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Archive for the 'Students' Category

Student pursues passion for the Civil War at summer internship

Monday, September 30th, 2013

Messiah College student Elizabeth MotichThis past summer, senior humanities/history major Elizabeth Motich had the opportunity to travel back in time to the year 1863 through an internship at the Gettysburg National Park. During this time, the nation found itself in the midst of perhaps the most violent and utterly tragic time in national history—the American Civil War. Through this internship, Motich encountered distant Civil War history brought back to life through the small, yet significant, town of Gettysburg. One hundred fifty years ago, this town marked the site for the most significant and tragic battle of the Civil War, resulting in a tremendous amount of soldier causalities and great civilian unease. In fact, on the solemn morning of July 4, 1863, civilians of this town awoke to find the bodies of thousands of soldiers, either dead or wounded scattered across the town acting as a somber token of the previous night’s events. Residents quickly assumed the roles of nurses and grave diggers as homes became hospitals and fields became cemeteries. (more…)

Bringing relationships, sports, clean water and hope to Uganda

Thursday, September 12th, 2013

Messiah College student Victoria HeppAs we descended into Uganda after 24+ travel hours, a cloud of excitement hovered over our AROMA team, much like the clouds of unearthed red dirt that would soon linger over our missional feet. Our team of athletes, coaches, trainers, alum and Sawyer Representatives had been preparing for months leading up to this trip and we were finally here, a little nervous but filled with expectant hope of God’s working on our trip. We walked out into the parking lot and were immediately greeted by staff from the Sports Outreach Institute (SOI) group that we would be partnering with for the next 10 days. Hearing their laughter and welcoming words reassured us that this would be a great journey of relationship-building, sports-playing, water-filtering and hope-rising. (more…)

The integration of social media on campus @messiahcollege

Monday, July 29th, 2013

With sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram developing faster than ever, society can no longer ignore how social media saturates our daily lives. When considering this social media phenomenon on a college campus, the shift from face-to-face communication to screen-mediated communication is revolutionizing the way college administrators engage with students—from their first campus visit to graduation day.

“The interaction between Messiah College and its students that takes place on social media is extremely important to the life of the institution. Students are able to have a voice because of the transparency and two-way communication that is created by social media and feel like a valued part of the life at the college,” says Ethan Eshbach ’14.

The admissions office has noticed a trend in high school students that visit Messiah’s campus. “Social media is popular and pervasive with high school students. With social media and mobile devices, they are always ‘on,’” says John Chopka, vice president for enrollment management. “While it has become a preferred way to communicate with friends, organizations like ours need permission to enter that world.” (more…)

Nepal-bound student chooses year of service over Fulbright

Tuesday, May 28th, 2013

In early March, just three months from graduation, Malcolm McDermond ’13 found himself in an honorable position. With several opportunities to apply his international experience—and his desire to empower others—McDermond felt torn between prestige and a passion for service.

Like many students, McDermond entered his senior year without a firm plan for the future. His desire to work overseas brought opportunities to teach English, though his passion for agriculture seemed to overshadow this possibility. In November, McDermond received an email from Distinguished Professor of Politics John Harles, who presented McDermond with an intriguing recommendation. Harles urged McDermond to apply for a Fulbright U.S. Student Award to teach English in Malaysia.

“I saw teaching English as a means of empowering people, providing them with the opportunity to enter the global market,” McDermond said.“I remember thinking, ‘I could still do good by doing this.’” (more…)

We Heart Messiah: Students recognize donor generosity

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

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…)

Broadcasting student finds big bands, engaging community in Philadelphia

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013

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…)

Growing the family tree: Students find their roots in genealogy course

Monday, March 18th, 2013

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…)

History student creates Hershey mobile app

Monday, February 11th, 2013

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…)

Netiquette: Digital communication in today’s 140-character world

Tuesday, January 29th, 2013

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…)

Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts unveiled

Monday, January 14th, 2013

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.