Beacon Family Newsletter - Spring 2019

BEACON FAMILY NEWSLETTER

Inside this issue Get Involved 1 Music at NCU 2 Student Highlight 3 Short Term Missions 4 Beacon Learning 5 SAAM 5

GET INVOLVED!

By: Eddie and Wendy Alexander, parents of alumnus, Jordan and sophomore, Brooklyn An excellent way to assist other families in their student’s transition from high school to college is by being a part of the Beacon Parent Council team. The Beacon Parent Council team is made up of current NCU parents that have differing experiences in the transition process with their students. This team initiated the production of the Student Community Resource book and supplies the panel for the Fall New Student Orientation Q&A Session. It is a great way to stay involved in the NCU Community, take part in learning what available activities and benefits there are to students at NCU, and a way to share your experiences with other families that can benefit from your learned knowledge.

The NCU community runs deep into our local communities and benefits tremendously through donations, sponsorships, internships, and support. As current members of the council, Wendy and I have enjoyed the opportunity to share our unique experiences with others and have personally witnessed these two communities come together in various ways. The council is a unique opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our students at NCU, strengthen the support of our NCU parents, and blend our NCU community into our local communities through

our individual involvement with the university.

We are looking for parents just like you. Each of us has our own unique experiences and stories to share that may be of encouragement to each other. Our current Beacon Parent Council team is made up of parents who have had one or multiple students graduate from NCU, or have a student (or students) still enrolled. Some of these students have been a part of athletics, student leadership, student work study positions, and much more throughout the university. The council is here to assist and share their experiences in hopes of making the transition smooth for new and current families of NCU. It is a great way to offer that peace of mind we all wanted when our first, or only child, went off to college.

Have you learned or experienced something that you wished you had known before sending your student off to college at NCU? We all have! Every year there are more and more parents seeking your knowledge and shared experiences to assist them through their transition. These parents need to hear your story. Consider the Beacon Parent Council team as a great way to make a positive impact on the NCU Community and the lives of our students. As the university continues to grow, so does the need for additional support and new-found knowledge and experiences. Consider offering your knowledge and sharing your experiences with others that may benefit from what you know. Please reach out to Princess Fox (pfox@nwcu.edu) if you would like to take part in sharing your experiences, or if you have questions you’d love to have answered by any of our current council members. We hope you consider joining us on the Beacon Parent Council team.

music at ncu

By: Dr. Karen De Young, professor of music and worship Responsive. Engaged. Inventive.

How do we appropriately evaluate the success of NCU’s Music Department? First, we must ask the right questions. Consistent with NCU’s mission statement; wisdom, faith, and service, the music department faculty and staff believe the following questions drive the vision for the department: Are the students responsive to God’s call on their lives to steward their gifts in service for the common good? Are the students engaged in initiating and practicing what their learning? And finally, are the students faithful to embrace and discern their inventive nature in their work? The common denominator in these questions is, our students. We find the answer to these questions within the stories of our students.

With deep joy, the Music Department shares three stories that demonstrate our students being responsive, engaged, and inventive this year!

Program Director for the Music Department and Associate Professor of Music and Worship, Dr. Karen De Young shares how a group of Christian Worship students responded to God’s gospel story of worship being inclusive and for all people. The students demonstrated a new depth to their calling by participating in a new class practicum, American Sign Language in Worship, taught

by Instructor and NCU Alumni, Annie Anderson. Each student has had the privilege and opportunity to practice ASL in NCU’s chapel worship. It has been powerful and engaging to expand our worship language in our communities’ chapel gathering!

Our Contemporary Music Industry students have engaged in their learning by practicing their craft in a variety of professional settings. Contemporary Music Industry Coordinator, Nathan Smith highlights how the audio and visual techs lead a busy-buthidden life. They are often the first to arrive and last to leave, but they would rather point the spotlight than be in front of it. Our student techs not only serve the needs of the music department, but also the needs of the entire university. Having a whole campus as a classroom allows them to gain industry experience in a variety of situations. Chapels, Christmas concerts, spring musicals, student life events, Sunday morning services, donor galas- they do it all. Working as a tech requires the students to think ahead, stay flexible, and show grace under pressure. We may not always notice them, but behind ever smooth production is a team of dedicated techs taking a breather before they prepare for the next event.

NCU Instructor of Music and Composition, Addison Wong writes, “The Music Composition students have embraced the inventive nature of our music department through their original composition and creative performance approach. After months of intensive training in composition for the last Experience Christmas show, we celebrated with sophomore student, Brittany Brockbank for the premiere of her original composition inspired by the well-known carol, Mary Did You Know, for alto saxophone, acoustic guitar, violin and cello. On the other hand, upon receiving three years of training in violin, theory and music production, junior student, Ruth Meeker has found her unique place in performing with the jazz band–a contemporary

violinist utilizing multi-effect pedal board. In each rehearsal, Ruth constantly exercises artistic discernment in creating timbres with the board for each piece. Ruth also enjoys the freedom of arranging her own violin part to bring new colors to this genre of music. We are excited to see her performance in the Night of Jazz with the band!”

This Spring Northwest Christian University performing arts produced Night of Jazz, a concert celebrating the styles of contemporary jazz, fusion, funk and swing. The concert featured NCU’s jazz ensemble, ladies contemporary A Cappella group Willow, and soloists chosen from among our most talented students. Night of Jazz featured the music of Snarky Puppy and Gordon Goodwin, as well as original compositions and arrangements by NCU students and music faculty. In collaboration with our Contemporary Music Industry program, Night of Jazz presented music that utilized technology such as cutting-edge electric keyboard patches, amplified horns and strings with multi-effect pedals.

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The Music Department currently offers the following majors: • Music with concentrations in Business, Worship Arts, Industry/Artistry, and Composition • Contemporary Music Industry with concentrations in Live Sound and Recording/Production • Christian Worship with concentrations in Music and Creative Arts And, the following minors: • Music • Contemporary Music Industry • Christian Worship • Worship Arts

ST U D E N T H I G H L I G H T:

kaylynn bush

An Overcomer.

A place of hope -- this was the message that Senior, Kaylynn Bush, shared about her experience at NCU. In this story, Kaylynn authentically shared some struggles she underwent before transferring to NCU, and how becoming a Beacon had played a huge role in her healing.

To watch this inspiring story by Fox’s Oregon Sports Report, please visit the link below: Facebook Story Link: nwcu.edu/kaylynn

SHORT TERM MISSIONS AT NCU By: Jennifer Little, campus ministry coordinator

I think the concept of “short-term missions” has gotten a bad rap these days. There are certainly way too many examples of short term missions done poorly, where privileged Americans have swooped into a community, presuming to know and understand all the needs in spite of language and cultural differences, and meeting those “needs” in a way that actually does that community more harm than good. But I think there is a way to do short-term mission trips that is good and educational and beneficial, both for our students and for the people we serve.

NCU is committed to partnering with mission organizations that are deeply rooted in their local communities. These organizations are not dropping boots on the ground and then flying off to the next opportunity. Everyone we work with has lasting ties with their communities, some having served their neighborhoods for decades. Most people are not able to commit the number of years it takes to build the proper relational, financial, and cultural capital needed for a lasting, culturally-sensitive impact. But if full-time missionaries were the only ones doing outreach and service, our world would be a far different place. I recently had the opportunity to have lunch with the leaders we worked with in Kenya this January. Joan simply said, “It really matters that you come. It would have taken the two of us 3 months to do what we [the NCU mission team] did in ten days.” Sending a team of energetic, passionate college students to partner our friends all over the world brings support, encouragement, and labor to those who are in it for the long haul, enabling them to do more than they could ever do alone.

Cross-cultural missions also provide an important piece to the education that we offer our students. Spending time getting to know people who do not look like you helps to broaden your understanding and challenge your worldview. I have often said that I hope these trips make our students’ worlds both bigger and smaller. I hope their worlds enlarge, as they get to see so much life, work, heartache, and joy happening outside of their small, comfortable bubble in Eugene. But I also hope their worlds get smaller, as they realize though languages and traditions may vary, the people we work with in Cambodia or Puerto Rico are just regular people like us, who are excited or saddened by many of the same things we are. When we can begin to see others, no matter who or where they are, as our neighbor, we are making progress toward kingdom work.

Short-term mission trips also give our students the opportunity to actually live out our mission at NCU. Everything we do here is with the goal of the formation of wisdom, faith, and service in our students. For some, this is the first time they have been on a plane, let alone out of the country. For others, it’s the first time they’ve had to face injustice head on. These trips provide a unique space for the Lord to work in each individual, stretching them out of their comfort zones, challenging their current assumptions, and allowing them the chance to worship the God they already know in a new language. It provides a sort of greenhouse that catalyzes growth like no other. Loving and working and serving together in the context of poverty and injustice, and seeing the extremes of human depravity and God’s miraculous restoration alters a person in a more profound way than possibly any other experience we can participate in. From fundraising to training to traveling to the myriad of experiences on the ground, each aspect puts into practice a different variation of wisdom, a new size of faith, and a contextualized type of service than they’ve ever faced before.

It is beautiful and hard and messy and life-changing. It is the quintessential NCU encounter.

These organizations are not dropping boots on the ground and then flying off to the next opportunity. Everyone we work with has lasting ties with their communities, some having served their neighborhoods for decades.

BEACON LEARNING By: Elyse Crichton, instructional technologist

Technology continues to change and shape the way we live. We’re always connected – our smart phones, laptops, even wearable technology like smart watches. We don’t have to think long about how technology permeates our daily routines.

Understandably, these technologies have also permeated how we teach and learn.

My role at NCU is to support instructors, specifically regarding technology, to enhance the student experience. My title is Instructional Technology Specialist, but many people simply refer to me as the BeaconLearning campus expert.

BeaconLearning is what we call our platform (website) for all of our courses. Online courses are maintained 100% on this platform while our face-to-face courses mainly use it for supplemental resources. Our BeaconLearning site allows us to offer flexible, asynchronous online courses to students anywhere there is internet access. This works well for busy students in all walks of life. It also allows us to save paper and keep printing costs down for students who can submit digital assignments easily with an upload box.

My favorite part about my job is helping students succeed – we never want technology to be a barrier. Technology should be a tool to reach more people and reach them more effectively. I love that my position allows me to do just that.

I took a unique path to this position, and I think it’s another example of how God can use you in ways you never would have imagined. I began undergrad with the intentions of being an elementary teacher, taking course work in education and even technology for teaching. Halfway through my junior year, I had done a semester of in-class practicum and realized a traditional classroom was not where I wanted to be. I was able to switch my major to Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS) and focus on my position as a Resident Assistant (RA). My student leadership experience eventually led me to a position in the Office of Student Life where I enjoyed helping develop other student leaders, working in Residence Life and Student Programs. My passion for technology was a theme in how I did most things. A friend approached me and suggested I might do well and enjoy the Instructional Technology Specialist position. With my background in education, passion for NCU, and desire and skills to support students, I began to see how God prepared me for this new role and adventure. Even though we are only able to see the present, God is outside of time and can see the whole picture.

One of the big pictures we focus on at NCU is student retention.

I get to tackle through the lens of the student experience and academic excellence through our online courses and BeaconLearning platform. NCU has been a wonderful place to grow, first as a student and now as a professional. I’m looking forward to seeing not only our institutional growth, but the growth and futures of our graduates.

Sincerely a Beacon for life, Elyse Crichton

SAAM (SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARNESS MONTH) By: Jocelyn Hubbs, title ix coordinator

April is nationally recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and like many college campuses across the nation, NCU takes this opportunity to bring awareness and understanding to this very important topic! Our campaign this year included the “I Ask” theme that champions the message that asking for consent is a health, normal, and necessary part of everyday interactions.

Whether asking for permission to text someone, to hold hands, go for coffee, or give a hug, consent is always important between friends, roommates, co-workers, teammates, and significant others. Our Student Leadership Teams and key Staff wore T-shirts with the “I Ask” theme to kick off our SAAM efforts on April 4th along with two very special chapel guests from a local sexual assault survivor agency. On April 16th, our campus hosted a Pledge Day asking our community to make a commitment to Ask, Know More, Stand with Survivors, and Speak Up! Details on prevention, local and national resources for survivors or supporters, action steps, along with a few giveaways (and donuts!) were all a part of Pledge Day. Over 110 students, faculty, and staff signed the SAAM Pledge taking steps to transform their own awareness into engagement. Denim Day, an international

campaign on April 24th involving individuals wearing jeans to protest against sexual violence, will be our last campus event for SAAM. Other local free events for NCU’s students include the Eugene Library hosting a talk with Sohaila Abdulali, a research scholar, author and survivor of sexual assault and the University of Oregon’s Take Back the Night march and rally. Our hope is that SAAM has opened up dialogue and provided additional learning opportunities for our students, faculty, and staff as we work to prevent sexual assault within our community while also standing by survivors!