In the News

Hesston College to help SWIPE out hunger

The Hesston College community will participate in the first State Wide Packaging Event (SWIPE) for hunger with Numana by packaging meals and raising money to fund the project Oct. 1.

Numana is an international hunger relief organization based in El Dorado, Kan., that facilitates volunteer food-packaging events throughout the country and sends the meals world-wide to areas where famine and hunger are greatest.

The SWIPE initiative will take place at colleges and universities across Kansas during October. More than 500,000 meals will be packaged throughout the month.

Each meal, which feeds six people, costs 30 cents to prepare and send. Hesston College volunteers are working to raise about $9,000 to pay for the meals they will package. A donation of $65 buys a box of 216 meals.

Hesston College has pledged to use 400 student, faculty, staff and community volunteers to package 50,000 meals. The meals consist of rice, soy protein, freeze-dried pinto beans and 21 vitamins and minerals, which are measured into bags, sealed, boxed and prepared for shipment. The meals packaged at Hesston on Oct. 1 will be sent to the horn of Africa to be distributed to those experiencing starvation. Volunteers will work from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Campus Activity Center on the Hesston College campus.

“This is a great, hands-on way for many of our students, faculty, staff and community members to help feed people in Africa,” said Russ Gaeddert, Hesston College faculty member and project coordinator. “It’s an opportunity for us to put our faith into action.”

If you would like to make a donation, make checks payable to “Numana” with “Hesston College project” on the memo line. Send checks to:
Hesston College
Attn: Russ Gaeddert
Box 3000
Hesston, KS 67072

Contact Russ Gaeddert with questions at 620-327-8294 or 620-200-2985.

Art faculty display work in 2011-12 opening show

Faculty members in the Hesston College art department are exhibiting pieces of their personal works in the Friesen Center for the Visual Arts gallery on the Hesston College campus through Sept. 9.

Hanna Eastin and Paul Friesen have clay pieces displayed while Lois Misegadis is presenting sculptures made largely from limestone. Photos above - “Lidded Vessel” by Paul Friesen, “Ruth” by Lois Misegadis

A reception and chance for the public to meet the artists will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Sept. 1 in the gallery.

Eastin’s clay tile pieces were inspired by the water, silt and rocks found along riverbanks, as well as number patterns. She teaches ceramics classes at the college, and coordinates the art shows at Cobalt Gallery in Newton.

Friesen is a faculty emeritus who founded the college’s art department in 1957. Friesen is well-known in the local community, throughout Harvey County and in the Mennonite church for his sculptures, made most often from wood or stone. This exhibit, however, features pieces from his pottery collection. The Friesen Center for the Visual Arts is named in honor of Friesen and his wife Wilma.

Misegadis, who regularly creates drawings and paintings, has begun working more with sculpture and other three dimensional art, and is exhibiting sculptures made from limestone and multimedia. She teaches design, drawing, painting and photography classes.

The gallery is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Hesston College welcomes new faculty and staff for fall 2011

Hesston College announces the following faculty and staff appointments for the 2011-12 school year.

New faculty appointments include:

• Jason Barrett-Fox, English and writing. He earned a bachelor’s in English from Bethel College (North Newton, Kan.), a master’s in American studies, a graduate certificate for women, gender and sexuality studies and is pursuing a Ph.D. in English from the University of Kansas (Lawrence).
• Dr. Rebecca Barrett-Fox, sociology. She earned a master’s and Ph.D. in American studies with a focus on religion, family, sexuality and law from the University of Kansas.
• Angela Brockmueller, physical science lab assistant. She is a graduate of Hesston College and has a B.A. in biology from Goshen (Ind.) College.
• Tamra Call, nursing lab instructor. She earned a bachelor of science in nursing and a master of science in nursing with a focus in public health nursing and a nurse educator certificate from the University of Kansas.
• Danae King will teach history courses while history faculty John Sharp is on sabbatical. She earned a bachelor’s in integrated social studies from Bluffton (Ohio) University.
• Marissa King, education. She is a Hesston College graduate and has a bachelor’s in education and Teaching English as a Second Language from Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Va.) and a master’s in education from North Central University (Prescott, Ariz.).
• Ethan Mast, a 2010 Hesston College graduate, will serve as aviation flight instructor.
• Maggie Myers, nursing clinical instructor. She earned an associate degree in nursing from Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, a bachelor of science in nursing from Kansas Newman College (Wichita) and a masters of nursing from Newman University (Wichita, Kan.).
• Solomon Rudy, a 2011 Hesston College graduate, will serve as aviation flight instructor.
• Dr. Brent Yoder, registrar. He is a Hesston College graduate and earned a bachelors in biochemistry from Eastern Mennonite University and a future professoriate graduate certificate and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg).
• Marcella Zook, nursing clinical instructor. She is a graduate of Hesston College and earned a bachelor of science in nursing with a co-major in family life from Goshen College.

New staff appointments include:

• Brent Brockmueller, admissions counselor, is a graduate of Hesston College and Tabor College (Hillsboro, Kan.).
• Joel Kauffman, athletic director, is a graduate of Hesston College, Fresno (Calif.) Pacific College and Wichita State University.
• Lindsey Mason, Erb Hall resident director, is a graduate of Goshen College.
• Lucas Mason, admissions counselor, attended Hesston College and is a graduate of Wichita State University.
• Marcus Maust, athletic trainer, is a graduate of Hesston College and Bethel College (North Newton, Kan).
• Emily Miller, Larks Nest manager and campus activities co-director, is a graduate of Tabor College.
• Rob Ramseyer, baseball coach and campus activities co-director, is a graduate of MidAmerica Nazarene University (Olathe, Kan.) and the University of Kansas.
• Michael Smalley, Kauffman Court resident director, is a graduate of Hesston College and Wichita State University.
• Carson Stutzman, admissions counselor, is a graduate of Hesston College and Tabor College.
• Rachel Swartzendruber Miller, vice president of Admissions and Financial Aid, is a graduate of Hesston College, Goshen College, Wichita State University and is a Ph.D. candidate through Andrews University (Berrien Springs, Mich.).

Campus prepares for Opening Weekend 2011

The recent activity on the Hesston College campus after three months, is indication that the college is gearing up for Opening Weekend Aug. 18 to 21 and the start of the new academic year Aug. 22.

Soon the parking lots will be full of cars sporting license plates from 30 states, and students will find their way back to their favorite local hangouts.

Faculty and staff met to prepare for students’ return Aug. 10 during the annual faculty-staff retreat. The half-day event centered on renewal and sustainability, and included sessions on renewing relationships with God, self, others and the environment.

Sustainability will be a campus-wide focus for the 2011-12 year with several courses, spearheaded by the First Year Seminar course, leading discussions and events related to the topic. A common read, “No Impact Man,” will help guide sustainability efforts on campus as well.

Students began the return to campus Aug. 11 as Resident Assistants arrived for training and a weekend retreat. Members of the soccer, cross country and volleyball teams, as well as Bel Canto Singers and Aviation students arrived on campus Aug. 15 to start practices and flight training.

Registration for new and returning off-campus students begins Thursday afternoon, Aug.18.

New and returning on-campus students will go through registration, move into their dorm rooms and attend orientation sessions Friday and Saturday, Aug. 19 and 20.

Opening Weekend activities include Opening Celebration at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, at Hesston Mennonite Church. Michele Hershberger, Bible and Ministry faculty member, will present a meditation and Bel Canto Singers will perform several selections. An ice cream social for students and their families, faculty and staff will follow Celebration.

A parent breakfast will be Saturday morning, Aug. 20, along with parent orientation sessions. The day’s festivities include a Performing Arts Open House in Northlawn 109 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. for students and parents wanting to learn what the music and theatre departments offer, a volleyball vs. alumni scrimmage at 4 p.m. in Yost Center, and a women’s soccer scrimmage at 6 p.m. followed by a men’s soccer intra-squad game at 7:45 p.m.

Sunday’s schedule features a 10:30 a.m. worship service at Hesston Mennonite Church. The service will be held in conjunction with the Hesston Mennonite congregation. President Howard Keim will bring the message. Other Sunday activities include Freshmen Games, a picnic for the campus community at 6 p.m. and the annual Mod Olympics at 7 p.m. on the soccer field.

Hesston College credits many for successful year

With the close of the fiscal year, the Hesston College community was pleased to see another year end in the black and the Development team meet the Annual Fund goal to assist with financial aid for students.

“Steady enrollment, generous contributions, strong academics and student life, and a positive learning environment have all contributed to this positive outcome,” said President Howard Keim.

Despite a slowly recovering economy, Vice President of Advancement Yvonne Sieber gives much of the credit for the Annual Fund success to alumni, friends of the college and Partners.

About 750 individuals from 36 states and three countries are considered Hesston College Partners based on their annual giving commitments to the college. Their gifts make up 79 percent of the Annual Fund, with the primary purpose being to provide institutional scholarships and grants as financial aid for students. On average, a student receives more than $8,000 in institutional aid from the Annual Fund each year.

“We are blessed with many loyal supporters of this important ministry of the church,” said Sieber.

The positive financial news for 2010-11 topped off a year of several noteworthy accomplishments for Hesston College.

In August 2010, Washington Monthly magazine named the college the number 2 two-year college in the country in terms of academic quality and student engagement and success.

The inaugural year of the First Year Seminar course improved the student experience by providing students with opportunities to engage more closely with Hesston College and the wider Hesston community and to step outside their comfort zone by exploring relevant issues. During the upcoming academic year, the course will explore sustainability practices with the wider campus community.

The nursing program continues its tradition of excellence with 98 percent of its graduates having achieved RN licensure throughout the program’s 44 year history. Due to the popularity of the program, the department expanded by eight students per class in 2010-11, and, with the partnership of Newton Medical Center, a new simulation lab was opened to accommodate the growing program. In December, the program received the full eight years of re-approval from the Kansas State Board of Nursing.

The Air Traffic Control program, which became the only FAA certified program in Kansas in April 2010, graduated its first seven students in May. All seven students scored above the necessary 70 percent on the Air Traffic Selection and Training exam in order to continue their training with the FAA.

Cross country was reinstated as a varsity athletic program after a 30-year hiatus, and one runner, freshman Kenny Graber of Stryker, Ohio, ran in the NJCAA Division I cross country championship meet in Spartanburg, S.C. in November.

The college was also successful in raising funds for the Erb Hall Renovation project. The dorm renovations will be completed before students return in August.

Hesston College to host Honeytown concert at Hesston Mennonite Church July 24

Honeytown, a high energy Americana band based in Kidron, Ohio, will perform live at Hesston Mennonite Church Sunday, July 24 at 7 p.m. playing songs from their first CD, “Nobody’s Fault but Mine.”

The concert, hosted by Hesston College, is free and open to the public, though a free-will offering will be received to cover program costs.

Honeytown’s inimitable sound combines elements of progressive bluegrass, four-part a capella, classic rock and pop folk with fun instrumentation, keeping listeners engaged and intrigued.

The members, hailing from the rolling hills of Ohio’s Holmes and Wayne counties, each bring a unique flavor to the groups personality. The four-piece group features Hesston College alumnus Tim Shue along with Nate Gundy, Kevin Himes and Toby Hazlett. The band’s eclectic musical mix of original compositions, unexpected arrangements and tightly-blended harmonies have won them a fan base all over the Midwest. Their varied instrumentation ranges from fiddle to banjo, washboard to bass ukulele, accordion to percussive trash cans, taking audiences by pleasant surprise.

Honeytown has enjoyed performing for weddings, benefits, house concerts and coffee houses. They were the showcased musical guests with both Akron’s Summit Choral Society as well as the Cantate Singers performing “The World Beloved, a Bluegrass Mass.” They play regularly at Lehman’s Old Fashioned Hardware in Kidron, Ohio, have been the guest band for the men’s vocal ensemble Sonnenberg Station, wowed the audience at Kidron’s Central Christian School’s The Frohliche Dorf Show, were the featured adult worship band at the Mennonite Church USA Convention in Columbus, Ohio in 2009 and the featured coffeehouse performers at the Mennonite Church USA Convention in Pittsburgh in 2011.

Hesston Mennonite Church is located at 309 South Main in Hesston. For more information about the show, call Hesston College Alumni and Church Relations at 866-437-7866.

To find out more about Honeytown, email Honeytown or visit their website.

Creating a sustainable campus

Stewardship is, by no means, a new concept to the Hesston College community. Care of resources, from buildings to funds to the environment, is among the values woven into the fabric of the college. Now, in the age of “going green,” students, faculty and staff continually explore new and innovative ways to reduce the college’s carbon footprint.

“We are an educational institution,” said Jim Mason, director of Campus Facilities. “We should be portraying a model to our students that includes making good sustainability choices and the benefits that come from that behavior.”

One of Mason’s goals when he began his role at Hesston in March 2002 was to reduce energy consumption in cost-saving ways. Upgrading lighting was a significant and quick first step. By September 2007, the results were so substantial that Kansas Sen. Carolyn McGinn (R-Sedgwick) invited Mason to present on the college’s energy saving efforts at the International Energy Council’s annual meeting in Wyoming.

Since that time, the rest of the community has embraced the sustainability efforts by participating in cost effective campus-wide projects.

Physics II professor Nelson Kilmer makes solar power an integral part of his curriculum. Class projects in recent years include the installation of solar panels on the roof of J.D. Charles Hall of Science and Math to power the lights in the physics classroom. Another class adapted a golf cart to run on solar energy, while another explored the feasibility and did a cost analysis for faculty and staff members interested in installing solar panels on their homes.

The 2010 spring semester marked the kick-off of the first Intergenerational Community Garden – a joint effort between Hesston College and the neighboring Schowalter Villa retirement community led by faculty members Lorna Harder and Dwight Roth.

Students, faculty, staff and Villa residents work together to care for the garden, and the produce is given to local families who may not have the financial ability to purchase fresh produce.

With the start of the new First Year Experience seminar in fall 2010, faculty and staff discovered a new way to continue educating students on the importance of being good stewards of the environment.

Required for all first-year students, the class addresses prominent issues, and one of the foci was sustainability. Students and facilities staff watched the film “Trashed,” a documentary about the rapid growth of the garbage business, and together they placed signs on trash cans and recycling bins across campus urging people to think about what they were throwing away and if it could instead be recycled.

“Having a campus that practices good sustainability habits is important because what the students learn here, they take with them everywhere,” said facilities staff Randy Toews. “If students are a part of a community that makes a conscious effort to care for the earth, they may be more likely to continue the practice once they get out on their own.”

After the signs appeared on the trash and recycling bins, along with the college’s trash and recycling company moving to single stream recycling – meaning all recyclable items could be placed in the same bin – the college saw drastic changes in the amounts of trash and recycling produced.

Toews reports that the college moved from producing 40 yards of trash per week before the campaign for awareness to 24 yards per week after – a 40 percent decrease. At the same time, recycling moved from six yards of recycling per week to 10 yards per week – a 66 percent increase.

Much to Mason’s delight, the change saved the college money as well, as a trash dumpster costs $15 more to empty than a recycling dumpster of the same size.

Mallory Schroeder of Hesston, Kan., was a student in the First Year Experience seminar, and says that the class content had an impact on her.

“When we made the push for recycling, I noticed how I started throwing things in the recycling bins more frequently,” said Schroeder. “I never really thought about the things I was throwing away, but the money we can save and the environmental impact is amazing.”

During the last 10 days of the 2010-11 year, Dr. Karen Sheriff LeVan, faculty member and coordinator of the First Year Experience seminar presented a 10-Day Give challenge to students. As they packed up their dorm rooms for the summer, students were encouraged to donate any unwanted clothes, bedding and other items instead of throwing them away.

An on-campus donation site was set up, and at the end of the challenge the collected items were donated to United Methodist Youthville, a non-profit child welfare agency in Newton, Kan.

The effort’s success could be seen in the large roll off dumpsters according to Toews.

“Last year each of the dumpsters was heaping full after students moved out,” he said. “This year, some of the dumpsters weren’t even half full.”

The spirit of giving fostered by the 10-Day Give project carried over to the facilities staff. After students moved out of the dorms for the summer, renovations began in Erb Hall central and west dorms, and the first step was to move out the 42-year old furniture.

Despite more than four decades of typical wear and tear, the furniture was still in good condition.

“The furniture held up well for us, it just doesn’t fit our needs anymore,” said facilities staff Tim Goering.

The facilities team explored several options for the furniture from selling it to donating it. A connection in Waco, Texas, prompted much of the furniture to be sent there, where it was donated to 20 non-profit organizations. Several local nonprofits in Newton and Wichita received some of the furniture as well.

The dorm renovation has been an ongoing project, beginning first with a new insulated roof, followed by new energy efficient windows, then a new water heating system. Mason has seen utility costs for the building drop since the upgrades were made, and he has confidence the new heating and cooling units in this last phase of renovations will save even more.

The start of the 2011-12 year will see more earth-conscious initiatives taking off, including a campus-wide common read. Each faculty and staff member was given a copy of the book “No Impact Man,” a family’s chronicles of their year-long effort to leave as little impact on the environment as possible, to read during the summer. As students return in August, employees are encouraged to give their books to the college bookstore for first-year students as part of the First Year Experience class. Throughout the year, campus-wide discussions and projects relating to sustainability will take place as the college continues to strive to decrease its carbon footprint.

“As we move forward, I hope to see a continued conscious effort on the college’s part to emphasize smart, cost effective sustainability practices that conserve natural resources and send the message that this is a chosen way to do business,” said Mason.

Hesston College to host 2011 Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series

Hesston College will host its 12th annual Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series conference Oct. 28 to 30 with the theme Getting Beyond Them and Us – to We.

The conference will explore the tension of the church’s call from an Anabaptist perspective to be both distinctive and open to others. Participants will discuss ways to talk with others from varying faith backgrounds and how to extend a hospitable hand to all people while remaining distinctly Anabaptist.

“One of the greatest paradoxes in the Bible is the tension between our call to evangelize and our need to not be so influenced by the world that we lose our identity,” said conference organizer and Hesston College Bible and Ministry faculty Michele Hershberger. “In becoming more invitational, we don’t want to drop who we are as an Anabaptist church – we have something to offer – but the elephant in the room is we are in a deep decline. We need to look at the theological reasons people don’t want to come in the doors.”

Conference speakers are Hal Shrader, lead pastor of Trinity Mennonite Church, an urban, missional, Anabaptist community in Phoenix, Ariz.; Joanna Shenk, an associate for Interchurch Relations and Communication with Mennonite Church USA; and Anton Flores-Maisonet, co-founder of Alterna in LaGrange, Ga., a missional community of U.S. citizens and Latin American immigrants.

Each of the speakers has chosen an Anabaptist way of life and faith and has experience talking with people who have an interest in Anabaptist beliefs and practices but do not come from an Anabaptist background.

Instead of specific workshops with structured topics, the conference will use Open Spaces as a way for participants to discuss relevant issues. The format allows participants to help choose and lead discussions on what they want to talk about.

The Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series was started at Hesston College to help Christians from the Anabaptist tradition and others interested in Anabaptism more fully understand their faith. The conference is designed for any interested person, not just pastors and congregational leaders.

A complete schedule, registration information and speaker information are available at www.hesston.edu/avds. Cost for registration before Oct. 1 is $110 for individuals or $85 per person if registered in groups of three or more. After Oct. 1, individual registration is $130, and the group rate is $95 per person. For more information, contact Elaine Schmidt at elaines@hesston.edu or 620-327-8290.

Unlikely paths converge on Hesston campus

As the hot summer sun beat down on a 95 degree day in late June, 2009, Hesston College’s then newly appointed softball coach Andrew Sharp was uncomfortable. Having been on the job for all of three months, the squelching Aurora, Colo. weather was the least of his concerns.

In fact, the first-year coach was feeling a different kind of heat, the kind that comes from being seven weeks removed from the start of the academic year with only seven players on his active roster, and exactly zero of those being a pitcher.

True, Sharp had signed a player a month prior with some pitching experience, but he needed incoming freshman Kenzie Jones, Hyde Park, Utah, to be his catcher.

Feverishly scanning practice fields at the expansive Fireworks tournament, a major college softball recruiting camp held each summer in the outskirts of Denver, Sharp spotted the player he had come to see. Chandelle Dacosin, Kaneohe, Hawaii, was exactly the type of athlete Sharp needed – a competitive, versatile player who could immediately help Hesston College win softball games. All that remained was convincing her to leave Hawaii and travel more than 4,000 miles to join a program in the midst of rebuilding.

Fast forward two years.

It’s June, 2011. Dacosin is Hesston’s all-time leader in wins, strikeouts, complete games and innings pitched, while Jones, a two-year co-captain who started each of the Larks’ 83 games behind the plate the past two seasons, has just graduated from Hesston College as a National Junior College Athletic Association Academic All-American.

Two softball players’ lives, now linked as teammates and friends, took decidedly different paths than each would have guessed during their senior years of high school. Jones had planned to attend Utah State University, just 20 minutes from her doorstep, where she’d been offered a full academic scholarship. Dacosin was in the market for a school a little closer to home, comparatively speaking, than south-central Kansas.

“Chan and Kenzie each took a major leap of faith by coming to Hesston,” Sharp said. “They basically didn’t know anything about Hesston, nor did they know a single person on our campus. In the recruiting process I really tried to spell out an accurate picture of what they would likely experience here. It’s been very satisfying to see each of their stories unfold, realizing how much they enriched our campus and softball program.”

Part of a group of seven sophomores who collectively made an indelible mark on Hesston College Softball, Dacosin and Jones played vital roles for the Larks while engaging in a campus community that embraced their talents, on and off the field.

Jones, whose leadership capabilities became evident to those far outside the softball diamond, was involved in many areas of college life on the Hesston campus. Throughout her two years at Hesston, Jones served on the Campus Activities Board, volunteered at Schowalter Villa, a local retirement community, participated in the local Big Brothers Big Sisters program, and held a campus job as an academic tutor. During her sophomore year, she was employed by the college as a resident assistant.

“Kenzie came to Hesston with an obvious desire to serve others and grow as a student and a leader,” said Resident Director and assistant softball coach Katie Chaffinch. “As a resident assistant, she earned the respect of her peers and consistently took on challenges with grace and maturity. During her time here, Kenzie developed relationships with a wide variety of students and faculty and staff. She was a joy to work with.”

“Hesston has shaped my life in so many ways,” Jones said. “By being away from home, I was able to grow and mature. I have learned to be more accepting of people from different backgrounds, cultures and religions, and because of that I learned how to examine my own beliefs and ideas. It was a great place to learn from others.”

While starring at third base and in the pitching circle for the Larks, Dacosin’s positive personality spilled over to the campus. She made a positive impression on teammates and dorm mates alike during the two years that she made a small college town in the middle of the US her second home.

“Chandelle added a burst of energy to our campus,” Sharp said. “She has such a magnetic personality about her. Chan’s an awesome teammate; it was sort of crazy how she ended up at Hesston but now it’s hard to imagine what the last two years would have been like without her.”

“My time at Hesston has made me a better person,” Dacosin said. “I became more independent and responsible and learned so many new things in life. I also really enjoyed meeting new people and being on the softball field with different girls from around the country with all different personalities. We all came together and became one family. I have no regrets about my experience at Hesston.”

One has to wonder how the Hesston softball program would have looked if Dacosin had decided on somewhere closer to the west coast? What if Jones had stayed in Utah? It would be an understatement to suggest that Sharp is grateful they both made Hesston College their home the past two years.

“As a coach, the first recruiting class will always have a special place in my heart,” Sharp said. “I couldn’t have had a better group to lead the program. They will be missed. In a way, this group has continued to inspire me even though they’re not on our campus anymore. At recruiting camps I attend throughout the summer, I ask myself ‘Can this kid be the next Chan? Will she be able to replace Kenzie?’”

In the recruiting world it’s often a random or perhaps seemingly random sequence of events that ends up making teammates out of perfect strangers. It this case, it was a perfect fit.