Photo release - An expressive weekend
General
Members of the class of 2002 see changes and updates on a campus tour. More than 500 alumni and friends were on campus for the weekend.
Hesston College students and prospective students scramble to pick up a clue sheet for the Homecoming Weekend scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt sent the students to places around campus that will soon receive updates as part of a capital campaign, and also allowed them to learn about less familiar spots on campus.
Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and author to speak at Hesston College
General
Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and author Sonia Nazario will speak at Hesston College at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 9 in the Hesston Mennonite Church sanctuary. The event is free and open to the public.
Nazario is the author of Hesston College’s 2012-13 common read for first-year students, “Enrique’s Journey” (Random House, 2006). The book chronicles the true story of Enrique, a Honduran boy, and his journey and struggle to reunite with his mother in the United States.
“It is an honor to have such an accomplished writer interact with Hesston College students and the community,” said First-Year Experience organizer and education instructor Marissa King.
Nazario will discuss immigration issues in the United States as well as her research for the book. Following the presentation, she will participate in a question and answer time and a book signing. For additional information about Nazario’s presentation, contact King at marissak@hesston.edu.
Nazario has spent more than 20 years reporting and writing about social issues for major newspapers including “The Los Angeles Times.”
Hesston College’s First-Year Experience courses share immigration as a common area of study, and “Enrique’s Journey” is required reading for students enrolled in the courses. Students will conduct their own immigration related research to share with the larger community in the annual First-Year Experience Symposium event at the end of the fall semester.
“‘Enrique’s Journey’ is a narrative that increases understanding of the language and cultural context of the Latin immigrant, enabling students to participate in a variety of contexts and in culturally appropriate ways,” said Hesston Spanish instructor, Maria Day. “The opportunity to interact with Nazario will allow her narrative, as well as her personal story, to connect to each individual’s journey.”
Other fall First-Year Experience sponsored events include a plenary session with University of Kansas (Lawrence) American Studies professor Ben Chapel; a dialogue with the Director of the Office of Immigration Education for Mennonite Central Committee, Saulo Padilla; a multicultural film festival; and an Immigration and the Arts Week.
Photo release - Homecoming 2012
General
More than 500 Hesston College alumni and friends came together Sept. 28 to 30 for Homecoming Weekend 2012. Nearly 300 alumni reconnected with classmates at 13 class reunions.
The weekend celebrated the performing arts and included a Performing Arts Showcase with performances, presentations and concerts by alumni professionals, students and faculty. A highlight of the weekend was the original radio show The Fragrant and Velvety Air, written by performing arts faculty members Bradley Kauffman and Laura Kraybill. The show was a parody on the college’s 103-year history complete with humor, live music, reader’s theatre pieces, off-beat commercials and audience participation.
Other events included the annual alumni banquet, Partner luncheon, athletic events, children’s theatre activities, a barbecue picnic and family festival, jam session, student and alumni choir under the direction of father-son duo Ron, class of 1966, and Joel, class of 2004, Garber and Sunday worship service featuring mother-daughter duo Michele (Schrock), class of 1981, and Tara, class of 2006, Hershberger.
JD Martin performs “Start Here,” Hesston College’s new school song; Members of the class of 1972 share updates with classmates during their reunion on Saturday. About 300 alumni gathered for 13 class reunions and alumni banquet.
Students, faculty and staff perform during the original radio show The Fragrant and Velvety Air, written by performing arts faculty members Bradley Kauffman and Laura Kraybill; Reader’s theatre members perform PASSION, stories of Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers based on recorded dialogues written by former theatre instructor Robert Hostetter, as part of the Performing Arts Showcase.
Mother-daughter duo Michele (Schrock) ’81, faculty and Tara ’06 Hershberger delivered the Sunday worship service message through drama. Tara also led children’s theatre activities Saturday afternoon; JD Martin ’68, Jan Garrett and Molly Simmering, former staff, perform a concert of original songs by JD and Jan, who are multi-award winning singer-songwriters. JD wrote a new college song Start Here, which he introduced at Friday chapel with Garrett, Simmering and students. Garrett wrote the choral piece I Dreamed of Rain, performed by the Alumni/Student Choir under the direction of Joel Garber ’04 at the worship service.
Zach ’02 and Mary (Wittmer) ’02 Kooker visit with other Partners at the Saturday Partner luncheon; Talashia Keim ’02 Yoder lights candles as part of the Evensong worship service. The service included music and dramatic elements for congregation participation as well as pieces performed by Bel Canto Singers; Joel Garber ’04 directs the Alumni/Student Choir at the Sunday worship service. Joel shared directing duties with his father, Ron Garber ’66.
Art gallery features Dodge City artist
Art
Dodge City Community College Instructor of Art and professional sculptor and jeweler Jennifer Nolan is the featured artist in the Hesston College Regier Friesen Gallery in the Friesen Center for Visual Arts through Oct. 26.
Nolan’s art reflects images, moods and ideas from the 1940s and 50s to portray narratives of the atomic age. The hand-built sculptures and wall tiles mix the idea of the “American Dream” with the realities of war and destruction for a powerful critique of society’s ideals.
Nolan earned her bachelor of fine arts degree with a Kansas teacher’s certificate in K-12 art and her masters of fine arts degree in ceramics with a minor in jewelry design from Fort Hays State University (Hays, Kan.). Her work has been exhibited in several state, regional and national juried exhibitions and publications. She is an active board member of the Kansas Artist and Craftsman Association, the 2nd Ave Art Guild of Dodge City and an active member of the National Council on the Education of the Ceramic Arts as well as the International Society of Glass Beadmakers.
A closing reception and chance to meet the artist will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 26 in the gallery.
The gallery is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.