Rogers, an English literature major and native of Lawrence, Kan.
• Barclay College – Ashley Weinacht, a theology and worship Arts major from Greenleaf, Idaho
• Benedictine College – Jeremy Larsen, a biochemistry major and native of Nortonville, Kan.
• Bethany College – Lydia Nicholson, a digital art major from Hesston, Kan.
• Bethel College – Kaci Wilson, a chemistry major and a resident of Sterling, Kan.
• Central Christian College of Kansas – Melissa Reimer, an elementary education major from Hesston, Kan.
• Cleveland University-Kansas City – Darrell McDonald, a human biology major from Kansas City, Mo.
• Donnelly College – Lilliana Rodriguez, a liberal arts major and native of Kansas City, Kan.
• Friends University – MaKayla Hollis, a biology major and resident of Conway Springs, Kan.
• Kansas Wesleyan University – Hailey Vandevanter, a business major from Georgetown, Ky.
• Manhattan Christian College – Davinna Farney, a Bible & leadership major from Park City, Kan.
• McPherson College – Kento Aizawa, a mathematics major local to McPherson, Kan.
• MidAmerica Nazarene University – Maris George, an elementary education major from Cimarron, Kan.
• Newman University – Taylor White, an art major local to Wichita, Kan.
• Southwestern College – Niyonkuru Innocent, an accounting major from Jamestown, N.D.
• Sterling College – Zoe Oppriecht, a health sciences major and native of Kansas City, Mo.
• Tabor College – Tassanee Sanchez, an elementary education major from Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada
• University of Saint Mary – Rachel Thomas, a chemistry and biology major from Claremore, Okla.

The scholarship was established in 1995 through the generosity of Maud Wyatt, whose bequest has supported the work of KICF and its institutions since 1961. The Kansas Independent College Foundation seeks to develop, promote, and direct unified approaches to selected corporations, foundations, and individuals for financial support of Kansas’ independent colleges and universities.

Faculty and staff join community

Hesston College announces new faculty and staff joining the campus community for the 2019-20 year.

• Cory Allen, English professor.
• Christie Bell, head softball coach.
• Heather Dean, Dining Services office manager.
• Lisa George, Chief Financial Officer.
• Del Hershberger, Vice President of Admissions and Financial Aid.
• Madison Hoffman-Schrag, graphic designer.
• Carla Hurst, assistant preschool teacher and assistant bookstore manager.
• Micah Hurst, campus pastor.
• Terrence Jones, resident director.
• Emily Kauffman, resident director.
• Kristin Kaufman, ACCESS Lab coordinator
• Leon Leachman, business instructor.
• Todd Lehman, interim head cross country and track and field coach.
• Selena Lopez, assistant softball coach and Dining Services assistant.
• Collin Loutensock, sports information director.
• Eric Metzger, adjunct aviation instructor.
• Carren Moham, associate academic dean.
• Marena Nachtigall, Larks Nest manager.
• Kristal Potter, nursing clinical instructor.
• Marcy Renollet, adjunct nursing instructor.
• Kathryn Roth, admissions counselor.
• Jessica Schrock-Ringenberg, director of Center for Anabaptist Leadership and Learning.
• Melanie Seiler, Dining Services assistant.
• Tabitha Stokes, Dining Services assistant.
• Dawne Taylor, nursing clinical instructor.
• Johnathon Vetter, adjunct aviation instructor.
• Whitney Werth, interim head athletic trainer.

Opening Weekend: August 16 to 18

Hesston College is gearing up for another new school year, and will kick off the 2019-20 year with Opening Weekend activities August 16 to 18, and the first day of the fall term on August 19.

Community members are welcome to join the campus community for several weekend community-building activities, including:

• Opening Celebration, 8 p.m., Friday, Aug. 16, Hesston Mennonite Church
• Opening Worship with the Hesston Mennonite congregation, 10:30 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 18, Hesston Mennonite Church
• Mod Olympics, 6:45 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 18, Sieber Soccer Field

See the full Opening Week schedule.

To keep up to date with on- and off-campus college events and activities, see or subscribe to the public campus events calendar.

Now Boarding: Vision 2025

Early in 2019, Hesston College administrators began unveiling a growth plan that gives the Hesston College of the future some distinct differences from the Hesston College of the last 110 years.

Namely, four-year bachelor degree programs in a handful of carefully selected academic programs by the year 2025.

The plan is called Vision 2025. It’s a future-looking strategy that offers experiences and degrees “infused with global, experiential and applied learning opportunities through industry and church-affiliated partners.”

“Our intent is to continue to add key four-year programs focused on careers and giving students viable job options,” said President Joe Manickam ’87. “Right now, we’re exploring what those areas may be. We don’t intend to become a fully four-year institution. We will continue our current two-year model that equips students with a strong liberal arts foundation and life skills and helps them be better informed in making decisions for their final two years of an undergraduate program. This is a way for Hesston College to remain relevant in the ever changing landscape of higher education and in the job market for students.”

The seeds for Vision 2025 were planted sometime in the last decade when administrators, faculty and board members began to take a careful look at trends in industry, employer and student demands, and consider them in relation to academic programs and overall growth in student numbers.

As a popular and thriving program, nursing was the first to take the plunge into four-year in 2015. The nursing industry had issued a vision for 80 percent of the workforce to have a bachelor’s degree by 2020. With only an associate degree program to speak of, faculty and administrators knew they would have to make a change to remain relevant.

Four years later, the college is adding nearly 10,000 square feet of physical space to accommodate the program that has continued to thrive despite being the only four-year option on a two-year campus.

In January, the aviation program received approval from the Higher Learning Commission accrediting agency to join nursing in the four-year ranks with a Bachelor of Science in Aviation-Professional Pilot this August.

When Manickam took the Hesston College leadership reins in August 2017, he spent the first year of his presidency exploring the college at its core and what it meant for program offerings and student opportunities. The four-year nursing program was already in place and plans were circulating for aviation as well. But in considering the question “What does the world need from Hesston College?” Manickam recognized the possibility for even more bachelor’s degree offerings.

“The foundation of Hesston College is intentional community, Christ-centered discipleship and living out our Anabaptist values by looking globally, having a respect for everyone’s background and offering students relevant opportunities, support and direction so they can thrive,” said Manickam.

The development of any future bachelor’s degree program includes, in part, focus on applied work experiences, global engagement through transcultural experiences, and connections with industry partners as a way to broaden students’ knowledge and understanding within their academic field.

With aviation, for example, these areas of focus include opportunities for students in their third and fourth years to be flight instructors for first- and second-year students in the college’s program, or to hold internship positions with aviation-related companies in the area.

“Hesston College Aviation recognizes the imperativeness of preparing each student for their future aviation endeavors,” said program director Mike Baker ’93. “Through the establishment of substantive industry partnerships, Hesston College Aviation will be better positioned to facilitate the successful placements of its graduates.”

Other programs that are now in the research and development phase for potential four-year expansion are business and engineering.

Even as the college looks to make changes, Manickam ensures that the Hesston College of the last 110 years will endure as the college’s mission, purpose and personality remain rooted in the same faithfulness and community that has shaped and carried it for more than a century.

And the two-year programs, experience and opportunities aren’t going anywhere. The language Manickam has used to introduce this concept to the campus community is “two plus two.”

“It’s the first two years at Hesston College with the same relationship-focused, nurturing, supportive environment we’re known for with involvement opportunities for first- and second-year students, followed by two years of a career-focused professional program either within Hesston’s professional programs or at whatever institution students transfer to,” said Manickam. “It’s start here, go everywhere!”

In addition to degree program development, part of the vision for increased global engagement includes the development of non-degree programs that are able to reach beyond the traditional student and enhance personal and professional skills.

• In January, the college added a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) track to the nursing program that provides entry level skills and knowledge to high school students and others exploring the nursing field.
• The college has been developing an Intensive English Language Program (IELP) over the last year that will have a soft launch in August. The program will provide additional English language training to incoming international students to Hesston College, those attending other schools across the country, and immigrants to the area.
• A new ministry program, the Center of Anabaptist Leadership and Learning (CALL), will be developed during the 2019-20 year. The program will provide Anabaptist theology and nurture missional leadership for pastors and other church leaders in a distance-based format. Jessica Schrock ’02 –Ringenberg has been hired as program director.

“Hesston College has something to offer the world, and we are being beckoned to engage widely,” said Manickam. “God has been faithful on this campus for more than 100 years, and the opportunities that are now before us are a testament to God’s ongoing care of the Hesston College community.”

Japanese youth visit on language study tour

Hesston College has been hosting international students on campus for more than 70 years, but this summer, they’re doing it in a new way.

Eight Japanese high school students and two sponsors arrived to campus on July 30 for a week and a half-long English Language Study Tour.

“This is a short-term program that allows the students to develop their English language skills in an immersive setting, and also lets them explore Hesston College as an option for collegiate study in the United States,” said Chandra Johnson, director of Hesston College’s new Intensive English Language Program (IELP).

The students all come to Kansas with beginner level English, but the trip allows them to be immersed in the language and improve their conversation skills, as well as learn about American culture.

The trip is filled with English language classes, discovering what majors Hesston College offers and exploring South Central Kansas. Each day’s activities are planned around a theme – Thursday’s Aviation Day included visits to Executive AirShare at Jabara Aiport in Wichita, a trip to the Kansas Aviation Museum, and a visit to Hesston College’s Aviation program hub at the Newton City/County Airport. Other day’s lessons are health care, farm and nature, business, and art and theatre.

The group is from Osaka Yuhigaoka Gakuen high school (OYGHS). Coming from Osaka, a city of nearly 3 million people, to Hesston, Kansas, a community just over one percent of the population size as their home, is a big change to say the least. The students will stay in the Hesston College dorms for much of the visit, but during the weekend, each student will stay with a host family and further explore the area.

A trip like this has been in the works for a while. Dave Osborne, former Hesston College Director of International Admissions, began building a relationship with OYGHS in 1998 when he first visited the school. Over the next 19 years, he visited the school 16 times and the school sent 12 students to study at Hesston College.

With the launch of Hesston’s Intensive English Language Program at the start of the new school year in August, program faculty hope language study trips like this one will continue.

“It’s exciting to be able to offer this new kind of experience to international groups,” said Johnson. “We look forward to the relationships that will continue to grow through it.”

Vice President of Admissions appointment rounds out administrative council

President Joseph A. Manickam has announced the appointment of Del Hershberger as the Vice President of Admissions in Hesston College’s administrative structure. Hershberger’s hire completes the six-person administrative council of Manickam and five vice presidents.

Hershberger will begin his role in mid-August.

“I am pleased to have Del join the leadership team at Hesston College,” said Manickam. “Along with experiences in recruitment and ministry, he has a vast network of global connections as well as transcultural experiences that will be valuable as we continue to work with students and organizations around the world and expand cross cultural opportunities for the campus community.”

Hershberger served for 22 years with Mennonite church mission agencies, first as program director at Mennonite Board of Missions (MBM), and most recently, as department director when the organization became Mennonite Mission Network (MMN – Newton, Kan.) in 2002. At MMN, Hershberger’s role included leading and supervising the Christian Service Team, including program directors, recruiters and administrative assistants. He also served on Director’s Cabinet to ensure inter-departmental collaboration and organizational effectiveness.

Prior to his work with MMN and MBM, Hershberger was pastor of Zion Mennonite Church, Hubbard, Ore., for seven years and a sales and contract manager for a school bus company for six years.

Hershberger studied theological studies in the master’s degree program at what was then Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Ind., and earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from Goshen (Ind.) College.

“Love for Hesston College goes deep in my bones,” said Hershberger. “I look forward to the opportunity of working with admissions staff and the rest of campus to share about the college’s amazing programs and nurturing community so we can invite many more students to experience the transformation that can happen here.”

Virtual mobile theater experience to provide glimpse of the power of tornadoes

Even though tornadoes are a very real threat living in the plains and directly in tornado alley, many people have never experienced the full extent of what tornadoes are capable of.

Mennonite Disaster Service’s (MDS) Storm Encounter mobile virtual theatre will be at Hesston College on Sunday, July 28, from 3 to 7 p.m., allowing participants to experience the sights and sounds of a tornado, and also learn how the organization brings hope to survivors of tornadoes and other disasters. The experience is hosted by the Hesston College Disaster Management Program.

The Storm Encounter will be set up on the northeast area of the Hesston College campus near Keim Center. The experience takes about 30 minutes, and groups of eight can rotate into the exhibit every 15 minutes. To reserve a spot for a group, contact Cleo Koop at 316-282-0797. Walk ups are also welcome.

Hesston College’s Disaster Management Program is affiliated with Mennonite Disaster Service, offering skills, experiences and knowledge for disaster recovery, including physical, psychological, social and spiritual recovery.

Hesston College fills new academic role

Hesston College has announced Dr. Carren Moham as the new Associate Academic Dean. Dr. Moham will start her new role at the beginning of August.

The role of Associate Academic Dean is a newly formed position at Hesston, replacing the Dean of Student Success position that was formerly held by Deb Roth, who was named Vice President of Student Life in May. Moham’s role will be to coordinate student success initiatives within academics, provide time and attention to faculty development and mentoring and work alongside the Vice President of Academics.

“Dr. Moham’s work in faculty development will help us to boost the level of our programs and teaching in all areas, and particularly as we continue to explore four-year degree options,” said Dr. Brent Yoder, Vice President of Academics. “She also brings experience that will benefit Hesston College as we work to accommodate and assist with the needs of students from all backgrounds and cultures and be a truly welcoming place for all.”

Moham earned a Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) degree in vocal health and black music history from the Ohio State University (Columbus), as well as a master’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Oklahoma (Norman) and a bachelor’s degree in education from Northeastern State University (Tahlequah, Okla.).

Moham served on the faculty of Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington) for 16 years where she taught private voice and held administrative roles as junior faculty advisor and mentor, vice chair of the faculty development committee, student academic advisor, co-chair of the multicultural study group, and advisor and fundraiser for the offices of the president and provost. She has presented at conference on topics ranging from closing the achievement gap to student retention, and has led workshops on cultural competence and college preparedness.

Sharing cultures: Reflections from an International Volunteer Exchange Program participant

Hesston, Kansas is used to seeing young adults from around the globe through the many international students who attend Hesston College every year. But David Cortes’ purpose in Hesston was a little different.

He came from his home in Colombia to serve, to work, to immerse himself in the community and to come to deeper understanding of what service to the world looks like. A very similar set of values and goals Hesston College holds.

Cortes was hosted by Hesston College for almost a year as a participant in Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) International Volunteer Exchange Program (IVEP), a cultural exchange opportunity for young, Christian adults. Instead of focusing primarily on academic study at Hesston College, Cortes put the university background he gained in Colombia to work in the college’s Information Technology (IT) department.

“I like learning about different cultures and languages, and my youth group at home always promoted service, so I was drawn to IVEP because it would give me the opportunity to serve in and explore a different culture,” said Cortes.

Likewise, with an increased emphasis on global engagement, hosting an IVEP participant provided Hesston College with an opportunity to expand cultural understanding for students, faculty and staff alike on its own campus.

David’s role as support staff in IT gave him opportunities to connect with all campus groups – students, faculty and staff. Living off-campus with a host family during the fall semester gave him a connection point to the wider community and a local church, Whitestone Mennonite Church. Even though he finished his university degree from a distance in October, he also took a few classes and ate lunch with students which resulted in new friendships. Moving on campus for the spring semester allowed those relationships to deepen even further.

“Even though my role on campus was different from a typical student, I made friends with students from all over the world,” said Cortes. “I was excited to find such a large population of international students and I enjoyed being able to share and connect with people from so many countries, cultures and backgrounds.”

Cortes admits that his initial reaction to his placement in Hesston was accompanied by some apprehension.

“I wasn’t sure about being surrounded by American students,” Cortes said. “I had an image of extravagant American culture and focus on possessions, but when I got here and began to connect with people and understand life here, I found similarities to Colombia. We have the same kinds of struggles and fears and hopes and aspirations. My ideas of Americans as strict and serious also changed when I only found warm, friendly and welcoming people.”

That kind of discovery of a common humanity across the globe is what Hesston College anticipates will be an outcome for students of the transcultural experiences and other global engagement opportunities that are increasingly becoming part of the student experience.

As he reflected on the experience on his last day on campus on Tuesday, Cortes said overall the year helped him grow both professionally and personally.

“This was my first job after university and the most serious work I’ve had,” he said. “I learned what it’s like to have professional responsibilities that others rely on me to complete. Overall, I feel like I’m part of something bigger than just myself and the reality I’ve always known. It motivates me to work harder and do whatever I can to serve others. I’ve really appreciated the experience.”