In the News

Body found in Democratic Republic of Congo confirmed as son of instructor

On the evening of March 28, the body of Michael “M.J.” Sharp, son of Hesston College Bible and history instructor John Sharp, was confirmed as one found in a shallow grave March 27 in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. John Sharp confirmed the report.

M.J. was part of a UN panel of experts investigating ongoing conflicts and government abuses in the region. He was kidnapped by an unidentified militia group on March 12, along with his companions, UN colleague Zaida Catalan of Sweden, and three Congolese nationals, interpreter Betu Tshintela, driver Isaac Kabuayi, and two unnamed motorbike drivers. The bodies of Catalan and Tshintela were found along with Sharp’s. The search for the remaining three missing continues.

Hesston College Interim President, Ben Sprunger, issued the following statement:

“We mourn with John and Michele Sharp in the death of their son, M.J., who was killed as he worked to bring more peace to a hurting world. M.J.’s life and work reflected his deeply rooted beliefs of peace for all humanity, and we are grateful for the example he set of what it looks like to offer hope in place of despair and replace war and conflict with peace. We recognize the risks to those who work for peace, and we are grateful for their service. Our prayers and support are with the Sharp family in the difficult days ahead, as well as the families of Zaida Catalan, Betu Tshintela, and the three companions who remain missing. We also pray for the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country with deep and painful divides, that it would come to find peace and relief.

M.J.’s career of more than 10 years was devoted to humanitarian work and service. He had worked for the UN in the Congo since 2015. Prior to that, he served for three years as Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) Eastern Congo coordinator, working to facilitate repatriation of Rwandan refugees and negotiating with militia leaders. From 2005-08, he served as a Mennonite Mission Network worker with the German Mennonite Peace Committee where he was director of the Military Counseling Network assisting U.S. service members pursuing conscientious objector status.

During the two-week search for M.J., John and his wife, Michele Miller Sharp, reflected through news reports and social media updates on who M.J. was, why he pursued humanitarian work and what he believed.

In a March 14 article in the Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, John was quoted as saying: “MJ is committed to finding nonviolent ways to resolve conflict. He is aware that 20 years of violence in eastern Congo has solved nothing – he was working to find a better way.”

Like their son, John and Michele’s reflections exemplified a spirit of peace and compassion for all.

In a March 14 interview with the Mennonite World Review, John was quoted: “I have said on more than one occasion that we peacemakers should be willing to risk our lives as those who join the military do. Now it’s no longer theory.”

Likewise, in a March 18 Facebook post, John shared: “We continue to wait in hope for M.J., Zaida and their four Congolese companions. Please pray also for the captors who are also victims of the violence that has taken six million lives and has made millions more homeless. They have families, too.”

Hesston College chapel on Wednesday, March 29, will be a time for the community to come together to hear more information, reflect on the situation and worship with one another through song and prayer. All are welcome.

Further services of remembrance are being planned and details will be shared as they come available.

M.J. was a 2001 graduate of Bethany Christian School (Goshen, Ind.), and a 2005 graduate of Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Va.).

Spring concert to feature three groups

The Hesston College Chamber Orchestra, Women’s Chorus and Men’s Chorus will be featured in a concert at 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 4, at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus. The concert is free and open to the public.

The groups will perform sacred and secular selections.

Women’s Chorus and Men’s Chorus are directed by Ken Rodgers, and Chamber Orchestra is directed by Rebecca Schloneger.

Beloved Director of Nursing to step down following academic year

After 37 years as director of the Hesston College Nursing program, Bonnie Sowers announced that she will step down from the role on June 30.

In addition to her years as director, Sowers has served in other roles within the nursing program for a total of about 45 years of the program’s 50-year history.

“It is not an understatement to say that Bonnie is essentially synonymous with the nursing program at Hesston College,” said Brent Yoder, Vice President of Academics. “We will certainly miss the outstanding leadership and holistic care that she has brought to the program for many years.”

Sowers attended Hesston College for one year in 1966, the same year the college’s two-year associate degree nursing program was launched. After earning her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Goshen (Ind.) College, she returned to Hesston in 1970 to serve as nursing instructor. She spent one year at Ohio State University (Columbus) to earn her master’s degree, and then returned in 1975 to become the assistant director of nursing. She assumed the role of director in 1980 and has held the position continuously since 1985.

Under her leadership, Hesston College Nursing has established itself as a highly successful and respected program. In its 50-year history, more than 1,600 individuals have graduated from the program, with more than 98 percent of graduates passing the NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses) and becoming registered nurses.

Most recently, Sowers and her team of faculty and staff were instrumental in launching the college’s four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program in 2015. An RN to BSN completion program was added in January 2017, and an LPN to BSN program will begin with the fall 2017 semester.

Sowers will end her tenure as director just following the college’s celebration of the 50th graduating nursing class, and the first graduating BSN class.

Nursing students and alumni regularly credit Sowers’ encouragement and guidance, along with that of other nursing faculty members, as formative in their nursing education and success.

“Bonnie has a quiet, respectful, Christ-like way of building relationships,” said Marcy Renollet, a 1995 Hesston College graduate who is now a unit director at Via Christi Health in Newton, Kan. “Throughout my nursing career, I’ve drawn on my memory of how Bonnie was present in our conversations, of her nonjudgmental attitude and her ability to see the positive in any situation.”

Sowers’ work has also reached beyond the nursing department to other areas of campus. She served as interim academic dean on two separate occasions, and as an associate academic dean for about 20 years.

Vocal instructor wins national fellowship award

Hesston College music faculty member Matthew Schloneger, Ph.D., was selected as one of two winners nationally for the Van L. Lawrence Fellowship, recognizing a combined commitment to excellence in teaching and voice science. The Fellowship and $2,000 award are intended to provide opportunities for the Fellow to become more thoroughly acquainted with practices, techniques, technology and people involved in laryngology and voice science.

Schloneger has served as a voice instructor at Hesston since 2001, and currently serves as Chair of the Fine Arts Department. He earned a doctorate in vocal pedagogy from the University of Kansas (Lawrence), where his research interests focused on singers’ health. He holds a master of music degree in voice from the University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music, a bachelor’s in music and sociology from Goshen (Ind.) College and an associate of arts from Hesston College. He completed post-graduate studies at the Civica Scuola di Musica di Milano in Milan, Italy, where he was a Rotary Scholar, and has a certificate in French language from the Sorbonne in Paris, France.

As a Van Lawrence Fellow, Schloneger will complete a research project over the next year to be presented at The Voice Foundation’s 2018 Symposium on Care of the Professional Voice and expedited publication in the “Journal of Voice” or “Journal of Singing.”

His project will involve the use of voice dosimetry, newly developed technology designed to assess the vocal load acquired by singers over a period of time. Schloneger describes the technology as “a Fitbit for the voice.” Schloneger wrote: “As a singing voice pedagogue, I want to continue exploring ways in which voice dosimetry can be of direct assistance to singing teachers.” The project will work to quantify the tessituras and vocal load of specific vocal repertoire, and will involve collaborative work with the National Center for Voice and Speech, Michigan State University and Westminster Choir College.

Schloneger, whose research has focused on the relationships between singer voice use and vocal health will also present at The Voice Foundation’s 2017 Symposium on June 4, in Philadelphia, a joint effort on “Vocal Dose, Hearing Dose, and Voice Changes of Karaoke Singer: A Case Study.”

Schloneger is a two-time runner up for the Fellowship in 2013 and 2016.

The Van L. Lawrence Fellowship was created to honor Van L. Lawrence, M.D. for his outstanding contribution to voice, and particularly to recognize the importance of the interdisciplinary education he fostered among laryngologists and singing teachers. It is awarded jointly by The Voice Foundation and National Association of Teachers of Singing Foundation.

Indiana organist and instructor to be featured in Andover Organ Series

The second of three concerts in the Andover Organ Series at Hesston College will be at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 21, at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus. The concert will feature Kevin J. Vaughn, director of music and organist at Gloria Dei Lutheran church (South Bend, Ind.), instructor of organ at Goshen (Ind.) College, and adjunct assistant professor of piano and organ at the University of Notre Dame (Ind.).

Vaughn’s program, which takes place on J.S. Bach’s 332nd birthday, will include the music Bach, Vierne, Krebs, Brahms and Martinson. A reception following the concert will feature birthday cake in honor of Bach. The concert is free and open to the public.

Vaughn performs regularly across the country as a solo organ recitalist, and in collaborative programs of sacred music for voice and organ with baritone Stephen Lancaster. Recent engagements include lecture recitals at the University of Notre Dame and Valparaiso (Ind.) University, and for various American Guild of Organists chapters. He also enjoys performing as soloist for Haydn and Handel organ concerti and as organist for major choral works, most recently Duruflé’s Requiem Faure’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass.

A semifinalist in the 2013-14 cycle of the National Young Artist Competition in Organ Performance sponsored by the American Guild of Organists, Vaught won first prize in the Immanuel Lutheran Church Organ Scholar Competition in Evanston, Ill., in February 2015. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in piano, organ and sacred music, including the first Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance conferred by the University of Notre Dame. His former instructors include Phyllis Warner, Gail Walton and Craig Cramer.

An Active member of the American Guild of Organists, Vaughn serves as Dean of the St. Joseph Valley (Ind.) Chapter and holds the Guild’s Colleague certificate. He also maintains active membership in the American Musicological Society, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians and the Organ Historical Society.

Vaughn’s scholarly research and lecture recitals focus on French organist/composer Gaston Litaize (1909-91), especially his organ Masses, as well as twentieth-century French liturgical music for solo organ more broadly. Of particular interest are genre designations, compositional techniques and reception of Litaize’s and other composers’ works after World War II.

The Andover Organ Series at Hesston College feature organists from across the world, bringing another form of fine art to south central Kansas. The series is funded by the John Ernest Foundation.

The final concert in the series will be at 7 p.m., Friday, April 21, and will feature Shayla Van Hal and Bethany Johnson, graduate students at the University of Kansas (Lawrence).

National Golf Benefit offers warm temperatures and exciting prizes

Golfers can enjoy the warmth of the desert in sunny Arizona for Hesston College’s eighth annual National Golf Benefit, Saturday, April 8, at The Legend at Arrowhead, Glendale, Ariz.

Non-golfers also have a chance to join in the fun, even from a distance, by purchasing raffle tickets for exciting prizes, including a Traeger Grill Pro Series with 884 inches of grilling area, a set of Callaway Apex Pro 16 irons, a Sony Alpha 6000 camera and case, and more. Raffle tickets are $5 each or 15 tickets for $50. Tickets for non-golfers must be purchased by April 5. You do not have to be present to win raffle prizes.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Hesston College student experience, by helping to support the college’s core needs, including everything from financial aid to classroom instruction to student activities and building maintenance. Each year, Hesston College awards more than $2.5 million in student tuition assistance.

Golfer registration is $125 for single entries or $450 for a four-person team. The entry fee includes a golf cart with GPS, access to the driving range, a sleeve of golf balls, two drink tickets, a burger and pulled pork meal and door prizes. Register online.

Hole sponsorships are available for $250 and green sponsorships are available for $400.

The Legend at Arrowhead is a par 72 course located in the Arizona west valley. Measuring 6,986 yards from the championship tees, the course boasts six lakes, mature palm trees, bunkers and undulating greens with superb putting surfaces.

Contact Sheri Esau with questions at 620-327-8147 or sheri.esau@hesston.edu.

Sunflower Trio to resource sister institutions during spring break tour

The Sunflower Trio, comprised of three Hesston College music faculty members, will travel to three sister institutions, Bluffton (Ohio) University, Goshen (Ind.) College and Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Va.) for concert presentations and residency activities during a spring break tour March 14 to 18. The tour is made possible through a grant from the Marpeck Fund, which benefits Mennonite education and inter-institutional cooperation.

At each location, the trio, featuring Matthew Schloneger, tenor; Rebecca Schloneger, violin; and Kenneth Rodgers, piano and organ, will present concerts of the music of Mennonite composer J. Harold Moyer, and conduct residency activities with music students.

Moyer’s music is featured on the group’s most recent CD, Reflections: The Music of J. Harold Moyer, which celebrates the life and work of the musician, a long-time music faculty member at Bethel College (North Newton, Kan.) who passed away in 2012. Moyer’s work is important in the history of the Mennonite church as he was involved in developing The Mennonite Hymnal, the first joint hymnal venture between the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church. (1969), and he contributed ten hymns to Hymnal: A Worship Book (1992) as composer, arranger or tune harmonizer. Moyer also wrote three sets of songs for the Sunflower Trio consisting of tenor, violin and voice.

The trio’s concert schedule is as follows:

• 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 14 at Bluffton University, Yoder Recital Hall (free and open to the public)
• 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 15 at Goshen College, Reith Recital Hall (tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens)
• 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 18 at Eastern Mennonite University, Martin Chapel (free and open to the public)

The Sunflower Trio was founded in 2002 and is dedicated to performing music featuring voice, violin and piano/organ. The trio excels in a variety of styles from Baroque to contemporary, folk and Broadway. They have performed extensively throughout the United States as a part of the Kansas Arts Commission and Mid-America Arts Alliance touring rosters.

A dramatic landing gives student pilot a unique perspective

January 19, 2015, is a day that will forever live in the mind of Jordan Stoltzfus, a sophomore aviation student at Hesston College.

On that day, Stoltzfus survived total engine failure of an airplane, followed by an emergency landing, and lived to tell about it–an experience that not many pilots, seasoned veterans or otherwise, would ever be able to relate to.

Only four days prior to the accident had Stoltzfus, then a senior at Westview High School (Topeka, Ind.), taken his first solo flight in hopes of eventually attaining his private pilot’s license.

This love for flight took wing from a young age. Stoltzfus says he always dreamed of flying as a kid. From airshows with his dad to aspiring to be an astronaut in the third grade, becoming a pilot was truly “the dream.”

And so, New Horizons Aviation in Goshen, Ind., seemed like the perfect place to start aviation training. It would give Stoltzfus a head-start as he headed into Hesston College’s aviation program on a soccer scholarship for the 2015-2016 school year.

“It was a cold, January day,” Stoltzfus said. “I had maybe eleven flight hours under my belt and I was on my own.”

Soon after takeoff, the engine started causing trouble. The cause would later be uncovered: a chunk of ice in front of the air filter. That was all. But in the moment, all Stoltzfus could do was follow routine procedures and hope for the best.

The best didn’t happen, and soon Stoltzfus was proceeding with an emergency landing in his neighbor’s yard.

And then he blacked out.

“The next thing I remember was coming to and there was no glass broken, the cockpit was in one piece, and I wasn’t in any pain. I got up and walked away. It was a miracle.”

Awakening to find himself unscathed, Stoltzfus then saw his dad and neighbor hurrying over. 911 was on their way with an ambulance. But after a quick examination, Stoltzfus was given the okay and headed home, not a mark on his body to prove the accident had happened.

“It was a miracle–a God thing,” Stoltzfus remarks as he relives the accident in his mind.

Yet, even though his physical appearance had not altered, Stoltzfus’ emotional state, along with those of his parents, was a different story.

“I still get worked up talking about it,” Stoltzfus said. “The next couple of days [after the accident], I struggled with PTSD. It took pills to put me to sleep at night.”

“My mom would break down,” notes Stoltzfus.

And his dad? The day of the accident, he hadn’t even known his son was out on a flight. Putting the pieces together while running over to the scene of the accident was gut-wrenching.

But even with the trauma of the experience still living inside him, Stoltzfus took to the air just two weeks after the accident. While he admits that he was on edge for his first solo flight after the accident, Stoltzfus says that each flight got better and better.

It has been two years and counting since the accident, and Jordan Stoltzfus is only a few months from graduating from Hesston College with his aviation degree, having completed the private, instrument, commercial, and instructor/multi-engine courses.

Dan Miller, aviation director at Hesston College, speaks to Stoltzfus’ success: “Jordan is a talented individual, who continues to develop his risk management decision-making experiences. Enhanced caution is definitely within Jordan’s mindset.”

When asked how he sees the accident affecting the kind of pilot Stoltzfus is becoming, Miller says, “This question has an ongoing answer as the kind of pilot Jordan is becoming continues to develop. His aviation experiences are strengthening Jordan’s personal character as he carries himself with professional confidence.”

And so, Stoltzfus continues to use the dramatic experiences of the past to set him apart as a pilot.

When asked how this experience has changed him, he quickly said, “You don’t know what it’s like until you fly solo and your engine quits. I had an experience that no one [in the Hesston aviation program] has had. That experience will help land me a job.”

And what’s after Hesston College for Stoltzfus? He chuckled and said, “I’ve got a job at New Horizons Aviation. I’m going back to where it all started.”

One more Lark has left his mark, and now heads for the skies.

by Mackenzie Miller

Accomplished graduate named 2017 commencement speaker

An accomplished leader in higher education and nursing, and a ’79 Hesston College graduate, Dr. Marie S. Morris, will deliver both the nursing pinning and commencement address during Commencement Weekend, May 13 and 14.

Nursing pinning will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 13, at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus. The 2017 pinning will recognize the first class of BSN graduates after the college added the program in 2015, and also marks the 50th year of Hesston College nursing. Commencement ceremonies will be at 9 a.m., Sunday, May 14, in Yost Center.

Dr. Morris has been in cabinet-level higher education leadership for 17 years. She currently serves as provost at Anderson (Ind.) University. Her executive leadership responsibilities include institutional strategic planning and effectiveness, oversight of all academic programs and supervision of academic support services. She formerly served nine years as Vice President and Undergraduate Dean at Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Va.).

Dr. Morris is a student-centered leader ensuring that all units of an institution remain mindful that their core purpose is educating students. For the last 12 years Dr. Morris has served as a resource leader for leadership development institutes. She served as an accreditation evaluator for the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and currently serves as a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission.

Along with her dedication to higher education she makes a point to serve in the community. She previously served as a board member for Indiana Campus Compact, and she is chair of the Quality of Care Committee of Community Hospital Anderson, where she also serves as the executive committee of the board. She is also a member of the Hesston College Board of Directors, beginning her term of service in 2013.

Dr. Morris earned a Ph.D. in nursing administration from George Mason University (Fairfax, Va.), a master’s degree from the University of Virginia (Charlottesville), a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Mennonite University and an associate degree from Hesston College.

Other events honoring students and their achievements will take place during Commencement Weekend. The Disaster Management Program will honor graduating students at an 8:30 a.m. recognition, May 13, in the Campus Worship Center in the lower level of Keim Center. Aviation and Air Traffic Control graduates will be recognized during a 2:30 p.m. reception, May 13, in the Hesston Mennonite Church Community Center.