In the News

Music department to welcome spring with concert

The Hesston College Music Department will usher in the changing season with its spring concert at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 21 at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus. The time is a change from the previously advertised time of 7:30 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public, though a free-will offering will be collected to cover program costs.

The concert, “Music for Spring,” will feature Hesston’s two choirs – Bel Canto Singers and Hesston College Chorale. The groups will perform both sacred and secular music from their repertoire.

The Hesston College Bel Canto Singers is a 21-voice mixed chamber choir under the direction of music faculty member Bradley Kauffman. Members are selected by competitive auditions during the previous year. They will perform two movements from the Brahms Requiem alongside works by Healey Willan and Terry Schlenker.

The Hesston College Chorale is a 27-voice mixed ensemble under the direction of music faculty member Ken Rodgers.

With the college’s long-standing tradition of musical excellence, groups within Hesston College’s music program perform locally and across the country at churches and schools throughout the year, offering students the opportunity to perform in front of live audiences and experience a variety of venues.

The truth about transferring

An increasing number of college students are not only learning that a transfer process is nothing to be feared, they are recognizing the benefits of starting one place and going another.

Some college students fear transfer horror stories and worst-case scenarios like losing course credits, having to re-take classes and needing extra semesters to finish a degree. According to four Hesston College graduates, such fears are unfounded. Rather, transferring gives students different experiences that help shape their worldview, complete and focused academic preparation and experience with change, preparing them for life transitions after college.

Transferring is becoming increasingly common according to a 2012 report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. According to a February 2012 article in “The Chronicle of Higher Education,” one third of college students in the U.S. “switch institutions at least once before earning a degree,” and “the ‘traditional’ path of entering and graduating from the same institution is decreasingly followed.”

Colleges and universities across the country are becoming more adept at sending and accepting credits across institutions. The five institutions of Mennonite Church USA have been doing it for years, and it’s not the drama and horror that some make it out to be, say the Hesston graduates who transferred to each of the college’s four Mennonite Church USA sister schools – Bethel College (North Newton, Kan.), Bluffton (Ohio) University, Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Va.) and Goshen (Ind.) College.

As the two-year college of Mennonite Church USA, transferring is a normal part of the Hesston Experience for graduates who want a bachelor’s degree and for faculty and staff members who prepare students for the transition. Part of Hesston’s service to its students is to make the transfer process simple and seamless, says Hesston registrar Brent Yoder. That is why the college has established transfer articulation agreements with 13 private and public four-year institutions across the country, including its sister schools.

“We constantly evaluate our courses and how they compare to other schools to be sure they are in line with majority standards,” said Yoder.

Although Hesston and its Mennonite counterparts come from the same faith tradition and religious historical background, each offers its students a unique experience. The ability to transfer from one experience to another benefits students by broadening perspectives and opening students to a variety of ideas and thoughts.

Hesston is an attractive first choice for many students because of unique relationship and mentor-ship opportunities that are easily nurtured on a small campus and opportunities to be involved in their interests from the very start. For some, like Rachel Stoltzfus, now at Goshen, and Liz Miller at Bluffton, it was through varsity athletics. For others, like Dmitry Bucklin, who finished his degree at Bethel, it was the chance to have strong involvement in music. And for others still, like Andrew Penner, who transferred to EMU, it was the opportunity for hands-on service through programs like Disaster Management.

“I think the number one benefit of transferring is that it keeps you moving, meeting new people and experiencing new places,” said Penner.

A piece of common advice from the Hesston graduates is simple – don’t sweat it. Transferring is what you make of it.

“By transferring, I got the chance to experience two different schools and get to know a lot of people,” said Miller.

Along with Hesston’s articulation agreements, the registrar’s office and faculty advisors work hard to ensure course credits transfer by offering courses that fit general education and more specific requirements at any school so transferring is as seamless as possible for each student. The faculty is intentional about preparing students with strong academic and critical thinking skills for upper level courses. That’s not to say that transfer students don’t experience adjustments that come with adapting to a new place, but the details of the transfer are not among them.

“All of my classes transferred,” said Bucklin.

“We have good working relationships with our sister colleges,” said Yoder. “We work with them and send them students so frequently that they know students coming from Hesston are quality and will be academically sound.”

Hesston graduates can confidently approach academics at their transfer school knowing that the courses they took and the content they learned in their first two years prepared them for the rigors of upper level classes.

“There is this rumor that Hesston is not as academically strong as other schools,” said Bucklin. “That’s just crazy. I felt that the education I received at Hesston and Bethel was the best of the best.”

In fact as measured by the Individualized Developmental Education Assessment (IDEA) survey, 75 percent of Hesston College courses rank among the top 25 percent of all college courses at two- and four-year institutions nationwide.

“The Hesston graduates I have had in my classes are very well prepared – not just academically but socially as well,” said EMU psychology professor Kim Gingerich Brenneman. “They are confident, add perspective and come ready to dive in and take leadership opportunities because of the experiences they have had at Hesston.”

Because Hesston transfer students are common at the Mennonite colleges, the campus communities have found ways to make the students feel welcomed.

“Having the motivation to meet new people after making strong relationships at Hesston was a challenge for me, but people at EMU were quick to get to know me,” said Penner. “I had to make sure I wasn’t comparing EMU to Hesston though, because the experiences at both colleges are different.”

“I was very intentional about not wanting to live with all Hesston transfers at Goshen,” said Stoltzfus. “Instead, I lived with people who were the perfect combination of Goshen College natives who could introduce me to their friends, former transfer students who could give me advice about their transfer experience.”

Hesston College students will always continue to move on from their starting place. They will take with them unmatched experiences and skills for future pursuits. And they can take comfort in knowing they are prepared for everywhere they go and that their everywhere will be ready for them.

Endowed scholarship to benefit education majors

Students who want to start their education studies at Hesston College can benefit from the newly established Carole King Jefferson Endowed Education Scholarship.

Carole King Jefferson graduated from Hesston College in 1963. She eventually earned a degree in education and library science and spent 34 years working as an educator at Valley City (N.D.) State University. The scholarship was established by her family following her death in December 2011 to honor her passion for education and to help students pursuing education meet their goals.

Recipient priority will be given to a student intending to major in education.

“The addition of this scholarship will give more students the opportunity to benefit from the immediate hands-on experiences students find when they start here,” said Yvonne Sieber, vice president of Advancement. “We are grateful for this generous gift and faithful alumni who support our students in so many ways.”

Hesston College has almost 100 endowed scholarships awarded on an annual basis that help offset the costs of higher education for students who have particular interests, qualifications or financial need.

Chorale to present bon voyage concert

The Hesston College Chorale will present a spring break bon voyage concert at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 5 at Hesston Mennonite Church. The concert is free and open to the public though a free-will offering will be collected to cover program costs.

The program of sacred choral music celebrates the Lenten season and is a precursor to the choir’s spring break tour through Kansas, New Mexico and Arizona March 10-15.

Chorale is directed by Ken Rodgers.

Hesston College Chorale spring break tour itinerary

Sunday, March 10
9:30 a.m. – Crystal Springs Mennonite Church, 547 NW 70 Rd, Harper, Kan.
10:30 a.m. – Pleasant Valley Mennonite Church, 1020 E 14th, Harper, Kan.
7 p.m. – Protection Mennonite Church, S Broadway, Protection, Kan.

Tuesday, March 12
7 p.m. – Albuquerque Mennonite Church, 1300 Girard Blvd NE, Albuquerque, N.M.

Wednesday, March 13
7:30 p.m. – Koinonia Mennonite Church, 2505 N Dobson Rd, Chandler, Ariz.

Thursday, March 14
– Shalom Mennonite Church, 6044 E 30th, Tuscon, Ariz.

Friday, March 15
7 p.m. – Trinity Mennonite Church, 4334 W Vista Ave, Glendale, Ariz.

Hesston College announces new position for Aviation

Hesston College Vice President of Academics Sandra Zerger announced the appointment of Richard Binkley to the new position of Aviation Operations Manager.

Binkley will serve the college’s aviation department through financial planning and management, fleet management, curriculum oversight and classroom and flight instruction. He began his role February 11.

“We added this new role in response to a need that grew out of growth in the aviation program following the addition of Air Traffic Control in 2010,” said Zerger. “Richard will play a key role in ensuring student success in aviation by scheduling student flights, maintaining the planes and handling the budget.”

Binkley earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a master of aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide (Atlanta, Ga.) with a specialization in aviation and aerospace management. He is a FAA-certified flight instructor with instrument and multiengine ratings. He also has extensive classroom teaching experience in flight school, high school and college environments.

Prior to transitioning to Hesston College, Binkley was a high school advanced placement computer science instructor at the Georgia Institute of Technology Operation Reboot (Atlanta). His aviation experience includes serving as chief pilot, flight and ground instructor and FAA test center supervisor for FlightGest Aviation in Raleigh, N.C., for 11 years.

Hesston College Aviation offers two-year degree instruction in flight and air traffic control. Flight students earn certification in single-engine land private pilot, commercial pilot, instrument and multi-engine rating and fixed-wing private pilot through airline transport pilot. Air Traffic Control was added as a plan of study in 2010 as part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative and is the only program in Kansas and one of 36 nationwide with FAA approval.

Hesston College and local churches to present program in honor of Black History Month

Hesston College will partner with Mennonite churches in Inman and Buhler – Bethel, Hoffnungsau and Inman Mennonite churches (Inman) and Buhler Mennonite Church to present “Common Threads: Anabaptist and African-American Songs and Stories of Suffering and Hope” at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 24, at Bethel Mennonite Church in Inman. The event is free and open to the public though a free-will offering will be received to cover program costs.

“Common Threads” is a program of story and song featuring Hesston College faculty members Tony Brown, John Sharp and Ken Rodgers that explores the way the historical events of Anabaptist religious persecution and African-American racial segregation intersected. They give voices to Anabaptist martyrs and enslaved African-Americans of history by singing their hymns and telling their stories.

February’s Black History Month is for remembrance of historical events and important African-American leaders. “Common Threads” offers deeper understanding about the enslaved African-American and Anabaptist Martyr experience of suffering and hope. High school and junior high youth are especially invited to attend.

“Both groups found strength and consolation in their steadfast faith in God,” Sharp said. “They were utterly confident that God’s purposes would, in the end, prevail. Their stories and songs have not typically been linked, but we believe it is useful to do so. Their witness stands for all who will see and hear.”

“Thinking about how we can connect with others and finding those common threads can offer promise for humanity,” Brown said. “In the end, we as a human species are more profoundly alike than different. It is the idea of difference that formed the basis for racism, persecution and systematic oppression. Humanity needs to find value in difference while at the same time exploring the common threads that bind us together.”

Brown is a professional baritone, artist in residence and sociology professor. Sharp is a history professor, storyteller and author. Rodgers is director of the Chorale and instructs in the music department. Alumni and Church Relations Director Dallas Stutzman will represent the college. A reception and short Hesston College update will follow the program.

Search “Common Threads” at www.youtube.com for a short video on the program.

Bethel Mennonite Church is located at 256 8th Avenue in Inman.

For more information, contact the Alumni and Church Relations office toll-free at 866-437-7866.

Kenneth Steider Memorial Scholarship to benefit Hesston College international students

A passion for learning and relationships are the foundation of Hesston College’s newly established Kenneth Steider Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship, which will benefit international students, is a tribute to Steider’s life work and interests.

Steider, who passed away Sept. 15, 2011, was a 1949 Hesston College graduate and served the college as librarian and part-time English instructor for 11 years before spending 27 years serving in Taiwan. The scholarship fund was set up by Steider’s family as a way to honor the places and people he held dear.

“Ken loved school and learning,” said his sister-in-law, Jan Steider. “I think it would please him to know that a student’s chances at a Hesston College education were increased in his honor.”

Because of his years of service in Taiwan and his love for the country and its people, the scholarship will give recipient priority to a Mennonite student from Taiwan, followed by an international student from any other country who would benefit from the scholarship.

Steider grew up on a farm near Shickley, Neb., and left home as a high school student to enroll as a college freshman at Hesston in 1944 at the urging of Hesston instructor Morris Yoder and President Milo Kauffman. After one year, he received a teacher’s certificate and returned to Nebraska where he taught for two years in rural schools near his hometown. In the fall of 1948, he returned to Hesston and received his associate of arts degree in 1949, then transferred to Goshen (Ind.) College where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1951.

He spent the next two years again teaching in rural schools in Nebraska when he was approached by President Kauffman asking if he would be interested in getting his master’s degree and becoming the college’s librarian. Kauffman’s proposal prompted Steider to attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for one semester and then the University of Illinois at Champaign to earn a master’s degree in library science.

In 1955 he returned to Hesston College and began serving as librarian and part-time English teacher. During his time on staff at Hesston, he helped establish the Mary Miller Library. In 1966 he was called by the Board of Christian Service of the General Conference Mennonite Church about an opening for a teacher-librarian at a missionary school in Taiwan. He accepted the position and served a two-year term of voluntary service, which extended into a lifetime career until his retirement in 1993.

Steider’s 27 years in Taiwan began with teaching junior high and high school English at Morrison Academy in Taichung for one year and working with the Christian Children’s Fund in Taipei. In 1974 he began at the Mennonite Christian Hospital in Hwalien as the first English secretary to the medical director and then the superintendent’s assistant as well as being a liaison for many foreign missionary doctors. He also started the medical library for the hospital and served as secretary for the medical education with the hospital.

Upon his retirement, Steider returned to Hesston where he volunteered at the college, providing tutoring support and serving as a mentor and resource for international students and returning to Taiwan a couple of times to teach English.

Taiwan became Steider’s home and his students became his friends and family. In tributes to Ken and messages to the family upon his death, his former students in Taiwan remember a man who was intentional in his relationships and delighted in the beauty of even the simplest of matters.

“Kenneth’s example of service was an important model for me,” said his niece, Susan (Steider) Miller. “It wasn’t easy for him to go to Taiwan, and after retiring, it wasn’t easy to make the States home again.”

Steider expressed his life experiences through poetry. His poem entitled “Leaving,” sums up his experience with international work.

     Ten years plus one in Kansas – 
     Life and love, work and worship, 
     Wind and rain, heat and cold, 
     Spring and summer, fall and winter 
     Engulfed me and infilled me.

     One day my Mother Kansas, 
     With little pain of labor, 
     Expelled me from her cozy womb 
     Into the boundless vast expanse, 
     All strange and unfamiliar

     But then I took the unfamiliar, 
     Wrapped myself securely in it 
     And made that world a home much larger, 
     Less confining – yet still another womb. 
     I wait once more to be delivered.

     How many births shall I experience 
     Until I soar to utmost heights 
     With spirit free of flesh-blood barriers, 
     Free of all that keeps me earthbound? 
     Hope fills my heart; faith quells my fear.

“He touched a lot of lives,” said Jan of her brother-in-law. “He lived a total life of faith and was humble in the process of living.”

Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts to present a cultural treasure of Mexican traditional music and dance

What the “Kansas City Star” called “a heady rush of tapping heels, dazzling costumes and insistent rhythms” comes to Bethel College’s Memorial Hall stage Feb. 23.

The fourth event in the Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts series for 2012-13 brings the Ballet Folklorico “Quetzalli” de Veracruz to south central Kansas to share indigenous and other traditional Mexican music and dance.

The show will take place Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. For more information, including how to order tickets, visit HBPA’s brand-new website, hesstonbethel.org.

Veteran dancer Hugo Betancourt founded Quetzalli in 1985 and still directs it. Since then, it has delighted audiences from Europe to Indonesia, bringing the world a visual fiesta of culture and folklore featuring regional dances of old Mexico.

Music is performed live on authentic stringed instruments by the award-winning folk ensemble Tlen-Huicani. It punctuates the meticulous movement, colorful clothing and perfect pulse established by the dancers and helps make Quetzalli one of Mexico’s most popular exports.

Quetzalli’s home base is in Xalapa, the Veracruz state capital. They perform traditional folkloric dances, as well as their Afro-Caribbean spectacular, “Carnaval Veracruzano.” The company has been the official representatives of the Secretary of Tourism and Economic Development for the State of Veracruz since 1986, having given hundreds of performances across Mexico and the United States, South America, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean.

They have performed at the Carnaval de Veracruz every year since 1991, as well as taking their famous comparsa xalapeña to the Carnaval de Havana on three different occasions. Other important appearances include the Miss Mexico pageant in Cancun, TV appearances on “Siempre en Domingo” from Mexico City, the Festival Cervantino in Guanaguato, and at the Festival of Culture in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Quetzalli’s dance company is composed of young people who love the traditions of their people as expressed through the music, songs and dances characteristic of different ethnic groups. They create their interpretations through technical formation, bibliographical study and ritual observation.

The group has around 45 dancers and 10 musicians and, in addition to maintaining its performance schedule, operates a school and training program for young dancers in Xalapa. Quetzalli continues to be one of the great cultural treasures of Veracruz.

“Things were clicking at the Performing Arts Center when the vibrant Ballet Folklorico de Veracruz stormed the stage in a heady rush of tapping heels, dazzling costumes and insistent rhythms,” wrote a reviewer for the “Kansas City Star.” “A near-capacity audience cheered and clapped its welcome. . .every heritage should be so lovingly and beautifully preserved.”

Single tickets for Ballet Folklorico “Quetzalli” de Veracruz at Bethel College are $27 or $23, with discounts available for students and senior citizens.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call 620-327-8158 (Hesston College) or 316-284-5205 (Bethel College) or visit the HBPA website at hesstonbethel.org.

The Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts Series started in 1982 as Hesston Performing Arts (HPA) with funding and planning provided by Hesston College and the Hesston community. In 1998 HPA planners launched a partnership with Bethel College, and the series name changed to Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts. Hesston College in Hesston and Bethel College in North Newton host performances each year. HBPA is funded in part by the cities of Hesston and North Newton, Excel Industries and Hustler Turf Equipment (Hesston), and area patrons.

Brown to perform “I Go On Singing” in Harrisonburg, Va.

Tony Brown will perform the original musical autobiography “I Go On Singing” at 7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 9 at Lehman Auditorium on the Eastern Mennonite University campus, Harrisonburg, Va..

“I Go On Singing” is Brown’s original tribute to Paul Robeson, all-American athlete, scholar, champion orator, international recording artist and star of the stage and screen during the 1930s and 40s, written for Brown by playwright Andrew Flack. Brown’s telling of Robeson’s story is a 75-minute song-filled, multi-media presentation that reveals him as a towering figure in 20th century American history.

Accompanied by collaborative pianist and Hesston College music faculty member Ken Rodgers, photo projection and a narrator, “I Go On Singing” is equal parts historical documentary and live concert experience. Using Robeson’s own words from his autobiography “Here I Stand” and comments from legendary peace activist and artist Pete Seeger, the show traces Robeson’s humble beginnings as a preacher’s son in Princeton, N.J., to his international celebrity and pioneering activism on the world stage.

Brown is an international promoter of peace, Hesston College sociology faculty member and artist in residence and founder of Peacing It Together Foundation, an organization that serves the global community as a resource for peace and social justice. He uses music and the spoken word to bring people together across the divides of race, culture and religion. His travels have taken him to countries such as Bosnia, Moldova, Northern Ireland, Uganda, Ethiopia, the Philippines, China, Japan, South Korea and Colombia, where he has seen music transform and heal.

“I Go On Singing” premiered to inspiring reviews in Princeton, N.J., in 2011 and Wichita, Kan., in 2012. Brown also performed it at A Hesston College Homecoming in September 2012.