Dr. Layton Shoemaker, former director of athletics and men’s soccer coach, passed away Jan. 1. Considered the father of modern-day soccer at Messiah College, Shoemaker’s teams set the foundation for the present-day powerhouse men’s and women’s soccer programs.
Two hundred miles is a long way to travel. And it’s an incredibly long way to run. But that’s exactly what a group of Messiah College employees and community members did earlier this spring.
Tim Ferret (residence director of Smith and Grantham residence halls) and his wife Annie (who works at Soccer Shots, a company owned by Messiah alumni); Ben Taylor (director of student involvement and leadership programs) and his wife Kerrie (Agape Center); Amy VanDerWerf (director of residence life); Aletheia Schmidt (former residence director of Hess and Kelly residence halls); Dave Downey (residence director of Mountain View residence hall) and his wife Emily; Jay McClymont (director of alumni and parent relations); Mandy Hoffman (residence director of Witmer residence hall); Robin Tilley and Zack Kraehmer (both of Soccer Shots); and Geoff Knight competed in the American Odyssey Relay Race as a part of team Lover of Our Soles. (more…)
There was a time when Bridget Nace ’10 (pictured in red) wasn’t sure she’d ever walk across the stage to receive her degree. Now, that goal is in sight, and she couldn’t be more grateful for all that God has done to provide for her so that she could reach this point in her life.
Difficult Decisions
Bridget isn’t your typical college student. At the age of 20, while attending a community college, Bridget’s mother suffered from a stroke. Bridget made the decision to drop out of college to care for her mother, and devoted herself completely to ensuring that her mother’s needs were provided for. When it was clear that her mother would remain in a nursing home for the long-term, Bridget made the decision to go back to school, and, although she is ‘on her own’ when it comes to paying for her education, she chose Messiah.
“I wanted—no, I needed—a Christian environment,” Bridget says. “I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, and I knew I needed support to help me grow in my new Christian faith.”
Finals Week means that plenty of students are burning the midnight oil in an attempt to ace exams, complete projects, finish papers, and put a celebratory exclamation point at the end of another busy semester.
Recognizing that sleep and nutrition often fall to the wayside during a busy Finals Week, the kind folks in dining services began offering a free, late night breakfast to hard-working students as a way to fill their grumbling tummies and lift their weary spirits. The pancake idea is relatively new, but dining services has been thoughtfully providing exam breaks for more than 10 years.