Voice Winter/Spring 2017 by Dordt University

VOLUME 62

NEWS WINTER/SPRING 2017

OF DORDT COLLEGE

ISSUE 2 OF 3

THE

RECYCLING AND THE LEAST OF THESE 8 LUKE HAWLEY, STORYTELLER 23 WHY STUDY ART? 28 1

Leading Off WITH THE PRESIDENT

TYRANNY OF THE “OR” I was asked recently by the parent of a prospective student whether Dordt College was remaining true to its Reformed distinctives or watering that perspective down to appeal to a broader audience. As president, that’s a question I enjoy responding to. I’ve been a student of both Jim Collins and Roger Martin for many years. Neither are explicitly Reformed thinkers—but they are among the best at thinking about long-term organizational thriving. In Built to Last, Collins has a section on the “Tyranny of the ‘OR.’” He says we can become mentally trapped when we assume we must choose between two seemingly contradictory paths. He encourages readers to seek out the “Genius of the ‘AND’”—to get beyond binary choices and find alternatives that aren’t immediately obvious. Roger Martin in The Opposable Mind advocates for integrative thinking, “the ability to face constructively the tension of opposing ideas and, instead of choosing one at the expense of the other, generate a creative resolution of the tension in the form of a new idea that contains elements of the opposing ideas but is superior to each.” This approach shaped my response to the parent. Dordt College seeks to be hospitably Reformed. We are absolutely committed to proclaiming God’s sovereignty, and we are guided by a biblically grounded understanding of redemptive history that pivots on Christ's life, death, and resurrection. And yet, we proclaim this reformational worldview in ways that invite participation from those who may not (yet) be deeply steeped in that tradition. This means we pay attention to whether we’re using jargon and dense Reformed terminology (at least in introductory classes). We see that Reformed thinking, and preaching, is on the rise across the world, and we’re signaling our eagerness to welcome those interested in deepening their learning accented with a Reformed flavor. We’re seeing signs that this approach is effective. Our enrollment is at an all-time high—and I believe that reflects our deep commitment to our Reformed identity. As you read this issue of the Voice, please pause to pray that we continue to be hospitably Reformed in winsome ways, without watering ourselves down. Soli Deo Gloria!

DR. ERIK HOEKSTRA

Voice THE

OF DORDT COLLEGE

WINTER/SPRING 2017 VOLUME 62 | ISSUE 2 The Voice, an outreach of Dordt College, is sent to you as alumni and friends of Christian higher education. The Voice is published three times each year to share information about the programs, activities, and people at Dordt College. www.dordt.edu (712) 722-6000 Send address corrections and correspondence to voice@dordt.edu or VOICE, Dordt College, 498 Fourth Ave. NE, Sioux Center, IA 51250-1606 Contributors Aleisa Dornbierer-Schat, editor Aleisa.Dornbierer-Schat@dordt.edu Shelbi Gesch (’17), student writer Kate Henreckson, contributing writer Sally Jongsma, contributing editor Sonya Jongsma Knauss, contributing writer (’97) Lydia Marcus (’17), student writer Sarah Moss (’10), director of marketing and communication Sarah Vander Plaats (’05), staff editor Jamin Ver Velde (’99), art director/ designer John Baas, vice president for college advancement John.Baas@dordt.edu Our Mission As an institution of higher education committed to a Reformed, Christian perspective, Dordt College equips students, alumni, and the broader community to work effectively toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life. On the Cover Art student Jenna Wilgenburg ('19) stands in front of two paintings from her series titled The Perfect Body, which explores the figuring—and commodification—of the female body in popular culture.

Inside

Editor’s Notes JAMIN VER VELDE (ʼ99)

SARAH MOSS (ʼ10)

THIS ISSUE

CELEBRATING THE ARTS

ometimes, as an issue takes shape, there are moments of serendipity—a theme that surfaces in one article finds a conversation partner in another, or a question posed early on is explored later in more depth. Ultimately, these dovetails and connections reflect a culture of vibrant interdisciplinarity, and it's my favorite part of watching each issue of the Voice come together.

CLIMATE CONTRAST Students ventured out onto the wet campus lawn to enjoy unseasonably warm February weather, playing frisbee, chatting on sidewalks, and taking the long way to class. That same week, a blizzard turned the campus white again.

NEWS

Dordt serves area Latino families through the Juntos program.

The worship arts program has a new, stateof-the-art recording studio.

New Pro-Tech program makes first hire.

Defender fans turn out in force for Dordt's first national championship.

FEATURES

Celebrating Dordt's unique partnership with the Northwest Iowa Symphony Orchestra.

Across campus, the conversation about race, politics, and the church continues. In a polarized nation, what does Christian civility look like? And how should Christians talk about race?

English Professor Luke Hawley brings his

storyteller's sensibility on stage—fronting a new band—and into the classroom.

Why would a Christian college student choose to study a fine art? At Dordt—and beyond, in the Twin CIties—artists explore how artmaking fits into a life of faith.

ALUMNI

A Dordt alumna works to improve the lives of adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa.

This issue is no different—though readers may discern a clearer thread of continuity running across our pages. In the planning stages, we noticed that many of the stories we wanted to tell had something to do with the fine arts. The 30th anniversary of the Northwest Iowa Symphony Orchestra is on the horizon, and an article celebrating the orchestra's unique partnership with Dordt College seemed timely. Also, there's a new band in town, the Ruralists. And we continued to hear of alumni finding success on the Twin Cities arts scene, prompting a broader look at the fine arts at Dordt and after. Perhaps it's another kind of serendipity that, in a time of deep national division, many of the stories that came to us this issue are about art. Art, done well, can help us talk to one another; it can teach us to recognize the humanity in others who are different than us (and with whom we might strenuously disagree). But art needn't be deeply serious, and this issue is also a celebration—of the fine arts, but also of the creative spirit that animates the work of all learning, reflecting the image of our Creator in us. ALEISA DORNBIERER-SCHAT, EDITOR

NEWS

TOGETHER DORDT STARTS JUNTOS PROGRAM TO SERVE LATINO FAMILIES IN THE COMMUNITY

The boundaries of Dordt College have never been defined by campus geography, and as the surrounding community grows and changes, Dordt’s role in the community changes, too. In recent years, growth in agriculture and industry has attracted a growing Latino population to Sioux Center. That has yielded new opportunities for partnership between the college and members of the community. Last fall, Dordt partnered with Iowa State University Extension to offer its first Juntos program. Juntos, which means “together” in English, is an outreach program to new Latino neighbors that provides information and support to families attempting to navigate and understand the U.S. education system. Sending a child to school for the first time can be an overwhelming experience, says Dordt Education Professor Mary Beth Pollema, “and you can imagine how true that is for someone who has just arrived in the United States.”

The local Juntos program is supported by a partnership between the college and the Center for Service and Advocacy in Sioux County (CASA), a group whose vision is to bring about “transformed Northwest Iowa communities that welcome, empower, and celebrate people from all cultures.” CASA facilitates a number of initiatives in Sioux County that assist members of the community arriving from other cultures.

The Juntos program, facilitated by Pollema and Off-Campus and Multicultural Programs Coordinator Alexis Kreun, includes five weekly

According to the Iowa State Universty extension, Latino youth are at greatest risk for dropping out of school between the 9th and 10th grades. The program

Among those many possibilities is Dordt’s new two-year professional-technical program, Pro-Tech. Pro-Tech Director Dr. Joel Sikkema attended a Juntos gathering to talk about the program and answer families' questions. Many of Dordt’s Spanish-speaking students also contributed by attending gatherings and assisting with activities for the younger children. In addition to providing facilities to host Juntos, Dordt offered scholarships for students of participating families to attend Dordt’s summer IDEAS camp (Investigating, Discovering, and Excelling in Academics and Service). The camp is for high school students and gives them a chance to investigate their areas of interest at a college level. Pollema and Kreun plan to offer the Juntos program again next year and are applying for grant money to help it grow. This year, five families attended the entire five-week program, but attendance at individual meetings was as high as 12. With the program’s first year completed, Pollema and Kreun hope to continue to build relationships between the local Latino community, the Sioux Center school district, and Dordt College. “We anticipate that schools will notice increased participation from Latino families following the Juntos Project,” says Kreun. SHELBI GESCH ('17)

PHOTO SUBMITTED

workshops that bring a family and local educators together. By building a bridge between Latino families and local schools, Juntos hopes to give students a path for their future. Seminar topics include family communication skills, ways for parents to encourage their child at home, and information on how to talk together about the future and their options for higher education.

seeks to help keep younger students in school, encourage educational success, and make higher education an attainable goal for graduating high school seniors.

DORDT COLLEGE ARCHIVES

f you’ve visited Dordt’s website recently, you’ve probably noticed that things look a little different: the layout is sleeker, the font is bolder, and the photos are newer.

NEWS

A WEBSITE THAT FITS IN YOUR PALM I The new website was launched in mid-December of 2016, but work on the new site began well before then.

Students in Dordt's new MPA program will learn the skills and understanding needed to serve in leadership roles in the public sector.

NEW MPA PROGRAM WILL EQUIP DORDT STUDENTS FOR PUBLIC SERVICE D

ordt College will begin offering a master of public administration (MPA) program in the summer of 2018. An MPA program—which is like an MBA for the public sector— provides people with the administration skills necessary for managers in a wide variety of fields, from social work to civil service. “Only two other Christian schools offer MPA programs, and these schools have different educational philosophies than Dordt,” says Donald Roth Dordt Criminal Justice Professor Donald Roth, who is helping lead planning efforts for an academically rigorous program. “Dordt and its sister institutions are graduating many students who would benefit from public administration skills. This MPA program will serve both the Reformed and broader communities.” MPA students may choose from one of three tracks: police administration, nonprofit organization administration, and a general track. Students will take one six-week class at a time, completing 12 courses over two years. Nine of these courses will be common to all three tracks, and three courses will be track specific. The MPA program, like the new Pro-Tech program, grows from Dordt’s commitment to providing serviceable Christian education for students in a wide range of fields.

“Two years ago, we started reviewing the website, looking at what elements we liked, what the essential pieces were, and what was missing,” explains Dordt Associate Director of Marketing and Communication Sarah Vander Plaats. “A big priority for the new site is responsiveness—the new website needs to be able to work on the device you’re viewing it on.” “Most prospective students access the site via phone or tablet,” says Director of Computer Services Brian Van Donselaar. “The daytime trend—from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.—has been 65 percent desktop and 35 percent mobile usage. From 7 p.m. to 12 a.m., the trend is more like 75 percent mobile and 25 percent desktop. The new site is more mobile-friendly than the old site, and we’re planning to make it even better.” Computer Services and Marketing and Communication employees worked through the summer to transfer content from the old site to the new, fix errors, and catch glitches. The result is a site that provides all the information from the previous site in an attractive, mobile-friendly manner. In its first five weeks online, the new website had more than 30,500 visitors and well over 200,000 page views. Though the website looks new, most content from the old website was preserved. You can still find details about Dordt’s bachelor’s programs, associate programs, Pro-Tech programs, and master’s programs under the Academics tab, and recordings of chapel are located under the Student Life tab, just as they always were. Information for alumni and parents can be found in the upper right corner, and the free application for admission is found under the Admissions & Aid tab. We think you’ll like it. Take a look! LYDIA MARCUS ('18)

LYDIA MARCUS ('18)

NEWS

JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

Campus Kudos Dordt’s new Pro-Tech program has received approval from the Higher Learning Commission, the final step before the program debuts next fall. The two-track program will offer a two-year associate of science degree in Manufacturing Technology or Farm Operations and Management. The program is the nation’s first professional-technical education program offered in the context of an on-campus Christian college experience. Students will live on campus, take basic core courses, and participate in paid internships.

Last summer’s Agricultural Stewardship Center interns Imanuel Feodor (’18) and Alayna Gerhardt (’19) adjust a haymaker.

AG SAFETY CONFERENCE

The Dordt College Art Collection was recently featured in SEEN Journal, published by CIVA (Christians in the Visual Arts). A full-page photo of Professor David Versluis’s sculpture Enlaced: A Burning Bush, Psalm 19 is highlighted in one feature. The article, “Bringing Out Treasures Old and New,” also briefly highlights the Dordt College Art Collection and the fact that nearly all of the art in its permanent collection is on display for students, campus community, and visitors to see daily.

he Dordt College Agriculture Department had an opportunity to show off its students and program at the annual Midwest Rural Safety Agricultural Conference held in Sioux Center last fall. Drawing scholars, industry personnel, health care professionals, and safety equipment vendors from across the Midwest, the ag safety conference drew on the expertise of Dordt faculty members and students—and left a good impression on people who were not familiar with the college or the program.

Once again Dordt College theatre arts students and faculty were honored at the annual regional Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF). Certificates of Merit were given for work on three productions: • Lazzi Moliere: Jennifer Allen, Scenic Design; Josiah Wallace, Mask Design and Implementation • Much Ado About Nothing: Jennifer Allen, Scenic Design; Kyle Fossé, Sound Design; Erica Liddle, Lighting Design and Assistant Director • And Then There Were None: Logan Radde, Director KYLE FOSSÉ (ʼ17)

“These conferences are usually held near Iowa City, so this was an opportunity for us to demonstrate what we offer,” says Dordt D. Bajema Agriculture Professor Dr. Duane Bajema. Dordt students and faculty were heavily involved, giving presentations and talks that were well received. “Several people told me our students’ presentations were comparable to those of graduate students,” says Bajema. One University of Iowa professor told Bajema she hoped some of Dordt’s agriculture majors would consider graduate school at her institution. Dordt agriculture students earned the response.

Fossé also won the national sound design award, and Liddle won the national lighting design award. Both students will represent the Midwest region at the KCACTF in April. Senior Stephanie Korthuis won an honorable mention in the Regional Makeup Design category, and Costumer Sue Blom’s costumes for Much Ado About Nothing were selected for the Costume Parade at the closing ceremonies for the festival. Josh Bootsma and Peter Rexford advanced to the semifinal round of the Irene Ryan acting competition. A $10,000 grant from the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, Inc., will help fund a $25,000 Shimadzu GC2014 gas chromatograph. The chromatograph will allow introductory and intermediate chemistry students to be more actively engaged in chemical processes and give them tools and techniques they can use as future scientists.

“Our students had something very worthwhile to contribute,” says Bajema. Members of Bajema’s class last fall gave nine of the 20 poster presentations offered during the two-day conference. The presentations covered grain-bin safety, dust explosions, power take-offs, manure gases, and tractor roll overs—the number one killer of farmers. Agriculture is one of the top three most dangerous professions, and Dordt is one of few institutions that offers coursework in farm safety. “We’ve recognized for some time that this is an important part of agriculture education and require it of all of our majors,” says Bajema. Keynote speaker Wayne Bauer, the retired director of safety and security at Star of the West Milling Company, told Bajema that he wished other institutions would do the same. SALLY JONGSMA

ucked away in the basement of the Campus Center, a recording studio is under construction. Boxes line the hallway leading to the room, but soon countertops and amps will be installed, and computer equipment will be set up connecting the recording room to the rehearsal room next door, visible through a soundproofed window. The studio will give students an opportunity to gain experience recording and producing right on campus. Dordt’s worship arts major is a relatively new addition to the academic program. The four-year program is housed in the Theology Department, and students who choose the major can broaden their studies beyond music to include drama, art, or communication. Worship arts students can also pair their studies with a pre-seminary focus. The new studio will allow students to experiment with music they’ve written and hear it produced and engineered in a professional manner, says Director of Campus Ministries and Worship Arts Jonathan DeGroot. Hearing what’s written on the page can change how you interpret a song, explains DeGroot: “When you record, you often hear parts

JAMIN VER VELDE (ʼ99)

Junior Kenzie Van Roekel sings into a Manley Reference Cardioid Tube Microphone. "This is modern pop music’s go-to mic," says Jonathon DeGroot, director of campus ministries.

you hadn’t noticed. “Our vision for the recording studio has two aims,” he says. First, the studio will help students who are pursuing the goal of writing new, high-quality, theologically solid music with a distinctly Reformed inclination. “There’s a lot of praise and worship out there right now, but there’s been very little that is particularly Reformed,” he says. Dordt hopes to change that by training and encouraging a new generation of distinctly Reformed writers, musicians, and worship leaders. Second, the department hopes to bring students from other majors into the new studio, and it plans to offer an Introduction to Recording class for students in disciplines like digital media

NEWS

WORSHIP ARTS PROGRAM BUILDS NEW RECORDING STUDIO production, drama, or music. With the new equipment, students will acquire hands-on experience with high-quality equipment, an opportunity that will yield benefits in their future vocations. “There’s no shortage of job opportunities for aspiring church worship leaders,” says DeGroot, who says he often receives calls from churches in search of worship leaders. “Churches are looking for people who aren’t just worship planners, but worship leaders,” he says. The studio will also benefit Campus Ministries, which oversees a variety of student-led worship teams on campus. “At Dordt, we’re blessed with an abundance of talented songwriters and musicians,” DeGroot says. These students and faculty members have contributed to the vibrant culture of corporate worship on campus. The new recording studio will help broaden the reach of their gifts to worshipping communities and congregations beyond Dordt. SHELBI GESCH ('17)

The chapel worship team recently recorded a six-song EP that can be accessed at dordt.edu/chapelep. With the help of the new recording studio, the college will soon be able to produce its own live recordings.

JAMIN VER VELDE (ʼ99)

NEWS

SUSTAINABILITY AND RECYCLING: THE DECEMBER SERVICE PROJECT Three Christmases ago, a group of Dordt students asked: can we do something kingdomoriented at this time of year? That question led to a new tradition, the December Service Project, a student-led initiative to observe the season through acts of service. PHOTO SUBMITTED

The first year, the Ebola outbreak was at its peak, and students decided to help children in Liberia who had lost their parents to the disease. Through pledges and fundraisers, they raised $18,000 to build a children’s home. The second year, students worked to increase awareness of human trafficking by observing “Dressember.” Along with fundraising, many students wore formal attire for the month of December, a reminder of the desire to return dignity to those who have been mistreated and abused. Aaron Baart, Dordt’s dean of chapel, says, “The December service project bubbles up from the student body. Students really have a heart for this.” This year, the project focused on sustainable living. Some students learned that Dordt spends $47,000 a year on garbage removal, and they saw little initiative among fellow students to steward campus resources. The group decided to take action. They applied for and were awarded grant money from several donors, including Young Evangelicals for Climate Action. They also challenged Dordt’s administration to match funds so they could buy new recycling bins. The college not only matched the funds, it contributed more than three times what the students raised and also created two permanent work-study positions so students could continue to explore ways to increase sustainability on campus. But this year’s project benefitted more

A team of Dordt students traveled to Liberia to install solar panels at Abide in the Vine Disciples Church. The panels will save the church roughly $3,000 each year.

than just Dordt. The money saved by reducing garbage removal funded a partnership between Dordt students and Abide in the Vine Disciples Church in Liberia. Over Christmas break, a Dordt team installed a solar panel to increase energy efficiency on the church campus and save roughly $3,000 a year. They also partnered with community members to set up a school library, a computer lab with 60 new computers, and solarpowered fencing for a goat farm. “It’s using our sense of creation care to teach other people about creation care,” says Baart. Why is it important for students to be involved in this kind of work? “The

biggest reason is allowing students to become aware of what God is doing elsewhere in the world,” says Baart. “I think part of God’s command for mission isn’t just to save the world, but to save us from ourselves—to pull us outside of our individualism. Working on this project transforms students for the rest of their lives.” Renee Ewald, a junior biology major, helped spearhead this year's project. “When I arrived as a freshman from Northern British Columbia, I was shocked at how little recycling was happening on campus.” Ewald now chairs Dordt’s sustainability committee, which helps administration, students, and others create a more sustainable campus. The committee saw December’s recycling project as a way to help students know what they could and could not recycle. They also hoped to create a better recycling system, using money as motivation (it costs Dordt $10 more per cubic yard to remove garbage than recycled materials). The project is working. After just seven days, maintenance reported the amount of recycled materials had doubled. The increase has held for months. Dr. Jeff Ploegstra, who teaches biology and environmental studies, notes that recycling reduces our global consumptive pattern—our impact on other creatures and other spaces. That is why the students planned the Liberia project. “If you really want to love people,” Ploegstra says, “you have to also love the place they live. To say that you love somebody, while at the same time

PHOTO SUBMITTED

ON THE MARGINS

Students on the sustainability committee worked hard to raise awareness about the importance of recycling on campus. Aside from reducing Dordt's carbon footprint, the resulting increase in the amount of materials being recycled on campus means significant cost-savings for the college.

promoting practices that impoverish the environment they live in, is really problematic. Healthy people come from healthy places. You need to step back and look at the whole network.” But wasn’t creation made for human beings? And isn’t environmental care a “secular” issue? “Not at all!” Ploegstra says. “In the Noahic covenant, God made a covenant with all creatures. Look through the Old Testament—God says people are to treat the land in particular ways. The land itself is to have a Sabbath. We are a unique part of creation: but not the only part. In the Bible ‘ruling’ always means ‘serving.’” Environmental care is not a new idea. It’s part of the rich history of Reformed theology and its guiding trajectory of Creation-Fall-Redemption. Reformed Christians have always believed that creation has intrinsic value, and God calls humanity to care for it.

environment have an eternal impact,” says Ploegstra. “To me, part of being faithful is being committed to the idea that God loves what he has made. Creation is good and something we should desire to care for.” Next semester, the student committee will focus on composting—providing a place for people to put their food waste to help reduce the amount of harmful methane gas released into the atmosphere. They hope to keep finding ways to improve sustainability on campus. Asked how she would encourage her fellow students, Ewald replied, “Think about the impact of your actions. When you throw something in the trash that could be recycled, it contributes to a larger problem. Not one of us, on our own, has the ability to change the world in a drastic way. But when we work together, we can make a difference.” KATE HENRECKSON

NEWS

Americans generate a lot of waste. That’s one reason the United States is a primary contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, thanks to technology, many of us don’t suffer the effects of these emissions. Scientists have shown that carbon emissions contribute to environmental instability over time. But for many Americans, unpredictable weather is simply inconvenient: if it gets warm, we can turn on the AC. For others, it can be catastrophic. Farmers in Africa, for instance, depend for their livelihood on predictable rain. They don’t have the financial resources to protect themselves from changes in the environment around them, and that can lead to starvation. Yet subsistence farmers are among the least responsible for the emissions that cause these changes. Environmental change can also affect global politics. An article in the Scientiﬁc American describes how the recent drought in Syria helped pave the way for the current civil war. The drought “destroyed agriculture, causing many farm families to migrate to cities. The influx added to social stresses already created by refugees pouring in from the war in Iraq.” Current research suggests that this is not an anomaly: drought increases the potential for violent conflict worldwide. In the end, it comes down to loving our neighbor—and students on Dordt’s sustainability committee are doing their small part. By reducing campus waste, the Dordt community is actually caring for “the least of these”: people on the margins of society, who are most vulnerable to the effects of global waste. For more on how our stewardship of resources affects society's most vulnerable members, see Loving the Least of These: Addressing a Changing Environment, by Dorothy Boorse.

“I think our actions toward the JORDAAN EDENS DE GROOT (ʼ13)

Dordt’s campus was recently ranked no. 2 in a list of the “25 Most Beautiful Colleges and Universities in the Midwest 2017” by Christian Universities Online. That has a lot to do with stewardship of campus grounds and resources. Stan Oordt, director of the Dordt physical plant, says of the maintenance team, “They take such good of the campus because they know that their work glorifies God, and we want to take the best of care with what God has entrusted to us.”

JAMIN VER VELDE (ʼ99)

NEWS

KDCR RADIO SIGNIFICANTLY REVAMPS PROGRAMMING fter 48 years of bringing local news, Christian music, crop and livestock prices, and weather reports to Sioux County residents, Dordt’s on-campus radio station, KDCR 88.5 FM, is being reformatted and modernized to better serve listeners and student employees. The first of the changes was revealed when KDCR relaunched in October, and additional adjustments will be made throughout the upcoming year. This is the station’s first significant reformatting since it changed frequencies in 1981.

• KDCR 88.5 has a new jingle and logo.

Mike Byker will continue to be the voice of Defender sports, but much else about the daily line-up has changed.

“KDCR’s format changes are designed to cultivate the station’s regional support,” says John Baas, vice president for college advancement. The roll-out will be incremental. “Over time, we’ll refine our delivery of contemporary Christian music; our regional, local, and college news segments; and our local sports broadcasting. And we’ll do it from a modernized broadcast platform.”

its academic programs and the radio station. The changes made to KDCR will create new opportunities for students to get involved in the process of radio broadcasting. Currently, seven students are employed in work-study positions at KDCR. In the future, there will be more opportunities for students to work at the station and apply what they’ve learned in communication or journalism classes.

Through these updates, Dordt hopes to create a stronger connection between

Sophomore KDCR employee Jessica Cheney says the reformatting changes,

UPDATES

• No more daily obituaries, daily school lunch menus, long-form community announcements, or three- to four-minute weather reports. • The new KDCR website provides long-form news, community news, and new online giving apparatuses.

HOPE KRAMER (ʼ17)

• The studio will continue to host Dordt work-study students and interns, but it will develop new training practicums. New student responsibilities include broadcast format theory, voice recording, audio digital editing, broadcast content evaluation, and live and recorded vocal performance measurements.

particularly the transition from live announcements to pre-recorded announcements, have “made my job a little bit easier.” “I can record something in the time before it airs rather than worry about timing it right and saying everything correctly when we’re live,” she says. “I think Dordt students and our radio listeners will appreciate the changes in our weekday lineup,” says Cheney. “Now, more music can be played, and extra effort is being taken to choose music that is current and enjoyable for our audience.” In the coming months, Dordt's on-campus radio station will continue to modernize its broadcast platform, providing student employees with continued opportunities to learn radio by doing it.

LYDIA MARCUS ('18)

JAMIN VER VELDE (ʼ99)

RODRIGUEZ TO HEAD NEW PRO-TECH PROGRAM MANY HATS D ordt’s new Pro-Tech program is moving full steam ahead with the appointment of Oscar Rodriguez to help develop the new major. Rodriguez, currently teaching at West Point Military Academy, has a wealth of experience in technical education and a passion for helping train Christians with a broad understanding of how to O. Rodriguez live their calling in careers in manufacturing and technical fields.

Rodriguez has experience and certifications in various C-STEM (Computers, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) specialties, including electronics, automation, robotics, mechatronics, energy, and advanced production and manufacturing technologies. He taught at the community college and university level and worked and consulted for a number of companies. The Pro-Tech program He is also will begin in the fall familiar of 2017. For more with Dordt information about the College, program and to apply, visit dordt.edu/prohaving tech. studied in the engineering program for one year while his family remained in their home country of Honduras. Now, decades of further education and work later, he is eagerly helping launch the new program. “This is a timely opportunity for Dordt to continue making significant

Oscar A. Rodriguez has had many titles over the past 20 years: Technical Support Engineer, Industrial Technology Consultant, Associate Professor of Engineering Technology, Applied Engineering Technologist, Master Instructor of Electronics, Certified Fiber Optics Instructor, Certified Advanced Manufacturing Instructor, Green Production Instructor, Certified Energy Professional Candidate, Electromechanical Technologist, Department Chair, Certified Online Instructor, Certified Robotics Instructor, and Engineering and Military IT Applications Professor.

contributions toward the education and training of kingdom citizens,” Rodriguez says. “Advanced technologies and modern manufacturing, specifically, is an area that the church and other Christian higher-education institutions have not used as an avenue to make an impact in our current culture. With the high demand for a high-tech education, ProTech will help fill that need.” Rodriguez says Dordt’s program will provide opportunities for students to develop their God-given abilities and serve as ambassadors of Christ’s kingdom in an environment that needs highly skilled workers and people of principle. It will also provide internship opportunities, where students will put their learning into practice.

Agriculture Professor Dr. Jeremy Hummel co-authored an article titled “Development of a multiplex PCR assay for the identification of common cutworm species (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) infesting canola in western Canada,” published in November in The Canadian Entomologist.

NEWS

Beginning in fall 2017, Pro-Tech will offer programs in farm operations and manufacturing. As the program expands, so will program offerings.

Faculty Notes

Art Professor David Versluis was the featured artist in the January/ February 2017 edition of Arts & Cultural Strategies, printed in Chicago. Versluis’s artwork was selected for the curatorial international group exhibition titled “Layered: Tracing How Art is Made” at the Zhou B Art Center in Chicago from January to March 2017. Versluis also gave a presentation called “The Making of ‘a little bit of cathedral in it,’ A wall sculpture commissioned by Dordt College in 2015” at the Society of Typographic Arts in Chicago in January. Assistant Provost and English Professor Dr. Leah Zuidema coauthored a book titled Coaching Teacher-Writers: Practical Steps to Nurture Professional Writing that was published by Teachers College Press in November. Zuidema was also nominated for vice president of National Council of Teachers of English. Biology Professors Dr. Jeff Ploegstra and Dr. Tony Jelsma, along with Biology and Chemistry Department Assistant Brittany De Ruyter, published a paper titled “Population Genetic Structure of Asclepias Tuberosa in Northwest Iowa: A Comparison Within and Between Remnant Prairies and Commercially Available Seed” in the Journal of the Iowa Academy of Sciences in July. Education Professor David Mulder presented research he and his advisor conducted on how preservice teachers learn to integrate technology into their teaching practices at the Association for Educational Communications and Technology annual conference in Las Vegas in October.

SALLY JONGSMA

NEWS

DEFENDER WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL REACHES GRANDEST STAGE

JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

Their final game ended in a heartbreaking 2-3 loss to the Hastings Broncos, but the Dordt Defender women’s volleyball team had an incredibly successful season. Finishing with a record of 28-8, they were the first Dordt athletic team to make it to a national championship in the history of the college.

year’s season. The 2015 season built confidence that Dordt had a volleyball team that could successfully reach championship-level competition.

The national championship match was held December 3 in Sioux City, Iowa, at the Tyson Events Center. The Defender Nation rallied in force, shattering attendance records and filling the stands with a sea of enthusiastic black and gold. KDCR, Dordt’s on-campus radio station, broadcast the match live.

“I would say balance is our team’s strongest quality,” says sophomore exercise science major Leah Kamp (Illinois). “We know when to have a good time, and we know how to turn it on and get serious and aggressive.”

The Twittersphere was also abuzz with the cheers of Defender fans, and the hashtag #DefenderNation was used dozens of times over the course of the tournament.

JAMIN VER VELDE (ʼ99)

Expectations were high going into this

As early as a year ago, says Hansen, “coaching staff had been giving these players the message that they have the ability, the talent, the necessary ingredients to make that kind of run.” In 2015, Dordt became conference champions for the first time. In 2016, the team faced an even tougher conference race. Dordt finished 3rd in the conference this year, and the team is looking toward next season with “a stronger awareness and drive.”

IMPRESSIONS People behind the scenes at the tournament passed along their positive impressions of Defender fans. "They respected how we were going about things,” said Head Coach Chad Hansen, and many who encountered Dordt fans at the tournament became fans of Dordt themselves.

Through the season, the team remained strong on the court as well as off. Coaching staff and Karla Hansen, Coach Hansen’s wife, provided a supportive, relaxing environment for the players after games on the road, hosting meals in the Hansen home. Ensuring the team was well-provided for nutritionally, emotionally, and spiritually helped the team recover after games and build strong relationships, easing the pressure

JAMIN VER VELDE (ʼ99)

Faculty Notes

This year marked the first time two Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) teams met in the national tournament’s final match. Brooke Granstra ('17) was one of three Defenders named to the Tachikara All-American Team. Jamie Gesink ('19) and Ema Altena ('19) were the other two.

of a stressful season. “We stayed resilient and focused, and that allowed us to be free and really united us at the pinnacle of our season,” said Hansen. “National tournament was a real merging of chemistry, camaraderie, joy, talent, and energy. To see it mature even more with each match we played was probably one of the highlights of most of our lives,” said Hansen. “The support, the wall-towall people, the fans on their feet—it was better than anything I had imagined. The love, the unity—it was really special. The match finished the way it did, and that was tough, but we felt every bit

Dordt defeated several higher-ranking teams in its regular season. Though they lost their first game to Hastings, the team ended its regular season by reversing that outcome in the teams’ second meeting, defeating Hastings, the numbertwo ranked team at the time. “Even when times got tough or a positive outcome seemed out of reach, we pressed on, giving our all for our teammates,” says senior communication major Jill Schouten (Iowa). “This quality is valuable for a team—no one is ever going to have it easy. When times get tough, some teams fall apart, while others grow stronger. This season, we grew stronger.” SHELBI GESCH ('17) AND LYDIA MARCUS ('18)

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of everybody’s encouragement and support.”

Education professors Gwen Marra and Dr. Pat Kornelis gave a presentation titled “Celebrating Diversity in Christian Schools with Differentiation” at a professional development conference in Belize in January. Education Professor Mary Beth Pollema delivered a presentation titled “Let’s Build Something Biblical” at this conference, and Education Professor Dr. Kathleen Van Tol gave a presentation called “Reaching all the students in your classroom.” The conference was approved by the Belizean Ministry of Education and met national requirements for professional development. Kornelis, Marra, and Dr. Ed Starkenburg gave a presentation called “Iron Sharpens Iron: CoTeaching in a Teacher Education Program” at the National Conference on Co-Teaching in Minneapolis in October. English Professor Dr. Howard Schaap published “Liturgies of the Body: The Jump Shot and Spiritual Practice” in The Other Journal in December. History Professor Dr. Scott Culpepper gave a presentation titled “The Cinematic Cecil: Elizabeth I’s Right Hand in History, Memory, and Media” at the Gloriana Society Conference at the Tower of London in November. Mathematics Professor Dr. Tom Clark presented a paper titled “Weighing Fog: Hands-on Modeling for Day 1 of Differential Equations” at the Joint Math Meetings in Atlanta in January. Social Work Professor Abby Foreman gave a presentation titled “Is trust a choice? Exploring trust in our working relationships” at the North American Association of Christians in Social Work in Cincinnati in November.

NEWS

ROBB DE HAAN (ʼ85)

Dordt researchers partnered with local farmer to explore how different crop rotations affect both water quality and profitability.

LOCAL AG RESEARCH PUBLISHED T

he results of research conducted cooperatively by Dr. Robb De Haan and Dr. Ron Vos, professors of environmental studies and agriculture at Dordt College, and Matt Schuiteman, a Sioux Center farmer, are now published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. De Haan, Vos, and Schuiteman set out to answer the question: “Can Iowa cropping systems simultaneously protect water quality and be profitable?” Based on five years of data from research done on five different cropping systems, DeHaan says there are crop rotations that will significantly improve water quality. While all rotations were not as profitable as continuous corn, they did generate positive returns during the study period. The wells in Sioux Center’s east well field, like those in much of Iowa, draw from a shallow alluvial aquifer and are highly susceptible to nitrate contamination. Part of the reason for doing the research was that some Sioux Center wells have seen nitrate contamination approach levels considered unsafe by the EPA. By blending water from different sources, the city has kept the nitrate concentration in its finished drinking water below the MCL (maximum

THE DETAILS Funded by a grant from the Leopold Center at Iowa State University, the five year-project, which ran from 2009 until 2013, involved taking soil samples each June and August, and again in November, in five cropping systems: • continuous corn • perennial grass • oat – (alfalfa under-seeded) – alfalfa – corn rotation • oat (with a red clover cover crop) – corn rotation • soybean – winter wheat – corn (with a cereal rye cover crop) rotation. Nitrogen fertilizer was side-dressed on corn plots at rates determined by the late spring nitrate test.

contaminant level), but the city wanted to explore ways to ensure its water supply stayed safe for the future. The research published by De Haan and his collaborators could offer farmers options for helping keep local water sources safe.

“This adds to the body of scientific research out there,” says De Haan, noting that such research has not been conducted on the soil types common in Northwest Iowa. The results will likely be used by scientists who model the movement of nitrates through such soils to better predict the levels of nitrate-N under various cropping scenarios. “Considering both residual soil nitrate-N and profitability data, the oat-alfalfamaize rotation performed the best in this setting,” write the authors in the paper’s abstract. They provide soil nitrate data and economic data for each cropping system they evaluated. “Perennial grass is the best way to reduce the risk of nitrate movement to ground water, but other options can also make a big difference,” says De Haan. Following the study, Schuiteman began using a corn – corn – alfalfa – alfalfa rotation, De Haan says. SALLY JONGSMA

The article, “Soil Nitrate, Cropping Systems, and Economics,” is available free of charge on the PLOS ONE website.

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NISO CELEBRATES 30TH BIRTHDAY

The Northwest Iowa Symphony Orchestra (NISO), which has its home at Dordt College, turned 30 this year. Its success story is a testament to creative thinking, hard work, and a college-community partnership that has lasted for three decades. “NISO may be one of the only orchestras of its kind,” says General Manager and Music Professor Emerita Dr. Karen DeMol, who was principal clarinetist with NISO for 24 years. Two years ago NISO worked with a Dordt College marketing intern who conducted research to see if there were any comparable orchestras in the state that play great symphonic repertoire with members that include high school and college students, music teachers and professors, and professional musicians. He found none.

NISO, having played both violin and horn as a student. Today, as music director, he assists with auditions, choosing music, and finding guest artists. In 2007, he founded NISYO, the youth orchestra that grew out of NISO, and served as its director until last spring.

NISO is a community orchestra, but Dordt College has played a crucial role in its operation. The college quietly contributes rehearsal and performance space and administrative assistance. Dr. Bradley Miedema, Dordt’s band and orchestra director and a member of the music faculty, is also NISO’s music director. Miedema has deep roots in

“NISYO gives students the experience they need to enter NISO, with added confidence and ensemble preparation,” he says. NISYO is a good complement to local school programs, giving talented middle school and high school students an opportunity to play more challenging repertoire. The early preparation of some of its members has also allowed NISO to

DORDT COLLEGE ARCHIVES

“NISO is a model for small communities,” says its conductor Dr. Christopher Stanichar, who comes to Sioux Center

from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, each week for rehearsals. In fact, he adds, it could be a model for community orchestras in larger cities as well. He says, “NISO may be the one of the finest orchestras for its size in the United States.”

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GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

MATT ADDINGTON

DOUG BURG

Dr. Karen DeMol, general manager and Dordt music professor emerita

play more difficult music. Although NISO has its roots in local ad hoc string groups in Sioux County, it began officially as Sioux County Orchestra after Dr. Henry Duitman joined the music faculty at Dordt College in 1985. Duitman was convinced that students in the college chamber orchestra needed the challenge of playing in a fuller orchestra. He shared this vision with Dr. James Koldenhoven, who was then dean of the humanities division at Dordt. Within a year the college approved the arrangement envisioned by Duitman and Koldenhoven, allowing college students to split their rehearsal time between the chamber orchestra of Dordt College and the community orchestra, receiving one college credit for their work. In honor of his founding work, Duitman will return to guest conduct a major piece at the 30th anniversary concert in April. Duitman is currently director of orchestras at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. “I knew from experiences when I was growing up that sitting next to a professional player or to your teacher in an orchestra is one of the most exceptional learning experiences possible,” says Duitman.

Christopher Stanichar, principal conductor

With its history of strong strings education, Sioux Center has been the perfect place for NISO. Local music teachers are eager to play in an orchestra; parents of string students are happy to not have to drive 50 or 60 miles to have their children play in a youth orchestra; college string players gain a deeper musical background; and Sioux City and Sioux Falls professional musicians are close enough to participate. On top of that, the B.J. Haan Auditorium is a perfect performance space for large symphonic works.

Henry Duitman, founding conductor and former Dordt music professor

symphony orchestra masterworks in live performance. The breaks during rehearsals (with the greatest cookies ever made by volunteers from the Friends of NISO) were times of wonderful discussions about music and music education among all the players.” The two Dordt alumnae who currently share the role of concertmaster were nurtured in that environment but say it was a sink-or-swim experience to play in the Sioux County Orchestra as junior high string players.

“I knew from experiences when I was growing up that sitting next to a professional player or to your teacher in an orchestra is one of the most exceptional learning experiences possible.” — Dr. Henry Duitman, NISO's founding conductor

“Looking back, I am overwhelmed by the camaraderie of the musicians,” says Duitman. “Eighth graders, top high school and college students, music teachers, professors, and professional principal players all worked together with the common goal of learning and presenting to others the great gift of hearing

“It was truly amazing how much I grew just from struggling to stay afloat!” says Lisa (Van Vuuren, ’94) Miedema. “Soon I began to find myself getting more and more of the notes, learning more and more about music, musical terms, how to follow a conductor, and how to feel nuance as expertly modeled by the

DOUG BURG

FEATURES

Lisa Miedema, co-concertmaster

“You can truly amaze yourself with what you can accomplish when you push yourself to keep playing new and difficult music,” says Jennifer (Vanden Hul, ’01) Frens, who shares the role of concertmaster with Miedema. Like Miedema, Frens also plays in several regional orchestras and teaches from her studio. Both lived in other communities following college, but later returned to the area. Today talented middle and high school students like Miedema and Frens get their start in NISYO and develop the skills and expertise they need to play with a larger orchestra in a less “sink-orswim” atmosphere. “I tried to lead the orchestra in a way that would help students learn important concepts and background material,” Bradley Miedema says. “It is remarkable to witness their growth. I’ve had a front row seat for seeing young musicians develop from week to week.” Both NISO and the Dordt Chamber Orchestra have reaped the benefits of his youth orchestra work.

Dr. Bradley Miedema, music director and Dordt music professor

NISO BEGINNINGS AND TRADITIONS Over the years, NISO has premiered three compositions. Co-concertmaster Jennifer Frens particularly remembers the premier performance of Orchestranimals by Irene Eugen, a children’s musical, as an elementary school inspiration—especially going up to meet the soloists after the concert. Dordt College Professor Emeritus Dr. James Koldenhoven played a big role in NISO’s history. As dean of the humanities in 1986, he supported and helped make the dream of a community orchestra based at Dordt College a reality. He served as general manager for many years, resigned, and then came out of retirement to take up the reins once more during a period of transition in 2008. Koldenhoven finally retired for the last time in December 2015. He brought not only enthusiasm but also organizational skills, state arts organization involvement and experience, and fundraising experience to the organization.

DORDT COLLEGE ARCHIVES

professionals in the group.” Miedema was an orchestra member throughout high school and college, and her name appears on the program of the first concert.

Jennifer Frens, co-concertmaster

James Koldenhoven, 1985

Clarinetist Dr. Karen DeMol loves making great orchestral music and believes there are expressive capabilities in music that simply can’t be communicated in words. Now general manager of NISO, her focus is helping the orchestra thrive administratively and financially. NISO presents four concerts each season, one of them a pops concert and one a children’s concert. The children’s concert is a highlight for almost everyone involved with NISO. More than 1,000 middle school students come to the B.J. Haan Auditorium to listen attentively, enjoy the program, and learn about new music. In celebration of its 30 years, NISO has put out a CD titled “Musical Gems," which features performances from past seasons of concerts. For more information about NISO or purchasing the CD, go to niso.dordt.edu.

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Faculty Notes

— Co-Concertmaster Lisa Miedema DORDT COLLEGE ARCHIVES

Mathematics Professor Dr. Mike Janssen gave a presentation titled “Specifications Grading in a First Course in Abstract Algebra” at the Joint Mathematics Meeting in Atlanta in January. The talk introduced a nontraditional approach to assessing student work in a common course for math majors, with the goal of bringing awareness of the grading schema to a larger audience.

“I have found NISO to be one of the gems out there. There is a genuine spirit of serious musicmaking within its mission to be a place for blossoming musicians to learn.”

Music Professor Dr. Bradley Miedema published an article on the topic of cultivating excellent rehearsals in Iowa Bandmaster magazine in January. Music Professor Dr. John MacInnis wrote a review of Hildegard of Bingen and Musical Reception: The Modern Revival of a Medieval Composer and Mendelssohn, the Organ, and the Music of the Past: Constructing Historical Legacies for the Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association in March and December. Physics Professor Dr. John Zwart gave a presentation titled “Heart Attack Physics” at the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Iowa Section in November. He was also elected vice president for four-year colleges. Dordt will host the 2017 AAPT Iowa Section meeting. Social Work Professor Tara Boer gave a presentation titled “Parentchild interaction techniques for traumatized children” at the North American Association for Christians in Social Work in Cincinnati in November. Theology Professor Dr. Benjamin Lappenga gave two presentations at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in November. The first was titled “Violence and Divine Favor in Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum” and the second was titled “That I Might Not Have to Be Severe.”

Oboeist Tania Roosendaal ('91), Composer Irene Eugen, Conductor Henry Duitman, and Clarinetist Karen DeMol compare notes during the rehearsal of the premiere of "Orchestranimals" in 1989.

Thirty years after its first concert, what still stands out about NISO is its commitment to educate young players. “It’s a brilliant model,” says Stanichar, who notes that, in his experience, allprofessional orchestras are often made up of “grumpy people” who grumble about the process or the music. Stanichar guest conducted for NISO in 2009 and was struck by the players’ passion for making good music—the excitement and freshness of young, talented players; the commitment and enthusiasm of teaching principals; and the humble and joyful work ethic of all players. When later offered the position of conductor, he eagerly accepted. “Many of those who play professionally in regional orchestras have told me that NISO is their favorite orchestra,” Stanichar says. Last fall, Stanichar also took over as conductor for NISYO. NISO, then SCO, held its first concert on November 12, 1986. Made up of 55 members, 12 of the players were Dordt College students. Last spring NISO was comprised of 74 players, 26 of them Dordt players; last fall’s program lists 81

players, 28 of them Dordt members. Over the years many Dordt College students have taken what they learned in NISO to new community orchestras. DeMol says NISO has seen steady growth in quality and reputation, noting that early players likely would be surprised at the music played today as compared to that of the early years. She describes the repertoire as “doable but challenging, accessible—and so enjoyable.” Even though she no longer plays clarinet in the orchestra, DeMol still tries to find time most days to practice. “Once you’ve worked hard to master difficult and beautiful music, you don’t really want to let it go,” she says, smiling. “I have found NISO to be one of the gems out there. There is a genuine spirit of serious music-making within its mission to be a place for blossoming musicians to learn,” says Co-Concertmaster Lisa Miedema. “We are truly blessed to have these orchestras in our community. You just don’t see this kind of thing everywhere.” SALLY JONGSMA

FEATURES

"RED & BLUE, BLACK & WHITE" IN A NATION INCREASINGLY DIVIDED ALONG POLITICAL AND RACIAL LINES, DORDT COLLEGE LOOKS FOR A BETTER WAY. On a cold morning in February, hundreds of students flocked to the B.J. Haan Auditorium. They were there to hear First Mondays speaker Jemar Tisby, president of the Reformed African-American Network and host of Pass the Mic, a podcast about race, culture, and the

church.

aloud, he made a prediction.

“Let me start with this very easy question,” Tisby said: “How did you vote in the last election?”

“We have some statistics,” he gestured to the PowerPoint above him. “If you are a white evangelical Protestant, you probably voted Republican. If you are a black Protestant, you probably voted

Instead of asking the audience to answer

Our headline is a nod to the February First Mondays talk given by Jemar Tisby, who challenged the Dordt community to consider the particular history of African Americans in this country. He encouraged Christians to work toward unity that transcends race, ethnicity, class, and political afﬁliation.

ALEISA DORNBIERER-SCHAT

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Democrat.” Tisby’s talk addressed the entanglement of race, religion, and politics in America, pairing historical analysis with poignant personal reflections. “Though religion, race, and politics are all related, I think for Christians they have become so tangled up that it’s hard to tell them apart. And it’s hard to tell what we worship: politics or our Redeemer,” Tisby said.

DOUBT NIGHT:

HOW SHOULD CHRISTIANS TALK ABOUT RACE? Q&A with Jemar Tisby

FEBRUARY 6 • 7:30 PM SCIENCE BUILDING 1606

That has resulted in a divided church. With many years of experience working for racial reconciliation, Tisby hopes to provide practical steps toward Christian unity that transcends partisan politics. “We’re all in God’s house,” he said, but “we have run off to our own rooms, slammed the door, and locked it. And now you need a secret knock—the right combination of race and political beliefs—to get in the door. Brothers and sisters, this should not be so. Not in the household of God.” Tisby’s talk was a continuation of conversations about race that have been taking place, formally and informally, across Dordt's campus.

RACE AS A GOSPEL ISSUE Race, like many other hot-button topics, often gets caught up in political and ideological debates. But for Aaron Baart, the dean of chapel at Dordt, racial reconciliation is not just a political issue: it is a Gospel one. In studying Aaron Baart the book of Acts, Baart came to realize just how diverse God’s kingdom is—a kingdom that included battle-hardened Roman centurions, lowly Samaritans, rich matriarchs, and diseased beggars. “Humanity’s sin has always been exclusion,” says Baart. “We’ve always erred on the side of self-protection, of fear of the other. And every time that has been a direct contrast to what God has asked of us.” “If our reading of Scripture informed our political affiliation, and not the other way around, we would have no choice but to come to terms with this,” he says.

DORDT COLLEGE | 498 4th Ave NE, Sioux Center, IA | (712) 722-6000 | (800) 343-6738

In recent years, Dordt's student body has become increasingly diverse. For the first time this year, 10 percent of Dordt students selfreported a race or ethnicity other than white.

“Anyone who wants to take Christianity at face value needs to be part of that conversation. Either you take seriously God’s vision for the church—Jerusalem, Judea, and the ends of the earth—or you don’t.” Dr. Leah Zuidema, Dordt’s associate provost, says, “For us at Dordt, it’s not about following a trend. It’s about biblical faithfulness and the Leah Zuidema narrative we see in Scripture. As a college we’re interested in seeing our part in the bigger story. Our relationships can so often be tainted by the Fall. How can we be intentional about seeking Christ-centered renewal, not just on campus, but in every area of life? How do we help students see and appreciate the beauty of diversity?”

ENGAGEMENT IN THE CLASSROOM This desire for renewal plays out in Dordt’s curriculum. The Core Program includes a variety of course options that speak to issues of race and ethnicity, including “Persons in Community:

Tisby encouraged Dordt students to resist partisanship and instead opt for a "third way" in his talk “Red and Blue, Black and White: Untangling Race, Religion and Politics in America.”

Vulnerable Populations,” “Justice and Stewardship: Sociology and Social Justice,” and “Cross-Cultural Studies.” Professor Dr. Barb Hoekstra teaches an education class called “Learner Differences,” using the book Uncommon Decency by Richard Mouw, a leading theologian, the former president of Fuller Barb Hoekstra Theological Seminary, and a current Dordt College board member. “Mouw gives us a Christian perspective on civility—on holding your convictions, your faith, while also caring for people and being civil toward them,” Hoekstra says. “Every semester my students say, ‘This book was so good. Use it again.’” Over the course of the semester, students work through difficult questions such as: What does white privilege mean? Who uses it and why? How should we think about afﬁrmative action policies in the workplace and society? “Students want a safe place to ask their questions about diversity, about race,” Hoekstra says. “That’s what I try to make that class be.” Professor Tara Boer, who teaches a social work course called “Diversity and Inequality,” says studying diversity in a relatively homogenous community can

— Associate Provost Dr. Leah Zuidema

be challenging. It is difficult to have meaningful conversations about race when people from different cultural backgrounds aren’t Tara Boer represented or when one person is asked to speak on behalf of an entire group of people.

practice speaking and listening with understanding and respect.

To compensate for that, Boer brings in students from previous classes who can articulate their experiences as members of a minority community. This helps to create diversity of thought and empathy about how people experience life differently.

Kylie Van Roekel and Jake Thayer, both seniors at Dordt, have grown through their experiences in these classes. “I come from a fairly non-diverse background,” says Thayer. “So my personal opinion would be, ‘I’m not racist.’ But being colorblind is just as bad as being racist—not being able to recognize and appreciate different cultures.”

As with many other thorny issues in contemporary society, racial injustice does not usually have an immediate and obvious solution. Often, the most important action may simply be to listen to one another. “We grow when we take time to hear other people’s stories,” Boer says. “To give them a space where they can be heard. That’s the way Jesus intended it: for us to be in relationships, to hear stories, to relate and connect.” “One of my primary objectives is to create a culture of civility and respect,” Boer says. “I’m less concerned that they know the answer than that they practice the skill of having respectful conversations that honor God and honor each other as human beings. That’s where change happens.” To that end, Boer focuses on communication in her class—how to create conversations between people that help them understand one another. She teaches her students how to demonstrate their desire to understand, to be honest, and to be open to hearing about the experiences of other students without being defensive. In one project, she has her students sit down several times with someone they wouldn’t normally have a conversation with— someone of a different race, ethnicity, gender, or socio-economic status. They

“It’s a daunting task,” Boer admits, “to think about how we prepare students for this world. If we are to be the vehicles of reconciliation in the world, we have to train them now—because they’re going to be in it pretty soon.”

K. Van Roekel

Jake Thayer

“I’ve never had to think about these topics before,” Van Roekel says. “The racial assumptions we might have, that we don’t know that we have. And by not taking a stance as a Christian, am I advocating for something that I don’t want to be behind?” “As college students, we want it to be clear cut,” Thayer adds. “Right and wrong, easy answer. But there isn’t an easy answer to this problem.” Nick Payton, a senior on Dordt’s football team, is a student of color at this predominantly white— though increasingly diverse—institution. Nick Payton “Coming from a diverse city, it took some time to adjust. Being black, I’ve had a different viewpoint my whole life because of how I was taught and the experiences I’ve had.” Payton says that during his sophomore year, he and another African-American teammate were told by a female student

that she wouldn’t date a black man because she didn’t think he would make a good father. This comment wounded Payton and his friend. But rather than react in anger, they explained to her why such a stereotype was uncharitable. “We couldn’t fault her for speaking the way she did, because that’s how she had been taught,” Payton says. “But we did have a responsibility to educate her.”

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“How can we be intentional about seeking Christ-centered renewal, not just on campus, but in every area of life? How do we help students see and appreciate the beauty of diversity?”

Payton noted that the faculty has been a valuable resource to him. “We talked to Dr. Hoekstra, and she has done a fantastic job of listening to us.” He adds, “Dordt College is a great place to learn and grow. And it’s important to realize that I have the ability to educate people from the knowledge I have gained—to change negativity, to stand up to injustice, and to build a community not just of one mindset, but of diverse perspectives.” Vanoy Harris, who also plays football, suggested that Dordt might increase its diversity by recruiting more minority students. “The only black students Vanoy Harris here are for football or maybe soccer,” he remarks. “But I think there have been attempts to open the conversation. The biggest thing is changing the mindset of people–why should they even care, when it doesn’t affect them in this area of the country?” “Try to put yourself in others' shoes,” Harris encourages his fellow students. “The only wrong way to look at it is thinking your answer is the only right answer. Try to hear people out.”

REACHING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM As with all good teaching, the goal of teaching about diversity is that the conversation does not end when the bell rings. Many faculty members at Dordt have been creating and encouraging discussions about diversity

JAMIN VER VELDE (ʼ99)

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outside the classroom. And there has been a groundswell of interest in such conversations. Boer and Hoekstra, along with Dordt Communication Professor Dr. Bruce Kuiper and Graduate Assistant Paul Carter, led a summer research project that involved hosting dinners for students who identify as minorities and learning about their experiences at Dordt. The group plans to host a panel discussion to disseminate information to the faculty, so that they can better understand the experiences of minority students. Baart recently led a chapel in which minority students shared their own experiences in front of their fellow students. They wrote a page on “what it feels like to be me.” Baart noted that it must have been terrifying for some of these students—not just the public speaking, but honestly sharing their experiences. But the students listening, as well as those speaking, were gracious to each other. “It’s the beauty of learning from the other,” says Baart, “that challenges the unquestioned presuppositions that we all have.” Last fall, Dordt College hosted an informal weekly book discussion on TaNehisi Coates’ recent book, Between the World and Me. Coates writes his book as a letter to his young son, and reflects on the particular systemic injustices that his son will have to face as a black man. He was inspired by James Baldwin’s powerful book The Fire Next Time. Howard Schaap, who teaches in the English Department, spearheaded the book club. “I read the book over the summer,” says Schaap, “and I thought, ‘This is something that’s so pertinent.’” This was the summer of Alton Sterling, of Michael Brown, of Philando Castile. “We have to deal with this with students, because it’s H. Schaap history as it happens.”

Caleb Kroese ('20) and Holly Testerman ('20) discuss Between the World and Me, which explores the relationship between race and systemic injustice in America. The two took part in a weekly book discussion last semester, attended by students and college employees.

Schaap wanted to have discussions that were interdisciplinary, that extended beyond the classroom and connected to real-world events. The feedback was very positive. “One of the markers for me of success was that the conversation never died out. There was a lot of energy to it.” Other ideas for thinking together about diversity are in the works, including a spring-semester film series, which provides students the chance to consider these issues in a different medium. The line-up includes Loving, Do the Right Thing, and Nate Parker’s The Birth of Nation. “Even though we’re in Northwest Iowa, it’s a connected world,” says Schaap. “To pretend that these things are far away is not helpful. It’s a disservice to students.” At the end of his visit to Dordt, Jemar Tisby reflected on his experience. “There is a willingness and an openness to learn more,” he said. “But for many of the students with whom I’ve interacted, they’re at the beginning of that journey.

And so the task for many students is to take initiative to build their awareness, since it won’t happen by itself." Tisby went on: “What unites us, the Holy Spirit, is stronger than anything that could divide us. And if we are now brothers and sisters in the household of God, then we ought to learn each other’s perspectives, experiences, and burdens. We must learn to weep with those who weep—in particular those who have experienced marginalization. Racial divisions have been part of the church in America for so long that to bring the topic up automatically evokes strong and negative responses. But we are still required to speak the truth in love.” By God’s grace, Schaap hopes, Dordt’s campuswide conversation about race will not die out: faculty and staff committed to training up the next generation will teach their students to listen to the stories of others, and students will take up for themselves the reconciling work of Christ’s kingdom. KATE HENRECKSON

It’s the dark, dusty home to odds and ends: a green vintage chair, a few tables, a large lettered sign. There’s an old upright in the corner, a network of exposed pipes, and a makeshift stage. On this quiet Tuesday, the only suggestion of sound is a dim collection of amps and cords, several guitar stands, a stray set list. It’s fitting space for a band that prides itself on the philosophy of “making do.” “Here we are, in this ugly back room, taping things together, just making it

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work,” says Laremy De Vries (’02), who plays electric guitar in the band and owns the Fruited Plain. “It’s a kind of D.I.Y. approach to making music.” “That’s at the heart of ruralism,” says lead singer-songwriter Luke Hawley, Dordt College English professor by day and Ruralist front man by night. “The idea is that you make do with what you have. You embrace the community you’re a part of, and you see what good can come from that.” More than just a clever moniker,

“ruralism” represents a kind of ethic—a deeply principled approach to living and producing creative work in a place that isn't often associated with art or high culture.

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he Ruralists meet for practices in the “Back Back”—the deepest room of Sioux Center’s main-street café, the Fruited Plain.

So far, the constraints of small-town life haven’t limited the band’s early rise to success. The Ruralists have only existed for around six months, but they’ve already performed to enthusiastic crowds at a variety of regional venues. In October, the band was featured on NPR’s Sioux City affiliate, recording an hourlong segment that included live music.

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RURALISTS 23

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Since then, they’ve won and advanced in a regional Battle of the Bands competition, they’re at work recording an EP, and they continue to perform live for large crowds in tight spaces. At the center of all this—the swelling noise, the sweaty crowd—is the band’s anchor and heart: Luke Hawley, holding his guitar, singing a song. “Luke’s songs have a simplicity and an immediacy that is very rare. And very hard to do,” says Dr. Benjamin Lappenga, Ruralist electric guitarist and a theology professor at Dordt. “The craft of songwriting matters a lot to him, and as a fiction writer, he also knows what it is to tell good stories.” Lappenga spent much of his twenties fronting a successful rock band in Seattle called Driving the Eights; now he studies biblical texts in their original languages and teaches Dordt students to do the same. As a songwriter himself, Lappenga admires “the ease with which Luke’s songs come off the page.” Some are haunting. Some are about love (but not the simple, I-wanna-hold-yourhand kind). The lyrics are spare, but they usually tell a story. None of them are especially cheerful. “I try to make jokes between songs,” Hawley says, “Just to lighten the mood a little.” Not that the shows are gloomy. There’s no arguing with the energetic guitar riffs or drumline. Most in the crowd bop up and down with the beat or break into dancing.

The Ruralists opened for Caleb Hawley, Luke's younger brother, at Dordt last September. Caleb, a New York City-based musician, now tours the country giving high-energy shows in a style critics have likened to Prince.

THE MAKING OF A STORYTELLER-SONGWRITER Luke Hawley was fourteen when he first picked up a guitar. After years plunking out half-hearted songs on the piano, he’d finally convinced his parents to let him move on to a new instrument. His younger brother, Caleb, followed suit. Hawley says, laughing, “I knew he’d be better at it than me.” “My brother is a top-notch performer; he sells the whole show. And I don’t really have that,” he says. For the elder Hawley, it’s always been about the songs themselves. “What I’m giving people, as a musician, is

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ON LULLABIES AND TRUTH-TELLING

“I’ve written lullabies for my kids, and I sing to them at night. My daughter, Eden, who’s seven and now paying attention to lyrics, is suddenly asking about hers. Her song begins with the lines: ‘This world will break your heart, my dear / But don’t you let it get you down / When the night seems dark and drear / The sun is coming back around.’ So, she wanted to know all about that the other night. And, yeah, I could pretty easily write about only the good parts of life. But there would also be a lot of lying in that, right? So, maybe it’s not a good idea to write lullabies for your children about how hard life can be. But maybe it’s not such a bad thing, either.”

a song,” he says. He pauses, then laughs. “Honestly, I’m sort of a one-trick pony about all of this. I write songs. I play them on an acoustic guitar, and I don’t know how to do anything else. So, I do that as well as I possibly can. And for me, that means serving the song first.” Hawley’s emphasis on the song itself has something to do with his early musical education in the church. He grew up the child of musicians, in a home rich in instrumental music, yet some of Hawley’s most formative musical experiences didn’t involve instruments at all. Hawley was raised in the acapella Church of Christ, where instruments are never used in worship. In place of an organ or praise band, the sanctuary swells only with voices, blending in four-part harmony. “From the minute I could read the text, I also learned to read the notes,” Hawley says. His church experience even got him into a high school choir without an audition. “Once the choir teacher knew I grew up in the Church of Christ, she was like, ‘Okay—you’re in.’” He credits the tradition with instilling in him a deep commitment to the importance of melody. “Somebody along the way told me if you can’t sing your song without instruments around it, then you don’t really have a song,” he says. Hawley’s melodies are memorable, but as a fiction writer, his songs are deeply

the catalyst for a new short story. More often, he’ll get stuck on a story and use a song to “get out of the woods.” One of his favorite stories in Northwoods Hymnal was reborn this way. By compressing a 2,500-word story into a 200-word song, he was able to better distill its shape. “The most important things rose to the surface. So, when I went back to the story, I had a better idea of where I was going,” he says.

Hawley began exploring the relationship between song and story in earnest in grad school. He’d been working on a novel, then set that aside to work on the collection of short stories that would — Dr. Benjamin Lappenga on Luke Hawley's songs eventually be published as The Northwoods Hymnal, winner of a 2014 Hawley brings this genre-hopping Nebraska Book Award. approach into his writing classes at Dordt. “One exercise I have my students “At one point, I ran out of the stories I do is take a nursery rhyme—like ‘Mary had to tell,” he says. He decided to try an Had a Little Lamb’ or ‘Twinkle, Twinkle experiment: he sat down with one of his Little Star’—and put their narrative favorite short stories, Raymond Carver’s into that,” he says. Hawley encourages “Cathedral,” and wrote a song from the students to explore the variety of ways perspective of one of its peripheral different genres can collide, or refract characters, a blind man. one another, and that way bring clarity— or suggest a new direction. “It gave me a new way into the story—a

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“The folk genre is very narrative, centered on words and stories. And that’s what I was interested in—finding ways to tell stories. Well,” he says, pausing again to laugh, “that, and trying to get girls.”

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shaped by a storyteller’s sensibility. He first learned to appreciate the wedding of song and story traveling to summer folk festivals with his family.

“The craft of songwriting matters a lot to him, and as a fiction writer, he also knows what it is to tell good stories. That’s clear in his songs.”

different interpretive angle—to help me see what else might be there, just below the surface,” he says. Now, Hawley rarely writes a song “without some piece of fiction attached to it.”

“When I get stuck, I find it helpful to jump back and say, ‘What would that narrative look like as a painting, or a song? A screenplay? How would that be different than a short story,” Hawley says.

Sometimes, an existing song will be

Exploring the relationships between different genres has made Hawley a better writer, but it’s also been “a helpful gimmick for getting people to read short stories,” a genre nearly as underappreciated as poetry. His shortstory collection includes a digital code inside its back cover, which readers can use to access recordings of the collection’s ten acoustic songs.

Recently, part of a key was knocked loose under the force of Hawley’s playing. The band posted a photo of the splintered key on its Facebook page.

“When I used to perform solo shows in the Twin Cities, other artists would set up tables and sell CDs. I would sell books,” Hawley says. That the two genres are deeply knit together in Hawley’s work is just as evident now, when the Ruralists take the stage and perform Hawley’s songs for a crowd.

Dr. Benjamin Lappenga, Ruralists electric guitarist, teaches biblical studies courses at Dordt. He spent his twenties fronting a successful Seattle rock band called Driving the Eights.

ART OUT OF CORNFIELDS The Ruralists often open their show with “Ghost.” Hawley sits at the piano and strikes a single, haunting note, then begins to sing. Slowly, the band builds the sound behind the solo. As the volume rises, Hawley strikes the piano with more force, introducing new, more dissonant chords. At the height of the song, he nearly pounds the keys with his fists. “I think of ‘Ghost’ as this haiku-ish little love poem,” says De Vries, who remembers considering the relationship between poetry, music, and truth in his philosophy classes at Dordt. One of his professors was the first to introduce him to songwriting legend Leonard Cohen. De Vries likens Hawley to the poet William Carlos Williams, known for his spare lines and precise imagery. That likeness is especially evident in “Ghost.” Near the end of the song, the band falls away entirely; the audience grows suddenly aware again of its own breathing. Hawley closes with that one, plaintive piano note and the arresting image of two people, standing outside in the cold, their breath against the moonlight.

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“I’m interested in writing about how people cope, and how people hope. That’s my offering to God—doing that small thing as well as I can.” — Luke Hawley

“Ruralism says that art does not belong only to the city, but it belongs to the country as well,” says Hawley. “That beautiful things come out of cornfields as much as they come out of fancy museums.” For Hawley, “beautiful” has room for the hard, perplexing, even ugly parts of life. “Art should tell the truth. It has to be honest. I think the badness of some Christian art has to do with wanting to see the world in a way that it isn’t. It comes down to a kind of willful ignorance—and that can be dangerous,” Hawley says. Honest art doesn’t shy away from the difficult parts of life. It engages them, giving them form and structure, yet leaving room for ambiguity and life’s unresolved questions. All art should do that, Hawley says, whether it takes up explicitly Christian themes or not. “That’s a dualism I reject. I see good songs—and good stories—as coming from the Creator of all good things. There is very little that’s overtly Christian about my creative work,” he says. “Ultimately, I am interested in making the best, truest, most beautiful and precise art that I can make. That is how I know how to worship.”

PRAISE FOR HIS BOOK “Luke Hawley is a brand new American voice on the literary firmament who has written a collection of stories that are all but holy in their humanity.” — Patricia Lear, author of “Stardust, 7-Eleven, Route 57, A&W, and So Forth” “A good love song tells a good story, and a good love story implies a good song. In this collection of both songs and stories, Luke Hawley hits all the right notes. His is a true voice of the balladeer.” — Karen Gettert Shoemaker, author of “Night Sounds and Other Stories” and “The Meaning of Names”

way through those questions in a way that makes some sense.”

Hawley brings that understanding into his classroom, too. Whether he’s guiding students through a work of literature, or sitting at a table with them as they workshop their own drafts, he encourages students to consider why we tell stories in the first place.

Good stories don’t offer simple conclusions, but as he teaches his students, they can help us understand who we are. Many of Hawley’s songs and stories explore the deep connections between place and identity. Some take up themes like loneliness and isolation, the value of community, or the ordinary happiness of family life.

“As a songwriter and storyteller, I recognize that we’re made up of the stories we tell—and live,” Hawley says. He encourages students to use stories to work through questions. “I tell them, this is how I work through things. I sit with questions, or I sit with sentences banging around in my head, and I try to write my ALEISA DORNBIERER-SCHAT

When most people conjure images of rural America, art isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. “Rural areas often get tagged as places where either there’s terrible poverty, or stuff gets made—corn gets grown, hogs get slaughtered, parts get manufactured. And none of those are bad things,” Hawley says. “But I’m really interested in what kind beautiful things can also be made here.”

While Hawley doesn’t aim to make “Christian” art, questions about God invariably find their way in. The Ruralists often perform “My Father’s Favorite Hymn,” one of the songs collected in Northwoods Hymnal. In that song, Hawley, takes the refrain "It is well with my soul" from an old, well-loved hymn and puts it into a song about a character digging up his father’s grave in Michigan, traveling with it across four state lines, and burying it in the “Minnesota snow.” In songs like this one, spiritual themes aren’t packaged as neat messages. Still, his songs point toward hope. “Art tells the truth, right? And sometimes I have to check myself and remember: there’s a lot of hope in the truth,” Hawley says. “I’m interested in writing about how people cope, and how people hope. That’s my offering to God—doing that small thing as well as I can.” ALEISA DORNBIERER-SCHAT

IN ALL THINGS IS COMMIT TED TO A CHRIS T WHO S TRE TCHES AT LE A S T A S WIDE A S THE COSMOS

This summer, I spent time sitting at a dog beach in western Michigan. I set up a comfortable spot for myself and watched as my housemates played fetch with their dog, Finley. The other dogs on the beach chased the waves of Lake Michigan up and down the shoreline. My housemates and I held up our hands and used our fingers to gauge how long it would be before the sun went down. It was very easy to meet new friends; all we had to do was look to our neighbors, ask a question about their dog, and a conversation would begin. Our cellphones stayed in our bags the whole time. On that beach, I eagerly flipped through my book of Mary Oliver poetry. I had read this particular collection on the floor of my local Barnes & Noble several times before I finally splurged and bought it for myself. I’ve always loved poetry. My high school English teacher said that “Poetry is to see what we did not see. In poetry, we imagine and re-imagine what we think.” This teacher introduced me to Mary Oliver and told me that she is especially good at finding beauty in the ordinary. One of my favorite poems of Oliver’s is titled “Praying.” It doesn’t have to be the blue iris, it could be

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weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small stones; just pay attention, then patch a few words together and don’t try to make them elaborate, this isn’t a contest but the doorway into thanks, and a silence in which another voice may speak. After a while, I looked up from my book and took a second look at everything going on around me. The way the dogs chased the waves up and down the shore. The way the sunset bounced off of the lake. Everything felt right. I felt almost as if I was standing at God’s side when he stepped back, looked at his creation, and said it was “good.” As a worship leader, I tend to think of “praise” occurring inside a sanctuary or during a time of corporate worship. I imagine music, preaching, liturgical prayers, the reading of Scripture, communion—I imagine formal “church” services. However, Scripture suggests that “praise” is so much more than our communal gatherings on Sundays. Psalm 148 is part of the final doxology of the Book of Psalms. It calls on all of creation, everything in heaven and earth, to praise the Lord. The psalmist uses poetic language that recalls the language of the creation story in Genesis. God created the world and then filled it. From the highest of heights, deepest of

depths, and everything in between, all of creation was made to praise the Lord.

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Praying Poetically Dr. Bob DeSmith teaches in his Responding to Literature class that “A poem’s a happening, man!” Poetry both conveys an experience and is itself an experience. Poets like Oliver teach me how to have rich experiences, and to be attentive to the ordinary beauty of my own life. The snowflakes, the patterns of the moon, the cows in the pasture, the waves of Lake Michigan, the blue iris, and the weeds in the parking lot all glorify the Lord. Seeing how creation reflects its Creator helps me “patch a few words together” and walk through the “doorway into thanks, and a silence in which another voice may speak.” Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens (Psalm 148:13). Hallelujah. Praise the Lord.

MARTA VANDER TOP IS A SENIOR AT DORDT COLLEGE STUDYING WORSHIP ARTS AND THEOLOGY. WHAT MAKES HER MOST EXCITED IS HELPING PEOPLE SEE THAT THEIR STORY MATTERS BECAUSE IT FITS WITHIN THE LARGER STORY OF GOD'S REDEMPTION. SHE LOVES BAKING, PRACTICING UKULELE, AND STRONG COFFEE.

in All things is an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world. It is a place for conversation and exploration, to share ideas and learn from each other how to live in healthy relationships with God and creation.

State of the

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Dordt students and alumni explore what it means to pursue fine arts as a calling

Ellen DeYoung (Ęź12) (second from right) is among the growing number of Dordt alumni to join the Twin Cities arts scene. She recently stage-managed a production of Tartuffe, which was performed for a moving audience in various rooms of a historic mansion. 28

TWIN CITIES ARTISTS ANDREW DEYOUNG: NOVELIST, CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITER/EDITOR

he lights come up in Dordt’s black box theatre. Two actors bustle about an elegant living room, putting things in order, not talking. The sound of rustling programs only gently disrupts the fictional world on stage. It’s a room at heightened attention. Just as for centuries people have gathered—inside, outside, in balconies, on the grass—the audience is here to watch a play.

“So much of our lives happen through screens now,” DeYoung says. “Everyone has a smart phone, we binge on Netflix, we’ve got our earbuds in. In many ways, human connections are different than they used to be. But get someone into a theatre filled with strangers, sharing the experience of watching a story brought to life right in front of them— that’s an experience of connectedness that’s pretty rare and quite powerful.” The actors in the black box are performing in Dordt’s fall studio production, And Then There Were None, a student-directed play adapted from an Agatha Christie murder mystery. The boundary between audience and set is indistinct. A portion of the crowd sits in chairs from the 1930s, nearly drawn into the staged living room, disrupting

“The novel is science fiction,” he says, “and it’s about a boy who travels 100 light years across a galaxy and meets a girl. But it’s also a story about struggling with the culture you’ve been raised in, and with the values handed down to you by your parents. The story asks the question: ‘Is there a better way to be as a people and a world?’” DeYoung wrote his first novel at Dordt under the mentorship of Professor Emeritus Dr. James Schaap. Like most first novels, it ended up in a drawer. So did his second one, though it got him a literary agent. The Exo Project, his third, will come out in April, and it’s part of a two-book deal with his publisher. He says committing to the writer’s life takes persistence, discipline, and a willingness to fail. Often many times. DeYoung is also director of product development for the Sparkhouse division of Augsburg Fortress, a large Twin Cities publisher. He heads up an editorial team that produces illustrated children’s books, and he’s written a few of his own under a pseudonym for “the under-five set.”

ERIKA HOOGEVEEN: VIOLINIST The Mill City Quartet spends half of its season performing in traditional venues like concert halls and the other half performing for inmates inside correctional facilities.

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“There’s a kind of magic in live theatre that’s different than going to a movie theater to see a film projected onto a screen,” says Ellen DeYoung (’12), a graduate of Dordt’s theatre program and now a touring coordinator for the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, one of the top children’s theatres in the country.

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Andrew DeYoung (’05) is about to publish his first novel, an intergalactic love story for young adults called The Exo Project. He says the book reflects his interest in the ways “more lowbrow tropes and conventions can meet up with higher-brow literary thematics.”

Erika Hoogeveen (’02) says she’ll never forget the time a woman came up to the group after a performance and thanked them, saying, “You made us feel like we were really human.” “Inmates become an almost forgotten population,” Hoogeveen says. “The experience of having someone come and play for them is a way of showing them their lives are valuable.” She says watching string musicians play together live—reading one another’s tempo in the movement of their bows, anticipating changes, making mistakes and recovering—can be like a small glimpse of the unity God calls us to embody as the church. Aside from performing a regular concert season with the Mill City Quartet, Hoogeveen teaches violin lessons in her studio at home and serves as concert master for Dakota Valley Symphony.

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KYLE FOSSÉ (ʼ17)

Logan Radde (ʼ16) directed And Then There Were None for his senior capstone project. The play is based on an Agatha Christie murder mystery, and he remembers listening to the audio book the first time he drove with his family to visit his sister at Dordt. "It's always been near to my heart," he says.

the play’s imaginary “fourth wall.” Even the actor’s routine movements—dusting, moving a lamp—invite the audience to become part of the action of the play. From their seats, spectators can hear the actors’ footsteps, see their chests rise and fall, observe subtle changes in posture and expression. The audience, too, is part of the performance— the actors respond to its sudden hush or laughter, its attentive silence.

“That’s what actors thrive on. The energy that people bring into the room,” says Logan Radde (’16), who’s acted in several mainstage productions and directed And Then There Were None as his senior capstone project. “The audience is always part of the show. You show up at the theatre, you’re part of it.”

“I knew that music wasn’t going to be a very straightforward job path, and that I would need to be open to where that path led me—even if it wasn’t exactly what I had planned.”

“Theatre is wonderful — Tricia Van Ee ('02), classical singer in that way,” says Erica Liddle (’18), stage manager of Dordt's most recent “That’s central to what makes theatre mainstage production, Silent Sky, and so powerful as an art form,” says Dordt a theatre and English double major at Theatre Professor Dr. Teresa Ter Haar. Dordt. “To be at a play is to be part of “But all art has the power to move us. It a once-in-a-lifetime moment. It’s never can prompt us to ask questions. It can the same play twice—you’re creating trouble us. It can make us laugh, or cry,” something new every night. And the says Ter Haar. audience is part of that.”

In Dordt’s fine arts programs, students learn to see the arts as a meaningful way of participating in God’s redemptive work in the world. That’s because art, even the

STORY TO TELL “When deciding what stories to tell, I think it’s the narrative scope of the Bible that guides us. In the Bible, there are moments of beauty and horror, tragedy and utter joy. And I think God asks us to T. Ter Haar interact with all these different kinds of stories in our lives," say Theatre Professor Dr. Teresa Ter Haar. “As Christians, we have a responsibility to tell stories of joy, but also stories that are incredibly fraught or painful. But we never do any storytelling thoughtlessly. We do it with great care, and a sense of responsibility toward our audience. That means we don’t tell stories just for their shock value, or from a place of complete despair. We tell stories that point toward some truth about God’s world. Theatre can be one way of telling the stories of this broken world we live in. But theatre can also point us toward a future we can’t even imagine.”

most playful or humorous, has the power to change us, and to point us toward who we are called to be as God’s people, says Ter Haar.

At Dordt, and out in the world, these artists are figuring out what it means to pursue artmaking not just as a profession, but a calling, and to do that, many of them agree, takes bravery. “When I dropped my communication major my junior year, it was scary,” says Tricia Van Ee (’02), who has performed in operas and classical concerts as a soloist in the Twin Cities. “I knew that music wasn’t going to be a very straightforward job path, and that I would need to be open to where that path led me—even if it wasn’t exactly what I had planned.” Jenna Wilgenburg (’19), a sophomore art student at Dordt, felt the same trepidation. “Whenever I tell someone I’m an art major, their first question is usually skeptical: ‘What are you going to do with that?’ When I decided on my major, I was really excited about it. But honestly, I was

“It was frustrating. I had been told much of my life that I have the voice to do this, and yet it wasn’t working out,” she says. But then she auditioned for the Minnesota Opera Chorus, and began to make a life for herself as a classical singer in the Twin Cities, teaching voice lessons and working an office job on the side. Between 2013 and 2016, she performed a lead solo role in The Magic Flute, an opera “brought back season after season” due to its popularity. Van Ee says attending a classical music performance isn’t simply about entertainment. “An opera can make us ask questions about ourselves, and about the time we’re living in,” she says. Music can also be a solace. “In a time that’s very divisive, and that sometimes feels chaotic, music makes sense out of sound. It brings the chaos of sound into order. And it elicits emotions that might be very useful for people at a time when there’s a lot of uncertainty,” she says.

JASON KORNELIS: ACTOR “Being in the humanities can take a thick skin,” says Jason Kornelis (’11), who regularly performs with some of the top theatre companies in the Twin Cities. “There are times when you think, ‘What am I doing? How am I going to use this degree?’”

KALI THOMPSON

This work is at once playful and deeply serious. And it continues beyond campus, too, when graduates of Dordt’s fine arts programs wend their way to places like the Twin Cities, one of the Midwest’s most vibrant cultural centers. Home to a thriving arts scene, the Cities have become the post-graduation destination for a growing number of Dordt alumni artists. Some of those graduates are making a life for themselves in the fine arts, while others have found their livelihood at the intersection of art and application, working in fields like the graphic arts or design, creating websites, interactive museum exhibits, even floral landscapes.

After Dordt, Tricia Van Ee (’02) dreamed of a life as an opera singer. Several years after she graduated with her master’s in voice performance from the University of Minnesota, the classical musical scene was reeling from the effects of the Great Recession. Within a season, many opera houses across the country closed their doors.

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Across Dordt’s campus, many students and professors devote a large part of their day to creating things that, strictly speaking, are not useful. Students layer oil paints on canvases, compose songs at the piano, or sit perched on a catwalk, installing colored lights. To learn to do these things well, they spend time in study and practice: working through scales on a violin, logging hours with their nose in an art history book, or meeting for improv games in the theatre.

TRICIA VAN EE: CLASSICAL SINGER PAUL SERAFINI

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Kornelis most recently appeared in the Wayward Theatre’s production of Moliere’s Tartuffe. He’s also the founding member of a company, Conundrum Collective, that stages radio plays. The company recently produced Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds, using 1930s-style microphones and an onstage sound table. The company also has plans to start a podcast. Kornelis says the Twin Cities theatre community is vibrant, multicultural, and “has a social justice bent.” He’s finding his place there, performing alongside well-regarded mainstays of the theatre world. “Starting out after college definitely felt like jumping into the deep end of the pool. But I felt prepared—the toolkit was there. And I think that gave me an edge,” he says.

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also scared. Ultimately, I think you have to follow your passion and gifts, and trust that God will use them in some way.”

ART AND ATTENTION But how does God use an abstract sculpture or sci-fi novel? What does an opera or symphony have to do with the kingdom of God? Dordt students are busy working that out in their classrooms, on stage, and in the art studio, exploring the materials of their craft, and situating that exploration into a wider—and cross-cultural—history of art’s theory and practice. Art Professor Matt Drissell says the value of art, and its power, has much to do with the way we move through the world as creatures, with bodies. “God has created us to be these profoundly multidimensional beings. We’re not just brains that go around analyzing things,” he says. “We don’t experience the world in just one way; we experience it with the full range of our senses. The visual is an important dimension of that.” Drissell is a visual artist who works in a variety of media, and he spends much of his time in the studio with students, instructing them in their work, often painting and drawing alongside them. “Today, so much of our experience of the world is abstracted or digitized. We’re not engaging with the materials around us,” he says. “But when you go into the studio, you deal with paint. You deal with glue. You deal with gravity. You’re colliding with a cultural legacy that goes all the way back to people painting figures on cave walls. You’re getting at what it means to be human and to engage intellectually and creatively with the physical world around you.” Andrew DeYoung (’05), a novelist and children’s book publisher who lives in Minneapolis, understands this kind of engagement in terms of attention. “As a writer, you’re often paying attention to a single thing—whether it’s the way the light falls on a snowbank, or a

WILL THAT MAJOR GET YOU A JOB? Anyone who majors in the fine arts is familiar with this question. And it’s true that graduates in theatre, art, or music don’t always have as clear a professional path as their peers in engineering, education, or nursing. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t good reasons to study the arts, or that there aren’t jobs for them. “For people in the humanities, or in artistic fields, there are paths to gainful employment and fulfilling work. You just have to be a little bit creative,” says Andrew DeYoung ('05), a soon-to-be-published novelist who also serves as the director of product development for a publishing company in Minneapolis. “In corporate leadership positions, it’s more common than you might think to see someone who majored in philosophy, then went on to get an MBA,” he says. Research in higher education has shown that students who major in a humanities discipline often earn less right out of the gate, but go on to match or outpace graduates with professional or pre-professional degrees. That’s especially true if those humanities majors went on to earn a graduate degree. Still, Dordt College has always been guided by a broader vision than simply turning out professionals who work until they retire, says Dordt Music Professor Dr. Benjamin Kornelis.

B. Kornelis

“We live in a culture that’s really pragmatic, and our ideals of success have to do with income and productivity,” Kornelis says. “But college is about getting an education that teaches you how to get a life, not just a job.” Beyond simply a salary or skillset, college is about preparing students to live full, rich lives in service to God—as people with families, members of churches, and citizens in a democracy. That’s not to say students who study the fine arts won’t find their way into enriching careers. Statistics suggest that many graduates today will change careers multiple times, and qualities like creativity, adaptability, and critical thinking are increasingly important in our ever-changing global job market.

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Art Professor Matt Drissell says, studying a fine art prepares students for life beyond Dordt: “When you’re in the art studio, you have to deal with messes, dialogue with classmates, learn to accept criticism. All of these things are so important in the 21st century, and they’re nurtured by studying the arts.”

Senior music major and Kuyper Scholar Sion Yang will perform as part of the Chamber Orchestra and Concert Band 2017 Spring Tour.

“We’re not still very often,” she says. “But to really get something out of a performance of classical music—to really hear it—you have to be quiet. You have to commit to finding a stillness in yourself and accept what comes.” Music, like all art, brings us to this state of attention by appealing directly to our senses. We hear it with our ears, but we also feel its vibration in our bodies; even our heartbeats speed up or slow down to match its tempo. In a similar way, an abstract painting can evoke a visceral, emotional response simply through its use of line and color.

“That’s really a cliché, I know— the power of imagination. But it’s the start of some really good and important qualities,” says DeYoung, whose first novel for young adults will hit bookstores in April. “Imagination allows you to feel empathy for people who are not very much like you—to imagine them with just as rich an interior life as yours, living through experiences that might be very

“I remember discovering in my art classes at Dordt that I was deeply interested in color,” says Matthew Kunnari (’06). “I’d be driving down the road, and I’d be struck by certain things: the yellow paint on the center line, the red stop sign, a blue sky. I’d feel compelled to return to that image in the studio.” Now his medium is flowers. Kunnari lives on the grounds of the historic Pillsbury Mansion, next to Lake Minnetonka, where aside from tending plants and designing landscapes, he spends time painting in his bright artist’s studio in the estate’s carriage house. The room is filled with brightly colored still-life paintings, arranged on easels or up against the wall. “I like to paint the things that have been left behind. A table after everyone has eaten, or a sink and counter filled with dishes,” he says. The paintings are unconventional, but beautiful. “As an artist, and also as a gardener, you learn patience,” he says. “You’re in it for the long game.”

ELLEN DEYOUNG: STAGE MANAGER, THEATRE TOURING COMPANY

COORDINATOR

Ellen DeYoung’s (’12) last gig as a stage manager involved dressing in a maid’s uniform and ushering audience members from room to room in a dark Twin Cities mansion. “I’m used to being in a dark tech booth during performances, so this was definitely out of the ordinary for me,” she says.

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In engaging us in this way, art appeals to us as creatures who don’t simply think, but as creatures with imaginations who love, desire, and feel.

MATTHEW KUNNARI: FLORAL LANDSCAPE DESIGNER, VISUAL ARTIST FEATURES

Getting lost in a story—or a painting, or piece of music—cultivates a form of attention we bring back with us into our ordinary lives, DeYoung says. Van Ee says art can direct that attention inward, too.

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bird near the window, or two people leaning in to talk to one another on a train. And you’re trying to call the reader’s attention to that particular thing,” he says. “It’s a type of attention that’s really rare these days, with our attention being so divided.”

The play, Tartuffe, was an experiment— rather than accept the spatial conventions of seats and stage, the Wayward Theatre decided to bring theatre into spaces people already move through and inhabit.

ALEISA DORNBIERER-SCHAT

DeYoung is often part of inventive, boundary-challenging productions—usually behind the scenes, as resident stage manager at the Wayward and Mission theatres in the Twin Cities. During the day, she helps coordinate national tours for the National Theatre for Children, one of the largest touring children’s theatre companies in the country. The troupe often performs in low-income schools, and for many of the students, it’s their first time seeing a play. When he isn't designing floral landscapes or tending plants, Matthew Kunnari (’06) paints colorful and unconventional still lifes.

“I feel so privileged to witness the students’ joy in having a real person in front of them, communicating something educational through their performance. The kids are having so much fun, they don’t even realize they’re learning,” she says.

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Faculty Notes Social Work Professor Dr. Erin Olson presented a workshop titled “Teaching Christian Civility: Lessons for Social Work Students” at the North American Association of Christians in Social Work in Cincinnati in November. Chemistry Professor Dr. Channon Visscher co-authored an article titled “On the Composition of Young, Directly Imaged Giant Planets” in the Astrophysical Journal in October. He also co-authored a paper called “The fate of moderately volatile elements in impact events—Lithium connection between the Ries sediments and central European tektites” in the Meteocritics & Planetary Science Journal in December. Theology Professor Dr. David Henreckson presented a paper titled “Breaking Covenant: Systemic Sin and Mutual Accountability in the Early Reformed Tradition” at the American Academy of Religion in San Antonio in November. Henreckson also delivered a paper titled “Resisting the Devil’s Instruments: Retrieving Early Protestant Resources for Thinking about Politics and Power” at the Society of Christian Ethics in January. Henreckson was asked to serve on the steering committee for a new program group in the Evangelical Theological Society called “Public Theology,” which will host theological conversations about how Christians might pursue the common good in the church and in society. The following update was misattributed in our last issue: Adjunct Education Professor Dr. Thomas Van Soelen published a book titled Crafting the Feedback Teachers Need and Deserve: A Guide for Leaders. He also published several articles: “Teamwork Boosts Student Learning and Professional Community for the Phi Delta Kappa Common Core Writing Project,” “Navigation Aids: 9 Shifts in Practice Smooth the Transition from School to Central Office” in the Journal of Staff Development, and “Evaluation and Support: It Doesn’t Have to Be One or the Other” in Principal Leadership.

Art Professor Matt Drissell had students in his Core 160 course gather to view and discuss Wilgenburg’s work, and it prompted lively conversations about the ways our culture perpetuates a narrow and unrealistic standard of beauty, often turning women’s bodies into commodities.

different than yours. Curiosity, wonder, awe, empathy—these qualities all have their beginning in imagination.” Art doesn’t move us with facts or arguments, Drissell says. The language of art is image, metaphor, texture, pattern. And that’s the source of its power. Art can move us toward an appreciation of the beauty of the created world and of our own creativity as God’s image-bearers. But it can also challenge or upset us. It can start conversations. It can draw us to a deeper understanding of the world’s brokenness and suffering. And by inviting us to respond imaginatively to what’s offered, art can move us to action and teach us, however tentatively, to hope.

ART THAT CHALLENGES

“The Perfect ‘Body.’” “With this piece, I wanted to challenge people to think about how God created us, carefully knitting each of us together. And I wanted viewers to consider the ways our culture judges the value of what God has created,” Wilgenburg says. “Making art as a Christian doesn’t necessarily mean painting scenes from the Bible or exploring obviously Christian themes. Art can challenge us to open our eyes to new things and to challenges in the world that go beyond our own experiences.” Jason Kornelis (’11) says theatre, too, can raise challenging questions. He’s now an actor in the Twin Cities, but during his senior year at Dordt, he directed Bat Boy, an “edgy and out there musical.” The show is about a character—half boy, half bat—discovered in a cave and trying to integrate into a small, deep

When Wilgenburg decided on her final project in Drissell’s Painting I class, she wanted to start a conversation. She began with three square panels, arranged in a row. Each features part of a woman’s figure, graceful but imperfect, floating — Music Professor Dr. Benjamin Kornelis in negative space: a curving collarbone, the expanse of a back, legs bent at the South community that is “very distrustful knee. To display the piece, she set up a of outsiders.” Kornelis describes the projector, and used it to project a variety production as part social commentary, of images over the panels. One of them part “very strange homage to B horror was a Victoria’s Secret ad featuring a line movies.” of similar-looking models, long limbed “You can challenge people through all and nearly bare, behind bold white text: kinds of storytelling, but theatre kind

“It takes a kind of chutzpah, an audacity, to create beautiful things in a culture that values efficiency, productivity, and profit.”

“I hope that we instill a deep, critical awareness of audience in our students,” says Ter Haar. “Part of our responsibility, and privilege, as an academic institution is that when we engage with challenging pieces, we have an opportunity to surround them with context and support.” The department often brings in a panel of experts to guide an audience through complex, even taboo, topics like sex trafficking, capital punishment, or incest.

“It takes a kind of chutzpah, an audacity, to create beautiful things in a culture that values efficiency, productivity, and profit,” says Dr. Benjamin Kornelis, Dordt music professor and choral director. “The arts can foster a kind of imagination about what isn’t, but what could be.” That’s a quality that’s impossible to quantify, but it’s crucially important. Kornelis says, “I often tell students that being part of the choir, or participating in the arts, may be the most important thing they do while they’re here.”

Rachel Clemens (’09) has gotten used to sitting down with executives from global corporations like Microsoft and Pepsi. She’s a practice manager at SAP, a multinational company that creates software that businesses use to optimize their hiring processes. Clemens works on the "front end" of the software platform. Her design courses at Dordt, along with internships near Dordt and in Chicago, prepared her to design elegant, functional websites. “When it comes to designing a web page, design and functionality are inseparable,” she says. Clemens designs the “front-end” of websites—the part users see and interact with. “It’s surprising how often I design something I think looks pretty good, but then when we put it into practice, we realize it doesn’t work very well,” she says. “Along with my degree in art, I was a business major. I’ve never really been interested in creating art for art’s sake. I’ve always been interested in how to communicate something clearly, or make someone’s life easier through good design,” she says.

SARAH ZWIER: MUSEUM EXHIBIT DESIGNER Sarah Zwier (’06) spent one of her last semesters as a Dordt student interning for the Field Museum in Chicago, and she continued working there for several years after graduation. “That’s where I really cut my teeth in exhibit design,” she says. “I learned to take concepts from my design courses at Dordt and apply them to three-dimensional environments.”

ALEISA DORNBIERER-SCHAT

By engaging challenging topics, even in ways that aren’t overtly “Christian,” a play can speak prophetically, she says. But art doesn’t have to unsettle us—or only unsettle us—to be good. Creating art, or encountering it, can bring great pleasure or joy. It can make us laugh— often at ourselves. And it can bring us to a state of attention, curiosity, or wonder.

RACHEL CLEMENS: GRAPHIC ARTIST AND WEBSITE DESIGNER ALUMNI

Dordt’s Theatre Department has actively fostered this kind of dialogue, hosting “talk backs” following some of its productions. When a performance includes content or themes that some might find upsetting or difficult, the department creates a structured space for dialogue between the audience, actors, and production team.

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of forces you to have a conversation,” he says. “It’s happening right there in front of you, live and in real time. At the same time, it’s happening to the people sitting right next to you.” That kind of dynamic can start a dialogue, and stretch people to consider ideas or experiences that are unfamiliar to them, he says.

Now she works as a graphic artist at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Recently, Zwier helped design and install an exhibit about sports science. Today, the space is filled with kids and parents, practicing their baseball swing in front of a slow-motion camera or racing down a track alongside virtual competitors. When Zwier first chose to study art at Dordt, she wondered if she “was the right type of creative person.” “At Dordt, there were wonderful painters, illustrators, and sculptors. But as a designer, I wasn’t quite sure how I fit in. I soon learned that my medium was the computer, which required precision and the ability to manipulate type, colors, and images to create engaging visuals,” she says. “Graphic design was a great fit for my artistic gifts.”

ALEISA DORNBIERER-SCHAT

ALUMNI

PUTTING LEGS ON OUR MISSION OF RENEWAL A

bout this time each spring, President Erik Hoekstra and Dr. Barb Hoekstra invite groups of graduating students into their home, and we listen as our students tell of God unfolding his plan in their lives. We offer our networks, expertise, and anything we can to meet their needs. Then, it's our turn to learn from them as we focus on their student experience. What would they change? What should stay the same? What do they share with prospective students? What do they think Dordt College should look like in 25 years? After homemade dessert, Erik and Barb break the ebb and flow of conversation to offer a kind of benediction to our departing graduates. Think of this as the letter your parents snuck in your backpack before you left for school. Of the ten 10 words of wisdom they offer students, number five sticks with me. Get involved in the local community in which God calls you to live—ﬁnd a church home, serve on boards, volunteer your time, build the kingdom, and bloom where you are planted. Erik riffs on the theme as any proud parent would, commissioning Dordt students—this is how we raised you. The Wall Street Journal’s recognition of

Dordt College as no. 1 in the country for student engagement is no surprise when I think of our 18,794 alumni. This summer, we will visit regional chapters across our Defender Nation, and I am confident we will uncover a whole lot of what went into that recognition. College rankings come and go. Is the number important? Important may not be the right word, but it does help affirm that we are responding faithfully with the gift that God has given us in Dordt College. Still, your lives tell a story more encouraging than any ranking could. Your collective narrative puts the legs on our mission and tells a broken world a new story of Christ-centered renewal. I see renewal when Erika Hoogeveen ('02) brings classical music into prisons, Eunice Muthengi ('01) works to improve the lives of adolescent girls in Kenya, and Jason Kornelis ('11) finds important stories to tell—and perform—in the Twin Cities. Thank you for living out our mission and working toward renewal where you are planted. Our graduating students cannot wait to join your ranks.

BRANDON HUISMAN (’10), DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS

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CHANGE AGENT EUNICE MUTHENGI AT WORK IN KENYA

Eunice Muthengi ('01) remembers the moment she decided to change her major. It was at a Students Without Borders Club event, a Model UN gathering of international students from Iowa colleges and universities. “As we sat there discussing global policy issues, I realized how much I wanted to be involved in making change, to be a voice for other African women and girls,” Muthengi says. “I basically came back from that conference and went straight to my advisor and said, ‘I need to change my major. I need to be a change agent. That’s what my passion is, and I need to

be a leader in helping to change things in Africa.’” Muthengi tried to decide what kind of background might prepare her for that work: “Political science didn’t feel quite right; psychology felt too individual,” she says. “We ended up deciding on social work because it was a mix—some political science, some sociology, some

psychology. I was especially interested in the macro level, how to bring change on the community level.” It’s clear from just a short conversation with Muthengi, who is an associate at the nongovernmental organization Population Council in Kenya, that she is intelligent, competent, and cares deeply about the people she is trying to help.

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Speaking over Google Hangouts, her passion for her work is as clear as her voice, even from half a world away. Muthengi wants to make the lives of girls in sub-Saharan Africa better in every possible way. As deputy team leader of the Adolescent Girls InitiativeKenya for the Population Council, she conducts field research to determine which initiatives most improve the lives of adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa. This is a four-year randomized, controlled trial that tests the best package of intervention strategies for helping adolescent girls live better lives. “There are a lot of organizations doing aid work, humanitarian work, implementing programs in Africa. If you’re trying to reduce school dropouts, and you spend all this money implementing the program, and only a small percentage of girls stay in school and you can’t significantly reduce the number of girls dropping out, you have very good intentions but no results. We don’t want to waste funds by implementing programs that don’t reach as many people as a different approach would,” she says. A data-based approach requires good research, and that is Muthengi’s specialty. “We’re almost ready to collect baseline

Eunice Muthengi (far right) was awarded the 2016 ICRW Paula Kantor Award for Excellence in Field Research in Kampala, Uganda.

data for evaluating the Nia Project,” she says. In that trial, girls in 140 schools received either pads for menstruation, a reproductive health education component comprised of facilitated sessions and a health magazine, or both. “There have been a lot of policies and programs around providing sanitary pads in schools,” she says, but there is a lack of rigorous evidence on whether

AN ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE Eunice Muthengi credits her fellow international students and former Dordt professors David Helmstetter and Jim Vanderwoerd with helping her get involved in issues of social justice. Students Without Borders had a social justice component, and involvement with that program became an important part of her college experience. Her first act of protest was as a student at Dordt College. “One project in our social work class involved leading activism regarding some immigrant families living on land that was to be cleared by Dordt to build something,” she says. “Our class took on their cause and wanted to make sure the families living there would find some other place to live because these were migrant workers working on farms in the area.” Muthengi says some of the interactions with Dordt administrators were a bit tense. “We needed to understand where they were coming from as well. Yes, Dordt had every right to use their land for what they wanted, but there were also issues of social responsibility,” she says. “We tried to find a middle ground to make sure we didn’t do this at the expense of these families.” She and another student worked with the professor of the class to publish a paper about that experience and about how experiential learning was a key part of her Dordt education: Vanderwoerd, J., Muthengi, E., Muilenburg, J. (2004), “Role conflicts of BSW students and instructors in experiential learning: Lessons from a case study,” Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work, (9), 31–46.

Population Council is an international nonprofit organization with headquarters in the U.S. and about 15 countries. To learn more go to popcouncil.org/research/kenya.

providing pads will improve attendance and reduce school absences. This study will determine the impact on education outcomes, as well as increased selfsufficiency and improved reproductive health knowledge and behaviors.” The trial will be conducted in Kilifi, in the coastal region of Kenya, an area with low retention rates from primary to secondary school, high percentages of teenage pregnancy, and high levels of poverty. “If interventions are shown to be effective here, they could be scaled up to other areas in Kenya,” Muthengi says. Some of Muthengi’s research also looks at how to engage boys and men in a way that will improve gender parity and reduce violence against women. “Adolescent girls are really vulnerable, and my focus is on how we can design programs that will best meet their needs and give them the skills they need to navigate the challenges they face.” Those challenges include early marriage, violence, poverty, lack of education, poor health, and lack of reproductive health

ADVICE

education and services.

“Whenever I had an opportunity to write a paper, I’d look at issues of women’s economic development in Africa and women’s health in Africa,” she says. “My professors encouraged me to feel free to bring in any international issues and learn about what was going on in Africa when we were looking at U.S. issues.” Her experience as an international student at Dordt was both challenging and stimulating. “The network of international students, that was really priceless to me,” Muthengi says. “It was really a shock coming to Dordt from Kenya. It felt like it was an adjustment not only for us as international students, but also for the other students to adjust to us. It’s like many of them had not ever been exposed to people from Africa before.” The cross-cultural learning that happened on campus was invaluable, she believes.

Advice for Dordt students today: “The biggest thing is exposure. Find opportunities that will stretch you, that will expose you to what you’re not used to or maybe never even considered before. That’s the main benefit of a liberal arts education. You’re not tied into one thing. Even in your major, be open to the fact that you might end up doing the opposite of what you’re thinking. Let everything you participate in be part of a journey of growing and learning and part of figuring out who you are and what your role is in the world. That helps you go beyond just thinking about what is good for me to how you fit in the larger ecosystem and what your contribution will be to make the world a better place or to change things. You can have an impact— within your family, your community, you state, your country, globally. Travel and see how others live."

ALUMNI

Muthengi felt well prepared for the work she does, in part thanks to professors at Dordt who encouraged her to customize her course work in a way that allowed her to pursue her passions.

“One of my main passions, which has really driven my career, is the importance of developing programs that actually work, and being able to use best practices and evidence to design programs and policies that help people”

Muthengi graduated from Dordt in 2001 and was accepted into her first-choice graduate school; she earned her MSW in social and economic development — Dordt alumna Eunice Muthengi from Washington University in St. importance of developing programs Louis. Following graduation she earned that actually work, and being able to a Ph.D. and MPH from the Community use best practices and evidence to Health Sciences Department of the design programs and policies that help University of California, Los Angeles people,” she says. “So, for me, working (UCLA). While at UCLA, she landed at Population Council to use evidence to a research internship at Population drive the agenda forward, to influence Council in Nairobi and was hired after program design and policy for impact on finishing her degree in 2010. a global scale—that’s very in tune with Muthengi enjoys working for the my own mission and goal, and it's why I Population Council and appreciates its do research.” data-driven approach. “One of my main passions, which has really driven my career, is the

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Spring

Renewal

Drive

We’ve raised almost $24 million of the $27 million needed for the Science and Technology Center project. But in order to celebrate the project’s completion on September 30 of this year, we need your help. This isn’t about the dollar amount or a ten-year commitment. It’s about the simple act of giving—no matter how big or small—toward one more microscope, one more spectrophotometer, or one more work station. Your ﬁnal gift to the expansion and renovation of our science facilities will make a lasting difference in the lives of students and in the lives of those they are being called to serve.

Give at dordt.edu/gift.