Messiah College News Archive

Biopsychology major Michael Skolka received a stipend from the American Physiological Association to continue his research on acute pancreatitis at Penn State Hershey. Skolka has already been invited to present his data at the 2014 National Experimental Biology meeting.

Messiah’s men’s club volleyball team remained unbeaten and cruised through the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation (NCVF) playoffs on April 6 in Dallas Texas, beating Washington U. St. Louis, Xavier, Missouri S&T, and Sonoma State to win the NCVF Division II National Championship. Messiah finished the season with a record of 54-2 in individual sets, including regular season play, MACVC championships, and the national tournament. Caleb Miller was named tournament MVP. Ben Bovenzi and Justin Beachy were named to the All-Tournament First Team. John Feldmann and Travis Moyer were named to the All-Tournament Second Team. Derick Esch was honorable mention. For more details and photos visit http://messiahmensclubvolleyball.webs.com/

With a 40-3 record and a third place finish at the NCAA Division III National Championships, Josh Thomson had a most impressive first-year at Messiah College. Thomson was recognized by D3Wrestle.com as their Freshman of the Year.

Malcolm McDermond, senior sociology and anthropology and Biblical and religious studies major has been selected for a Fulbright U.S. Student award for 2013-2014. He will tenure his award in Malaysia where he will hold an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA). ETAs place Fulbrighters in a classroom abroad to provide assistance to teachers of English to non-native English-speakers.

Campus Compact has named 181 student leaders who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country as 2013 Newman Civic Fellows—including Messiah’s own Lauren Fisher `14. Nominated by their college and university presidents, these students are making the most of their college experiences to better understand themselves, the root causes of social issues and effective mechanisms for creating lasting change.

Fisher was recognized for being deeply involved in the social issues of urban education. Her long-term dedication is to Abba’s Place, an after-school program in the heart of Harrisburg, PA. Her passion for urban education extends beyond the classroom to the national and international service trips she’s led that focus on minority ethnic groups. Back on campus, Lauren advocates her passions by working as a tutoring and literacy outreach coordinator for local service as well as living and serving with the Social Justice House.

The Corporation for National and Community Service has named Messiah College to its 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction. The Honor Roll recognizes higher education institutions that reflect the values of exemplary community service and achieve meaningful outcomes in their communities. Selection to the Honor Roll is recognition from the highest levels of the federal government for service and civic engagement commitments.

In 2012, an estimated 98 percent of the graduating class participated in some form of community service through the College’s Agape Center for Service and Learning.

A trio of talented alumni athletes was inducted into the College’s Hall of Honor of Feb. 15: Chris Boyles `02, former men’s track and field star and NCAA national champion; Christina (Vouriotis) Hutchinson `03, considered by many to be the best player to come through Messiah’s women’s basketball program; and Mike Shaker, a former coach considered the father of the College’s men’s basketball program.

In addition, six current student-athletes were recognized for their outstanding performance in both the classroom and competition. Congratulations to Luke Helmuth (men’s soccer), Lindsay King (women’s volleyball), Aaron Reynolds (men’s cross country), Dori Gyori (women’s basketball), Malcolm McDermond (swimming), and Stephanie Schell (softball). At the conclusion of the spring season, two winners will be announced from among these six finalists.

BestSemester’s Scholar’s Semester in Oxford (SSO) has awarded nine spring 2012 students with deJager prizes for exceptional academic performance. Jessica Barnett `13 and Nate Van Wyck `13 from Messiah College are among those honorees.

Essays written for the three SSO courses—integrative seminar, British studies and thesis—are evaluated for scholarly excellence by SSO faculty, and particularly meritorious essays are judged winners in each of the three categories. Winning essays show originality of conception, ease in handling primary and secondary sources, professional handling of scholarly apparatus, lucid and stylistically appropriate prose, a sustained argument and effective rebuttal of counter arguments. Read the rest of this entry »

Senior communication major Drew Gehman was awarded first place in the Pennsylvania Communication Association’s Undergraduate writing competition for his paper, “When Identification Leads to Misrepresentation.” Gehman’s paper was originally written for his COMM 359 Rhetorical Theory class.

Eli Kane, a junior history major, was chosen as one of 38 interns for the prestigious 2012 Junior Fellows Summer Internship Program at the Library of Congress.

Working under the direction of Library curators and specialists in various divisions, the Junior Fellows explore and increase access to the institution’s unparalleled collections and resources. They are exposed to a broad spectrum of library work: copyright, preservation, reference, access standards, information management and digital initiatives. In the past, summer interns have identified hundreds of historical, literary, artistic, cinematic and musical gems in the course of their work, representing the Library’s rich cultural, creative and intellectual assets.