Spring/Summer 2012 Sterling Magazine

Spring/Summer 2012

The Magazine of Sterling College

Testify and Bear Witness

A Series of Fortunate Events

Sterling College Paints the Town

Packed Into a Simple Blue Folder

Under the leadership of Chap-lain Christian Dashiell, Sterling College has focused on the characteristics of God, how He has transformed our lives and how He desires for that transformation to continue. As we reflected on who God is and what He has done, sto-ries began surfacing about our alumni, students and staff that we wanted to share with you. There were so many great sto-ries to choose from, but our limited space has narrowed it down to three.

In this issue of Sterling Magazine you will read about Tony Reilly. If you were in school with Tony, you are well acquainted with his jovial personality and strong Irish accent. What you may not know about is God’s provision in Tony’s life that led him to Sterling, allowed him to stay in school and provided him with an unexpected job opportunity. Tony has experienced an incredible string of events in his life that can only be explained through the hand of God.

You will hear about Love Sterling, a service day for our students and employees to say thank you to the Sterling community. Our students have learned to worship God with their hands through service to others, and Love Sterling is an organized way for students and employees to give back to our great town.

“Packed Into a Simple Blue Folder,” by Annette Ensz ’12, is a graduate’s reflection of what a diploma from Sterling College represents and how she was challenged to continue practicing servant leadership beyond her time at SC.

Finally, we celebrate the accomplishments and opportunities that God has given us this year. You will find pictures and highlights from commencement, a story about the unique Christmas present we received this past year, professional accomplishments by our professors and high-lights from the news and our alumni.

We hope you enjoy our testimony of God’s continual work and are inspired to write down your own story to share with friends, family and Sterling College.

In closing, we are grateful for the leadership provided by Dr. Paul Maurer during the last three and a half years. In May, the Board of Trustees decided to begin the process to find a new president for Sterling College. Please join us in prayer as they work through the process in finding the future leader of SC.

Scott Rich, M.B.A.Executive Vice President and CFO

Sterling Magazine StaffDirector of Marketing & Presidential CommunicationsSterling EditorKarin (Lederle) Swihart ’08, M.A.

Writer for Marketing & CommunicationsRebecca Swartz

Graphic Designer & PhotographerChristopher Steen

Web Marketing ManagerMatt Ehresman ’10, M.A.

Student AssistantsAnnette Ensz ’12Courtney Huber ’13

College AdministrationExecutive Vice President and CFOScott Rich, M.B.A.

Vice President for Academic AffairsGregory P. Kerr, Ph.D.

Vice President for Institutional AdvancementMarvin Dewey, Ed.D.

Vice President for Student LifeTina Wohler, M.A.

Athletic DirectorGary Kempf

Board of TrusteesHeather McCreery ’90, ChairTim O’Brien, Vice ChairRandy Henry ’72, Secretary

Alumni CouncilTy Herrington ’86, PresidentJill (Bleam) Lundgren ’79, Secretary

View Sterling OnlineCurrent and back issues available www.sterling.edu/magazine

Sterling is a publication of Sterling College’s Marketing & Communications office. It is distributed twice a year at no charge to Sterling College alumni, friends and parents. To remove or change your mailing address, or to submit a classnote, email [email protected]; call 620-278-4219; or write the Advancement Office at 125 W. Cooper, Sterling, Kansas 67579.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Sterling, Sterling College, 125 W. Cooper, Sterling, Kansas 67579

PrinterMennonite Press, Newton, Kansas

2 | STERLING MAGAZINE

Testify and Bear Witness to the God We Serve

SPRING / SUMMER 2012 | 3

A Series of Fortunate Events

Sterling College Paints the Town

Packed Into a Simple Blue Folder

Commencement Highlights

In the News - Sword in the Stone

Athletic Updates

Alumni News and Notes

Upcoming Alumni Events

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Contents

SterlingSpring/Summer 2012

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Reilly is a product of Ireland, born and raised right outside of Dub-lin. His father was a farmer during a difficult economic time in

Irish history. The country was dealing with terrorist attacks in the north, crumpling under 21 percent interest rates and starting to despair from its 30 percent unemployment. Reilly was playing soccer for a high school club without any thoughts of college in the USA.

A Professor It was the end of his senior year when a chance visit from Tony Petrotta, former professor of religion and philosophy at the College, changed the course of Reilly’s life. Coach Robert Lotze had received money to ex-pand his fledgling soccer program at the time and asked Petrotta to of-fer scholarships to any good soccer players he saw during his European tour. The club coach spoke to Reilly and asked if he would be interested in fielding a scholarship offer from an American school. Reilly jumped at the chance. The conversation led to Petrotta handing Reilly and his friend, Sammy Lane ’92, the necessary paperwork, which was quickly completed and submitted to Sterling College.

When Tony Reilly stepped onto the Sterling College campus in the sum-mer heat of 1986 with $127 in his pocket and a borrowed suitcase, he had no idea where he would be today.

“I remember that Kansas didn’t seem ready for a couple of Irish guys,” recalled Reilly with a laugh. “We were sort of square pegs and left a bit of a legacy.”

That first day on campus, Reilly’s adventuring spirit realized that the town of Sterling was no Dublin. The culture shock was overwhelm-ing. Had he had the money at the time, Reilly would have turned right around and gone straight back to Ireland. Thankfully, he didn’t. Instead, Reilly walked down Broadway to the post office the next day and mailed his borrowed suitcase back to his Irish neighbor. If he wanted to leave, he would have to stay and work to get the funds.

As he stepped into his room for the first time, two things he had never seen before were waiting for him: his roommate’s divorced parents and a mosquito, which immediately bit Reilly. There are no mosquitoes in Ireland and Reilly had never known anyone who had been divorced. Those were the two things that he told his parents about in his first letter home. Posted on the wall of his room for the rest of the year was a piece of notebook paper with a dead mosquito on it, bearing the sentence, “This mosquito tried to drink my soda.”

Feature Story

In the Old Testament, God reveals characteristics of Himself. One of those characteristics is His abil-ity to provide guidance and direction to lead His people to where He wants them to go. In the story of Anthony ‘Tony’ Reilly ’91, God used a series of unlikely people and events to lead Reilly to where he is today.

A Series of Fortunate Events >> by Annette Ensz ’12

Tony Reilly with wife, Tish, and their daughter, Sophie


Though it was difficult to acclimate, Reilly believes that he and Lane did better than most foreign students could have. They made several friends in the first semester and by the time Reilly had worked long enough to save up the money to go back to Ireland, he had fallen in love with the campus community, coaches, faculty, and his foster family.

A Chief Financial Officer Later in the year, when Reilly’s parents received a letter from CFO Bill Edwards concerning the school bill, they were devastated. Paying for school was going to be too painful for them and they couldn’t afford it. Reilly called home and they brought up the subject of what he owed. The phone conversation led Reilly to storm into Edwards’ office to tell him to never send a bill to his parents again. Reilly still remembers lay-ing out his case, “I’ll do a deal with you. I’ll work more than anyone has ever worked and I’ll pay my bill. You guys take 90%, and I’ll take 10%.”

Edwards agreed. Reilly was working almost every job on campus, but after paying the College, he only took home about 40 cents an hour. He washed dishes and served food in the cafeteria, managed the weight room and landscaped. Reilly carried thousands of books out of Coo-per when the building was condemned and painted more houses in the community than he can remember. Edwards invited him in to his office and congratulated him at the end of his senior year; by the time he graduated, he walked across the platform with no debt.

A Senator One August day following his junior year, Reilly asked his boss in the maintenance department, Quinton Kilgore, for an afternoon off. He explained that he wanted to talk to Senator Bob Dole, who would be visiting campus the next day. Kilgore cautioned him that he might never get to talk to Dole, but Reilly insisted because he needed a work permit.

That night, Reilly typed a letter explaining his case. He intended to give it to Dole the next day to see if the senator could help expedite the permit process. The Kansas City office had delayed his case for months. After going to work the next morning, Reilly went home, showered, borrowed a suit and rode his bike back to campus. There he was greeted by the sight of government cars along with Senator Bob Dole’s entou-rage and hundreds of people milling around, hoping to talk to Dole.

Realizing he may have underestimated the senator’s importance, Reilly stayed back to observe. He noticed that very few people actually got to talk to the senator because his entourage handled the specific cases. Reilly chuckles as he tells the story, “If it had been post-9/11, I probably would have been arrested, because I stalked the man all over campus, trying to figure out the best way to get to him and not get taken away by one of his advisors. I saw my opening and lunged out of the crowd to him, babbling a million miles an hour. Between the Irish accent and my nerves, he couldn’t understand anything I was saying except, ‘Please don’t hand me off to someone else.’”

Finally, Dole stopped him and said, “Son, it’s the middle of August in the middle of Kansas. Where are you from?”

Reilly proceeded to share his story with Dole, explaining that he was from Ireland and had big goals for working in America. Reilly was not looking for a favor but rather seeking an opportunity. He was willing to work, not simply receive charity. Perhaps it was the novelty of the situa-

tion, but Dole liked him. Reilly handed over the letter and was mowing the yard on campus by the time Dole left. A week later, he was in Kansas City with the work permit in his hands.

The work permit was more than a convenience. Without it, Reilly would have had to leave the United States immediately following his gradua-tion. It opened the door for Reilly to apply for jobs around the country in what would prove to be an unusual way.

A Business Department, A Food Service Director and A Firm Kathy Glynn and Kevin Condit, business professors at the time, had their classes write a paper on the topic of their choice. Reilly wrote about investment firms, both small and large, and the unique role that they have in the American economy. While the rest of the world has be-tween five to 20 institutional banks in each country, America at the time had 15,000. These banks and investment firms open up opportunities that are almost entirely exclusive to America. Reilly talked about a sam-pling of firms in the paper and Glynn was so impressed that she encour-aged him to send the paper to the firms he had mentioned. After he had sent it, he got a job offer as a bank teller in Wichita. He was happy with starting out small and working his way up, but before he accepted the position, he got a call from a firm in Ohio. This happened because the food service director at the time, Bonnie Thiergartner (whose parents are from Ohio), passed on the information to the Ohio firm.

His paper had captured their interest. They asked if they could fly him to Columbus and interview him. Having never been to Ohio, Reilly de-cided he might as well go. He found himself invited to dinner with the founder and executives of the company. The founder asked him, “If you had a blank sheet of paper, what would you do with the division of the firm you’re interviewing for?” Recognizing that he had nothing to lose, Reilly laid out some bold ideas. They called him the next week and hired him, asking him to develop the plan he had outlined at dinner. He joined the firm as an assistant advisor. Ten years later, he was president of it, having grown the firm from local Ohio to a nationwide company. Gathering three partners, Reilly bought the division of the firm he had built and called it Ascend Advisory. Today, Reilly’s company manages half a billion dollars on Wall Street.

Reilly credits much of his success to God and others. He recognizes that meeting Petrotta in Ireland was a very unlikely thing and was worked out by God. He sees now that Edwards did not have to cut a deal with him as a freshman. He realizes that Sen. Dole did not have to stop to talk to him and that God had a hand in that. He also knows that Kathy Glynn and Kevin Condit did not have to encourage him to send out his paper. The firm in Ohio did not have to read it, call him, invite him to dinner or hire him. He even recognizes that God did not have to give him the talent of entrepreneurialism. But they all did.

Moving ahead, Reilly looks forward to reconnecting with the students on campus in a meaningful way. He hopes that sharing his story with this generation of students will encourage them to think bigger and work harder to accomplish something they never thought they could.

Reilly lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife, Tish, and his 6-year-old daughter, Sophie.


Feature Story

T he Holy Spirit can bring together a group of like-minded peo-ple to create an event that is bigger than the group could ever

imagine. This is the story of how a simple service project grew into a community event.

During his freshman year, Nathan Lusk ’12 wanted to do a service project but didn’t know where to begin.

“I knew there were ways to serve around Sterling,” said Lusk, “but there were very few, if any, campus organizations that had events that directly served the local community. It was and is important to me to have a concrete way of living out my faith, so I wanted to help organize something we as a campus could do to meet the immediate need in our area. I approached our former chaplain, Anne Smith, and asked if there was a way for students to serve or do a service project in Sterling. Giving back to the community that we live in just makes sense.”

Across town, Anne met up with her husband, former professor Craig Smith, and Joellen Maurer. In a conversation that was unre-lated to Lusk, they began to talk about how the Sterling community is a great support for the College. They attend athletic events and fine arts productions. They give to mission trip fundraisers, pray for the school, and invite Sterling College students into their homes as

foster children. They provide internships, friendships and serve the College in a myriad of ways that we will never know. This group wanted to say thank you to the community for all of their support.

And then there was a spark. The Smiths remembered an event they had participated in called Love Bristol. It was a community-wide service day where community members helped other community members. That event reminded Maurer of the former pastor of Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Wichita and his church’s event called Love Wichita. Love Sterling seemed like a perfect idea – a workday where students could volunteer to help with various needs around the town.

“It was a big dream,” said Lusk. “The only reason it worked is be-cause the urban ministry class helped plan the event the first year. I was not in the class, but I volunteered to recruit students to help. We had less than three months to find projects and volunteers, so we asked the city for a list of needs to be completed around town. We painted lamp posts, fire hydrants, the pool bathhouses and other city-owned property.”

The first Love Sterling saw over 150 students, faculty, staff and com-munity volunteer around 900 man hours. Other organizations also donated to the project. Home Lumber, community members, and

STERLING COLLEGE PAINTS THE TOWN>> by Rebecca Swartz

Scan to watch the LO

VE Sterling highlights

Photo by Matt Ehresman


We appreciate every aspect of support that we receive, especially when we hear of alumni and friends telling prospective students about the opportunity to grow and learn here at Sterling College. Thank you for giving us the chance

to show students what we have to offer.

www.sterling.edu/admissions/refer-student

DO YOU KNOW OF A GREAT POTENTIAL STUDENT FOR STERLING COLLEGE?

the City of Sterling provided the necessary supplies, and Chartwells and local churches donated lunches.

After the day of service, a cookout took place at Sterling Lake and the community and Sterling College fellowshipped together. The Love Sterling committee was excited about the work they were able to do for the city and saw great potential for giving even more back to the community in the future. With one year under their belt, they set their sights higher – more students completing more service projects.

Lusk said, “We had more time to plan for the second Love Sterling. We contacted Main Street Sterling to help with their projects down-town, completed projects for the residents at Presbyterian Manor, and helped the Sterling Public Library with yard work and pulling old books. We were also able to contact the local churches to see if they had any projects, or knew of any projects that community members needed help with.

“I really enjoy Love Sterling and being able to give back to the com-munity and local businesses. But my favorite projects are the ones we complete for those who aren’t able to do the project themselves. In my opinion, that is the best part of Love Sterling.”

Each year the volunteer count has grown. The second year, around 200 volunteers helped with the event, and this year, approximately 250 volunteers came out to serve the community. The volunteers have completed over 50 projects and donated over 3,500 hours of service since its inception.

Outside of the volunteers who do they physical work on the day of Love Sterling, another group of volunteers help make the day hap-pen. Tools to complete projects such as ladders, paintbrushes, ham-mers and drills are donated by faculty and staff of SC and church and community members. They also bring side dishes and desserts to the evening cookout. A sack lunch, in addition to the meat for the cookout, is provided by Chartwells. The City of Sterling donates a portion of the supplies used throughout the day.

“I never would have guessed that asking to do a service project dur-ing my freshman year would turn into this,” said Lusk. “There is a great group of young leaders who were involved with the planning of Love Sterling this year, so I anticipate great things happening with this event in the future. Either way, it’s about finding ways to serve the town of Sterling our appreciation and doing something for others.”

Photo by Matt Ehresman


Feature Story

Packed Into a Simple Blue Folder >> by Annette Ensz ’12

I t has been a blessed four years for me at Sterling College. The night I moved in as a freshman, I waited until the lights were off in Mc-

Creery to cry my eyes out. Once that was over, I was free to stop being scared of the unknown and grow. The years that followed would see me living in all three of the women’s dorms: my sophomore year of grow-ing up in Evans, my junior year as an RA in McCreery and my senior year as the chaplain in Douglas Women’s. Many friends and life lessons came out of every ridiculous situation in which I found myself.

Fast forward to May 11, 2012. Working in the marketing office as a student worker for three of the years I’ve been at Sterling should have prepared me for the busy day ahead, but I wasn’t really ready. A whirl-wind day of alumni breakfast, graduation and baccalaureate practice, packing up my dorm room and senior dinner with my family made me realize that my class and I are just a small piece of what Sterling’s history and God’s purpose encompasses.

Rev. Robert Hopper, interim pastor at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Wichita, Kan., spoke at the baccalaureate service. During his mes-sage, I saw tones of the things God had been teaching me throughout the last semester of my time here: God’s grace being sufficient, follow-ing God-given dreams and living under His favor because of His grace and not anything I do. I had been consistently challenged to believe those things during my time at Sterling and I was refreshed to hear them that evening.

Following baccalaureate, we went to Upper Wilson for a reception, where professors and mentors showered parents with congratulations on their students’ impending graduation. Once my family headed back home, I went to the dorm and spent my last night as a Sterling student with some of my best friends. It was surreal to think that in 12 hours, I would have an embossed folder in my hand that would cut the safety line that is Sterling College and I would begin to free-fall into the real world.

May 12, 2012. I threw on my robe and hat, stepped into a packed line in a Gleason classroom and tried to figure out what smile I was going to wear for the inevitable photo-ops that would begin as we stepped

over the threshold into the gym. Since part of my marketing assignment was to live-tweet the event, I strapped my phone to my arm with two hair bands and tried desperately to keep my cap on my head as the line lurched forward. My cousin, Erin Thiessen ’09, waited right outside. She drove the whole way from Memphis, Tenn., the day before to surprise me.

The line led me to my seat, where I could hardly keep still as the mo-ment to walking across the stage drew closer. I looked around at the people in my class and tried to memorize that scene: Ryan Green a couple of rows back across the aisle, smile still stuck

on his face from proposing to his fiancé Karina Noah the day before; Hannah Herrington offering our class reflections from the stage; Sara Doll readjusting her hat after Chandler Keenan knocked it off during the invocation; Matt and Kacie Hastings standing to applaud for Gor-don Kling and Diane DeFranco-Kling receiving faculty emeritus status; Brad Nix winning the McCreery Teaching Award; personal friends and fellow student life workers Caitlin Magee and Cuyler Prichard being named Outstanding Female and Male Graduates; and Sam Brownback, governor of Kansas, giving the commencement address. Somewhere along the way, I had gotten up to get my diploma, taken a picture with Dr. Maurer on stage and found my way back to my seat.

Gordon and Diane would go on to give their acceptance speech later in the program, reading the famous “Molder of Dreams” poem and talking about their world – the stage. Commenting that they were gradu-ating with the class of 2012, the Klings ended their speech with their infamous words, “Have a great show… and be brilliant.”

As I reflect on what happened in the gym that day, I hear Brownback echoing what we had already been told every day at Sterling – the pur-pose of dreams is to passionately improve life for others, to be servant leaders like Christ. We have seen it evidenced in the lives of the faculty and staff on campus and were blessed to see living examples in Distin-guished Service Award winners Harold ’58 and Pat (Offerle ’60) Hood.

Years of classes and friendships packed into a simple blue folder, I stepped out of Gleason with the challenge to continue to serve others ringing in my ears.

The Lord has shaped my heart more in the last four years than I ever expected.

Scan to watch Commencement highlights


Joellen Maurer: @JoellenMaurer Just heard the bagpipes. Must be time for SC baccalaureate. #SCGrad

Matt Ehresman: @mattehresman I’m lovin these sweet organ jams. #SCGrad Jordan Stineman: @JordanStinemanAn appropriate quote for grad day. “We are often happier striving towards something than when we finally accomplish it.” -Donald Miller

Christian Dashiell: @BeingXian Smile #SCGrad

Matt Ehresman: @mattehresman @govsambrownback re: his afro in college: “Always listen to your mother.” #SCGrad

Sterling College: @SterlingCLife “The reason for a dream is for some-body else.” #ServantLead-ership @govsambrown-back #SCGrad

Christian Dashiell: @BeingXian Get it. #SCGrad

Commencement Live Tweets:

Gov. Sam Brownback delivers his speech, “Liberty, Responsibility: Keys to Kansas’ Future.”

Annette Ensz ’12 tweets a photo with Dr. Maurer after receiving her diploma.

Mike Danski ’12 embraces fellow graduate Stuart Parman ’12 to celebrate their hard work.

Gordon Kling reflects on how the stage has been his world for the past 44 years when accepting his conferral of faculty emeritus.

Mike Talton ’12 is embraced by the mother of his SC foster parent, Kati Bennett ’02, after the graduation ceremony.

Senior Class Representative Hannah Herrington ’12 delivers her senior reflection speech.


Distinguished Service Award

Harold ’58 and Pat (Offerle ’60) Hood were the 2012 recipients of the Distinguished Service Award, Sterling’s highest alumni award, for devot-ing their lives to serving in the field of education. They were recognized at Sterling’s commencement ceremony.

The Distinguished Service Award, established in 1975, honors and rec-ognizes a lifetime of service that exemplifies the purposes for which Sterling College exists – exceptional contribution to society, distin-guished professional accomplishment, and outstanding leadership and character. The recipients are chosen by vote of the Alumni Council and Sterling College’s Board of Trustees.

Harold began his career at the Christian Training Institute in Sialkot, Pakistan. Upon his return he married Pat, who had just finished her first year of teaching in Hutchinson, Kan. They continued their careers as educators in Ellinwood, Kan., where they raised four children. They also supported missionaries and friends around the world, started junior church programs, taught workshops and church school, and served in church leadership roles.

“After ‘retiring,’ Harold served for 10 years as the principal for Grace Christian Academy in Great Bend, Kan., while Pat spent her time tu-toring children. This couple is a joy to everyone they meet and no one who knows them is surprised about them receiving this award. I am privileged to assist in honoring them with the DSA this year,” said Amy Thompson ’96, director of alumni and parent relations. The Hoods have recently focused on building a relationship with an international school in Brazil.

In response to Sterling College’s contribution to their preparation for a lifetime of service they said, “We realize as we look back over our lives that our four years at Sterling College were some of our best. Dr. Mc-Gill’s guidance and encouragement prepared us for a lifetime of teach-ing in Kansas and other places around the world. Sterling College pro-vided a spiritual foundation for our future years. It was while we were at Sterling we grew in our relationship with the Lord and were allowed the opportunity not only for individual growth but to share our faith through campus ministries.”

If you would like to nominate an alumnus/alumna for this award, you will find the nomination form at www.sterling.edu/alumni/alumni-awards. Send the completed form to: Sterling College, Alumni Office, 125 W. Cooper Ave, Sterling, KS, 67579, or email it to Amy Thompson at [email protected].

Klings become Sterling College Faculty Emeriti

This year’s commencement ceremony marked the Klings’ retirement and end of their 41st and 44th year of teaching for Sterling College. To honor their service to the institution, Senior Associate Professors of Theatre Arts Diane DeFranco-Kling and Gordon Kling were conferred the rank of faculty emeritus.

In order to obtain faculty emeritus status, a faculty member must have limited or terminated their responsibilities as a ranked faculty member, served for 15 or more years and reached a minimum of 60 years of age. Faculty emeritus status is designated and appointed by the Board of Trustees, after recommendation by the president, the vice president for academic affairs and the faculty welfare committee. The Klings have a combined service of over 80 years, produced over 40 plays and mu-sicals, and mentored hundreds of students. They have been pillars of strength supporting the theatre and communications department and the College and its mission.

During the ceremony, the entire student body and several alumni waitedanxiously to hear what the couple would say about their time at SterlingCollege. And like a good Shakespearean play, the audience laughed andcried as they said farewell to two of their favorite professors. As she finished reading the poem “Molder of Dreams” by Clark Mollenhoff, Diane reminded her students that they are God’s creation and encour-aged them to “Dream big. Work hard. And enjoy the journey.” Gordon followed by thanking everyone for the continual support of the theatre department and said, “Our greatest joy has been seeing students take hold, creating outstanding work and lay the foundation for their future as Christian leaders, educators and artists.”

A celebration of the Klings’ leadership in the theatre and communica-tions department will take place during the 2012 homecoming celebra-tion. See page 23 for more details.

Commencement Highlights


2012 Outstanding Students Named

Caitlin Magee ’12 of San Leandro, Calif., and Cuyler Prichard ’12 of Aurora, Colo., were named Outstanding Students and recipients of the 2012 Fran Jabara Leadership Award.

The Outstanding Student and Fran Jabara Leadership Award is given to two seniors who exemplify outstanding academic achievement, lead-ership skills and involvement, and portray an enthusiastically Christian faith. They must also have a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher and are voted upon by faculty and staff.

Magee was named Outstanding Female Student for her work ethic, humble spirit and embodiment of servant leadership. Magee served as a resident assistant this year under Naiya Hernandez, the resident di-rector of Evans Hall.

“She is a prime example of a stu-dent leader and will make Ster-ling College proud as an alumna. Whether it is attending events, be-ing a part of the volleyball team, or spending time in her dorm, she always has a positive attitude and a contagious joy. She works hard to

apply herself to her academics and strives to meet the challenges she is presented with,” said Hernandez

During her time at Sterling College, Magee was a two-time Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete and KCAC All-Conference Honorable Mention last fall. She is the daughter of Randy ’77 and Louise ’77 Magee.

Prichard, named Outstanding Male Student, was described by Dr. T.H. Kwa, professor of business, as in-telligent, diligent, honest, prudent, fun-loving and humble.

Eric Saiz, resident director of Douglas Men’s and Women’s Halls, said, “It has been a pleasure to work with Cuyler over the last two years. As a freshman he showed great ma-turity and leadership potential, so as a sophomore, he was placed as an RA in the upperclassmen dorms.

During his time there, he earned the respect of his peers, his teammates, and his RD. If I were to choose one thing about him that I respect the most, it would be the way in which he handled his relationships, specifi-cally his relationship with his soon-to-be wife. He has set an example of what a healthy, Christ-centered relationship should look like.”

Prichard is the son of Wade and Melinda Prichard.

Brad Nix presented with McCreery Teaching Award

Dr. Brad Nix, associate professor of music, was awarded the 2011-2012 McCreery Teaching Award during Sterling’s commencement exercises.

The McCreery Teaching Award recognizes and encourages excellence in teaching and is presented to a faculty member whose efforts have pro-vided noteworthy and innovative instruction to Sterling College students during the academic year. The award was established in honor of Sterling College’s fourth president, William M. McCreery, and has been awarded to one outstanding faculty member each year since 1977.

A student who nominated Nix said, “He cares about his students and has even opened up his home to us. He is someone with a large amount of passion and that is evident in and out of the classroom.” Other students mentioned liking his teaching style, his optimistic attitude, his aspiration to show Christ to his students, and his willingness to spend extra time helping students understand difficult material.

Dr. Gregory Kerr, vice president of academic affairs, said, “[The stu-dents’ remarks] confirm the comments of the selection committee that he is caring and very relational.”

“When he arrived at Sterling College, there was only one student ma-joring in his area. Now there are more than a dozen, with many more students participating in the departmental activities. He does an excellent job of blending majors and non-majors into the music programs.”

Nix is an active composer and arranger, having produced dozens of cho-ral and piano pieces published through Shawnee Press.


In the News

Front view with inscription


I t mysteriously showed up on Christmas Eve morning bearing an inscription and has lured many men and

women to test their strength. What is missing is an anvil, a tournament and the empty throne of a king. Have you guessed what it is? Sterling College has received its very own Sword in the Stone.

Little is known about the gift, but what we do know about its arrival comes from former SC employee, Ginger Reed ’66, who lives across the street from Cooper Hall. “I looked out of the window around 7 a.m., and saw a red truck with a long white flatbed trailer on the lawn of Cooper. But that is it. I didn’t recognize anyone,” said Reed.

After the administration and maintenance departments analyzed the new gift, it was decided that the donor had significant knowledge of the school and its graduation cer-emonies. Anyone could have placed the gift nearly centered with the front of Cooper Hall, but only those who have seen a commencement ceremony would know how far away from the building the stone would need to be place for the stage to fit between the steps of Cooper and the new SC monument. Either the donor knew where the boul-der would need to rest, or the College was incredibly lucky since SC does not have strong enough equipment to move such a large rock.

The professionally carved boulder is one solid piece of rock that is approximately 33 inches high with a width and length of 39 inches. It is engraved with SC Warriors on the side that faces Cooper. Protruding about 14 inches from the top of the rock appears a sword made from what is speculated to be stainless steel and brass.

Word of the Sword in the Stone spread quickly once per-sonnel returned to campus to begin the spring se-mester. A news release was sent out, bringing all three major Kansas news networks to campus to interview school personnel and students and to see the gift.

“At first they didn’t really believe us when we said we had no idea where it came from,” said Karin Swihart, director of marketing and presidential communications. “But when they knew it was really a surprise gift, they wanted to put the story on their evening broadcasts. KSN, KAKE, and KWCH all came to campus and interviewed various admin-istrators, professors and students.”

The stone also quickly became a student favorite. From the video posted on the Sterling College YouTube channel to multiple photo ops for current and prospective students, many have tested their strength by tugging on the sword.

The Sword in the Stone joins Sterling’s other unique monu-ments around campus. On the west side of Cooper, you will find the Divine Servant Statue. Placed in 2003, this statue represents the ultimate embodiment of servant lead-ership and physically represents Sterling College’s mission.

On the other side of campus is Brownlee Plaza. Built out-side of Mabee Library in 1995, the center of the plaza houses a clock which is unofficially named Sputnik by the students. The clock has become a hub of student activity, both for socializing and spiritual formation. It hosts 24-hour prayer vigils and See You at the Pole, along with other campus activities.

While the role of the Sword in the Stone at Sterling is yet to be determined, its placement in front of the commence-ment stage closely parallels the story of King Arthur. Free-ing the sword from the stone marked the beginning of his reign as king, thus fulfilling the mission that God had placed on his life. Much like the fabled knight, the students who graduate behind the Sword in the Stone will mark the end of their training and begin new chapters in their lives to

fulfill the call that God has given them. Unless, of course, rain and strong winds require moving the commencement ceremonies to Gleason, as was this case this past May.

>> by Rebecca Swartz

Scan to watch the Sword in the Stone video

Faculty UpdatesAssistant Professor of Music Laura Bate-man received her Doctor of Arts degree in voice performance from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo., on December 9, 2011. She was also presented with the Dean’s Citation of Excellence for her outstanding academic achievement and active participation in the university’s pro-gram. Bateman directs the Sterling College Concert Choir, teaches music history, class piano, aural skills, voice class, and gives pri-vate voice lessons.

Doug Boardman, assistant professor of history, published his article titled “Kansas Press Coverage of the Pancho Villa Raid on Columbus, New Mexico, March 9, 1916” in the International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Dr. Jonathan Conard, assistant professor of biology, was published in the BioOne Online Journal for his research on elk in Kansas. His article “Foraging Ecology of Elk (Cervus elaphus) in a Tallgrass Prairie” was published in March 2012 and explores the diet of elk in Kansas.

Conard also conducted research on the transfer of Chronic Wasting Disease in deer, a disease that is equivalent to mad cow disease but it is not transferable to hu-mans. With the help of students and fac-

ulty at Sterling College and Kansas State University, deer were tagged with tracking devices to study their movements and social groupings. To learn more about the results of their study, visit the February 2012 video archive on the Kansas Department of Wild-life, Parks, and Tourism website.

Dr. Arn Froese, professor of psychology, was recognized in College Student Journal for his research on how much informa-tion students miss by using cell phones in the classroom. While several studies have explored cell phone use as a distraction, Froese’s is the first documented study that directly relates texting dialogue with the texting performer’s loss of information in a classroom setting. His study showed stu-dents who were in texting conversations missed approximately 27% of the presented content.

Dr. Wai-Foong Hong, associate professor of biology, presented her research on wheat growth in drought conditions at the 144th Annual Meeting of the Kansas Academy of Sciences on March 30-31 at Wichita State University. Hong analyzed crop data from Reno and Rice Counties from the years 2007-2011 and compared it to the numbers from 1933-1935, during the Dust Bowl. The data concluded that water capacity of the soil was not a factor of wheat yields. Instead, it was the variety of wheat that determined which crop would produce the

biggest yield. In 2011, the wheat variety Ar-mour proved to produce the highest yield in adverse growing conditions.

Assistant Professor of Exercise Science Pete Manely represented Sterling College at Gatorade corporate headquarters in Chi-cago during a conference on the new Gato-rade products. Manely visited with profes-sors and staff from over 60 NCAA Division I schools, including the major Bowl Cham-pionship Series universities that use Gato-rade; he was the only NAIA athletic trainer invited.

Later that week, Manely traveled to the Inaugural Cheer Safety Symposium in Or-lando, Fla., hosted by USA Cheer and the American Sports Medicine Institute. This was the first comprehensive safety sympo-sium dedicated to cheerleading condition-ing, injury prevention, safety awareness and epidemiology. Manely worked as an expert answering questions from medical profes-sionals, athletic trainers and cheer coaches.

Assistant Professor of Art Daniel Swartz completed a set of illustrations for four books in the newly released Explore curric-ulum series for grades 4-6 in the Wesleyan Church. The curriculum is a joint project between the Wesleyan Church’s spiritual formation department and Wesleyan Pub-lishing House that focuses on a variety of spiritual themes with a global emphasis.


In the News

The Sterling College Board of Trustees elected alumna Heather Mc-Creery ’90 to serve as the new Chair of the Board. Tim O’Brien was also elected to continue his service as Vice Chair. These deci-sions were made during the winter board meeting held February 9-11. Their terms as chair and vice chair began in May, following the spring board meeting.

McCreery was first appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2002. She has served on the finance and investment committee during her tenure on the board. Tim O’Brien of Newport Beach, Calif., has served on the executive committee, student life committee and most recently joined the finance and investment committee of the board. He joined the board in 2006.

“Heather McCreery will be a great chairwoman of the board. Not

only does she have the leadership skills to lead the board, but she has a deep historical understanding and love for the institution. Her work experience will be a strong advantage for the College,” said Board of Trustees Chairman Tony Thompson ’69. Thompson has served as the chair since 2008 and will remain a member of the board.

Dr. William McCreery, Heather’s grandfather, was the fourth presi-dent of Sterling College from 1946-1973. McCreery Hall, a female dormitory on campus named after the Dr. McCreery, commemo-rates his service to the College.

Heather McCreery is married to Scott Carter ’88, who served as director of advancement at Sterling from 2008-2009. They currently reside in Estes Park, Colo.

Heather McCreery ’90 Named Board Chair

SC Debate Finishes 12th in Nation, JV Finishes FirstThe SC Debate Team ended another suc-cessful season with a 12th place finish in overall team sweepstakes at the National Parliamentary Debate tournament, held in Bellingham, Wash. This marks the second time that the SC team has ended the season in the top 25 teams in the nation. Contribut-ing to the successful season were Ryan Cor-win, Alex Lawhon-Bush, Brandon Hoesli, Brett Smith, Tyler Brotten, Courtney Cava-sos, Ashley McHenry, Nolan Chaney, Jessica Brayton, and Melzora Towne. On their way to nationals, the SC Debate Team won five other tournaments this season.

The freshmen from the debate team showed their strength this season in helping capture several tournament wins. Proving their fu-ture promise, they captured first place in team sweeps at the JV National tournament. This tournament only allowed for com-petitors who were in their first two years of collegiate competition. The freshmen representing Sterling College at this tourna-ment were: McHenry, Brotton, Smith and Hoesli. The debate duo of Smith and Hoelsi finished second overall in the tournament, while their teammates McHenry and Brot-ten finished third. Hoesli received second place overall speaker in debate, Smith was awarded third, and McHenry received sixth. Smith finished sixth in extemporaneous speaking and tied McHenry for third in duo interpretation. In both dramatic interpreta-tion and program of oral interpretation, McHenry finished fourth.

Hollywood Comes to Sterling

Alumnus Windell Middlebrooks ’02 came back to speak at this year’s Black History Month Convocation on Friday, February 17. His speech titled “When You’re Called to be Great!” told students that their accomplishments will not be great because of the task, but because God, who is great, called them to do that task. Middlebrooks also reminded students that according to Ephesians 3:20, God can do immeasurably more than we can think or imagine and expects us to do more than we could ever think or imagine. “You reap what you sow,” said Middlebrooks. “He is willing to give that to you, but He expects every bit of it right back.”

“The students learned so much from Wind-ell: persistence, not being boxed in, joy,” said Amy Thompson ’96, director of alumni and parent relations. “He had a lot to offer dur-ing his three days on campus. He has always known what he wanted and he was inten-tional about striving to achieve his goals.”

The actor’s most recent TV role is Dr. Curtis Brumfield, Deputy Chief M.E., on ABC’s Body of Proof. His professional act-ing experience dates back to 2005, follow-ing the reception of his master’s degree in acting from the University of California-Ir-vine. Middlebrooks has since starred on The Suite Life on Deck, Hannah Montana, My Name is Earl, Chocolate News, Entourage, and Scrubs. He has also appeared in various other TV shows, movies, and commercials.

To watch Middlebrooks’ speech, visit the Sterling College YouTube channel.

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Earn a degree in:• Christian Ministires• Theology and Ministry• Elementary Education• History• Special Education Licensure• Secondary History• Secondary Math• Professional Studies(designed to assist students who already have a bachelor’s degree in an area for which STEP is approved to provide licensure.)

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New Scoreboards Bring Pride to SC Athletics

The Gleason Center and soccer field re-ceived a facelift this year as new scoreboards were installed thanks to donations from First Bank, JACAM and Bob and Lynn Royer.

First Bank and JACAM sponsored the new scoreboard in the Gleason Center to help SC meet new NAIA regulations that stan-dardize the scoreboards in the gymnasiums of participating colleges. The scoreboards in the gymnasium were dedicated on Janu-ary 14, 2012.

Vice President of Institutional Advance-ment Dr. Marvin Dewey said, “We are grate-ful for the generosity of these two Sterling businesses. A major part of the College’s identity comes from the Sterling commu-nity. We are blessed to have opportunities where we can partner with the businesses in town. Many of our fans and supporters also come from the community, and that is seen clearly by the efforts of Mr. Carl Dudrey and Dr. Gene Zaid.”

The new soccer scoreboard lining the field was purchased with funds donated by avid supporters of Sterling College and its ath-letic program. The Royers worked with Jus-tin Morris, women’s head soccer coach and

assistant athletic director, to find a need that would upgrade the facilities of the college. “We are very thankful for this gift to our program. It was a much needed improve-ment and we are excited about the new look it gives our field,” said Morris.

Women’s Basketball Wins KCAC Conference Championship

The Sterling College Women’s Basketball Team won the KCAC Tournament Championship on February 27, at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kan.

Sterling locked down defensively, holding the Southwestern College Lady Moundbuilders to 0.278 shooting from the field in the 62-61 Lady Warrior victory.

The Lady Warriors held Southwestern, a team that averaged 75.9 points per game, to just 61 points. Southwestern shot 10 percent less from both the field and the three-point line than their season average, a testament to the Lady Warrior defensive effort.

The win was the 13th conference champi-onship under Coach Lonnie Kruse and sent Sterling to the NAIA Championship Tour-nament on Mar. 7-13 in Sioux City, Iowa at the Tyson Events Center.

The Lady Warriors’ season came to an end on March 8 at the 2012 State Farm-NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship with a first round loss to No. 1 seed Concordia University (Neb.) 54-78. Sterling ended the 2011-2012 season with a record of 18-13.

Linnebur, Stutzman Awarded Outstanding AthletesJillian Linnebur of Colwich, Kan., and Trenton Stutzman of Hutchinson, Kan., have been named the 2012 Female and Male Senior Athletes of the Year by the Sterling College Athletic Department.

Linnebur, a track and field athlete, holds school records in the 800 meters, the 4 x 400 meter relay, the 4 x 800 meter relay, and the distance medley relay. During her career, Linnebur was named the KCAC Track Ath-lete of the Week four times.

Athletic Updates


She is the 2012 KCAC Champion in the 800 meter, runner up in the 4 x 400 meter relay, runner up in the 4 x 800 meter relay, and runner up in the distance medley relay. In 2011, Linnebur was the Outdoor KCAC Champion in the 4 x 800 meter relay and runner up in the 4 x 400 meter relay. She was also the Champion of Character representa-tive in track and field for Sterling College.

Stutzman, a basketball athlete, holds all of Sterling’s three-point shooting records with 311 career three-point baskets, 113 three-point baskets in a single season, and twice scored nine three-point baskets in a single game.

An NAIA Honorable Mention All-Amer-ican and All-KCAC First Team player, Stutzman is eighth on Sterling’s all-time career scoring list. Stutzman played on two NAIA Tournament qualifying teams and two KCAC Championship teams.


Baseball Team Breaks Regular Season Win RecordThe Sterling College Baseball Team had a record-breaking season this year, ending their regular season with the most wins in school history (40). Their record 40-12 also earned the title of Co-KCAC Regular Season Champions with Tabor College. The previous record was held by the 2003 team with 35 regular season wins.

After winning the regular season championship, Head Coach Adrian Dinkel said, “Our guys continue to grind and don’t quit. When you throw in some talent, good things will happen. Winning the regular season title was one of the goals we set when the year started. I’m proud of our guys for accomplishing that goal.”

The team continued to perform as they won the KCAC Conference tournament in three games, defeating Tabor twice and earning a bid in the opening round of the 2012 AVISTA-NAIA World Series. The Warriors began the tournament by defeating Lubbock Christian 9-8 and earned a second appearance, this time against Oklahoma City University. Oklahoma City, ranked third in the NAIA, fell to the Warriors 2-1 but came back to shut out the War-riors twice and end their record-breaking season. The Warriors final record was 45-14, and they were ranked number 20 in the Postseason NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll.

Dinkel said, “The guys did a good job in the tournament. We did well in the first two games of playing our style of baseball. By playing our style, we put ourselves in the championship game where we had to get beat twice [to be eliminated]. Unfortunately, we didn’t play the way we wanted. The guys did a great job all year finding ways to win games in tough situations.

“Now we move on to next year and build on the success we had this season. We return the majority of our starters and will add to that with the guys we bring in. We set a goal of get-ting to the World Series and fell a game short. Next year’s group will have it sites set.”


Letter from the DirectorI’m ‘on the road again!’ I’m heading your way or have recently visited your area. I do hope that you’ll make sure we have your correct contact information so you’ll be aware of when we are heading your direction. So far this spring, I’ve been to events in Moline, Ill., Omaha, Neb., and Phoenix, Ariz. I’ve also visited alumni in Oklahoma City and Dallas/Ft. Worth to plan events for the coming year. I would love to see you when I’m in town.

Why do I travel to events across the country? I do it for the frequent flier miles. No, of course I do it for the connections made by meeting and reconnecting with you in person and to discuss current College news with you. I travel to encourage and be encouraged, to share how you can best connect with our Alma Mater; and honestly, I do it because I love this part of my job. YOU are what makes my job amazing.

Alumni Notes

In the past several trips I have connected some of our alumni with our Career Services office to provide potential internships for our students. I have visited with our alumni who stop by the office on their own journeys and have connected high school coaches with Sterling College coaches for recruiting. As alumni drive across the country and stop by campus, I have connected them with students to break bread together in the renovated cafeteria.

My job is about connections. I want to find who I can best connect with whom for the glory of God and betterment of SC and our community. That community includes students, employees, alumni, parents and friends.

If you are not connected and want to be, please contact me. Don’t get me confused with a matchmaker; I’m not making those types of connections. However, if reconnecting with YOUR school, YOUR Alma Mater, the place where YOU were challenged by a mighty God is something that intrigues you, let’s talk so that we can get you connected.

And be sure to watch the Alumni Facebook page and SC Website to see where I’m heading next - I’d love to see you!

Blessings,

Amy R. Thompson ’96Director of Alumni and Parent [email protected]/SterlingCollegeAlumni

Impact the world through a Sterling Education

To make your gift to the Sterling Fund, please contact:Office of AdvancementSterling College125 W. CooperSterling, KS 67579www.sterling.edu(620) 278-4219

Through the Sterling Fund, you prepare students with a Christ-centered education to become creative and thoughtful leaders who understand a maturing Christian faith. From the arts to athletic training, behavioral science to business, and from math to ministry —our students are able to discern and follow God’s calling for their lives and transform their interests into tools for stewardship. When you give to the Sterling Fund, you enable us to continue to strengthen our students’ desire to practice servant leadership and seek wholeness in a broken world.

EMPLOYEEVern Barnes, husband of former director of financial aid, Kay Barnes, passed away Feb. 13, 2012.

1930sHarold McCreight ’39 married Margaret Haworth this past February in Wichita, Kan.

1960s

Rev. Genevieve (Metz) Dox ’63 lives in New York State with her husband, William. Genevieve was installed as pastor of the First Congregational Church of Antwerp, United Church of Christ on Sept. 25, 2011.

Don Reed ’68 has resigned after 38 years of service to Sterling College. He and wife, Linda (Rodman) ’69, are

remaining in Sterling, Kan., where Don will work from home for the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

1970sMary Ann (Hockersmith) Berry ’72 is an elementary library assistant in Texas. She is enjoying her surroundings of children and books.

Carol (Sisson) Regehr ’77 of Manhattan, Kan., is currently working as an instructor and course developer for Sterling College Online.

Don Gifford ’78 of Topeka, Kan., was inducted into the Washington Rural High School Hall of Fame this winter. He is currently continuing his passion for life-long learning by working with the Kansas Department of Education.

1980sThe husband of Roselyn (Walth) Wolff ’80 passed away on Sept. 2, 2011. She is currently living in Tulsa, Okla.

Rick Tuxhorn ’81 of Inman, Kan., is the new vice president of finance at McPherson College in McPherson, Kan.

Von fs’83 and Jane (Russell) fs’83 Graffin are still in Bowling Green, Ohio,

where Von is the head men’s basketball coach at Bowling Green High School.

Lori Sisk ’89 of Wichita, Kan., is working as an RN Recruiter for ITT Tech.

1990sDr. Brian Nuest ’90 of Nickerson, Kan., is teaching psychology at Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kan.

Glenda Turner ’94 of Sterling, Kan., started a new job as a family support worker for USD 308 Head Start in Hutchinson, Kan., last July.

Michelle (Naiman) ’95 and Doug Simpson were married Sept. 10, 2011, and are living in Moore, Okla.

Steve ’96 and Tanisha Ekerberg of Chichester, NH, announce the birth of James Antonio.

FALL 2011 | 19Find out more at online.sterling.edu

CLASS NOTES


Jill (Bleam) Lundgren ’79 near Black Canyon in Colorado in her “McCreery...since 1957” sweatshirt

Where’s the Warrior?

If you would like to be featured in “Where’s the Warrior?” send us a picture of yourself wearing a Sterling College article of clothing in front of a well known landmark. Be sure to include the location and name of all individuals in the picture.

Mail pictures to Sterling College Alumni Relations Office, 125 W. Cooper, Sterling, KS 67579 or email (preferred) to [email protected].


Alumni Notes

Juli (Moore) Grote ’95, of Aurora, Ill., graduated from the paralegal studies program at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Ill., in May 2012.

Jacob Mikow fs’96 is a lawyer with the Social Security Administration in San Francisco, Calif.

Matt ’96 and Jessica (Fahrenholtz) ’96 Roberts of Purcellville, Va., announce the birth of Hosanna Eve on March 19, 2012. She was welcomed home by Karis 5, Lucas 4, and Liam 2.

Ben Glynn ’97 has recently moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a job transfer with Multicolor Corporation.

Chuck ’97 and Melanie (Lightner) ’99 Haspels of Halstead, Kan., announce the birth of David William on Jan. 9, 2012. David was welcomed home by big brother, Johnathan, 2.

Rev. Stacy Martin ’97 of Baltimore, Md., is vice president of mission advancement for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS).

Dan Morris ’98 of Kansas City, Mo., is an attorney with the international law firm DNR Denton.

Rev. Rocky Supinger ’98 of Pomona, Calif., is the new moderator of San Gabriel Presbytery. His wife, Dr. Meredith Clayton ’98 is a pediatrician. Their daughter, Laura, turned 4 in May 2012.

Karen (McClenahan) fs’99 and Jeffrey Case announce the birth of Caleb James on Feb. 10, 2011.

Edward and Melaney (McDaniel) ’99 Loar of Dallas, Texas, announce the Sept. 5, 2011 birth of triplets, James, Liam, and Collins.

2000sMatt ’00 and Tricia Jaeger of Minneola, Kan., announce the birth of their first baby girl, Logan Paige, on Apr. 11, 2012.

Jeremy and Stacie (Kruse) ’00 Lewis of Sterling, Kan., announce the birth of Emma Louise on Apr. 11, 2012. Emma was welcomed home by siblings Jacob and Kaitlin.

Spring (Magsam) Thummel ’00 started her own law practice, Thummel Law Firm, PLLC, in Waco, Texas, in April 2011. Her emphasis is on family law issues.

Josh and Sarah (Deterich) ’01 Burton welcomed Miridian Claire into their family on Feb. 12, 2012. Miri has a big sister, Dalya, age 2. The Burtons live in Raleigh, N.C.

Jodi Lightner ’01 received a $1,000 Artist Grant last September from the Wichita (Kan.) Arts Council to complete her multi-media project in Vermont.

Erica (Olinger) ’03 and Justin Brown of Wichita, Kan., welcomed their second child, Susan Elizabeth, on July 30, 2011. She was welcomed home by sister,

Miriam Joy, 3. Erica also just received her Doctor of Physical Therapy this spring.

Heather (Beard) ’03 and Danny ’04 Davignon of Dallas, Texas, announce the birth of Parker Andrew on Jan. 17. Heather says he looks ‘just like Danny!’

Merri (Reese) Haskins ’03 of Castle Rock, Colo., married Robert Haskins in 2004. Merri keeps active with the Thornton Community Chorus, taekwondo and the Broomfield Choral Festival among other things.

Kelley Lippincott-Chura ’03 and her husband, Jamie, own Jamie and Kelley Photography, specializing in headshots, in Studio City, Calif.

Michelle Kuhn ’03 is the art instructor and athletic director at Satanta Junior and Senior High School in Satanta, Kan.

Amanda (Hoover) ’03 and Jeremy fs’04 Long of Larkspur, Colo., announce the birth of John Michael on Feb. 23, 2012.

John Tucker ’03 married Laura Wagner on Nov. 13, 2011. The couple resides in Wichita, Kan.

Dustin ’04 and Lori Butler of Athens, Ga., announce the birth of Caden Brian on Nov. 1, 2011.

Stacy (Zerr) ’04 and James Finney were married Feb. 25, 2012. They reside in Beloit, Kan.

Jenny Schechter ’04 owns The Tea Parlor in Liberty Township, Ohio. Visit their website at www.theteaparlor.net.

Kate Wise ’04 of Salina, Kan., is associate librarian at Kansas Wesleyan University. She was recently honored with the 2012 Kansas Library Association Presidential Award for New Professionals.

Matt ’05 and Elizabeth (Cheney) ’05 Ziegler announce the birth of Leo Vincent on Jan. 24, 2012. The family resides in Stafford, Kan.

Rachel Dunham ’08 took a year off of medical school this past year to learn about medicine and community development in Nepal. She will soon return to Beer Sheva, Israel, for her final year of medical school.

Gabe Eliserio ’08 with his wife, Dawn, and daughter, Grace, moved to Sioux Center, Iowa, where he is the new defensive coordinator at Dordt College.

JoAnna (Hockersmith) Trezise ’08 is the new activities director at the Sterling Presbyterian Manor in Sterling, Kan.

Jean Bosch ’09 is working at Lampost Theatre Co. in Cedar Falls, Iowa. www.lampost.com

Joel Orr ’09 is working with Urban Promise in Wilmington, Del.

2010sAshley (Perrett) ’10 and Armando Mercado announced the birth of Armando Isaiah on March 22, 2012. He will be called Isaiah, as to not confuse him with his daddy. The family resides in Hutchinson, Kan.

David Roe ’10 was named the new corporate sales manager for the Ramada Hotel and Conference Center in Hutchinson, Kan.

Kyla (Renfro) ’11 married Brice Knapp on Mar. 10, 2012. The couple resides in Garden City, Kan.

Godfrey Miheso ’11 is living in Parkville, Mo., and works for Compassion International as a speaker telling his story about being a formerly sponsored child.

Addie Swihart ’11 led a Sterling College mission team to Tanzania in May 2012. She is currently serving on campus in her second year as the Resident Director of McCreery Hall.

April Burns ’12 of Great Bend, Kan. is teaching Algebra 1 to the ninth graders at Great Bend High School. Hannah Herrington ’12 is teaching third grade at Maize South Elementary School in Maize, Kan. Nathan West ’12 is attending Kanakuk Institute in Branson, Mo. www.kanakukinstitute.com


Alumni and parents of current students gathered in Moline, Ill., for the semi-annual Mississippi Valley Alumni Chapter meeting on Friday April 13, 2012.

Front row: Linda (Gilmore) Tank ’76 and Keith Asmus ’71; Back row: Rick Wright ’65, Lee Tank, Merna (Vincent) Gilmore fs’43, Ralph Gilmore fs’43, Rev. Dawn Swartz ’81, Deb and Jack Brintnall, and Carol Asmus.

Vernon Groth ’34 and Susan Sankey, former director of annual giving, celebrate Vernon’s 100th birthday in Lyons, Kan. Vernon turned 100 on April 30, 2012.

The Sterling College eNewsletter is emailed on the first Monday of each month. The newsletter supplements the semi-annual Sterling Magazine with feature articles, campus updates, upcoming events and other general information.

If you would like to receive the eNewsletter, please send your current email address to [email protected] so you can receive next month’s edition.

eNewsletter Sign-up

Alumni Notes


Ruth (Young) Trice ’29 of Lees Summitt, Mo., passed away Jan. 29 after a life of service in the church with her husband of over 73 years, Rev. Eugene Trice, who survives her.

Elaine (Creer) Cunningham ’48 of Hobart, Ind., passed away Jan. 27, 2012.

Harold L. Bowman ’51 of Winchester, Va., passed away at his home on Jan. 3, 2012. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Hulda (Parker) fs’53.

Robert Cunningham ’51 of Tulsa, Okla., passed away Dec. 21, 2011. His survivors include his wife, Marjorie (Tedford) ’52; brother, Jim ’56; sister, Margaret Mitchell ’52; daughters Lynette Hardy ’76 and Louise Magee ’77; and granddaughter Caitlin Magee ’12.

Joe McFarland ’51 of Topeka, Kan., passed away Jan. 27, 2012. His survivors include his wife, Roberta (Dill) McFarland ’51; brother, Rev. Robert fs’55; daughter, Kathryn Gardner fs’78; and granddaughters, Rachel Gardner ’12 and Hannah Gardner ’15.

Rev. Charles M. Fullinwider ’53 of Roswell, N.M., passed away April 6, 2012. Among his survivors is his nephew, David Fullinwider ’74.

Jarrell O’Kelley ’53 of Kettering, Ohio, passed away Nov. 15, 2011. He is survived by his wife, Doramae (Neaville) O’Kelley ’53.

Jean (Creswell) Spotts ’55 of Cortez, Colo., passed away on Feb. 11, 2012. Among her survivors are husband, Dr. Al Spotts, Sr. H61; daughter, Ann Haspels ’67; sons Alfred Jr., ’67, Andy ’68, and Joe ’76; and niece Mary Trotter ’69.

Mary (McCreight) Means ’59 of Davenport, Iowa, passed

away Jan. 21, 2012. Mary is survived by her husband, Louis ’58; and brothers, John ’62 and James fs’65 McCreight.

Marietta (McCullough) Vandersall ’61 of Orange City, Iowa, passed away Oct. 8, 2011. Among her survivors is her husband, Stan ’61.

Wayne Neely fs’62 of Arvada, Colo., passed away June 17 at the age of 70. He leaves behind his wife, Bonnie, two sons and four grandchildren.

Doug Price ’68 of Weeki Wachee, Fla., passed away Jan. 19, 2012.

Martha (McReynolds) Horton fs’69 of Plevna, Kan., passed away October 29, 2011.

Deanna (Baker) Feaver ’74 of Portland, Ore., passed away Nov. 1, 2010. After graduating from SC she moved to California where she spent years working with troubled youth. She also spent her time in ministry with her husband, Tim, with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Cameroon and then in the U.S. Among her survivors are brother, Robert Behnke ’73, and sister, Betty Behnke fs’71.

Lyman McGregor ’74 of North Miami, Fla., passed away on April 4, 2012.

David Rowan ’94 of Decatur, Ill., passed away Feb. 14, 2012. His wife and daughters survive.

Jeanie (Ryan) Weve ’94 of Pretty Prairie, Kan., passed away after a zip-line accident on Nov. 6, 2011. Her husband and three children survive.

Brooke Minor ’11 of New Orleans, La., passed away Jan. 16, 2012.

Our thoughts and prayers go to the families when we receive word of the passing of our alumni. For the past several years a special memorial presentation has been produced that is shown at the Alumni Banquet during Homecoming. This presentation lists and shows pictures of SC alumni who have passed away the previous year. Please keep the Office of Alumni Relations informed so that we may pay tribute each year. If you have the opportunity to send in a recent photo of your loved one for this presentation it will be greatly appreciated.

Sterling College has been named to receive memorials of alumni a number of times through the years. If you wish to make a gift in memory of any of these members of the SC family, send your check to Sterling College and note the name of the person in the memo line.

Following is a memorial listing of alumni who have passed away and been recently brought to the attention of the Office of Alumni Relations.

In Memoriam


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KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON, WHAT HAS GONE ON, WHAT WILL GO ON BY FOLLOWING STERLING COLLEGE’S SOCIAL NETWORKS

On November 1, 1887 Sterling College officially opened its doors. One hundred and twenty-five years later, we are celebrating this momentous anniversary with a variety of activities and want you to join! To stay connected to all the events,

visit www.sterling.edu/125

Sterling College Theatre alumni have the opportunity to celebrate the legacy of professors Gordon and Diane DeFranco-Kling at this year’s Homecoming. Sunday October 21 at 2 p.m. there will be a variety show honoring the Klings.

If you are interested in participating with a song or memory of no more than 4 minutes in length, please contact the Alumni Office at 620.278.4228 or [email protected].

The show will run approximately 2 hours only with those who have notified the Alumni Office in advance to be included in the program. Due to time limits, not all acts may be selected. If alumni are unable to attend there are still ways to be involved. Please send video clips of no more than 4 minutes or a memory and/or congratulatory note on an 8 ½ x 11 paper to be presented to the Klings. There will be a reception following the performance.

Lights up on Center Stage

Alumni gathered at the home of former trustee Paul Laughlin outside Portland, Ore. on June 23 to hear a College update from Dr. Gregory Kerr, vice president of academic affairs; Dr. Marv Dewey, vice president of institutional advancement; and Amy Thompson ’96, director of alumni and parent relations. Tammia Bartlett fs05 and Tom Brannan ’58 each won a Sterling College desk clock.

BACK – Dr. Gregory Kerr, Dr. Marvin Dewey, Tom Brannan ’58, Amy Thompson ’96, Cameron Mierau, Ann and Ken fs’56 Howe, Bob Thompson ’45, Susan Kupish, Jim Sweeney ’60, and Paul LaughlinFRONT – Tammia Bartlett fs’05, Jill (Teghtmeyer) Jespersen ’77, Linda (McCrory) Mierau ’78, and Barbara (Dietz) Thompson ’47.

125 W. Cooper, Sterling, KS 67579www.sterling.edu (800) 346-1017

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PAIDPermit No. 2Sterling, KS

Carl Orr attended Sterling College for three years in the 1940s. After seminary, Carl and his wife Dorey served Presbyterian churches for 40 years in Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

Having served in pastoral ministry, Carl and Dorey know how important the chaplain’s role is at Sterling College. When they had the opportunity to participate in a matching gift for the Chaplain’s Endowment Fund, they said, “Yes, we will!” As an endowment, their future estate gift (along with others) will provide the salary for Sterling College’s chaplain in perpetuity, thereby benefitting the spiritual formation of students in the future. If you are interested in participating in the Chaplain’s Endowment Fund or want to explore other planned giving opportunities, please contact Tom Borrego, director of planned giving at 620.278.4247 or email [email protected].

LegacyA Great Way to Leave a

Documents

Spring/Summer 2012 Sterling Magazine