{"id":27535,"date":"2016-03-29T08:01:18","date_gmt":"2016-03-29T12:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=27535"},"modified":"2017-04-19T10:12:43","modified_gmt":"2017-04-19T14:12:43","slug":"three-yoder-scholars-bring-hosts-of-talent-to-eastern-mennonite-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/three-yoder-scholars-bring-hosts-of-talent-to-eastern-mennonite-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Yoder Scholars bring host of talents to Eastern Mennonite University"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each year, Eastern Mennonite University (EMU)\u00a0engages in a rigorous process to select recipients for\u00a0the prestigious Yoder Scholarships<\/a>. Established in 1993 and named for alumni Carol and Paul R. Yoder Jr., the scholarships cover full tuition and include admission into EMU\u2019s Honors Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Three students received the honor this year: Ariel Barbosa of Towson, Maryland; Kayla Leaman of Harrisonburg, Virginia; and Ben Stutzman of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They were chosen from a field of 47 applicants who had an average SAT score of 1339, average ACT score of 30 and average high school grade-point average of 4.16.<\/p>\n

The scholars interview during Honors Weekend in February. Honors Program faculty conduct the interviews, evaluating academic performance, extracurricular activities, community involvement, creativity, leadership potential and other factors. Each applicant must prepare a portfolio and resum\u00e9, write two short essays and submit two references.<\/p>\n

The graduation rate for EMU honor students has been at 100 percent in recent years, with many completing more than one major. The students receive unique academic and co-curricular opportunities along with intensive mentoring from faculty.<\/p>\n

Ariel Barbosa<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When Ariel Barbosa came to Harrisonburg for her first visit to EMU, she fell in love.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just incredible,\u201d Barbosa says. \u201cI got this feeling I hadn\u2019t gotten at any other college. I just kept finding more things I liked about it: the people, the atmosphere, everything\u2014especially how genuine people were. I\u2019m grateful to have found it, and I\u2019m so excited to start there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barbosa, an avid soccer<\/a> player, learned about EMU when coach Ted Erickson<\/a> contacted her last spring. She plans to play for the Royals alongside her academic studies, with an anticipated major in visual and communication arts<\/a>. She loves photography and is intrigued by a career in international \u201cmissionary journalism,\u201d but \u201cI\u2019m open to any path where God calls me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Her interest in working abroad matches her international background. Her father is from Brazil, and Barbosa went to South America this past year to visit that side of the family. She has also\u00a0traveled to\u00a0Nicaragua with a group called More Than F\u00f9tbol<\/span>, which brings organized soccer to youth in impoverished regions of Central America.<\/p>\n

Barbosa\u00a0led two programs at her school: starting a chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which has grown rapidly, and working with other students to create a group called Best Buddies, which builds relationships between students who have mental disabilities and those who don\u2019t. Best Buddies recently painted a mural at the school as a fundraiser, and more than 300 students participated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very curious, and I like to understand the root causes of things,\u201d Barbosa says, of her motivation to learn.<\/p>\n

Ben Stutzman<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ben Stutzman almost didn\u2019t come to EMU. He wants to study architecture, a major that EMU doesn\u2019t currently offer. But then he found out about EMU\u2019s new engineering program<\/a>, with new facilities in the renovated Suter Science Center<\/a>, and he saw possibilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started to rethink my plans and realized that I could go to EMU for engineering and then pursue architecture after my undergrad,\u201d Stutzman says. \u201cI\u2019m really happy that this can work out, and I\u2019m excited to go to a great school and be close to my family this fall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stutzman, a senior at Lancaster (Pa.) Mennonite High School, says he has many relatives in the Harrisonburg area, including a sister and two cousins currently at EMU.<\/p>\n

In addition to engineering studies, Stutzman hopes to also minor or at least take some courses in environmental sustainability<\/a> with an eye toward designing environmentally friendly buildings. He plans to run cross country and track and work on the school newspaper, activities he’s participated in at LMS.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m also in my school\u2019s Campus Chorale, but I\u2019m not sure yet if I\u2019ll have enough time to be part of a choral group at EMU,\u201d Stutzman adds. \u201cWe\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says he also enjoys \u201creading, cooking, making videos, geocaching, hiking and getting a good night\u2019s sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really grateful to receive the Yoder Scholarship,\u201d Stutzman says, \u201cand I can\u2019t wait to come to EMU next year!\u201d<\/p>\n

Kayla Leaman<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Kayla Leaman is already deeply rooted at EMU. Both her parents\u2014Jim Leaman<\/a>, who chairs the Business and Economics Department and leads the MBA program, and Lori Leaman<\/a>, a professor in the Education Department\u2014work at the university, and her brother, Jordan, is a current student, studying abroad in the Middle East this spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had already decided before the scholarship award to go to EMU,\u201d Kayla Leaman says. \u201cSince I grew up here, I have been able to see the community, and I really like how many different people of all different beliefs come together and have great discussions. You get to know all the people really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leaman moved to Harrisonburg when she was 7 years old, following five years in Nairobi, Kenya, where her parents did teaching, mission and non-governmental organization work, and two years in Pittsburgh. She fell in love with the mountains of the Shenandoah Valley and is in no hurry to leave, but she says she might eventually do mission work in Africa. \u201cI feel a calling to go back there,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She enjoys robotics and plans to major in math education<\/a>, because \u201cI like the beauty of math,\u201d she says, and wants to pass on that excitement to others. Her favorite course in high school so far: calculus.<\/p>\n

Outside the classroom, Leaman also enjoys distance running, although she has been slowed by injuries during her high school career. She plans to run cross country at EMU, and possibly track, as well. Her brother, also a cross country runner, cemented her decision to stay close to home for college.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen through his experience what EMU is like,\u201d Leaman says, \u201cand it makes me excited to see what EMU is like, too.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each year, Eastern Mennonite University (EMU)\u00a0engages in a rigorous process to select recipients for\u00a0the prestigious Yoder Scholarships. Established in 1993 and named for alumni Carol and Paul R. Yoder Jr., ... read more about Three Yoder Scholars bring host of talents to Eastern Mennonite University<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4515,5725,266,5731,5594,8845,5643,14139,5640,12507,5720],"tags":[17349,17351,11416,9331],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-27535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-admissions","category-alumni","category-cross-country","category-education","category-emu-at-lancaster","category-environmental-sustainability","category-student-profiles","category-suter-science-center","category-vaca","category-womens-soccer","tag-ariel-barbosa","tag-ben-stutzman","tag-honors-program","tag-mark-metzler-sawin"],"yoast_head":"\nThree Yoder Scholars bring host of talents to Eastern Mennonite University - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/three-yoder-scholars-bring-hosts-of-talent-to-eastern-mennonite-university\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Three Yoder Scholars bring host of talents to Eastern Mennonite University - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Each year, Eastern Mennonite University (EMU)\u00a0engages in a rigorous process to select recipients for\u00a0the prestigious Yoder Scholarships. 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