On April 10, students and faculty will participate in Messiah College’s annual Service Day. This year Service Day will extend to Service Week with Messiah alumni serving through on- and off- campus projects, either directly engaging with Service Week, or honoring Service Day by completing projects in their own backyards.

Service Day “is designed to help fulfill Messiah College’s mission to prepare students for lives of service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society.” As they live the lives Messiah College prepared them for, alumni wanted to continue serving together, says Assistant Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Brittany Claridge ’10. “Alumni wanted to find a way to share and connect their spirit of service back to the tradition of Service Day here on campus. A commitment to service has continued to be a common thread in our alumni community since the College’s beginnings.” Read the rest of this entry »

It has been only a few years since Amanda Owens ’10 graduated from Messiah College with a degree in art history and minor in studio art, but she already is finding an artist’s niche in Harrisburg.

“The great thing about a liberal arts degree is I learned to recognize interdisciplinary connections everywhere,” said Owens, “such as the connection between planning a store layout and planning a gallery layout. In recognizing those connections and being able to express them, I become a more valuable member of the workforce.”

With the goal to revitalize the Harrisburg community through art-based nonprofit organizations, she is involved in several projects. One of her roles involves working as a costume designer with Harrisburg’s Gamut Theatre, collaborating on several productions suchs as “The Jungle Book,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “Coriolanus.”

“I’ve always enjoyed working with textiles, but I find I have little patience for the finer details involved with clothing production,” said Owens. “The fun thing about costume design is that you make these really fantastical or beautiful pieces and totally let the small, finishing details fall by the wayside because the audience will never see it or even know.”

In addition to working with Gamut Theatre, she is a founding member of The MakeSpace, a studio and gallery that provides arts programming and resources for local artists. “We want to help artists get the resources they need to make things,” said Owens.

Most recently, she began working as an adjunct instructor for Messiah’s Department of Theatre and Dance. She designed costumes for “The Good Doctor,” which opened Nov. 14, 2013.

Using the skills she gained at Messiah, Owens helps the area art scene flourish by fulfilling several roles.

Story by Adela Antal ’16. Photography by Dani Fresh. This profile originally appeared in the fall 2013 issue of The Bridge.

Messiah College is taking “a worldwide sense of belonging” to the next level as spring ’14 marks the inaugural year for seven education majors to student teach abroad.

Supporting a calling
To make student teaching abroad possible, Messiah College partnered with the Christian College Teacher Education Coordinating Council (CCTECC), an organization that arranges placements in international schools. According to Messiah College Director of Teacher Education and CCTECC Campus Coordinator Jennifer Fisler, growing requests for student teaching abroad opportunities led to establishing this partnership.  More and more, post-graduate education majors are choosing to “go global” and this unique new program will open career opportunities for students who feel called to teach internationally. One such alumna, Danielle Hale ’12, is currently teaching at Bingham Academy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She says, “I am so excited that Messiah has created this opportunity for their education majors because it opens up so many doors to new places and challenges … teaching in an international setting introduces you to new cultures, changes your worldview and builds relationships with colleagues and students from all over the world.” Read the rest of this entry »

“True resiliency is not about surviving; it’s about thriving,” said Majora Carter during Messiah College’s annual Humanities Symposium Feb. 26-28. Carter, an urban revitalization strategist and keynote speaker for the symposium, spoke about the idea of resiliency and community development, and their positive implications on society. A South Bronx native, Carter has a passion for creating social cohesion and economic diversity in underdeveloped communities.  Her dreams have created amazing realities for many people in the South Bronx and beyond. Read the rest of this entry »

According to information gathered by the White House for National Mentoring Month in January, 77 percent of businesses with formal mentoring programs have increased employee retention rates. Personnel who participate say the relationships that are formed motivate them to do their best. Mentorship, however, expands beyond the workplace. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship for the mentors who give their time and for the mentees who receive the generosity.

“Be a mentor, have a mentor,” Jim Krimmel, Messiah College’s professor of accounting, said. “At any stage of life there should always be someone we can look to for advice and always someone we can mentor.” Read the rest of this entry »

Relaxing in massage chairs, jamming to tunes on iPods, and going for dips in a private pool may sound like the life of luxury that only the #RichKids of Beverly Hills could pursue. But thanks to Krystal Robinson-Bert, ’10, residents of Messiah Lifeways’ dementia unit are enjoying a life that good.

Growing up as a pastor’s daughter enabled Robinson-Bert to interact with elderly parishioners from an early age.  Service projects at local nursing homes kindled her love for the elderly population.  After graduating with a degree in health and exercise science, concentrating in pre-physical therapy, Robinson-Bert began working at Messiah Lifeways as the Neighborhood Enrichment Specialist for the Asper Special Care Neighborhood. Entering this position in the locked dementia unit with the intention of changing lives, Robinson-Bert says, “The Asper Special Care Neighborhood is often the last place for many residents to reside at Messiah Lifeways before they pass away.  I was determined when I started the job to make each day at the end of their life purposeful and fun!” Read the rest of this entry »

Shaun Soliday ’14 acts as an inspiring example of a student who has made the most of his Messiah experience. By assuming the roles of student body chaplain and open house spokesperson, Soliday often finds himself in a position to represent the college and lead by example. Although his college experience is coming to a close as graduation approaches, Soliday has undoubtedly left his mark on Messiah.

The road to Messiah
Although looking back Soliday could not imagine attending another college, his road to Messiah had not originally been so clear. As a devoted soccer player who dedicated most of his time and energy during high school to the sport, Soliday hoped to attend a college that would help him realize his dream of playing at a professional level. After visiting Messiah and two other universities, Soliday was faced with the difficult decision of whether to put his love of soccer before his faith as Messiah could not guarantee him a spot on their team. Arriving at the conclusion that his faith must come first, Soliday pursued his education at Messiah and claims he has no regrets. Read the rest of this entry »

For me, walking off the plane into the airport in Kampala was a dream come true. I have had a heart for Africa for the longest time, and I was finally there. I had the privilege to join nine other student-athletes; Brad McCarty, Messiah’s men’s head soccer coach; an athletic trainer; a Messiah soccer alum; and a Messiah alum representing Sawyer water filters on an AROMA sports ministry trip to Uganda in May 2013. Our group represented a variety of sports and personalities, but it was so encouraging to see God work in us and through us as we served together in Uganda.

Different culture, same God
We spent our time in Uganda in Soroti and Kampala, working alongside Sports Outreach Institute and their soccer teams, the Good News Team and the Divine Stars. We had the opportunity to work alongside these groups that are already sharing the gospel in Uganda. Every morning we would gather at a different place to have a time of morning worship and devotions with the teams. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was an incredible experience to be a part of this pure, honest, African worship. They may not have a lot of material things, but they have incredible love for our God, one that is so evident in the way they sing and dance. If we weren’t comfortable dancing and singing when we first arrived in Uganda, we were more than comfortable by the time we left! Read the rest of this entry »

Julie Price ’14, Shannon Cochran ’14 and Courtney Walton ’16 all have one thing in common: a genuine care for sustainable food. That’s why, together, they are bringing the Real Food Challenge to Messiah College.

The Real Food Challenge is a nationwide initiative that aims to shift $1 billion of existing university food budgets away from industrial farms and junk food and towards real food—defined as ecologically sound, fair, humane and local—by 2020.

The Challenge begins with researching two months of dining’s purchases. Using invoices from October and February (chosen for seasonal variety) Price, Cochran and Walton sift through purchases and enter data such cost, brand and vendor into the Real Food Calculator. The students emphasize the Challenge is about much more than simply entering data though. They research each company to find out who is producing the food, where it is being grown and what the production process entails to decide if the food meets the necessary criteria. Read the rest of this entry »