Generous donors provide every Messiah student with scholarship aid to help reduce the cost of their Christian college experience. Most students know countless financial gifts are given to the College by alumni, parents, community members and long-time friends of the College. Rarely, however, do students gather to publicly thank the many people that enable an affordable Messiah College education.

During the week before finals, Eyas, the student alumni council, and the Office of Annual Giving hosted “We Heart Messiah,” a campus-wide event to give thanks to the generous supporters of the College and its students. The three-day event kicked-off with a block party April 30 at the Larsen Student Union.  Students ate cotton candy, popcorn and delicious cupcakes from the Lancaster Cupcake Truck, a company owned by Jeff,’08, and Emily (Barcklow), ’08, Mitchell. A photo booth gave students the chance to be photographed holding a sign with a reason why they love Messiah College. (more…)

For broadcasting student Jeremy Zimmerman ’14, a year in Philadelphia has provided countless opportunities to “get plugged in.” Now in his second semester at the Messiah College Philadelphia Campus, Zimmerman has made a commitment to community life, inner-city living and, most of all, a practical education. “It was easy to see myself develop with skills related to my major,” Zimmerman began. “My courses have focused on projects rather than theory or process… I’m more of a hands-on kind of guy, so these classes are really where I start to shine.”

When Zimmerman arrived at the Philadelphia Campus last fall, he enrolled in four courses, including Media Production and Advanced Editing. The latter course tested Zimmerman’s flexibility, requiring the broadcasting major to work with Apple Final Cut Pro, an unfamiliar video editing software. “Advanced Editing, in particular, really pushed me to my limits, because I had never really worked with video editing before,” Zimmerman said. Several weeks later, during a series of interviews for a spring internship, Zimmerman started to notice the benefits of his perseverance. “Both locations that offered me internships said they wanted me because I had put ‘film editing skills’ on my resume,” Zimmerman said, “a result of taking Advanced Editing and going outside of my comfort zone.” (more…)

A sense of belonging. Greater self- awareness. History made personal. These are just a few of the expressed outcomes of students who delved into their family history during a first-year seminar course focused on genealogy, history and personal identity.

“We were foreigners,” writes Laura Passmore about her family in her reflection paper for the course. “I was amazed by all the different countries in my background.”

“[This class] allowed me to uncover the past that I never knew,” writes Jazz Baker, a first-year student from Harrisburg. Baker relished playing the family historian and recounting her findings to her mother and four sisters. (more…)

For most people, Hershey, Pa. means delicious chocolate, thrilling amusement park rides and the philanthropist Milton Hershey. However, for Megan Keller ’13, the real story lies deeper than the tourist attractions and candy bars. The story of Hershey, engrained in its rich history, provides a deeper look at the industrious workers that brought this town its fame. Keller found a way to intertwine this story and her Messiah College education to develop and produce a mobile application that narrates a historical walking tour through downtown Hershey.

As a history major with a social studies certification, Keller took many classes that challenged her to engage in public history, a process that makes history more accessible to an average person. For her public history class last fall, Keller was challenged to consider an exhibit that would bring history to anyone. Keller knew she could take it one step further than doing something traditional and expected like building a Colonial exhibit. (more…)

Through the course of Jerry Sandusky’s now infamous two-week trial, Messiah alumna Sari Heidenreich ’11 tweeted more than one thousand times.

To get the most out of each 140-character message while still maintaining her professional voice, the social media producer for abc 27 in Harrisburg had to not only double-check facts and figures, but also weigh every last word to determine which could be abbreviated—or deleted.

But over the course of a thousand tweets of facts, quotes and insight, it was an innocuous punctuation mark she typed without a second thought that got her in trouble.

“I used an exclamation point in one of my tweets, and someone called me out on it,” said Heidenreich of the gossipy tone that character conveyed in her message. “I think they were right; and I didn’t use an exclamation point for the rest of the trial.” (more…)

On Monday, Jan. 14, the Messiah College community got its first peek at the nearly finished Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts. The High Center is the hallmark project of the College’s Centennial Campaign—a fundraising effort that raised more than $46.2 million for the building as well as student-focused initiatives and scholarship endowments.

The High Center is open for classes and will host several public events this spring before the launch of the official inaugural cultural season in fall 2013.

“We are deeply grateful to the many alumni, parents and community friends who supported the Centennial Campaign,” said President Kim S. Phipps. “Their generosity ensures that Messiah continues to provide excellent facilities and competitive scholarship funding to make Messiah College an appealing, viable educational choice for students.”

The High Center contains a new recital hall, blackbox theatre, classroom and office spaces, a recording studio and an 825-seat performance venue—Parmer Hall—that is the public focal point of the building.

Watch a video of the opening of the High Center. Video courtesy of Sherri Hoffman.

See a photo album of pictures of the interior and exterior of the building. Photos courtesy of Robert Getty III `89.

Explore the main lobby, the instrumental rehearsal room and the public space between the High Foundation Recital Hall and Parmer Hall. Photos courtesy of Dan Custer `09.

With education abroad programs in more than 40 countries worldwide, Messiah College has touted international travel as an integral part of  the academic experience for some time—something that benefits students as well as professors. Just ask Biblical studies professor Meg Ramey, who traveled to five continents in less than one year from May 2011 to January 2012.   (more…)

After suffering through a terrorist bombing in Uganda during a missions trip in 2010, Messiah College student Kris Sledge ‘13 remains on a journey to restore healing to the emotional scars left by the attack.

The Back Story
Sledge, a Christian Ministries major, first visited the country of Uganda in 2006. Fourteen years old and eager to serve, he went on his first missions trip to Uganda with Christ Community Methodist Church in Selinsgrove, Pa.  A speaker in chapel at Messiah College challenged Sledge to re-visit the country four years later. The speaker charged Christians to go out and help the world and Sledge responded, heading back to Uganda that summer. During the first two weeks, Sledge spent time with families and worked on building a fence around the school that his church planted. Towards the end of the trip, Sledge looked into the possibility of staying in Uganda longer and when he realized it was feasible, convinced five team members to stay one additional week longer. (more…)

In America, giving thanks and spending money, eating turkey and going shopping, have become seemingly interchangeable. Thanksgiving now stands as a two-package deal: a day to indulge in delicious food and a day to splurge at the mall on the deals of a lifetime.

While some roll their eyes in disgust at this display of American consumerism, others create strategic plans to conquer the masses at their local mall. Either way, Black Friday tops the charts as the biggest shopping day of the year.

By the numbers
The concept “Black Friday” originated in Philadelphia and refers to police and bus drivers stuck in a huge traffic mess caused by the convergence of holiday shoppers and football fans arriving in town for the annual Army-Navy football game. Since then, people claim retails stores use this day to bump their sales “into the black,” making them profitable for the year. In fact, Black Friday and Christmas sales account for 20 percent of retailers’ annual profit. (more…)

An exotic Belizean escape from the United States’ hustle and bustle presents senior public relations major Nick Hemming `13 with countless adventures as he studies abroad this fall. As Hemming dives into the culture-rich Belizean lifestyle (and the natural waterfall, Monkey Falls), he is studying sustainability and reconciliation, primarily through the relationship between God and man/creation, while learning ways to serve the land instead of recklessly mastering it.

Hemming’s Belizean adventure began five weeks ago, when he and 17 students from various colleges departed with a program run through the Creation Care Studies Program, promoting environmental stewardship and creation care. Under program director and ’09 Messiah graduate Jeff Fisher’s leadership, the students take classes in Santa Elena. About the campus location, Hemming said, “When we pulled up, it felt as though I was on a Disney safari ride. Our ¼-mile-long driveway is covered in broom trees and tropical plants, as well as geckos and other native creatures. The campus itself houses jungle hiking trails, a stretch of the Macal River, and the perfect scenery for birding. I haven’t gotten into the ‘sport’ quite yet, but I have a feeling this place will pull it out of me sooner or later.”

(more…)