Firsick's next mission Firsick graduated this year with a degree in psychology and with a near-perfect GPA. Then in June, her and her husband, Zach, headed home to their families in St. Louis to prepare for a 10-month overseas mission that begins in August. They can’t say where they will be traveling to and for good reason. As staff members of Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ), the two will be in a communist country trying to introduce citizens to Jesus Christ. If caught doing so, they will be sent back to the United States. “A closed country in Eastern Asia is about all I can say,” said Firsick. “Zach was there for six weeks two summers ago and he has told me a lot of great stories about it. That same summer, I went to El Salvador for a six-week project on campuses. This time we get to go together.”
once a coyote, always a coyote
Zach, who attended Rockwood Summit High School with Bethany, is a 2013 USD graduate. He spent this past year on staff at Cru, an interdenominational Christian organization that promotes evangelism and discipleship in more than 190 countries around the world. In addition to USD, Zach helps the movement at Western Iowa Tech across the Iowa border in Sioux City.
The University of South Dakota awarded degrees to more than 1,800 candidates between the winter and spring commencement ceremonies. Of those candidates, 57 were student-athletes. Their names are listed below.
Cru was founded in 1951 on the campus of UCLA. It employs more than 25,000 full-time missionaries and has trained 225,000 volunteers around the world. The organization is in more countries than McDonalds.
Mariah Anderson Earv Archambeau Jordan Boots Lindsey Boyd Christine Broders Kim Bulaga
“My faith has always been a part of my life,” Firsick said. “At USD, Cru helped solidify my faith and kept it a focal point. Zach got involved with the group right away and through him, I met people and got involved. I started leading a bible study during my third year on campus.”
Megan Chmielewski
Kyle Cichos Tansha Clarke Erica Denney Jilanne Doom Michelle Elkin Katie Ferguson Bethany Firsick Jarrod Freidel
Stephanie Goddard Trevor Gruis Marc Gubbels Megan Hilson Alex Hohenthaner Breanna Janovy Josee Jansen Jackie Kahnke Afton Keiser Austin Koch Brandon Kovash Cody Linder Kassie Loe Bailey Lupardus Ethan Marquardt
Jeff Mettler Ty Munneke Marc Murtha Steve Nelson Cody O’Neill Paige Policky Karim Rowson Lindsey Sathre Casey Shade Jen Shaefer Kyle Shanker Hailey Sheldahl McKenzie Shroyer Kate Snow Tyler Starr
Kristin Steffen Denton Stephens Britni Waller Natalie Walseth Corey Wannamaker Maddy Warder Tricia Watson Kate Wellensiek Tyler Wilhelm Anthony Williams Gabriel Williams Zach Wilson
The trip signals the end to an outstanding athletic career. Dreams of teaming with her coach, Derek Miles, to compete at the U.S. National Outdoor Championships and perhaps qualifying for an Olympic team may have been washed away by the plethora of injuries, but then again, vaulting is just a small part of who she has become. “I love vaulting and I’m certainly going to miss my teammates,” said Firsick. “I came to USD because of Coach Miles. It’s been fun watching this program grow, cool to be a part of it, and I’m excited to see where they go from here.”
2013-14 ANNUAL REPORT
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