In the News

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.

Faculty members recognized as leaders in Kansas higher education

The Kansas Independent College Association (KICA) proudly announced the selection of twenty Kansas college faculty members who have been identified as the future leaders of Kansas higher education. Two Hesston College faculty members, Amy Birdsell, aviation, and Heidi Hochstetler, ACESS director, are among those recognized.

Together the twenty recipients will comprise the second class of participants in KICA’s Aspiring Campus Leaders Academy. The Academy is the outgrowth of several years of conversation about the lack of high quality training opportunities targeted for those in academics, not administration, at smaller, private colleges like the member KICA institutions. The Academy will feature learning opportunities-focused tactical tools such as budgeting, governance, data trends, hiring, faculty evaluation tools and more.

Birdsell has been teaching at Hesston College since 2005. A graduate of Hesston’s aviation program, she has a master’s in aeronautics from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, Fla.) and an undergraduate degree from MidAmerica Nazarene University.

“I choose to teach at Hesston College because of the strong community of colleagues and the joy of helping student succeed in aviation,” said Birdsell.

Hochstetler has been director of Hesston’s ACCESS tutoring lab and teaches writing courses since 2013. A graduate of Hesston College, she earned an undergraduate degree in English and language arts with an education endorsement and a master’s degree in education with emphasis on curriculum and instruction and an English as a Second Language endorsement from Doane College (Crete, Neb.).

“I enjoy the connections I get to make with students as they increase their knowledge, hone new skills and wrestle with difficult ideas,” said Hochstetler. “It’s such a reward to see the small successes that lead to the big payoff at the end.”

“At Kansas’ independent colleges, we know that our most important job by far is to provide a vibrant, relevant, high-quality education to each and every student that enters our doors,” said Matt Lindsey, KICA president. “To invest in the future leadership of our member institutions is to invest in their students, and our communities as a whole.”

KICA develops and enhances the competitive standing of its 19 member independent, non-profit, regionally accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and strives to assure opportunity and choice in higher education for all students.

Bel Canto Singers spring break tour will head east

Hesston College’s premier vocal ensemble, the Bel Canto Singers, will travel east for a spring break tour March 18 to 25 with 10 planned performances in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and South Dakota.

The 29-voice mixed chamber choir, under the direction of Dr. Russell Adrian, will present a program entitled “Living Water,” which is inspired by biblical images of water that flow through the old and new testaments. The program features a cappella works, selections with organ or piano and special music by soloists and small ensembles.

In some locations, the Bel Canto concert will be a collaboration with choirs from local Mennonite high schools.

The tour itinerary includes:

• Sunday, March 18, 10:30 a.m., Weavers Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, Va.
• Sunday, March 18, 3 p.m., Park View Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, Va.
• Monday, March 19, Lancaster Mennonite School, Lancaster, Pa.
• Monday, March 19, 7 p.m., Blossom Hill Mennonite Church, Lancaster, Pa.
• Tuesday, March 20, 7 p.m., Crown Hill Mennonite Church, Rittman, Ohio, with the Central Christian Varsity Singers
• Wednesday, March 21, 9:30 a.m., Central Christian High School, Kidron, Ohio
• Wednesday, March 21, 7 p.m., West Clinton Mennonite Church, Wauseon, Ohio
• Thursday, March 22, 11 a.m., Greencroft Goshen Community Center, Goshen, Ind.
• Thursday, March 22, 7 p.m., Waterford Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind.
• Friday, March 23, 7 p.m., Iowa Mennonite School, Kalona, Iowa, with the Iowa Mennonite School Concert Choir
• Sunday, March 25, 9:30 a.m., Salem Mennonite Church, Freeman, S.D.
• Tuesday, March 27, 7 p.m., Hesston Mennonite Church, Hesston, Kan.

The 2017-18 year marks the 34th season for the Bel Canto Singers. The group carries out ambitious concert and touring schedules annually. Recent juried appearances have included performances for VOCES8, Chanticleer, the King’s Singers, Charles Bruffy and the Rose Ensemble.