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Who is my neighbor? Profiles of real life good Samaritans.
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THE EXPERIENCEThe magazine of Warner Pacific College Spring 2007
Who is my neighbor? Profiles of real life good Samaritans - Page 8
Who is my neighbor? Editor / Photographer / DesignerScott A. Thompson
ContributorsJay A. Barber ‘64Andy Magel ‘05
Troy HutchinsonAmanda Morrissey
PresidentJay A. Barber, Jr. ‘64
Vice President for InstitutionalAdvancement
Dr. Andrea [email protected]
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Katy [email protected]
The Experience is produced three times a year by Warner Pacific College for its alumni and constituents.
Opinions expressed in “The Experi-ence” are those of invididual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or of official col-lege policies.
Please send comments or story sugges-tions to [email protected] or write to Editor, The Experience, Warner Pacific College, 2219 SE 68th Ave., Portland, OR, 97215.
Warner Pacific is an urban, Christ-centered liberal arts college dedicated to providing students from diverse backgrounds an education that pre-pares them for the spiritual, moral, social, vocational, and technological challenges of the 21st Century. WPC is affiliated with the Church of God, Anderson, Ind.
Warner Pacific College2219 SE 68th AvePortland, OR 97215503-517-1000www.warnerpacific.edu
©2007 Warner Pacific CollegeAll rights reserved.
View The Experience online at www.warnerpacific.edu.
THE EXPERIENCE
FROM THE PRESIDENT
It is a question we often ask at Warner Pacific College, particularly given our location in the heart of urban Portland. Jesus answered the question with the parable of the Good Samaritan, and our students earnestly look for ways to live out this parable in this city, and beyond.
Two years ago, our students joined with others from fellow Christian colleges across the nation to form a chapter of “Acting on AIDS,” a movement that started
when college students asked themselves how they should be sharing the love of Jesus Christ with the men, women and children who have been infected with this disease.
Another outreach students have initiated emerged from their concern for the many homeless who live on the streets of Portland. During the school year – even during the coldest winter months – our students head downtown each week to serve hot chocolate to those waiting in line to gain entrance to a shelter for the night. The hot drink is an oppor-tunity to share conversation and relationship with those who need a loving and caring touch.
Each spring break, van loads of our students drive to Vicente Guererro, Mexico, where they share the love of Jesus Christ by
building homes for villagers, working in an orphanage, handing out food to migrant labor-ers, living in the humble homes of villagers, and ministering to children.
Last year, a different group of students trav-eled to San Francisco, Calif. during spring break to link up with a Church of God con-gregation there that is carrying out a daily ministry to those on the streets. This year, our entire men’s basketball team will take part in this ministry .
Week in and week out, our students, faculty and staff serve in anonymous settings, calling on the sick, ministering in prisons, reaching out to the elderly, providing respite to single parents, gathering to pray for those who are in need. They are answering the question, “Who is my neighbor” without hesitation. My neighbor is the need, the opportunity for service, the challenge that the Lord has placed before me.
Blessings,
Jay A. Barber, Jr. ‘64President
Jay A. Barber, Jr. ‘64
My neighbor is the need, the opportunity for service, the challenge that the Lord has placed before me.
Cover photo by Scott A. Thompson
The Experience2
Spring 2007
THE EXPERIENCE
DEPARTMENTS 2 From the President
4 Campus News
14 Class Notes
15 En Memoriam
INSIDE
W a r n e r P a c i f i c C o l l e g e
4
5
6
7
8
Two Hot to HandleJunior guards Scott O’Gallagher ‘08 and Josh Jackson ‘08 pace the men’s basketball team toward another national tournament appearance.
More roads less traveledTeacher Education professor Steve Arndt publishes his third Oregon travel book.
Are you my daddy?Biology research project investigates the mating habits of American kestrels.
A work of art and friendshipWPC music professor Dr. Dennis Plies and composer / saxophonist Dr. Howie Whitaker collaborate on a self-produced jazz CD.
Cover Story: Who is my neighbor?In this issue, we profile real life good Samaritans who are living out this question in their communities – and beyond.
Medical missionary Joe Miller ‘07 Education visionary Peter Carlos Okantey ‘06 Community connectors Terry Medina ‘86 & Jennifer (LaTourette) Richards ‘06 Prison minister Nike Greene ‘07 Iraq redeveloper 1st Lt. Tony Fazio ‘99 Elementary school teacher Betty Rickard ‘89 Hotel Ministries founder Debi Wakeling ‘01
4
6
8
A DAY FOR REMINISCING Good friends Phyllis (Gary)
Allen ‘59 (left) and Zetta (Patterson) Burton ‘67
met up at the Pacific Bible College luncheon during
Homecoming on January 26. Allen is a retired
classroom assistant who traveled from Marysville,
Wash. for the event, and Burton is a semi-
retired kindergarten and elementary school teacher
who resides in Portland. Read more Homecoming
news and class notes beginning on page 14.
Spring 2007 �
CAMPUS NEWS
O’Gallagher is the top scorer in the Cascade Conference and ranks eighth in the nation, at 23.3 points per game. He shoots nearly 90% from the free throw line (best in the nation) and set a new school record this season by making 39 consecutive free throws.
Jackson, a three-year starter, is sec-ond on the team in scoring and fourth in conference at 18.5 points per game. He also leads the Knights in steals with fifty so far.
“I believe Josh is the premiere de-fensive player in our conference,” said Valentine.” We use him on the best pe-rimeter players for the opposing team.”
When asked about their 1000-point milestone, Jackson said, “It’s a great accomplishment but it all comes back to teamwork. Without others, it’s not easy to score.”
Two hot to handle
Michael takes leave to write curricu-lum for Chinese counselors.
Phyllis Michael, Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Stud-ies, is continuing to present a course of study in Marriage and Family Therapy to students in Shinyang, China. She and her husband – George Fox University coun-seling professor Rand Michael – are finish-ing up two years of the program, which they are funding through grants. Michael is taking a leave of ab-sence during the spring 2007 semester to complete the curriculum.
Carver to present paper on Book of Isaiah at Austrian conference.
A paper written by Dr. Steve Carver, Chapman Chair of Biblical Studies, entitled “Messianic Trajectories and the Purified Remnant in the Book of Isaiah,” has been accepted for presentation at the International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, in Vienna, Austria, in July.
(L to R) Justin Ellingson ‘06 and his parents Cindy ‘06 and Scott Ellingson ‘06 were three of the 61 graduates who received diplomas at Mid-Year Commencement on December 16, 2006, at New Hope Church, in Portland. Justin and Scott were among the first graduates of the Associate of Arts in Organizational Dynamics Program offered through WPC’s Adult Degree Program. (Scott is continuing on to earn his bachelor’s in Business). Cindy earned her bachelor’s in Human Development.
MID-YEAR GRADUATION - FAMILY STYLE
Michael
- Continued on pg. 5
Scott A. Thompson
Scott A. Thompson
Warner Pacific’s men’s basket-ball team (24-5 is in position to
clinch a second consecutive birth to the NAIA Div. II Tour-nament, March 7-13, in Point
Lookout, Mo. And leading the charge has been the sensational duo of junior guards Josh Jackson ‘08 and Scott O’Gallagher ‘08, both of whom surpassed 1,000 career points this season.
“The combination of Scott and Josh at the guard spots has given us one of the best guard tandems in the nation at our level,” said the Knights’ head coach Bart Valentine ’75. “With Scott’s ability to penetrate and Josh’s deadly outside shooting, it’s been dif-ficult for any team to stop them.”
At press time, the #4-ranked Knights had concluded conference play tied with #6-ranked Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) at
15-3, but OIT earned the conference’s first automatic national tournament bid due to a tie-breaker. WPC
can still earn a trip to the NAIA tournament outright
by winning the conference tournament. Failing that, the team will likely earn an at-
large bid because of its national ranking.
“There are 10 or 12 teams who are ca-pable of winning it all and we feel we are one of those,” said Valentine.
Junior guards Scott O’Gallagher ‘08 and Josh Jackson ‘08 each amass over 1000 career points while pacing the Knights to a conference co-championship and a likely national tournament bid.
by Troy Hutchinson
The Experience4
More roads less traveledProfessor Steve Arndt publishes third Oregon travel book,
this time covering state’s north-central region.
Education professor Steve Arndt has published the third install-ment of his “Oregon: Roads
Less Traveled” series (Wallowa, Ore., Bearcreek Press, 2006), this time covering driving routes in north-cen-tral Oregon, from The Dalles south to Bend, and from Mt. Hood east to Condon. Arndt’s series began in 2004 and offers detailed driving maps and local history for lesser-known sec-tions of Oregon.
“We get to meet a lot of folks,” Arndt said. “Peo-ple in this state are just wonderful.”
Arndt’s previous two installments covered routes in Northwestern and Southwestern Or-egon. The series will eventually in-clude six books in all.
“It takes me about a year, through travels and writing, to complete a book,” said Arndt, who estimates he and his wife, Diane, have driven as many as 8,000 miles gathering research for the book series.
Education Professor Steve Arndt visited Fossel, Ore., among other small towns, while researching the third book in his Oregon travel series. (Photo by Diane Arndt).
Highlights of the latest book include a stop to the tiny towns of Fossil, home to the only public fossil field in the United States, and Condon, once home to two eventual Nobel Peace Prize win-ners, Dr. William Parry Murphy (1934,
Medicine) and Dr. L i n u s P a u l i n g (1954, Chemistry, and 1962, Peace).
Arndt’s efforts earned him an in-vitation from Ore-gon Governor Ted Kulongowski’s of-fice to attend a se-lect book signing at the state capitol last December. Other Oregon authors in attendance includ-ed former Oregon Governor Barbara Roberts, KATU television reporter Grant McComie, and KEX 1190 ra-dio host Paul Lin-nman.
“I’m really promoting tourism in the state [and] they recognized that,” said Arndt, whose next book will explore the Northeast corner of Oregon.
For more information on Arndt’s travel series, visit www.bearcreekpress.com.
ADP master’s program offers initial discounts to alumni, students.To promote its new Master of Science in Management and Organizational Leadership degree, the Adult Degree Program is waiving the program ap-plication fee and the first course tuition for all WPC Alumni and current WPC students who start the program by June 2007. Contact ADP at 503-517-1550 or at www.warnerpacific.edu for info.
WPC receives second foundation grant for student mentoring.Warner Pacific has received a $5000 grant from the Foundation for Independent Higher Education in support of student mentoring The grant is a partial match to a $12,000 student mentoring grant from the Educational Credit Management Cor-poration the College received last fall.
Warner Pacific faculty invite alumni and friends on Scandinavian trip.Alumni and friends of Warner Pacific can enjoy a 10-day trip to Sweden, Norway, and Denmark hosted by WPC faculty Dr. Lou Foltz and Dr. Cole Dawson, May 18 – 27, 2007. The trip costs $3,900, but might drop depending upon group size. Contact Dawson or Foltz at 503-517-1000 or at [email protected] and [email protected].
Cellar Theatre troupe presents “The Runner Stumbles,” March 9-18.Warner Pacific’s Cellar Theatre pres-ents Milan Stitt’s drama “The Runner Stumbles” March 9, 10, 11, 16, and 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the Cellar Theatre, with a 3 p.m. matinee on March 18. Based on true events, the play concerns a young priest on trial for the murder of a nun sent to help him run a parochial school in a small, Michigan lumber town. Pur-chase advanced tickets at 503-517-1207.
WPC logo wins gold.The Indiana-based firm Richard Harrison Bailey/The Agency has won a golden Addy Award from the Ameri-can Advertising Federation for its design of WPC’s new logo. The award came in local competition.
Continued from pg. 4
Fall athletes earn top honors for stellar seasonsMichelle Allen ‘07 received double honors for a 2006 women’s volleyball season that saw her lead the Cascade Conference in kills with 4.76 per game. She was named to the NAIA Region
1 All-Region team and was First Team All-Cascade Conference.
Ten goals and three assists earned forward Chris Price ‘09 First Team All-Cascade Conference and NAIA honorable mention honors for men’s soccer.
Finally, runner Tameka Smith ‘09 be-came an All-American when she finished 17th at the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships, last December.
Allen
Price
Scott A. Thomps0n
Spring 2007 5
CAMPUS NEWS
Are you myDaddy?
Biology research project investigates the mating habits of American kestrels.
WPC Biology professor Dr. Ted Whitehead ‘88 (top) and Biology students Eric Alston ‘08 and Tameka Smith ‘09 (above) studied blood samples taken from adult American kestrels and their chicks in order to see if the males were in fact the genetic fathers of the offspring, or merely surrogates.
According to Biology professor Dr. Ted Whitehead ‘88, there’s a dirty little secret about birds. “People have this preconceived
notion that birds are monogamous and that mommy and daddy raise their chicks together like one happy family,” said Whitehead. “The more we study birds, the more we see that’s not the case.”
Better genes or help at home? For three years, Whitehead and fellow Biology professor Dr. Brad Tripp have been investigating evidence of monogamy among mating pairs of American Kestrels, the smallest falcons in North America.
Whitehead and Tripp are looking to see if kestrels’ monogamy is genetic or social. If it’s genetic, the two adults will have no other partners during a mating season. If it’s social, the female will pair up with one male to help her with the nest, but then sneak off to have trysts with other males in order to find superior genetic material for her offspring.
Such behavior is not without risk. If the nest mate discovers the infidelity, he will likely abandon the nest, guaranteeing the demise of the chicks.
Better genes or dependable help back
home? What’s a mother to do when the propagation of the species is at stake?
“It has to do with the genetic conti-nuity of the species and mate selection,” said Tripp. “The big question is have [kestrels] been forced down this mo-nogamy road for this reason.”
Little veinsIn 2003, Tripp and Whitehead - with
the help of student and faculty volun-teers - built fourteen nest boxes that they later hung inside the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, near Ridgefield, Wash. They found no live birds in 2004, but gathered data from four nests, three adults, and 19 chicks in 2005. Last spring, they found another three active nests. As-sisted by Biology major Eric Alston ‘08, the professors took tiny blood samples from six adults and six chicks in all. “They have little veins, which always makes blood draws interesting,” White-head said. “And they have sharp talons and beaks that they like to use to reach out and grab you.” DNA doesn’t lie
Back on campus, Alston and classmate Tameka Smith ’09 purified the blood samples, extracted and copied regions of DNA using PCR (polymerase chain reac-tion) techniques, and then ran samples through electrophoresis gels in order to analyze the genetic coding. “I’d done some gel work in high school and in Biology class but nothing of this technical level,” said Smith, who is from The Dalles, Ore. The verdict? Three faithful couples. “All three families were genetically re-lated,” said Alston, a native of Medford, Ore. “Since they appear to be genetically
monogamous, there [seems to be] no ad-vantage to cheating…But we need to get more samples to have any real definitive results.”
“People have this preconceived notion that birds are monogamous…The more we study birds, the more we see that’s not the case.”Biology professor Dr. Ted Whitehead ‘88, who is working on a study investigating monogamy among mating pairs of American kestrels. Scott A. Thom
psonPhoto courtesy of D
r. Brad Tripp
The Experience6
It took them 40 years to get around to it, but WPC Music professor Dr. Dennis Plies and longtime pal Dr. Howie Whitaker, a music professor
at Wheaton College, finally recorded a jazz album together. The result of their collaboration was last year’s independent release “Minor Inconvenience,” which features Plies on vibes, Whitaker on saxophone, and a rhythm section of local musicians performing 15 original compo-sitions, all but one by Whitaker.
“It’s essentially a live recording,” said Plies. “We just set up in a circle. It was a ‘go with the flow’ experience.”
Plies and Whitaker first met in the early 1960s at Biola University, in Los Angeles, where Plies was a music student and Whitaker was a young faculty member. The two enjoyed going out to hear live jazz in clubs throughout L.A., where they heard such legends as Oscar Petersen, Cannonball Adderly, and Bill Evans.
After Biola, they moved on to build their respective fami-
lies and careers, but kept in contact. Fi-
nally, three years ago, Plies pro-posed the idea
of recording a jazz album of
original compo-sitions together.
“It just came o u t o f m y mouth,” Plies said. “‘Howie,
you and I need to do an album together before we get too old.”
Last spring, Whitaker, who is better known for composing classical music, used a sabbatical to finish the tunes and to brush up on his horn playing. Mean-while, Plies contacted local musicians Dave Captein on bass, Clay Giberson on piano, and Charlie Doggett on drums. Plies said he picked musicians he knew could handle the challenging arrange-ments with sensitivity.
“I wanted players who appreciated composition,” Plies said. “All of the musi-cians were composers, as it turned out.”
The quintet recorded over two days last June in an empty auditorium at Lewis and Clark College, in Portland. Whitaker was impressed by the way the group brought the compositions to life.
[Jazz] musicians do this all the time, but to a neophyte like me, it was astonishing how they caught the spirit of what I was trying to get at in my tunes,” said Whita-ker, who mixed the recordings in his home studio in Illinois.
Ironically, the CD’s title tune was a composition Whitaker wasn’t sure belonged on the recording. He wrote the tune in A-minor and 5/4 time, a difficult time signature for even the best of soloists.
“It’s in a minor key and it’s inconvenient [for soloists].” Plies said. “It’s a minor incon-
venience. I went nuts over it. I said, ‘Howie, that’s your lead tune.’”
WPC music professor Dr. Dennis Plies and composer / saxophon-ist Dr. Howie Whitaker collabo-rate on their self-produced jazz CD “A Minor Inconvenience.”
“Minor Inconvenience” is for sale in the WPC bookstore; directly from Dr. Dennis Plies at [email protected] or 503-517-1060; and online at www.cdbaby.com/cd/plieswhitaker.
A work of art and friendship
The friendship between WPC Music professor Dr. Dennis Plies (playing the marimba above) and composer Dr. Howie Whitaker (lower left) goes back 40 years. The pair recorded a jazz CD of original tunes last summer with a rhythm section of local players.
www.warnerpacific.edu
Warner Pacific has a new website!
For the latest campus news, course listings, alumni updates or concert schedules, visit us today.
Scott A. Thompson
Phot
o by
Bar
b Pl
ies
Spring 2007 7
COVER STORY
Education VisionaryRecent ADP grad Peter Carlos Okantey ‘06 wants students in his native Ghana to get better access to higher education.
Senior Joe Miller ’07 experienced the mystery, the beauty and the stark contrasts of India during a six-week medical mission trip
last summer. The Human Development and Family Studies major traveled to the northern city of Varinasi (also known as Banaras) as part of a 60-member team of college students sponsored by the California-based Medical Ambassadors International (MAI).
MAI’s mission is to im-prove the living standards of people in developing coun-tries through so-called “com-munity health evangelism.” Each week, the team divided into smaller groups and spent four days providing basic medical care and health edu-cation in villages in the coun-tryside before returning to the bustling pace of Varinasi for debriefing.
As one of only two team members not in medical school, Miller, 21, was assigned to health education. He says his studies in the social sciences at Warner Pacific, particularly cultural anthropology, taught
him to be alert and sensitive to the culture of the villagers.
“They wanted me to go in to look at the mindset of the villagers,” said Miller.
Miller worked in two remote villages overall, neither with running water nor electricity. In the first, he and a teammate dug an eight-foot-deep latrine, as well as a drainage pit where villagers could divert standing water that would otherwise at-tract malaria-infected mosquitoes.
At the second location, Miller met with village leadership in order to create a committee representing the entire village. With the help of a translator, Miller taught curriculum to the committee members re-garding basic sanitation, personal hygiene, and insect control so they could teach their fellow villagers.
“If one family gleaned one thing we taught them - such as wash your hands before you eat or desig-nate one spot for your la-trine - [and] if that family started to get less and less illness, everyone would see that,” said Miller. “The village would be radically changed.”
Although Miller may never have the opportunity to visit the villages again to
see the long-term benefits of his work, he is confident he made a difference.
“We taught these people something they can take with them,” Miller said. “We helped people live a little bit better. Maybe our work for God was humanitar-ian. That’s ok.”
IndianSummerJoe Miller ‘07 teaches villagers in remote India ways to stay a little healthier.
Miller
Recent Business Administration graduate Peter Carlos Okantey ‘07 hopes to spare young people in his native Ghana from the
same trials he had to overcome to achieve his dream of a college. As a student study-ing public administration at the Univer-sity of Ghana, in Accra, Okantey endured overcrowded classrooms and poor facili-ties. After marrying his American wife, Beth, and relocating to the Portland area in 2004, Okantey entered Warner Pacific’s Adult Degree Program and found an entirely different experience.
“Unlike Ghana, where I never had any personal interactions with my professors and received no assistance from them, professors at Warner Pacific College were available and provided guidance and leadership when I needed it,” said Okantey, who currently works as the Meals Coordinator for Loaves and Fishes, in Beaverton, Ore.
Inspired, in part, by his time at WPC, Okantey has created the Naa Ameley Palm Education (NAPE) Foundation as the first step of eventually purchasing land
and facilities in Ghana to build Naa A m e l e y Palm Uni-versity.
H e h a s started the Master’s of M a n a g e -ment and O r g a n i -z a t i o n a l Leadership at Warner Pacific, and plans to con-tinue on to
complete a doctorate. Eventually, he sees himself as serving as president of the new university
“Most importantly, I have a strong passion to return to Ghana to assist my country and feel strongly that education is the key to helping eradicate disease, poverty and corruption,” he said.
Okantey
Left photo courtesy of Joe Miller / Low
er right photo by Scott A. Thompson
Who is My Neighbor?
A lawyer once asked Jesus how he might inherit eternal life. “What is written in the Law?” Jesus asked. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your
soul and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself,” the lawyer said, reciting the law by rote.
“Good answer,” Jesus said. But the lawyer wasn’t finished. In an attempt to justify himself, the lawyer added, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus then told one of his most famous and challenging parables - the story of a lowly Samaritan who helps an injured stranger in the road whom even religious leaders have callously walked past. “Who is the good neigh-bor?” Jesus asked at the end of the story. “The one who showed mercy,” the lawyer said. “Now go and do likewise,” Jesus said (Luke 10: 25-�7).
Who is my neighbor? Perhaps it’s a question best answered with stories. In this issue we profile some real life good Samaritans who are living out this question in meaningful ways – in their communities, and beyond.
- Scott A. Thompson, editor
The Experience�
goal. Rather, Medina wants to recruit volunteers from local churches who see value in community outreach not neces-sarily of their own design.
“I think that in every church, there al-ways is a percentage [of people] that have a heart for evangelism and outreach in the community,” Medina said, “[But] so much of the finances and energies and things are going into their [church] community that they are not making that connection. If five or six churches could find a way
to partner with [RCI], then those people could be connecting with their church and their community and provide that avenue.”
Joining Medina on staff is Jennifer (LaTourette) Richards ’06, who operates RCI’s after-school program. A former Human Development and Family Stud-
Terry Medina ‘86 has never quite done ministry in a traditional way – and he prefers it that way. Medina is the executive director
of Restoration Community, Inc (RCI), a Christian-based family resource center located in the Brentwood-Darlington neighborhood in SE Portland.
The former WPC history major lik-ens RCI to a hallway with many doors representing partnerships with churches, social agencies, nonprofits, and schools, all intended to address real needs in the community.
“What we’re hoping to do is to remain a channel so that the church itself can stay connected to the community,” said Medina, who worked as a part-time minister, counselor, and church consultant in Montana and South Dakota prior to joining RCI in 2003. “Partnerships open up avenues and resources that you would never see or never know [otherwise].”
With a staff of four, RCI operates an after-school program for first through third graders from nearby Whitman El-ementary, and offers individual and fam-ily counseling, music lessons, vocational guidance, emergency food assistance, and weekly family nights for local children and their parents. In all, they reach over 130 children and their families.
It’s an eclectic mix of services. but get-ting bigger as an organization isn’t RCI’s
ies major, she began working at RCI as an intern in 2005. Four days a week, she offers homework tutoring and cooking classes for up to 60 Whitman students at RCI’s facility. She also oversees music lessons and team sports programs for up-per elementary and junior high students. Richard sees herself as part organizer, pastor, and teacher as she works to teach resilience in kids who face some signifi-cant family stresses.
“Resilience is the capacity to survive adversity and to still thrive, and there are a lot of different ways we try to promote that in kids,” Richards said. “I’m helping kids with their spiritual development.”
Medina considers RCI’s ministrial ap-proach as model for the future, as long as more denominations see value in es-tablishing community partnerships. He certainly has found his ministerial niche.
“[A former professor] once told me that there would be a day when everything would come together,” Medina said.
And so it has.
Restoring CommunityTerry Medina ‘86 and Jennifer (LaTourette) Richards ‘06 reach kids, families, and churches through Restoration Community, Inc.
“What we’re hoping to do is to remain a channel so that the church itself can stay connected to the community.”
Terry Medina ‘86Exec. Dir. of Restoration Community, Inc.
Jennifer (LaTourette) Richards ‘06 offers cooking classes to children in RCI’s kitchen.
Scott A. Thompson
Scott A. Thompson
Exec. Director Terry Medina ‘86 (center) hosts students in RCI’s after-school program.
Spring 2007 �
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?
A few years ago, someone invited senior Nike Greene ’07 to perform a dance dur-ing a worship service at the Columbia River Correctional
Facility, a minimum security prison in NE Portland. The experience changed her life, as Greene discovered her calling for prison ministry.
“I couldn’t believe how receptive [the inmates] were,” said Greene, 32. “I kept coming back. The chaplain approached me and said ‘We don’t have enough Afri-can-Americans coming in and ministering on a consistent basis. If you’re interested, let me know.’ I talked to my husband and I said I really want to do this.”
First Things FirstToday, Greene, along with her hus-
band, Herman, her two sisters and her mother operate the prison outreach First Things First Ministries. They hold two monthly church services at the Columbia River facility for men and the minimum / medium security Coffee Creek Correc-tional Facility for women in Wilsonville, Ore.
Greene serves as the lead volunteer for First Things First, and corrections staff look to her to make sure worship ser-vices run smoothly. The services, which are optional for inmates, feature praise
and worship, preaching, and prayer. Greene says the inmates are generally respectful, and in the six or so years she has been ministering, Greene has only had a few tense mo-ments.
“We don’t really talk a lot about do’s and don’ts, but the scripture speaks for itself,” Greene said. “We deal with a lot of issues [involved with] separating the “church” from a relationship with God.”
Broader understandingGreene transferred to
Warner Pacific in 2005 after completing an asso-ciate’s degree in Religion
at North Portland Bible College (NPBC), in Portland, Ore. She is a Religion and Christian Ministries major and a full-time mother to four children, aged 4 to 13. She makes it work by keeping to a tight schedule.
“I use a lot of time in between classes to study,” said Greene.
Greene grew up in the Church of God in Christ and says her studies at Warner Pacific have given her a much better un-derstanding of other Christian denomina-tions, as well as world religions.
“If you do not know the different backgrounds that are walking into your classroom or church service, then…you find yourself in a knot really quick,” Greene said.
On-the-job trainingAccording to Coffee Creek chaplain
Arnadene Welton Bean, the First Things First worship meetings are some of the best attended religious services at Coffee Creek. Bean describes Greene as an excel-lent role model for the female inmates.
“She doesn’t take any kind of guff from anybody,” said Bean. “I think it helps to see such a strong woman who is compas-sionate but also firm. And she is open and honest and she doesn’t hide her faults. It’s who she is.”
Greene made such a good impression at Coffee Creek that in 2005, Chaplain Bean successfully lobbied her superiors to hire Greene as her temporary replacement when she went on three-month’s medical leave. Greene coordinated volunteers, mentored inmates one-on-one, and also delivered difficult news, such as when a loved one on the outside had died.
“Those were the incidents that were very strong and intense, but it also gave an awesome opportunity for witness,” said Greene, who says she was free to speak of Christ if asked. “I loved it. I didn’t even call it work. To me it was like full-time ministry.”
Home for GoodGreene also serves as a community
chaplain in Multnomah County for a state-run program called “Home for Good,” which seeks to connect soon-
to-be-released inmates with faith-based communities in Oregon. Greene func-tions much like a caseworker, helping parolees transition back into civilian life, and educating churches regarding certain legal restrictions that might be part of an individual’s parole. Greene graduates this spring and is thinking about pursu-ing graduate work in religion at Warner Pacific or counseling elsewhere.
“I would love to be a chaplain,” Greene said.
Prison MinisterNike Greene ‘07 brings compassion and savvy as a community chaplain and prison volunteer.
“The chaplain approached me and said, ‘We don’t have enough African-Americans coming in and ministering on a consistent basis.’ I said I really want to do this.”
Nike Green ‘07,Co-founder of First Things First Prison Ministries
Scot
t A. T
hom
pson
The Experience10
It is a small neighborhood about 12 blocks long and five blocks wide, just a few miles away from Balad, Iraq. The main street is roughly paved, but
mud and trash are everywhere, and the street is teeming with kids. All in all, there is nothing remarkable about Al Zahrah. It has, however, managed to capture the attention of the U.S. forces at Forward Operating Base Paliwoda.
“The people in this neighborhood have been good to us here. We’d like to do something in return for them,” said 1st Lt. Tony Fazio ‘99, the project’s purchasing officer for Headquarters/Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regi-ment of the U.S. Army.
Fazio plans and executes redevelop-ment projects that are intended to help the people of Iraq and better their way of life. Fazio patrols with the 404th Civil Affairs team to gain a better understanding of what improvements have been completed and to determine what developments are still needed. Fazio’s current project includes building a sewage pump station, running sewage lines through the streets, installing rainwater culverts, and then paving sidewalks.
“This town has about 750 homes and is as ‘Third World’ as it gets,” Fazio said. “[There are] very few vehicles, mostly donkeys and carts, children running around in the sewage-filled streets and so on.”
Officer and a gentlemanFazio arrived in Iraq last October after
graduating in 2005 from Officer Candi-date School at Fort Benning, Ga. and artil-lery training at Fort Sill Okla. last May. Prior to enlisting in the Army, the former Business Administration major worked in marketing for Pamplin Media and later as a project manager for a Portland, Ore. construction company.
“I had joined wanting to be a helicop-ter pilot,” said Fazio, “but once you get accepted to OCS you don’t really have the choice to pick your branch. So I dis-covered halfway through basic training I would be an artillery officer. As an artil-lery officer, you can be moved around to various branches. I was made the Project Purchasing Officer for 3-8.”
The man with the moneyBecause he is in charge of paying
contractors, Fazio says he is “everyone’s favorite person” in Al Zahrah. With the mayor’s cooperation, Fazio has established several mandates to ensure the project will move forward with minimal disruptions. He intends to hire a local contractor who
actually lives in Al Zahrah because the contractor will have a vested interest in making sure the project gets done the right way.
Included in the proposal is a stipulation that locals must clean up garbage in the area before the project can get started, and that they must keep it clean once it is completed.
“I’m trying to change the mindset of the people. If they have to earn something, then maybe they will take pride in it and maintain it,” Fazio said.
Fazio is slated to return to the United States in October 2007, barring an exten-sion of his deployment. He’ll finish three years of active duty early next year. He says he may stay on active duty, or move to a National Guard unit and pursue avia-tion from there.
“I enjoy very much doing what I am doing here,” Fazio said. “I have been given the chance to work in a field I know some-thing about besides my Army branch. It has also given me some ideas about what I would like to pursue once I do finally get out all together.”
This article contains portions of a story written by Spc. Amanda Morrissey of the 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment in Iraq for the website Defending America.com and is used by permission. Additional information was included based upon e-mail conversations with 1st Lt. Fazio.
“The people in this neighborhood have beengood to us. We’d like to do something in return for them.”
1st Lt. Tony Fazio ‘99Projects purchasing officer for
Headquarters/Headquarters Company, �rd Battalion, �th Cavalry Regiment of the
U.S. Army referring to redevelopment projects in Al Zahrah, Iraq.
HelpingRebuildIraq
1st Lt. Tony Fazio ‘�� plans redevelopment projects in Iraq for the U.S Army.
Photo courtesy of Tony Fazio
Spring 2007 11
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?
Debi Wakeling ’01 crouches in the doorway of Gordon Hanna’s one-room apartment shuffling through crates of
food stacked on a hand truck. Hanna’s room at the Helen Swindells Building in downtown Portland is about the size of a walk-in closet – just large enough for his bed, a sink, a radio, and a television set.
“Do you want some tomato sauce, Gordon?” Wakeling asks, holding up two cans.
“I’ll take some beans, thank you,” re-plies Hanna, a 78-year-old Navy veteran from New York City who is receiving medical treatment at Portland’s Veterans Hospital.
Outreach to seniorsWakeling is the founder of Hotel Min-
istries, an outreach to seniors who live in Portland’s lower-rent downtown hotels. She started the ministry four years ago af-ter volunteering with the Portland Rescue Mission. She realized that while numer-ous programs helped the homeless and drug-addicted, none specifically focused on seniors living in downtown hotels.
Monday through Thursday, Wakeling works in the office of a Portland ortho-dontist. On Fridays, however, she packs her red Ford Escort with food, clothing, and bedding and drives from her home in Sellwood, Ore. to Helen Swindells – a four-story building located in Portland’s Old Town District – and makes door-to-door deliveries to seniors.
“Debi is a first-class lady,” says Hanna. “I have the highest regard for her. She’s a little saint.”
Reclusive livesRent at Helen Swindells ranges be-
tween $285 and $355 a month, and the majority of the 105 single occupancy rooms have less than 150 square feet of floor space. Many residents prefer to keep to themselves.
Door to DoorDebi Wakeling ‘01 founds Hotel Ministries to bring food, friend-ship, and faith to seniors living in low-rent hotels in Portland.
Betty Rickard ’89 believes she was born an educator. Now she’s a nationally certified one at that.
Rickard teaches third graders at Park Place Elementary School in Or-egon City, Ore. In 2005, she became certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, a feat fewer than 200 Oregon teachers can claim. Over a period of eight months, she prepared portfolios, teaching and writing samples, and passed computer-ized board exams. Rickard estimates the effort involved 350 hours of work on top of her regular 50-hour work weeks.
“It’s a very grueling and very rigor-ous way of self-examination,” Rickard said. “I wanted to do something that would challenge me to improve my teaching. After 16 years of teaching, you begin to wonder, ‘Am I doing what I need to be doing?’”
Rickard didn’t start teaching until 1989, when she was in her early 40s. She
first studied at Warner Pacific in the mid-1960s, but left to become a dental assistant. Twenty years later, Rickard was rethinking her career when the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster oc-curred in January 1986. Among the seven-member crew that perished was New Hampshire high school teacher Christa McAuliffe. Rickard decided the world needed more teachers with McAuliffe’s passion for education.
“It just crystallized in my head [that] there needs to be more teachers out there doing what she tried to do,” said Rickard.
Rickard spent three years earning her teaching license at WPC, and simultaneously added a certification in special education through the Uni-versity of Portland. She started out teaching special needs children at King Elementary in Oregon City, and since 1995, has taught either second or third graders at Park Place.
“My career has been full of sur-prises,” Rickard said.
Rickard is proud of her family’s connection with Warner Pacific. Her husband, Rob Rickard ‘70, is the purchasing officer for the Secretary of State’s Office in Salem, Ore. Second son Matthew Rickard ’97 is an accoun-tant, and her third son, Ben Rickard ‘05 teaches sixth graders at Redland Elementary in Oregon City.
“This is my bent,” Rickard said. “This is what God created me to be.”
A teacher’s teacherElementary school teacher Betty Rickard ‘89 adds national certification to an already impressive career.
Scot
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hom
pson
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Second grade teacher Betty Rickard ‘89 uses a puppet named “Mr. Hand” during story time in her class at Park Place Elementary School, in Oregon City, Ore.
The Experience12
“Most of these people have been home-less,” said Wakeling, who studied Human Development through WPC’s former Degree Completion Program. “There is a high percentage of drug and alcoholism and mental illness and poverty. A lot of them are frightened. When I first come to the door, they don’t want to let me in. Nobody else goes into their rooms dur-ing the week. So this is a huge step just to get in.”
Spiritual foodIn addition to making deliveries of
food and clothing, Wakeling hosts a Bible study in the hotel lobby twice a month and also coordinates a free dinner and jazz concert for all residents every other month in the hotel lobby.
“You never see [Debi] without a smile on her face and a kind word to say to people,” said resident James Gillinger. “We really appreciate her around here.”
Additional hotel addedWakeling’s home church, Riverwest
Church, in Lake Oswego, is her primary supporter, but she also receives dona-tions from other congregations. She also receives help from as many as 100 church volunteers for special events.
“Most [of the senior residents] don’t have family at all, so you become their family,” Wakeling said. “Of course our goal is to become a bridge to Christ, but they have so many needs that we try to meet.”
Up until last spring, Helen Swindells was the only downtown hotel in which Hotel Ministries had a presence. Then management at the Alder House Apart-ments, located near SW 13th and Alder, contacted Wakeling about her outreach. Wakeling knew someone from her church who would be perfect for the job. She re-cruited Warner Pacific adjunct professor Leslie Wuest, who teaches Social Work at the College. Wuest visits Alder House every other Friday.
“I was a counselor for a number of years in out-patient mental health and this op-portunity has given me a chance to see the other side of life for these folks,” Wuest said. “They are so appreciative. They are amazed that someone wants to come.”
Thus far, Wuest has befriended 16 seniors in the building, including 73-year-old Larry Anderson, who lost his job as a hotel doorman last year only to undergo heart surgery. He lived off of Social Security for five months while recuperating. He has since found work as
a security guard, but says he appreciates Wuest’s visits.
“It means a lot,“ said Anderson. “Things are starting to come around a bit, but I re-ally appreciate this.”
Ready to expandWakeling wants to continue to add
more hotels to the ministry. She has writ-ten a handbook to train new volunteers and hopes that individual churches will adopt a given hotel and provide the fund-ing and volunteers needed.
“This is a rarity because [residents] are used to people knocking on their doors and stealing from them,” Wakeling said. “Some are very frightened and they don’t have trust. Here is somebody that they can develop trust with.”
Hotel Ministries founder Debi Wakeling ‘01 offers food to Gordan Hanna during one of her weekly visits to Helen Swindells, a hotel in Portland’s Old Town District. (Below) WPC professor and volunteer Leslie Wuest visits with Alder House resident Larry Miller.
Scott A. Thompson
Scott A. Thompson
“[The residents] are used to people knocking on their doors and stealing from them…Here is somebody that they can develop trust with.”
Debi Wakeling ‘01Founder of Hotel Ministries
Spring 2007 1�
CLASS NOTES
Fresno faithful cheer on Knights
A devoted group of alumni and friends whooped it up in Fresno, Calif. on November 16, 2006, as they cheered the WPC men’s basketball team on to victory over host Fresno Pacific University, 7�-6�. Pictured left to right are (first row) Eleanor Newcomb, Barb (Herting) ‘73 and Steve Williams ‘74; (second row) Steve ‘86 and Jackie (Mouser) Scott ‘70, Felicia (Gilliam) ‘71 and Rod Capps ‘69;(third row) Michelle Matheny, Sandi (Culp) Matheny ‘70, and Shirley Keith ‘70; and (fourth row) Dana (Cantrell) ‘69 and Ron Kruse ‘69, and Ed Matheny ‘71.
After the game, the entire WPC team went into the stands to personally greet and thank the group for its enthusastic support.
“We were so impressed with the quality of character the basketball players displayed,” wrote Felicia Capps, in an email. “Coach Bart Valentine ‘76 thanked all of us for coming and said we gave them the boost they needed to win. He is first class.”
50’sRev. Richard Einerson ’57, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, has published his first book, entitled “Prayers of the People: Pastoral Prayers for Worship and Personal Devotion” (Bloomington, Ind., Author House Publishers, 2006). Rev. Einerson was the Coordinator of Chap-laincy Services at Mertcare Medical Center in Fargo, N.D. for seventeen years. He has been married to his wife Carolyn (Smoth-ers) ‘56 for over fifty years. They have three married daughters, and four grandchildren. They reside in Greeley, Colo. They can be reached at [email protected]. To learn more about Rev. Einerson’s book, visit www.richardeinerson.com.
Lewis ’59 and Barbara (Livingston) Hyslip ‘56 celebrated their 50th wedding anniver-sary with family and friends on December 30, 2006 at Hoodview Church of God, in Woodburn, Ore. They were married Dec. 29, 1956 at the Woodburn Church of God. Lewis & Barbara served pastorates in Cali-fornia, Colorado and Oregon, and Lewis also taught at Seattle Pacific University. They are now retired and live in Calgary, Alberta.
90’sSaxophonist Randall Hall ’91 has released his debut solo CD “Neither Proud Nor Ashamed” on the Innova label (660). The disc features experimental music for saxo-phone and electronics. For more informa-tion go to: www.randallhall.net.
Maria (Lanphear) Piedmont ’91 welcomed daughter Isabella Clementine on October 30, 2004. She joined brother Parker and sister Emilee.
Dennis Miller ‘99 and his wife Georgia are serving as missionary representatives with International Christian Ministries, which provides training for pastors in twelve Afri-can nations and in the Middle East. Dennis works to connect churches in the Northwest with the ministry of ICM and lead teams to Africa. Dennis most recently served as the Missions Pastor at Mt. Scott Church of God, in Portland.
Laura (Shrout) ‘99 and Jess Hutchison ‘99 welcomed the birth of fraternal twins Eze-kiel and Minnie, January 28, 2007, in Port-land. Ezekiel was 7 lbs., 4 oz, and Minnie was 7 lbs. 6 oz. They join big brother, Isaac (1). Proud grandparents include Rev. David ‘75 and Connie (Bruss) Shrout ‘77. Jess is an admissions counselor at Warner Pacific.
00’sErin (Mead) Hoyt ‘00 and her husband, Zakk, had their second baby, a girl, named Charlotte Louise. She was born on August
4th, 2006, and weighed 7lbs. and was 21 inches long.
Jonathan ‘02 and Lisa (Lewis) Brown ‘04 welcomed their first child, Emery Marie Brown, born October 30, 2006. She was 8 pounds and 1 ounce with a full head of dark brown hair. Grandparents include Jody (Carlson) Lewis ‘78 and Gary Lewis, and Delores and Emery Brown. Great-Grand-parents include Ardeth Helbling and Dwite ‘54 and Bertha Brown.
Beecher and Kelli (Patrick) Whiteaker ‘02 had their first child, a son named L.B. on June 3, 2006. Kelli has a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Pacific Lutheran University, and is a child and fam-ily therapist in Tacoma, Wash. Joel Scott ’02 has completed training as a crew chief in the Air National Guard. He trained at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas and Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Fla. He cur-rently works full-time in research and development at Jeld-Wen in Klamath Falls, Ore., and completes his ANG duties on the weekends. His wife, Rinda (Klein) Scott ‘03 has started a scrapbooking business while
also caring for the couple’s two children, Hannah (4) and Dana (1).
Tina Parker ’04 has joined the faculty of the Contemporary Music Center (CMC) in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. as an adjunct instructor for the spring of 2007. She most recently worked for Creative Trust, a brand management company in Tennessee.
Melissa Dawson ‘02 married Steve So-bieszyzck on the beach in Kaanapali, Maui, October 21, 2006, pictured here with WPC president Jay A. Barber, Jr. ‘64 and his wife Jan. Also in attendance were Maid of Honor Rachel Lautaret ‘02 and Melissa’s parents, WPC V.P. for Academic Affairs Cole Dawson and Linda Dawson ‘98.
Hawaiian Wedding
The Experience14
Distinguished Alumni for 2007
“One of the biggest questions in the world today is how you know what you know. One of the great things that I love about Warner Pacific is that faculty are not one-dimensional in regards to their approach to education.”
- Carlos Jermaine Richard ‘07
Human Service Specialist, Oregon Dept. of Human Resourcesand WPC Master of Religion student.
Your professional advancement continues here.
�00-�04-1510 / 50�-517-1020www.warnerpacific.edu
Master in Education
Master of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies
Master of Religion
Master of Science in Management / Organizational Leadership
Daniel ColeFormer WPC music professor Daniel Cole lost his battle
with cancer, Oct. 12, 2006 in Vancouver, Wash. He was 60 years old. He was born May 22, 1946 in Portland, Ore. Sur-vivors include his daughter, Erika Cole, one grandson, and two sisters, Debbi (Cole) Swank ’76 and Pam Alexander.
Dale Wilson ‘74Dale Wilson ’74 died in a single passenger plane crash on
December 20, 2006. He was 54 years old. Dale was born in Portland, Ore. and grew up in Califor-
nia. He studied Church Music at Warner Pacific College, and was an early member of the musical group Shalom. He and Janet (Helbling) ’74 married in 1974 and Dale served as an associate pastor and minister of music in several churches in California.
In 1997, he and Janet moved back to Oregon and Dale became the maintenance manager at West Hills Christian School, in Portland. Survivors include his wife, sons Brent and Jeremy Wilson ‘99, and four grandchildren.
Albert Grice ‘56Albert E. Grice ’56 died on Sept. 30, 2006 due to heart
failure. He was 79 years old. Albert was born on January 27, 1927, in Midland Mich., and entered the U.S. Navy in 1946. He married Silvia (Wood) ‘57, to whom he was married for 47 years, until her death in 1998.
After leaving the Navy, Albert attended Pacific Bible College (Warner Pacific College), after which he served as a Church of God pastor in Centralia, Wash. He then worked as a carpenter, foreman, and superintendent.
In 2000, he married Betty Damer of Talent, Ore. Survivors include two brothers, and aunt and uncle, and numerous grand and great grandchildren.
Reitta (Worbs) Maurice ‘52Reitta (Worbs) Maurice ’52 died Jan. 28 at age 81. She was
born May 4, 1925, in Raymond, Ohio. She moved to Portland in 1949 and graduated from Pacific Bible College. She later became an art instructor at Advertising Art School and the Oregon Society of Artists.
In 1947, she married C.A Maurice ‘51, who worked in maintenance and security for Warner Pacific. He died in 2002. Survivors include her son, Clinton Maurice ‘71; two sisters, a brother, and three grandchildren.
En Memoriam
Three teachers and two ministers received 2007 Distinguished Alumni Awards at Homecoming, held January 25-28 on campus. Church of God Missionary Randee Doe ’03
received the 2007 Young Alumni Award for her work as an English teacher in Kobe, Japan. Battle Ground High School (Battle Ground, Wash.) music teacher Greg McKelvey ’77 was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award for Service for a thirty-year teaching career that includes a national band championship at Portland’s Wilson High School in 1990.
Charlie ’62 and Zona (Stevia) Gray ’59 received the 2007 Alumni Award for Ministry. In 1965, they served as associate pastors at Fourth Street Church of God in Madera, Calif. Then in 1967, Charlie became senior pastor at Broadview Park Church of God in Greeley Colo., a position he held for 25 years.
Finally, Julia Shrout ’68 received the 2007 Alumni Legacy Award. Julia spent twenty years as the Reading Coordinator at Mount Hood Community College, in Gresham, Ore. She also assisted refugee communities in Portland with English language development. Pictured above are (R to L) Raul Villalva, Linda (Shrout) Villalva ‘72, Jonathan Shrout ‘03, Julia’s husband Bill Shrout, Julia Shrout ‘68, Betty Jo (Martin) Shrout ’75, Melissa Shrout ‘07, Terry Shrout ‘75, and Sarah Shrout ’07.
For more Homecoming 2007 photos and highlights, visit the alumni page at www.warnerpacific.edu.
Doe and McKelvey The Grays
Julia Shrout ‘68 (center in gray) and family
Spring 2007 15
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When I first arrived at Warner, 18-years-old and largely unaware of the world outside of my own mind, I didn’t really know how I had ended up in college or what I was planning on accomplishing there. I had
told my mom that I would try it for a semester, but I was expecting to move on. For reasons partly Warner Pacific and mostly God, I ended up sticking around.
As is typical of most freshmen, I cycled through roughly ten majors until I decided on Business Administration by the end of my second semester. For me the appeal of the busi-ness major was two-fold: it matched up with my natural abilities better than most other majors, and, more importantly, a lucrative career after college seemed in store for me.
I first started meeting with the Director of Campus Ministries, Jess Bielman ‘00, at the beginning of my junior year. As we were getting to know one another, I remember telling him that my ideal job would be a business-related position at an international sports apparel company. I even applied for an internship at a well-known Beaverton corporation famous for the swoosh on its athletic shoes, but it didn’t work out. I decided to postpone my internship for a year.
As I continued at Warner Pacific, I got involved with many of the groups and ministry opportunities available on campus. I joined other students downtown passing out hot chocolate to homeless on Monday nights. I traveled to Mexico and built houses and developed relationships with some wonderful families. I was even privileged to speak at the weekly student-led chapel held on Sunday nights.
At some point in the midst of all this, I met with my academic
advisor, who, knowing me and what I was up to, recommended I tack a second major onto my diploma. There weren’t a lot of extra classes, so I opted to add a Social Science degree.
When the time came to complete a Social Science internship, my interests had changed dramatically. No longer was I seeking a quick ticket to the top, but I was much more interested in the lives
of those near the bottom. I ended up spending several months of my senior year serving and learning at Portland Habitat for Humanity, a far cry from the world of international com-merce, but much truer to the desires of my heart.
Receiving my diploma in May 2005 was one of the proudest moments in my life. As I walked across the stage and shook hands with President Jay Barber, I couldn’t help but think of how far I had come.
Interviewing for jobs after my recent move to Denver, Colo., it was inevitable that interviewers would ask me why I possessed two, seemingly, very different degrees.
“That’s an odd combination of majors,” they would say. “Why don’t you explain that for me.”
I love it when people ask that question. I usually preface my response with, “Well, it all began when I first started college…”
I currently work for the Denver Housing Authority and, strangely enough, utilize both of my degrees as the Neighborhood Networks Center Coordinator in the poorest neighborhood in the city. As with many who came before me, college was a time of transformation. I now have dreams for the future that focus not on career or money, but on service and ministry. The transforma-tion in my life has not been easy or of my own power, nor is it complete, but I am amazed just that it is occurring.
“Well, it all began when I first started college…”
A recent alumnus reflects on his Warner Pacific journey, and a life transformed.
By Andy Magel ‘05
“No longer was I seeking a quick ticket to the top, but I was much more interested in the lives of those near the
bottom.”
