In the News

Playwriting festival to feature eight original plays

Hesston College’s second playwriting festival, “Pen to Paper to Performance,” will feature eight original plays by local writers and produced by Hesston College Theatre, April 27 and 28.

The featured plays and playwrights will be:

• “Born Again” by Carol Duerksen
• “First Date” by Travis Duerksen and Mitchell Stutzman
• “Goodnight, Washington” by Patricia Middleton
• “Small Cups of Coffee” by Dave Osborne
• “Classified” by Lois Thieszen Preheim
• “An Empty Classroom” by Jamie Rhodes
• “How the Octopus Got His Legs” by Andre Swartley
• “Chapter Fourteen” by Caitlin Waits

Each play will run approximately 10 minutes in length at the final showcase at 7 p.m. on April 27 and 28 in the Keim Center Black Box Theater. Tickets are $8 for adults and seniors, and $4 for students. Tickets will be sold at the door only starting at 6:15 each night. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Seating is limited, so early arrival is encouraged.

“Ambassador of classical guitar” to bring music to performing arts series

The Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts (HBPA) series wraps up the 2017-18 season with a special collaboration among HBPA, the Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony Orchestra and Kansas Paraguay Partners.

The result is a special guest for the April 8 concert: Latin Grammy® Award-nominated guitarist Berta Rojas, who ranks among today’s foremost classical guitarists.

Thomas W. Douglas conducts the concert, at 4 p.m. in Memorial Hall on the Bethel College campus.

Rojas has been praised as “guitarist extraordinaire” by the Washington Post. Classical Guitar magazine called her an “ambassador of the classical guitar.”

She has been nominated three times for Latin Grammy® Awards; for Día y Medio, with Paquito D’Rivera (Best Instrumental Album, 2012); for Salsa Roja (Best Classical Album, 2014); and most recently for Historia del Tango (Best Tango Album, 2015), with the Argentine chamber orchestra Camerata Bariloche.

Rojas’ latest recording, Felicidade (2017), pays tribute to Brazilian music, with guest artists including Gilberto Gil, Toquinho and Ivan Lins.

In her performing and recording, Rojas embraces new works by composers in diverse genres – a journey echoed in recordings such as Cielo Abierto (2006) and Terruño (2009), as well as Alma y Corazón (2007), with Carlos Barbosa-Lima, and the celebrated Intimate Barrios (2008), featuring works by the great Paraguayan composer and guitarist Agustín Barrios.

In 2011, Rojas and D’Rivera initiated the four-year tour “In the Footsteps of Mangoré,” which followed the travels of Barrios, pioneer of the classical guitar in the Americas. The duo performed in 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries, finishing at the national theater in San Salvador, El Salvador, where the celebrated composer is buried.

Rojas is firmly committed to promoting the music of her country, Paraguay, as well as Latin American music more widely, and to supporting the careers of young, upcoming guitarists.

With this aim, she created the first online classical guitar competition, the Barrios World Wide Web Competition, in 2009, and was artistic director of the Ibero-American Guitar Festival at the Smithsonian Institution. She also co-founded the Beatty Music Scholarship Competition for Classical Guitar, which offers winners the opportunity to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

After initial studies in Paraguay with Felipe Sosa and Violeta de Mestral, Rojas studied in Uruguay under Abel Carlevaro, Eduardo Fernández and Mario Payseé, and at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore under Manuel Barrueco, Ray Chester and Julian Gray. She recently joined the faculty of the Berklee College of Music (Boston, Mass.) as an associate professor.

She has performed across the globe at venues from Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center to London’s South Bank Centre, the National Concert Hall in Dublin (with the Irish Radio and Television Orchestra) and Flagey Studio 4 in Brussels (with the Brussels Philharmonic).

Rojas has been ranked among the “most influential women in the Hispanic world,” named a Fellow of the Americas by the Kennedy Center for her artistic excellence, and honored by her country with the title Illustrious Ambassador of Musical Art.

Rojas will give a guitar master class at Hesston College in the Sauder Choral Room in Keim Center, April 6 from 4 to 6 p.m.

She then joins the NMKSO on April 8 for two pieces by Paraguayan composers – “Renacer” by Oscar Cardozo Ocampo and “La Balada del Indio” by Ismael Ledesma, with Rojas’ own arrangement.

She will also be featured in “Concerto de Arunjuez” by Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo.

The program includes, in addition, music from Carmen by Georges Bizet and “Danzon No. 2” by Mexican composer Arturo Marquez.

Maestro Douglas is in his seventh season with NMKSO. He is also music director for Music Theatre of Wichita. He is on the faculty at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music and is artistic director and conductor of the Bach Choir, both in Pittsburgh.

There will be a reception following the concert, hosted by Newton Presbyterian Manor, Asbury Park, Bluestem Communities, Comfort Care Homes and Kansas Christian Home.

Tickets for the Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony Orchestra with Berta Rojas, April 8 at 4 p.m., are available at hesstonbethel.org, by calling 620-327-8105, or by visiting the Hesston College Bookstore in Erb Hall or Bethel College’s Thresher Shop in Schultz Student Center during regular business hours. Prices ranges from $15 to $20, with some discounts available.

The Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts series is a collaborative effort of Hesston College and Bethel College, presenting five performances by world-renowned or regionally acclaimed artists each year.

HBPA is funded in part by the cities of Hesston and North Newton, Excel Industries and Hustler Turf Equipment, KMUW-Wichita FM 89, the National Endowment for the Arts, and area patrons. Additional funding for this concert comes from Bunting Magnetics of Newton.

Internships give business students a head start in the job market

For the Hesston College business department, hands-on experiences are at the forefront of students’ education.

With the transfer process in mind, business professor Vickie Andres always has an eye out for internship opportunities for her students. And for the Hesston College business students who take advantage of those opportunities, they begin to set themselves apart from their peers as freshmen and sophomores.

“Internships enhance and provide for application of what they [students] learn in the classroom, and enhance their personal resumes as many employers prefer hiring applicants with experience in their field of study,” Andres said.

Students can choose to take advantage of internships during their time at Hesston for one to three hours of credit. These internships take place during fall and spring semesters, or during the summer.

Hesston College business students “have many opportunities ahead of them,” Andres said. “And they have the advantage of completing internships earlier than most.”

Freshman accounting major Cal Hartley from Benton, Kan., is interning with the Hesston College Business Office during the current spring semester.

“It has been great to have a student of Cal’s ability, interest and personality work with us in this intern project this year,” business manager Karl Brubaker said. “This opportunity provides a ‘behind the scenes’ look at operations that most students have no idea occur. Finances for any small private college are ever more challenging in today’s online, competitive world.”

“I am learning how accounting works for a small college,” Hartley said. “I am also working on many skills that I have learned in my classes, such as working with Excel documents and putting the whole process together.”

For sophomore Kylie Brenneman, Hesston, Kan., a summer internship worked best. As a business major with a focus in human resources, Brenneman spent the summer of 2017 learning from the human resource coordinators at Excel Industries, a leading manufacturer of outdoor turf equipment, participating in interviews, completing paperwork for state programs and more.

“The whole internship was a huge benefit for me as I learned so much from the people I worked with, listening in on many different conversations with employees dealing with human resource questions,” Brenneman said.

With experiences like these under her belt, Brenneman plans to transfer to Kansas State University (Manhattan) in the fall to obtain her bachelor’s degree in human resource management.

Internships for 2017 graduate Wyatt Baer, Marshallville, Ohio, mean he can now graduate from Bluffton (Ohio) University one year early, finishing his bachelor’s degree in three years of college rather than four. Baer is an accounting major, hoping to eventually earn a master’s in accounting and become a CPA. During his time at Hesston College, Baer had internships at Excel Industries as a credit manager and accountant.

Just as Andres hopes internships provide for application, Baer noted that his experiences on the job implemented the coursework in a real-world setting.

“Having internships has helped me to apply my job experiences to the coursework I am presented with in my classes,” Baer said. “I have even been able to secure two more internships since Hesston. Having these internships has helped me in the interview process and stand out on my resume.”

by Mackenzie Miller ’18

Endowed scholarship to benefit Colorado students

A new endowed scholarship established in memory of a Colorado couple who greatly benefitted from and enjoyed their Hesston Experience, will assist a new generation of Colorado students.

The Glen R. and Mamie Miller Scholarship Fund was established from the Millers’ estate fund as Hesston College held a special place in the lives of the couple. Hesston College students hailing from Colorado who have financial need will be the recipients of the scholarship.

Glen Miller grew up on a farm outside of Limon, Colo., but had the opportunity to attend Hesston Academy, a former high school component of Hesston College, graduating in 1927. After marrying Mamie, the couple returned to Hesston in 1935 and Glen graduated from Hesston College in 1937 while Mamie worked in the college kitchen.

Glen and Mamie often invited students to their home and created many special events for those students. They often shared Hesston College memories with family and friends over the following years.

The Millers believed education was important. After Hesston, Glen completed a degree at Goshen (Ind.) College, then returned to Colorado where he taught in two rural schools in the southeastern part of the state for 10 years. He then returned to school in Chicago and received a mortuary degree and worked for the Custis Peacock Mortuary in La Junta, Colo., before returning to the elementary classroom in his final years.

Glen passed away in 1989 and Mamie in 2008.

Anyone interested in giving to the Glen R. and Mamie Miller Scholarship Fund can contribute online and note the gift’s intention in the memo field.

Young keyboardists exhibit Baroque works at Bach Festival

caption – Division winners of Hesston College’s Bach Festival pictured with guest artist Frank Huang, left, are Zachary Lee, Chase Dwornicki, Riley Dwornicki, Ingrid Li, Amethyst Hale, Annie Nguyen, Aidan Hill, Trevor Penner, Hesston College piano instructor Dr. Bradley Baker and David Cash.

Hesston College hosted Bach Festival for young pianists and organists and music lovers of all ages on March 9 and 10. Centered on the works, life and times of Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach, keyboardists ages 18-years-old and younger brought their best Bach pieces for competition.

Division winners were:

ELEMENTARY DIVISION (ages 9 and under)

• 1st: Zachary Lee, Overland Park, Kan., student of Emily Yeh
• 2nd: David Cash, Hutchinson, Kan., student of Matthew Cash

JUNIOR DIVISION (ages 10 to 13)

• 1st: Riley Dwornicki, Wichita, Kan., student of Christy Williams
• 2nd: Ingrid Li, Leawood, Kan., student of Emily Yeh
• 3rd: Chase Dwornicki, Wichita, Kan., student of Christy Williams

SENIOR DIVISION (ages 14 to 18)

• 1st: Annie Nguyen, Wichita, Kan., student of Shirley Wiebe
• 2nd: Amethyst Hale, Wichita, Kan., student of Brett Janssen
• 3rd: Trevor Penner, Hillsboro, Kan., student of J. Bradley Baker

ORGAN DIVISION

• 1st: Aidan Hill, Cunningham, Kan., student of Carole Pracht

Throughout the day participants also engaged with academic sessions on Bach’s life and the Baroque period. Presentations included:

• “Gaming Bach’s Keyboard Music” on the composers life and the time in which he lived, by Dr. Kelly St. Pierre, Wichita State University
• “Well-Tempered Bach” on tuning systems, motivic correlations, stylistic aspects and the importance of Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier,” by Dr. James Knight, Friends University
• “Organ Crawl,” a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of an organ, by Ken Rodgers, Hesston College
• “Harpsichord Petting Zoo,” an opportunity to play an harpsichord and hear Bach’s works on the instrument on which he composed.

Ashley Yasin leads on the field, in the classroom

Hesston College prides itself in making sure students are not just a number. But what about 117, or 8.97 or 25? What do those number mean to the Hesston College softball team? They stand for strikeouts this season, strikeouts per game and total Lark wins. All numbers that Ashley Yasin has made her own on the softball diamond for the Larks this season.

Yasin broke the all-time wins record at Hesston College (24) by defeating the #9 Cowley Tigers last week. She leads all NJCAA DII pitchers for the most strikeouts in the country with 117 on the year. Yasin also holds the career strikeouts record at Hesston College with 253 Ks and counting in just a year and a half on the mound.

All of these things make Yasin stand out on the field, but what is more impressive is how she stands out around campus, as a teammate and in the classroom.

“I’ve known Ashley for less than a year now,” says freshman catcher Sam Amarante, “and she has been nothing but an awesome friend and teammate to me. She does a very good job of taking freshmen under her wing and making them feel included, continuously making an effort to build a friendship outside of softball.”

In the classroom, Yasin is also making an impact. As a nursing student – one of Hesston’s most challenging majors – she must stay on top of her game at every level.

“I can tell you that she is excelling academically, responsible and managing to balance her academic and athletic load very well,” said Director of Nursing Education Becky Bartell. “She is a positive young lady who is a joy to be around.”

Head Softball Coach Andy Sharp echoes more of the sentiment. “Since arriving on campus, Ashley has been exactly what we needed her to be,” said Sharp. “She has consistently worked hard and given her team a chance to be successful. I am grateful that she made the move from California to Kansas, and I could not be more proud of what Ashley has accomplished in her time on the Hesston campus.”

How is someone successful in the classroom and on the field at Hesston? Teammate Jaelyn Rufenacht sums it up well. “Her success is something she has worked to earn, not only have I seen her work to dominate in the circle, but she is constantly working to improve as a teammate. Ash was one of my first friends on the team and I have loved watching her become the player and teammate she is. I am going to miss the long days on the field with her.”

Not every story ends with breaking records and teammates and staff proud of who you are becoming. But, that is the goal.

Hesston College remembers Wilma Friesen

The Hesston College community mourns with the Paul Friesen family in the death of his wife, Wilma (Wenger) Friesen, on Friday, March 9, just two days shy of her 94th birthday.

Paul is a revered emeritus faculty member in art, who also started the art program in 1956. Wilma was constant in her support of whatever Paul needed to do for his art, his program and his students. At the 2008 dedication of the Friesen Center for Visual Arts, named in Paul and Wilma’s honor, Paul stated, “I give her [Wilma] a tremendous amount of credit for the things she had to put up with and the things she had to do. In spite of all that, she continually gave me encouragement.”

Wilma was a 1944 graduate of Hesston College, as well as four of her six children – Kelvin Friesen ’73, Jan (Friesen) ’75 Roth West, Gregg Friesen ’78 and Jennifer (Friesen) ’84 LeFevre – and several grandchildren. Her grandson Jaecy Friesen is a flight instructor with Hesston College Aviation, son Kelvin is the Board of Directors chair and daughter Jennifer is a former physical education faculty member and coach.

Visitation will be 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 17, at Hesston Mennonite Church, followed by a memorial service at 4 p.m.

Our prayers go with the Friesen family in the days and weeks to come.

Famed food service director remembered

Emil Yoder, a cook in Food Service from 1952-58 and director of Food Service from 1963-78, passed away Monday, March 12, 2018, in Glendale, Ariz., at the age of 90.

Yoder is fondly remembered for his cinnamon rolls, which were always met with rave reviews. During the college’s centennial celebration in 2009, Emil prepared cinnamon rolls, along with his wife Minerva and Bob Nunemacher, who succeeded Emil as food service director, for the college’s weekend guests. He is also remembered for switching from family-style meals to buffet-style dining in 1968 following a food services seminar at Central Michigan University, and saving the college $40,000 in the first year of the change, the equivalent of more than $290,000 today.

A passage in A School on the Prairie: A Centennial History of Hesston College 1909-2009, by John Sharp described Emil’s path to Hesston:

“Emil, appreciated by the thousands of students he served, was recruited to Hesston in 1952 by Business Manager Dan Kauffman. His cooking career had started in Civilian Public Service in Colorado, where Pearl Hershberger Rodgers asked the nineteen-year-old ‘green’ Amish farm boy to serve in the kitchen. He was then transferred to Mennonite Central Committee headquarters in Akron, Pennsylvania, where Edna Byler took him under her wing and taught him more about cooking and about managing a kitchen. When Dan Kauffman asked Byler whom he could hire for Hesston’s kitchen, Byler immediately recommended Emil. Emil cooked for Hesston students for six years during the ‘family style’ days….After six years, Emil and Minerva left to farm near Kalona, Iowa, with Dan Kauffman’s parting words to consider: ‘You’ll never be happy on the farm.’ Kauffman turned out to be right. The Yoders returned to Hesston in 1962 and bought a nearly ‘dead’ Hesston Café on Main Street…Within months they had won a loyal clientele, turned the business around, and were making a profit. A year-and-a-half later, in 1963, President [Tillman] Smith asked Emil to manage the college food services. The reluctant pair became willing when their ‘fleece’ laid before God was quickly answered: if someone offered to buy the café soon, they would sell. Within a week the offer came.”

Yoder is survived by his wife, Minerva Yoder ’48, and sons Keith Yoder ’72 and Royce Yoder ’74.

A Celebration of Life service will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, April 7, at Trinity Mennonite Church in Glendale, Ariz.

New scholarship focused on students with disabilities

A new institutional scholarship at Hesston College will benefit students with disabilities and special challenges, enabling and encouraging them to participate fully in academic and student life.

The Paul E. and Vesta L. Gingerich Scholarship Fund has been added to the college’s more than 100 endowed scholarships as a tribute to the experience that the Gingeriches and their four children – all Hesston graduates – received and enjoyed. The scholarship was set with a special focus on students with disabilities as two of the Gingerich children were born with a gene that caused dwarfism. Despite the extra challenges with which they were faced, both flourished socially and academically.

Paul and Vesta passed away in 2014 and 2016 respectively, and the fund was established through their estate.

The family noted that the scholarship is not limited just to tuition needs, but may also be distributed to help with other costs, such as tutoring, classroom assistance and technology support.

Anyone interested in giving to The Paul E. and Vesta L. Gingerich Scholarship Fund can contribute online and note the gift’s intention in the memo field.