TrevEchoes, Thanksgiving 2015

7/21/2019 TrevEchoes, Thanksgiving 2015

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Official student newspaper since 1944 • Thanksgiving 2015 • TrevEchoesOnline.com

In 1976, Abby Burke sang “God BlessAmerica” 753 times in one year.

At age 18, she traveled and sang thepatriotic tune as the bicentennial singerfor New England. It is her proudest ac-complishment in regards to her singingcareer.

“I sang it in Washington D.C. I sang it

in Pennsylvania. Everywhere. ‘God BlessAmerica’ in my red, white, and blue, lit-tle polyester outfit. It’s those little thingsthat I remember best,” Burke says.

Gospel choir takes the stageat CMA’s for the second year

Change of tune: New Schoolof Music and Worship Arts

Abby Burke: Catchingsouls at Trevecca

NEWS

NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

INDEX

BY BAILEY BASHAM

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

continued ON PAGE 3 continued ON PAGE 8

BY HANNAH POLLOK

CONTRIBUTOR

Treveccapartners withChinese college

PAGE 3

NEWS

FEATURES

SGA column:self-awarenessis key

PAGE 6

SPORTS

G-MACexpanding in2016

PAGE 7

FEATURES

Restructuring of the music depart-ment at Trevecca has resulted in theformation of the School of Musicand Worship Arts.

This new school will includeTrevecca’s current Department of

Music, Center of Worship Arts andthe National Praise and Worship In-stitute (NPWI).

The decision to create an official

school of music at Trevecca came

after recommendations from Uni-versity President Dan Boone to re-structure the academic music pro-gram. This recommendation wasapproved at the plenary session ofthe Board of Trustees on Friday, Nov.6.

Fifteen percent of Trevecca’s stu-dent population is enrolled as musicmajors. NPWI and worship arts ma- jors account for another 4 percent of

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TNU Events App

Follow UsTrevecca Gospel Choir rehearses with LeAnn Rimes for the CMA’s Country Christmas to air at 8p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3 on ABC. Photo by Olivia Kelley.

The Trevecca GospelChoir will make its sec-ond appearance on theCMA Country Christmasspecial on Dec. 3 at 8 p.m.on ABC.

The 12-member choir

spent most of the day onSaturday, Nov. 7 at theGrand Ol’ Opry recording“Celebrate Me Home” and“Joy” with country artistsLeAnn Rimes and Jeniff-er Nettles.

This is the second timethe choir was asked tosing for this event after

Basketball brings player from Nairobi to NashvilleSports

continued ON PAGE 4

continued ON PAGE 8

Adjunct instructor Abby Burke.Photo by Griffin Dunn.

BY BROOKLYN DANCE

CONTRIBUTOR

BY OLIVIA KELLEY

ONLINE EDITOR

One Sunday afternoonin 2008 as Dominique Obu-naka was talking to God onhis walk home from churchin Nairobi, Kenya, a completestranger pulled over and toldDominique that his heightwould take him somewherein life.

Seven years later, 6 ft 9 in.Obunaka plays as the powerforward and center on theTNU basketball team.

Obunaka, a transfer sopho-more student studying social

justice, is one of the 23 inter-national students at Trevecca.Though he is currently theonly Kenyan enrolled, he isthe seventh Kenyan to play onthe basketball team.

Obunaka grew up with apassion for soccer, but soonlearned to love basketball justas much.

Kennedy Ondiek, the Ken-yan who pulled him over thatone Sunday, bought him hisfirst pair of basketball shoesshortly after- size 16.

“I still remember the brand,” Obunaka said, “Ree- bok Iversons.”

Kenya doesn’t have thetypical American gym, soOndiek took Dominique to theoutdoor courts daily and puthours into training him.

He progressed, and Ondiekinvited Obunaka to play onhis team in a basketball tour-nament. Obunaka’s skillswere so impressive, that asenior Kenyan basketball

Dominique Obunaka, power forward.Photo courtesy of Trevecca Trojans.



TREVECHOES • THANKSGIVING2015

2

N E W S

Students are now able to visita centralized office to look for jobs o n c amp us.

The Office of Student Employ-ment was created this fall in aneffort to help make jobs for stu-dents easier to find on campus.Before the establishment of theoffice, students would have to goto individual offices and depart-ments on campus in search for job ope nin gs.

“Students would go to differentdepartments. If there’s not a jobthere, they might say, ‘Go to thelibrary.’ You go to the library. Allthe jobs are filled,” said Tom Mid-dendorf, associate vice president

Trevecca businessmanagement major JoshDurham is a finalist forthe 2015 Young Entrepre-neur of the Year award.

Durham was nominat-ed for his involvement inthe founding of Weight-ing Comforts. WeightingComforts is a businessDurham and his mother,Donna Durham, a for-

mer Trevecca counselingcenter intern, began inFebruary 2015.

Growth in employmentopportunities for students

Logo provided by the Office of Student Employment.

Trevecca junior a finalist for Nashville business award

BY T. JOSIAH HAYNES

STAFF WRITER

Josh Durham. Photo provided

by Weighting Comforts.

Trevecca is putting

$18,000in students’ pockets

every week.-Office of Student Employment

BY T. JOSIAH HAYNES

STAFF WRITER

Weighting Comfortssells weighted blankets ofvarious sizes and designs.These blankets have beenshown to help autisticchildren sleep better andhelp with general anxiety.

Durham took the ideaand ran with it. The com-pany was later recognizedin a Forbes article aboutthe benefits of weighted

blankets.The Nashville Entre-

preneur Center noticed.The Nashville Entre-

preneur Center awards businesses and individu-als in the greater Nash-ville area contributing tolocal economy throughentrepreneurship. Awardcategories span from Dig-ital Media & Entertain-ment to Healthcare to in-dividual entrepreneurs.

“This award is given to

the best young entrepre-neurs in Nashville, fromages 18 to 23,” Durham

said. “It’s an honor to benamed a nominee for theaward out of everyonethat applied, and to becompeting next to someawesome entrepreneursfrom the area.”

Studying with the fac-ulty of the Trevecca Busi-ness Department has

been key to his success,Durham said.

“Dean Diehl’s Intro toEntrepreneurship classwas really helpful. It re-ally helped me under-stand the supply chainof a business,” Durhamsaid. “It helped me look atwhere my business could

be most profitable.”Diehl is excited about

students getting involvedoff-campus, even beforegraduation.

“I absolutely love whenstudents take what they

learn in the entrepre-neurship class, and areable to apply it to a real-

world situation,” Diehlsaid. “Josh is a great ex-ample that you don’t haveto wait till you graduate tofollow your dream. I justencourage other students– if they have a dream, ifthey have a business idea– they don’t have to waitto graduate to jump in

there and start.”The winner of the

Young Entrepreneur ofthe Year award will beannounced at the NEXTAwards on Thursday, Nov.19. The ceremony will

be held at RenaissanceNashville Hotel.

See and order products and read about the mission atwww.WeightingComforts.com Photo provided by WeightingComforts.

for academic services. “Therewas no streamlined avenue, bywhich we would be able to collect

information.”Nearly all of the 256 jobs avail-

able to students on campus arefilled. Students with on-campus jobs wor k an ave rag e of 10 hours

a week at $7.25 an hour. Throughstudent employment, Trevecca isputting $18,000 back in students’pockets every week.

The budget for employingstudents on campus is more$500,000 every school year. Someof that money comes Work Studyor iWork. Work Study is a federalprogram that provides the uni-versity with funds to pay eligiblestudents who work on campus.Student eligibility is determined by the federal govern men t basedon the FAFSA.

“For every dollar the univer-

sity pays [a student in the workstudy program], the universityreceives back about 75 percent,”said Ryan Jolley, director of theoffice of student employment.

.“It’s an incentive programput forth by the federal govern-ment for the university to employthose students [they decide arefinancially eligible].”

In addition to jobs on campusand being a part of the work-study program, The Office ofStudent Employment has createdthe iWork program.

The iWork informational sheet

states, “iWork’s goal is to enhancethe employability of Treveccastudents through honest commu-nication, mentorship, evaluation,and skill development.”

Upperclassmen, most of whomreceived a housing grant lastyear, are currently working on-campus jobs through iWork.

Sophomore Sabrina Phillips iscurrently involved in the iWorkprogram. She works at the HardyAlumni Building, keeping in con-tact with alumni and friends of

the university.“It’s a nice program to be in,”said Phillips. “We had the oppor-tunity to obtain jobs before oth-ers on campus.”

Before her freshman year,she received a 1-year housinggrant because she couldn’t af-ford Trevecca otherwise. Hersophomore year, she was put oniWork to continue receiving thatamount of money, but throughwork.

“[Those who received thehousing grant] were the first stu-dents invited to join iWork this

fall,” Phillips said.Students in the iWork pro-

gram earn up to $217.50 everytwo-week pay cycle to go towardtheir tuition, but they aren’t lim-ited to working only 15 hours aweek. Students can put any extramoney they make toward tuitionexpenses or keep it for personaluse.

Middendorf said he hopes tohelp students in iWork by usingthis debt-cutting program doublyas a professional development

tool.“There are several workshopsevery semester that studentsmust attend,” said Middendorf.“These workshops are aimed atmaking Trevecca students betteremployees.”

There currently 46 upperclass-men working jobs through iWork.Fifty-six freshmen are attendingthe workshops this year to pre-pare for next year’s on-campusassignments.

The Office of Student Employ-ment is located in CLCS.



TREVECHOES • Thanksgiving2015

3

What do you think aboutthe new School of Music?

Tweet us @TrevEchoes

N E W S

An estimated group of 50Chinese students will makeTrevecca their home in the fallof 2018.

As part of a new partner-ship on campus, studentsfrom Tianjin College of Com-merce (TCC) in Tianjin, theport city of Beijing, will finishtheir last year or two of col-lege at Trevecca, studying ei-ther information technologyor accounting.

“I think the educational ex-perience on Trevecca’s cam-pus is richer if we can providesome global diversity for ourstudents,” said President DanBoone.

Trevecca administratorsmet with TCC president andrepresentatives to finalize thepartnership on Oct. 22.

The idea for the new part-nership came from Rick Mann,professor of leadership andstrategy and special assistantto the president for interna-tional partnerships.

Mann, who speaks Manda-rin, has traveled to China forfive consecutive years teach-ing in an educational pro-gram. Mann says he has seenthis kind of program succeed.

“When I came here, therewas a discussion about hav-ing more international stu-dents at Trevecca,” said Mann.“I reached out to some of mycontacts there and we gotconnected to this college inTianjin.”

SCHOOL OF MUSIC REstructure continued from page 1

the undergraduate population.Current chair of the Department

of Music David Diehl will serve asthe dean of the School of Musicand Worship Arts.

“I am confident that Dr. Diehl will

provide outstanding leadershipto the school through a focus oncollaboration while maintainingthe distinctiveness of each of itsunits,” said University Provost Ste-ve Pusey in an email to Treveccafaculty, staff, and administrators.

Diehl has been a member ofTrevecca’s faculty in the music de-partment for nearly 20 years. Thisyear marks his 10th year as chairof the music department.

“I’m excited about the transition because a degree from a schoolof music is a much more highlyrespected degree than one froma department,” said senior musiceducation major Tyler Umpleby.“I think Diehl has done a lot toimprove the department over histime as the chair, so I think thatsuccess and the drive to make theschool a better place to get a morerespected and qualified degree canonly improve from here.”

The purpose of the restructure isto create a more cohesive programfor music students and the facultyin charge of curriculum. At thispoint, there are no plans for addi-tional degrees.

“The main benefit for studentswill be that there is potential forgreater interaction between theprograms which will expose them

to some different ideas and ap-proaches,” said Diehl. “I think itwill help us identify more clearlyand place students in their correctprograms based on their careerpath and making sure that we’reall collaborating.”

Pusey said the restructuring ofthe music department and crea-tion of the school of music will aidTrevecca students in their educa-tional experiences and the univer-

sity in drawing more revenue viadonations, more students and ad-ditional faculty.

“The creation of the School

of Music and Worship Arts [will bring] together a great group ofmusic educators and musicianswho can more easily collaboratewith each other across our majorsand program concentrations,” saidPusey. “[It also] provides an oppor-tunity for students to take coursesin other music programs and helpsthe university brand its music pro-grams in such a way to draw do-nors for scholarships and equip-

ment; individuals from the musicindustry in Nashville as speakers,guest lecturers and adjunct facul-ty; and additional students.”

Students who are enrolled inthe changing department will beable to graduate under either their

junior or senior academic catalog,said Diehl.

The jobs currently held by thestaff in the music department willremain the same. Plans to alleviatetransitional issues for the schoolof music have yet to be formed, butwill be organized during the spring

semester. Renovations for the newworship arts building for musicmajors and NPWI students are setto be completed by next year.

“I am very excited about it be-cause I have such good people towork with,” said Diehl. “I think it’sgoing to be a team of people witha lot of diverse interests and skillsand abilities, but we all have onecommon vision, so I am excitedabout what the future holds.”

The decision of the Board will become effective Jan. 1, 2016.

Blueprint provided by Executive Vice President of Finance, David Caldwell.

Blueprint provided by David Caldwell, executive vice president of finance.

Treveccapartners withChinese collegeBY MANON LANE

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

continued on PAGE 4

TCC president Qian Weirong and TNUPresident Dan Boone sign contract.Photo provided by TNU Marketing.




4

N E W Sperforming “Go Tell it on the Mountain” with SarahEvans at last year’s show.

“This year was a totally different experience be-cause it was at the Opry,” said sophomore musicmajor, Taylor Cardiff.

Cardiff said it was a big change from last yearwhen the group sang at Bridgestone arena.

“I think one of the reasons they asked us backis because when we were in the green room, thestylists made the statement that our group was the

most well-behaved and cordial and friendly groupthey ever worked with, and they hoped we could doit again,” said Marvin Jones, gospel choir director.

Jones said the all-day recording was a good ex-perience for the students.

“If we mess up, they just stop and re-record untilwe get it right, so sometimes it can take awhile toget through everyone,” said Jones.

While the students spent most of their time ina make-shift room with black curtains called the“artist lounge,” they still got the chance to meet sev-eral artists including, Rimes, Nettles and the group

gospel choir continued from page 1Pentatonix.

The event provides great national publicity forTrevecca.

“The marketing and admissions teams are al-ways looking for ways to reinforce the benefits ofstudying in Nashville,” said Matt Toy, associate vicepresident of marketing and communication. “Thisopportunity is another great example that givesTrevecca an edge over other schools throughoutthe country.”

Toy said his team is thrilled the Gospel choirwas asked to sing again and knows this providesincredible experiences for the Trevecca students.

“I will never be grateful enough for the experi-ence to sing behind such talented people,” saidCardiff.

Catch a sneek peak of the GospelChoir’s performance with

LeAnn Rimes atTrevEchoesOnline.com

Gospel choir members Lauren Cagle and DanaHood with Pentatonix. Photo by Olivia Kelley.

Chinese Partnership story continued from page 3

Photo provided by TNU Marketing.

Students will do most of their educa-tion at TCC and then come to Trevecca for

their final year.“They will be taking three years therein China and then [come] here to com-plete a fourth year for a business or ac-counting-type degree,” said Boone. “Ifthey want to be ready to sit for the CPA[certified public accountant], they’ll haveto take on another year.”

Trevecca will transfer in the students’credits from TCC so they can continuestudying here for another year or two andgraduate with a Trevecca degree. Thenthe credits earned from TNU will trans-fer back to TCC, and they will have earneda degree from that school as well, said

Mann.The students’ time at Trevecca isalready paid for on their end and won’trequire any assistance from Trevecca’sfinancial aid office.

The TCC students have been study-ing to become proficient in English bythe time they arrive. They will followthe same curriculum as all Treveccastudents once on campus— includingattending chapel.

TCC administration has requestedfor religion and English professorsfrom Trevecca to go to China and teachclasses to help the program’s students

better prepare for the Trevecca envi-ronment.“I think it serves the cause of Christ

in China well that a Christian uni-versity in America invested in thesestudents,” said Boone.

The Chinese Delegation Par tnershipstudents will live on campus. Treveccaadministration is planning on imple-menting ways to help ease expectedculture shock.

“[There are] plans to have a student-led program to help [all internationalstudents] adjust to campus… [by] takingthe peer mentor idea and changing itaround,” said Rebecca Merrick, inter-national student advisor and assistantcoordinator of disability services.

Officials from Tianjin College of Commerce met on Oct. 22 with Trevecca administration to sign contractfor academic partnership. Photo provided by TNU Marketing.

Among other ideas in the planningstages are pre-arrival orientations viaonline video so students will knowmore of what to expect, followed by apost-arrival orientation.

There are also two to three Chinese-Americans from the Nashville com-munity, including ophthalmologistMing Wang, who have volunteered tohelp mentor the students once they arehere.

Wang received an honorary doctor-ate from Trevecca during last year’scommencement.

Boone hopes that the Chinese Del-

egation Partnership will do more thaneducate academically.

“I’d love for it to crumble prejudicesthat Americans have about Chinese,and Chinese have about Americans.That we would simply begin to knowone another, and be able to speak andeat together, play, and study together,”said Boone. “I think that can be a greatadvantage.”

“

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we would simply beginto know one another,and be able to spe ak

and e at togethe r, p lay,and study together

-President Dan Boone




5

N E W S

Six Trevecca alumni andsoon-to-be graduates will trav-el to Central Europe over thecourse of the next year to aidin the Syrian refugee crisis.

The mission team will servein Europe for a year or more,

working on the front lines ofthe crisis and ministering andoffering assistance to thosewho are in need. The group will

be sent through the Church ofthe Nazarene and will partnerwith missionaries Jay and Te-anna Sunberg, the Church ofthe Nazarene’s field strategycoordinator team for CentralEurope.

Tori Stone, Christina Cor-zine, Curtis Rich, Megan Treesand Dorothee Arnold Morris,along with her husband Jacoband their two children, will

begin their work in Serbia inshifts— some starting as earlyas this winter.

Isaac Petty, who will gradu-ate in December, will be focus-ing on developing a church inPoland.

“When the crisis hit in Cen-tral Europe, we felt like it wasours,” said Kathy Mowry, asso-ciate professor of mission andChristian education. in a uni-versity news release. “We have

been committed to a partner-ship with the Central Europefield of the Church of the Naz-arene. We have, over the lastfive years, sent 116 volunteersto aid in that part of the world,

from two weeks to two years.”For some, the decision to

Trevecca sending missionaries for refugee crisis

BY BAILEY BASHAM

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Poland

Serbia

join the relief efforts came fromnews coverage of the events.

“[Seeing] the picture is of[the 3-year-old Syrian refugeeAylan Kurdi lying facedown inthe sand with a T-shirt, shorts,and Velcro shoes on—the samekind of shoes that our 3-year-old son would wear, I realized

that being fortunate enough to be born where I was born andthe privilege that I was borninto was not any reason for meto just sit back while other peo-ple are literally fleeing for theirlives,” said Jacob Morris in auniversity news release.

For others, the decisioncame from a desire and will-ingness to serve whereverthere was a need.

“[Curtis and I] began hav-ing conversations about whatour plans were looking likeand felt that God was asking

us to revisit those plans andopen ourselves up to truly any-thing,” said Megan Trees, classof 2014. “We didn’t expect thisto be what happened when wedecided to do that, but over thecourse of a few months we sawwhat was happening with therefugees, and God began tug-ging at our hearts to do some-thing.”

Rich said that it will be dif-ficult for the two of them toleave, but that the call to themission field was greater than

the desire to remain wherethey were comfortable.

“God has provided us witha loving family and Churchhome that have supported usin this journey, and it will betough leaving what has be-come so familiar in Nashville,

but we trust that God is before

us and will be with us as we

follow him to a new place inlife,” said senior interculturalstudies major Curtis Rich.

Petty, who will be helping todevelop a Nazarene church inPoland, will be working along-side Bob and Colleen Skinner.longtime global missionariesfor the Church of the Nazarene.

“I will be overseeing workand witness teams, leadingyouth camps, and working inour Nazarene coffee shops,”

said Petty. “I am going throughTrevecca’s Submerge programin partnership with NazareneMobilization.”

Senior religion major ToriStone will be graduating inMay 2016 and will make themove to Europe in June follow-ing graduation. Stone said she

was motivated to join the reliefteam from watching news cov-erage of the crisis.

“I have kept up with thenews and the pictures that Ihave been posted of what isgoing on, and I see the facesof the refugees— I hear theirstories, and I cannot help butwant to help them. Every timesomeone [would ask] me what Iwas doing after college I wouldsay, ‘I have no idea, I just wantto help people,’” said Stone. “Ashard as it might be for me topack up and leave everything

I have and know, I can at leasthave peace knowing that I havea home, friends and family tocome back to. They don’t havethat, and that breaks my heart.”

Rich and Trees will movein June after their wedding inApril and Rich’s graduation inMay 2016.

Corzine will also move inJune, following graduation.Petty will begin his work inPoland in January 2016 and re-turn to the United States in Au-gust 2016.

Senior Christina Corzine, alumna Dorothee Arnold Morris and her family, senior Curtis Rich, alumna Megan Trees, senior Tori Stone and senior Isaac Petty willserve in Central Europe over the course of the next year. Photo provided by Trevecca Nazarene University.

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G od be g a ntugging atou r h e ar t sto dos o m e t h i n g .

-Megan Trees

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I h e a r t h e irs t o r ie s , a n dI c a n n o th e l p bu twant toh e l p t h e m .

-Tori Stone




6

Professionalism series

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

BAILEY BASHAM

COPY EDITOR

JESSY ANNE W A L T E R S

DESIGN EDITOR

C YDNEY-NICHOLE MARSH

MANON LANE

T. JOSIAH HAYNES

ANTONIO GUERRERO

REBEKAH WARREN

TOM LOHRMANN

BRITTNI CARMACK

TrevEchoes is published by and for the students of Trevecca Nazarene Univer sity .

The views expressed in TrevEchoes are those of the individual contibutors and do notnecessarily reflect the views of Trevecca. Contributors may be edited fo r

grammar, spel l ing , content , or spaceconsideration. Our office is located in Jernigan.

STAFF WRITERS

ONLINE EDITOR

OLIVIA KELLEY

PHOTOGRAPHER

GRIFFIN DUNN

EDITORIAL STAFF

(l-r) Design Editor Cydney-Nichole Marsh, Online Editor Olivia Kelley,Editor-in-Chief Bailey Basham and Copy Editor Jessy Anne Walters.Not pictured: Photographer Griffin Dunn.

O P I N I O N

There is a term that has become increasingly pop-ular in our culture that Ihave personally been ex-ploring for myself overthe past semester. This isa term that if learned andapplied properly to our

lives, our chances of suc-cess will be much better.

The term that I am re-ferring to is self-aware-ness. Self-awareness is

BY JOSH DURHAM

ASB VICE PRESIDENT

the conscious knowledgeof one’s own character-istics, feelings, movies,and desires. What I’d liketo suggest is that by be-coming self-aware, you

will have a much betterchance of success thanthrough traditional waysof thinking.

Like many other busi-ness students, last se-mester I became aware ofsomething that I wasn’tgood at accounting. I ama very future-oriented,

big picture kind of guy, sothings that are so detail-oriented as accountingare not exactly my strongsuit.

I discovered this againin the summer when I washired for an internshipwith a dental practice. Al-though I was promised to

What does it mean to “be profes-sional?” If you ask 10 different peo-ple, you will probably get 10 differentanswers. You might get responses

related to dressing up, speaking acertain way on the phone or havinga firm handshake. While all of thesethings are correct answers, on theirown they do not complete the defi-nition of professionalism.

Basically, professionalism refersto certain behaviors people havecentered around a work environ-ment. But what about when youare not at work? That brings us toetiquette. Etiquette can be as simpleas manners (like, saying please andthank you) or as complex as navi-gating relationships.

Our culture today can be confus-ing to understand. We are now aculture that wears jeans to church,shares opinions of strangers’ liveson social media and stares at lit upscreens while sitting at a table withother people. We have gotten verycasual as a society, but there are stillpersonal and professional situa-tions that require a little more effort.

With that, I am excited to intro-duce a new column to the TrevEch-oes. In this column, I will be sharingadvice, tips and suggestions on allthings related to social and profes-sional etiquette that commonly oc-cur for college students. I will coverareas like interviewing do’s and

don’ts, how to turn down a job offerwhen to say no, how to ask someoneout on a “real” date and when to turn

down the offer of being a bridesmaid(yes, you can say no).

If you need advice about some-thing or there is a topic you knowother students needs to see, let meknow. My goal is to help you preventsome awkward blunders and help

you get through the complexities oflife with grace.

Life is complicated; I’m here tohelp.

BY NICOLE HUBBS

CONTRIBUTOR

N I C O L E H U B B SCordintor for Junior & Senior Programs

Contact Nicole Hubbs with ques-tions or comments for this column

series at:

(615) - 248 - 7725

[email protected]

Located in the CLCS

or Tweet us at:

@TrevEchoes

be a part of the businessdevelopment sector, I wasplaced in a position wheremy weaknesses lie: smalldetails and organization.I quickly found that my

internship duties werecopying, filing, organizingand highlighting patient’sfiles— all things that I hat-ed.

My enthusiasm for theinternship disappearedon the very first day, andmy demeanor was nolonger warm or friendly.Upon the fourth day ofmy internship, I was fired.Yep, that’s right. I wasfired after four days onthe job for not being en-

thusiastic while makingcopies.

As comedic and harshas this story may sound,it was completely neces-

sary, and I’m grateful thatit happened. Since then, Ihave become self-awareof my weaknesses and Ihave honest feedback in-stead of lying to myself.

You see, I’m afraid manyof my peers have beenlying to themselves forsome time about whatthey’re actually good at.There are plenty of thingsthat I wish I was good at,

but holding onto thosethings and pretendinglike I’m actually good atthem might help me inthe short-term but willhold me back in the longrun.

Academia preaches

that we continue to workon our weaknesses. Iargue that instead, weshould go all in on ourstrengths because they

are there to take us fromgood to great.

So why not go all in?Why not accept yourweaknesses for what theyare and come to grips

with yourself. This allgoes hand-in-hand withTrevecca’s Motto, “EsseQuam Videri: To be ratherthan to seem.”

I encourage you to behonest with yourself andwith others about yourtrue characteristics, mo-tives and desires. Createa safe environment ofvulnerability and honesty

because that’s when youget the truth. Once we be-come self-aware, we are

able to become intention-al with our actions as ourtrue selves and truly liveout what we are called todo.

SGA Column: self-awareness is key




7

S p o r t s

As Trevecca’s basketballteams begin play, the sports med-icine team is already in the midstof the busiest part of their year-round commitment.

“They’re a team just like base- ball, soccer, golf; they’re vital.Trying to get an athlete who has

been injured or who’s having a re-petitive motion stiffness or sore-ness— to get them back to wherethey can function better or moreappropriately, that’s huge for acoach. That’s huge for a team,”

said Mark Elliott, Trevecca ath-letic director.

The sports medicine team is

available to student-athletes 365

days a year. At least one of thefour-member staff attends everyTrevecca sporting event, includ-ing away games that requiretraveling.

Head Athletic Trainer JaredWhite has been with Trevecca foreight years. He works with Assis-tant Trainers Stephanie Scott andAustin Krause and Graduate As-sistant Trainer Martin Ramiz toassist athletes and provide qual-ity healthcare for athletic injuriesand related illnesses.

“Our goal is to provide a high-level healthcare to student-ath-letes even though we’re a smallschool. We may not have the

budget or facilities of an NFLteam or top SEC school, but thereis no reason we can’t give ourathletes an extremely high levelof care, just like professional ath-letes receive,” said White.

Each staff member is certified by the National Association ofSports Medicine and has profes-sional experience, in addition toDivision I collegiate experience.Staff members work with specificteams depending on respectiveareas of expertise.

“When the NCAA came in andwere evaluating us… [for] whatour strengths and our weakness-es were, they gave us four specific

strengths. They said that they’venever given this in a transitionaluniversity going from NAIA to Di-

vision II, but one was student-ath-

lete well-being done through ourathletic training office. That tellsme [the sports medicine team is]unique; they’re special— they’reexcellent,” said Elliott.

Elliott said White’s willing-ness to take new steps to getplayers ready for a season wasappreciated by the entire athleticdepartment.

“Before he got here, I would su-pervise preseason conditioningand everything else; once he gothere, I just turned it over to him,”said men’s basketball coach SamHarris.

Athletes are only allowed acertain number of hours with

their coaches each off season.During this time, athletes relyeven more on the sports medi-cine staff.

Coaches lean on the staffto create programs specific totheir players. The staff has beenoverseeing the men’s basketballteam’s work on strength trainingover the last few months.

“Last year we focused a loton endurance, and I thought ourendurance was great; we wereplaying Vanderbilt, we playedBelmont, and we hung withthose guys all game, but some ofthose teams were a little strongerthan we were,” said White. “Ourguys have really bought into thestrength aspect. A lot of themhave gained good, solid, lean

muscle tissue…we look a lot more

like a basketball team that takesthemselves seriously this year,”said White.

White and his staff are able tospend more individual time withathletes because there are only200 student-athletes at Trevecca.New equipment purchases havealso made it easier for the staffto achieve their goal of providingprofessional-level care to athletesat Trevecca.

Elliott said he was most proudthat White and his staff are ableto offer high-level care in an envi-ronment that allows the athletesto develop physically, mentallyand spiritually.

“These are dedicated Chris-tian people. Our athletes whoare in the training room, who arethey spending time with? Whoare they emoting to? Who arethey sharing conversations with?Those people, to be quite honest,know what’s going on in the livesof our student athletes way morethan the coaches or [I do],” said El-liot.

Elliott said White especially isable to use his position and expe-riences to talk with male athletesabout life after college.

“Jared White is a committedChristian, father and athlete, sohe understands their mental-ity. He’s been in their shoes, heunderstands what they’re goingthrough,” said Elliot.

Trevecca’s training staff works

in conjunction with physicianand orthopedic surgeon Dr. Da-mon Petty of Petty Orthopedics.Petty completed his fellowshipand trained under Dr. James An-drews, who is well-known for per-forming orthopedic surgeries onhigh-profile professional athletes.

Every Wednesday, Petty as-sesses injuries of athletes on cam-pus. Trevecca’s training staff mustorganize and prepare informationand documentation for Petty andhis assistant, nurse practitionerand athletic trainer Erik Dygulski,to make the best decisions for theathletes.

“To have people that get ath-

letics, that are passionate aboutletting these kids be successfuland playing at a high level, it’s agreat team to be a part of. We worktogether really well, and I thinkthat’s the key to being a success-ful staff-- having everyone on thesame page,” said White.

The Great Midwest Athletic Confer-ence will be growing over the next twoyears.

Malone University in Canton, Ohiohas recently announced that they will be joining Trevecca and other south-

eastern universities in the conferencein 2016. Malone University will takethe place of Salem International Uni-versity. Five more universities will beadded to the conference in 2017.

G-MAC is expanding in order tolegitimize their position in the NCAADivision II, said Mark Elliot, Treveccaathletic director.

While the expansion of the confer-ence is beneficial, it come with someconcern.

“The only problem I see with this isthe cost it’s going to take us to traveland the amount of time students willspend outside of class,” said Elliot.

The decision to include theseschools is complicated by the fact that

the conference is trying to maintain a balance between northern and south-

ern universities. Currently, there aremore northern schools joining G-MACin comparison to the southern univer-sities, due to their already being members of different conferences.

“I would suspect that most peoplewould say that G-MAC right now isthe weakest conference in the country, just because it’s new. There’s no tradi-

tion, no history behind it,” said Elliot.“G-MAC is a new Division II conferenceand stands as a new opportunity forrising schools looking to enter a Divi-sion II conference.”

More schools means more compe-tition, which is beneficial to Treveccain improving the athletic program byallowing the teams to compete againsthigher tier schools.

Elliot said though there could becomplications with travel, Treveccawill stay with G-MAC because of theconference being made up of other pri-vate, mostly faith-based institutions.

“I think the biggest thing is havingan athletic program that fits the mis-sion and purpose of the school,” said

Steve Harris, associate provost anddean of student development.

BY TOM LOHRMANN

STAFF WRITER

Photos provided by TreveccaTrojans.

Medicineteam vitalto athletes

(l-r) Stephanie Scott, AustinKrause, Jared White and Mar-tin Ramiz.

GREAT MIDWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MAPEight member institutions from Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and

Tennessee (2016 - 2017)

Trevecca’s cross country team fin-ished second at the Great Midwest Ath-

letic Conference Championship for thefourth consecutive year.

Among the standouts were sopho-more Caroline Hampton, who placedfirst in the women’s 6-kilometer run,and Logan Rodgers, who placed secondin the men’s 8-kilometer run.

“Everyone did get faster, there werePRs [personal records] all over theplace,” said Austin Selby, head coach.“So that means we’re getting to wherewe need to be.”

The teams faced their fair share ofchallenges, including multiple injuries,

said Selby. Even so, nine runners placedin the top 20 at the conference champi-onship.

Hampton earned a shot at region-als where she finished 15th overall andsecured a spot in Nationals. Hamptonwill be the first Trojan to compete in anNCAA Division II Championship.

Hampton said she is motivated bymuch more than the races when sheruns.

“I believe this is a gift from God andI cherish it because it’s bringing meto new opportunities,” says Hampton.“Every run I do. I believe that somehowI’m glorifying him because it is my gift.”

In addition to her motivation, Selbyattributes Hampton’s success to her de-termination on and off the track.

“She eats, sleeps and breathes thesport, whatever it takes to be better,”said Selby.

For next year, Selby hopes to takehome the championship. He antici-pates that the team has the potential to

be even more successful than it’s beenin the past.

“We’re bringing in a bunch of new

runners, we only lose one runner on themen’s and on the women’s team and Ithink we’re bringing in really strongrunners to replace them,” said Selby.“We have runners that will be healthynext year…so we want to do better thanwe did last year. We want to get faster.”

The cross-country team traveled toEvansville, Indiana to participate in theNCAA II Midwest regional competitionon Saturday, Nov. 9.

Hampton will travel to Joplin, Mis-souri on Saturday, Nov. 21 to compete inthe Division II Championships.

Cross countryfinishes withnational qualifier BY REBEKAH WARREN

STAFF WRITER

Photo provided by Trevecca Trojans.

G-MAC expanding in 2016-2017

Information provided by G-MAC.

BY ANTONIO GUERRERO

STAFF WRITER

For more updates follow @TNUsports and @GreatMid westAc on Twitter




8

F e a t u r e

“ “

Basketball Let me go tohigh school.

-DominIque Obunaka

Obunaka in practice at Trevecca. Photo Courtesy ofTrevecca Trojans.

Since then, Burke, an adjunct voiceinstructor at Trevecca, has found other“little things” to add to her list of musicalaccomplishments.

She was the first vocalist from Nash-ville to sing at the Schermerhorn Sym-phony Center. She has performed with

many big-name artists from the musicworld, including Patti Labelle, Tim Curry,Winona Judd and Donna Summer. She isin a band with her husband, called AbbyBurke and the Soul Catchers. They haverecorded an album and continue to per-form around Nashville.

Burke, known as “Dr. Abby,” by herstudents teaches 25 private vocal stu-dents and teaches the ConcentratedStudies of the Psalms course for the Na-tional Praise and Worship Institute pro-gram.

Burke was a new addition to Trevec-ca’s music department faculty in 2014.She got the job soon after talking withVocal Edge director and vocal coordina-tor Rachel Nyetam.

Burke started singing as a youngchild. At 5-years-old, she mimicked thesound of a fire truck and then started tosing. She now sings a variety of styles,though she prefers blues.

“Blues is what I love best. A lot ofpeople say ‘Blues makes people sad,’ butwhen you sing the blues, it’s to makeyourself feel better,” says Burke.

Burke grew up in Cambridge, MA.There, she sang in choirs, including St.Paul’s Choir in Cambridge, until she was18. She was accepted into some of thenation’s finest conservatories including

Julliard, Manhattan, and Boston Con-servatory. She attended Boston, whereshe studied musical theater privately,went to All-State all four years, and par-ticipated in several operas and musicals.

After living in Nashville once, andthen Connecticut, Burke, and her husband moved back to Nashville so thathe could complete his master’s degree atBelmont.

“It was the best thing I could have

ever done,” Burke says.Here she is an instructor at the Nash-ville Jazz Workshop and has had a pri-vate studio since 2000, where she teach-es voice and performance technique

classes.Her band, Abby Burke and the Soul

Catchers, is active in Nashville perform-ing at missions, bars, and fundraisers inand around Nashville. The band is com-

posed of local musicians. Burke sings,and her husband Glenn plays the saxo-phone.

Burke is an ordained minister butdoes not currently preach at a church.She calls herself a “soul catcher.”

“I am a soul catcher because theLord called me into ministry, and thewhole purpose of pastors, ministers, andworshippers is to catch a soul for theKingdom; so I am, a certified, dyed-in-the-wool, born again, soul catcher,” saidBurke.

Her band’s purpose is to go into un-

likely places, play some music and catchsouls.

Burke recalls another proud accom-plishment and emotional moment fromher past.

“I was working at Opryland USAin 1982, and singing ‘Dixie’ almost 800times on stage. And the irony is: I’m Af-rican-American,” said Burke. “Every timeI did it, and every time I saw a tear, I gotmy job done. I caught a soul.”

Miranda Stooksbury, an engineer-ing major, has been taking vocal lessonsfrom Burke for three semesters.

“Dr. Abby is a professor that pushesyou and helps you grow. She is very opento creative interpretation. She makessure that I study the technique and art-istry of a piece, so that when I do performthat piece, it is a better performance thanif I would have just learned the notesand the rhythms and just got up thereand sang it. She helps me to become thecharacter in any musical theater piece,”said Stooksbury.

David Diehl, chair of the Departmentof Music at Trevecca calls Burke consist-ent, full of energy, and a deeply spiritualperson.

“Not only is she incredibly compe-tent, knowledgeable, and talented, butshe is a great institutional fit because ofher spiritual insight, her desire to men-tor students, and the way that she in-teracts with faculty members and otherprograms,” said Diehl.

Diehl says that she tailors her teach-ing to the needs of each student.

“She understands their interest andtheir voice. She cares for them as indi-viduals and musicians. She she tailorsthe curriculum and literature aroundtheir abilities,” said Diehl.

Abby Burkecontinued from page 1

Burke is currently working on an EP.She is also writing a book called “You‘Aint Got No Cup,” based on the Samari-tan woman at the well. Burke will begoing back to the British Virgin Islandssoon to lead worship and workshops.

“I’m busy. It’s a lot better than being athome trying to find my teeth,” she jokes.

Even with a full schedule, she worksto make space to get to know and mentorher students.

“I live to edify, I don’t tear down,” shewhispers. “What good does that do?”

“ “I a m , a c e r t i f i e d ,d y e d - i n - t h e w o o l ,

b o r n a g a i n ,s o u l c a t c h e r .

-Abby burke

D R . A B B Y B U R K EVocal Coach and Adjunct Professor

Influenced Artistically by:Mahalia Jackson, The Crabb Family,

Leontyne Price, Phoebe Snow, Harry

Connick, Jr., Barbara Streisand

Most played on iTunes:Carol King and Redemption Worships

(Live Album)

coach, Ronnie Owino, stopped him to talk for a bitabout his situation. He offered to coach Obunakaeven more, provided he studied and remained dis-ciplined. Coach Owino got Obunaka in touch withPeter Orero, the principal of the local high school.

It was uncommon for kids in Obunaka’s positionto ever go to high school. Obunaka explained how

he grew up in a slum, where elementary and middleschool education was inexpensive, but the only high

school was designed for wealthier families.A majority of kids stopped education after eighth

grade, but Obunaka received an unlikely scholar-ship to play basketball in high school.

“Basketball let me go to high school,” Obunakasaid.

Obunaka said he was so grateful for his experi-ences on the high school team. He became a home-town celebrity, and was invited to surroundingschool to tell his story and inspire kids, yet he neverasked for anything in return.

As his high school basketball career came to aclose, Obunaka said he felt content and blessed withthe opportunities he had already received.

One year after high school graduation, a Frenchman named Daniel Piers-Hogan who ran a basketball academy in Kenya, Dankind Academy, prom-ised to feed and shelter Obunaka if he continuedplaying basketball. Obunaka’s new team under

Coach John Coffino, employed by Piers-Hogan,posted a 25-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, Tony Mauldin, a former basketballcoach from Texas who ran a children’s home inKenya which he visited often, encouraged Obunakaand his new team to mentor the kids of the shelter.Mauldin and Obunaka had a growing bond. Theseason came to a close and Mauldin presented theteam with three scholarships to go play basketballat Clarendon, a junior college in Texas. There were18 players on the team, all hoping to make it big re-ceiving the life changing scholarship, Obunaka said.Obunaka was selected along with two of his friends.Both of his friends had visa issues and ultimately hewas the only one who made the 8,669 mile journeyto Clarendon, Texas.

“It was hard to be happy for myself, knowing myfriends couldn’t come with me,” Obunaka said.

Obunaka enjoyed playing for Clarendon. He was

Dominique obunakacontinued from page 1

doing well, and loved his new basketball family.“They treated me very well despite my ethnicity,”

he said.Sam Harris, Trevecca’s men’s basketball coach

discovered Obunaka with the help of an assistantcoach, JP Nyadoro, a Kenyan who played basketballat Trevecca from 2009-2013.

Harris reached out to Obunaka with a scholar-ship to play on Trevecca’s team, but Obunaka turnedit down.

Nyadoro also tried to sway Obunaka, but Obuna-ka still politely refused.

It wasn’t until Obunaka’s head coach at Claren-don stepped down that he finally agreed to play forTrevecca.

So, Obunaka travelled 900 more miles to Nash-ville in July of 2015.

“My former head coach loved me so much hedrove me all the way here, just to make sure I am in

safe hands,” Obunaka said.Despite the beds being too short and the shower

heads being too low, Obunaka said he is blessed to be here-- though he misses his family who he hasnot seen since he left for Texas. He calls them asoften as possible, updating him on games and howhe’s doing. Obunaka is currently saving up to govisit them.

“He is a really good guy,” Harris said. “Which ispartly why we wanted to bring him in.”

Obunaka credits God for his journey.“If you don’t know God, you don’t know my story,”

he said.Obunaka hopes to take his social justice educa-

tion back to Kenya where tribalism is a prevalent is-sue that he is very passionate about.

“It’s nice to know his story,” Harris said. “It’s a per-fect fit for him here.”

Documents

TrevEchoes, Thanksgiving 2015