In the News

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.

Hesston College dorm furniture benefits non-profits

As Hesston College students graduated May 8 and headed home for the summer, they began to embody the college’s motto of “Start Here, Go Everywhere.” The following Tuesday, the same motto was applied to dorm furniture as it was loaded into a semi for donation in Waco, Texas.

For 42 years students used the beds, dressers, mirrors, desks and chairs in Erb Hall central and west wings, but as the college prepares to renovate the dorm rooms this summer, it was time for the old furniture to find a new home.

“We explored several options for the furniture from selling it to donating it,” said Hesston College facilities employee and project organizer Tim Goering. “I had a connection with an organization in Waco that had a need, and things fell into place better than we hoped.”

Goering’s cousin Kathy Reid is the executive director for the Family Abuse Center in Waco, one of the organizations to receive the furniture. The center assists victims of domestic violence by sheltering those seeking an escape and providing education and intervention to prevent abuse. On any given night, the shelter houses 40 to 75 residents, predominately women and children.

FAC operates a targeted housing program for shelter residents to eventually move into their own homes. The organization provides basic furniture for furnishing the new residences, so Hesston College’s donation of 152 dressers, more than 100 beds and mirrors, 20 desks and 15 loveseats was welcomed.

“This is the first time we have received a donation of this size,” said Reid. “This is a goldmine for us, especially the dressers. We almost never get dressers. In fact, the quantity is so high, we can’t use it all ourselves, so we are happy to share it with other local organizations.”

When all is said and done, Reid expects 15 non-profit organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, a Veteran’s Assistance program, a homeless shelter for teens and Compassion Ministries – a transitional housing program for homeless families, will receive pieces of furniture.

Even after filling the semi trailer to capacity, the college still has pieces of furniture left. Some of it will be donated to the Habitat for Humanity Re-store in Wichita, and any remaining pieces will be kept in storage until a use can be found.

Despite more than four decades of typical wear and tear, the furniture remains in good condition. Goering expects those on the receiving end will get many more years of use out of it.

“The furniture held up well for us, it just doesn’t fit our needs anymore,” said Goering. “We’re happy it will benefit people who need it.”

As plans to donate the furniture to the Waco organizations began to unfold, one logistical problem remained – how would such a large quantity of furniture travel the almost 500 miles to its new home?

That’s where Rick Caywood of Crawford, Texas, stepped in.

Rick Caywood Ministries is a non-profit trucking ministry started in 1996. Caywood primarily transports food to areas in need, but he also moves resources around the world for other organizations.

Someone in Waco knew of Caywood’s ministry and put Goering in contact with him. Following suit with the rest of the process, everything began to fall into place and schedules lined up to make the transport possible.

“Missions support work is what we do, and it’s up to all of us to encourage one another,” said Caywood. “Hesston’s donation is a mission for these organizations in Waco, so I am happy to be the middle man.”

As facilities staff and student workers spent six hours moving furniture out of three floors on an unseasonably hot May morning, the college community recalled memories in Erb Hall central and west, maybe for the last time before the renovation.

Just over 24 hours later, as rain fell in Waco, the furniture made its way off the truck for a new beginning.

“There were a lot of questions and unknowns as to whether this whole scenario would work out,” said Goering. “I’m not sure how it went so perfectly, but I’m glad it did.”

To see more photos of the loading and unloading process, visit the Hesston College Facebook page.

Sarasota sluggers make their mark at Hesston College

Two student athletes from Sarasota, Fla. recently wrapped up record-breaking careers for the Hesston College softball and baseball teams. Erika Shrock and Tyler Yoder, both graduates of Sarasota Christian School, leave Hesston each having broken several significant offensive records for the Larks.

Shrock, Hesston Softball’s all-time leader in runs scored (63), hits (109), doubles (25) and home runs (12), hit .410 during her sophomore year while playing tremendous defense at shortstop. A two-time all-region player, Shrock now ranks third all-time in hitting with a .419 career batting average and was a key part of a Hesston sophomore class that won 35 games over the past two seasons, the most of any graduating class since the class of 2005.

“Erika had a remarkable career at Hesston in so many ways,” said Hesston softball coach Andrew Sharp. “She decided to come to Hesston very late in the summer following her senior year, and having never visited our campus. I’m thrilled she took that leap of faith. Obviously, she has meant a great deal to our program and our campus.”

“Hesston was a really great experience for me and I made many life-long friends,” Shrock said. “I loved the small school setting and the feel of the community. I had so much fun during my two years at Hesston and I’ll really miss it.”

In coach Art Mullet’s final season at the helm of Hesston College Baseball, the Larks compiled a 26-14 record, which broke the school record for most wins in a season. No player was more instrumental in Hesston’s success than Yoder, who finished his Hesston career as the all-time leader in doubles (26), home runs (16) and runs batted in (82). Yoder hit .403 during the 2011 season and is now fifth overall in career batting at Hesston with a .372 mark. This season he posted an incredible .798 slugging percentage.

“Tyler was the consistent offensive punch in our attack all season long,” Mullet said. “He impacted our team in a huge way and was vital to our success as a team. He had both a tremendous year and career for Hesston College Baseball.”

“Being able to play baseball at the college level meant a lot to me,” Yoder said. “My two years at Hesston provided me with the chance to play with great teammates and a great coach. My Hesston experience is something I’ll never forget.”

First Air Traffic Control graduates help program take off

Air Traffic Control is not a career path for the faint of heart, and in the aviation field it sometimes gets overlooked for the “cool factor” of being a pilot. The first graduates of Hesston College’s Air Traffic Control program, however, are ready for the fast pace of work in a tower.

Two years after offering its first Air Traffic Control course and one year after being named to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI), seven Hesston College students were recognized in a May 7 ceremony for completing the curriculum. Now they await an invitation to the next steps in becoming an air traffic controller – a spot in the FAA’s program in Oklahoma City.

“This group of students showed a high level of motivation and dedication for the demands of the program,” said Dan Miller, director of Aviation.

The Hesston program, like the other 35 FAA-approved programs across the nation, has high standards even when considering applicants for the program.

“Air traffic control takes a certain personality,” said Miller. “The job demands attention to detail, discipline, composure in a dynamic environment, a sharp memory and the wherewithal to make accurate decisions. When we look at applicants for the program, we are looking for these qualities as well as high scores on the math section of the ACT or SAT.”

Once enrolled, the program provides appropriate education, experience and training to prepare students to enter the Oklahoma City program – a program where there is no guarantee of earning a spot. Students must receive an invitation from the Oklahoma City program, and entrance into the program is based on a points system. Applicants earn points for successfully earning a degree at an AT-CTI school like Hesston, having a private pilot’s license and other flight training and the score from the Air Traffic Selection and Training exam (AT-SAT). A score of 70 percent is needed for an applicant to even continue in the selection process. As a credit to their Hesston training, all seven students scored above 70 percent.

Aside from the FAA’s requirements, the Hesston program requires students to meet certain standards as well. They must complete the associate of arts degree in good standing, earn an 80 percent or better in ATC classes and obtain their private pilot’s license.

As the students graduated, they were confident in the training they have received and excited for the future possibilities in the aviation field.

Ryan Sprunger, a graduate from Dalton, Ohio, appreciates the opportunities the program gives students to put their learning to practice.

“Having my private pilot license will benefit me as a controller,” said Sprunger. “I now have an idea of what is happening on the pilot’s end when I am giving instructions.”

Sprunger said visiting different types of towers and practicing clearances, approaches and departure instructions in the campus’ computer and table model simulation labs was valuable to the experience as well.

“It was fun to actually put together everything that we learned and practice it,” he said.

Sprunger is continuing his family’s Hesston College Aviation legacy. His father, Jedd, is a pilot who received his flight training from Hesston in 1980, and his brother, Grant, is a 2008 graduate who also got his private pilot’s license from Hesston.

“I’ve always been interested in aviation, but I didn’t necessarily want to fly,” said Sprunger. “Hesston’s program gave me an option I hadn’t really considered before.”

His classmate, Jerry Holloman, had similar feelings about flying.

“My dad once told me that there are a lot of aviation jobs that aren’t in the cockpit,” said Holloman. “That resonated with me.”

Holloman earned his private pilot license from Kansas State University-Salina in 2002. He spent four years in active duty in the Air Force in Colorado before starting the program at Hesston. Since he already had a bachelor’s degree, Holloman’s experience, along with three other non-traditional students, was expedited and he completed the training in one year.

“The faculty worked with us, and we were able to do semester-long classes in eight weeks,” he said. “We would be in those classes for two to four hours two or three times a week.”

With a wife, Shelby, and daughter, Piper, born in September, balancing the program with family wasn’t always an easy task, but Holloman succeed, passed the AT-SAT with an 87.5 percent, which the FAA considers well qualified, and will play the waiting game with his classmates.

“These students came with an attitude of success,” said Miller. “Our mission was to equip them with the background and experience they need to continue being successful.”

2011 Bel Canto Singers summer tour

Sunday, May 8
7:30 p.m., Salem Mennonite Church, 820 Rd V, Shickley, Neb.

Tuesday, May 10
7:30 p.m., Evergreen Heights Mennonite Church, 701 N Indiana Ave, Caldwell, Idaho

Wednesday, May 11
7:30 p.m., Warden Mennonite Church, 720 S Pine, Warden, Wash.

Friday, May 13
7:30 p.m., Seventh Day Adventist Church, 120 Chilvers Rd, Chehalis, Wash.

Sunday, May 15
10 a.m., Seattle Mennonite Church, 3120 NE 125th St., Seattle, Wash. 7 p.m., Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave, Portland, Ore.

Tuesday, May 17
7:30 p.m., Mennonite Community Church, 5015 E Olive, Fresno, Calif.

Wednesday, May 18
7:30 p.m., First Mennonite Church of Upland, 379 N Campus Ave., Upland, Calif.

Thursday, May 19
7:30 p.m., Trinity Mennonite Church, 4334 W Vista Ave, Glendale, Ariz.

Friday, May 20
7:30 p.m., Albuquerque Mennonite Church, 1300 Girard Blvd NE, Albuquerque, N.M.

Graduates challenged to go forth with love and unity

Hesston College’s 139 graduates of the class of 2011 were encouraged during a May 8 commencement ceremony to go into the world with a spirit of love and unity.

Regina Shands Stoltzfus, professor in the Peacemaking, Justice and Conflict studies and Bible, Religion and Philosophy departments at Goshen (Ind.) College, as well as adjunct professor at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (Elkhart, Ind.) and mother of graduate Rachel Stoltzfus addressed the graduates with the message “Rooted in Love, Sent Out in Hope.”

Stoltzfus’ message was based on Ephesians 3:20-21, which served as the Hesston College theme verse for the 2010-11 academic year.

“Paul gives this good word, this benediction at the conclusion of a beautiful prayer as he prays for one of his churches,” said Stoltzfus. “Paul prays that they might be strengthened by God’s spirit and that Christ will dwell in their hearts.”

She encouraged the graduates to embody that same spirit as they leave Hesston College, go into the world and impact it with their talents and gifts.

“You are God’s beloved,” said Stoltzfus. “This is your story, this is your birthright, this is your blessing. And so I pray that not only do you know that you are God’s beloved, but as you go out from this place, you keep discovering the ways that love causes you to move through the world. Live out of that knowing, and in doing so, partner with God for the reshaping of the world.”

Stoltzfus reflected on the struggles of the civil rights movement and her own experiences of growing up in a mixed-race church in Cleveland, Ohio, to illustrate how love can make a difference in the world.

“What impressed me was the ordinariness of it all,” she said in reflection of her early church experience. “It’s not like every day was a protest march. We were just ordinary people meeting together. We were learning to love one another not in spite of our differences but because we were a church together and love is just what you do.”

As Paul encouraged the early church with the overarching message of we are one and we are different, Stoltzfus challenged the graduates to remember their call to truth and unity, even when the two seem to be in tension.

“You leave this place as a collection of bright, gifted, educated people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and world views,” she said. “You go out into a world even more diverse and even more fractured by the moment. Hold truth and unity in your hearts as you go along your way.”

Graduates Leah Rittenhouse of Mount Pleasant, Pa., and Alex Roth of Hesston, Kan., were nominated by their classmates to give the student address during commencement.

Individual student groups were recognized in special ceremonies May 7. Longtime Mennonite Disaster Service volunteer, Paul Unruh, addressed six Disaster Management students receiving certificates of completion. The students will spend 10 weeks this summer working with various agencies at disaster sites to complete their requirements. The seven Aviation and Air Traffic Control graduates who have completed their requirements were honored during a reception. Tyson Teeter, a 1994 Hesston College graduate was the speaker.

The college’s Nursing Department presented pins to the 48 member of the 44th class of graduating nursing students. Steve Kelly, President and CEO of Newton (Kan.) Medical Center with the message “Purpose with Passion.” He encouraged the graduates to avoid mediocrity in their service.

The Pastoral Ministries program commissioned three graduates for service in the church. Hesston College President Howard Keim, who also served as a youth minister and pastor for 11 years and director of the Hesston College Pastoral Ministries Program for nine years, addressed the graduates.

Other weekend activities included a sophomore recital by Andy Miller of Marion, S.D., and Perry Andre of Wauseon, Ohio, a tree dedication in memory of Chloe Weaver, class of 2010, a bon voyage concert by Bel Canto Singers as a precursor to their two-week west coast tour and student-directed one act plays by freshman Libby Waltner of Hurley, S.D., and sophomore Justin Greger of Goshen, Ind.

(left) Heidi Zehr of Tiskilwa, Ill., receives a hug and encouraging words from faculty member Maria Day; (center) Graduates Elliot Wilder and Alex Roth of Hesston, Kan., Vincent Sorrells of Cedar Park, Texas, and Yohannes Setiadi of Banyuwangi, Indonesia pose for a photo after Hesston College Commencement May 8; (right) Kelsey Schrock of Wellman, Iowa, (left) and Liz Miller, class of 2010, (right) celebrate Schrock’s graduation with faculty member Karen Sheriff LeVan (center).

College announces 2011-12 business scholarship recipients

Hayden Goerzen, Dani Klotz, Joel Murray and Sarah Unruh, 2011 Hesston College Bill Mason ScholarsFour Hesston College business students have been named recipients of the Bill Mason Business Scholarship for the 2011-12 academic year.

The students receiving the scholarship award are Hayden Goerzen, son of Bryan Goerzen of Newton, Kan. and the late Wendy Goerzen; Dani Klotz, daughter of Steve and Cherri Klotz of Wakarusa, Ind.; Joel Murray, son of John C. and Krista Murray of Hesston, Kan.; and Sarah Unruh, daughter of Mark and Barb Unruh of Durham, Kan.

The students, who are finishing their freshman year at Hesston, will receive the one-year $2,500 scholarship for their sophomore year beginning in fall 2011.

The Bill Mason Business Scholarship was established in honor of the long-time business instructor. For students to qualify for the scholarship, they must be advised by a business faculty member, be a declared business major, have a minimum GPA of 3.0 in business courses and be a returning student having taken business courses during their freshman year at Hesston College.

Recipients are selected by the business department faculty for their exemplary work and dedication to the standards set by the Business Practices of Excellence.

Located 30 miles north of Wichita, Hesston College is the two-year liberal arts college of Mennonite Church USA.