Mim ’08 (nurse) & Nate Yoder (seminary professor & university archivist) // Harrisonburg VA
Over many years, seminar professor Nate Yoder has devotedly deducted money from his not-large salary to return as a contribution to Eastern Mennonite University.
Now Nate has added a pledge to the Suter Science Center campaign. Nate has been affected physically in recent years by Parkinson’s Disease, but this has not diminished the enthusiasm he exudes in his work as professor of church history and EMU archivist.
To accompany the photo above, we asked Nate to articulate why he and his wife Miriam (“Mim”) are supporting the campaign to renovate the science center. Here is what he wrote:
When I began teaching at the seminary in the mid-1990s, I got to move into a new office. Many across the EMU constituency supported what seasoned members of the seminary faculty had anticipated for years. We now join those leading the vision for updating facilities for the sciences.
As University Archivist, I deal with the records of capital priorities over the decades. Such campaigns have always involved more than the individual departments or offices that inhabit the new or renovated space.
Mim’s being an employee of Rockingham Memorial Hospital means that we both work for institutions that rely on the communities they serve for support. The number of us employees who contribute sends a message to our broader constituencies. We would like to signal to friends on campus and beyond that EMU is worthy of their support.
There are also more immediate connections. One of our sons majored in biology. [Biology professor] Roman Miller not only advised him academically but also mentored him vocationally. Mim herself is a nursing graduate of the Adult Degree Completion Program and regularly applies her training in the sciences. For all these reasons, Mim and I support the campaign for the Science Center.
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Naomi ’62 & Walter DuBlanica
“I was well prepared for medical school. It’s in gratitude that I made a contribution.” – Naomi DuBlanica
Esther Steckle ’73
“Giving has always been a part of my life. It’s important to think about what you do with your money while you’re here, and even after you’re gone.”
– Esther Steckle
Charlotte ’65 & Henry ’67 Rosenberger
“EMU’s medical training spans the world with alumni in the centers of influence and areas of human need. We want to be part of that legacy.”
– Henry and Charlotte Rosenberger
E. James ’64 & Rachel ’62 Witmer
“We believe in the mission of EMU and enthusiastically support the new science building project. Our lives and careers and those of our children have been enhanced by EMU’s science program, and we are pleased to see developments that will meet the needs of future generations.”
– E. James and Rachel Horst Witmer
Janis & Mark Prock
“Our son, Nolan, graduated as a biology major in 2012. He feels very strongly that he got an excellent education at EMU and we agree. However, we do feel that the quality of teaching and the students were not matched by the facilities where the learning took place. It is time to bring the facilities up to date and in line with the caliber of the instruction.”
– Mark and Janis Prock
Stephanie and Joel Lehman, both ’06, with Stephanie’s parents, Sandy & Leon ’68 Miller
“We appreciate the education that our daughter, Stephanie Miller Lehman (2006), received at EMU that prepared her for a career in chemistry. Now we are pleased to help support this campaign for future generations of science majors.”
– Leon and Sandy Miller
Anne Detweiler ’73
Karen Hoerner ’80
Gloria ’70 & James ’68 Rosenberger
Becky Waybill ’88
Lois & Art Kennel, both ’53
Eunice ’57 & Ernest ’58 Kraybill
Cynthia ’77 & Ed ’76 Frey
Lela Faye Yoder ’88
John ’50 & Margaret Weaver
Bill ’63 & Loretta Helmuth
Kay ’78 & Steve ’79 Nussbaum
Flo & David ’55 Harnish
Shelby ’85 & Dave ’83 Swartley
Martha & Leroy Yoder
Todd ’87 & Anne ’88 Weaver
Louise & Alden Hostetter, both ’79
John ’77 & Linda Bomberger
