For Abby Long ’12, following her dreams meant going far – all the way from Waynesboro, Pa., to Deokso, South Korea.

Long, who graduated with a degree in English, started learning Korean as a hobby after graduation, simply because she had an interest in Korean pop culture. During the same period, she took an online course to earn Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification.

“I realized I could learn Korean and teach English by finding a teaching job in South Korea,” said Long, who applied at the Connexus Language Institute, a school associated with the Korean Anabaptist Center. (more…)

We ♥ Messiah is more than a slogan! It represents a deep affection our alumni feel for their experiences at Messiah College. We often hear how much their time at Messiah meant and how profoundly it impacted their spiritual and intellectual development. We hear the friendships they made at Messiah remain some of the most meaningful relationships in their lives and many have been sustained long past their Messiah days. We hear how much they care that Messiah remains true to its Christian roots and firm in its theological traditions. We know how much they love Messiah because they tell us.

The We ♥ Messiah appeal echoes alumni sentiments about their Messiah experience.  Understanding the life-changing opportunities a Messiah education offers, two generous alumni, Steve Rice ’80 and Todd Witmer ’91, graciously offered a challenge gift of $20,000. They and the College challenged 500 alumni to renew their annual financial support by June 30.  In turn, their $20,000 challenge gift would be given to the Messiah Annual Fund, which supports student scholarship aid.  Although a lofty goal for a short appeal, our alumni enthusiastically accepted the challenge and not only achieved the goal, but exceeded it with a final count of 520 new* alumni donors!

We are beyond grateful for the love alumni showed their alma mater by supporting Messiah College during the last days of our fiscal year. Their gifts continue our ongoing tradition of providing scholarship aid for students and making it possible for us to offer a high quality Christian education to students who may otherwise not have the means to afford it. Part of the legacy of Messiah College is our alumni, employees, parents and friends who have sacrificially given financial support from the first days of Messiah through today. Without the investment of these people, Messiah would not be the College our alums have grown to love.  We ♥ our Alumni and their commitment to continue the traditions of their alma mater!

*refers to those who have not given July 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014

The life of Ernest L. Boyer ‘48, a man whose career in public service has had a profound effect on quality education in America at every level, is now honored in his wife’s memoir, “Many Mansions: Lessons of Faith, Family, and Public Service.” Kathyrn Boyer’s memoir was released May 29 at a private reception attended by the Boyer family and hosted at Messiah College by President Kim Phipps and the Ernest L. Boyer Center.

“Ernie’s dedication and accomplishments on behalf of the education of our world’s children was enriched by Kay’s significant influence and imprint,” said President Phipps. (more…)

Sometimes, it takes a natural disaster to find one’s calling. After Haiti’s devastating earthquake in 2010, Ian Gallo ’14 traveled to the ravaged country on a medical mission trip. “That was my first time out of the country,” said Gallo, “and it was a little bit of a shock from my white, suburban upbringing. After seeing the great disparity between the life I was accustomed to and what I saw in Haiti, I began to question many of the systems that enabled my life to be different from those in Haiti.”

Messiah College provided the environment in which he could explore exactly those questions he brought back from Haiti. As a sustainability studies major with a minor in peace and conflict studies, he signed up for the first-year seminar course, “In the Pursuit of Green,” an examination of issues that result from an insatiable consumerist culture and how Christians are called to respond to them. “The class was a wonderful and entirely overwhelming critique of the state of creation care,” said Gallo. “The social and environmental destruction that came about as a result of the exploitation of our neighbors around the world deeply inspired me to change part of the systems that enabled these crimes against God and humanity.” (more…)

Many people think Frisbee is only a leisurely game to be played outside among friends but for some, Frisbee is a lifelong passion. In the case of Messiah alumnus Chris Schulze ’07, that passion netted him a position as a professional Ultimate Frisbee player for the Philadelphia Phoenix.

Schulze grew up near Amherst, Mass. a place where Ultimate Frisbee is beloved by many people.  Ultimate is fast-paced and dynamic.  The disc can float, providing players with opportunities for diving plays. For Schulze, “Ultimate gives me a chance to fly. There’s nothing quite like chasing down a disc, laying out completely and grabbing it just before it hits the grass.” Another feature which drew Schulze to Ultimate was something called “spirit of the game,” meaning that the game is self-officiated and requires players to be of the highest integrity. (more…)

With a heart for social justice and peace, professor and filmmaker Krista Imbesi ‘09 will collaborate with Phil Wilmot ’12 to voice a story of injustice and hopeful reconciliation in the documentary, “Our Feet are Rooted,” exposing the illegal land grabbing crisis in Northern Uganda.

This June, Imbesi and her husband Christian ’09 will partner with Wilmot and his wife, Suzan, founders of the non-profit organization, Solidarity Uganda to tell the story of the Amuru District residents and their struggle against the corporate government violently stealing their land and selling it to multinational oil and sugarcane companies. (more…)

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.” (more…)

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.

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.” (more…)