Media Mentions

Ryan Keith `02 is noted for being young, motivated, and one of the midstate’s most impressive entrepreneurs under the age of 30, according to the September 4 issue of Central Penn Business Journal. Keith started Forgotten Voices International in 2004 to provide financial resources for pastors and community leaders in Zimbabwe and Zambia to help children.

Read “The young and the motivated.”

Central PA magazine, the publication of local public television station WITF, devotes much of its August issue to the arts in the capital region. In the feature story, the magazine profiles five talented creators and performers under the age of 25. Included in this prestigious group is David O’Donnell, a 2008 graduate, who is performing his sixth operatic role in Belgium as John Brook in “Little Women.”

Read “Reaching for the stars.”

In addition, a story about how arts and culture programs are faring at colleges and universities in light of the recession extensively quotes both Richard Roberson, dean of the School of the Arts, and Jeff Rioux, director of the Larsen Student Union. Both contributed to the conversation about the need for the arts, especially during times of national economic turmoil.

“A college is incomplete without the arts,” says Roberson. “The arts are part of what it is to be human. They’re part of the way we understand and interpret he world that’s around us. To not have them on the college campus, it wouldn’t be a real college any more.”

The article, “A commitment to culture,” is not available online.

Louisville Bats hitting coach Smokey Garrett admits that he doesn’t know where Messiah College is located, but he does know that alum Chris Heisey is proving he’s more than qualified to be playing Triple AAA ball with the Bats. In an article posted on the Cincinnati Reds website, Sweet says of Heisey, “I see him as a guy who’s just finding out how good of a player he can be.”

Read “Heisey hustling his way through minors.”

Seth Lehman, a 2005 Messiah graduate, coached the Cumberland Valley girls’ soccer team to an impressive 20-5 record, division championship, and trip to states. He also recently earned The Sentinel Girls’ Soccer Coach of the Year award from the Carlisle Sentinel.

Read “Lehman will remember more than just the wins.”

Star baseball player Chris Heisey is one step closer to the big leagues after being moved up from the Carolina Mudcats to the AAA Lousiville Bats this past weekend. Heisey, Messiah’s first baseball All-American, is one of the key prospects in the Cincinnnati Reds organization. The Sports Blog at the Patriot-News posted an article about Heisey on June 29.

Read “Chris Heisey moves up to Class AAA.”

Chris Heisey, a former Messiah baseball star, is having a great season with his AA team, the Carolina Mudcats, the Southern League team of the Cincinnati Reds. Just last week, Heisey was 39-for-102 with five homers, 11 doubles, 21 runs scored, and 15 RBIs.

Read “Heisey is thriving in Double-A” from the May 10 Lancaster Sunday News.

Derek McCleaf, a 2008 graduate of Messiah attending Yale University School of Public Health, wrote an opinion piece for the Dec. 7 issue of the Harrisburg Patriot-News to argue for the importance of childhood vaccines. McCleaf writes, “Our present herd immunity hinges upon parents vaccinating their children. Abstaining from this practice will have a profoundly negative impact on our children’s health.”

Read “Vaccines give kids a shot at healthy life.”

Recent graduate Corrie Jones cites the excellent physical therapy that she received after tearing her ACL in high school as the motivation for her desire to study physical therapy at Messiah and now at the University of Maryland as a graduate student. Jones, who talked about her experience leading a spring break mission trip to the Dominican Republic to work in one of CURE International’s hospitals, was featured in an August 31 edition of her hometown newspaper, the Herald-Mail.

Read “Hagerstown woman’s injury led to study of physical therapy.”

A student’s senior project about the differences and effects of static and dynamic stretching preceding exercise activities is receiving some worldwide attention in publications and at conferences. College educators Scott Kieffer, association professor of exercise science, and Wendy Cheesman, assistant athletic trainer, assisted former student Jess Unick with the research.

Read a reference to the study at ShapeFit.

Heather Nicholson fell in love with Mexico when she visited on a spring break trip to Acapulco. When her grandfather passed away in February and she became more familiar with his Quaker heritage, she decided to spend a year volunteering with Casa de Los Amigos, a Quaker center for peace and international understanding, to honor her grandfather.

Read “An unusual trip to Mexico.”