{"id":22306,"date":"2014-10-13T16:31:45","date_gmt":"2014-10-13T20:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=22306"},"modified":"2014-11-04T15:21:41","modified_gmt":"2014-11-04T20:21:41","slug":"cross-cultural-reunion-jubilee-memories-alumni-awards-one-man-drama-sports-mark-successful-2014-homecoming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/cross-cultural-reunion-jubilee-memories-alumni-awards-one-man-drama-sports-mark-successful-2014-homecoming\/","title":{"rendered":"Cross-cultural reunion, ‘Jubilee’ memories, alumni awards, one-man drama, sports, mark successful 2014 Homecoming"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI was on a low-level adrenalin rush the whole time during my cross-cultural,\u201d said Tim Swartzendruber<\/a> at the 20th anniversary reunion of his Eastern Mennonite University group that spent a semester in France and Ivory Coast. \u201cIt was learning at its highest level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seventeen of the 28 in the group flew in from as far as California and Texas to talk about their experiences and how the semester changed their lives. Some of the experiences were difficult, especially in the French-speaking West African country where they spent the second part of the spring term of 1994. Other experiences were exhilarating.<\/p>\n

The group gathered during EMU\u2019s Homecoming and Family Weekend<\/a>, Oct. 10-12, at the home of their faculty leaders, Carroll and Nancy Yoder. The conversation time, which went late into the night, was preceded by a pig roast next door at the home of Joel Yoder, the leaders\u2019 son and a member of the 1994 group. The reunion included seven spouses and more than 20 children.<\/p>\n

Carroll Yoder, a former French professor who retired about 10 years ago, recalled a night in an Ivory Coast village when the EMU students were sitting around a fire under the starry skies. \u201cThis sure ain\u2019t Nebraska,\u201d said Brant Burkey, who grew up in Nebraska. Replied Kacey Bowers (now Raines) from West Virginia, swiping at the insects flying around her: \u201cBut it feels a bit like West Virginia!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Alumni<\/a>
Alumni award winners for 2014 (from left, back row): Elizabeth Good, Donald Oswald and Donald Sensenig. (Photo by Jon Styer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The students recalled the homes they were assigned to, sometimes with no running water and electricity \u2013 and sharing a bed with one of the family\u2019s children.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you go through challenges, it makes you stronger,\u201d said Ben Bolanos. Added Jo Wenger Fisher: \u201cShared experiences, especially in the face of adversity, drew us close together as a group.\u201d Anne Charbeneau Zapanta said she had to \u201cdig deep within herself\u201d and that processing her experiences with her close-knit group helped a lot.<\/p>\n

Katrina Wyse recalled vividly the night her host mother walked to a nearby clinic to give birth to a baby and then walked home before dawn with her new child. Maybe there is a connection, she said, but now she is a physician herself, delivering babies.<\/p>\n

One student gave credit to the cross-cultural semester for the fact that he now devotes his life to Africa. Mark Schroeder is vice president of Africa analysis for Stratfor Global Intelligence<\/a> in Austin, Texas. Carrie Stambaugh Bert<\/a> said the unforgettable experience \u201cstill permeates my life 20 years later.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reunion group surprised the Yoders by announcing they were donating over $2,300 in the Yoders\u2019 honor to the EMU cross-cultural program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Highlights of the weekend<\/h3>\n

This year\u2019s Homecoming and Family Weekend also included reunions for all graduating classes ending in \u201c4\u201d and \u201c9,\u201d starting with 1964. Graduates from before that time, called \u201cjubilee alumni,\u201d met together for a reception and program.<\/p>\n

EMU recognized three outstanding alumni during the weekend:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Don Oswald, \u201975, alumnus of the year<\/a>. A pioneer in helping children with autism, he is longtime director of an autism clinic in Richmond, Virginia, and a clinical professor of psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University. He earned two master\u2019s degrees and then a PhD in psychology from Virginia Tech University.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Don Sensenig, \u201960, distinguished service award<\/a>. His lifetime of Christian service included 10 years in Saigon during the Vietnam War, refugee work in Thailand and Honduras, pastoring churches, and victim-offender reconciliation. He has a master\u2019s degree in religious education from New York University.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Elizabeth Good, \u201901, outstanding young alum award<\/a>. Working as a hospital nurse, she quickly earned promotions, including director of the 150-employee emergency department at Aultman Hospital in Canton, Ohio. She has master\u2019s degrees in both nursing and business administration from Case Western University.<\/p>\n

EMU inducted two 2004 graduates into the Athletics Hall of Honor \u2013 Ellie Lind Holsopple in women’s soccer and Kristin Moyer Vasey in field hockey.<\/p>\n

Other weekend events included a donor \u2013appreciation banquet for 375 guests, a one-man theatrical presentation of C.S. Lewis\u2019 The Great Divorce, an organ concert by recently-retired professor John Fast, a Sunday-morning worship service, an art exhibit opening, four intercollegiate games, tours of two renovated facilities, a panel discussion of retired science faculty, and departmental programs.<\/p>\n

View a Flickr\u00a0photo gallery<\/a> of Homecoming and Family Weekend events<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI was on a low-level adrenalin rush the whole time during my cross-cultural,\u201d said Tim Swartzendruber at the 20th anniversary reunion of his Eastern Mennonite University group that spent a ... read more about Cross-cultural reunion, ‘Jubilee’ memories, alumni awards, one-man drama, sports, mark successful 2014 Homecoming<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":22315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,4516,5583,14715,5175,60,5593,5623,4513,5720],"tags":[16122,15141,15778,15985,15989,16115,5663,6019],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-22306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-athletics","category-campus-community","category-campus-life","category-field-hockey","category-homecoming","category-intercultural","category-special-programs","category-student-life","category-womens-soccer","tag-carrie-stambaugh-bert","tag-carroll-yoder","tag-donald-oswald","tag-donald-sensenig","tag-elizabeth-good","tag-ellie-lind-holsopple","tag-hall-of-honor","tag-john-fast"],"yoast_head":"\nCross-cultural reunion, 'Jubilee' memories, alumni awards, one-man drama, sports, mark successful 2014 Homecoming - 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