The VISTA - Spring 2015

CONTENTS 5

VOLUME 111 // ISSUE 2

DR. KEN SCHMIDT: THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND A WARM TRIBUTE TO DR. SCHMIDT FOR HIS YEARS OF SERVICE TO GC.

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THE LITTLE MIRACLES OF NICARAGUA KRISTEN KANASKIE TELLS ABOUT HER EXPERIENCES ABROAD.

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THE CATHOLIC MINORITY: CALLED TO PEACE LET US CONSIDER WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

NOW THAT YOU’VE GRADUATED, WHAT’S NEXT? A SURVEY OF THE OPTIONS AFTER AN UNDERGRADUATE CAREER.

THE I AM STATEMENTS OF JESUS A BRIEF REFLECTION ON THE SEMESTER’S CHAPEL THEME.

NICK BIFANO AND THE INNOCENTS KAYLEE SUMMERS SITS DOWN WITH THE BAND.

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14 MEN’S VOLLEYBALL GET THE HEADS UP ON WHAT IS COMING THIS FALL.

16 BASS FISHING TEAM DID YOU KNOW WE HAD ONE OF THESE?

28 40 NCCAA ALL-AMERICAN CHAMPION A LOOK AT ALL-AMERICAN CHELSEA GILLES.

44 LGBTQI+ RELATIONS AT GC WITH LOVE WE APPROACH A DIFFICULT SUBJECT.

STAFF VOLUME 111 // ISSUE 2

DESIGNERS JUSTIN SMITH

VISUAL EDITOR

AMANDA INGRAM

JESSA WILCOXEN

WRITERS

DUSTIN HIGGINBOTHAM

FALLYN PARULESKI

CONTENT EDITOR KIRSTEN JON NORSWORTHY JOHNSON

BEN WILTSE

ANDREA FREEMAN

LOGAN NELSON

KRISTEN DAVIS

LUKE COTTINGHAM

TAYLOR MEYERS

MILES WILLIAMS

KAYLEE SUMMERS

ERIN LOBNER

ADVISOR

PHOTOGRAPHER

ADVISOR RACHEL HESTON-DAVIS

EDITOR’S NOTE There was a woman who kept her home pristinely clean, on the inside. She was very proud of her clean floors and clean carpet.

Everything was ordered and had its place.

Her children seldom had dirt behind their ears, and their teeth sparkled, welcoming everyone in. Everyone except her neighbor.

Her neighbor’s house was streaked with dirt. As the woman looked through the window, she saw the neighbor children running about with dirt all over them.

The windows and walls of the other house were a true eyesore for the neighborhood, and so she sought to remedy the situation.

She called her friend to complain, but was met with confusion. The friend thought the yard in question may need trimmed, but

otherwise it looked lovely. The neighbor did, however, offer to clean the woman’s windows as they were quite stained.

This retelling of Christ’s teaching to address the plank in our own eye before the speck in our neighbor’s was a favorite story of my high school Latin teacher. The story ties to this issue of The Vista in two ways.

Some articles invite us to consider our windows--as individuals, and as a community. There is a deeper benefit to this than just avoiding the embarrassment of being told we need a wash (this may in fact not be avoidable); we can be enriched by our neighbors, and the kingdom of God can be enriched by those that we are sure need to be cleaned up. It is our hope with this

issue to give an ear to voices that are not always heard and to people not always seen.

These can be the quietly overlooked or the intentionally ignored.

It is my hope that this issue will be renewing and not alienating. Some topics in the pages that follow are sensitive and complex. It is not our desire to declare what is right, but to do justice, or, as Cornell West suggests, to love publicly. Each voice is of value and should be heard, but we must carefully watch the words we say, because we may have dirt on our windows.

Jon Johnson

SPECIAL THANKS TO GC PUBLICATIONS, THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT, AND BETH WATKINS FOR PHOTOGRAPHY AND SUPPORT.

Dr. Ken Schmidt: The Man, the Myth, the Legend

Dr. Ken Schmidt has infused his students with passion and vigor for education for over 28 years. Now, as his career at Greenville College draws to a close, we take a minute to reflect on the legacy he leaves behind. Dr. Schmidt works relentlessly as both a professor and adviser for the education department. His classes are infamous among education majors for their rigor and difficulty. However, anyone who had the privilege to study under him has nothing but regard and appreciation for the professor who taught them so much about what dynamic, meaningful education really means. Time and time again, graduates credit their ability to teach effectively to Dr. Schmidt and his classes.

Anyone who has taken his classes knows that he is determined to trade mind-numbing worksheets and busy work for explorative, contextualized, meaningful information that engages students and provides opportunities to learn and grow as people and as professionals.

Students have laughed with him, giggling

over his impassioned rantings on government involvement in education, cried with him as they broke down in his office over the struggles of college life, and learned with him as they relentlessly poured over notes for his notorious exams. He may be retiring this year, but his career will live on through the hundreds of students he impacted and shaped.

Dr. Schmidt, this is our thank you and our tribute. You pushed us, pulled us, tired us, loved us, and shaped us to be the proficient educators the world needs. The future of children is at stake, and you unapologetically place the responsibility on our shoulders to carry the torch forward. Fortunately for us, we learned from the best, and we will not let you down. So thank you Dr. Schmidt. Here’s to a job well done.

Kirsten Norsworthy

Kirsten Norworthy

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THESpanish PROGRAM Luke Cottingham

Years ago, in the mid-to-late 1970’s, a young boy named Mauricio and his family lived with his grandmother in Mexico City. A young girl, a few years older than Mauricio, had just moved into the living quarters that his grandmother had rented out. The girl’s family spoke French in addition to Spanish. Mauricio and this young lady became fast friends. She taught him some French, and they began to share many good times together. Years passed, and the girl left for college. Mauricio went about his life, and he encountered both the joys and hardships of growing up in Mexico city. He laughed and played like any child, but his life was not typical, if one could be so bold as to call any life typical. He was left homeless for a short time with his family when a massive earthquake hit the area. Thousands died and many others were left homeless like Mauricio and his family. Luckily, They all made it outside safely before the house fell in. While the country did receive aid, little of it actually got to the people who needed it most.

After rebuilding the rent house, Mauricio continued a somewhat normal high school experience (if there is such a thing) until one day the girl came back to Mexico and got in contact with him. She offered him a scholarship to El Instituto Francés de America Latina (or IFAL for short). In English, this means “The French Institute of Latin America.” He eagerly accepted and soon obtained his B.A. in French. He then went to a University in Mexico to obtain his second degree. Shortly after, he encountered his first teaching job when his sister told him about an opening at the high school she was teaching at at the time. He refused to take the position for a while, unsure if he truly wanted to be a teacher. After much prodding from his sister, he begrudgingly accepted to simply meet with the principal and spend time with the children of the class. After only one day, he was hooked. He realized that he loved teaching and that he had a way of engaging with the kids that made them want to learn more. He happily accepted

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the job and came back to the school as the french teacher. Soon, Mauricio strove to earn higher ranks and teach a wider range of the next generation. He came to the U.S. and received a B.A. in both French and Spanish from Concordia College. He then went on to Minnesota State University where he received his Masters with an emphasis on Hispanic Studies. Finally, he earned his Ed.D. in Education Administration from Bethel University. All of this led the young man to be the esteemed professor we know today: Dr. Mauricio Nava, a member of the Spanish Department here at Greenville and a professor of both Spanish and French courses.

Dr. Nava is currently working with both the Spanish and the new French programs here on campus. He hopes to see a French major become a part of Greenville College, and he is currently working toward that goal. Of course, a new major, especially one that allows students to become a part of an entirely different culture, would allow Greenville graduates more opportunities in the working world. As of right now, Dr. Nava is planning on taking students in his French class on an end of the semester trip to southern France to learn more about the culture that they have been studying. Seeing as how he is also part of the Spanish program, he is looking to add more trips and cultural immersion experiences in both the French and Spanish programs. Dr. Nava is working on retooling both programs in an attempt to make them stronger, more efficient, and better in general for students. In the coming years, we may even see more Spanish and French classes here at GC. The goal of all of this is to stimulate students to grow as people and find a love for other cultures and travel that one couldn’t find at another college. With these new programs, not only will we open new doors for graduates, we can make the world seem a little smaller through communication, understanding, and compassion.

CATHOLIC MINORITY CALLED TO PEACE BEN WILTSE

Ryan Fleckenstein.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one body you were called to peace.

Colossians 3:15

As you walk into the morning-lit church with your friend, he dips his hand into a small bowl of water, then proceeds to touch his hand to his forehead, chest, and shoulders. You walk down the aisle, but before entering the pew, he bounces his right knee on the ground. After sitting down, the whispers of the people in the rows behind you break the shining silence of the church.

For many who attend Greenville College, the events just described would be a foreign experience. This is understandable, since only around 10 percent of the students on campus are Catholic.

So then, how do we reconcile to one another on this topic?

Ryan Fleckenstein, a practicing Catholic here at Greenville, says that the first step to reconciling differences is to learn exactly what they are. “Indifference or ignorance to the points of contention that divide the Church does not serve to unite the Church,” he says.

One of the important points of contention that Fleckenstein tells us to pay attention to is the Eucharist. What some students may not know is that Catholics believe in transubstantiation, which

literally interprets the Eucharist as the body of Jesus Christ. “I, as a Catholic, have chosen not to take the college’s version of the body and blood of Christ, something that isn’t even considered as Jesus,” he notes. The tension lies in that Protestants believe the Eucharist is in remembrance of Jesus, while Catholics believe it is Jesus’ body.

Another issue of concern for Fleckenstein is Greenville’s attempt at recreating originally Catholic traditions, such as Ash Wednesday.

In his mind, Greenville could have created a campus-wide event for students to receive the ashes at St. Lawrence’s, seeing as how the use of ashes from the Burritt Fire Pit was potentially less respectful.

Fleckenstein, on occasion, has had to pay a price for holding tightly to this set of beliefs about the Church. “There have been a few instances where students have tried to make a clear explanation about why all Catholics are going to Hell, but I’ve discounted those things as not the true feeling of Greenville’s culture.”

Now, Fleckenstein is right. Most students are not that prejudiced against Catholic students. But there is certainly some truth to the idea that we can be uninformed about one another’s faith backgrounds. Brian Hartley, Ph.D. of Historical Theology and a professor of religion, reflects on the idea of denominational differences when he says, “A good first step for students on campus who come from within Protestantism would be to get their language and their history correct.” He has caught students remarking that Greenville has, “both Christian and Catholic students here,” a phrase that always, “grates his ears.” This is because Catholics are Christian; they, in fact, were technically the first Christians!

Once we find the historical bond between Protestants and Catholics, we will be able to more easily reconcile what is truly important, which is our unifying faith in Jesus Christ.

For now, Fleckenstein continues to hope that students will not only come to be aware and tolerant of the Catholic tradition, but even accept it as their own. If that cannot be the case, however, we should still accept each other and accept God’s call to peace.

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LOOKING BACK

FRESHMAN TO SENIOR YEAR ERIN LOBNER

Ali Lund, Quinn Johnston, Aleah Jenkins.

The spring semester is an important time for seniors. For them, it not only brings the end of classes, but another big transition in life. Before they graduate, it can be nice to reflect on how they’ve changed since their freshman year, as well as look forward to their new way of life. Quinn Johnston, Aleah Jenkins, and Ali Lund sat down for a Q&A about their time spent at Greenville.

WHAT’S YOUR MAJOR? HAVE YOU CHANGED IT? Aleah: I’m an accounting major. I started off as a math major, then I got to Calc 2 and it was way too hard. It was just rough, so I went to my advisor and said I wanted to change my major.

Quinn: I started as a worship arts major, switched to saxophone performance, and my sophomore year I switched to an audio engineering major.

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Ali: When I came in, I was a Christian Contemporary Music major, which we actually don’t offer anymore. Within the first couple of months that I was here, I changed that to a B.A. in music with a vocal performance and worship arts emphasis.

WHAT DO YOU THINK HAS CHANGED MOST ABOUT YOU SINCE YOU WERE A FRESHMAN? Aleah: I feel like I was a lot more passive as a freshman. I think now I’ve grown a lot more and can stand up for myself and not let people walk all over me. I remember being a little freshman, not knowing anyone, and I just decided I wasn’t going to be like I was in high school. In high school I was more introverted.

Then I got here and now I can be more myself, more extroverted.

Quinn: I think the biggest thing for me was just the fact that I grew up as an only child, so it’s been hard for me to adjust to having people around all the time. I used to keep to myself, kind of. I wouldn’t hang out with a lot of people, but now especially being in Tower is a lot more social. This year I have five roommates, so it’s a big transition.

Ali: One of the biggest changes that I’ve noticed would be spiritually. I feel like Greenville does this really good job of not telling you what you want to hear. It’s great because a lot of the classes I took, I would go in with questions, and leave with more questions. But somehow I still knew more leaving than I did when I got there. Looking back I feel like my faith is so much stronger because I grew in it with the community.

WHO ARE SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE SUPPORTED YOU THROUGH THE YEARS? Aleah: One of the great things about Greenville is you grow to love a lot of your professors and they want to get to know you on a personal level. They all want you to succeed. So I’ve grown a lot of close relationships, especially with the accounting professors and Mr. Fairbanks, the band director.

Quinn: Professor Fairbanks has been a great band director. He keeps us on track, and I couldn’t have asked for a better director.

Gary Erickson is one of the most incredible people I’ve met here.

He’s encouraged me so much. And my parents have supported me a lot. They’ve been wonderful. My mom does so much for people, and she’s been a role model through that.

Ali: Definitely my parents and my sister. I can’t think of a time when they’ve fallen through, they’ve just always been there. But my sophomore year I realized I needed that support here too, so I sought out a mentor. God put Kathy Filby on my heart, and from that time on, we’ve been meeting weekly and she’s been so helpful and so wise. I’ll also say my music teachers have been incredible, just the support and encouragement I receive from them. Even outside of classes, they’re all just very intentional with me.

WHAT ARE SOME THINGS YOU’VE LIKED ABOUT YOUR TIME HERE? Aleah: One of the things I loved was getting to know everyone and growing close relationships. I love how close-knit everyone is here.

That’s a big thing about Greenville: when they say community, they mean community. I sing for jazz band and I was in concert band and marching band too, and I like all the relationships you form with those people.

Quinn: The guys down the hall from me freshman year--we lived together on that same floor for three years and now we’re living in Tower together. They’re just such wonderful guys. And changing my major I’ve made a lot more friends. Audio majors, we’re just all so weird. It’s great. I’ve really enjoyed my time here, especially with the band. I couldn’t have asked for a better director or a better band to be a part of.

Ali: I have my favorite things about Greenville in a list, I’m not even kidding. I think my favorite thing is being involved in a church.

I go to St. Paul’s and they do a really good job of making the students feel involved. And my music classes were big. All the classes that had to do with my major gave me so much joy. I think the professors we have here, just how personal they are has really affected me. They took the time to invest in me and helped me become who I am.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD HAVE CHANGED ABOUT YOUR TIME AT G REENVILLE? Aleah: I feel like the lifestyle statement could have been let up a little. I understand that those are the rules, but they could be changed a little bit. But people come in knowing the rules, so they should be willing to follow them, too. And I probably would have done marching band freshman year, because I went in my sophomore year and didn’t know anything. I feel like it would have been good to do it more.

Quinn: I think the way the housing process works can be frustrating. I know I’ve had a lot of problems with that over the years. One thing I really don’t like is that band is always scheduled at the same block of time as a lot of the events on campus, so there are a lot of things I’ve had to miss.

Ali: That’s hard because everyone has their opinions about everything. The DC and open dorm hours and the lifestyle statement. One of the things about the lifestyle statement is that even though not all of us agree with it, we do sign on to it. So being here, it’s not fair for me to say I think we need to change this because I chose to be a part of this community.

WHAT’S SOME ADVICE YOU WOULD G IVE TO YOUR FRESHMAN SELF? Aleah: I would tell a lot of the freshmen, especially myself, don’t get comfortable with that first week group of friends. Yes, you might be close to them, but that might change over the course of the semester or the years. And I would also say to try to do as much as you can. Go to events and do things because they really do help you connect with people.

Quinn: There’s times where I wish I could go back and tell myself to do saxaphone performance. I wish I would have taken more initiative and practiced more. But I do love audio engineering, and I wish I had started it sooner so I wouldn’t have had to rush through it in the last two years.

Ali: I remember coming here as a freshman and just feeling so alone. I wish I could have told myself, “You are going to do great things here and you are going to have opportunities and you are going to get to a point where this is your home.” So I would tell myself not to worry, and that the Lord always provides. And I wish I knew that I would just fall more and more in love with this place.

DO YOU FEEL PREPARED TO G RADUATE? Aleah: Not really. I just still don’t know what I want to do after I graduate. Even though I’m an accounting major, I just don’t know what to do with it. I’m kind of nervous, but kind of excited. I’m ready to graduate, but I have no clue what is going to happen after graduation.

Quinn: I think I will feel prepared when I’m done here, it’s just because I switched my major halfway through and audio engineering’s a big deal. All the stuff we’ve learned, I’ve learned in two years instead of four. There’s a lot of things I still need to improve on, but I do feel pretty prepared.

Ali: Yes. That does not mean that I’m not scared out of my mind.

It’s going to be bittersweet, which I think means that Greenville did well. I’m going to miss this place and I’m going to miss the people, so in that sense, no, I’m not ready. But I feel prepared to go into the world and get a job. And I feel like it’s going to be a good experience. I feel equipped and I feel prepared to go to that next step.

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UNCOVERING THE STUDENTS BEHIND THE BLOG

Kaylee Summers

The Blogosphere is an outlet for those who love to write and want to share their ideas with the world. It is a place where anyone can be heard without discrimination or the inhibitions of age, social class, money, or popularity.

Blogging presents the opportunity to share another side of who you are, and to be and say what you want. Here are the stories of three GC students who entered the Blogosphere.

Emma Canady

Andrew Perkett

Miles Williams

Emma Canady is a hilariously unique individual hidden behind a quiet exterior. She began blogging to tell stories that were locked up inside her mind. As she started to write, her friends began to ask for more. She soon realized she had a knack for making something hilarious out of everyday mistakes and embarrassments. Emma is a sophomore Communication major with an emphasis in Public Relations.

She is a commuter student from Greenville who at times feels unknown.

She writes a blog to get her story out to more people and to show everyone who she really is. When asked to explain her blog in a single sentence she comically remarked that her blog is

Andrew Perkett, a senior Pastoral Ministry major with a minor in Business, radiates the joy of the Lord.

He is gifted in many areas including comedy, and he participates in our Joyous Chaos improv team. Although Andrew is full of jokes and hysterical sound effects, he has an intellectual side that longs to see educated spiritual growth in all generations. He decided to start a blog after having numerous discussions amongst his peers that sparked opinions, thoughts, and questions in his own life. He decided to take these thoughts and write a blog that is easy to read and can develop the faith of anyone, at any age, from any walk of life. Andrew sees the ability to write as a gift from God that he can use as an act of service for the body of Christ. When asked why his blog is different from other Christian blogs, he said, “This blog covers a lot of ground without being specific to a single audience. It is written

Miles Williams is a senior graduating in the spring with a B.A. in History and Political Science and Philosophy.

He is a quiet intellectual with a heart for writing. He says, “I love writing because it allows me to explain my ideas in a way that is both well thoughtout and more accurately expressive of my thoughts. I’m also a better writer than speaker, so the written word affords me greater confidence in my ability to communicate than the spoken word ever could.” Miles started one blog for each of his passions.

The first blog presents his ideas on health and fitness, while the other confronts political issues through a Christian perspective. When asked to describe his blogs in a sentence he said,

“

”

An ignored compilation of trials and tribulations.

If you ever need to relax from the stress of college life, read Emma’s entertaining blog and get to know her unique personality throughout her daily struggles with clumsiness and awkwardness. Her blog can be found at www.emcanady.wix.com/blog.

for all who are developing a walk with the Lord.

It is for children, parents, older people, friends, and family. It is a blog that is open for questions and discussions.”

Blogging gives Andrew the opportunity to share about his faith and to help others who are seriously searching for truth. Go check out Andrew’s blog at www.andrewperkett.wordpress.com.

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“

They are both explorative rather than declarative.

They each represent my pursuit of the truth, not so much my discovery of it.

”

Blogging gives Miles the opportunity to help people while receiving affirmation of his thoughts at the same time. Miles’ blogs can be found at: www.emergentfitness.blogspot.com www.poli-underground.blogspot.com.

ENHANCING OPPORTUNITIES WITH LOCAL INTERNSHIPS: MAKING A DIFFERENCE WITH COR 401 As a student entering into the latter years of college, the horizon called graduation looms into view for me. As I entered into my senior year, however, I realized I would have to experience COR401, a class that serves as a “capstone seminar” for all Greenville College students during their senior year. While some have convinced themselves that this class exists just to make us miserable, other students see COR 401 as an opportunity to affect their world.

People often assume COR401 is about making a presentation on the Common Day of Learning, but the class encompasses so much more. Working in groups of five to seven, students are given a straightforward but challenging assignment: discern a problem in the real world that is both big enough in scope to be worth solving and small enough in scope that it can be solved over the course of one semester. Then, students figure out how to solve it.

Core Group 4, of which I had the pleasure and honor of being a member, included Cody Munshaw, Arthur Kerle, Iyeesha DeBerry, Mike Porter, Tony Briscoe, and Ariel Wright. Ours was one of many groups to see the fruits of our labor flourish into a selfsustaining and applicable solution to a relevant problem.

Through the course of several meetings—some of which were more productive than others—and after having gone “back to the drawing board” more times than I would care to admit, my group decided to tackle an oft-unrecognized issue: the notable lack of engagement between the college and local businesses.

While the local community no doubt depends upon the college, and the college upon the community, a disparity exists between the two. This was iterated to my group by John Goldsmith, Executive Director of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, who encountered several unfortunate, though unintended, inefficiencies

in communication when he attempted to find a college student who would intern at his office. After two months’ time, and after being directed and redirected to various campus offices, Goldsmith finally received the understandably frustrating news that his request for an intern came too little too late into the semester.

Goldsmith further informed my group that many local businesses would love to hire interns from the college, yet because of the lack of an official avenue for facilitating internships, the process of connecting wouldbe interns with local businesses was at best inefficient, and at worst nonexistent. So, my group came up with the following solution: a website where businesses can post internships and students can post resumes.

Though my group had only come up with a semicompleted website by the time the Common Day of Learning arrived, those who heard our presentation were excited by our solution. Moreover, John Goldsmith and Patrick Miller, Associate Dean for Career and Calling at Greenville College, have since been working in tandem to refine and implement the website. Once up and running, students will be able to go to the site and instantly see all available internships in the Greenville area. Additionally, if students provide their information, businesses, too, will see which students are available for internships, their majors, and other pertinent information.

While it should be noted that the goal of this website is not to guarantee internships for every college student— this site’s primary function is that of intermediary or facilitator—it will provide a resource that has heretofore been lacking for college students and local businesses, and its future prospects seem promising.

I find it personally exciting to know that, despite the difficulties presented by COR401 and the threat that our project would slip into obscurity, my group was able to implement a solution to a problem that will hopefully have beneficial effects in the years to come.

Miles Williams Miles Williams, Ariel Wright, Cody Munshaw, Iyeesha DeBerry, Arthur Kerle, Tony Brisco.

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God loves you. I may be writing from my singular context, but I cannot help seeing those three words as central to the whole of the Chapel theme this year. Dr. Scott Neumann focused most of his talk at the beginning of March around this truth. He spoke of how this informs all the rest of our lives and foreshadowed the message of Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Katongele a few weeks later. Dr. Katongele spoke about the powerful nature of the victory of Jesus. He drew a distinction between the dualistic understanding of conflict we run to (the we won, they lost concept) and the reconciliatory work of Jesus (where victory looks like a king on a cross). He reminded us of what N.T. Wright puts forth in his book, Evil and the Justice of God: the line between good and evil runs through the middle of each and everyone of us. Yet, God loves us. This is where any reconciliation begins, Katongele instructed. First, we gratefully acknowledge that any peace that may come will come from God, not from our hands, and it has already entered the world.

These messages were surrounded by a careful journey through the stories of the I Am statements of Jesus.

Scott Evans, beloved chapel speaker and blogger, writes in his book, Closer Still, that just opening our Bibles and reading is one of the last things we should do. This is not to say we shouldn’t read our Bibles; of course we should. But we must be mindful as we do so.

A brief conversation with Dr. Hartley helped to elucidate this topic.

He hit on a few basic questions to ask when reading these stories.

The first question is answered simply: where do these stories come from? The immediate and easy context of these stories is in the Gospel according to John. Where did John come from, though?

Who was the immediate audience for this gospel? What was the role of this gospel? Dr. Hartley proposed that the prominent theories on this tend to suggest that this gospel arose from a group of Christians in a largely Jewish Community that did not accept it.

This may help to explain the role of this piece. It opens with an artful prologue that begs to be read aloud. Beyond a valuable part of liturgy, this gospel is a work of apologetics addressing the Jewish leaders.

This topic of apologetics is significant enough to address for a moment. The process of presenting a reasoned argument for faith can easily be muddied. Apologetics serve to defend the faith, but if the example of the early church is anything to go off of, it is not meant to be done forcefully. This should be an act done in love. The argument that John brings to us is that Jesus is God, this is a gospel

all about that reality, a topic we will revisit shortly. Further, we are told that Jesus is the fullness of God who comes in Grace and Truth.

And so, as we consider this series in retrospect, let us look carefully at where we see this proclamation that Jesus is God; he comes ever full of grace and truth. Not sometimes one and then the other, but always the two in tandem.

And so this is where we enter into the audacious use of the term I Am by Jesus. This does more than allude to God’s response to Moses from the burning bush episode. Each use of I Am is a very direct claim to divinity by the Johannine Jesus. Take, for example, the statement from Jesus that “before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). In this episode Jesus has declared that he was awaited by Abraham and when questioned on this claim readily raised the bar and claimed that term “I Am”. The Johannine Jesus is completely prepared to claim to be God. Continually he pulls out compassionate instances of his divine nature. “I am the bread of life” and the bread from Heaven. “I Am the good shepherd” of Psalm 23 fame.

“I Am the Light of The World” says our Lord. “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it,” the Evangelist writes in his Prologue. Even as Jesus lays down the claim that can so often be used to build walls, “I am the way the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me,” he follows this by finishing the statement that “If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

This cannot be singularly a dividing standard to be met. It is more wonderfully the invitation into relationship with the divinity of God. What should seem audacious and foolish is being offered; in this instance, God can be known. The unknowable has made Himself knowable through Jesus. And finally we return to the message that Dr. Katongele planted in our minds. Jesus is the true vine. All good fruit comes from Him and the greatest of these fruits is love. John returns time and time again to the topic of unity and wholeness and this is always within the topic of love.

The Evangelist tells the story of Jesus that makes it incredibly clear to the Jewish community he is situated in that life itself is staked on the claims Jesus makes to being divine. This is a part of what is revealed in our encounters with Jesus saying I AM. He claims that He is God, but in these claims He reveals the trustworthy image of God. Jesus is God made known to us and we get to know the nature of God through each I AM statement.

JON JOHNSON

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Men’s Volleyball With the addition of the men’s volleyball program at Greenville College comes an enthusiasm and a buzz of new energy among current coaches and players. There is nothing more exciting than learning about a new addition to your family, and the women’s volleyball team is looking to gain 12 new brothers. We could not be more excited. Having a men’s volleyball team on campus will privilege our program to expand into an even larger family.

Coach Ackerman and Coach Estevez traveled the country, from California to Boston, to hand pick the members of the men’s team. A majority of the players will be incoming freshman, with a few transfers and potentially a few current students. Our Coaches focused on finding individuals who will contribute to the team, not only skill -wise, but also to the culture of the school and the program. The volleyball program has high standards for students on the court and in the classrooms.

Coach Ackerman and Coach Estevez look for quality players who fit into the vision they have for the team. To the volleyball program, this means helping players develop their skills on and off the court.

We work hard in HJ Long, putting in many hours and plenty of sweat. Outside the gym we learn about how to be the best people we can be. As a team we talk about faith, attitudes, adversity, responsibility, discipline, and many other qualities we refer to as our core values. Coaches emphasize that we need to be successful on and off the court, because there is a community outside the gym as well as inside of it.

FEATURES | 14

By expanding our volleyball program with the addition of the men’s team, we are looking to extend our opportunities for fellowship and outreach. The men’s and women’s teams will work closely together in many respects. We will have the chance to line judge, take stats, and keep score at each other’s games. Additionally, we will be able to attend games and create a consistent fan base for one another.

The women’s team is especially excited to have the support that we have seen modeled by other men’s and women’s programs on campus.

The addition of twelve men to our program will allow our outreach to grow substantially, meaning we will be able to make more of a difference in our community. As a volleyball program, we will perform outreach side by side throughout the year. During Kicks for Kids, our male players will be able to connect with the young boys who come to receive shoes. The same connections are also possible during our mission trip to the Dominican Republic.

Our male players will be able to pen pal with a child from the Dominican youth group, and then meet them on our trip.

All in all, the addition of the Men’s volleyball team is an amazing addition to not only the volleyball program but to the college as a whole. I am excited to see where this new team will take the program and am blessed to be part of such an outstanding, ever growing family.

Amanda Muehlberg

Eight Extracurriculars GC Should Have Kirsten Norsworthy and Anna Evans

1. The Parking Games If you’re a pro at avoiding parking tickets from campus safety, this is the club for you! Expert members can park in 15 minute parking, eat in the DC, and leave before getting a ticket.

2. Midnight Dash Cross the campus after 9:30 p.m. without running into a “couple.” You must re-start the course if you step on any of them in Scott Field.

3. Campus Canoeing The course will run from Dietzman to Whitlock during any torrential downpour.

4. GC Triathlon Go to chapel. Print paper in library. Get coffee from Jo’s. All before your 10:30 class.

5. DC Dining Creations Whip up the fanciest meal you can think of for a chance at DC domination. Bonus points if you include 3 courses.

6. Who Did It? This team investigates the culprits who set off fire alarms on campus. Show no mercy.

7. Flex Cash Fiends If you run out of flex cash by mid-terms every semester, this is the club for you. Learn how to be an expert mooch on other people’s flex cash while still maintaining your friendships.

8. Students for Free T-shirts* This group’s sole intention is to get to every event before the free t-shirts run out.

*Does not include free t-shirt

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UP AND COMING: GC BASS FISHING TEAM

David Weyers and Kirsten Norsworthy

For years, Anthony Macon, who works in IT, has been trying to get a fishing team together at GC. In late spring of 2013, Macon’s efforts were realized when he finally gained enough support and experience in the student body to begin the team.

With generous aid from President Ivan Filby and Dean Norm Hall, the fishing club was born. Soon after, what started as a campus club developed into Greenville College Fishing Team. The team has quickly become a strong competitor, ranked 36th in the nation out of 295 collegiate teams.

Currently there are 7 members on the team. Team members are responsible for purchasing their own rods, reels, and fishing lures. With the school’s help and many donations, the team has a boat, life jackets, and some other equipment provided.

The team has also managed to garner a few sponsors, including Lew’s Fishing, Rattle Trap, and Dream Baits that help the team by giving them discounted merchandise in return for representing and promoting their companies.

The season is year-round with only a small break for when the lakes are covered in ice. The few winter months are spent recruiting, finding sponsors, and preparing and planning for the next season. During the rest of the season, the team practices in any lake that has bass in it. Practices might include activities like fishing, becoming comfortable with new lures, practicing cast accuracy, and studying topographic maps of lakes where tournaments are held. A typical tournament begins at 7 o’clock in the morning and lasts for 8 hours. During that time, the team of 7 members tries to catch the largest bass they can find, storing the catch in a special live well built into the boat. The team must return to the starting point by 3 o’clock to weigh in their catch, up to five bass. The team who weighs in the most wins the tournament. Additionally, there is a prize for the team that catches the largest bass.

David Weyers

FEATURES | 16

Now that the team is officially a part of GC life, the team is looking for new high school recruits to promise an even stronger team in the future. Through hard work, help from many sponsors, support from faculty and staff, and passion for the sport, GC’s fishing team has made huge strides in the last year.

John Perkins A Reason For Hope

Last August, As racial tensions soared and problems seemed nearly unresolvable after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, many around the country had given up hope. One of the things that Malvin Hubbard, a Junior Business major, knows is that ignorance cannot be tolerated in matters as important as these.

This is why he, alongside his group MOSAIC, a multi-cultural student association, went to see John Perkins over interterm.

John Perkins is an evangelical Civil Rights leader, and holds twelve honorary doctorate degrees. At the age of eighty-five, he has many wise things to say about the tension in Ferguson.

Hubbard’s goal in visiting Perkins was to “break the racial barriers here on campus and the entire Greenville community, and bring everyone from all walks of life together.” Hubbard, who wondered how to enact racial reconciliation, asked John Perkins himself. He replied with this:

“Just as I had no choice during the Civil Rights movement, so you have no choice but to get involved in a positive manner.”

Perkins cited his faith in Christ many times as the reason for his uplifting response. This was evident when he, along with his

son, visited Greenville and spoke in Vespers and Chapel.

After slowly walking up to the podium, cane in hand, Perkins’ voice boomed with the words everyone was surprised to hear,

“Today is a fulfillment of your leaders of the Free Church...Humankind has waited for this day of Good News since the Fall in the Garden.”

The News that Perkins is talking about has and is singlehandedly flipping racial barriers on their head. He expands upon this idea by saying, “We’re fighting the wrong fight. We don’t need to fight for confirmation that we are loved by God.” So how, then, do we as Greenville College students respond to this here on campus? Hubbard could relate this back to campus very well. He recognizes many things that go on, including segregation between students. He says, “Go to the Dining Commons one day and look around. White kids sit with white kids, blacks sit toget h er a nd t h e Ch in e s e excha nge s t u d ent s sit toget h er.”

What we see from the life of John Perkins is that not only is he a great speaker, but also a man who works for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. His life is evidence that if we turn from our sin of hatred and recognize the love that God has for all humans, then we will be one step closer to complete reconciliation, and this is a reason for hope.

Ben Wiltse

LIVING BEYOND | 17

The Little Miracles of Nicaragua As our microfinance team arrives in the community of Jocote, we begin walking through the foliage-covered dirt paths for the home visit portion of our day. Most of the dwellings of the women in our program have enough electricity to power a small television, but not necessarily any running water or any sort of modern plumbing.

The shacks universally have dirt floors; little furniture (if any aside from plastic chairs); are constructed from either mud, some sort of timber, or plastic; and are surrounded by barbed wire fences. Most families have some sort of livestock, but if not, many of them grow crops on their land. Today, I’m most excited to see my “adoptive grandparents,” Italdo and Pastorcita.

They own a small pulperia (general store) that attempts to sustain the entire community, but shortages are common and many people must either go without or walk many miles to the market. This time around, however, it seems that the business is fairly well stocked, so they are both in good spirits. My favorite part of Friday is always spending the afternoons listening to Italdo tell stories of his youth—how he used to be an alcoholic and professional boxer, how God met him at his lowest moments, how meeting Pastorcita completely changed his life, and how times have changed since the war. They’re both in their late 70’s now and Pastorcita’s eyes aren’t very reliable, so I help her sift through bowls upon bowls of beans—removing any impurities from the pile as I laugh, cry, and wrestle with the stories Italdo shares with me. We dive into

the topics of adversity, poverty, contentedness, friendship, and Christ. We aren’t afraid to challenge each other, and we do so often.

If you would have told me a couple of months ago that this is what mission work actually looks like, I’m not sure if I would have understood. If you also would have told me that I would travel outside of the country to clean beans, maybe I wouldn’t have come. But right now, in participating in the holy act of intentional community—everything makes sense. Many times we hear about the incredible movement of God on the mission field in awesome, all-powerful ways. While this is valid, the truth is, many times mission work is slow going—you may not see the fruits of your labor for years afterward, and life change doesn’t always happen overnight like it does in many of the stories we hear at church. But that doesn’t make the time spent in the investment of others, being present in their daily lives, and being willing to lay down all to serve them humbly any less significant. In my time in Nicaragua, I haven’t necessarily seen Christ move in extravagant ways (in terms of my small minded perception), but in the little miracles of everyday life. To catch glimpses of Him in the ordinary may be even more humbling, awe inspiring, and powerful than the unfathomable miracles we sometimes pray for. That doesn’t make Him any less mighty—if anything, it makes Him more so.

Kristen Kanaskie

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Building Community Across the Bridge Erin Lobner The YACHT Club on campus is a really excellent ministry.

And no, it’s probably not what you’re thinking. The name stands for Youth Against Complacency and Homelessness Today. Every year, Greenville students go into St. Louis to build relationships with and serve the homeless community.

What makes the club special is that they aren’t bent on fixing things for the people they work with, but just being a compassionate presence to support them.

Nathan Hood describes his four years with the YACHT Club as an attempt to learn how to do outreach well. The group often goes out to the homeless communities and focuses on getting to know people, forming connections with them and taking note of what they really need. “We’d try to start conversations, and that’s what it’s always been about--getting to know people instead of just being an organization that shows up with what we think people need,” Hood explains.

He remembers watching other well-meaning groups show up at the communities with food, but the homeless people would be out cooking lunch for the day. So one of the club’s focuses has become “lamenting.” Instead of always trying to present solutions, they take the time to just come alongside people and share their pain and sadness. And they’ve found that they don’t need the right answers or all the supplies to fix things; just being present and letting someone else’s pain become their own is often helpful in its own way.

One of the great things about building such close relationships with the people they visit is that sometimes the club gets to witness amazing changes in their lives. Hood shares the story of his friend Chris, a man he has kept in contact with.

He met Chris when the group visited a homeless community by the Eads Bridge. Chris had been moving between different camps for a long time before another program helped him get a temporary apartment. Once that happened, he was able to get a job cooking at the Ram’s stadium and find a permanent place to live, and Hood had the chance to see

what the whole process was like. After Chris was all settled in, Hood visited him and found out he was really interested in giving back to the homeless. So the two of them went around searching for places to volunteer. Eventually, they ended up getting involved in the planning and fundraising for a new St. Louis Winter Outreach shelter. Looking back on the situation, Hood says, “That was a really eye-opening experience for me, even just trying to be with someone through that, and seeing how little I knew to help.”

Although the YACHT Club provides such great support in St. Louis, they face plenty of challenges. One of the big problems, which is completely out of their control, is that the homeless communities move around. Sometimes the group will return to an area they’ve visited before only to find that the people have moved to a different spot. The city also adds to these movements by remodeling areas that used to be homeless camps, and forcing them to relocate. Because of the constantly shifting communities, it can be hard for the group to stay in touch with people they met before, or even find areas to visit. Hood says, “People can commit their whole lives to this and not feel like they’re making much of a difference.” But he has a heart for this ministry, and still makes an effort to form those relationships.

Nathan is hopeful that the ministry will keep going after he graduates. He wants people to get involved and take the chance to have their eyes opened. The club is a great way for our campus to spread God’s love, whether it be through lamenting with someone, or trying to help them get what they need. If you want to join, Nathan recommends keeping an eye out for YACHT Club events, talking to the GSO leader, or going on urban plunges. But he also suggests just grabbing a couple of friends who want to go and finding organizations near the bridge to help with. In the end, the need is not necessarily for people who are determined to fix things, but who are simply willing to be there.

LIVING BEYOND | 19

The Beth Watkins Experience Beth

Watkins

is the archetype of a Greenville College student who attempted to get involved whenever an opportunity arose. Being a senior this year, she was kind enough to reflect on past summers and current GC involvement that has shaped who she is and will follow her as she graduates in the spring.

A truly unique and inspiring young woman, Beth Watkins came to GC from Hoffman, IL with the intent to become a music major. The music majors here eat, sleep, and breathe music, and Beth was lucky enough to experience the fatigue this has to offer firsthand. In the summer of 2012, she volunteered for a trip to Palestine. Since it was her first time out of the US, she wasn’t sure what to expect. She soon grew to love her visit, and a love of travel and and volunteering was instilled in her during her stay. She loved seeing firsthand the stories that the US media covers seemingly hourly, and she was surprised how friendly everyone was. Though many of her friends and family worried about her safety , she assured them that people were friendly and she was enjoying herself.

After that summer, she began to study Spanish and Arabic She also made another life decision: to change her major.

She switched her major from Music to International Studies in order to facilitate her love of different cultures and travel.

During the next summer of 2013, she worked as a camp counsellor at Camp Wartberg in Waterloo, IL. She had fond memories of volunteering there in high school, and wanted to give today’s children the same fun experience that she’d had. She loved playing with the kids and being both mentor and friend to them.

She made some lasting relationships, made some money for the summer, and had a lot of fun doing it.

This past summer of 2014, Beth made another life changing journey to Amman, the capital of Jordan. Being part of

the Middle East, Jordan includes portions of desert land.

Beth recalled her weekend trip to the desert where they rode camels for four to five hours a day. She described the area as a “truly unique, beautiful, awe inspiring place.”

Her group camped under the stars, and at that moment the world didn’t seem like such a big place anymore.

Being there only reaffirmed what traveling to Palestine shown her: that she was doing what she truly loved.

She also reflects on how “American” she is. In any travel situation to a culture different from your own, people may experience culture shock. This is a personal disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar culture. She hadn’t realized how much her culture was a part of her until that point. She noticed that every aspect of her personality had been shaped by American culture, and she found these new cultures strange, but also exciting, thrilling.

That is simply one part of what she loves about her International Studies major and her travels.

She sincerely loves meeting new people, learning things about herself, growing as a person, and experiencing things she would never have had the opportunity to had she stayed in her comfort zone.

Being a senior about to graduate now, she looks back and regrets nothing. She loves the relationships she has made with people here at Greenville and across the globe.

Beth encourages others to branch out while at GC, and also in daily life. She inspires us to try new things and take advantage of the wonderful opportunities around us. From the mundane to the exhilarating, it’s important to get out of your comfort zone, meet new people, and cherish the people who are already there. With so many wonderful things around you, all you have to do is open yourself up to them. You never know. It could be just what you’ve needed all along.

Luke Cottingham

LIVING BEYOND | 21

now that you’ve graduated

WHAT’S NEXT? Few things in life, other than the impending threat of four years’ worth of accrued debt, have the potential to inflict anxiety and uncertainty on soon-to-be graduates than does the question, “What are your plans after graduation?” One would suppose that four years of college is enough time for emerging adults to find some direction, but much to the contrary. When faced with the event horizon of graduation, many college students have no better idea about what the future holds than they did going into their freshman year. What to do? While it’s impossible to offer onesize-fits-all guidance for every graduate, sometimes it’s helpfzul to appraise the options. Having a clear picture of what possibilities await can help remove some of the ambiguity and lessen the anxiety associated with the transition to life after college.

1. finding a job

school you would like to attend and what degree you would like to pursue, and if you have no qualms about staying in academia.

Additionally, the idea of remaining in an academic setting can be comforting for those who have adapted to and enjoy being in that world.

In addition to concerns about waiting versus not waiting, if you plan on returning to school after graduation, you’ll likely have to take the GRE (required by most graduate schools), the LSAT (required to enter law school), the MCAT (required to enter medical school), or the GMAT (required to enter business school). It would thus be a good idea to prepare for whichever of these tests is associated with your future educational goals.

3. seminary

One of the first thoughts to enter the minds of seniors is: “I need to find a job!” The job search can be easy for some and difficult for others, but regardless of how you feel about looking for a job, most everyone can benefit from building a strong resume, preparing for interviews, attending job fairs and career seminars, and checking out online job boards. And, of course, check out the Greenville Alumni Association. Getting connected with Greenville alums can serve as a great way to build relationships and forge social networks that pay dividends in the long-term.

In addition to the traditional options, seminary is also a viable possibility for Greenville students. While seminary is often associated with earning a Master of Divinity, which often leads to ordination, seminaries offer other sorts of degrees, such as a Master of Theological Study or a Master of Arts in Christian Education, which can serve as a means for spiritual enrichment or preparation for work at the doctoral level.

Bear in mind that the job search may require that you put aside preconceived notions about finding the “perfect career” immediately after graduation. While you should certainly be discerning as you look for work, you may have to loosen your standards a bit if you want to avoid living in your parents’ basement for the next ten or so years.

While it can be tempting to disregard internships post-graduation, don’t outright discount them. Internships often serve as a doorway to more permanent employment opportunities, and they can offer the potential to gain valuable experience that gives you an edge when applying for jobs in the future.

2. earning a Graduate/Professional degree While going back to school may not sound super appealing to some, to others, going straight to grad school is the obvious answer. The most important question is, “To wait, or not to wait?”

Some caution against waiting, claiming that if you don’t go back to school immediately, you may never go back. For others, taking some time off from school, whether six months or a couple of years, can be a welcome respite from academia before returning.

4. internship

5. volunteer

Service is one of the many Christian virtues espoused by Greenville College, and post-graduation can serve as an excellent time to take a break and dedicate your time to serving others.

Many organizations, such as Americorps and the Peace Corps, offer stipends and health coverage to volunteers, the opportunity to encounter new cultures, and the opportunity to immerse yourself in service to one’s neighbor.

6. travel

The benefits of waiting versus not waiting are subject to a host of factors, such as what degree you’re pursuing, whether you’re certain that degree is right for you, and how financially secure you are. For instance, various law schools suggest taking time off school before committing to a law degree. Law school can be very rigorous and expensive, requiring the utmost certainty on the part of prospective students. Furthermore, some graduate and professional programs look favorably upon applicants with life experience outside of school work, making it worthwhile to consider diversifying your resume prior to applying to a graduate or professional program.

This option, more than many others, very much depends on your current financial situation. But, if you have the money and no real commitments, there may be no better time in life than immediately post-graduation to explore the world. You could explore the world in a literal sense, you could take a road trip across the country, or you could simply explore places in your local community that you simply never before took the time to visit. The options are limitless.

Of course, there are also various reasons for going straight to graduate school after graduation, such as if you know exactly what

Miles Williams

LIVING BEYOND | 22

Regardless of what your post-graduation plans are, or whether you even have plans yet, rest assured that the existing options are rich with opportunity, provided you actively take advantage of them.

? set free at gc

Sex trafficking is tragically real slavery occurring all around the world.

Set Free has a goal to raise awareness for this very thing, and their organization has different chapters in different places. Greenville, Illinois has a chapter that comes together with Grenville College to stand up and make a difference. Their specific goal is to help GC live more ethically and connect community to ways of bringing freedom.

A very incredible thing Greenville’s chapter of Set Free has done is create a safe house. There are only 4 safe house beds in the entire state of Illinois, so this is a rather big deal. The safe house created in Greenville is called “Eden’s Glory”, and it will be a rescue organization. The doors to Eden’s Glory will open when financing is finalized. This rescue organization will bring women out of sex trafficking and allow a safe environment for them to live and go through rehabilitation. Set Free is also working hard to bring in the remaining funds for Eden’s Glory by organizing fundraisers on GC campus. One fundraiser they held was a dodgeball tournament in the Rec. Center, of which all proceeds went to Eden’s Glory.

Set Free is in the progress of finding ways to get more students involved with this important organization. Upon speaking with one of the leaders of Greenville’s chapter, it seems they have a high amount of verbal commitment to their functions, however, lesser physical commitment. If more students would attend these events, it would give the chapter a better insight as to how to get even more people involved. Students should take advantage of this beautiful opportunity to make a difference and create growth in the community.

Taking action is also key within this organization. Set Free wants to raise awareness and make a difference on campus and within the town of Greenville. One way Set Free is taking action is by working with companies like Trifold and Sodexo to sell ethically sourced, and affordable, coffee and chocolate in town and at the campus dining areas. This action may seem small; however, it will make a difference.

Greenville College has the potential to make an enormous difference.

The impact and awareness GC can bring by working with this organization is truly an amazing thing. As a Free Methodist college, GC’s doctrine is based on freedom. The campus can claim this identity of freedom with Set Free. Greenville’s chapter of Set Free wants to come together as a community and display freedom through their goals and working with Greenville College.

tAYLOR MEYERs LIVING BEYOND | 23

You

CAN BE A WORLD CHANGER This past summer, I went on an adventure of a lifetime. It was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life, and also the most rewarding. It’s true that God calls the most unqualified to go out into the world to do amazing things for Him. He loves to throw us out of our comfort zones so that we have no other choice but to lean on Him. And that’s exactly what He did with me. I was the least qualified, least likely, most unworthy, and yet God used me. He can and will also use you.

YOU CAN BE A WORLD CHANGER! I spent two months working for LifeWay Christian Resources and served on The North Team as the missions and communications specialist for World Changers and P2 missions. Every summer, LifeWay sends out teams made up of four college students, a music leader, office manager, missions and communications specialist, and an audio/visual technician, to travel across the United States (and Puerto Rico) to major cities. These teams host mission projects for church youth groups to come to and learn what it really means to serve.

P2 Missions provides churches the opportunity to serve in a city and partner with a local church plant for the week. While there, they have the opportunity to serve in the community, partnering with the church plant and helping meet any needs they may have. This could include passing out flyers, hosting a block party, hosting a VBS, painting, washing windows, cleaning up outside, or anything else a church plant may need.

World Changers focuses on serving God by meeting people’s needs in the community and demonstrating God’s love through action.

These project weeks involve sending teams of participants into the community and doing construction work for people who don’t have the means to do it themselves. Some of the things they do include building wheelchair ramps, painting houses, yard work, putting siding on homes, breaking up a concrete sidewalk, and much more.

Because of these students’ willingness to serve, it also opens up a great opportunity for them to talk to and build a relationship with the homeowners they serve throughout the week. Through their actions and words, they get to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those in the community who see them working and ask the questions, “Who are you?” and “Why are you here?”

So how did I get involved with World Changers and P2 Missions?

Well, fall semester of 2013, all I knew was that I wanted to serve God that upcoming summer. As it turned out, I had no idea what that really meant, but over the summer I quickly found out. It meant giving up my sleep, the comforts of my home, my summer, even my boyfriend. It meant serving others night and day, putting myself last, and learning true humility. But what I gained through the act of serving was so much more.

My pastor was the first person to tell me about World Changers.

He said that I would be perfect for the job. So that following week

I went online to apply. While reading the job descriptions and filling out the application, I was overwhelmed by how unqualified for this job I really was. The only position out of the four summer staff positions that I thought I could possibly do was the missions and communications specialist. So I proceeded in filling out the application.

When I say that I was completely unqualified for this job, let me put it this in perspective for you. One of the questions on the application asked how much experience you had talking in front of groups of one hundred or more. My answer? “None. But I have given a speech on sex trafficking in front of about forty people at my church on a Wednesday night.” Other questions included if I had experience working with certain computer software and if I knew how to blog and make newsletters. All answers were, “No, but I’m a quick learner!” Another one of the responsibilities I would have was sending media releases and contacting local news stations and newspapers. I, who hates to even call the doctor and make an appointment, would be in charge of communicating with news stations. I had none of the qualifications, but after much prayer and two skype interviews with some of the national staff in Nashville, I got the job. I knew that the only way that I was going to make it through the summer was if I kept my eyes on Jesus, that I could only do it with Him. Training was awful and wonderful at the same time. There were points when I wouldn’t even talk to my pastor back home because I was so mad at him for thinking that I could do this; but even though I didn’t think I could, God knew. God blessed me with an amazing summer putting on World Changers and P2 Missions projects in Cincinnati, OH, Passaic, NJ, and New York City. God threw me out of my comfort zone, but then He helped me walk on water. I met so many amazing people while serving over the summer and made lifelong friendships. I had the blessing of seeing God work and being a tool for Him to use. I got to hear others’ stories and witness people’s lives be changed. Most of all, I learned to serve.

So if God is calling you to get out of the boat, but you are scared, unsure, or feel completely unqualified, just remember that God has the ability to calm the storm., He can help you walk on water, and when you keep your eyes on Jesus, you will. All you have to do is say yes, and God will use you to do amazing things for Him. And trust me, it’s worth it.

Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

For more information on World Changers or P2 Missions or how you can get involved you can visit http://www.lifeway.com/ worldchangers/ Or find me and talk to me! I would love to share more about my experience with you and share some of the awesome things I saw God do over the summer and answer any questions you may have.

Heather Henderson

Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

LIVING BEYOND | 24

GC MOMENTS

GC Must-Read List and Writing or COM 101 textbook, but you will remember those books that were foundational to your growth as a person at Greenville College. The following list was collected from upperclassmen and recent GC alumni who were asked to name the books they read during their time at Greenville that pushed them, stretched them, and renewed them. Most of the responses focused on Christian thought and living, especially when students ­books central to their experience at Greenville specifically and not just foundational to their careers. The result is a “GC Must Read List”. So, without further ado, in no particular order…

We all know how draining reading for classes can be— that is, if you even choose to do it. After hours of rereading the same page and attempting to highlight important information only to realize you’ve highlighted the entire passage, any college student can tell you that so much reading is both exhausting and frustrating. But every now and then, students come across a book that really changes their line of thinking. It’s in these moments, where broadening perspectives and open hearts intersect, that people grow and learn. Twenty-five years from now, you may not remember what you read in your Research

1 2 3

Traveling Mercies Anne Lamott

The Way of the Heart Henri Nouwen

I and Thou

Martin Buber

4 56

Resident Aliens

Stanley Hauerwas & William Henry Willimon

Celebration of Discipline

Richard Foster

78

Aristotle

The Politics of Jesus John Howard Yoder

The Cost of Discipleship Dietrich Bonhoeffer

11

The Different Drum M. Scott Peck

Race Matters Cornel West

12 13 14

Doubt: A History

Nicomachean Ethics

Soren Kierkegaard

910

Jennifer Michael Hecht

On the Incarnation Athanasius

ENTERTAINMENT | 26

Practice in Christianity

15

The New Jim Crow Michelle Alexander

Confessions

of St. Augustine

If you do get around to reading these books, as many of them are part of class coursework, you will see a pattern. These books represent thoughts on topics ranging from philosophy to Christian life, character, service, and theology from some of the most influential authors and thinkers throughout history. All of these authors have influenced and impacted the church in various ways, and continue to inform Christian thinking.

Greenville College immerses students in the history and life of Christian thought. Out of all the degrees and fields of study available, these books represent the subject matter that stands out as central to the Greenville College experience. So if you haven’t already, go pick up one of these books from the library and settle in at Jo’s with a hot cup of coffee, and join the generations of thinkers and believers intent on searching out the truth in the name of Christ.

Kirsten Norsworthy

SPRING PLAY Charlotte’s Web

The cast and crew for the spring play was a fantastic, hardworking group this spring semester. For the spring play, “Charlotte’s Web”, the cast was: Charlotte - LaRyssa Herrington, Fern - Katie Trapp, Wilbur Quinton Hughes, Templeton - Parker Wray, Avery - Jack Dawdy, Fern’s Mom - Marti Broomfield, Uncle Homer - Chris Borwick, Aunt Edith - Noel Harnetiaux, Fairgoer Tasha Bryant, Lurvey/Narrator - Tyler “Basil” Ratcliffe, Sheep 1 - Joel Burroughs, Sheep 2 - Chasity Cook, Goose 1 - Brittain Monroe, and Goose 2 - Taylor Durkey. Director Jes Adam gathered this fantastic cast, and his stage manager was Maci Sepp. Myself, Jes, Maci, and the cast all worked together as the crew. The dates for this spectacular performance were April 23, 24, and 25.

Upon reviewing some of the cast I received some fantastic feedback. I asked the same question to each cast member I spoke with: “What does having a role in the play mean to you? Why is it important to you?” Their responses are below.

Tasha Bryant (Fairgoer): “I was in the fourth grade when I saw my first theatrical play, which happened to be Charlotte’s Web. It was then I fell in love with plays and musicals, so being a part of the cast and crew is really meaningful for me. Not just because this show, that happens to be the first show I ever saw, but because I am able to be in

a show my last semester here at Greenville College. As a senior here at GC, I cannot express how much fun the cast, crew, and show will be for all ages. I am so grateful for this opportunity, and I hope that the Theater Club will be able to produce more shows in the future. I would also like to say I am grateful for the support that community has given to the Factory Theater.”

Katie Trapp (Fern): “Being in the musical is such an awesome experience. Theatre has been important to me because it has given me confidence to be in front of people and doing what I love. I have loved getting to know the cast and they have all become a part of my life in a cool way. Being Fern has given me the opportunity to meet new people and it forced me to get my life organized!”

LaRyssa Herrington (Charlotte): “Having the role of Charlotte is such an honor. I am truly excited and humbled to be playing her in this up and coming production, and I hope that everyone will enjoy her character as much as I’ve loved creating it! Theatre is something I have and will always love! It has made me a better individual and boosted my confidence tenfold. It has also taught me to work better with others and to be open-minded to criticism (constructive, of course). I am so happy to be participating in another fabulous production with The Factory Theatre!”

Taylor Meyers

Jess Adam

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Brendan Mcdonnell, Matt Holland, Nick Bifano

NICK BIFANO AND THE INNOCENTS

Nick Bifano & The Innocents, a three man band with style and rock and roll bravura, possess the ability to artistically live out their passions through music. Nick, the lead singer and main guitarist, is the front man and personality of the band. The man behind the drums, Brenden McDonnell, adds individuality and a not-too-serious attitude. Matt Holland, the third man and bass player, delivers the emotion. Nick, Brenden, and Matt invest one hundred percent of who they are into their music, and together, their sound is creative and alive. Although there are many struggles that try to bring this band down, they continue to live out their dreams. These three guys can’t be stopped and they are on their way to the top.

How do you feel about your recent fan base the “not so innocents”?

What is the hardest part about starting a band?

“On our tour, we went to a lot of different places including a high school with 400 students and a school for behavioral issues. We have also played at a few bars, but the sketchiest place we played at was a dark and dirty basement in downtown Columbus for a group of about 40 people.” – Nick

“The hardest part about starting a band in college is just being overwhelmed by class load while trying to practice and have a life. Also, in order to start a band you need something that catches people’s attention and you have to figure out what they like. Initially, it is hard to get people to care and pay attention to what we are trying to do.” – Nick

How would you describe your own music?

“Our music is aggressive, loud, with a lot of frustration in it. American Rock & Roll that is somewhat hard to pinpoint.

Really, Midwest rock is a better description.” – Nick “We are a three piece band but we sound a lot bigger than that.

We are louder than hell but loud for a purpose.” – Matt

Do you write all your own music, and what inspires your songwriting?

“Yes, I write all of our music. I get inspired by everything in my life, but specifically messages of hope and positivity. I get inspired when I look at life in creative and different ways. Every song I write is either through my perspective or someone very close to me.” – Nick

“We will never be too prideful to say that we don’t want certain types of fans. Really, we love that these fans have latched on to our music even though we could have never expected it. The “not so innocent” fan page is hilarious, entertaining, and we enjoy their support. Who would have known that high-school girls would like our music?” – Nick

What is the oddest place you have ever performed?

Where do you see yourself in the future?

“It would be cowardly to say we didn’t want to go big, but at the same time we all have level heads on our shoulders and we plan to work on our majors first.” – Brenden “There is no shame in what we do and no shame in giving all we have to pursue our dreams. It would be a lie if we said we didn’t want to do this for the rest of our lives. What better way to spend our lives than to play music that people need to hear with cool dudes?” – Nick Nick Biffano & The Innocents are just three level-headed guys who really love to rock. They put all of who they are into their music and they have an abundance of personality. Although there are many struggles that try to bring this band down, they continue to live out their dreams. These three guys can’t be stopped and they are on their way to the top.

Kaylee Summers

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The Work of An Art Show Art is a beautiful form of expression as well as a vague term that can be used to describe anything a particular person may deem pleasing to them. There is no doubt that it is a subjective medium with each observer and creator alike bringing their own paradigm into the world of artistic expression. It’s very possible, however, that each and every different perspective that a person can bring when observing art is part of what engages us, moves us deeply, and compels us to think about the world around us.

Luke Cottingham As she works on each individual project, she enjoys being surprised by the end result as she feels inspiration in the moment. While her premeditated ideas intermingle with her conscious decisions, her art becomes more personal, more instilled with meaning and value.

Her hope for the audience’s reaction at her show is that her art will instill a pain in the viewer that can only be relieved by thinking.

One could argue that observing art is a profoundly human experience that allows us to look inside ourselves and grow as people as long as we keep an open mind to the different viewpoints around us. Greenville College is a place that has never made any compromise in the fact that it wants its students to grown and think critically about the world around them. This year, a senior of Greenville College named Gracia Heilmer will showcase the hard work, care, passion, and purpose that these soon to be graduates have learned while here at Greenville College.

Gracia Heilmer, a senior Art and Philosophy double major here at Greenville College, is one of the students who is presenting the fruits of her artistic labor. She sees her majors as wonderful complements to each other, allowing her to think more deeply about her works. While she has a love for many different artistic mediums, she has decided to focus on a type of textile art for her show. Among many other creative endeavors, she has taken a liking to this textile art as a way to embroider photos, canvas, cloth, and drawings. She stated that she loved it because it was, “compatible with such a wide variety of mediums.”

She found a love for this art only last summer while she was working in at the Legacy summer camp in Wichita, Kansas. Being without her camera, she decided to draw parts of the landscape around her, but she found that pencil drawings couldn’t convey the depth of color and life the scenery had to offer. Disheartened by this, she picked up a spool of thread she had for friendship bracelets at the camp, and she began to stitch the colored thread through the paper to give the drawing depth and color.

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Katie Killeen, Elise Cranston, Gracia Heilmer, Mikey Trieb.

Message From

Beyond Miles Williams No one lives in a vacuum. Various people, such as teachers, preachers, musicians, artists, and authors, impact our perception of the world on a daily basis. On several occasions, we have the privilege of welcoming some of these outside voices to campus, but for every influential leader, artist, teacher, or musician who comes to campus, there are countless others who have never visited. What follows is a wish-list of leaders and influential people students would like to see visit campus.

The list is not comprehensive, but more of a random sampling of suggestions from a not-so-scientifically chosen assortment of students. This list does, however, contain a diverse assortment of influential—and some controversial—people whose presence at Greenville would make for an interesting and thought-provoking learning experience for students.

1 President of Uplevel You, a “company committed to the growth and empowerment of entrepreneurs and creatives around the globe,” Christine Kane is regarded as “the Mentor to Women Who are Changing the World.” According to her website, after spending 15 years as a songwriter and performer, Christine decided she wanted to help others achieve their creative and entrepreneurial goals as well. Her passion is to teach people how to create a successful business while simultaneously “Creating a life of meaning and purpose.”

1. Christine Kane 2. Clonie House 3. Daniel Tammet 4. Ben Rector

2 Colony House is an alternative/indie rock band consisting of members Caleb Chapman, Will Chapman, and Scott Mills.

What is unique about Colony House is that while all of the band members are Christians, their songs are secular. This is perhaps the charm of Colony House: that their songs touch on a range of subjects that are not uniquely Christian, but uniquely human. Though there is a time and place for truly Christian music, sometimes it can both challenge and refresh us to pay attention to the totality of human experience, and Colony House’s music invites the listener to do just that.

3

Daniel Tammet, an elected fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, is a British author and neuroscience researcher. Tammet, who has been regarded as exceptionally brilliant though behaviorally atypical since his childhood, was diagnosed with high-functioning autistic savant syndrome in 2004. Tammet began his writing career in 2005, completing his New York Times bestselling book Born On A Blue Day: A Memoir of Asperger’s and an Extraordinary Mind in 2006. Tammet has since written Embracing the Wide Sky and Thinking in Numbers. Given his intellect and unique perspectives, Tammet would no doubt fascinate and intrigue students.

4 Ben Rector states: “It is strange and wonderful to me that I get to have a job writing songs and singing them.” Rector, who left suburban Oklahoma for Nashville after college, is a singer and songwriter who is humble and honest about his music. According to his official press bio, Rector’s theory is that “the beauty of life resides in the everyday moments.” He states about his music that “the things that make me truly happy are the ordinary things, like my friends and playing music. That’s what we’re made to enjoy. We’re made to connect and to have a conversation. That is the real stuff worth celebrating.” Rector’s down to earth style and philosophy make him the antithesis of the typical lifestyle of most performers and artists in the music business.

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Behind the Scenes of Music Business Erin Lobner

We all go to concerts and marvel at the amazing performances, screaming extra loud when that one guy does his guitar solo, and making sure to score a T-shirt on the way out so everyone knows we were there. We buy Taylor Swift’s new album and debate who that one song is about. And we try to let everyone know how cool we are because we knew that one band before they were famous.

puts it, “Coming into college, I feel like internships are valuable because networking, who you know, your ability to communicate, and what’s on your resume are really important. Anyone can get a college degree, but does that prove you can do anything? I think that doing internships shows that I’ve worked in a professional environment before and I know people in the industry.”

But there are people who make it possible for us to really enjoy that performance and get such a rad-looking shirt.

They ensure that Taylor’s album artwork looks sharp, and maybe they’re even responsible for the rumors of who it’s about. Behind the scenes of what we listen to everyday are the people who make it happen: music business pros.

They work their way up the industry ladder, contributing to some of our favorite works of art in the process. But in order to get to the top of said ladder, they have to start at the very bottom.

Holland and Phillips have both enjoyed the glamorous duties that go with an intern’s job description. The first step into the music industry can include cleaning and maintenance, answering phones, video editing, researching, selling merchandise, running errands, getting coffee, and cooking. But that’s exactly what Holland was expecting in his internship, especially in this industry, which requires you to work your way up more than most. “Getting out of college we’re wired to think that just because we got our degrees, everything’s going to be handed to us and we’re going to have high-paying jobs. In this field, coming out of college, it’s hard to find a job because people don’t respect degrees much. You’re going to start off cleaning floors.”

He says.

Unfortunately, this whole thing doesn’t typically start with meeting Taylor Swift. Bri Phillips and Matt Holland say that, at least for them, it typically begins more like an unpaid internship. They were kind enough to share the experiences from their internship adventures and their knowledge of all the things we don’t see.

Holland is a double major in Music Business and Audio Engineering, aiming straight for Music City. Last summer he interned in Nashville at Southern Ground Artists, Inc., which is owned by Zac Brown. Holland was able to witness the changes as the studio switched from private to public, meaning that instead of having to be approved by Brown in order to record, artists are able to do so if they can afford it. In the past, Holland has done other practicums, but this internship gave him the more esteemed opportunity to experience the way a corporate studio works.

Phillips has enough internship hours for two people.

She is a double major Music Business and Digital Media with an emphasis on Graphic Design. In New York, she worked with Q Ideas and Glassnote Records. On the other coast, she interned with Prescription Songs and Spectacle Entertainment. Clearly she places a high value on the experience provided through internships. As she

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But both of them learned valuable things from their experiences. “Probably the most important thing is personal growth, learning what I love and what I don’t love and becoming more confident in myself.” Phillips reflects.

“Second is probably the ability to network and just approach people in a professional way. I’ve learned communication and simple tasks that are totally transferable to any job.”

For Holland, the most valuable thing was learning how to handle failure. He believes that failure gives us something to work with, and that figuring out what happened and adapting to the situation leads to success.

So, if you’re working towards a career in the music industry, don’t expect to be greeted by Taylor Swift on the first day (but if you are, tweet about it or something). Although it might not be the easiest business to take off in, it’s definitely something that’ll lead to some cool experiences after hard work. And when it comes to interning, Phillips and Holland both recommend it for any major as a way to form connections and gain some valuable insights. Who knows, taking some initiative just might pay off.

GC MOMENTS

TO THE HOOP luke cottingham The crowd roars, screaming orders, chanting names, imploring their team to grab the ball and sink it through the net. The players don’t hear. The only sounds that register in their minds are the hustle of feet, the plays of teammates and opponents alike, and that lone ball between fingertips and the hardwood floor. This is it. Will this be the last game of the season, or will we make it to the conference tournament? This game decides it. The entire season, the season prior, even former high school glories have led to this moment: the moment to play college ball and make it to the conference tournament. Every man on the Greenville team wants this win. Even the team members on the bench sweat with anticipation as the ball flies across the court. Every teammate cringes when the opposing team scores, and they all stand to cheer when a fellow Panther sinks a shot.

It’s as if each man feels what his teammates feel.

These big men, not known for their empathy, are suddenly connected by a common purpose, a common goal: to see Webster fall in this match. Colors swiftly pass with each play. Orange and white draped over young men exploding with power and tenacity, the likes of which only sports can bring. Orange and white: team colors standing for something greater than the individual student wearing them, standing for a college whose mission is greater than the sum of its parts.

The scoreboard sounds: halftime. The teams leave the court with a strange mix of resentment and relief.

Their muscles ache, but Greenville trails by 10. They pass halftime wanting nothing more than to be on the court again, to prove themselves to coach, family, opponent, each other, and even to themselves. When the teams meet on the court again, they are more determined than ever. The Panthers do everything they can to gain a lead. The court abounds with complex plays and unparalleled teamwork. Each shot is met with bated breath from spectator, teammate, and opponent alike. No one in attendance can avoid being enraptured by the passion shown for this game.

With every motion from every man in harmonious synchronization, every shot a masterpiece that talent and practice has honed through blood, sweat, and tears, all past triumphs and failures have been building to this moment in the present. The scoreboard sounds one last time. The board reflects Greenville’s trailing score by 11. The Panther’s season is over.

The team, disheartened by this loss, begins to leave the court. The loss, while bitter, has only spurred them harder to aspire for new heights next season.

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Jamal Daniels

Setting A goal GC’s Women’s Basketball team had a set goal for this season, and that goal was to be top in their conference and make an appearance at the conference tournament. They made it to conference, and played Spalding in the first game of the tournaments. However, their game against Webster was truly the highlight. This was a game that the entire team really came together and achieved an incredible win. It was the second game back from Christmas break and they had just suffered a tough loss against Iowa Wesleyan. Webster was one of the competitors for receiving top rank four in the conference, making this win quite a big deal. Teammate Coley Baker says, “Everyone executed the game plan well and everyone stayed involved, whether they were on the court or on the bench.”

This season, the team’s theme was “courage” and they focused on Joshua 1:9- “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and

courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

They finished fourth in conference. While the outcome was not quite as hoped, it was encouraging for the team to play in the tournament, which is something the women’s team has not been able to do since 2011. The team is looking forward to next season, as they are only losing one senior. Baker says, “Having almost the entire team back makes us excited and anxious to start our next season and make it even farther than we did this year.”

TAYLOR MEYERS Coley Baker

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There’s More to Tennis Than Meets the Eye Miles Williams

For many people, “intense” rarely comes to mind when they think about tennis, but this game is not for the faint of heart. It takes endurance, agility, speed, and tough-mindedness, as any GC men’s tennis player will attest.

So what is like to play men’s tennis at GC? Practice begins with “dubs” drill. Simple enough. But to win, you don’t need skill; you need passion. Your goal: hit the ball as hard as you can, at whoever you can. Everyone swings away.

Balls fly every which way. You have to stay on your toes, keep your eyes peeled, and watch your periphery. It seems like everyone aims for your, and so you aim right back at them.

After a fervid warm-up, it’s time for individual drills to improve skill, agility, and gameplay. You commit hand-eye-coordination and footwork to muscle memory. Every swing, every step, every last move presents an opportunity to refine, to enhance, to polish.

Two hours have passed. Weariness has sunk in, your legs succumbed to tiredness long ago, your head aches, your lungs blaze. But you have no time to rest. Time for “grinders!”

“Go!” yells coach.

And so you go, sprinting down the court, sacrificing every last ounce of energy you have left. You can’t let up. You have to assume everyone is working harder than you.

“Go!” yells coach.

And again, you go, all the while making sure to obey coach’s command to “keep your knees bent!” You must fight a haze of fatigue. Form, your footing, nothing can be sacrificed as you “grind” away.

“Go!” yells coach.

Will this never end? Again and again you go until all but the will to continue is depleted from your body. And just as you think you’ve passed your breaking point, the end comes.

Practice ends. Life begins. But just as you start to recover, thoughts of school work, roommates, and friends return. Assignments are due, you have papers to write, books to read; but video games, movies, and friends beckon you as well. All the while, you know there’s practice again tomorrow and a meet on Saturday.

No, being a men’s tennis player at GC is not easy. But no matter the difficulty of balancing tennis with school and friends, you wouldn’t wish for any different life. When you’re with teammates, you’re with family. When you’re in the grind, your passion for the game keeps you hooked. The life of a collegiate tennis player is the only life that makes sense to you.

Jon Urshan

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GC’s Women’s Tennis Takes Hilton Head Emily “Squirrel” Rauch

Every year, the women’s tennis team takes a trip to Hilton Head, SC for spring break. Besides getting ready for our season by getting outdoor playing time and extra hits against other teams at our level, another reason for taking this trip is to bring the team closer together. This starts off by meeting at midnight to start our all night trip to warmer weather. We must brave 14 hours together on one people mover with its unpredictable temperature control and less than comfortable seating. More often than not, someone ends up sleeping on the floor.

When we finally get there, it is a mad scramble to get into the house and choose our rooms.

Technically, the upperclassmen have first dibs, but if they walk too slowly, an underclassman may nab a prime spot first. We always rent a house so we can share one living space and to build community and eat together. We go grocery shopping so we can cook most of our meals family style at the house. Coach Pam Craig gives us a treat by grilling out one night, and another evening is spent eating with the men’s tennis team.

One thing special to the women’s tennis team is to rent bikes for the week. Coming equipped with baskets, these two- wheeled machines give us the opportunity to explore the island.

We ride to the local Piggly Wiggly to buy gifts for our secret sisters, use them to hunt down a geocache, or ride them down the beaches on the hard packed sand to find the perfect sunbathing spots. Hilton Head Island is full of biking trails so it is easy to get around the island. Several girls, like senior Lezlie Friedline, had the brilliant idea to start biking a few weeks before Hilton Head to be in shape to ride for miles and miles.

Not every match is early in the morning, which leads sophomore Anna Brannon to say, “I loved seeing the sunrise on the beach.” The battle of wills to wake early in the morning to see the sunrise over the water happened a few times before Lexi Baysinger and I joined the tennis team, but now we are making it a tradition. This spring break was our third year biking in the predawn light and cold wind as a team to go and witness God’s big gift he gives us every morning.

However, this trip is not just a vacation; we do have matches as well. We are scheduled to play at least one match a day, occasionally two, which consists of a grueling singles and doubles match for our top players. Coach Craig is very good at making sure everyone has a chance to play. When I came in as an inexperienced freshman, she made sure that I got several chances to play. I remember that at our first match she was able to get me an exhibition game for singles. I was thrilled. The sun was shining, birds were whistling, it smelled like spring and I got to play tennis. After playing inside the rec center for the past 2 ½ months, it was like heaven.

I personally have felt blessed to be a part of the tennis team these past three years. I love the full week of bonding.

Something definitely changes at Hilton Head because when we get back we work much better as a unit in this almost individualized sport of tennis. I cherish every memory from Hilton Head over the years (even the ones that involve watching the season finale of the Bachelorette, or getting sunburned). Thanks to all of you that make this team the special thing that it is.

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BASEBALL PROCESSING AND PRAYING

Big things are happening for the Greenville College Baseball Panthers. The team is projected to finish second in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Among the team’s leaders are Tim Osborne, who, after hitting a .388 batting average last year, earned Second Team All-Conference honors. Trevor Montgomery, a junior catcher, obtained First Team All-Conference with his 30 RBIs and five home runs. Not only will players like Osborne and Montgomery return, but as Junior pitcher Dillon Reel notes, “There are many new players that are filling a lot of key positions, and the team dynamic is exciting to see.”

Along with these impressive numbers and honors, the team will host the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament. This will be the first time in Greenville’s history that it will hold the important conference tourney.

Over Spring Break, the team traveled to central Florida to play six games in the warmer weather. Unfortunately, the team lost all but their first game. Though the losses were disappointing, the team still holds a lot of confidence in what they do. Sophomore pitcher Philip Reedy says, “We have a few freshmen who are playing Varsity this year. It’s not that we aren’t playing well; it is just that we are a team that is still processing. If each individual comes out and focuses at what they do best, then the team will be better overall.”

How, then, does the team carry on despite hitting hard times? Reedy says, “We have the Panther covenants which we really try to live out, both on and off the field.” The Panther covenants, which overlook Robert E. Smith field from behind home plate, reflect humility and a Christian outlook on sports.

“Coach Carlson always prays that we glorify God in the way we play, whether we win or lose,” Reedy says. “That means not getting upset and complaining when a guy goes 0-4 at the plate or makes an error, and even congratulating the other team if they win,” Reedy says.

Despite some of the setbacks the team has had this far, they still have some big hopes and dreams ahead of them. The team is 3-1 in conference games, and have their eyes set on the prize. Reedy had this to say: “Our end goal is to get to the SLIAC tournament, and even win it. It would be awesome to win it for our fans, as they would be there watching.”

Through all of it, the team keeps working hard and improving their play daily in order to get to that home field advantage at the SLIAC tournament; in the meantime, they continue to show what it means to be like Christ on the field.

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SOFTBALL A DIFFERENT KIND OF GAME Change is always difficult. Life changes. Life is difficult. The caterpillar must go through the torture of the chrysalis in order to come out as a beautiful butterfly.

Similary, this year’s Greenville College Softball team has been in transition.

With only three seniors—pitchers Hannah Burger and Jessica Laubecher, and shortstop Amy Sheets—the team came under the leadership of their new head coach, Tracy Cromer. Coach Cromer’s leadership has helped the team to play in new positions and with a new dynamic. This has brought the team not so much to a new level of playing, as their record last year would suggest they were already good, but to a new kind of game. However, this also brings with it a considerable amount of work.

Coach Cromer comes to Greenville with a highly decorated record. She has been a head coach for 11 years and brings a number of championship titles with both the University of Northwestern and Manchester College of Indiana as she pairs with last year’s interim head coach John Barnes to head the team. This coaching duo follows a twisting year that had its fair share of challenges, one of which being the difficult process of finding a coach.

Under this leadership, the team has been stretched to play in positions that they might not have been accustomed to at the beginning of the season. This has helped to balance the rather young team to prepare them for the seasons to come.

With underclassmen comprising just over half of the team, strategic creativity like this proves useful both in the short term and hopefully in the long term. The deluge of games they played over spring break, even, proved difficult with a final 4-3 record. As this advantage shows, however, they came out on top and were able to cooperate together to understand the workings of the new team and so transcend the binding cocoon.

In these changes we connect back to the chrysalis we began with. Fitting into a new position is difficult. It can require different skills and it can sometimes appear as an unwelcome change at first. In trusting to the guiding hand of a coach, the women of the softball team have been positioned to build on the incredible record they earned last year and to see the great value in experiencing something that, at first glance, seems uncomfortable and unnatural.

JON JOHNSON

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Chelsea Gilles

NCCAA All-American Champion Chelsea Gilles is a go-getter who refuses to be stopped. In January, Chelsea won 1st place in the NCCAA nationals in Ohio for the 400 meter dash, making her an All-American track star, no small feat for a Division III runner. Remarkably, Chelsea has only been involved in track for four years total, and only two years at the collegiate level. However, limited experience has not stopped Chelsea from breaking two school records and several 1st place wins at tracks meets all over the U.S. When asked about her accomplishment at NCCAA nationals, Chelsea said, “As soon as I crossed the

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finish line, my whole team was there throwers, jumpers, distance runners, and sprinters. Everyone was so encouraging and excited to celebrate with me. In that moment, I realized how blessed I am to have so much love and support from such amazing teammates. I couldn’t do it without them.”

On any average day, Chelsea spends 2--3 hours lifting at the gym and at practice, on top of classes, field experience for her education courses, volunteering at the Simple Room, and RC duties. In addition, Chelsea has battled injury all season, and yet continues to put the work in to get results.

Despite the challenges, Chelsea juggles it all with positivity and dedication, two of her greatest strengths. Her teammates have nothing but praise for her. Trey Manning, a fellow 400 m. sprinter, says, “Chelsea has the heart of a lion… She motivates a lot of people… She doesn’t know but we look up to her. She is totally humble and deserves everything she has; no one works harder than her.” Her intentionality, beautiful smile and spirit, and intense work ethic are truly an inspiration to every student on campus.

Kirsten Norsworthy

GC CHEERLEADING Lauren Buser

The cheer team will experience big changes in the near future.

The team has been officially approved by the athletic department, which means they will have a lot of new opportunities. Some of the changes will include a full-time coach, scholarships for incoming freshmen, and new materials for the team.

The cheerleaders function very independently right now. Instead of having a coach run their practices, the captain, Marisa Lovato, leads the team. They are also advised by Bonnie Jo Cole, the owner of Jo’s Java.

Running things on their own is challenging, but it has also been a learning experience. The team is in charge of their own practice schedule and routines, so they’ve had to figure out how to manage their time and teach each other new moves. They look forward to having a full-time coach to help them stay organized, and bring them instruction on new routines.

Some of the additional changes will take place with funding from the athletic department. Soon Spirit Scholarships will be available to freshmen who plan to join the cheer team. The team hopes that will help inform more of the new students about the opportunity to cheer. They are also looking forward to getting new uniforms and practice equipment.

Hopefully, all these changes will join together to make their hopes of competing become real.

One thing that the team hopes will stay the same is the support they provide for activities besides sports. Last semester they cheered at the All College Hike and Panther 5K in addition to their usual events. Annie Claire Bastien says, “I think it’s really important to show that we’re not just supportive of football and basketball, but that we support Greenville as a whole.”

Brittany Sanguinette, Annie Bastien, Deja Sawyer

SPORTS | 41

GC MOMENTS

FROM CONVERSATION TO COMMUNITY: CREATING WELCOMING SPACES FOR LGBTQ STUDENTS Earlier this semester, the Board of Trustees approved changes to the college’s policy on premarital sex, homosexuality, and gender identity. These changes, outlined in the Lifestyle Statement, defined gender strictly as male and female, and marriage as strictly between one man and one woman, labelling extramarital sex and homosexuality “distortions of God’s created order.” Many members of the GC community became concerned by the statement’s harshness and the potential injury it could cause to LGBTQ individuals at Greenville College.

Fortunately, after a group of alumni came forward to express those concerns and propose changes, and with the help of a group of concerned faculty, the board agreed to revise the statement.

The new draft makes clear that the Board of Trustees’ stance on

EDITORIAL | 44

homosexuality is the same, but that despite personal beliefs or identities, each member of the GC community should “engage one another with civility and respect.”

As important as this revision is to our community, it remains one small aspect of a complex and controversial issue. The Christian community is fiercely divided on the topic of homosexuality.

Passionate and intelligent Christians express a wide spectrum of opinions on the subject, ranging from full support and affirmation to strong condemnation, as well as numerous stances in between these two polarities. As a result, entering into dialogue on the topic can be an intimidating task. So how, both as a Christian institution and as Christian individuals, should we respond and contribute to this conversation?

The important thing to keep in mind is that this is not simply a matter of policy. It isn’t a theoretical issue, but a concrete human issue. The words we say and the policies on homosexuality that we create have very tangible effects on members of our community who identify as LGBTQ. These words affect our classmates, our floormates, our friends. So, perhaps it would be beneficial to adjust our approach to this conversation. Rather than focusing on the topic of LGBTQ issues, let’s focus on LGBTQ individuals. Instead of asking how we should respond to the issue, let’s ask what we can do to transform Greenville College into a more welcoming environment for its LGBTQ members.

As a matter of fact, the proposed Lifestyle Statement changes and the community’s response to them demonstrated many aspects of what that shift looks like. First, it very simply sparked a conversation. Dissenting opinions compelled the community to dialogue, and the majority of that dialogue ended up being quite constructive. The group of alumni who approached the board with their concerns about the Lifestyle Statement voiced their opinions in a loving and respectful manner out of concern for other members of their community. The Board of Trustees demonstrated a willingness to listen. Respectful conversation such as this is a crucial component of creating a welcoming community. Rather than engaging in a defensive debate, using Bible verses as weapons in an argument, we must display the same willingness to listen and have the humility to admit our errors. We must go into the conversation hoping to learn rather than teach.

The responses to the Lifestyle Statement also resulted in the acknowledgement of the existence of LGBTQ individuals at Greenville College. The new draft included a statement explicitly acknowledging that there are LGBTQ members of GC’s community.

While this may seem insignificant, it is an absolutely essential component of creating a welcoming environment for these

individuals. This is the first step in approaching this topic as a human issue rather than a theoretical one—once we acknowledge that there are members of our community who identify as LGBTQ, we begin to realize the weight that our words and actions carry towards these individuals.

However, it isn’t enough to simply acknowledge the existence of Greenville’s LGBTQ community—in order for effective dialogue to take place, we must also actively engage members of that community. If Greenville College wants to take a stance on homosexuality, then it must take into account the experiences and viewpoints of those who will be most affected by this stance.

Although LGBTQ individuals here at Greenville College are often difficult to identify, their voices matter and it is important that we find appropriate channels for dialogue. This could mean engaging with the coordinators of Greenville United, an online community created by and for Greenville’s LGBTQ students and alumni. Perhaps it could involve holding more panel events with LGBTQ alumni and current students--events such as these have been hosted in the past on campus and have been well-received and sparked great conversations.

In the end, no matter what we believe about sexuality or gender identity, our response as Christians should always be driven by a love that resembles the love of Jesus. This is not a love of legalistic stipulations and conditions. It is not a love that favors judgment over mercy. It is a love that wholeheartedly embraces every individual it encounters, and welcomes them into an understanding and accepting community. Based on the events of this year, it seems that Greenville is moving, however slowly, towards establishing a community in which this embrace is extended to all its members.

It’s our job to continue to guide our community in this direction—it’s our job to continue the conversation.

BETH WATKINS

Gallery Art major Maggie Tarr presented her senior show “It’s A Nude Day” at the end of this semester in the Maves Art Center. Tarr has been accepted to the Master of Fine Arts program at Washington University, in St. Louis and will start classes there in the fall. She says the following about her work: “I paint nudes because it allows me to meagerly recreate what I consider is God’s most original and beautiful creation. I don’t paint nudes to cause controversy about nakedness. I strive to show the beauty of the nude figure as a vulnerable form, as an authentic human, with undeniable emotions, feelings, growth, and the human experience. Yes, we are sexual beings, with the essential structures that allow us to create more beautiful beings. We cannot let our minds become consumed with the physical, for when the physical has passed away, we are left with a record of memory, experience, time, and the roots that defined who a person was, what they liked, disliked, how they lived among everyone and the world.”

Paintings by James Bernhardt

Ceramics by Jeana Kay

Saying Goodbye:

Two Great Professors and Friends Dr. Sandra Salguero-Schmidt

Professor Veronica Ross

Dr. Salguero-Schmidt has worked at Greenville College for 28 years.

She says her favorite part of the experience was the opportunity to work, advise, and interact with all the international students during those years.

Schmidt says, “I will leave grateful for all the wonderful students and colleagues I was blessed to know. It has been a wonderful and fulfilling experience! I won’t be leaving GC totally as I have been asked to continue working with the University Pathways program (the intensive English language program) and with the internationalizing efforts of the college. My encouragement to students would be to take advantage of their years at GC—grow in your relationship with Christ through chapels, vespers and Bible studies, enjoy your time with the great friends you will make, have fun, but above all take advantage of the precious education you are getting. Every single one of your professors at GC cares for your well-being, both personally and professionally.

Professor Veronica Ross worked with Greenville College for 25 years, 15 of which she spent as Chair of the Communication Department. Ross says she will take many things away from her experience at GC. She says, “I will miss seeing the students learn who they are and watching them grow, as well as seeing God’s blessings in their lives.” She said she will also miss advising and being able to “put the pieces of the puzzle together” for students.

Another aspect of this job Professor Ross enjoyed was helping to design and create new classes and majors for the school. Ross also had the opportunity to act in plays produced by the college, and co-author a communication textbook with her advisor from college. She says, “Every bit of it has just been fun, it’s been a real gift… I use that word a lot, but it’s true, it’s just been fun.”

What Veronica Ross, would like to leave us all with, is this: “If you don’t like your career, go out and find a different one. It goes fast, so enjoy what you’re doing or do something else, because in the end, money doesn’t matter anyway.”

TAYLOR MEYERS

Want to be a featured artist in the Gallery?

Submit your work to The Vista!

vista@greenville.edu

GC MOMENTS

CLASS TRIPS

THE REBIRTH OF AN OLD TRADITION MILES WILLIAMS Traditions are an important component of any college experience, but not all traditions are old. With each generation comes new renditions of old themes, and, on occasion, an old tradition, which has been dead for a time, gets resurrected. Class trips are one such tradition that, though they are in some ways new, are really a continuation of something that used to be part of Greenville College life many years ago.

Whether it’s skiing, going to Six Flags, or an excursion through nature, class trips have the potential to build community and enliven students’ lives. College is about more than an education; it’s about experiencing life in new and exciting ways and hopefully making lifelong friendships along the way.

Beyond developing community, class trips are just plain fun!

As senior class president, I had the privilege of working with

my cabinet as we put together the senior trip to Six Flags. Our reason for choosing to go there had nothing to do with it being ideally suited for community development; we chose Six Flags because we thought it would be fun. Of course, having fun is integral to community life, but when you take a group of students and tell them to plan a trip, they’re not going to do a critical assessment of the community building quotient for a given trip. They’re going to plan something they think they would have a fun time doing.

Beyond a mere exposition of the communal and historical significance of class trips, the pressing question on every student’s mind is: will these trips continue? Though nothing with regard to the future is certain, these trips will definitely happen next year. Beyond that, who’s to say? But, it seems more than likely that they’re here to stay for many years to come.

THe eyes of a SPRING TRANSfER

Most students can remember the experience of orientation. Beyond the initial overwhelming idea of life away from parents there were memories made. For my initial friend group these were largely over coffee at Adam Brothers after hearing Dr. McPeak welcome all students back with a promise of a new name and a new story to enter into. However, not every student experiences the hoped for welcome. Some people just do not connect with other students, some people aren’t prepared for college life, and so struggle through the year tightly in their shell unsure of what to do. Imagine the turmoil of adjusting to the social adventures of college life without the buffer of orientation. Or perhaps imagine coming in to the drama midseason and being faced with the already established connections and tensions.

There is not a set experience of students, some students are easily welcomed in and others must work to be welcomed in for the whole year. There is a level of theoretical thought that can be applied to this subject of Spring Transfer students at a Christian college before considering the experiences of two students who transferred in during the Spring of 2014. In her book Making Room Christine Pohl teaches about the word philoxenia. The word is a compound of the greek words for a love or affection for one on the basis of kinship relations or a similar relationship not inclusive of blood; this is the philo.

The latter part then refers to strangers. In effect the term, which Pohl considers prominent in early Christian thinking, speaks to an idea of loving a stranger as family. This is the ideal that is longed for in welcoming Spring Transfers. Just about every person has felt alone at some point. To fail to feel alone is to miss out on one of the most human of experiences. Universal though it is, loneliness is dreadful. It is often a defining mark of depression and can certainly lead to a listless rootless sensation.

Still other students can come into the midst of a school year halfway through and find themselves right at home. This was the experience of Tiffany Neff, for example who met many of her friends to this day at Bingo Night on the first day of school. The skill of the new student to enter her role met with the warm welcome of the established cast to produce the inspiring birth of new relationships where one that was previously uknown was welcomed as not simply a stranger, but as friend and, in a sense that transcends blood, as family. It is with-in the nature of humanity to respond warmly to this welcoming, when receiving it, when giving it, and when hearing stories of it.

Jon johnson

Intramurals 12 seconds remain in the game. The sound of giggles and gossip echo from the corners of the room as girlfriends of players replay their day for the others. Team members from one team cheer on their competitors in an attempt to demonstrate their friendship on and off the court.

No coach is in sight.

Jacob Bronar s, a ls o k nown a s J-Bro, ha s p o s s es sion of t he ba ll.

The team is trailing by 12 points. J-Bro has one chance to score four three-pointers. Sweat drips from his brow as he repositions his sweatband for one final attempt to tie the game. As a timeout is called, he tucks in his t-shirt, double knot’s his shoelaces, and mentally prepares for the biggest play of the game, maybe even his life. Time resumes ticking. He dribbles the ball, he stops, he shoots, and he….misses. The season is over. The final score is 24 to 12. Oh, the disappointment. Oh, the agony.

Some may question why the loss of an intramural game is so devastating. Why is it taken so seriously? Bronars states, “ I think it is taken so seriously because, for me personally, I have a competitive nature that comes alive when I am playing a sport against others.

Since I am usually only competing during football season (AugustNovember), being able to exercise my competitive spirit during the offseason is thrilling to me”. Not only is this sport an opportunity to be active, but it builds friendships. It is rare to see players from the Greenville Football team laughing and joking around with players from St. Scholastica, but if you watch just one intramural basketball game, or any intramural in general, you will witness several occasions of people encouraging the other team, playing fairly, laughing with competitors, and even hugging it out at the end of the game.

When asked who the best intramural basketball player was, Bronars rapidly volunteered Urri Thames’ name. This demonstrates the mindset of intramural players: encouraging one another. Thames was not only able to dunk, but was expected to every single game. In fact, it was odd if he played in a game and did not dunk. Every member on the court demonstrated skill, whether small or large, however, at the end of the day, “The Squad” won the title of Intramural basketball champions.

Although the season was tough for all teams involved, there can only be one winner, even if it is a league intended for pure fun and enjoyment.

Kristen Davis

E H T

ERY AND T S Y M F

UN

Urban Urban Golf Golf You ca n s e e t hem com ing, toting golf clubs a nd tennis balls in ha nd. T he group of guys heading your way did not ma ke t he m ist a ke of grabbing t wo different typ es of sp orting equipment. Rat her, t hey are play ing Ur ba n Golf.

T his rea liz at ion hit s you around t he sa me time t hat t he ball smack s you in t he head. T his s cenario is not uncom mon for anyone bold enough to sit on Greenville College campus when the sun is out.

When spring finally begins to warm the air, the students flood onto Scott Field like a hoard of ants. Most sit on blankets or play Frisbee while others play Urban Golf. Although Urban Golf may cause pain for the innocent bystanders who dare to sit anywhere on campus, springtime at GC would not be quite the same without it. For the bystanders it’s a terror, but for the players it might be just the excuse to ask that new freshmen out on a fun and free date. Urban Golf has various versions, but the most popular course consists of these nine holes:

The Holes: 1. The left of West Oak doors to the Blackroom Door.

2. The Blackroom to Marston Doors (the ball has to hit the door and not the sides of the building).

3. The tree by Marston doors to the back side of the Greenville College sign (located in front of the Union).

4. The brick wall by the Greenville College sign to the second large planter pot in Clausen Plaza.

5. The middle of Clausen Plaza to the window of the Rec. Center.

6. In front of the Library Steps to the GC Central doors.

7. The North door of Snyder to the bell tower.

8. The bell tower to Ladue steps.

9. In front of Ladue steps to the West Oak doors.

Obviously this course sounds ridiculous and confusing, and the origin of the game is similar in nature. I’m not sure if anyone knows or will ever know how Greenville College acquired such an interesting game. You may ask around and hear that a senior from five years ago started it. However, if you’re in Joy Hall, you might hear that the CRE from years past actually coined the game Urban Golf. The game is truly a Greenville College mystery. Some say it’s been around for decades, and yet others say they just starting seeing people play the game in the last couple years. The search for the inventor continues, as does the game and all of its numerous versions.

Playing Urban Golf is sort of a rite of passage for any GC student.

It is a mystery, it can be dangerous, but mostly Urban Golf is just a fun reason to get outside and enjoy campus. Whether or not you are athletic doesn’t matter, if you are a GC student then I guarantee that you will play Urban Golf at least once before you cut the Ivy in May.

Kaylee Summers

LAMENTATIONS ON DATING EXCERPT FROM THE

1985 VISTA

Dating, much like tuition payments, dancing, and foreign language requirements, is a satanic plot. Where else can we trace the epidemic of angst racing insanity over male students at colleges and universities across the nation?

Let me share the insights my own dwarfish experience has cruelly supplied me with. Firstly, and possibly the most important part, of the brief treatise is this: women do not want to date. Especially women who attend Greenville.

What women really want is men to squirm and stutter and snivel and other such debasing things. This is why women plot together in their cool, carpeted dorm rooms laughing at what the idiotic guys do to get dates. Now, this leads me to the sad irony of the second conclusion: men, especially at Greenville College don’t want to date either. Why do they then? Because they don’t know any better, that’s why. Didn’t your father date? And your father’s father? Of course they did, and boy would you feel silly if you broke that family tradition.

Now, how does one go about dating, and thus take a swan dive into a potentially crushing experience? Well, that’s where stupidity comes into play. The first step is to choose someone who is more repelled by you than any other person on campus. Secondly, you go around trying to find all you can out about her without direct confrontation. Then, with all the subtlety of a charging rhino you make small talk with her, revealing your conversational abilities just below that of a young blowfish. You beat around the bush for 5 to 8 months and then finally ask her out. She then proceeds to show up to the aforementioned date, where she states that she finds you about as appealing as a polyester suit. You are devastated! You then sulk for about a week, then do something silly like swear off canned fruit or join Agora.

HOW DOES ONE GO ABOUT DATING

“Meaningless, meaningless.”, says the teacher. “it’s utterly meaningless, everything.”

THE WISEST MAN WHO EVER LIVED Thus, we reach the conclusion that all men are stiff with misery the majority of the time. However, a question must enter your mind: “What about those contented gentle men who are “going steady”? The answer is shocking and the horrid truth must be revealed.

Those men are actually women cleverly disguised as men. They are a major part of a huge conspiracy established with the purpose of infiltrating the men’s dormitories. Those of you who have roommates who are going steady are currently laughing skeptically, but hear me out! Has your roommate ever expressly told you that he wasn’t a girl? Go ahead. Think about it, and, in fact, while you do, I want you to think about the last time you had one of those serious, personal talks with your roomie. You know the kind. The kind where you share information that would make you a social leper overnight should that information ever leave that room. You might also remember that good friend who is going steady or even engaged who told you “just ask her out. The worst she can do is say no.”

"THE ANSWER IS SHOCKING !!!!!”

At first, this seems fair enough, true even. But the more you think about it, the more I realize that the real worst thing that can happen is that she will laugh derisively and spit in your face before yelling “This crustacean just dared to ask me out!” Now, several leading personality theorists have come to the consensus that after experiencing such a traumatic event, the affected individual may experience a more negative self-image. The best course of action is to avoid this type of event in order to not cause undue emotional scarring.

After approximately six or seven of these traumatic experiences, the individual usually does one of the following: (a) Goes out and buys a copy of “How to Pick Up Girls”, the literary masterpiece that has earned its rightful and just place among the manure of horses, (b) becomes an editor for the Papyrus, or (c) becomes a Philosophy major.

This final option is considered the best option (at least by Philosophy majors). This is because the person can spend nearly all of their waking hours thinking about the nature of a substance or contractarianism of the reality of sense experience rather than confronting any real issues at hand in the world. Of course there are other options such as physic or, at worst, pre-engineering, but this remains only for those who have plummeted to the lowest depths of social revulsion.

“IDK”

But what, you may ask, is the real solution to all this?

Gosh… Idk. Srry.

Next issue: the Monastic Alternative.

Mike Tabacchi

The Parks of Bond County Ben Wiltse

Ayer’s Field Station is a Greenville College owned property that consists of beautiful rolling hills, a small pond, and many wide open spaces. The White Environmental Center provides a great place for students and faculty alike to do research in nature. There is also the Winslow Observatory next door, which allows students to study the stars, or simply stand in awe of the heavens.

Patriot’s Park, located off of IL-140, surrounds Greenville Lake. Its spacious fields are wonderful for activities with friends, such as having a picnic on a warm spring day. Along with this, its hiking trails provide for a scenic stroll through the trees, all while over-looking the lake.

Iron Gate trail, part of the Kingsbury Park district, is a perfect synthesis of spacious grass areas and wooded trails. While on the hiking path, one can admire the blue sky from underneath the myriad of trees which are already lifting their branches up towards them. One may even come across wildlife, as there are many deer and other indigenous animals that occupy the land.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF

Ted Troemel isn’t your typical undergrad. After retiring from his military career, 52-year-old Troemel decided to enroll at Greenville College to continue his education.

Recently he agreed to talk about his past experiences and how they affect his time at Greenville now.

Erin Lobner

what did you do before you came to school here?

This is actually the second time I’ve plugged back into Greenville. I went into the military right out of high school, and I did that for seven years. When I got out I did jobs for about five years in the civilian sector because I didn’t have a degree. I had good education from the military, but it wasn’t a degree. After seven years, I went back into the military full-time, and I started working toward my degree because I could see where it was going. I got my Associate’s from Central Texas College before I retired. It took me 22 years, but eventually I was able to close that out. When I retired from the Army, I came here to Greenville because I married my wife and she already owned property.

And the college here is like five blocks from the house, so it worked out perfectly for me to back to school. I used my G.I. bill in addition to the Yellow Ribbon Program to pay for tuition. It’s specifically for veterans, and it’s basically a matching fund, where they’ll cover a gap in your tuition up to a certain amount. And the end result is the tuition is paid for. I’m currently going for History Education. I took a break because I got a contract offer to go overseas with the Department of Defense. So I was able to do one semester and then I went out for two years. The contract ended, by the grace of God, when the spring semester was starting. So I was able to restart my degree program.

what’s it like being an adult student?

The way I approach it is, this is my job. This is my occupation right now, going to school full-time. No different than I’d get up and go to work, I get up and go to school. My wife and son are here in Greenville, so I spend most of my time with them at the house. She’s got a business that she works out of the house and our son is in second grade, so we stay busy. Just like everybody else, we stay busy outside of school.

are you planning to stay in the area to teach?

I honestly don’t know where I’m going to go, but that’s part of the attraction to me of a teaching degree. My dad was a teacher, but it was also mentioned to me in my first term of service in Virginia. One of the men that I worked for, he was in his mid-forties, and he had come back into the service. He was a little bit of a mentor to me, and he really opened my eyes to some opportunities to how to approach a career and just how flexible it can be. It doesn’t have to be etched in stone that you’re going to do this for the rest of your life. So that was how I approached it, that a teaching degree may or may not end up with me teaching 8th grade history somewhere. I may end up being a substitute, I may end up teaching history 40 miles from here in another school district, or an opportunity may open up for a company that sees a degree and they’re okay with that. It opens doors, and it gives me opportunities for employment either as a teacher or in some other capacity. Push comes to shove I could always find work, but the opportunities here--the school’s five blocks away, the tuition’s paid for--it’s just a can’t miss opportunity.

what’s the biggest difference between you and a traditional undergrad?

I guess the biggest difference is how I approach it. There wasn’t a lot of recruitment going on when I was getting out of high school. With high school, you’re there because you have to be, but college, you’re there because you choose to be. And it’s a huge difference. If I had genuinely understood that difference, I might have charted my course a little differently. I might have made a bigger effort to get in school and get my education. And that’s how I look at it now. You know, maybe it’s 20, 30 years later, but this is my opportunity. I get to do what I could have done years ago, but it didn’t work out that way. But things happen for a reason. God’s got a plan for us. And I have an appreciation of the opportunities that are available for us. I spent time deployed in Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and you get a good look at how the rest of the world lives. It really brings home what we have available, and that we need to take advantage of these opportunities because the rest of the world doesn’t have them.

what’s the most difficult part of going back to school?

I would say the most difficult thing is just managing time. You know, making sure I’m able to spend time with the family, but also having a 6-page paper due Wednesday. That’s the toughest part. The subject matter isn’t that tough. But I’m a history major, so if I tried to plug in and do a math minor, and tried to go back in and start doing calculus, that would be genuinely difficult. That would be painful because it’s something I just haven’t had to deal with in such a long time. But I love history, and I’ve been watching the History Channel for a long time, so that helps.

how do you balance things at home with school?

It’s a juggling act. My wife runs her business from the house, and my son and I are in and out. I have my night class, and I have to figure out how to balance that with Boy Scouts. You can call it time management, but it’s a juggling act, it really is. It requires coordination and you have to communicate or you end up banging into the wall.

do you have any advice for the undergrads or adults when it comes to education?

I guess the only thing for the undergrads is take advantage of this time while you have it. This is a very unique time in life and when you get past it, you’ll wish you had taken advantage of it while you were there. So use this time before you establish your career and family.

For adults, it’s never too late to go back to school. My high school counselor mentioned I would probably end up changing careers like five times and maybe even go back to school. I thought he was crazy. But it was really good advice, and I don’t think he knows just how accurate he really was. But absolutely just take advantage of this while you’ve got it, and it’s never too late to go back to school.

A MAN NAMED

JACOB

He goes by many names. To some he is the Vice President of Media Relations, to others he is a former Resident Chaplain of 2nd Joy, and to still others he is President Cannon. “President of what?” you may ask. Several things, but most importantly our hearts.

Jake Cannon is graduating from Greenville College after three very fruitful years. At this point those of you who do not know Jake may be wondering why he is getting an article written about him and you are not. You may be familiar with his face from a chapel announcement or two, but the same is true of Albert Lee (who we did actually run an article of in a previous issue, so take that, haters). Jake Cannon has been the go-to media man on campus for the past couple of years. If you have seen a really appealing video announcement in chapel most likely he had a hand in it. And so as we say goodbye to Mr. Cannon it seems fitting to recognize the man who has worked so tirelessly to keep us informed and interested.

Jake Cannon came into this world like anyone else.

The stork delivered him to his parents in Fishers, Indiana, but it didn’t take long before his story became uniquely his own. His family moved to Marion, Illinois when he was of the ripe old age of 8, where he grew up until he came to Greenville.

He arrived at Greenville College in the fall of 2012 and began to leave his mark on the community His freshman year he forewent entering the 50 Hour Film Festival so that he could play the role of Puc in the fall production of a Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Though he did not enter that year, he did take on the role of a young man falling in love in Paul Anderson

and Jonathan Barker’s entry. He did, with a talented team, sweep the subsequent 5 Second. As mentioned earlier, he is also the man responsible for a number of chapel advertisements including promotions for the Encore Music Festival, the transition to Greenville International University, and a series of podcasts that were featured in the Papyrus. He has since won two 50 Hour Film Festivals, in addition to such accolades as winning Gold and best of Show in the 2014 Regional American Advertising Awards, Silver of the same award in 2015, and an award at the 21 Film Project for the Best Use of the LLCU Name and Tagline (in case there was any question, these last few awards are slightly more prestigious than the 50 Hour Film Festival). This is not to mention the many roles he has played in his projects, these roles range from President Ivan Filby to The Doctor to a man sitting on a toilet.

Jake is graduating and shall be dearly missed.

He is a man who one cannot help but like, and he will be sorely missed by many. He leaves Greenville hoping to work with projects in pre or post production as these are the areas where he has found a great passion within himself as an artist.

Greenville College should be grateful for the work Jake Cannon has done to help convey information to the student body in a way that is enjoyable and professional.

I for one will miss him and wish him the best of luck on the road to come. I will have to content myself to keep up with his projects on his youtube channel, Jake Cannon, where many of his projects can be seen and enjoyed.

Thank you, Jake.

JON JOHNSON