Fall 2018 Magazine

2 Magazine.BethelCollege.edu I think I know why he did it. This summer, a judge told Jennifer Lee to pay $25,000 to her boyfriend Eric Abramovitz for falsifying records that duped him from accepting a dream job 3,000 miles away. NPR reported the judge’s rationale: it is “morally reprehensible” to “snatch a closely held personal dream from a person he trusted.” Today, Eric is principal clarinetist with the Toronto Symphony. And he has a new girlfriend. I think the judge did that because dreams are fragile and rare. In fact, our world is in dream deficit. I’m not talking about people awakening from slumber without memory of images and sensations while asleep, but drifting through life without anticipation of possibilities in God. At Bethel, it’s different. At the opening chapel service we told students: you are now immersed in a conspiracy of good. We’re all in on it. We are joyfully obsessed with helping you discover your God-given assignment, and then as Ephesians 4:1 says, “Live a life worthy of your calling!” That is God’s dream for you – a role or project of strategic consequence in the community you occupy. The shorthand for our mission is to transform communities through Christ-centered graduates. Which communities? Professional, residential, church, service and hobby groups, you name it. Our world needs this transformation. Read the news. America now suffers record-high cases of STDs, and generational highs of race tensions, workplace incivility, road rage, and loss of trust in basic institutions (banks, educational, health care, government). This makes a Christ-centered graduate an antidote, and a Christian college more valuable than ever. The French philosopher Gaston Bachelard says of a home – in his 1958 book, Poetics of Space – what we can say of our college ecosystem: It’s not a geometric object to analyze rationally, but a material paradise that bathes you in nourishment. It protects. It supplies moral energy. Inside her walls sound the iron hooves of dreams. … She makes heroes. The stories in these pages illustrate how Bethel equips “lives worthy of their calling.” Enjoy! Gregg A. Chenoweth, Ph.D. President From the President Gregg A. Chenoweth, Ph.D. The Bethel Magazine is published two times each year for alumni and friends of the college. Please send correspondence and address changes to the editor. BETHEL MAGAZINE 1001 Bethel Circle Mishawaka, IN 46545 Email: Lissa.Diaz@BethelCollege.edu Phone: 574.807.7384 Website: Magazine.BethelCollege.edu Founded in 1947 by the Missionary Church, Bethel College is an accredited Christian college offering associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in more than 50 areas of study. At Bethel you will find a spirited community of nearly 1,500 learners who engage their minds and hearts, seeking ways to be of real service in the world. To learn more, visit BethelCollege.edu . PRESIDENT Gregg A. Chenoweth, Ph.D. VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC SERVICES Barbara Bellefeuille, Ed.D. VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT Terry Elam, Ph.D. VICE PRESIDENT FOR BUSINESS SERVICES David Armstrong, Ed.D VICE PRESIDENT FOR INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT Rich Cummins, CFRE VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT DEVELOPMENT Shawn Holtgren ’95, Ph.D. EDITOR Lissa (Grashorn) Diaz ’07 ASSISTANT COPY EDITORS Erin Kinzel Susan Miller CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Andrew Bowen ’09 Lissa (Grashorn) Diaz ’07 Michael Ehret ’04 Erin Kinzel Susan Miller GRAPHIC DESIGNER Trevor Clark CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER Lissa (Grashorn) Diaz ’07 PHOTOGRAPHERS Grant Beachy Kelsey Brown Keith Cooper Tyler Grant ’08 Grace Hilty ’19 Brenna Huff ’18 Angela Myers Joe Rich ’06 Peter Ringenberg ’03 Emily (Rodgers) Sherwood ’99 Matthew Stackowicz Other photos provided COVER PHOTO Tyler Grant ’08 Bethel A P U B L I C AT I O N O F B E T H E L C O L L E G E , I N D . V O L U M E 2 9 , I S S U E 2 “The stories in these pages illustrate how Bethel equips “lives worthy of their calling.”