Voice Spring/Summer 2018

VOLUME 63

NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2018

|

OF DORDT COLLEGE

ISSUE 3 OF 3

THE

SEEKING RENEWAL in art, in research, in work, in class, in nature, in relationships—in all things

TUTORIALS, TAZ STYLE 4

BECOMING DORDT UNIVERSITY 13 STATS AND PUBLIC HEALTH 21

Leading Off WITH THE PRESIDENT

A THREE-LEGGED STOOL Nearly 400 years ago, Reformed theologians gathered at Dordrecht in the Netherlands for a church meeting–a synod–that lasted nine months.

Delegates to the meeting covered many topics, including sessions on the challenge of ensuring that young people not only learned church doctrine, but also had their hearts, minds, and hands shaped in such a way that they would love God and serve their neighbor. Today, we call that “faith formation”—how the church effectively disciples and passes down the faith to the next generation.

What I find most compelling is the synod’s clear statement that faith formation was not primarily the responsibility of the church. Instead, the church was a partner with the home and the school in nurturing faith. This view continues today through a Reformed understanding and commitment to Christian education. It’s a stool with three legs—church, home, and school— all partnering together to help shape the next generation of effective kingdom citizens.

The Synod of Dort started something back in 1618: a partnership between church, home, and school that has been carried on for 400 years by Christians committed to the Reformed tradition.

The stool with three legs has helped young people become passionate workers for Christ-centered renewal in every area of life from that day forward until today.

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It’s in this tradition that Dordt College— soon Dordt University—stands. Our mission is to partner with the church and with families to form people who serve Christ—to help them find their place in God’s world and equip them to carry out that calling in ways that show Christ’s love and reflect that glory back to God. I’m personally glad that I didn’t need to endure nine months of church meetings, but I’m eternally grateful to the Synod of Dort for putting forth the three-legged stool concept of church, home, and school that has been a foundation of our work here at Dordt.

Voice THE

OF DORDT COLLEGE

SPRING/SUMMER 2018 VOLUME 63 | ISSUE 3 The Voice, an outreach of Dordt College, is sent to you as alumni and friends of Christian higher education.

The Voice is published three times each year to share information about the programs, activities, and people at Dordt. www.dordt.edu (712) 722-6000 Send address corrections and correspondence to voice@dordt.edu or VOICE, Dordt College, 498 Fourth Ave. NE, Sioux Center, IA 51250-1606 Contributors Sarah Moss ('10), editor sarah.moss@dordt.edu Sally Jongsma, contributing editor Jamin Ver Velde ('99), art director and designer Jonathan Fictorie ('19), photographer Kate Henreckson, contributing writer Lydia Marcus ('17), contributing writer Erika Buiter ('21), student writer Danny Mooers ('18), student writer Alicia Bowar ('05), associate director of alumni and parent relations Brandon Huisman ('10), vice president for marketing and enrollment brandon.huisman@dordt.edu

DR. ERIK HOEKSTRA, PRESIDENT

Our Mission As an institution of higher education committed to a Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt equips students, alumni, and the broader community to work effectively toward Christcentered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life.

On the Cover "Resplendent" is one of 200 tiny watercolors created by Lydia Van Wingerden ('18) as part of "Littles," her senior art exhibit.

The original piece is around two inches in size. Photo by Jonathan Fictorie (19).

"Synod of Dordrecht" by Pouwels Weyts

Inside

Editor’s Notes

THIS ISSUE

JONATHAN FICTORIE (19)

HATS OFF TO COMMENCEMENT On Friday, May 11, Dordt held its 64th commencement ceremony. Each of the 307 students walked across the B.J. Haan Auditorium stage, shook President Erik Hoekstra's hand, and received a diploma. After the ceremony, some students celebrated on the Campus Green by tossing their graduation caps in the air.

NEWS

4

A philosophy professor puts his own spin on tutorial-style teaching to help students become better communicators.

9

Pro-Tech faculty and students look back at the program's first year.

FEATURES

ALUMNI

13

On May 13, 2019, Dordt will become known as Dordt University.

16

Senior theatre and art majors cap off their Dordt experience with senior-directed plays and art exhibits.

21

From asking great questions to making groundbreaking discoveries in public health, a statistics professor teaches undergraduates how to research well.

RESPLENDENT

R

ecent graduate Lydia Van Wingerden (’18) titled the painting on this issue’s cover “Resplendent.” To Van Wingerden, the person with arms outstretched in awe at the towering peaks helps depict the word, which the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines as: “shining brilliantly, characterized by a glowing splendor.” Van Wingerden took time to carefully and methodically paint this and 199 other tiny watercolors, using the talents God has given her.

This issue highlights recent graduates who also took great care to make the most of their last year on campus: theatre majors who directed their own productions, an education major who planned an honor flight, biology and psychology majors who tackled public health issues through research, and art majors—including Van Wingerden—who created their own art exhibits.

All of us at Dordt applaud the many professional and personal successes of our students. What we want above all, though, is for each graduate to radiate the “glowing splendor” of Christ’s love and to leave campus committed to “working effectively toward Christcentered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life.”

30

Historian and writer Kristin Kobes Du Mez ('97) reflects on what her Dordt years taught her.

SARAH MOSS (ʼ10), EDITOR

33

Jim Schaap ('70) tells the story of how Emily Hageman ('12) wrote and directed a play that earned "Critic's Choice" at All-State in Ames, Iowa.

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TUTORIALS, TAZ STYLE NEWS

Stop by the coffee nook outside of the philosophy pod on any weekday afternoon, and you might run into Dr. Mark Tazelaar conversing with students.

This isn’t an ordinary conversation; it’s a tutorial for Tazelaar’s Introduction to Christian Philosophy class.

voices—to conflate them into one voice— than it is to dismiss only one other voice.”

Some of Tazelaar’s students find the “I want to help students develop tutorial style intimidating, but recent confidence in their ability to verbally graduate Ashley Huizinga loved the present their thoughts,” says Tazelaar, a experience. philosophy professor.

“In life, most conversations happen one-on-one or in small groups. Will students be able to speak up and articulate their thoughts? I think —Dr. Mark Tazelaar, philosophy professor the tutorial format encourages them to “In no other class would I have been learn this skill.” asked—required—to unfold my entire Tutorials are a nod to the Oxford theological background and then be University tutorial system, where faculty blown away in the next five minutes by meet individually with their students to someone else telling their story, which engage in discussion. Tazelaar prefers to was so fundamentally different from hold tutorials with three students at a mine,” says Huizinga. “Nowhere else time; he wants his students to engage in would I express an opinion and then be conversation, and he has found that, in encouraged to trace that opinion back pairs, students either tend to agree or to historically, with a professor sitting right take sides against each other. there and helping me along in painting that path.”

“With three students, it’s harder for them to land on the same page,” says Tazelaar.

Tazelaar requires all students in his “Three keep the conversation going, Introduction to Philosophy course to and it’s harder to be dismissive of two participate in the first tutorial; after

JAMIN VER VELDE (99)

“I want to help students develop confidence in their ability to verbally present their thoughts.”

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that, they can choose between taking a written test or continuing with the tutorial. Huizinga chose to stick with the tutorial because she felt she learned something new there.

“Few college classes teach you how to listen to others as they articulate their opinions,” says Huizinga. “In tutorials, talking over each other doesn’t do any good, grade-wise. You’ve got to be eloquent but fair about the things you say and how you interpret what others say. It was essentially a crash course in learning to converse in a small group setting.”

Tazelaar believes tutorial-style learning helps his students think more deeply about topics and issues.

“The tutorial is really less about testing them in the ordinary sense than it is about introducing them to the process of inquiry and discovery,” says Tazelaar.

“My hope is that they better understand the need to deepen, revise, and correct their thoughts. What I hope to develop and see in students is an ability to make discoveries—to gain new insights through these discussions.”

SARAH MOSS (’10)

ow did senior English major Anneke Wind end up onstage at London’s Globe Theatre dressed as Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet?

“We had just gone on a tour of the Globe Theatre and had some free time to do whatever we wanted,” says Wind. “My friend and I decided to explore the exhibitions in the Globe’s basement.”

They watched an onstage demonstration of Shakespearean dress, with two mannequins sporting Elizabethan attire for males and females. There was also a rack full of costumes.

Before Wind knew what was happening, one of the presenters, who had been Wind’s tour guide through the Globe Theatre, asked her to come on stage. As the crowd of onlookers grew, Wind dressed in the different layers of clothing and listened as the purpose of each layer was explained.

“Once I was fully dressed as Ophelia, I also got to put on a mini fashion show, striding back and forth across the stage, looking over my shoulder, and smiling,” she says. “You know, the usual.”

Wind spent the spring semester studying at York St. John University in York, England. Besides her academic work, Wind traveled to London and beyond.

“I visited Hadrian’s Wall, Lindisfarne, Warkworth, Durham, Scarborough, Stratfordupon-Avon, and Oxford,” says Wind.

“In Scotland, I went to Glasgow and Edinburgh. I’ve also been to Northern Ireland. And outside of the United Kingdom, I traveled to Barcelona; Dunkirk, France; Bruges, Brussels, and Ghent in Belgium; Paris; and I finished my break in Normandy.”

While in England, Anneke Wind learned a lot about publishing, her dream career path.

Wind is grateful for all that she has been able to do over the past few months.

“Britain is a relatively small country, so most places are only a few hours away by train,” says Wind. “I’ve been able to truly experience the country. I was encouraged to be a pilgrim, not a tourist, which definitely affected how I approached my time there—we were there to dwell in York and experience it, not simply look around and take pictures.”

Even though she has no plans to play Ophelia again, Wind is glad she took a chance at the Globe Theatre.

“Going on a stage isn’t something I normally do,” says Wind.

“But, I learned a lot and being dressed as Ophelia in front of an audience was really cool.”

FOUR DORDT EMPLOYEES RETIRE DR. DUANE BAJEMA Agriculture professor Dr. Duane Bajema has been a Dordt faculty member for 41 years. “All of that time his focus was on the students; he challenged them to think from a biblical perspective,” says Dr. John Olthoff, Bajema's colleague in the department. “He was passionate that what was done in his classroom and in the department served the students and the Lord. This helped shape and guide the agriculture program into what it is today.”

NEWS

WIND TAKES THE STAGE AS OPHELIA H

LES NETJES Les Netjes, executive assistant to the vice president for college advancement, has served Dordt for 19 years. “Les has helped facilitate more than $14 million in gifts," says John Baas, vice president for advancement. "As a result, he has not only blessed this institution, but through the students and graduates who have directly or indirectly been the beneficiaries, his efforts continue to ripple throughout God’s kingdom.”

GLENN BOUMA Glenn Bouma has been athletic director at Dordt for 21 years. “Glenn’s legacy will not be in the Rec Center he supervised or in the games he won as a basketball coach,” says Mike Byker, sports information director. “It won’t be in the growth the athletic department has experienced while he was athletic director. It will be in how he treated others and exhibited a humble servant’s heart in his leadership role.”

CAROL PRINSEN Carol Prinsen has served on the maintenance team for 33 years. “That means she is cleaning up after students whose parents she served in the same way,” says Howard Wilson, vice president and chief administrative officer. “That’s a long-term ministry of care, behind the scenes and making Dordt a great place to be.”

ERIKA BUITER (‘21)

SARAH MOSS (’10)

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NEWS

Matthew Ojo, a senior accounting major, was chosen as one of only 12 students to attend the annual Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts Symposium at Wheaton College in May of 2018.

Jason Vander Woude (’18) received an honorable mention as a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Fellow applicant.

The NSF recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees.

Provost Dr. Eric Forseth acted as a workshop facilitator for both Western Christian High School and Unity Christian High School, helping them develop strategic plans during the 2017-18 academic year.

Associate Provost Dr. Leah Zuidema was selected for a 201819 Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant for the International Education Administrators (IEA) seminar. Dr. Zuidema also recently presented “Taking Action as Teacher Writers,” “Advancing Scholarship through Support for Faculty as Writers,” and “Improving Program Review with Templates, Data, and Interpretive Reports" at the Higher Learning Commission and Council for Christian Colleges and Universities conferences.

Blades Hockey will celebrate its 50th anniversary by hosting an alumni hockey game during Defender Days in October. For more information, contact natevn@dordt. edu.

Dordt’s debate team, led by communication professor Bruce Kuiper, received second place in overall debate points at NCCFI, an annual national forensics competition. Individual students on the team also received high placements. Bethany Van Eps received second place for prose interpretation, Tony Zou received an honor for reaching the semifinals in impromptu speaking, and Joshua Dorsett received third place in JV parliamentary debate.

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JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

Campus Kudos

TEACHING BIOSECURITY Handwashing may seem too trivial a habit to address in a college-level lab, but for agriculture students, handwashing is a significant biosecurity precaution required in their field.

Biosecurity is basically implementing “procedures to protect humans or animals from disease or pathogens outside of their normal living situation,” explains Steve Bogaard, natural sciences lab coordinator.

“For both four-year and Pro-Tech agriculture students, biosecurity is a real-world topic that they will have to deal with in S. Bogaard their future employment places,” says Bogaard. “From high-end human pharmaceutical to small family farms, transferring ‘bugs’ from one facility to another is a real concern.”

Agriculture students got to see for themselves how easily “bugs” can spread and stick around even after quick hand washes when agriculture professor Dr. Duane Bajema secretly dusted students’ papers and the lab floor with GloGerm, a white powder that glows under black light. After some time had passed, students had unknowingly dispersed the GloGerm throughout the lab. Bajema and Bogaard used a black light to illuminate the surfaces of the lab—which was now covered in the powder—to demonstrate how pervasive contaminants can be.

Students spent the rest of lab testing how long it took to effectively wash the GloGerm “bugs” from their hands and other surfaces.

“It was an important visual experience because it proved to us how easy it is to spread bacteria and other substances from object to person and to anything else that we touch,” says senior biology major Emma DeVries. “Some people had GloGerm on their faces, and it was all over our clothes. We had even spread some in the hallway, and we found it all over the floor and on our shoes from where we had walked.”

Bajema hopes the memorable demonstration will stick with his students as they enter the workforce.

“Students need to understand why biosecurity protocols are necessary, and they need to be in a position to teach others in case they find themselves supervising workers in the future,” says Bajema.

“It is easy to get in a routine and become lax when following procedures,” says DeVries. “When that happens, mistakes can be made, and the consequences can potentially be severe. This lab prompted me to be more thorough when entering or leaving an agriculture or lab setting and to think more about the procedures that are in place and why.”

LYDIA MARCUS ('17)

D

r. Jeff Taylor was set to host the Republican caucus in the B.J. Haan Auditorium on February 1 ahead of the 2016 elections. Then, someone from KCAU-TV in Sioux City called Dordt and asked if anyone on staff would be willing to appear on television that same night and speak about the upcoming elections.

NEWS

DR. JEFF TAYLOR: PROFESSOR AND POLITICAL ANALYST

Taylor, a political science professor, decided he was willing to forego hosting the caucus to share his political insights on KCAU-TV. “They must have liked what I did because I’ve been interviewed close to 30 times since,” Taylor says.

Being a political analyst on television is not a new experience for Taylor.

As a political analyst, Dr. Jeff Taylor says he seeks to be respectful and build bridges. "To me," he

says, "that's more professional and effective."

“When I taught in Rochester, Minnesota, I did some commentary on a couple of TV stations,” Taylor says. “I hadn’t done so since being back in Iowa, so I was excited when —Dr. Jeff Taylor, political science professor this opportunity came up.”

“I think my faith comes out in how I approach a subject that can be pretty contentious. I try to be very fair, even-handed, accurate, and kind.”

Taylor also has appeared on Iowa Public Radio four times during their Wednesday

Either way, Taylor sees his platform as unique. Hundreds of political analysts appear on television and radio stations every day all over the country. Why trust him?

politics show. Here, Taylor says, his Christian faith is consciously sought: Iowa Public Radio brings Taylor in for both his political expertise and his knowledge of

Being a Christian in the world of political analysts is something that Taylor finds to be an interesting opportunity.

“I don’t necessarily feel like I am on KCAU to evangelize,” Taylor says. “But I think my faith comes out in how I approach a subject that can be pretty contentious. I try to be very fair, even-handed, accurate, and kind. I try to show the love of Christ in the way I approach the discussion.”

“I’m usually part of a panel on Iowa Public Radio,” Taylor says. “They’ll ask me what people at Dordt think about Trump or how people at Dordt feel about certain things. They have me on because of my Christian perspective.”

JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

Taylor is able to bring a different perspective to the newsroom at KCAU. Living in Sioux Center rather than Sioux City, he has a better pulse on what rural Iowans are concerned about and is able to share that perspective.

the Christian faith.

Taylor teaches a variety of political science courses, including Public Policy, State and Local Politics, and International Relations.

It may be largely because Taylor uses his knowledge to discuss difficult topics in a Christ-like way. His publications and political involvement also give him credibility.

“I’ve heard people from all sides of the political sphere say they’ve enjoyed my interviews, so I hope I’ve stayed objective enough,” Taylor says. Plus, he says, it’s given him an opportunity to share Dordt’s name with people who may not know about it.

DANNY MOOERS (’18)

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NEWS

Chemistry post- doctoral fellow Dr. Joshua Zhu successfully completed his Ph.D. during the spring semester. His dissertation, titled “Glycosylation: Function, Synthesis and Application,” explores chemoenzymatic synthesis of glycopeptide and its application in drug discovery.

Dr. Tom Clark, associate professor of mathematics, presented “Barbie Bungee: Multivariable Edition" at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Diego in January. Clark was also selected as chair of the SIGMAAMCST, a special interest group in the Mathematical Association of America that works to promote fun math activities among students and teachers across the United States.

Dr. Abby Foreman, professor of social work, completed her Ph.D. in political science and public administration from the University of South Dakota. She successfully defended her dissertation, titled “Perceptions of the Contract-For-Services Relationships: The Impact of Trust.”

She also presented “Trust, Goals, and Motivations in Contract-ForServices Relationships” at the Midwest Political Science Association in Chicago, Illinois on April 5.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Faculty Notes

Starting this fall, Aaron Van Beek will teach third grade at Kinsey Elementary School in Sioux Center. "Teaching is a way I can give back, much like I'm trying to do with honor flights," he says.

VAN BEEK HONORS VETS

BY ORGANIZING FLIGHT J

ust four days after graduating in May, Aaron Van Beek (’18) sent out his second honor flight carrying veterans to visit Washington, D.C. Van Beek is president and director of Midwest Honor Flight, a branch of the national organization that he started while a student at Dordt.

It all began with a trip to Arlington National Cemetery—and Twitter. After visiting Arlington, Van Beek followed the cemetery on Twitter and explored its website. There he read about Wreaths Across America and decided to start a branch in Sioux Center. Van Beek learned about the honor flights when the Fort Dodge Honor Flight organization asked his Wreaths Across America branch to sponsor a couple of veterans from Sioux County who were being included in their honor flight.

“There hasn’t been an honor flight in South Dakota or southwest Minnesota since around 2012,” says Van Beek. “So I started looking into the possibility of opening up an honor flight locally.”

Van Beek turned that possibility into reality. He credits his history classes and the opportunities he’s had to learn about other countries for providing him with context for his work.

“What I appreciate most about the flight is that it brings healing and closure to the veterans and their families. They were willing to lay down their lives in service for their country. A lot of them don’t think that they deserve this honor, and they don’t say that they’re heroes, but they are.

They all deserve to go,” he says.

ERIKA BUITER (’21)

ALICIA BOWAR (05)

Assistant Professor of Theology Dr. David Henreckson's article “Resisting the Devil’s Instruments: Retrieving Early Modern Resistance Theory for Late Modern Times” was published in the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics. Henreckson also lectured at Redeemer University College on “The Future of Christian Political Theology” and gave a presentation titled “Political Theology in the Age of Trump” at Western Theological Seminary.

CLASS OF 1968 REUNITES The class of 1968 graduates and their spouses visited Dordt for the 50th class reunion in May. They enjoyed a luncheon, toured campus, and watched the 2018 commencement ceremony.

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PRO-TECH: A YEAR IN REVIEW NEWS

Dordt’s new, two-year vocational program concluded its first year in May. Students in the Pro-Tech program take classroom courses and participate in an internship, working two full days a week and doing the same shift as a company employee.

Pro-Tech students take 24 credits of core classes—about half of what is required for a four-year program. Just eight weeks into the program, the internships begin. For Bryce Hiemstra, from Manteca, California, this meant operating robotic welders at Demco in Boyden, Iowa while living on Dordt’s campus and enjoying the benefits of a residential college experience.

“It’s been amazing to watch students grow through their work,” says Tom Colarossi, farm operations professor.

“They mature in ways they don’t even see themselves. After two years, we want them to be confident in their abilities when they go back home to farm or begin their careers in production agriculture.”

BETHANY VAN VOORST

“For a program that started as just an idea, we accomplished a great deal in one year: implementing courses, certifying

JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

Ivan Hoogland of Longmont, Colorado, spent the year studying farm operations and management. He interned at Summit Dairy and learned everything from cow vaccination to strategies for managing an agricultural business. He also participated in Bible studies, study groups, and intramural sports at Dordt.

Bryce Hiemstra uses a robotic welder at Demco, a company that specializes in agriculture, RV towing, and trailer products. “Back in high school, I never would have thought that I’d be operating robotic welders,” he says. “My co-workers are helpful, and I’m learning quickly.”

students, equipping labs, and placing students in internships,” says Oscar Rodriguez, who teaches manufacturing technology. “There are things we plan to streamline and change, but overall it was a really good year.”

“You run into things at work that go further than what you learned in the textbook,” says Colarossi. “You have to solve a problem, treat a sick animal, fix a piece of broken machinery. Internships give students frontline opportunities to apply what they’ve learned in class.”

For Dr. Joel Sikkema, director of Pro-Tech, the program is about serviceable insight, the combining of classroom knowledge and practical action. He was pleased with how the internships went.

“On any given day at my internship, I could be cleaning water troughs, milking, or vaccinating cows,” says Ivan Hoogland.

“Taking that number of students and matching them with the right opportunity is not an easy task,” he says.

“We try to figure out what the needs of the world are in ag and manufacturing,

READY TO GROW With a new $255,000 grant from the National Science Foundation as well as a new building at Dordt’s Ag Stewardship Center, Pro-Tech’s possibilities continue to increase.

and how our students’ strengths and passions can be used to address those needs.”

“We want to equip our students to be part of Christ’s reconciliatory work in all different parts of creation,” says Sikkema, who says that there is a gap in the Christian higher education landscape in agriculture. “Pro-Tech is designed to help students fill those needs. Our goal is to mentor them, shape them, and then send them back to their farms and ranches and companies, to serve others to the glory of God.” KATE HENRECKSON

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NEWS

LIVING THE DEFENDER WAY Athletic director Ross Douma has made implementing the Defender Way concept a top priority during his first few months on the job.

DANNY MOOERS ('18)

“Many collegiate mantras like ‘Defender Way’ have performance and behavioralbased initiatives and targets,” Douma says. “We have that as well, but we add a Christian component that is meaningful and enriching.”

The Defender Way consists of four components: the Great Commission, servant leadership, academic development, and pursuit of championships.

Douma is quick to point out the order of the four components. For him, the first and most important is the Great Commission. The men’s basketball team has traveled to Chicago in recent years to lead a camp at West Side Chicago Christian School, and the football team has partnered to assist with the Special Olympics. Douma sees both as opportunities to spread the love and good news of Christ.

Servant leadership and academic development are close behind in importance for Douma.

The Defender Way is featured prominently in the athletic department and outside the De Witt Gymnasium, serving as a reminder for coaches, athletes, and visitors that walk by.

“The Defender Way brings a greater degree of accountability to our athletic program.”

—Ross Douma, athletic director

“We want our athletes to become great people who excel in the classroom,” Douma says. “The Defender Way brings a greater degree of accountability to our athletic program.”

athletes achieved a 3.27 combined GPA. Coaches now require their athletes to have instructors sign progress reports that confirm that they are performing to their potential.

During the 2016-17 academic year, Dordt JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

Ross Douma served as head coach of the men’s basketball team from 2009 until 2018, guiding the Defenders to a 180-105 record.

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The fourth component is winning championships. While producing topnotch athletic teams is important, Douma believes the first three are a priority for the long term.

This summer, Douma and the coaching staff of each team will sit down and discuss how to make each of these elements function in their programs.

“It will look different for each team,” Douma says. “The basics are the same, but each coaching staff knows their team and the best way to get the most from

them.”

Dordt considers athletics co-curricular activities an important part of the college experience.

“We believe that what takes place in athletics can be as valuable as what takes place in a classroom,” Douma says.

“We want to administer good athletic teams that give our student athletes the best experience possible.”

Douma acknowledges that the first two aspects of the Defender Way, in particular, are hard to quantify, but that won’t stop the athletic department from working to put them into practice.

He believes that as seniors pass on these values to juniors and juniors to sophomores, the goals and ideals embraced in the Defender Way will become an integral part of the program.

“I hope when high school students are introduced to our athletic department, they see us living out these four components,” Douma says.

DANNY MOOERS (’18)

SARAH MOSS ('10)

Faculty Notes

IOWA SECRETARY OF AG FORUM TACKLES POLITICS AND POLICY W

ith Chinese tariffs on beef, soybeans, and other U.S. products making national headlines, it seemed timely that the Ag Club welcomed four candidates for Iowa’s secretary of agriculture position to campus for a forum.

“Having the forum at Dordt not only provided the candidates with a chance to talk with local people involved in agriculture, but it gave Dordt students a view into the process of politics and policy, even if they are not from Iowa,” says agriculture professor Dr. John Olthoff.

“Iowa is the top producing state for corn, soybeans, and hogs, and Sioux County is the top agriculture county in the state; these policies directly impact us,” says Alayna Gerhardt, a senior animal science major.

Understanding how policy and politics interact with agriculture is important, particularly for Christians and in today’s political climate.

“Agriculture does not exist on its own,” says Olthoff. “Anyone involved in agriculture—from production to support business—needs to be aware of the impact of policy. More importantly, they should be involved in educating consumers and policy makers, or they should get directly involved with the policy-making process.”

Candidates Ray Gaesser, Chad Ingels, Craig Lang, Dan Zumbach, and Mike Naig each spent 15 minutes describing their platforms before answering questions from the crowd.

“As they presented their viewpoints, it was obvious that there are common themes that are important to the state,” says Olthoff.

Two of these areas are soil health and water quality.

“Soil health and water quality are directly related and will determine environmental quality and economic value for farmers in the state,” says Olthoff. “A sustainable system that supports the economic viability of farmers, rural communities, and environmental qualities is necessary, and Iowa could be an example for other states.”

Dordt students also heard the candidates’ takes on watershed quality, subsidies, and retaining an in-state agriculture workforce.

“As a native Iowan looking to eventually take over the family farm, I appreciated how all the candidates took interest in helping set up the next generation and in addressing the labor gap on farms,” says Mitch Rozeboom, an agri-business major.

“I really appreciated that because I’ve experienced it firsthand.”

The forum was valuable for students who don’t hail from Iowa, too.

“This is information we should all know,” says Rozeboom. “I think it applies even to students not from Iowa, since ag policy in Iowa affects other states.”

NEWS

More than 75 people attended the ag forum to hear the five panelists speak. Alayna Gerhardt, who serves as Ag Club president, moderated the event.

Professor of English Dr. Bob De Smith presented a paper titled “’The best in this kind are but shadows’: A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Movies” at the Northern Plains Conference on Early British Literature in Brandon, Manitoba. A member of the conference advisory board, De Smith has hosted the conference at Dordt on two occasions.

Dr. Dave Mulder, associate professor of education, presented two papers at the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE). The papers are titled “PreService Teachers as Digital Natives: The Myths, The Controversy, and How They Describe Themselves” and “’We’re Just Expected to Know How’: Unpacking Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About Technology Integration.”

Rikki Heldt, instructor of language studies, co-presented “Best Practices for Integration FirstGeneration Latino Students: Theoretical Framework, Lessons Learned, and Theological Foundations" at the CCCU International Forum in Dallas, Texas, with professors from John Brown University, Fresno Pacific University, and George Fox University.

Associate Professor of Psychology Dr. Bruce Vermeer presented “Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment Interventions and the Soul: Moral & Ethical Considerations” at the Canadian Scientific and Christian Affiliation (CSCA) Conference in May at Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia. He also gave a presentation titled “Caregiver Stress” at a caregiver conference in Orange City, Iowa, in May.

SARAH MOSS (’10)

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NEWS

Seeing Clearly IN ALL THINGS E X PLORE S T HE CONCRE T E IMPLIC ATIONS OF CHRIS T’S PRE SENCE IN A L L FACE T S OF LIFE

"First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye."

(Matthew 7:5) What we fail to reconcile in our own hearts will inevitably be projected on others. It’s an inviolable principle of Scripture and psychology summarized in Augustine’s words: Noverim me—Let me know myself. Our inner work makes honest engagement with another’s sin not only possible, but possibly transformational.

It also frees us to know and be known by God. This transformation is so important in a day when reactive social media engagement has replaced reflective, patient, interpersonal dialogue. As an early adopter of Twitter and Facebook, I’ve participated in toxic, quick-fire backand-forth’s that went nowhere, convinced no one, and served only to magnify the log in my own eye. This modern-day, call-and-response liturgy mirrors our culture’s addiction to rushed, anxious communication. It fosters disconnection rather than connection, which further exhausts our anxious limbic systems, fuels shame, and erodes trust. We risk undermining the change we seek in others and in our world.

It would be easy to blame social media platforms or seemingly omnipresent Christian social media personalities who might be easy targets. And let’s not in any way minimize how we’re all caught up in systems of power and privilege which breed suspicion, injustice, and a righteous desire to express concern. In many respects, social media has given ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON:

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the voiceless a platform to speak.

So, I start with me, because if I don’t do my work and examine my heart, then I’ll be firing arrows into the air haphazardly, unaware of whom I hurt.

Disciplines of daily silence and self-examination allow me space for meaningful reflection and centering. In these times, I am most in touch with the shame underlying my anxious lifestyle and the grief I keep at a distance through addictive habits. True repentance is borne out of moments of silence and solitude, when what lurks in the shadows can be revealed.

How do you experience silence? A while ago, I was talking to a CEO who said, “I’d never want to do that; I’d have to be with myself.” He laughed, but the shame and self-contempt was palpable. He is unaware of how his avoidance nullifies any prospect of inner transformation. He cannot see the anxious system he leads.

He wonders why retention is so low and why production stagnates. Those who work with this man experience his abusive tactics every day, as he blames everyone but himself. And yet, in that one moment, I caught a glimpse of the terror that the prospect of silence stirred in him.

Shame may be the most powerful emotion in the universe. It whispers within, “You’re not enough.” It whispers to the CEO and the star athlete, the stay-at-home parent and the young pastor. It floods the body, fueling selfcontempt and a crying out for relief. Our strategies for relief are endless: busyness, achievement, ingratiation, pleasure, addictions, even spiritual activities.

Instead of turning our attention within to experience God’s love and kindness

amidst our shame, we look outside, often turning our shame into contempt for others, exercising control of our lives, and correcting everyone but ourselves.

Too often, rather than facing our own shame, we place it elsewhere. Rather than naming our own powerlessness, we power up. When faced with the chaos of the world and our own lives, we grasp at control. In doing so, we become complicit with the very “powers and principalities” that are fueled by contempt and control.

The work of exploring our own “logs” is work done not just for ourselves, but for the sake of the world. We uproot our sin so that we can do good. We become recipients of grace so that we can extend grace.

When we recognize that we are the “poor in spirit,” those powerless to change the world, Jesus comes. God dwells within.

The source of power is redemptive. Even challenging another is borne out of love.

St. John of the Cross once said that the Gospel mission is to put love where love is not. Rooting out the log in our own eye is the first act of love, as we remove every obstacle to union with God within in order to experience the depth and breadth of divine love.

In a time when it’s easier than ever to call others out, the invitation is to return to the wisdom of Jesus. He doesn’t tell us to ignore the speck in the other’s eye or turn a blind eye to the world’s injustices. He simply wants us to do the work so that we can see clearly.

CHUCK DEGROAT (’92) IS PROFESSOR OF PASTORAL CARE AND CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY AT WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN HOLLAND, MICHIGAN. HIS MOST RECENT BOOK IS WHOLEHEARTEDNESS: BUSYNESS, EXHAUSTION, AND THE HEALING THE DIVIDED SELF.

In All Things is a journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation. We want to expand our imagination for what the Christian life— and life of the mind—can accomplish. In pursuit of this end, we will engage in conversation with diverse voices across a wide range of traditions, places, and times.

NEWS

BECOMING DORDT UNIVERSITY

By the time President Erik Hoekstra took to the stage on the morning of May 3, more than 500 students, faculty, staff, and local media had gathered on the main level, the stairway, and in the balcony of the Campus Center.

“Today, I want to announce to you and to the world that this institution shall continue with the same kingdom vision, the same Christ-centered purpose, and the same student-centered mission, but will, on May 13, 2019, move forward under the name ‘Dordt University,’” Hoekstra said to those gathered.

The room erupted in applause. Later, student government president Megan Van Den Berg spoke to the crowd.

“The university initiative is very exciting,

and I cannot wait to see the positive effects this will have on our campus today, tomorrow, and 25 years down the road,” she said. “Dordt is growing and changing in amazing ways, and this change will be reflected in our name: Dordt University.”

Two weeks earlier, the Board of Trustees had approved the recommendation to move forward with the university initiative. The decision was made after much prayer, research, and conversation.

A university initiative task force,

comprised of faculty, staff, and students, had conducted focus groups with alumni, students, faculty, and staff to gauge their sentiments about the change before presenting their findings to the Board of Trustees.

“The board acknowledged that now is a providential time to consider this university initiative,” says Hoekstra.

“There is a sense of momentum.

Enrollment is strong, and our graduates are finding jobs and getting into graduate school.”

JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

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JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

WHY DORDT UNIVERSITY

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“Why Dordt will become Dordt University comes down to three reasons: mission fit, academic excellence, and global footprint,” says Hoekstra.

Dordt’s mission states that, “as an institution of higher education committed to the Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt equips students, alumni, and the broader community to work effectively toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life.”

To Hoekstra, becoming Dordt University is a way for the institution to continue to live its mission.

Dordt faculty are known for living that mission through their teaching and interaction with students.

“What we do in our classes, through chapel, in co-curriculars—all of these are important for teaching students to be kingdom citizens,” says Dr. Erin Olson, associate professor of social work. “Worship can happen while you’re sitting in the classroom, serving as an RA in the dorms, or being part of a Bible study. We as faculty are dedicated and committed to the idea that Christ-centered renewal can happen in all areas of creation.”

at Dordt is special, but I think of it as camaraderie—connectedness, belonging, and closeness,” says Hoekstra. “As president, I want to get to know students.

I want to keep that sense of belonging and unity within Christ that’s been part of this place since Dordt started.”

"There has been a lot of discussion and prayer going into this university initiative, and we have come to the conclusion that Dordt is ready for this change," says Megan Van Den Berg.

“Dordt University best describes who we are and who we are becoming. Dordt now looks and acts more like a university than a college.”

—Dr. Erik Hoekstra, president

“Dordt University best describes who we are and who we are becoming,” he says.

“Over the years, our mission has led us to develop academic and co-curricular programs that prepare students to serve in the professions they enter and the communities in which they live. Dordt now looks and acts more like a university than a college.”

In addition to a diverse array of traditional undergraduate programs, Dordt’s academic offerings now include online studies, graduate programs, and professional-technical associate degrees.

Becoming Dordt University opens up additional opportunities for academic excellence, Olson says. Dordt plans to launch a master of public administration program in August of 2018, and other programs are being discussed.

To Hoekstra, living Dordt’s mission means, in part, being welcoming. Every fall, he and Dr. Barb Hoekstra invite small groups of freshmen to the president’s home for dinner; their goal is to know every student by name.

consider it a failure on my part if I come across a name that’s a surprise to me,” says Hoekstra.

Hoekstra also values how Dordt’s alma mater uses of the word “camaraderie.”

“Dordt’s master of education program has done so well for many years,” says Olson. “The program, which uses both online and on-campus experiences, is inspirational and could be a great model for additional master programs we are considering.”

“When I sign diplomas in the spring, I

“People often say that the community

Dordt faculty and students are also more

IMAGINING DORDT UNIVERSITY Many changes will happen on campus over the next twelve months. The new logo will be unveiled at Defender Days, and the class of 2019 will be the final class to graduate from Dordt College. Signage, banners, and business cards will be updated. Faculty, students, and staff have started to spend time thinking about and discussing what Dordt will be like as a university—what might change and what should remain the same.

“When we imagine Dordt University and what that will be, we see a place that has community—a place that is welcoming and engaging,” says Zuidema. “It’s a place where we can continue to encourage one another and broaden who’s involved.”

“Dordt students get integrated into the Sioux Center community in a way that’s pretty unique among Christian institutions of higher education, and we don’t want that to change,” says Hoekstra.

“I think it’s exciting to put ‘university’ on as a mantle and say, ‘This is a responsibility. How do we take that forward in a way that gives glory to God?’” says Zuidema.

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involved in research; agencies such as the National Science Foundation have awarded our faculty more than $6.5 million in external grants.

Dordt’s global footprint has expanded.

Students from 26 countries study on campus, and children of missionaries and global businesspeople bring the actual representation closer to 40 different countries.

“And if you look at our alumni network, we have alumni in more than 50 countries in the world,” says Adam Adams, director for global education.

Adams travels the world talking with prospective students about why they should consider studying at Dordt.

“Students learn at Dordt that they don’t have to be a pastor, missionary, or a youth pastor to actively share the gospel

Instructor of Nursing Melanie Wynja planned and executed the Iowa Health Educator and Iowa Simulation conference in Altoona, Iowa. The conference strives to bring together health care professionals in academia and practice in order to make connections and move healthcare forward in Iowa.

and love of Christ around the world,” says Adams. “At Dordt, we prepare students in uniquely Reformed ways to be radically Christian as teachers, engineers, graphic designers, and more, to share Christ’s love with those they work with or meet.”

He feels that, by becoming a university, Dordt removes a barrier for international students and Dordt alumni who are living their calling across the globe.

David Versluis, professor of art, had two sculptures included in the 22 Contemporary Gallery in Chicago. The Briar Cliff Review also published two of Versluis’ sculptures and exhibited them at the Sioux City Art Center from April through July. Versluis served as the 3D artworks juror for ArtSplash in Sioux City, and one of his large photographs of the Dordt prairie was also selected for the permanent collection of the Hegg Memorial Health Center in Rock Valley, Iowa.

“The word ‘university’ is the most highly regarded level of postsecondary education,” says Adams. “In many countries, ‘college’ can be translated to mean ‘school’ or ‘middle school.’ There is no confusion anywhere when you say that you represent a university; the word ‘university’ represents academic rigor and a sense that students will be challenged through their education. I’m excited for Dordt and that I can now say that I represent a university.”

SARAH MOSS (’10)

JONATHAN FICTORIE (19)

As a university, Dordt will remain committed to the Founders Vision: “An education that is Christian… in the larger and deeper sense that all the class work, all of the students' intellectual, emotional, and imaginative activities shall be permeated with the spirit and teaching of Christianity.”

NEWS

“Over the last decade, research opportunities and faculty scholarship have expanded; our faculty see themselves as lead learners who can model research for students,” says Dr. Leah Zuidema, associate provost.

“We offer more scholarships, and international students are helping us grow and see what’s possible. It’s an exciting time.”

Faculty Notes

For more information on why Dordt will become Dordt University on May 13, 2019, please visit u.dordt.edu.

Dr. Nathan Tintle, professor of statistics, was selected as a fellow of the American Statistical Association by the 2018 American Statistical Association Committee on Fellows. He traveled to London to present at the CME Statistics conference. Tintle also jointly published two papers titled “Mental Health Impacts of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster” and “A GenomeWide Association Study of Red Blood Cell Fatty Acids and Ratios Incorporating Dietary Covariates: Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort.” Tintle spoke at the 2018 Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Diego, California, as well as at Michigan State University’s College of Nursing in April.

Dr. Mike Janssen, associate professor of mathematics, spoke at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Diego, California. His presentation was titled “A First Experience in a Flipped Calculus II Course.”

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Arts AND THE FINAL CURTAIN CALL

KAITLYN BAL JEU (ď?Š20)

Capstone projects are created by senior theatre arts and art & design majors

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“That was so much better than last night!” says Rexford encouragingly. “I loved watching you interact. Your lines and your delivery are more confident.

Take a break, and then we’ll do it all again.”

JAMIN VER VELDE (99)

T

he New World Theatre has been transformed. It is English farmland, the 1940s. The scent of straw rises from the bales heaped one upon another. A creaky wooden cart tilts precariously. To the left is a barn wall, and beyond that a fence surrounds a verdant pasture. Five young girls in khaki breeches and green sweaters stride about the stage. Their red armbands bear three letters: “WLA.”

The girls run out, laughing, singing snatches of “Hamilton.” Their chemistry and camaraderie is tangible, as is the passion and dedication that has gone into making this project happen.

The girls move into a tight circle, their backs to one another, the lights dim.

They begin to sing “Silent Night,” their voices rising in high, clear harmonies. Some sing in English, others in German, and another in Italian.

“I always knew I wanted to direct a show,” says Rexford. “I connect deeply

“Having the chance to propose and carry out a project that is your passion gives significance to your entire education.”

“The other job we have is learning to cut elm trees, to make coffins,” one girl says quietly, in a lilting —Dr. Teresa Ter Haar, theatre arts professor British accent. “The pilots ask us for dates galore, but not for long. They are brave.” to stories and the way they come to life on stage. It’s been a positive and loving This is “Lilies on the Land,” the senior environment to be part of.” capstone project of theatre major Alex Rexford. “Lilies” tells the story of the THEATRE ARTS Women’s Land Army of World War II, a Senior capstone projects have been a group of heroic women from different highlight of Dordt’s theatre program for walks of life all working the land for the years. war effort.

As a BBC radio broadcast declares victory in Europe, the girls onstage cheer and embrace one another.

“You have to be there to know,” says one.

“The Forgotten Army? I’d do it all again.”

The dress rehearsal audience claps, and the girls laugh in the darkness of the blackout.

KAITLYN BAL JEU (20)

Recent graduate Aaron Radtke and senior Bethany Van Eps starred in "Eurydice."

“Students learn best by doing,” says Teresa Ter Haar, chair of the theatre department. “Having the chance to propose and carry out a project that is your passion gives significance to your entire education. We enable our majors and some of our minors to propose a complex project and then fully support it. Whether it’s scenic design for a mainstage show, or a show they direct— the sky is the limit for what students can do. And then the fruits of their labor are shared—not just with a class but with an entire audience.”

Theatre students begin brainstorming their senior capstone project during their sophomore year. They can direct or produce a show, design a set or costumes, be a technical director for a show, or even write a play. As juniors, students draft a proposal so that the department can begin thinking through the logistics of the projects.

Dr. Teresa Ter Haar says that few other college-level theatre programs allow undergraduate students to direct full productions.

At the end of each academic year, all theatre students volunteer for design positions for the next year’s productions.

Laura Berkompas, Dordt’s technical director, assigns the roles. Already during the summer, student directors of studio productions begin to conceptualize their assignments. They read the script multiple times, research how others have approached the play, and do character analyses. The results are compiled in a director’s notebook that becomes part of a theatre major’s résumé for graduate school.

When school resumes, the design meetings begin. Student directors present the ideas they’ve developed, hear the design team’s responses, and come up with concrete ideas for the show’s design. Within days, auditions are held, the show is cast, and rehearsals and tech work begin.

A faculty mentor works alongside each

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student throughout the process. The theatre professors attend rehearsals and watch not just the show but the student directors themselves. The professors comment on the approach and alert them to issues they might face. At the end of the production, students write a reflective paper and engage in a final, in-depth conversation with their mentors before receiving a grade.

child-lord of the underworld riding around on a red tricycle.

“The script says the underworld is more like Wonderland,” explains Sears. After researching different approaches, her team settled on using over-saturated colors, smoke, and mist to create a world “that is more unsettling than inviting.

We decided to infuse our underworld with a circus vibe. The lord of the underworld is like a ringleader; the father feels like a magician in the way he manufactures words and memories. The Greek chorus members, always rather loud and annoying, are clowns. It makes the show simultaneously disturbing and captivating.”

“It’s very rare to be an undergraduate and have this kind of experience,” says Ter Haar. “It can even be life-changing— it makes some students realize this is something they could be called to for their vocation.”

“I’ve been looking forward to doing this ever since I found out about the opportunity,” says Rexford, who has also participated in other students’ capstone projects. “To finally be here—doing it myself—is surreal, but incredible. It’s a great environment to test the waters because you have wonderful faculty helping you every step of the way.

They’ve done this a million times, and they’re essential to helping us figure out what we’re doing. I never once felt like I was going to fail because I had them supporting me.”

Theatre major Annie Sears read dozens of play scripts to find just the right one for her senior capstone project. Finally, she settled on “Eurydice”—a retelling of the classic Greek myth that focuses on the titular character’s relationship with her father, who died just before the play opens. In this version of the myth, when Eurydice enters the underworld, she loses all memories.

Much of the story revolves around her father teaching her how to remember through words, stories, music, and dancing.

“The language is what really drew me to it,” says Sears.

“It’s so poetic; everything is a metaphor. She

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Between a room made of string and an elevator that rained on the inside, "Eurydice" raised questions about the concept of love, the purpose of memory, and the notion of sacrifice.

can’t remember what a father is, so he describes it as a tree in a backyard—the one under whose shade you would sit. It’s also unlike anything Dordt has done in my time here—it’s abstract, almost avantgarde, and it spurs a lot of questions about the nature of memory and reality.

How does memory shape us? What do we have if not what we remember? I wanted to push and stretch our audience—to show them what theatre can be and do. I think this show accomplished that.”

Sears describes the collaborative process that went into designing such a unique show, including elements like fruit falling from the sky and a

“It feels like my entire college career has led up to this,” says Sears. “As a director, you have to apply your knowledge from all disciplines: leadership, organizational skills, design, and acting. This is one final hurrah in which I can use everything I’ve gleaned from my time here. It’s meaningful and valuable to have that last thing that is yours; I’m so grateful for that.”

ART AND DESIGN In art, the senior capstone project happens during the fall semester. Under the guidance of art professor David Versluis, seniors propose an idea for their senior exhibit. Versluis walks students through what he typically does to prepare for an exhibition, helping them think through both the exhibit itself and how the work will function in that space. Student exhibitions have included electronic digital media such as videos and photography, and traditional media such as painting, drawing, graphic design.

All projects are displayed in the Campus Center art gallery.

Solo senior art exhibitions are a fairly new development at Dordt. Versluis recalls that when he began teaching here 17 years ago, all seniors participated in one senior exhibit. Now, rather than having 10 students exhibit a couple pieces each, each student displays his or her full body of work.

"My creative coursework demanded a lot of introspection," says Annie Sears. "I developed close friendships and became more thoughtful.

My time at Dordt made me empathetic."

KATE HENRECKSON

FEATURES

“The senior project allows students to assemble their work and contribute to the college community,” says Versluis.

“The gallery is a major venue on campus, carrying a level of prestige. Students take that seriously and realize what a unique opportunity it is.”

The art department holds well-attended receptions for the art exhibits.

“The receptions show the community spirit of the college,” says Versluis.

From a professional standpoint, the exhibitions also provide a way for students to learn the art of curating, organizing and displaying an art exhibition.

“It helps them relate to museum artwork in a different way,” Versluis says. “A professional curator is always thinking through the fine details of layout, and is familiar with enough artists’ works to propose an exhibition for a gallery.

That’s a bona fide job for an artist, and it’s something we help them experience through their senior shows.”

beams, and natural elements inside the living space. The first building follows a barn shape, the second is a home on the coast, the third is a cabin with southfacing windows to absorb heat during winter months. The final design is a home within a greenhouse, making the residence energy-efficient in locations with a

mild climate.

“My parents are missionaries in rural Africa,” Gomes explains. “My dad always planned the buildings we worked in.

Growing up, I got to see the design process and implementation, so I was always interested in it. I love how much thought goes into architecture. You create spaces that dictate how people interact with their surroundings; architecture affects people on a daily basis.”

KATE HENRECKSON

Art major Ariel Gomes decided to explore his affinity for architecture and graphic design in his senior project. Using a computer program, he designed four residential buildings. All of the homes share common elements of modern architecture—large bay windows, open-concept living spaces, tall ceilings, exposed

Through “Littles,” Lydia Van Wingerden wanted to remind viewers that “we are little and insignificant in the grand scheme of things, yet each little thing is unique and beautiful.”

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for all of them, using words that are delightful to say, like ‘vermiculations’ or ‘phantasmagorical,’” says Van Wingerden.

“I’ve tried to collect as many favorite words as I can, and then match them with the paintings.”

“My senior project taught me a lot that I would not have learned in the classroom.

I was able to take what I’d learned in different classes I’d taken at Dordt— graphic design and engineering—and put them together,” he says. “It meant that by the time I graduate, I have physical architecture projects to take with me.”

Van Wingerden will be moving to South Sudan in January to teach at a small elementary school. She made her senior artwork available for people to purchase, and the proceeds will go toward her trip.

The artwork also serves as reminders to friends and family to hold her in prayer as she embarks on her journey.

After graduation, Gomes plans to work as the graphic designer for First Reformed Church in Sioux Center for a couple of years before applying to graduate school in architecture.

For her senior capstone project, art history and education major Lydia Van Wingerden painted 200 miniature watercolors, playing with a wide range of techniques, vibrant colors, and subject matters—from abstract to realistic. Each piece is less than three inches in size.

“This is a piece of me that people can take with them,” she says, “to keep us connected.”

SERVICEABLE INSIGHT

“I’ve been trying to come up with names MARY VAN W YK (19)

In an educational world that is increasingly vocational, Dordt’s commitment to the arts is unique, says Ter Haar.

Gomes found the sense of community in the art department immensely valuable, both because of the mentoring he received from his adviser and because of the smaller class sizes.

—David Versluis, art and design professor

When asked how a Dordt art education was meaningful to them, students pointed to two themes: in-depth training and community.

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“Our professors ask us challenging questions,” adds Gomes. “They really try to implement a Christian perspective in how we think about things, like, what is the role of art in the church? How can we, as artists, be good stewards of creation?”

“Glorifying God with our talents first and foremost means loving our neighbor. At Dordt, we teach students to do that by sharing their artwork with the community. I find that to be particularly Reformed— it’s about common grace.”

“Storytelling is such a part of the fabric of how God has created us. At Dordt, we talk about serviceable insight—how can we become better storytellers: discerning, probing, forthright, and honest? This knowledge is going to enrich our students in their lives as teachers and workers in the church— as God’s servants. This is how Dordt is distinct.”

Ariel Gomes is also a gifted musician. Here, he is pictured playing two acoustic guitars simultaneously.

Understanding other worldviews helps you understand your own.”

“A lot of it is about solidifying what you believe,” says Van Wingerden. “To look at challenging pieces of art and appreciate them for what they are, you have to understand the difference in the worldview you are coming from versus where the artist is coming from. Francis Bacon painted some really grotesque paintings. Looking at that from the perspective of a beauty-maker, how do we appreciate his artistic value while still holding onto the values that we know?

Sears found the same to be true in the theatre department. Theatre students hang out in the theatre pod; professors leave their doors open and often pop out to interject their thoughts in student conversations.

“We’re really privileged to have that space,” Sears says. “We’re instrumental in one another’s lives, and that’s really special. And our professors know us well.

We truly do life together.”

“Glorifying God with our talents first and foremost means loving our neighbor,” says Versluis. “At Dordt, we teach students to do that by sharing their artwork with the community. I find that to be particularly Reformed—it’s about common grace. And students come away with that understanding. It enhances the atmosphere and culture of the college.”

KATE HENRECKSON

AT THE INTERSECTION OF

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RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH

Soon after Matt Bolt (’17) decided to major in psychology, he realized that his interests were a little different from those of his fellow majors: He just wasn’t as passionate about clinical or therapeutic psychology.

He liked numbers—how psychology uses evidence to make sense of philosophical struggles and daily realities. And he was intrigued by the concept of predicting behavior based on the collection of information.

So Bolt talked with Dr. Luralyn Helming, associate professor of psychology.

“Dr. Helming really likes research, and we’d bonded over that,” says Bolt. “She put me in contact with Tintle.”

Dr. Nathan Tintle, professor of statistics,

has built his career on research, amassing more than 75 published papers and more than 30 grants on genetics, biostatistics, and statistics education.

Tintle told Bolt about a mental health study in Ukraine that he has worked on

JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

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since his graduate school years at the State University of New York—Stony Brook. The data set for the project includes survey results from 5,000 Ukrainians on questions related to depression, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, substance abuse, PTSD, and more. Tintle, Helming, psychology professor Dr. Mark Christians, and history professor Dr. Mark McCarthy had just submitted a grant application M. Christians for what has since become Dordt’s Ukraine Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), a program funded by the National Science Foundation.

mentor undergraduate students like Bolt and to work on research projects that make an impact.

Bolt applied to work for Tintle as a summer research student.

He spent the next summer poring over the Ukraine data, studying variable relationships and researching what experts had to say about Ukrainian mental health issues. Eventually he started researching the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

“It’s fun to see them get excited about their research and to jump into it with them,” says Tintle.

“I want to do work that helps people have a better quality of life,” says Tintle.

“I know where my God-given gifts are, and some of my students have gifts in this same area of making sense of data.

Using these gifts and helping students hone their gifts is one way I contribute to the mission of the college and the kingdom in general.”

Since completing his Ph.D. in 2005, Tintle has mentored more than 75 undergraduates in statistical research, working with students during the academic year and into the summer months.

M. McCarthy

By the time he graduated from Dordt in 2017, Bolt had landed a job as a research assistant at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. His first paper on the Chernobyl nuclear disaster was published this spring.

Tintle mentors his undergraduate students through a variety of interdisciplinary research projects.

Several of these projects, like the Ukraine study, have public health applications.

One focuses on the prevalence of hopelessness in cardiac rehab patients.

“My research experience with

Tintle has completely driven the direction of my career.”

— Matt Bolt ('17)

Not all college and university faculty get to work so closely with undergraduate students on research.

“Dordt is an undergraduate-focused institution, so students do research side by side with faculty members,” says Tintle. “Undergraduates who work on research at a big research university are

“The overarching goal for this project is to mentally and physically support people who’ve had a heart attack,” says Tintle. “We know that mental and physical health are interrelated.”

Hopelessness is very distinct from depression, Tintle notes.

“It’s saying, ‘My future is bleak; there’s really no point,’” says Tintle. “When you feel hopeless, you’re less likely to say,

JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

“Any man-made or natural disaster causes a lot of stress. Stress can be dealt with in a lot of different ways, but if dealt with inadequately, it can lead to mental health problems,” says Bolt.

often in a lab with a bunch of graduate students, post-docs, and a faculty member, but their time with and access to the faculty member is very limited.”

“My research experience with Tintle has completely driven the direction of my career,” says Bolt. “He taught me almost everything I know about statistics, which is pretty cool.”

IMPROVING HEALTH THROUGH RESEARCH Tintle is a reputable researcher and academic; he is the author of an innovative textbook on statistical education, and he has won numerous awards for his academic work. What primarily drives him as a researcher and statistician, though, is the opportunity to

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While researching the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Matt Bolt learned how to utilize R, a statistical computing software. He also spent time studying what experts had to say about nuclear disasters and mental health.

Over the past 10 years, Dr. Nathan Tintle and other Dordt faculty have been awarded more than $6.5 million in external grants from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health.

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‘There’s a point to changing my exercise behavior and my diet.’ Once you start down that path and you’re not exercising or eating well, your mental health continues to spiral.”

Tintle, Michigan State University nursing professor Dr. Susan Dunn, and, more recently, Dordt social work and nursing faculty are using their research to find ways to help people exercise and eat well.

“We’ve shown that if mental health starts improving, you’re more likely to exercise, and if you’re more likely to exercise, your mental health keeps improving,” says Tintle. “It’s a cycle.”

Tintle is also researching how the fats people eat impact physical health.

Working with the Framingham Heart Study and the Women’s Health Initiative, his team analyzes fatty acid data to see how fats may or may not be associated with future heart attacks, diabetes, cancer, and death.

Partnering with Dr. Bill Harris, professor of internal medicine at the University of South Dakota Medical School, Tintle, recent Dordt graduate Jenna Veenstra, and other Dordt students have made some interesting discoveries.

One recently published study focuses on Omega-3 fatty acids such as fish oils, which were associated with a reduced risk of death and are more predictive of cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes.

“Cholesterol is predictive, but our findings show that Omega-3s are more predictive,” says Tintle.

“Everything is based on genetics,” says Veenstra, a biology major who has worked with Tintle since her freshman year. “Environmental factors and genetic factors put you at risk for cardiovascular disease.”

JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

Genetics matter, too.

“The combination of genetic variations and eating a certain way can substantially increase or decrease risk of different kinds of heart functioning,” says Tintle.

A fourth research project that Tintle oversees is improving water quality

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in Fiji, where residents struggle with diarrhea and other waterborne illnesses from contaminated water. Sawyer Products and in-country non-profit organizations have set a goal to ensure that, within a few years, every person in Fiji will have access to clean drinking water. Sawyer has developed a new filtering technology that they claim is extremely effective at filtering out waterquality pathogens.

“The filter is easy to use, lasts a long time, and doesn’t need a lot of maintenance,” says Tintle. Hope College biology professor Dr. Aaron Best and Dordt research students will conduct research that, as Tintle describes, “provides a scientifically objective view of the efficacy of the filters.”

“We’re looking at the rates of diarrhea in adults and children, medical expenses related to diarrhea, days missed of school and work due to diarrhea, and how much money they’re actually spending on medical costs and water,” says Tintle. “We examine these factors before and after the filter is installed.”

Adam Heynen, a recent graduate, is working closely with the statistical research this summer. Heynen, who has been accepted to the University of Iowa’s

NEW DATA-DRIVEN MAJORS This fall, Dordt will offer majors in data science, statistics, and actuarial science.

The data science major will include courses in statistics and computer science. The statistics major will teach students how to use data to tell stories while focusing on different fields such as psychology and biology. Although Dordt previously offered an actuarial science major, Tintle and others made significant updates to the program so that it now focuses on statistical analysis of past data.

“There is an increasing amount of big data in industries such as finance, healthcare, sports, and education,” says Tintle. “There are also massive data sets available that people use for decision making. These majors prepare students to figure out how to draw conclusions from that data.”

physician assistant program, says that the Fiji water-quality research project has taught him to think holistically about caring for people’s ailments.

Tintle’s team also plans to analyze water data from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala over the next two years in an expanded version of the study.

“It’s easy to diagnose diarrhea and say, ‘Take this medicine,’” says Heynen. But if the person goes back to drinking bad water, the medicine hasn’t solved the problem.

FROM ASKING GREAT QUESTIONS TO PUBLISHING A PAPER How do fatty acids influence physical health? What interventions work for cardiac rehab patients struggling with hopelessness? These questions led to research projects, which have grown into something more complex.

“Our research in Fiji creates a holistic picture of how to provide care; we can’t just give medicine—we need to have other interventions like installing a water filter or educating people on hand hygiene,” he says.

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“As researchers, you have an idea, collect data on that idea, test the data, and then share the results with others who are interested,” says Helming.

Tintle’s undergraduates are a vital part of that idea-generation process.

“I think there is a bias that you need to have a Ph.D. or have worked for 20 years to have an interesting question worth studying,” says Tintle. “You don’t. Not every question undergraduate students come up with is worth pursuing, but since they have less preparation, they come up with questions in a less biased and more outside-of-the-box way. That makes it fun.”

How do undergraduate student researchers go from asking a question to publishing a paper? One of the first steps is to conduct a literature review.

After traveling in the Ukraine for two weeks, Ukraine REU students return to Dordt’s campus where they spend two months researching the Ukraine mental health data set with Dr. Luralyn Helming and Tintle.

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“The research literature helps students figure out what other researchers have to say on the idea or topic,” says Helming.

“A lot of the articles I read looked at

The next step is data collection. It can take years to gather all the data needed for a research project. For his study on fatty acids and cardiac health, Tintle uses data gathered by the Framingham Heart Study, which has studied three generations of families since the 1940s.

In that study, family members go for indepth physicals every two years.

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JAMIN VER VELDE ('99)

people’s mental health in relation to nuclear disasters such as those at Chernobyl, Fukishima, and Three-Mile Island,” says Bolt. “I also looked at what researchers have found on the correlation of mental health with disasters such as floods, hurricanes, and chemical plant spills.”

It didn’t take generations to gather data for the hopelessness and cardiac rehab project, though. For the past 10 years, Jenna Veenstra and Jason Vander Woude ('18) conducted research alongside Tintle. This fall, Veenstra Dunn, Tintle’s main collaborator for will begin a Ph.D. program in biochemistry at the University of Michigan, while Vander Woude will start a Ph.D. program in mathematics and computer science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. the project, has worked with hospitals throughout Michigan to gauge patients’ feelings of hopelessness as they recover from heart disease. It takes less than 10 minutes for a patient to fill out the survey on one of the hospital’s iPads, after which the results are immediately uploaded — Dr. Luralyn Helming, psychology professor to the cloud.

“The goal of research is not just to create new information

through scientific study, but to share it. Having your research published in a peer-reviewed journal means that anyone with access can read it, so it could influence future research studies and practice.”

“On a daily or weekly basis, the students and I can look at factors such as demographic patterns, trends, who is choosing not to participate, and things like that,” says Tintle.

He and Dunn have found gaps in their population sample—gaps that Tintle hopes nursing professor Dr. Deb Bomgaars and social D. Bomgaars work professor Dr. Kristin Van De Griend can help fill in.

“Michigan hospitals tend to be more middle class and white,” says Tintle. “In Van De Griend Northwest Iowa, we have rural populations; in Sioux Falls, there are Native American and Hispanic populations.”

While doing clinicals, Bomgaars, Van De Griend, and Dordt nursing students will administer these surveys at regional hospitals. With broader data, the researchers hope to explore how ethnic, socio-economic, and rural-urban groups respond differently to interventions throughout the cardiac rehab process.

“My guess is, if you’re in a rural area and you have to drive a long way to the hospital for cardiac rehab, that might affect you differently than someone who doesn’t have to make that long drive,” says Tintle. “We want to look at how effective our interventions are for populations with particular differences and challenges.”

Once students have access to the data, they prepare it to be used in R, a statistical computing software. Although cleaning up data is not the most thrilling

process, Lucas Vander Berg (’17) found the experience valuable.

“I was excited about the opportunity to solve real-world issues using statistical techniques and software that is common within the analytical field,” says Vander Berg, who now works as an actuary in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

Once the research is completed, it needs to be shared with others.

“The goal of research is not just to create new information through scientific study, but to share it,” says Helming. “Having your research published in a peerreviewed journal means that anyone with access can read it, so it could influence future research studies and practice.”

And for students applying to competitive graduate schools, having published an article as an undergraduate is a really big

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Increasingly, Dordt students are seeing their research in print. Vander Berg, who worked on the hopelessness and cardiac rehab research, is listed as an author on an article in the peerreviewed journal Biobehavioral Health Sciences. Veenstra’s research on fatty acids and cardiac health was published in Nutrients; she is also listed as an author on a paper titled “Genome-Wide Interaction Study of Omega-3 PUFAs and Other Fatty Acids on Inflammatory Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Health in the Framingham Heart Study.” Bolt’s article, “The Associations between SelfReported Exposure to the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Zone and Mental Health Disorders in Ukraine,” was published in Frontiers in Psychiatry.

“I’m excited about having a published paper,” says Bolt. He plans to apply to graduate programs in statistics or biostatistics and hopes that having a published paper will help his chances of being accepted.

Vander Berg does not plan to go to graduate school, but he still appreciated the paper-publishing process.

“The communication skills required in explaining complex analytics to nontechnical audiences is unbelievably important,” says Vander Berg. “This is something Dr. Tintle does extremely well.”

CHRISTIANS DOING RESEARCH Since coming to Dordt in 2011, Tintle has helped elevate how students and faculty think about research. He currently serves as director for research and scholarship; in that role, he encourages the scholarly endeavors of fellow faculty members and helps undergraduate students get involved in research during the academic year and in the summer.

“There was research going on before Dr. Tintle came to Dordt, but he’s brought more attention and more resources to it,” says Christians.

“Dr. Tintle is an excellent mentor and is very supportive of faculty and staff interested in research,” says Van De Griend.

Tintle says he appreciates working at

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deal, Helming adds.

"Seeing that you can do research while being connected with students and invested in them is something I've learned from Dr. Tintle," says Veenstra.

Dordt because he can be explicit about being a Christian while doing research.

How that comes through with students and in his own research happens in many ways.

you view the person and how you view the problems or the variables you’re trying to examine. That’s what separates the Christian from the non-Christian researcher.”

“Sometimes it’s articulated directly through the evangelical message, and sometimes it will be, ‘We’re going to help you understand how to eat better,’ or ‘We’re going to help you think through how to wrestle with your own mortality,’” says Tintle. “That’s not necessarily a spiritual intervention, but helping people think about why they are feeling hopeless and how their physical and mental health work together gives the opportunity to consider what we believe and to engage our faith. We don’t have to be full-time evangelists to live out God’s calling in our life.”

“The research is going to produce the same results, but why we do research is different,” says Veenstra. “It’s for the sake of science, but it’s also for God and his glory.”

Does research look different for Christians than it does for non-Christians?

“You probably couldn’t tell by methods alone if a researcher is a Christian or non-Christian,” says Christians. “You’re going to do the same correlational design, experimental design, and case study design. What’s different are the questions, beliefs, and assumptions that come before the methodology—how

“My faith influences the kinds of research topics I value and what I want to spend my time working on,” says Helming.

For Tintle, too, working as a statistician and a researcher is part of how he lives his faith.

“Some people wonder if statistics is trying to do God’s job by letting the numbers tell us what to do rather than relying on faith and prayer,” says Tintle.

“God has ordered the universe, putting in place natural laws and mathematical rules like the law of gravity. I believe it is appropriate to use these laws to better understand the world God has made.”

SARAH MOSS (’10)

FEATURES JONATHAN FICTORIE (19)

REVERSE ENGINEERING

“Commencements are backward events,” said engineering professor Dr. Ethan Brue in his commencement speech. “No matter how many times people note that to ‘commence’ means ‘to begin,’ everything today suggests that we are at an end.

On May 11, 307 students graduated from Dordt; of those, 27 were engineering majors. For the past four years, they had learned from Brue and other engineering faculty. They had spent afternoons focusing on lab assignments and late nights calculating equations with fellow engineering majors. “'Class of 2018, this is an important day.’

Do you know how many commencement speakers are out there saying the same

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You are finished—binders emptied, textbooks shelved, dorms cleaned. For better or worse, commencements will always feel like backward beginnings.”

For their senior design project, Micah Tjeerdsma and Jordan Severson made software and sensor enhacements to a farmbot, a gardening robot.

thing?” said Brue. “I don’t mean to disappoint you, but commencements, like births and, yes, even funerals, are rather

ordinary occurrences.”

One soon-to-be graduate sitting on the B.J. Haan Auditorium stage was engineering major Micah Tjeerdsma, who had long anticipated the day he would go through this “ordinary occurrence.”

Engineering had always been part of life for Micah; his father, Brent (’93), is an engineer at Trane Manufacturing in Sioux Falls.

“I really became interested in engineering because of my dad,” says Tjeerdsma. “I’d visit him at the office, and he’d give me little tasks to work on. He talked to me about how he would design things and,

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essentially, make them come to life. I thought that was pretty awesome.”

Another engineering major at the commencement ceremony, Laura Baridon, had the opposite experience when choosing a major. She considered math, music education, and graphic design before setting her sights on engineering.

No matter how they ended up in engineering, most majors agree that the program’s small class sizes and caring professors made the difficult coursework easier. Jordan Severson says that his first semester at Dordt as an engineering major was also spiritually transformative.

“Dying with Christ and becoming dead to sin, day after day, is a non-negotiable for our lives lived coram deo,” said Brue at commencement. “Dordt’s curriculum has one critical prerequisite: You can’t get into Resurrection 101 if you’re not dead yet, and Resurrection 101 is a corequisite for every other course at Dordt.

If Dordt is to stay true to its mission, this will not change. My hope is that very little of what you learn here will make any coherent sense to you apart from the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the initiation of the cosmic re-creation and restoration project that he is busily working on, even as I speak.”

“One of the most important things I’ve learned at Dordt is that we’re called to be stewards of the earth,” says Baridon.

“We’re working toward reformation and the restoration now; this isn’t something that should wait for later.” Dordt’s engineering faculty have taught her that the cultural mandate calls engineers to fill the world with technology that brings glory to God, helps others, and helps creation.

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Following in his father’s footsteps, Tjeerdsma has accepted a sales engineer position with Trane in Appleton, Wisconsin. He will spend two years training with other sales engineers before building up his own customer base.

“I’ll meet with customers, learn about their businesses, and show them what we have to offer,” says Tjeerdsma. “When I’m in the office, I’ll design heating and air conditioning systems to meet specifications for certain buildings.

But I especially like getting out of the office and visiting with customers; that’s probably my favorite part.”

“I didn’t have much exposure to engineering in high school,” she says. “I liked math and science, and I knew that starting in engineering was better than coming back to it later.”

“I remember calling home during my first semester and telling my dad how I’d learned how my faith can tie into my job as an engineer every day of my life,” he says. “I hadn’t experienced that spiritual aspect at my public high school, so it was really amazing to learn that at Dordt.”

our colleague in Ecclesiastes reminds us.”

Baridon will return to John Deere, where she interned last summer, to be part of their two-year rotational development program in the agriculture and turf division.

Laura Baridon and her team created an impact tester for their senior design project. The tester helps students in Dordt's material science lab to determine the toughness of different materials.

“In engineering classes we talked about bringing out the inherent properties of materials—a tree, for example, can flourish as it grows, but God has also built into its wood something that we can bring out,” says Baridon. “Our job as engineers is to look at things and see what might be the best use of them and how God might have intended them to be used.”

“Part of being a Christian engineer is, as Professor Timmer puts it, ‘learning how to be able to identify problems and then prescribe healing,’” says Severson.

“Engineers are not exclusively the healers of creation, but we see problems caused by sin and then we get to seek a solution.”

“Without the resurrection, every lab report, paper, composition, design project, or work of art—even every diploma—is nothing more than a meaningless wisp of smoke,” said Brue, “and to hold it out to you this morning as otherwise is to send you chasing after the wind with only a piece of paper, as

Severson has been accepted to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s engineering program to pursue graduate work in aerospace engineering.

“My Dordt professors told me that I’d do well in graduate school, and they encouraged me to apply,” says Severson. “After I got accepted, everything just fell into place.”

“You need to know that for however many years you have To see Dr. Ethan Brue’s been here, commencement speech “One Step Forward, you have Two Steps Back,” please made Dordt visit livestream.com/ a better dordtcollegewebcast/ place, and commencement/ the name videos/174690298.

‘Dordt’ is now a richer name,” said Brue. “Thank you. Thank you for carrying our interesting and odd little name with you. I hope it will always make you look out of place, backwards, and somewhat foolish in a ‘good news’ sort of way.’”

SARAH MOSS (’10)

Impact. Caring. Welcome. Community.

These are words I hear over and over as I serve Dordt alumni and parents.

Story after story reminds me of how God is using Dordt to bless others—in big and small ways.

Ask a student, “What is it about Dordt that makes you want to be here?” and the answer you’ll probably get is "Dordt’s community." Students genuinely like being with each other. And that sense of community extends beyond students; professors care about students as fellow disciples. Students share that their advisers are available to provide both life and academic advice. I can look out my window at home and see Dordt students in a professor’s yard, playing games and eating a home-cooked meal.

The community extends beyond campus.

Just the other day, a junior was looking for a place to live for the summer and didn’t know anyone where she was

ALUMNI NOTES Please send news of your alumni gatherings, professional accomplishments, civic participation, and volunteer activities. We'd love to include them on our pages.

Leonard Fakkema (‘81) is the K-8 principal at Ontario Christian Schools in California. Under his leadership, the K-8 program has grown to over 700 students.

Jodi Tukker (’98) was recently promoted to associate director at Christian Opportunity Center in Pella, Iowa. She has held various positions over the years, including as program coordinator for Home and Community Based Services (HCBS). In 2006, Tukker became a program manager for the HCBS program and in 2010 accepted a position as a

moving. We reached out to an alumnus, and the immediate response was, “We’ll make sure she is welcomed in our church and our home. We’ll take care of her.”

Four alumni couples partnered with us to host an event for over 100 people, and many attendees were prospective families who had never heard about Dordt. At the end of the event, one organizer noted, “It’s the least we can do to host these families so they can experience Dordt.

Dordt families in Sioux Center take care of our kids during the school year, and we want to give back.”

a teacher—a Dordt graduate—who had a great impact on his life. This graduate is shaping students in such a way that her life and work is honoring God. She’s making an impact, and it’s building the kingdom.

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COMMUNITY ON CAMPUS AND AROUND THE WORLD Think about the people that have impacted you, molded you, and that you respect. Then ask them where they went to college.

This sense of community makes a big difference. In talking with one future Defender mom about her son, I asked her how he chose Dordt. She said she gave him this advice: Think about the people that have impacted you, molded you, and that you respect. Then ask them where they went to college.

Her son chose Dordt, in part, because of

regional director of the Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disability (ICF/ID) program, a position that she has held for the past eight years.

Andrew DeYoung (’05) was awarded the Minnesota Book Award in the young adult literature category for his book The Exo Project. DeYoung was also featured in the spring 2017 edition of Twin Cities Artists.

Alvin Shim (’10) recently named office and communication administrator at Tierra Nueva in Burlington, Washington. Tierra Nueva is a church for people on the margins.

“Our congregation comes from incarceration, addiction, trauma, gangs, homelessness, and migrant fields,” says Shim. “Our primary value is hosting God’s presence, sharing the peace and transformation of Christ to places

So what makes Dordt special? People who invest in one another and want to walk alongside each other. That sense of community is evident across campus, through neighborhoods, and around the world.

ALICIA BOWAR (’05), ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI AND PARENT RELATIONS

of great need.” For more information about Tierra Nueva, visit www.tierra-nueva.org.

Jaclyn Ver Mulm (’10) was named the Le Mars Citizen of the Year for her work to distribute wheelchairs on mission trips to Barlad, Romania. The award was presented to her at the Le Mars Rotary Club Awards Banquet.

Ally Karsyn (’11) received the 2018 Greenlee-Kappa Tau Alpha Diversity and Inclusive Award for her work with her storytelling project Ode. The award, given by the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University, recognizes excellent journalism that promotes a just, inclusive society and broadens understanding of diverse lives through ethical storytelling.

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1995.

It’s evening in Dordt’s library. Off to the side, near the journal shelves, are the carrels. A group of students from a variety of majors are tucked into desks, bent over their books, sipping coffee from Dordt-issued recyclable mugs. It’s a quiet space— except when it isn’t.

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PHOTO SUBMITTED

KRISTIN KOBES DU MEZ Students lean over one another’s desks.

Conversations on a host of topics waft through the air, one quickly leading to another: social justice, race, urban issues, poverty, environmentalism. Excited plans for PLIA trips to Philadelphia spring up. The students share their thoughts, wrestle through difficult questions, and push one another and themselves to seek answers.

created that intellectual community.”

Du Mez recalls some of her friends from the carrel community: Dawn Berkelaar (’96), Paul Verhoef (’97), Daniel Rueck (’98), Carol Christians (’96), Kirk Vander Pol (’95), Rebecca Thomas (’96), Keith

“We learned to practice

This was the “carrel community,” self-designated by those who virtually lived there, especially during end-of-semester crunch time. Among these students was a young woman named Kristin Kobes.

critical thinking: to articulate our own ideas and test them out in a group of friends. It was challenging, loving, and deeply Christian.”

“Sometimes things got a bit — Dr. Kristin Kobes Du Mez ('97), historian and writer rowdy,” says Dr. Kristin Kobes Du Mez ('97). “The librarians probably have a less-rosy Hendricks (’97), Rick Dykstra (’95). And recollection of us. But the people who then there was Jack Du Mez (’96). spent their evenings in the library were “One day, he came by my carrel and the nerdier sort—perhaps ‘intellectual’ is insulted the sculpture I had on my a better word? We found each other and

It was interdisciplinary, comprised of engineering students as well as philosophers and historians. The class topic was designing an engineering business, but doing so in a way that considered all aspects of business: not just how to run it, but how to do so as faithful, obedient Christians.

She and Jack would meet again five years later, at a friend’s New Years’ Eve party at the turn of the millennium. A few months later, he would propose.

While she loved all four years at Dordt, Du Mez says that her best memories are from the carrel community.

After four years at Dordt, Du Mez knew she wanted to keep learning. Following graduation, she studied at the University of Notre Dame for her Ph.D. in American

“When I first got to Notre Dame, I was intimidated,” she recalls. “I was from the middle of nowhere, sitting in class with famous professors. I wondered if I would measure up. But what I quickly learned was that Dordt had prepared me really well. All the questions about a Reformational approach to subjects, the way every professor forced us to critically engage with the knowledge we received—all of this set me up well for graduate work: looking more deeply into a text and bringing my own questions to it.”

Her experience as an exchange student in Germany during her senior year of high school had drawn Du Mez to want to

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Kristin’s father, Dr. Wayne Kobes (’69), taught at Dordt for many years. Du Mez always knew she would be a Dordt student—and that prospect excited her.

The daughter of a theology professor, she grew up with words like “Reformational” floating around the home, but she had never quite fully understood them. Dordt, she knew, would be a place where she could delve into them more deeply.

“That kind of holistic thinking was really generative at the time,” she says. “It opened my eyes to the different ways you can love your neighbor, seek justice, and care for those in your midst and for the world.”

history, under Dr. George Marsden.

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shelf—a dog made by my sister, who was in grade school. He said it looked like a cow. I later brought my sister in to confront him, but he didn’t back down,” she says with a laugh. “Now, they’re family.”

“We learned to practice critical thinking: to articulate our own ideas and test them out in a group of friends. It was challenging, loving, and deeply Christian,” she says. “We were seeking the understanding that our faith could bring to a whole slew of cultural issues. And Dordt was small enough that you could have a common conversation. If a speaker came to campus, we would all go to hear it. I found it to be a really intellectually rigorous environment.”

Du Mez says Dordt gave her a solid theological grounding, from courses on Calvin and basic theology, to philosophy from Dr. John Vander Stelt and history from Dr. Hubert Krygsman.

It was at Dordt, between talking with other students and learning in the classroom, that she first developed an understanding of justice as part of the Christian tradition. Speakers on campus would challenge students to wrestle through issues of race and environmental stewardship. Much of her thinking and writing today, she says, was shaped by that formative time at Dordt.

Though a history major, Du Mez was also pre-med for a portion of her college career. She recalls one of her most interesting courses: an engineering capstone course with Dr. Charles Adams.

EVANGELICAL MASCULINITY Du Mez says that Calvin College students often talk with her about books they are reading in their dorms. One book in particular stood out: John Eldridge’s Wild at Heart—a book described as having “revolutionized Christian manhood.”

“There were dozens of books around that time which argued that to be a man of God is to be aggressive, macho, a warrior,” she says. “It’s a very militaristic model, with a correspondingly-distinct view of femininity. With my background in gender studies, I found the appeal of this fascinating from a cultural lens.

But I also had some nagging doubts. Then, with the Trump election, it started to click for me: The masculinity that Trump embodied was not far from the model of masculinity portrayed in this type of evangelical literature.”

In 2017 Du Mez wrote an article for the online journal Religion & Politics on evangelical masculinity and the rise of Trump. The article soon went viral, and eventually she was asked to write a full book on the topic, which she hopes to complete sometime next fall. She has also written linguistic analyses on Trump’s campaign rhetoric.

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ALUMNI NOTES Derrick Angier (’11) just finished up his first year at the University of New Hampshire–Durham, where he is part of a Ph.D. program in psychology. He plans to focus his studies on social psychology and personality.

In May, Tom Lenderink (’14) received a master's degree in school counseling from Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado.

The commencement speech was delivered by Mark Vander Ley, a 1999 graduate of Dordt, who works as a licensed professional counselor in Quincy, Illinois. Vander Ley is the first recipient of a Ph.D. from Adams State, earning a degree in counselor education and supervision. Vander Ley says, “I was struck by the wide influence of Dordt. My experience there had an incredible impact on my life, and it is obvious that it continues to do the same for many more.”

Schuyler Carter (’14) recently graduated from Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, Alabama with a master’s degree in urban and regional planning.

Her thesis is titled “An Assessment of Planning Process Engagement of Historically Black Towns within the Eastern Oklahoma Development District: A Case Study.” Carter was also able to successfully nominate the home of her great-grandfather, Rev. L.W. Thomas, to be listed on the National Register for Historic Places. In addition to the nomination, Schuyler was awarded the 2018 Young Pacesetters award from the Legacy Keepers R Us organization for her dedication to community service and heritage preservation.

“Dordt definitely challenged me to dig deeper within myself and trust in my God-given talents and abilities,” says Carter. “Dordt allowed me the space to acknowledge my strengths and shortcomings, which became what I see now as invaluable knowledge as I begin to serve communities as a capable urban planner and academic.”

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study her own culture: hence, American history. Beyond that, she hadn’t found a specific area that intrigued her. But in her first semester of graduate school, she was assigned to read a book on gender history by Kathleen Brown.

Du Mez recalls how as an undergraduate, she wasn’t interested in women’s and gender history, because in Christian circles in the ‘80s and ‘90s, it was often reduced to the narrow question of women’s ordination. But in reading Brown’s book on masculinity and femininity in colonial America, and how issues such as power and race played into ideas of manhood and womanhood, she found the subject to be much more fascinating than she’d originally thought.

“I had gone to grad school to study intellectual and religious history, because I thought that was the history that really mattered and made the world work,” she says. “But when I started reading more cultural history, I began to understand that those views shape our experiences more than I had ever realized. ‘Christian ideas’ of masculinity and femininity have changed over the centuries, and are subtly interlinked with so many other values. That really changed the course of my studies. I declared a field in women’s history, and I haven’t looked back.”

While finishing her degree, Du Mez taught at Williams College for a semester and worked for the Five College Women’s Studies Research Center at Mount Holyoke. After graduation, she accepted a position as a professor of history at Calvin College, where she currently teaches courses in U.S. history, women’s history, and world history.

“I love digging into a text in community,” she says. “As a class, we really wrestle with ideas together. There are so few spaces where you can engage ideas with real people, not in a virtual space, and not just throwing around opinions but having a text in common to shape the conversation and bring it to a much deeper level. It’s a privilege to get to do that on a daily basis. To create that space, to challenge students to think more carefully, to foster those conversations, is what I love about teaching.”

Du Mez’ 2016 book, A New Gospel for Women, is a biography of the 19th-century Methodist and social activist Katherine Bushnell and has been called “a dazzling hybrid of history, biography, and theology.” It explores the relationship between Christianity and feminism in American Protestantism.

This led her to one of her current projects: a study of Hillary Clinton’s religious formation in progressive Methodism, focusing on her views on women’s rights, civil rights, international development, and progressive activism.

Besides writing and teaching, Du Mez has given presentations at numerous conferences and served on panels at venues such as the University of Notre Dame, the University of Iowa, Harvard Divinity School, and Calvin’s Festival of Faith and Writing.

A rising scholar in the world of Christianity and gender studies, Du Mez says that her time at Dordt shaped her to be the person she is today. She remembers with fondness the formative years spent with friends in the library carrels, wrestling through ideas and laying a foundation that she could build upon for the rest of her life.

When asked what advice she would give to current Dordt students, Du Mez responds, “Make the most out of the time and space you have. Really push yourself. Build skills of critical thinking, relationships with fellow thinkers and For more information about Du Mez’ work critics, and on gender studies and a strong Christianity, please visit theological kristindumez.com. foundation.

At a place like Dordt, that foundation doesn’t just come from theology courses; it is everywhere. So be intentional—cultivate the intellectual and spiritual habits that you will take with you when you leave Dordt.”

KATE HENRECKSON

Emily Hageman is exactly what Dordt College wanted, way back when. Ordinary folks from a region called Siouxland understood the time had come to build an institution of higher education right here on the continent’s most fertile ground.

And all of that is a good thing to keep in mind when you read Emily Hageman’s story. She’s what Dordt was—and still is—all about.

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They were thinking about hundreds of Christian school teachers needed for the crowd of “covenant children” soon to be school age, children of war vets and their spouses, thousands of them.

There was going to be—no, there already was—a dire need for good Christian teachers. That mission created Dordt College.

Those pious gents in fedoras and gray suits and ties were not thinking of Emily Hageman herself, and yet they were. They hoped and prayed that Dordt would turn out wonderful teachers for dozens of “Schools for Christian Instruction.” That’s why a spirited young pastor named Reverend B. J. Haan first stuck a spade into that fertile ground to start a building.

EMILY HAGEMAN T

he instructions Emily Hageman (’12) received for the All-State award ceremony said she should sit somewhere close to the stage, up front, where the big announcements would be made.

Should is the operative word—they should get a place up close, just in case.

Miss Hageman and her students didn’t, but then, who was Siouxland Christian School anyway? They’d never taken the stage at an All-State venue before.

Besides, the competition was huge: big schools from Dubuque, Des Moines, Iowa City, schools with long-established programs. Most had orchestras larger than the entire student body of Siouxland Christian, Sioux City, Iowa. (If you’re

thinking of David and Goliath, go ahead.)

The powers that be wanted all contenders up close so they could get to the stage in a flash. But Hageman, who teaches music and drama at Siouxland Christian, and her gang took the only seats they could get, third floor balcony— “I don’t know how many flights of stairs,” she remembers.

When the judge stood up front and opened the note to name the “Critic’s Choice” award, Miss Emily and her crew were a mile away, just happy to be there.

“And first place goes to ‘Back Cover,’ by Siouxland Christian,” the judge said.

Not a student in her troupe would have expected Miss Hageman to do anything other than she did. She stood there and screamed. As did they.

They’d won. All-State. Tiny Siouxland Christian, in their first year of competition, had won. Goliaths tumbled.

Emily Hageman turned sprinter all the way up to the front because they’d won.

President B.J. Haan would have been proud.

Say what you want about technique and thorough lesson plans, the best teachers are what they are because they pull the very best from their students. Hageman’s kids will tell you in no uncertain terms

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that she pushes them hard, often a furlong farther than they believe they can go. In so doing, she gets their best.

And they know it. That’s why they love her.

them down. I knew it wasn’t always easy.”

Acting requires some displacement of self. If you want to play Lady Macbeth, you don’t have to be her, but you have to understand her. Hageman’s students claim that when they go through a script, she asks them to undertake something very difficult, to understand human beings, to understand life itself.

“She teaches us to be real,” Sarah says.

So, she started college majoring in psychology, thinking she’d avoid teaching. She soon realized, though, that what she really loved was music and theatre. Those passions required a major other than psychology, so she changed to education, then walked over to Sioux Center High for her twenty-hour practicum.

“That helped me so much,” she says.

Student teaching greatly encouraged her.

Her supervising teacher as well as her mentor made it clear she wasn’t perfect—

To her parents, the choice seemed, well, questionable.

But convictions count, and Hageman was convicted.

“Miss Hageman helps us understand people,” Mikellie says, “and even understand ourselves better.”

Rachel says, “She teaches us how to be real.”

Austin remembers playing a kid whose father had walked away from the family: “I had to feel what it might feel like if my dad left. You learn what happens when we depart from God’s will.”

Hageman’s students can be deadly serious, but they’re kids, and in a flash a laugh becomes a chorus. “Miss Hageman,” Austin says, “is a hoot.” They have plenty of stories to back that claim.

In 2008, when, as a high school senior, Emily Hageman visited Dordt, she says she felt immediately at home.

Just observing choir practice at the school a block away from campus was transformative.

no one is. But they also said, “Hey, you could do this—and you could be good at it.”

“Teaching seemed to me both attractive and scary at that point,” she says. But watching those students made her believe that teaching—music and theatre especially—was something she could do.

She came to believe that God had given her a gift, so she began teaching music and directing choirs.

“When I worked with students, I got the sense that they were responding, really responding—actually listening to what I was saying,” she says. “I just loved being around the kids. They’re right on the brink of adulthood, and there’s so much shaping that goes on their lives.”

Performance was important to Hageman, and still is. At Dordt, she appeared in seven mainstage productions and sang with the concert choir for three wonderful years. For a time, she considered a major in music performance, but stayed in education.

Hageman graduated with an education degree in December of 2012, when teaching vacancies were few. To fill in, she took a job as a teller in a credit union back in Denver, even told herself she’d be okay with the job.

At Dordt, she says, she learned two distinct directives: the importance of excellence and of love. The two don’t JAMES C. SCHA AP (70)

“I had this sense that I could be there, that I could live there,” she says.

In September, she came to Dordt alone.

She’d grown up in Denver, was a graduate of Denver Christian High, the daughter of educators, a dad who directed plays in the high school where he taught, and a mom, a Dordt grad herself (Cheryl Van Kooten, '79), who works in special education.

“I was comfortable, safe, no pressure,” she says. But in late spring, she started sending off résumés, including one to a Christian school in Sioux City.

When she visited, everything about Siouxland Christian looked affirming, despite the fact that it was really small, and the building wasn’t even a school.

Kids met in a church. There was no choir room to speak of.

“Teaching is in my genes, I guess,” she says.

No matter. Somehow, she felt a part of things.

But she also claims she’d come to understand, firsthand, that a classroom bestows both blessings and curses.

“I remember walking through the hallways of the old school, and thinking, ‘I need to be here.’” Classmates were finding jobs in schools that had been around for a century. To her parents, the choice seemed, well, questionable.

“I watched my parents,” she says.

“Teaching filled them up—but it also wore

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always pair easily. In her significant experiences (“I had an awesome time”) in both theatre and music, she learned from directors she felt loved her but pushed her hard toward excellence.

Emily Hageman has also been working to get her one-act play "Back Cover" published.

JAMES C. SCHA AP (70)

But convictions count, and Hageman was convicted: Siouxland Christian was calling, and it was the right place.

Six years ago, when she came to Siouxland, not one student had signed up for choir. No one. This year, with Miss Emily Hageman directing, Siouxland Christian staged "The Sound of Music."

And this year, Siouxland Christian will send four performing groups to All-State, only their second year of competition.

There’s one more part to the opening story. When Hageman stood in that packed theatre and screamed at the announcement that “Back Cover,” from Siouxland Christian School, had won “Critic’s Choice,” she wasn’t just happy for her students. Hageman herself had written “Back Cover” and turned it into a piece her students could perform.

As she began preparing her students for their first year of competition, Hageman noticed that what played well was something historical, “something with a foundation.” She’d been reading a book about 9/11, and suddenly, while out walking one day, the idea came to her fully outfitted, an entire plot line.

“I wanted to write something ‘coming of age,’ something that asks, ‘Who makes

“I’ll just throw up,” she had said.

They went bananas. “Well it’s not going to happen,” she told them, meaning winning first place.

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This year, there’s a brand-new 12.4 million-dollar campus, a good-looking place just off the freeway, hard to miss if you’re driving south from Sioux Center. She has her own spacious room now, a real band and choir room with big windows. She teaches a theatre class that involves a lot of reading and rehearsing.

“What are you going to do if we win 'Critic’s Choice,' Miss Hageman?” one of the kids had asked.

It did, but she didn’t.

“It was the most amazing, bizarre thing in my life,” she says. “I always tell my students that the most important thing you have to do is what Christ wants you to do, to tell the truth. That’s all—you have to tell the truth. You tell the truth about Christ’s world, and you’ve already won.”

Siouxland Christian students have also participated in Dordt's One Act Festival, where they received outstanding recognition.

you?’—‘Who makes you who you are?’

And this whole story just came to me,” she says, still shocked. “It was from God because that’s not at all how I work.”

“Back Cover” is a generational saga about a young woman who reads the letters of another young woman and learns, by identifying closely with her, that what’s inside a person is something that can be built by dedication and perseverance.

When she discovers the 9/11 death of the letter-writer, she’s thrown into darkness.

The voice that was so confident was stilled, gone. It seemed a waste. But a teacher helps her understand that you can’t judge a book by its back cover. The play is realism, and its themes are life and death, nothing frivolous.

MASTER OF EDUCATION AT DORDT NOW OFFERING EIGHT TRACKS, INCLUDING

Special Education, Early Childhood, and Educational Technology

The trip back was a triumph. “We rode the bus back to Sioux City, and it was beautiful,” Hageman says.

Just for the record, here’s her principal, Steve Peters: “Emily Hageman has been an invaluable part of our staff at Siouxland Christian. She is far and away the best band and theater teacher I’ve had the honor of working with. Emily is a godly and effective teacher who exemplifies what Christian education is all about.”

Old President Haan would have loved her story, would have smiled that big toothy grin of his.

Maybe he did. Maybe he was there, in that theatre, somewhere behind the cast, with a whole cloud of witnesses in gray suits and ties.

JAMES C. SCHAAP (’70)

APPLY NOW! dordt.edu/master m_ed@dordt.edu

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After settling in the Washington, D.C. area in 2008, Jonathan and Amy Vander Vliet ('06) created the Daniel Challenge scholarship.

Jonathan and Amy established the scholarship because they wanted to encourage and challenge students to engage in important conversations with those who share similar goals but differing principles and worldviews.

“That’s one of the reasons we named it the ‘Daniel Challenge’: Daniel is an effective witness for God in a sometimes hostile environment, but he’s not a prophet or a preacher who’s proselytizing all the time. He’s simply doing his job well and being intentional about his personal faith so that all may flourish; he never hides his faith, but he also doesn’t shy away from working with others who can help him accomplish shalom.”

Jonathan and Amy see the Daniel Challenge scholarship as a way to recognize those who made Christian education an affordable reality for them, and as an opportunity to pay it forward.

Donor-funded scholarships help support current students in need and encourage others to consider Dordt in their future plans.

For more inspiring stories and ways to give, visit dordt.edu/fund.