Partners Newsletter | Fall 2014

GORDON COLLEGE

PARTNERS

One makes a difference A Quarterly Report for Partners | FALL 2014

“I’ve learned what it means to pick up my tents and bags and go, and how God sends us to the most unexpected places.”

Student Spotlight: Chan Yoon ’17 “I really like the book The Giving Tree. Until the tree dies, it keeps on giving. Even though it didn’t have much to offer, it gave all it had to provide for others.” For Chan Yoon ’17, a finance and accounting double major, the story carries weight. Known within the Gordon community for his cheerfulness and great work ethic, Chan is currently involved as a residence advisor, and a leader of the Economics

& Business Organization (Gordon’s business club). “I’m so privileged to be at Gordon College­—that puts me in the top 1% of the world’s population,” says Chan, who takes this privilege very seriously.

After this year, Chan will be transitioning into the Korean army, where he will serve for two years. Even still, he is giving God all the glory: “I’ve learned what it means to pick up my

tents and bags and go, and how God sends us to the most unexpected places.” Looking ahead to his eventual return to Gordon, and beyond, Chan hopes to continue giving back through starting a foundation to support education for students throughout the world.

Chan Yoon working with Vice President for Finance and Administration Mike Ahearn (right).

A Message from the President October 2014—and October 2 in particular—marked a seminal milestone in the history of Gordon College. It was on that fall day 125 years ago that A. J. Gordon’s new Boston Missionary Training Institute conducted its first class.

Longevity like this is unusual for most institutions. Rarer still is fidelity to a founding vision. It is a tribute to God’s providence— and to the faithfulness of the many who followed after him— that A. J. Gordon’s bold first step so many years ago would set the course for a College that is still vibrant, relevant and influential in the 21st century.

It is the generous support of Partners like you that allows Gordon College to fulfill its educational and spiritual mission with our students each day—including the ones who share their stories in this issue.

May this be a reminder of how one truly makes a difference—in Gordon’s past, in its present, and in our future together.

With blessings and appreciation,

Goals Matter—On and Off the Field When senior Hannah Midwinter was named co-captain of Gordon College Women’s Soccer this year, she was nervous. “But I had to step up and run things,” she says. “I pray often that I can be a strong example for my fellow teammates, someone for them to look up to and be comfortable coming to.”

Kicking off a solid start to the fall season, this offensive center midfield has one main goal for her team: “To glorify God in everything that we say and do on and off the field. Our time on the field is an act of worship and we want people to know that the minute we step onto the field because of our efforts, hearts, words and attitudes.” She says the team’s other goals are to “work hard, play as one body and win the Commonwealth Coast Conference.”

A social work major from Barkhamsted, Connecticut, Hannah keeps a similar focus off the field. “As each semester goes by, I experience different things that refine my faith, ideas, values and relationships even more than I expected,” she says. “I have learned to love and appreciate my family more, to discipline myself to have quiet time one-on-one with God, to study harder, to play harder, to pray harder—and so much more.”

Scholarship with Family Ties Dr. Jennifer Hevelone-Harper ’92 (above, left), a scholar of late antiquity, early Islam, and medieval and modern Europe, is passionate about equipping her students to be scholars themselves. She challenges them to expand their understanding of the biblical charge to love their neighbor—to love not only those separated from them geographically, but also those set apart chronologically. Her students give her impressive reviews for her excitement about the study of history.

level), and this fall is enrolled in Dr. Hevelone-Harper’s seminar, Art and Spirituality in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. This course explores how Christians in different time periods have expressed their faith visually.

Take Kaitlin Lindsay ’16 (right), for example. A double major in history and education, she plans to participate in the Gordon IN Orvieto semester, where she will be able to explore the intersection of art, history and literature. Though it is challenging for a double major to study abroad, she’s been planning for it practically since her first day at Gordon. Along with two semesters of Italian, she has taken courses in public history and museum studies (a subject normally offered only at the graduate

Kaitlin’s Gordon experience is undergirded by family ties. She has a sibling and a cousin currently at Gordon—and four aunts, an uncle and both of her parents are graduates.

Jennifer’s side of the family has strong Gordon ties, too; her sister Dr. Suzanne Hevelone ’97 teaches history at Gordon part-time, and their sister Christine not only graduated from Gordon, but in her first year in 2002 took a class taught by Jennifer.

Jennifer and her husband Colin Harper ’92 have family links to the College, too. On the Harper side of the family the connection goes back to 1957, when Jennifer’s mother-in-law, Lillian Bennett, arrived as a student on the brandnew Princemere estate campus. Bill

Then and now, Dr. HeveloneHarper has a central message she delivers in every class: “Because you are a Christian, you are de facto a historian, because Christianity is based on claims about history: Christ’s birth, death and resurrection.”

“I appreciate how knowledgeable Professor Hevelone-Harper is,” Kate says. “I can ask questions for clarification and receive an insightful answer. As an education major I appreciate her example for my future reference.”

Harper arrived a year later. (The Harpers are at far right in photo above.) Their college romance flourished; they celebrated their golden anniversary a few years ago.

Both served Gordon for decades— Lillian in Global Education, Bill as a professor of political science— and together, they led European Seminar trips. When Bill retired in 2006 he was praised as “one of the principal voices shaping the vision and curriculum of Gordon College.”

$575,000 FY15 Partners Goal

$75,831 Raised to date

564 Students awarded Partners funds this year

$1,000 Average award

A Personal Message to Our Fellow Gordon Partners

Upcoming Events

MARK AND CAROL TAYLOR

Richard F. Gross Distinguished Lecture • Ann Fudge, former CEO, Young & Rubicam

NOVEMBER 3

We are not Gordon alumni, yet we are Gordon Partners. Why? Because we believe so strongly in the value of Christian higher education. Two of our children went to Gordon, and both had wonderful experiences; faculty and staff have had a tremendous influence on their lives. They met their spouses at Gordon, so we count four Gordon alumni among our extended family.

The world of higher education is increasingly antagonistic to a Christian worldview. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and other Christian ministries recently lost their status as recognized student groups on the University of California campuses. IVCF requires that its student leaders must be Christians, which UC characterizes as intolerance. At Gordon, by contrast, student leaders are encouraged in their faith development. We support that, as Gordon Partners—long after our own children have left the campus.

DECEMBER 6

President’s Reception for Partners and scholarship donors 5:30 p.m. Ken Olsen Science Center Loggia and Chairman’s Room

Christmas Gala 7:30 p.m. A. J. Gordon Memorial Chapel

FEBRUARY 16–20, 2015

DEEP FAITH Week • Ken Shigematsu, senior pastor of Tenth Church, Vancouver

Where Partners Are From Our Partners come from places across the United States and around the globe including:

www.gordon.edu/deepfaith Find details and other upcoming events at www.gordon.edu/calendar

Alaska, Bahamas, Canada, Hong Kong and Republic of Korea

I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Philemon 1:6 (NIV) 255 Grapevine Road, Wenham MA 01984-1899 www.gordon.edu

LIVES WORTH LEADING™