In the News

Music student to perform as vocal soloist with Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony Orchestra

Hesston College music student Emma Roth has been selected to perform as a soloist with the Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony Orchestra (NMKSO) at the Poised for Pops concert at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 16, at the Newton High School Auditorium.

Roth will sing Broadway selections, including a medley from the Disney musical “Frozen” and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s world famous musical “Cats.”

Roth, a sophomore from Goshen, Ind., is a soprano with the Bel Canto Singers, the college’s premier vocal ensemble, and plays violin in the Chamber Orchestra at Hesston College. She has performed lead roles in several Hesston College theatre productions including the musicals “Little Women” and “Working” and the dramas “Our Town” and “These Shining Lives.” Roth studies voice with music faculty member Holly Swartzendruber.

Hesston College music faculty member Matthew Schloneger said Roth was chosen when NMKSO manager Jill Gatz contacted the music department to recommend a student to serve as soloist. The faculty recommended students based on the concert repertoire.

“Gatz came to view a rehearsal of the spring musical (“Working”) and listen to the students perform, and she chose Emma,” said Schloneger. “We are excited that one of our own students will have this opportunity!”

In addition to Roth’s selections, the NMKSO, conducted by Thomas W. Douglas, will perform music from “Chicago,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” “My Fair Lady,” “Star Wars,” and “Best of the Beatles.” The NMKSO Flute section will also perform the “Flute Cocktail.”

The Poised for Pops concert marks the beginning of the Spring into the Arts Festival sponsored by the Newton Area Arts Council.

Tickets can be purchased in advance for $12.50 for adults and $6 for students and at the door for $15.00 for adults and $7 for students. Children under 12 are free with an adult. Tickets are available at the Faith and Life Bookstore in Newton and the NMKSO office or online at www.nmkso.org.

Larkfest 2016 to highlight service and student achievement

The community is invited to join Hesston College in taking a day off from classes Thursday, April 14, for the annual Larkfest event which highlights student work and achievements.

David LeVan, business faculty, says, “Larkfest was created to highlight two important values of Hesston College – academic excellence and service to others. On Larkfest, the community comes together to celebrate the best of Hesston College.”

In the morning, every on-campus student will take part in a service project throughout the Hesston community, followed by an awards ceremony in celebration of student academic and extracurricular achievement at 11 a.m., at Hesston Mennonite Church. The afternoon includes student presentations showcasing academic work, beginning at 1 p.m., in Kropf Center, Charles Hall, and Nortlawn Center for Performing arts Education. The public is invited to attend the awards ceremony and presentations.

Music students to be featured in sophomore recitals

The last month of the academic year marks a flurry of sophomore student recitals for Hesston College music students. All recitals are free and open to the public.

Kicking off recital season is Ali Zuercher with a flute recital at noon, Saturday, April 16, at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus.

Zuercher (Phoenix, Ariz.) is a flute student of Kristin Shaffer. She has participated in Chamber Orchestra during both of her years at Hesston, and this spring is a member of the International Chorale that will travel to Europe for three weeks in May.

Erika Byler will be perform her recital as a music theatre cabaret at 7 p.m., Friday, April 22, in the Helmuth Studio Theatre in the Northlawn Center for Performing Arts Education.

Byler (Shipshewana, Ind.) has been a member of both casts and crew for Hesston College Theatre productions, including a member of the cast for the spring musical “Working.” She is also an alto in the Bel Canto Singers and a member of Chamber Orchestra, where she plays clarinet and trumpet. Byler studies voice with Holly Swartzendruber and her theatre director is Rachel Jantzi.

Emma Roth (Goshen, Ind.) will be featured in a voice recital at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 23, at Hesston Mennonite Church.

Roth is a soprano with the Bel Canto Singers and plays violin in the Chamber Orchestra. She has also performed lead roles in several Hesston College productions, including “Our Town,” “Little Women,” “These Shining Lives,” and “Working.” Roth is a voice student of Holly Swartzendruber.

Beloved instructor named 2016 commencement speaker

One of Hesston College’s own, faculty member Kevin Wilder, will deliver the commencement address during the May 8 ceremony in Yost Center.

Wilder has served in various roles at Hesston College since 1998. He currently teaches psychology and Bible and ministry courses and serves as an academic advisor. He previously served as the campus pastor for 10 years.

Wilder says it’s most energizing for him to see when his students can take material from his courses and apply it to their lives. He loves engaging in activities and discussion with his students and utilizing student’s ideas for assignments and ways to make the courses he teaches better.

“Kevin is recognized as an excellent teacher by his peers, a caring advisor, and a mentor to many students,” said President Howard Keim.

Wilder, who is a doctoral student in marriage and family counseling at Denver (Colo.) Seminary, is also an ordained minister with South Central Mennonite Conference and a student member of The Association of Christian Counselors and American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Taylor University (Upland, Ind.) and a master’s degree from Friends University (Wichita, Kan.).

“Kevin is the quintessential relational person and minister,” said Hesston College Bible faculty member Michele Hershberger. “He gets it. He understands how important it is to be with people in an authentic, caring way.”

Other events honoring students and their achievements will take place May 7 during Commencement Weekend.

The Disaster Management Program will honor six graduating students at an 8:30 a.m. recognition in the Campus Worship Center in the lower level of the Northlawn Center for Performing Arts Education. Brett Troyer, a 2006 graduate, and the first graduate to earn a certificate from the program, will be the featured speaker. Troyer is Project Logistics Coordinator for Mennonite Disaster Service, based out of the Bi-national Office in Lititz, Pa.

The featured speaker at Nursing Pinning at 10 a.m., at Hesston Mennonite Church, will be Lisa Harrelson, RN, a 2009 Hesston College Nursing graduate. Harrelson is a critical care nurse at Wesley Medical Center (Wichita, Kan.), and was named the 2015 Kansas Hospital Association Health Care Worker of the Year.

Committee compiles candidate profile for next president

The Hesston College Presidential Search Committee has compiled and released a candidate profile for the college’s next president.

The ideal candidate will be an Anabaptist Christian committed to joining a local Mennonite Church USA congregation upon appointment. He or she will also hold a terminal degree and have leadership experience at a higher education institution.

In addition, the committee is looking for specific strengths, fit and motivation in leadership, fundraising and faith that will help elevate Hesston’s unique position as a two-year private college in higher education.

Some of the president’s responsibilities will include leading efforts for strategic priorities based on the strategic vision over the next few years. The strategic vision states: Create a culture of institutional sustainability, with regard to college and individual growth, that will strengthen Hesston College’s distinctives, broaden our appeal to students, and provide a strong foundation for future growth.

The full profile in a downloadable format can be found at online.

Nominations and/or letters of application with CV or résumé may be submitted to Hesston College Presidential Search Committee at HC_SearchCom@MennoniteEducation.org; or through postal mail to:

Hesston College Search Committee
Mennonite Education Agency
3145 Benham Avenue, Suite #2
Elkhart, IN 46517.

Candidates from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Hesston’s current president, Dr. Howard Keim, will end more than 11 years of effective leadership at the college on June 30.

Poverty simulation eye-opener to a different reality

Hesston College and Circles of Hope of Harvey County hosted a poverty simulation March 28, through a grant from the Hesston Community Foundation. With more than 90 participants, Jennifer Rose, executive director of Peace Connections, which operates the Circles of Hope program, said it was the largest simulation she has coordinated. The poverty simulation placed participants into family groups who, through guided role-play, fast-forwarded through a month in the life of a family living in poverty.

Photo caption above - Freshman Vanessa Steckly (Milford, Neb.) makes plans with her family group at the start of the poverty simulation.

Photo caption below - Sophomores Karli Rodriguez (Denver, Colo.) and Cody Halvorson (Temple, Texas) visit the “bank” while Cody Lebert (Douglas, Wyo.) and Sarah Hoover (Elbing, Kan.) look on.

New genre art featured in Regier Friesen Gallery

Greenville (Ill.) College art professor Jacob Amundson works with alternative and new genre media in his art show titled “#Blessed&Depressed,” featured in Hesston College’s Regier Friesen Gallery, located in the Friesen Center for Visual Arts, through April 15.

“This body of work represents explorations over the past year in subverting my own wrestling with depression, the calling of the studio, and the gift of being an artist,” said Amundson in his artist statement.

Amundson has taught at Greenville College since 2006. He graduated from Greenville with a bachelor’s degree in fine art with emphasis in painting and graphic design. He earned a masters of fine arts in new genre from Azusa (Calif.) Pacific University.

The Regier Freisen Gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Former Hesston standout wins national title with buzzer beater

Hesston College 2015 graduate and former men’s basketball point guard Malcolm Mann has once again lead his team to new heights. Now a starting junior guard for Mid-America Christian University (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Mann scored 23 points, including a dramatic game-winning buzzer-beater, to lift the Evangels to a thrilling 100-99 overtime win in the March 22 NAIA national championship game.

Hesston basketball fans remember Mann well, of course. As a sophomore in 2014-15 he spearheaded a ferocious Hesston defense that lead the Larks to the NJCAA Region VI championship and a spot in the national tournament. Mann averaged 8.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, often guarded opponents’ top scorers, and served as the Larks’ team captain.

Mann’s accomplishments on the Hesston campus were by no means limited to the hardwood. Following his sophomore season, the Plano, Texas, native was named Student Athlete of the Year by the school’s athletic department, an award reserved for students who, in addition to athletic success, show strong contributions to the campus community and represent the institution well outside of athletics.

“I love everything about Malcolm,” said Hesston coach Dustin Galyon. “His leadership continues to make history, and our program and Hesston College couldn’t be more proud of him.”

It seems Mann’s well-rounded contributions, along with his basketball skills, transferred smoothly to his new surroundings.

“Malcolm has an outstanding campus presence and serves as a spiritual leader for our team,” said Mid-America Christian coach Josh Gamblin. “He’s our most important player and does so much to tie our guys together.”

French organist to give recital on Hesston College organ

French organist Pierre Queval will give a recital on the Andover Organ at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 29, at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus. The concert is free and open to the public with a reception to follow. The concert is made possible by The John Ernest Foundation.

Queval will perform music by J.S. Bach, Franҫois Couperin, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, and César Franck. He will conclude the evening with an improvisation.

Born in 1988 in the region of Nantes, Queval is a graduate of the Conservatories of Nantes and Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, where he studied organ and improvisation with Michel Bourcier, Eric Lebrun, and Pierre Pincemaille.

A recent graduate of the Master’s program at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP), he was an organ student of Michel Bouvard and Olivier Latry. He studied improvisation with Thierry Escaich, Laszlo Fassang, Philippe Léfèbvre and Jean-François Zygel. In 2014, he received a bachelor’s degree in improvisation. In 2013, he received his diploma in counterpoint, which he studied in the class of Pierre Pincemaille

Since 2014, Queval has been the “Organiste Titulaire” of the Cavaillé-Coll/Haerpfer-Ermann organ at Saint-Ignace in Paris, and since 2007 the assistant organist of the historical Debierre organ at Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Port in Nantes. He regularly performs recitals across France and in Paris at churches including Notre-Dame, Saint-Eustache, La Trinité, Saint-Sulpice, and Saint-Séverin.