Knight Times - October 2016

K

night Times

October 20, 2016 • Volume 8 • Issue 1 • Warner Pacific College

In this Issue: College-bound and Undocumented

Obstacles and possibilities for higher education

KinderTransport in a Global Perspective

Bridging the gap between past and current refugee crises

Alumni Mentoring Program

Alumni re-engage; students Emily Wintringham & learn to network ByAshley Gorsek

“H

ey, it’s so nice to see you! How are you doing? How can I be praying for you?”

This is how a usual conversation begins when I meet with my mentor, Jessie Thompson. This isn’t the kind of ‘how are you?’ where someone wants a short answer and doesn’t care; this is the ‘how are you?’ that means the person asking wants to listen intently and show that they care.

The Alumni Mentoring Program at Warner Pacific is responsible for making successful matches like that between Ashley Gorsek and her mentor, Jessie Thompson. Serena Cline, Director for Alumni Relations and Annual Giving at Warner Pacific College, has been developing this experiment since the summer of 2015. “I was looking for meaningful ways for alumni to get involved.

I wanted to find ways they could bring their talents back to our campus, rather than just attending lunches and dinners,” Cline said.

There had to be a better way to re-establish contact with alumni than to just call and ask them to contribute financially. According to Jim Langley, a professional consultant engaged by the college, the best way to increase alumni donations would be for them to become intimately involved in the college through volunteer opportunities.

Cline surveyed alums about what might be a more engaging contribution; many communicated that they would help students in a tangible way—one alum even offered to drive students to church. Cline also reached out to Warner Pacific students and inquired what they wanted from alumni. The students gave a broad range of responses, including scholarship donations, alumni serving during Common Day of Service, and mentoring. First-time freshmen are already engaged in learning communities with peer mentors, so it was decided to build the new alumni mentoring program to serve the many transfer students coming into the college.

Mentor Jessie Thompson and student Ashley Gorsek walking together outside Egtvedt.

Hall. Photo by Stephanie Davis.

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Cline began to pair alumni and students based on vocational similarities. If a student was studying business, she would find alumni who worked in the field. If she didn’t find a suitable match right away, Vol. 8, Issue 1

Cline went to LinkedIn to search for the right alumni to pair with a student who didn’t have a match. In cases where there wasn’t a student for alumni who wanted to mentor, Cline would email faculty to locate interested students, even if they weren’t transfer students.

My mentor Jessie Thompson works at Warner Pacific and trains peer mentors, so I asked her a number of questions about mentoring. We got to chat about why we both chose to be a part of the Alumni Mentoring program and how it has impacted us. When I asked her ‘why did you want to be a mentor?’ Thompson explained that she is proud to be a graduate of Warner Pacific, but also an alumna of the Religion and Christian Ministries (RCM) major. “I wish I would’ve had a mentor while going to school at Warner Pacific. It is so valuable having someone who has gone before you that will help with any questions and concerns, but also having someone who is there for encouragement,” she said. When I asked Thompson about the benefits that she has already seen with the program, she talked about how 2015-2016 was the first year of implementation for the Alumni Mentoring Program and how she helped Serena Cline with some of the beginning details, but wasn’t able to be a part of the program last year. This year she was excited to participate. “Watching you helps me to feel empowered,” Thompson said.

With this program, she feels “connected to the rhythm of someone else’s life.” She is praying for me daily and wondering what I am doing and how I am doing. She said it is encouraging to see how I am willing to listen, learn, and develop my interests and passions.

I asked Thompson how the mentoring program has made her feel more connected to the community here at Warner Pacific.

She is already employed here as Director of Learning Communities, but she explained how this is a new way of being connected back into the RCM major, through me. We are a great match and we have so much in common: our love for people and for God, and our connection to the Religion and Christian Ministries major. Jessie Thompson loves college students and is passionate about helping people with spiritual direction, something she does in her life and work. This alumni mentorship program is an “opportunity to enhance joy, and come Knight Times

along side in the trials,” she said.

When I asked ‘How do you prepare for each meeting?’ Thompson said that there is a “list of possibilities” for the things we can talk about, but one thing she makes sure to have during each meeting is an “offering of open space,” which means a space that is open to whatever I want to talk about or discuss. As the mentee, that is something I very much respect and am thankful for.

Thompson also talked about how she is “mindful in praying” for me as her mentee.

Prayer is a way she prepares for our meetings and cares for me.

In our many conversations, I found out that Thompson wasn’t quite sure what she was going to do after college, which is similar to me. I know Thompson will be there for me even after I graduate and am transitioning out of Warner Pacific into my career/life choices. Having someone who had similar goals to mine is something so valuable and encouraging. There is no need to worry about ‘after college’ because I have the support I need and advice from someone who has gone before me.

I think as humans, it is very important to have people speaking into our lives and there to listen to trials but also the joys that

we come across in life. Through this Alumni Mentoring Program, I have found someone who cares and is there for me to listen and speak truth/encouragement into my life.

Our mentoring session is something I look forward to each month. As a mentee, I bring an open heart and mind to hear what advice and encouragement she has for me, but also with no expectations of what will happen. I enjoy things that are carefree and go with the flow, so in meeting with Jessie, I love when the conversation flows naturally.

If there is something I would like to talk about, I come prepared to ask about it.

Serena Cline summarized what makes the mentoring program work. “It’s really self- directed, because each student is going to need something different,” she said. Her work entails setting up the matches, providing optional topics for discussion, checking in with the pairs at the midpoint of each semester, and organizing the opening and closing ceremonies. Aside from this groundwork, how it flies is dependent on the commitment between mentees and mentors, she said. “I do ask that meetings, if possible, take place on campus so that it’s easier for the student. I think it builds a lot of energy when you see the mentoring happening at Tabor Grind or in the Dining Hall.”

Continued on page 11

Transfer student Bryce White and his mentor Demarcus Best meeting in the Tabor Grind.

Photo by Stephanie Davis.

Warner Pacific College

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Undocumented Students

dropped out of the news cycle. Despite a big push under the presidency of Barack Obama in 2010, the Dream Act failed to pass.

States develop their own “dream acts”

Obstacles and possibilities for higher education

By Nelly Manzo Hernandez

T

The 2010 federal Dream Act did not pass There have been numerous attempts to assist, encourage, and give undocumented students hope that they will be able to attend college without hesitation about the obstacles and fear they can face. First introduced in Congress in 2001, the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, commonly known as the Dream Act, gave students hope of a successful future. The legislation was in the air for many years, and was reintroduced in 2010. Barack Obama initiated this important step to help immigrant youth. (www.dreamproject-va.org)

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Unfortunately, DACA provides only a temporary stay for individuals who are qualified, and it does not create a real opportunity to become legal residents—unlike the path to citizenship outlined in the Dream Act. Under DACA, individuals are able to obtain a work permit that is renewable after two years. If qualified, individuals are allowed to be in the United States legally, apply for employment, and receive a social security number. Although not directly linked to higher education, DACA does provide the ability to work legally and become more financially stable, within the renewable two year window.

Since 2001, 18 states have developed their own “dream acts” to address this problem, including the states of California and Oregon. In 2013, four states, including Oregon, enacted laws allowing in-state tuition for undocumented students. As of 2015, Oregon is one of the states which allow eligible undocumented students to receive state financial aid.

eenage years in America are the years when adolescents learn to drive, get their first job, and start their college plans. It’s the time when most students come home to find the multiple acceptance letters from the colleges that they applied to and share their excitement of leaving the home and writing their own story as an independent individual. Yet, for undocumented teens, these rites of passage become options out of their reach. According to collegeboard.org, students who are undocumented represent one of the most vulnerable groups served by K-12 public education. Each year, an estimated 80,000 undocumented students turn 18 and approximately 65,000 graduate with a high school diploma. From those high numbers, only five to ten percent of undocumented high school graduates continue to pursue higher education.

The 2010 proposed legislation offered a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants between the ages of 12 to 31 who met certain requirements. To be eligible, individuals had to arrive in the United States before the age of 16, have a good moral character, have lived in the United States for at least five consecutive years, and have graduated from high school. The Dream Act gave the dreamers a way to see beyond high school. In 2009 and 2010, the media began to cover protests of the dreamers, who as children were brought to the United States by their parents without a legal residency permit or valid visa. These individuals had dreams; they saw their future within reach, yet their education seemed as if it was in jeopardy. What happened to the federal Dream Act? It became one of those polices that was spoken about temporarily and eventually

The dreamers lost hope and experienced doubt and confusion about the laws and policies regarding their access to higher education. It is very common for undocumented students to incorrectly assume that they can’t legally attend college in the United States, but there is no federal or state law that prohibits the admission of undocumented students into public or private colleges and universities. However, one problem undocumented students have faced is that public institutions may treat them as foreign students; they are therefore ineligible for state aid and the lower tuition charged to state residents. This policy can put college out of their reach financially. Since 2001, 18 states have developed their own “dream acts” to address this problem, including the states of California and Oregon. In 2013, four states, including Oregon, enacted laws allowing in-state tuition for undocumented students.

As of 2015, Oregon is one of the states which allow eligible undocumented students to receive state financial aid. Oregon’s legislators have passed three laws that help ensure all of Oregon’s eligible students a path to college. These include tuition equity: allowing all eligible students to pay in-state tuition rates; Oregon opportunity grant: allowing all eligible students to be considered for the state funded financial aid programs; and Oregon Promise, which provides a tuition waiver at community colleges for eligible students. For the most up-to-date information, see the following websites: oregongoestocollege.org and e4fc.org (Educators for Fair Consideration).

school or obtained a GED, or have been honorably discharged from the military. Individuals must also pass a background check to assure that they have not been convicted of a felony, nor do they pose a threat to national security or public safety. Deferred action is granted on a case by case basis. (www.dreamproject-va.org)

DACA: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

Photo by Kris Price for SEIU, taken at the National Dream Act Graduation day, June 23, 2009.

Vol. 8, Issue 1

Another important development for undocumented students is the executive order announced in June of 2012. After the 112th Congress once again failed to pass the national Dream Act, President Obama directed the Department of Homeland Security to initiate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which essentially provides guidelines for applying “prosecutorial discretion”—that is, not following through with deportation if certain eligibility requirements are met. Undocumented students may qualify for DACA consideration if they meet requirements similar to those outlined in the failed Dream Act legislation. If anything, DACA strengthens those eligibility requirements. Undocumented individuals under the age of 31 must be in an educational institution, have graduated from high Knight Times

What DACA does not change is that undocumented students remain ineligible for any federally funded student financial aid, including loans, grants, scholarships, or work-study money. Instate tuition depends on each state’s laws. Many private scholarship funds and foundations require applicants to be U. S. citizens or legal residents, creating a need gap that is now being addressed by organizations like Golden Door Scholars. Many organizations are developing scholarship databases and information on other opportunities for undocumented students planning for college. Private institutions can set their own financial aid policies. Some are willing to give scholarships and other aid to undocumented students.

Let your dream become ​ bigger than your fear Immigrants have one thing in common: we have the hunger to do the impossible. Finding those resources that allow undocumented students to attend college may be challenging, and require more work than just having good grades and being a good student. Private scholarships for undocumented students are available. A few places to start would be with the Oregon Gear Up Program, which aims to prepare low income students to pursue a postsecondary education, and the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber Scholarship. You are your own best advocate and supporter. If you have nothing to hide, there is absolutely nothing to fear. Let your dream be bigger than your fear.

It is very important to keep up with the law changes not only in the nation but in your state of residence. It is very likely that U.S. laws regarding undocumented students may change, but it doesn’t mean a law change can tear away your hope of pursuing higher education.

Warner Pacific College

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Undocumented

What happens to a dream deferred?

A Memoir by Cinthia Hernandez

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y entire life I have lived in fear. I’ve become so used to this emotion that it has become part of my life. All my life I was taught to run. Run away from people I can’t trust. Run away from problems or challenges. I’ve run away many times, and I’ve grown sick and tired of it. When I walk down the streets of Portland, I wonder who else might be undocumented, living in fear of getting stopped and deported to their origin country because they are in this country without verification of citizenship. I see the faces go by, all different ethnicities, genders and ages. Although I don’t know who these undocumented people are, I know exactly how they feel.

Loud cheering and shouts filled the room of S236. My peers were jumping out of their seats as if they were little kids on Christmas Day and had just received what they asked for. I sat alone in a corner watching my peers jump up and down, hugging one another, or simply rereading the letters they had received.

Every single person had received a letter, except me.

My AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) teacher had just distributed the letters from the colleges she made us apply for. Except me; I hadn’t applied to the colleges my peers had, not because I didn’t want to go to college, but because I couldn’t go. I hadn’t discussed college with my parents or siblings, either. What was the point?

“Cinthia, where’s your letter?” my classmate Evette asked.

“I didn’t apply.” I said. It was just a little white lie, the kind I was used to telling.

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“What, why? You should apply, you’re very smart and I know you’ll get in. If you want, I’ll help you with the application.”

If only it were that easy, Evette. “Let me think about it, and I’ll get back to you.”

“Hopefully you decide soon though, because you have to go,” she said with a smile.

I returned the smile and got out my statistics journal to make it seem that I was busy. I didn’t want anyone to ask me anymore about college, so I stepped out. I had to leave the room, because if I hadn’t, tears would have run down my cheeks. I needed to talk to someone who understood my situation, so I ended up going to the ESL room.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in class?” Mr. Ramirez asked.

“I am, but decided to take a break from it,” I said as I let my weight fall onto a rolling chair and began to play with a strand of my hair.

“Why do you need a break from AVID? That’s like taking a break from your break; it doesn’t really make sense.”

“Well, because guess who didn’t receive an acceptance letter from any college? Me.” I pointed both index fingers towards my face.

“Ah, I understand why you left now. I thought you applied to George Fox and Warner Pacific?”

“I haven’t heard anything from them, so I’m guessing it’s a no.”

Vol. 8, Issue 1

“Well, aren’t you going to PCC?” “No, what’s the point, I would only get my Associates degree, and for what I want to major in I need my Bachelor’s degree, but that’s not happening.”

“So what are your plans after high school then?”

“I got none, just going to lay in bed and do nothing, because I can’t work, can’t go to college, can’t do anything.”

“You know you could work.”

“Yup, I could work at a crappy job where I get paid under the table, get treated like garbage, and get threatened to have the IRS sent to my home. Sounds tempting but I think I’ll pass on that, Mr. Ramirez.”

Mr. Ramirez just laughed, but deep down he knew it was true. Our conversation got interrupted by my friend Jorge who needed help from Mr. Ramirez. I just sat in the chair playing with my hair as I thought about college. Evette’s words ran through my head over and over again. “You should apply, you’re very smart and I know you’ll get in.” If only it was that simple to get into college. I still can’t seem to wrap my head around the idea that all my peers will be going to college and be working, and I’ll just be at home doing chores. They will be getting their lives together while I’m trying to figure out what will become of me without work experience and a higher education. Would my life be different if I attended college, or would I still be the same? Would my life be different if I wasn’t undocumented? I don’t understand how some people have the opportunity to go to college and they decide to not go. Some people have the choice whether they want to go or not, but I don’t.

I believe it was sixth grade when I found out I was undocumented. Although I didn’t know about it before, I knew something was wrong because I wasn’t able to do many things my classmates were doing, such as traveling out of the country.

When I heard the words fall from my mother’s lips, “You’re undocumented. You were born in Mexico,” I didn’t know what to do. For a sixth grader it may be hard to comprehend these words, but I knew what was coming. I knew I wasn’t going to have the same opportunities as many of my classmates. In other words, I wasn’t going to succeed in life.

That’s when I decided I wasn’t going to try in school. Many people said that undocumented people aren’t successful, and I believed them. My grades dropped from A’s to I’s, which I didn’t know was possible. I skipped classes because I felt like I wouldn’t gain anything from being there. If I did end up going, I never paid attention. My teachers didn’t know what to do with me anymore, and neither did my parents.

Seventh grade rolled around, and I became someone that people couldn’t recognize anymore, not even myself. I started hanging out with the wrong crowd, which led me to doing things I’m not proud of. All year long I heard my teachers say, “Are you okay, Cinthia? What can I do to help you? Why aren’t you trying? You’re better than this. You need to try, or else how will you be successful in life?” At the time those words didn’t stick with me because I felt anger and hatred against everyone. It would boil my blood when people said I was better than that. I wanted nothing to do with this life I was given. I wanted to leave and never come back.

Continued on next page Photo by Kris Price for SEIU, taken at the National Dream Act Graduation day, June 23, 2009.

Knight Times

Who are the Dreamers?

The term DREAMER derives from the acronym of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act or DREAM Act. The DREAMERS are the undocumented students who, as children, were brought to the country by their parents without a legal residency permit or a valid resident visa. Some of these children came by crossing the US borders; others came with a temporary visa that had expired.

Many of these DREAMERS came as young children; they have been educated as American citizens. Although many are bilingual, the majority identifies English as their first language, and while bi-cultural, they identify as Americans. A significant proportion of undocumented students have navigated K-12 schooling successfully despite the challenges of immigration and discrimination. Many have the academic preparation to pursue a postsecondary education, but their economic and social mobility is severely restricted by their undocumented status. This is true for a diverse range of undocumented Hispanic, Asian, African, and European-origin children whose talents and potential remain large untapped.

All immigrant children, independently of their immigrant status, are entitled to free public education from Kindergarten to grade 12. In 1982, the Supreme Court ruled that public education cannot be denied to children in elementary and secondary school. However, their access to post-secondary education is more problematic.

According to Roberto G. Gonzales (2011), a scholar who has studied extensively the experiences of undocumented students, many immigrant students come to the realization of their undocumented status during high school. For undocumented youths, many normative teenage activities are denied. Here are some of the obstacles these students face: • Inability to get a legitimate job; • Inability to obtain a driver’s license; • Inability to access financial aid to pay for higher education; • Inability to open a bank account or establish any kind of credit record; • Ineligibility for federal health care programs; • Inability to travel abroad; and • Even if undocumented students are able to get a college degree, their status bars them from getting a job in their field of study.

The undocumented status of young people affects their personal development, the achievement of their future goals, as well as the prospects of their adulthood. Gonzales (2009) explains that the realization of undocumented status creates a number of feelings and reactions in the students. Many of them experience “anger, confusion, frustration and despair, generally followed by a period of paralyzing shock” (p. 610). In addition, the realization of what their illegal status means for their adulthood comes as a second shock. Some students become disillusioned and may abandon their future plans, instead focusing on adjustment to their new coming of age with undocumented status.

Others, despite the challenges, decide to press on and try to find ways to finance their education.

The entire study, Young Lives on Hold, is available at https://professionals.collegeboard.org Warner Pacific College

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At the age of thirteen, I had already heard, seen, and experienced things a young teen should never be exposed to. There were so many contributing factors that led me to hate the life I was given. I hated myself. I hated everything and everyone.

I had given up on life. I began thinking, “It would be easy to just end all of the pain, suffering, and self-hate that I feel every day. I wouldn’t be depressed and I wouldn’t do any self-harm anymore. I don’t know what will happen, but it will be better than how I’m living right now. I’ve been living in a constant battle with myself that it’s slowly killing me. A battle that is driving me crazy and I don’t know how exactly I want to end this. There are several ways of doing it, but the two options for me are overdose or slitting my wrists. I have a slow painless choice or a gory painful choice. I don’t know when I’ll do it, but I will do it…”

I didn’t make a choice right away, so the choice was made for me. My sister was going through a rough patch at the same time as me. We had a falling out and a terrible argument. That argu-

hard. A week passed and I got news that George Fox had accepted me. I also heard from Warner, but it took them a little while longer to accept me. Once I sent the additional information they requested, I got the letter I was waiting for. In the end I decided to attend Warner, and I was happy with my decision.

Now I walk down the streets of downtown Portland with the knowledge that there are opportunities for undocumented people to further their education. Even though I am scared, I am very happy that I’ve been given a second chance in life and I am fulfilling one of my dreams.

Being undocumented is a huge obstacle in this country, but that will not stop me from trying to be successful. It may take me longer than others to reach my goals and it’s going to take all my strength to achieve my dreams. As an undocumented person I have been through difficult situations and I have had to work harder than most other people. I’ve learned a lot through this process, and I’m proud to say that I’m undocumented.

Athletes of Faith Sport as a way to worship God

I was convinced that I had been denied. I wouldn’t have the opportunity to achieve my goals. But I wasn’t going to let myself go down the dark path I had gone through before. I kept working hard. ment led my sister to confessing to our parents that she wasn’t the only one who had self-harmed and who had suicidal thoughts. I was no longer in control of my life. Since my parents knew that I wished I was dead, they now paid closer attention to what I did. I couldn’t harm myself anymore and the choice of taking my life was no longer there. With my sister’s confession and my deteriorating grades, my mom made the decision to transfer me to another school.

Even though I wasn’t sure about transferring schools it made me realize that I could start over. I could make new friends, have teachers who didn’t know me, and I could be invisible. Once I transferred, it made me realize that I was given a second chance at life and I wanted to change the way I viewed life. Even though I knew I would always be undocumented, I wanted not to only make my parents proud of me but also I myself wanted to be proud.

Once I was in high school, I actually paid attention in class and challenged myself to do better. Even though I knew I was not going to be able to go to a college, I wanted to at least graduate from high school and earn my diploma. I thought that I couldn’t apply to any college because all my life I was told undocumented people couldn’t attend a four-year university. It took a guy named Adam Ristick coming to my class to talk about the Act Six Scholarship to make me think that I could go to college. It gave me hope. I decided to apply for the scholarship, a process which automatically sent an application to Warner Pacific College and George Fox University.

When my peers from AVID got their acceptance letters from colleges and I still hadn’t heard news about the colleges I applied to, I was convinced that I had been denied. I wouldn’t have the opportunity to achieve my goals. But I wasn’t going to let myself go down the dark path I had gone through before. I kept working

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By Celeste Jackson Photo courtesy of Rebecca Anna

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?

F

or many of Warner Pacific’s athletes of faith, religion is a strong component of their identity both on and off the field.

However, that identity is expressed in many different forms. Some tell tales of how God made sports their saving grace, while others found Him through competition. For these athletes, their struggles go beyond simple questions of faith; while some are able to seamlessly integrate faith into athletics, others struggle with incorporating their beliefs into this important aspect of their life. The athletes of faith interviewed for this story say they are lovers of God first and athletes second. They compete for the glory of God and to display appreciation for the talents they have been given.

But following that path is not always easy.

Or fester like a sore— And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Harlem by Langston Hughes

Finding Purpose

Photo by Lilian Tikkanen Vol. 8, Issue 1

When junior Becca Anna lines up for each cross country race, her heart is pounding and her legs are itching to go; her ears listen for the gunshot to start the race, but her mind is in a moment of peace and prayer, asking God for help. Although Rebecca Knight Times

Anna lived in a Christian home, growing up was a struggle. For her, church was not a place she could find the belonging and the love she was longing for. “I felt invisible at church and because of the lack of positive relationships with other Christians, I still struggle with going to church,” Anna said.

Eventually at age 16, Anna left the church because of the lack of community. Even though she felt lost for many years, Anna continued to seek God. “Both the church and my home life made me question God’s goodness, but it also gave me nowhere to turn to except God,” she said.

It wasn’t until the end of middle school that she really felt like God had a purpose for her. The cross country and track coach at Anna’s school bugged her everyday until she eventually caved in and joined the team in 8th grade. At first, running was just another activity to do, but soon Anna found out she was competitive with the faster athletes, and she became very motivated. During the summer, her uncle took her to a cross country camp, and Anna began training on her own. In high school

Anna’s talent only grew. “I used to win a lot in high school and I would always tell myself, ‘victory belongs to the Lord.’

Looking back now it was really cheesy, but that was my way of giving it back to God,” Anna said.

Even though Anna’s confidence in herself was growing, she still struggled all throughout high school with the idea of contentment and with being happy about her results. “My coach began to instill the idea ‘shoot for the moon; even if you miss you will land among the stars,’ and this began to help me to be content with both my good and bad races,” she said. Even in college Anna finds herself taking a step back and remembering to be happy with her ability. “Last year during track season, I ran around a 19:30 for my 5k, and I didn’t really think of it as a big deal. I had to stop myself and talk to John, my husband, and say ‘that is a big deal, that’s a really fast 5k, I can be proud of that!’ It’s not a natural response to be proud of a race because it wasn’t a PR (personal record),” Anna said.

Continued on next page Warner Pacific College

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said. As a kid he hated going to church and didn’t practice his faith outside of his home and church. “I always believed in God, but I didn’t make it into a priority.

I just knew there was a God. I didn’t put a label on it,” Simón said. “I feel like I have taken bit and pieces of Christianity as well as ideas from the Catholic church into my faith now,” he said.

It wasn’t until high school that Simón’s faith started to be developed. His new wrestling coach began to incorporate faith into the sport in a way Simón wasn’t used to. “My coach in high school was also my pastor, and he always said, ‘Before you step on the mat you have to ask yourself two questions: have I done everything possible to compete right now and if I haven’t, should I step on this mat?’ It drove me not just in a physical way, but it made me question whether I lived in a way that I can be proud of and that God can be proud of,” Simón said.

Senior Miguel Simón in the midst of a wrestling match. Photo courtesy of Miguel Simón.

Anna has experienced other changes in her transition between being a high school and a college athlete. “I used to always think ‘I got this,’ and now I’m constantly asking God for help, and I’ve come to see how God has helped me so much,” Anna said.

She especially realized this through a condition called COPD she developed her senior year in high school.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease makes it extremely hard to breathe and can be caused by chronic bronchitis. “Our bodies are so fragile, even at a young age. Developing COPD has made me appreciate the body God has given me, and it has helped me learn to take care of myself,” Anna said.

Looking back, Anna has realized how running gave her a sense of worth and value, and she began to see it as her saving grace. “God put running in my life as a way to save me and give my life meaning,” she said. Running became the catalyst to be able to step outside of herself and then outside of running to be able to find meaning. After high school, Anna

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thought her years of competing were over until the opportunity came to run in college. “I wasn’t sure if I would race again after high school and that broke my heart. I gave myself a few years to find myself, and I was able to say ‘okay, this is a passion I want to pursue again,” she said. Anna joined the women’s cross-country team at Moody Bible School and eventually transferred to Warner Pacific. “Running is a part of me, but it’s not just me. It is just a piece of who I am because God gave it to me. He let it be the bedrock to be able to feel like I had meaning and to be able to value myself,” she said.

An Act of God For senior wrestler Miguel Simón, competing in wrestling gave him the push towards God he didn’t plan on taking. “I grew up Catholic, but eventually my family migrated into another church and faith because my mother didn’t agree with some of the ideas the Catholic Church was teaching,” Simón

Simón’s experience with faith was positive throughout high school. “He [my coach] was a huge impact, and he led me into his church and faith and to God. My other coach also instilled a community of being Christ-centered on the team, and since I went to a public school, it made a huge impact to have a team set apart,” Simón said. But it wasn’t until coming to Warner Pacific that Simón’s faith really flourished.

“Coming into Warner, I knew it was a Christian school and I thought I would fit in, but the professors really let me to explore my own faith and beliefs,” Simón said. During his first year at the college, Simón began to wrestle with his faith and question the ideas he grew up with and self examine what he actually believed. Coming to Warner really helped me take the steps toward what I now call my personal faith,” Simón said. “My mindset has changed with wrestling. I used to pray [in high school] during competition, but it wasn’t anything meaningful, just to do it because it was something that I knew. I did it out of default mode, just as reassurance. It’s nothing compared to how I pray now,” Simón said. Having a coach at Warner Pacific who incorporates faith into everything the team does has helped Simón take hold of his faith. “My coach expects us to uphold and live out God’s word, and in all aspects of our lives, not just as an athlete. He wants us to use what we have learned from him and wrestling on and off the mat.” Since Simón started wrestling, his journey of discovering his faith has been a cumulative experience. “I see it all as an act of God,” he said.

Vol. 8, Issue 1

With His Power, For His Glory For junior Josh Johnson, faith and sports were both a constant presence in his life.

“Having my dad as my coach throughout my whole life really gave me a sense of community regardless of who I was with. My family grew up in the church, so I grew up in the church. There has never been a time that I didn’t think I was a believer, it’s just been a slow growing journey,” he said. “There have been times when I have felt really on fire for Christ, and then I come back home and it dwindles off a little, but I have never stopped believing,” Johnson said.

Since he was five years old, Johnson remembers playing sports, but not necessarily incorporating his faith into those activities. “All throughout high school I battled with the fact that I believed, but I never did anything with my faith,” Johnson said. He began to make that connection in his sophomore year of high school. “I was at the state tournament, and it was the first time I had made it to finals. My mom wrote me these little Bible verses, and I would read them before my matches to help give me encouragement. The last one she wrote was Jeremiah 29:11, and it has been my favorite verse since that moment,” he said. At the tournament, Johnson said that he had never been more nervous in his life, but the verse reminded him that no matter what happens, God has a plan. “It reminded me that regardless of what happens today, in the eyes of God, I am okay and He has a plan for me. If I win, that is His plan, and if not, it’s still his plan,” Johnson said.

But Johnson still struggled with the idea that he wasn’t competing just for himself. His mom always brought that mindset back. “I used to get mad at my mom before matches because my dad would always encourage me to win, but my mom would always say ‘I just want you to do your best’ and that it was okay if I didn’t win. Winning was really important, and I got frustrated with the idea that it was okay if I lost,” he said. It took awhile, but eventually Johnson realized his mom was being an example of Jesus. “Now during matches, if I’m not focused or I feel off, I usually look for my mom, and the saying ‘With His Power, For His Glory” comes to mind,” Johnson said. “It reminds me that no matter what happens, I need to remember this is all for Him and I’m only doing this because he is letting me.” Having a mother as a strong influence of Christ was more important to Johnson than he realized.

“My mom was and has continued to be a huge spiritual influence on my life, especially in sports. She was never an athlete, but she always encouraged me on several different levels,” he said.

Since his transition from high school, Johnson has developed a better understanding of what it means to have a relationship with God and actively seek Him. “I never really thought of worshiping God in my sport, but now I realize that everything I do is for the glory of Him and needs to reflect Him.” Johnson often finds himself thinking, “How can I worship God through this, or how can I be an example of Christ while I’m competing? It all comes back to the thought, ‘With His Power, for His Glory.’ It’s a constant reminder in everything I do now,” he said.

Alumni Mentoring Program

Continued from page 3 Cline’s goals for the program extend beyond connecting with alumni in meaningful ways. Mentoring should assist students with networking and professional preparation, with the ultimate goal of post-graduation job placement, she said. “In every job I’ve had, I can point to a person who helped me get the interview. Someone made a call or sent an email on my behalf,” Cline said. “I had to get the job once I was in the interview, but my professional networks have helped me get a seat at the interview table.” Cline’s hope is that the alumni mentors would expand the students’ networks. A number of students have already earned internships and jobs as a result of their mentor relationships, she said.

Transfer student Bryce White (age 22) and his mentor Demarcus Best (age 35) have met twice in the last two weeks. “We have both played basketball for Warner Pacific,” Best said. “It’s the connection, you know, with a young person. I can give advice because I have been through a lot of the same things he’s going through.” Best and White meet at least once or twice a month and talk about vocations and different pathways for the future.

“I’ve learned the importance of networking; it’s been great to connect with someone in the professional field,” White said.

He isn’t sure what his end goals will look like, but he is talking to Best about his desire to work in the field of advocacy, as well as larger issues of life satisfaction and financial stability.

The mentoring program is one of several efforts to make the alumni connection to the college “more robust,” said Aaron McMurray, Vice President for Institutional Advancement and External Relations. “Alumni would feel more valued if they could give back with their everyday lives,” McMurray said, “so we are asking them for their prayers, their talents, and their wisdom.” Other events connecting alumni and students are planned: the second annual Founder’s Day on October 5, and several alumni networking events planned at Boeing, Nike, and Providence sites this year. There are 10,000 Warner Pacific alumni spread around the world, McMurray said. “We stand on the shoulders of alumni that have gone before us.”

A closing celebration ceremony for the alumni mentoring program is scheduled a week before Spring semester 2017 finals. This mentoring connection is especially important for alumni as a way to look back to their alma mater, their “nurturing mother,” and “reflect how their experiences here shaped and transformed their lives,” McMurray said.

“Running is a part of me, but it’s not just me. It is just a piece of who I am because God gave it to me.

He let it be the bedrock to be able to feel like I had meaning and to be able to value myself.”

Knight Times

Warner Pacific College

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Loss, Memory, and Family KinderTransport in a modern perspective

By Tarale Wolffe

Helga: Of course they would send them away if they had places. Any good parent would do that.

Eva: Why? Helga: Because any good parent would want to protect their child.

Eva: Can’t you and Vati protect me?

Helga: Only by sending you away.

Eva: Why will I be safer with strangers?

Helga: Your English family will be kind.

Eva: But they don’t know me.

Helga: Eva. This is for the best.

Above: Children in the midst of the civil war in Syria. Photo by Stephanie Davis.

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October 20, 2016

N

ine year old Eva Schlesinger (played

by Caeleigh Reiger) spends her last night in Germany beside her mother Helga (played by Tarale Wolffe), who tries to teach her everything she will need when so far from home. Helga watches her daughter sew buttons onto her coat; she packs and re-packs Eva’s suitcase, listens to her daughter play a mouth organ, and, just like every night before, reads her a bedtime story. These are the last actions of a mother who knows she may never see her child again.

The year is 1939, and the Kindertransport has been working for almost a year to get as many Jewish children as possible out of Germany, Amy Vaught, ’12 alumna and Dramaturge for KinderTransport told the cast. As a way to transport children to safety, Kindertransport was started November 1938, in response to Kristallnacht, when over the course of a night Germans laid waste to Jewish businesses, homes, and synagogues. Nearly 100 Jews were killed that night.

England, the only country to open its borders to these refugee children, placed strict rules about which children could be accepted.

“No one over the age of 17,” Vaught said, and these children had to be able to take care of themselves. Children too young to do so either needed an older child to take care of them, or they couldn’t go. These child refugees were only allowed one suitcase of clothes, and nothing valuable could be taken out of the country. If Nazi officials found them with anything else, the child could be sent back to their parents as a smuggler. Finally, someone had to pay their way. The price was an English 50£. “That’s about $4,085 today,” Vaught said. Unfortunately, because of Kristallnacht, and the laws stating that no Jew could own a business or property, the parents had no way of paying those fees. So, English organizations, including Catholics and Quakers, stepped up, raising money for these children.

The Jewish children left Germany by train up to the Hook of Holland, where they caught a boat to England. There, they caught another train that took them to their final destination, Vol. 8, Issue 1

a foster family waiting on the other end. Some of these children were treated like a part of the family; some were little more than indentured servants, there to work and nothing more.

Diane Samuels’ play portrays Eva as one of the lucky ones. Taken in by Lil Miller (played by Haley Harn), she’s treated like one of the family. The relationship between them is intense, said Harn. “Lil almost puts Eva on a pedestal above her normal children.” As her foster mother, Lil tries to give Eva everything she can. Then, after the war, the passage of time, and lack of knowledge concerning her parents, Eva naturalizes as English; she becomes a British citizen. She puts her past behind her, preferring to forget it ever happened. Forty years later, Evelyn, Eva’s adult counterpart, embodies everything she has tried to become.

She’s calm and collected, always in controlat least outwardly-and happy. Then Evelyn’s daughter Faith (played by Julia Feeser) finds Eva’s old pictures and letters, and begins asking uncomfortable questions.

“At its core, KinderTransport is a family drama,” said Robin Gordon, director of KinderTransport and chair of the drama department. “It centers around three distinct mother-daughter relationships: Helga and Eva; Lil and Eva/Evelyn; and Evelyn and Faith, Evelyn’s 20 year old daughter who accidentally stumbles onto her mother’s secret. “It brings intense conflict home to us,” Gordon said, “allowing us to take a step back from our own familial dramas and perhaps see what’s fueling conflict in our own family.”

As with every play she produces, Robin Gordon’s selections have a relevancy in the world today. The question is, what relevancy can a play about a WWII refugee child have? A lot. “I can’t stress how disgustingly similar this is to the Syrian refugee crisis,” Vaught said. In WWII, every country but England was closed to these refugees, and even then, they only took in 10,000 children.

According to syrianrefugee.eu, an estimated 11 million Syrians have fled their homes since March 2011. Only about 4.8 million have found refuge in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq. America has recently helped by taking in several thousand—certainly less than the 10,000 proposed by the Obama administration—and by sending money to Knight Times

those who need it most, but the majority of countries still remain closed to refugees. These nations won’t risk helping those who need it because they are too afraid of letting the wrong people in.

That fear wasn’t uncommon in WWII. In 1940, England took in about 1,000 German Jewish children, age 17 and over, and placed them in internment camps for fear that they were German Nazi spies. “To be clear,” Vaught said, “these looked nothing like the concentration camps or prisoner of war camps that the Germans and Soviets had.” But the British believed that these children, who’d come to England to escape, could be spies.

Today, countries aren’t worried about spies so much as terrorists. Vaught acknowledged that “dangerous people could escape.” But she wonders why the need to help these people doesn’t overwhelm the possible dangers. “You have kids and families dying to escape,” she said. During rehearsals, Robin Gordon talked to the cast about our neighbors, and what our responsibility to them is. She phrased these duties in relation to the characters her actors are inhabiting, particularly Lil as she takes care of Eva. It’s clear that Gordon and Vaught have similar ideas about our duty of care.

Another character that has an overwhelming impact in Eva’s life is Der Rattenfanger, also known as the Ratcatcher (played by Ben Fuhrer). He’s a dark, towering presence that follows her all the way from Ham-

burg, Germany to her adult life as Evelyn.

Eva sees a little of the Ratcatcher in every character she meets, including Helga’s judgmental eyes and Lil’s intense desire to keep Eva. Beyond that, the Ratcatcher’s shadow—or music—makes an appearance any time Eva risks losing someone or something precious to her.

The Syrian refugees today have their own shadows hovering over them. The uncertainty of a new place, a new culture, and a new language is another connection between Syrian refugees and Eva. When she first arrived in England, Eva spoke no English, except the phrase “Goodbye to you,” which she uses in place of hello, and “I have hunger.” The refugees’ fear of how others view them, as well as the possibility of detainment is similar to the Jewish German children interned on fear of spying.

Continued on next page Channel crossing to life, Hoek of Holland.

Most of the Jewish children crossed the channel, aided by the Dutch government.

Photo by bertknot.

many of us might cringe at the loss of the historical information, none of us can deny that we’d have the same reaction if someone questioned us about what we did with our own things.

On the other side of the argument is Faith, who is desperate to learn about this side of her family. “Before, all I knew was a blank space. Now, it’s beginning to fill up. I have a background, a context.” She says she has a right to know her own past, because it does have something to do with her. It’s a part of her, and allows her to understand her mother in a new light.

While Syrian refugees leaving their homes can save their own lives, they risk losing pieces of themselves, either by trying to fit in with their new surroundings or by trying to put the terror of the last few years behind them. Either of these actions could lead to their children growing up oblivious to their own history. Like Faith, the next generation can feel like a blank space just waiting for something to fill them up and make them real.

The adult’s risk, as Evelyn says, is that “the older I get, the less of myself I become,” suggesting that she too feels like something is missing, something she can’t, or never will get back.

When these desires—the desire to learn and the desire to forget—clash, no one wins. It’s possible to find books on the subject, as Evelyn tells Faith, but can books truly give the younger generation what they need? Faith’s desire is for her personal history. Her mother survived, was one of the children to escape Nazi Germany. She wants, needs, and desires that story, not the general information she can find in any book.

Amy Vaught, ‘12 alumni, has returned to help out as dramaturge on the fall production. Photo by Stephanie Davis The children who haven’t left Syria live with the fear of being shot whenever they leave their homes. CNN recently covered the story of five year old Omran Daqneesh, who was a victim of an airstrike. He, unlike 4,500 other children over the last five years, was lucky to survive. He was luckier that all his immediate family survived with him. To avoid scenes like this, Syrian refugees have fled their home. That is why English parents sent their own children into the countryside during WWII. However, with the loss of their homes, there’s something more intangible, but no less important, that Syrian children are losing: a sense of self, of being more than just a refugee.

Another powerful question KinderTransport debates is about memory, and tradition, and to whom history belongs. Does it belong to those who lived it, who experienced it, survived it?

Or does history belong to the future generation? While KinderTransport never gives us a direct answer, it does give us compelling arguments from both sides. Evelyn, who survived, wants to forget, going so far as to destroy documents, letters, and pictures in an attempt to put the past behind her once and for all. “It’s my property,” Evelyn says, “I can do what I want with it.” While

What makes KinderTransport so powerful is the fact that Diane Samuels interviewed several Kinder refugees. This play, as Samuels says in the preface to the script, combines all their stories. Eva is these child refugees. Her experiences happened to hundreds of children in WWII. Her fears are echoes of theirs, ringing across the years. Her story, and those of the other child refugees, cycles around, continually repeated because history is ignored. As Amy Vaught said, shaking her head, “You’d think in the last 70 years, we’d have learned by now.”

October 20, 2016

Evelyn: You know, Faith, there are hundreds of books on the subject. Read some of those if you must have a morbid interest in past events.

Faith: Who’s going to take care of their memory?

Evelyn: Are you going to go on at me about this for the rest of our lives?

Faith: Did they die for you to forget?

Evelyn: Why are you being so cruel?

Faith: Why did you do it then?

Evelyn: Because – and I don’t expect you to begin to understand this – it helps me. It gives me something I can do in the face of it all.

Vol. 8, Issue 1

KinderTransport

By Diane Samuels

November 10-13, 2016

Thursday-Saturday 7:30pm Sunday 2:00pm

Production Team

Stage Manager............................Brandon Bush*

Assistant Stage Manager........Kaylee Ditlefson Costumes......................................Morgan Diehl

Properties....................................Selena Montoya Lighting.........................................Kaleb Hood*

Set....................................................Company and DR 111

Of course someone should have the option to put trauma behind them. Of course someone has the right to know their own history. It’s not a question we can answer, said Robin Gordon. Both arguments are valid, and the clash between them can tear at your emotions.

Finally, Evelyn, years after the war was over, deals with survivor’s guilt. At one point in the play, Evelyn, in regards to her mother, says, “I never wanted to live without you, and you made me.”

Her own struggle with her identity isn’t just from the desire to put everything behind her—though it obviously plays a large part—but also from her own guilt at surviving when so many others didn’t. Lil says that Evelyn survived because of her, but at another point, Evelyn says she didn’t want to. She’d rather have died with her family in Germany than have lived without them.

That she was forced to live, survive, and perhaps even thrive, creates room for the guilt that those she loved most weren’t able to do that.

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Faith: But how do I know what went before without them? How does anyone know? What proof is there? It could all be make-believe, couldn’t it?

Alumni support provided in the areas of dramaturgy, marketing, costumes, and audience services.

Cast (In order of Appearance): Eva...................................................Caeleigh Rieger* Helga...............................................Tarale Wolffe* Evelyn.............................................Olivia Welch

Faith................................................Julia Feeser* Lil.....................................................Haley Harn*

The Ratcatcher, et al................Benjamin Fuhrer* *denotes Drama Scholar

Children of the Kindertransport at Hope Square, Liverpool Street Station, London. The sculptor, Frank Meisler, was one of the children saved. Photo by Loco Steve Knight Times

Warner Pacific College

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The Knight Times

Layout Editor:

Photo Editor:

Faculty Advisor: Contributing Writers:

The Knight Times is a publication of The Sword, a student organization supported by ASWPC.

Deborah Landers Stephanie Davis Dr. Connie Phillips Tarale Wolffe, Celeste Jackson, Ashley Gorsek, Cinthia Hernandez, Nelly Manzo Hernandez, Emily Wintringham

Cover Photos: Stephanie Davis Freelance Coordinator: Julia Feeser

Contact Us: knighttimes@warnerpacific.edu Warner Pacific College 2219 S.E. 68th Ave Portland, Oregon 97215