Service to Haiti

While the world watched the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, three Bluffton alumni were experiencing it firsthand.

Brandon ’07 and Jess (Cassel ’09) King had traveled with 25 others from Souderton Mennonite Church, Souderton, Pa., to Haiti for a mission trip. Part of their group planned to work in La Baleine, a small village 90 miles west of Port-au-Prince, at a water purification and oxygenation plant. The other group would travel on to Passe Bois D’Orme to work with Water For Life, a mission that drills wells in villages.

The Kings were traveling from one village to the other when the earthquake hit. No one in the group was hurt and they set to work distributing food to local villages that had been destroyed.

Their trip home was delayed because of the devastation in Port-au-Prince and the airport. They returned to the U.S. Monday morning and were scheduled to travel home to Pennsylvania sometime on Tuesday. To read of a first-hand account of the Kings’ mission group, visit The Reporter.

Another Bluffton alumnus, Jim Pohlman ’72, was in Haiti on a VOSH-Ohio eyeglass distribution trip. Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH-Ohio) collects eyeglasses and distributes them in third-world countries. They began seeing eye patients on Jan. 10 at the Society of Our Lady Mission in Hinche, about 75 miles from the quake's epicenter.

After the earthquake they traveled into Port-au-Prince and to the airport. Pohlman and the VOSH-Ohio group returned safely to the United States on Friday. For more information about Pohlman’s experience, visit The Courier.

If you know of other Bluffton alumni involved in the Haiti earthquake or those that are helping with the relief effort please let us know about their stories. Bluffton students have responded through prayer and by making donations to Mennonite Central Committee. Student organizations on campus are organizing additional fundraisers for Haiti relief.

To those returning from Haiti, we give thanks to God for your safe return. For those going into Haiti to serve we thank you and pray God grants you strength, courage, stamina. For the people of Haiti, our hearts cry out to God for you.

Peace

2010 Resolutions

It was the year 1900, and the number one cause of death was infectious disease – pneumonia, influenza, polio.

One hundred years later, in 2000, the number one cause of death was behavior-related disease – heart disease, cancer, stroke, COPD.

Stop a second and re-read that. Let that sink in. The top four causes of death in 2000 were directly related to our behaviors – primarily tobacco use and obesity. Ouch.

That was just one of the eye-opening examples presented by Ross M. Kauffman, Ph.D., at Forum as he spoke on “Not Merely the Absence of Disease: Creating a Healthy World.” Kauffman (coincidentally the brother of Bluffton’s own criminal justice professor Rudi Kauffman) is an epidemiologist working in the Training in Research for Behavioral Oncology and Cancer Control program at the Indiana University School of Nursing in Indianapolis.

Then last night was the “medical” episode on The Biggest Loser – where Dr. Z comes in and dramatically explains to the contestants what their extra weight is doing to their health.

I was so impressed by the woman who was voted off the show. She was taking a handful of medicines daily when she started the show. When they showed her “today,” she was down to one pill. ONE. And she had “only” lost 50 pounds. Her goal is to be off all meds by the show finale. And to think she had been living like that for 20 years, without the motivation, the confidence, the desire to change.

Since we can’t all move to the Biggest Loser ranch, employer-sponsored wellness programs are so important. Just think about it – healthier employees mean fewer doctor visits/medical tests/medicines which in turn mean fewer insurance claims and better insurance rates.

For the past three summers, Bluffton faculty and staff have enjoyed an employee-led weight-loss/fitness challenge. It’s been fun. It’s been motivating. It’s been successful. And today begins the first faculty/staff Zumba noon-time class.

While we cannot control everything that affects our health – there are many things that we can do to stay healthy. In a fun, crowd-participation portion of Forum, Kauffman distributed sun screen, toothpaste, antibacterial gel and tissues to participants as examples of how we can take control of our own health. He also stressed the importance of getting flu shots, wearing seatbelts and not smoking.

Our health and the health of those around us are often in our own hands. It’s still the New Year. There is time to make a resolution to become informed about the impact of our actions, and then take it one step further and work to make healthy choices.

http://www.publichealthresearch.org/

Beat the Winter Doldrums

It would be so easy to give into the urge to hibernate from the time the Christmas lights come down until the first robin sighting in the spring. I’m envisioning a warm spot next to the fire with a blanket and good book/movie or handicraft project. See you in April!

Fortunately or unfortunately – however you look at it – we humans are social beings. From the time we are born we crave interaction with others. Hibernating through the winter really isn’t an option for a healthy psyche. And while virtual relationships are good, there is just something about face-to-face interactions that cannot be duplicated.

Enter Bluffton’s alumni relations staff. Several mid-winter events are planned to pull you out of the winter doldrums.

Alumni basketball games are planned for the men’s and women’s teams. You must be a former player to play in the alumni game. But anybody can come, watch, cheer, visit. And if you are a former player, you don’t have to play. Feel free to just come and reconnect.

• Men’s alumni game: 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 23


• Women’s alumni game: 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30

Athletics Hall of Fame induction banquet will honor Al Beitler ’76, Kimberly (Spiegel ’93) Mutchler, Emil Knorr ’57 and the 1967 baseball team on Saturday, Jan. 23. Inductees will be introduced at approximately 2 p.m. between the men’s and women’s basketball games vs. Transylvania. Come and visit there, or make plans to attend the induction banquet which begins at 6 p.m. (For tickets contact the box office at 419-358-3239 or boxoffice@bluffton.edu .)

An OMEA breakfast will be held at the Ohio Music Educators Association conference in Cincinnati on Friday, Jan. 29. If you’ll be there anyway, meet up with fellow alumni to start the day off right.

Alumnae R&R, a day to kick back and visit, is being organized by the Women’s Council for Saturday, March 6.

By then, dare we hope, that the first robin of spring will be outside our window with crocuses starting to peek through the snow?

Stories behind the scholarships

At first glance the 2008-09 Contributor’s Honor Roll which was delivered a few weeks ago may appear to be little more than names. Lots and lots of names. Lists of names filling up most of a 40-page publication.

I’m intrigued by the idea that behind every one of these names is a story. What is their connection to Bluffton? What led them to make the decision to share their hard-earned money with this institution? I’ve proofed the honor roll in the past, but I’ve never slowed down enough to consider that there are stories behind each and every one of these names.

This year, I’m particularly drawn to the endowed scholarship spread. Bluffton students receive financial aid from more than 250 endowed scholarships. Only the endowed scholarships receiving additional funding during the past year and who made the donation is listed in the honor roll.

Out of curiosity, I looked through the entire list of endowed scholarships. I was surprised how many former faculty/staff members either funded a scholarship or had a scholarship started in their honor or memory; Elmer & Lavera Neufeld and Lee & Del Snyder (former presidents), Lee & Dorothy Lehman (economics), Fred & Mary Amstutz (church relations), Howard Krehbiel (mathematics), “Sugar” Ray & Irene Hamman (education) and many more.

While establishing an endowed scholarship requires an initial gift of $25,000, once the scholarship is set up, additional funds can be added in any amount.

It’s interesting to read in the honor roll the scholarship names and look at who supported them. Some make perfect sense, Luther and Geneva Shetler made a donation to the Luther & Geneva Shetler Scholarship. Some connections are not so obvious, for instance why did Tom and Debbie Simms chose to support the Carlin B. & Sharon K. Carpenter Scholarship?

There has to be some really cool stories hidden in this lists of names. Maybe these gifts reflect a thank you to an inspirational professor or mentor. I’d love to hear the stories! Please share!

If you would like to support an existing scholarship, you are welcome to give online and restrict your gift to the scholarship of your choice. For information about establishing a scholarship, contact advancement@bluffton.edu.

Missing you already

The PR office is blessed to have eight fantastic student assistants working as writers, graphic designers, Web assistant, clerical support, custodian… We love our students. They are not given ‘fluff’ assignments that ‘if it gets done, great; if not, no big deal.’ We rely heavily on our students, and they benefit by gaining experience and building their portfolio with quality pieces.

Plus having the students around helps us stay in touch with the ebb and flow of campus life; the celebration that comes with turning in a killer presentation/paper, the stress that comes with Finals Week.

We are mid-way through fall semester Finals Week and students haven’t been around so much this week. And when they are, they’ve looked a little haggard. Probably the same way we looked after pulling an all-nighter at the L&K or Flying J (depending on your generation.)

Not unexpectedly, this week’s student blogs all focus on finals; ranging from a first-year student experiencing his first collegiate finals, to a senior realizing that this journey is almost complete, to ways that staff help to provide study breaks.

Parking lots are starting to empty as students finish up and head home for a much-deserved Christmas break.

To “our” students in PR – Melinda, Sara, Megan, Ryan, Cody, Cory, Evan and Kristi: Enjoy sleeping in your ‘own’ bedroom, home cooking, hanging out with ‘old’ friends, catching up with family. Relax, rejuvenate. You’ve earned it.

But just know that we’re looking forward to welcoming you back on campus in January. We’ll have an assignment list waiting for you!

Celebrating Christmas at Bluffton

With the light dusting of snow that graced campus yesterday, it can now be said that it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

The library staff put up their humongous tree in the Reading Room right before Thanksgiving. There are Christmas trees in Marbeck, several offices, residence hall rooms…

Members of SAA (Student Alumni Association) and OCMEA (Ohio Collegiate Music Education Association) assembled and decorated the 12-foot Christmas tree in the lobby of Yoder Recital Hall after Thanksgiving break.

SAA advisor Julia Szabo said, “The tree is the kind that requires you to put each individual branch into a slot in the stem. The tree was purchased approximately 20 years ago by Deb Brubaker (director of Camerata Singers) who asked the student singing group to help assemble the tree each year. At some point, the building of the tree was taken over by Gene Caskey (faculty emeritus) and Mary Amstutz (wife of staff emeritus). Several years ago, the job of assembling the tree became too much for Gene and Mary, so the Christmas tree has sat in storage. This year, SAA and OCMEA students wanted to revive the tradition. The task took less than 2 hours with all those good helpers. Community members, students, and alumni participating in the upcoming Messiah concert were able to enjoy some fellowship when the tree was completed.”

The first of the Bluffton Christmas traditions has passed for 2009 – the 114th singing of Handel’s Messiah took place last Sunday evening. Additional opportunities to celebrate on campus include:

• Advent chapel
  Student pastoral assistants Natalie Pajestka, Ben Siebert and Hannah Rybka will lead chapel at 11 a.m. Dec. 10 in Yoder Recital Hall.
• Advent musical
  Andrew Peterson’s “Behold the Lamb of God,” a musical performed by a group of Bluffton students at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 12 in Ramseyer Auditorium. The musical is sponsored by the campus ministries department. Admission is free.
• Christmas Choral Concerts
  The three Bluffton student choirs will perform at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 13, Yoder Recital Hall. Tickets are required. Contact boxoffice@bluffton.edu
• Christmas Candle Lighting Service
  Campus pastor “Tig’ Intagliata will lead the service of Christmas hymns, scripture texts and candle lighting at 9 p.m. Dec. 14 in Marbeck Commons.

While there are many formal events planned in December, often times it’s the impromptu, student-organized events that we remember most. Like singing along at the top of our lungs with Amy Grant on Second Ropp Addition, our first attempt at a ‘formal’ Christmas party (we forgot to tell they guys – they showed up in t-shirts & jeans)…

What do you remember most about celebrating Christmas at Bluffton?

What if…

Those sure are two dangerous words. What if… leads to thoughts of regret. Would the grass be greener, would life be somehow easier if I would have…

This fall we created a video promoting the opportunities at Bluffton for high-achieving students. In Bluffton Student Scholars, students talk about why they chose to be part of the honors program or C. Henry Smith Scholars or departmental honors. The video turned out well.

It was interesting talking with the students featured in this video. They are very passionate, focused, self-assured.

Sometimes I wonder what I missed out on by not accepting the invitation to be in the C. Henry Smith Scholars. I still have the letter saved with my Bluffton memorabilia. I wonder, would I have “found myself” sooner? Would I be in a different place professionally?

Don’t get me wrong – I cherish the friendships and memories from my Bluffton days and I wouldn’t change much. But, what if…

I trust that all things happen for a reason. (Rom. 8:28) There is a reason that in high school the guy who brown-nosed the teachers and then tried to cheat off me in algebra II was chosen for National Honor Society while I wasn’t; thus creating my aversion to any type of ‘honor society.’ I know I am right where God wants me to be.

But in talking with the students about C. Henry Smith program – meeting in faculty homes, talking about current issues, exploring topics outside of your major – that could have been really interesting.