Crossroads Spring/Summer 2020

CROSSROADS

SPRING/SUMMER 2020

THE MAGAZINE OF EASTERN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY

VOL. 101 / NO. 1

PHOTO BY JON ST YER

IN THIS ISSUE

CROSSROADS SPRING/SUMMER 2020 / VOL. 101 / NO. 1 Crossroads (USPS 174-860) is published two times a year

by Eastern Mennonite University for distribution to 14,000 alumni, students, parents and friends.

A leader among faith-based universities, Eastern Mennonite University emphasizes peacebuilding, creation care, experiential learning and cross-cultural engagement. Founded in 1917 in Harrisonburg, Virginia, EMU offers undergraduate, graduate and seminary degrees that prepare students to serve and lead in a global context.

EMU’s mission statement is posted in its entirety at www.emu.edu/mission.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES KATHLEEN (KAY) NUSSBAUM, CHAIR / White Bear Lake, Minn.

DIANN BAILEY / Granby, Conn.

EVON BERGEY / Lancaster, Pa. HERMAN BONTRAGER / Ephrata, Pa. RANDALL BOWMAN / Harrisonburg, Va. VICTOR GÓMEZ / Dayton, Va. HANS HARMAN / McGaheysville, Va. LOUISE OTTO HOSTETTER / Harrisonburg, Va. CHARLOTTE HUNSBERGER / Telford, Pa. CLYDE KRATZ / Harrisonburg, Va. CHAD LACHER / Souderton, Pa. KEVIN LONGENECKER / Harrisonburg, Va. CEDRIC MOORE JR. / Midlothian, Va. MANUEL NUÑEZ / Devon, Pa. GLENNA RAMER / Ooltewah, Tenn.

DEANNA REED / Harrisonburg, Va. ELOY RODRIGUEZ ⁄ New Providence, Pa. JAMES ROSENBERGER / State College, Pa. PAM TIESZEN / Lancaster, Pa. VAUGHN TROYER / Millersburg, Ohio ANNE KAUFMAN WEAVER / Brownstown, Pa.

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2020 GRADUATES

CROSSROADS ADVISORY COMMITTEE SUSAN SCHULTZ HUXMAN / President KIRK L. SHISLER / Vice president for advancement JASON GOOD / Vice president for innovation and student recruitment JENNIFER N. BAUMAN / Director of alumni and parent relations STAFF LAUREN JEFFERSON / Editor-in-chief JON STYER / Creative director MACSON MCGUIGAN / Photographer RACHEL HOLDERMAN / Photographer RANDI B. HAGI / Staff writer LINDSEY KOLB / Mileposts proofreader JOSHUA LYONS / Web designer

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All EMU personnel can be reached during regular work hours by calling 540-432-4000, or via contact details posted on the university website, www.emu.edu.

POSTMASTER: Submit address changes to: Crossroads Eastern Mennonite University 1200 Park Road Harrisonburg VA 22802

10 ROYALS RESPOND 8 FINANCIAL IMPACT

ON THE COVER Nearly 130 graduates responded to our request to be included on this special cover. These portraits represent some of the more than 400 graduates in the class of 2020. Read more from them on page 2. A special poster was created and will be sent to graduates.

(Design by Jon Styer)

17 MILEPOSTS 26 ALUMNI AWARD WINNERS 29 HOMECOMING 2020

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU'RE UP TO: emu.edu/almuni/update

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FAVORITE MEMORY

Clubs and organizations

Cross-cultural

GRADS

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300

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Total undergraduate degrees

Total graduate and seminary degrees

Total grad certificates

Total doctorate degrees

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Athletics

QUOTABLES

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Honoring the accomplishments of the Class of 2020 as they anticipate their rescheduled Commencement ceremony in the fall.

TRAVEL HIGHLIGHTS Netherlands

Relief Sale (donut stand)

ACCOMPLISHMENTS UNDERGRAD: Contributing editor to a professor’s book // Research intern at CIE for MC USA // Being on the first ever Women’s Triathlon team // Tried my best at laser tag (!!) // ODAC All Academic Team Spring 2018 // 2019 Concerto/Aria Competition Winner // Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society // ODAC sportsmanship award // ODAC all academic team // Intramural Volleyball Champions 2018 // Presenting research project at the APNA conference in New Orleans // Attending Master program at DUKE University // Fundraised about $6,000 each for UNICEF and Water4 // Bibliotherapy reader at VMRC // Hawaii research project with chemistry professor Matt Siderhurst // Presenting research at the ASCB/EMBO conference in D.C. // Running a 26:49 8k in my senior ODAC race // Named to NFHCA National Academic Squad // Being the first of four siblings in my family to graduate from college // Scoring the winning goal in the first soccer game of my freshman year. // Baked approximately 50 loaves of bread my senior year // Teacher of Promise Nominee // National Triathlon qualifier // Winning the Kryptos codebreaking competition // Research in a Guatemalan cloud forest GRAD: 25th Anniversary Planning Committee // Justice and peacebuilding residency // Being #2 in assists for volleyball in the EMU record book // Participated as a keynote speaker in the Daughter for Life Foundation gala in Toronto // Helped Arab refugees and immigrants with translations and interpretations // Designing the STAR for Sexual Harms curriculum as part of my CJP practicum

India

South Africa

Puerto Rico Middle East

Mexico Mr. J’s Bagels

Guatemala/Cuba Oregon Extension

Late-night creek stomping in Park Woods

Hawaii Washington D.C.

Bulgaria New Orleans

CLASS STATS

Hiking Old Rag

UNDERGRAD: “It’s the little things I’ll miss most: stargazing on the hill, late night games with friends, gifts from the dumpster fairy at 1 a.m., doing homework on the lawn in the sun, chilling in Common Grounds, grabbing food with a professor... the list goes on.” – LINDSAY ACKER // “My cross-cultural to the Middle East was the absolute highlight of my time at EMU and something that I will always cherish. The memories of busy market streets, laughing in Arabic class with my friends, and the incredible food will stay with me forever.” – ERIN BEIDLER // “For Valentine's Day our senior year, my friend Clara and I snuck into our best friends' apartment at 6 a.m. and made them an elaborate breakfast. We made blackberry syrup, chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and two different kinds of coffee. We set the table with our mismatched plates, lit candles, and gave them homemade valentines… We only knocked over their entire recycling once and came only *very close* to setting off the fire alarm. They loved it.” – LYDIA CHAPPELL DECKERT // “Finding my purpose, which is to capture stories.” – KIANA CHILDRESS // “Meeting my forever friends” – HEIDI GROSSNICKLE // “The energy at EMU is different. Whenever I have tried to explain it to peers who weren’t part of the community, they simply couldn’t understand.

There’s a sense of unconditional positive energy, where each one of us genuinely wants the best for each other.” – SAKO HAJI // “The very top of my list of achievements is that I turned 50 this year and received my bachelor’s degree. I returned to school 21 years later, after suddenly losing my job. I hope to set the example to my children the importance of earning a degree and that education is important.” – ANGELA HOOVER // “From the creative labs to the late nights studying to laughing with friends in the hallways to bombarding the professors' offices about anything, it became home … If only the walls of the Suter Science building could talk, then you could know.” – MELISSA KINKAID // “Whether the conversation was centered around our deepest insecurities or if we consider human bodies to be living Lincoln Logs, it didn't matter. As long as I was sharing a space with and giving my full attention to some of the most important people in my life, I was happy.” – RACHEL MUSSELMAN // “Putting on my scrubs and stethoscope for the first time with my classmates!” – MEGAN GAIL MILLER // “This is a place where we can find ourselves.” – EMILIO R. FAJARDO GRAD: When I attended a mandatory class with my two-week-old baby.

I'll never forget how accommodating and supportive my professors and fellow classmates were to me and my son.” – KARISSA DAVIS // “From a student life perspective, being able to help lead the design and installation of the campus barbershop is something I will be proud of for a long time.” – SCOTT EYRE // “I have met many wonderful people from the United States and around the globe who truly made my time worthwhile. I had friends I could joke with, study with, and have meaningful conversations with … I am grateful to have had this transformative and lifechanging experience. My journey was not easy, but it was well worth it.” – MAHA Y. A. MEHANNA

COMPILED BY JESSIC A HOSTETLER '08 DESIGNED BY RANDI B. HAGI '14 AND JON ST YER '07

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FROM THE PRESIDENT

OUR COVID-19 RESPONSE SUSAN SCHULTZ HUXMAN, PHD

GREETINGS FRIENDS OF EMU! I hope you are well.

My, have our worlds been turned upside down by the pandemic in the past three months! It’s a two-headed invisible foe – hurting us on the health front and economic front at the macro level as nation-states and businesses and on the micro level as campuses, communities and family units. Yes, we’re all in this together.

Through it all, I remain honored to serve this remarkable university. Resilience takes many forms – the most important is staying true and steady to your mission. Our mission is a noble one: “to prepare students to serve and lead in a global context in the spirit of Micah 6:8 “to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.” We have countless shining examples of how our mission has persevered through the pandemic. Fortified by our rootedness in an active faith,

modeled on the life and lessons of Jesus, our faculty, staff and students have found spiritual reserves to shine EMU’s light brightly through disorientating times.

Here’s a snapshot of where we’ve been and where we are going.

STAGE 1: RAPID RESPONSE We moved with astonishing speed and care to respond to an array of complexities in those first weeks of COVID. We quickly got all students safely back to their homes, including those studying abroad. We ramped up for all courses and key support services online in two business days and a weekend. And we communicated with care and compassion the measures taken to keep our students safe and to get them to the finish line of the spring semester.

Best of all, our students gave a vote of

confidence to our faculty and staff in their last week of classes – responding to a survey with a 94% vote of confidence for the exemplary care they received through on-line personalized instruction and other key forms of support.

STAGE 2: RESOURCE AND REVENUE RECOVERY Like the entire higher education sector, the pandemic has created financial challenge and uncertainty for EMU and its students. The CARES Act and the Paycheck Protection Program have provided some financial relief. Even with the loss of summer revenue and with room and board reimbursements, we expect to close the year with a balanced budget. This is no small victory.

Still, financial challenges loom large.

Though our fall recruitment and retention numbers look good now, it is hard to tell what our enrollment will actually yield. In response, we’ve started the Student Tuition Relief Fund and the University Fund for Resilience, both of which received record donations from supporters during our LovEMU Day. Currently, we are running slightly ahead of last year on University Fund giving, but we have

additional work to do on total philanthropy between now and June 30.

STAGE 3: REOPENING FOR FALL We intend to reopen for in-person instruction in the fall even as we will be ready to adopt any one of several scenarios, a decision dependent on the status of COVID-19 in the city and county. Here are the three possibilities we are considering: a best-case scenario of progressive improvement and lowering infection rates; a middle-case scenario of late fall resurgence, perhaps in some regions as early as November; and the worst-case scenario of ongoing waves of infection.

It is only in this last case, the worstcase scenario, that reopening for inperson instruction in August may not be viable. All of these scenarios involve monitoring of public health tracking measures. Our location, away from densely populated regions of our state-and our small size as a mostly contained residential college gives us some additional protections.

We have assembled six working groups (teaching and learning, enrollment, faculty and staff, student life and communi-

ty, infrastructure, and budget) composed of over 60 faculty, staff and students to assess our fall options.

STAGE 4: REIMAGINING Our new vision statement and strategic plan refresh look particularly prescient these days. Our job now is to put the 3-year EMU plan on “after burners.”

Sharing just two recent launches with you: We’ve expanded our outreach in online learning, building on 20 years of expertise in the format. The globally renowned Summer Peacebuilding Institute is now entirely online, and has welcomed more participants who could not get visas or afford to travel. Increased summer undergraduate online offerings have led to more enrollment. We’ve also reached into the healthcare and teacher education areas with special offerings related to restorative justice and trauma and resilience.

Additionally we have secured several partnerships with local businesses for internships and apprenticeships. The new Center for Innovation and Leadership spearheaded by Jair Drooger ‘97 is an exciting development.

IN FAITH At one of our recent Town Hall meetings with faculty and staff, I invoked the spirit of the psalmist in two verses.

First, invoking thanks: “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalms 118:24) And second, invoking faith: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea!... Be still….. and know that I am God….. The Lord of hosts is with us.”

(Psalms 46: 1-2; 10-11) These are dramatically different passages, but both are fitting verses in times of crisis, a word meaning both danger and opportunity, contraction and new growth. We live into this reality with whole hearts and strong faith -- preparing, persisting and praying together, and finding ways, even though physical distancing, to be the loving embrace of God to each other and those in need.

I am profoundly thankful to each of you for the sustaining presence, prayer, and support you can offer to EMU in our hour of need. We “Lead Together!”

PHOTO BY MACSON MCGUIGAN

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"ON" CAMPUS

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This was neither the end of the semester we anticipated nor the graduation we expected, but it is the semester we have completed and the graduation we celebrate.

– DEAN DAVID BRUBAKER

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Women’s lacrosse notches their first win in program history, but their inaugural season ends after just two games.

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The Guatemala cross-cultural is stuck when the country suddenly closes its borders. A behind-thescenes effort from EMU administration helps bring the group home on a government-chartered flight.

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Tyler Goss MDiv ‘19, MA ‘19 (conflict transformation), assistant director of student programs and Hillside residence director, develops creative ways to get students laughing, sharing, and supporting one another through virtual means. "Screaming Bingo" was his favorite – with the few students left on campus spread far apart on Thomas Plaza, other students joining via video chat, and Goss shouting out bingo numbers through a megaphone from the Campus Center balcony.

3. Hartzler Library begins a new "takeout" service for faculty, staff, and students, the only such service offered by any university library in Virginia. Pictured is Bonnie Bowser, circulation and office manager.

10. Professors and students find creative ways to fulfill lab and fieldwork expectations after classes are cancelled. Katelyn Dean, a student in Professor Doug Graber Neufeld's natural history class, shows morel mushrooms she and her dad found in the George Washington National Forest.

11. Seniors celebrate on May 3, what would have been their Commencement Day. The event is tentatively rescheduled for Homecoming and Family Weekend in fall 2020.

12. On May 28, EMU partners with the Virginia Department of Health and the City of Harrisonburg to host a free mobile COVID-19 testing event.

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As the dining hall begins limited service to the small group of mostly international students remaining on campus, dining hall director Bruce Emmerson donates perishable food.

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Music professor David Berry posts a rollicking version of “If You’re Happy and You Know It (Wash Your Hands)” on Facebook, which garners nearly 300 likes and 200 shares.

6. Senior nursing students volunteer at the Virginia Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 hotline, as faculty focus on expediting clinical hours before access to hospitals and clinic is restricted. A waiver from the Virginia Board of Nursing eventually allows simulation to be substituted for clinical hours.

7. LovEMU Day on April 8 brings in a record $214,683 from 732 gifts, including donations to the Student Emergency Tuition Fund and the UFund for Resilience.

8. The spring “Stay Healthy Royals” public health campaign helps to raise awareness on campus with basic info about the disease. Outreach efforts through posters and fliers, social media and other formats will continue in the fall when campus opens.

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After responding to vastly increased technological demands during the move to online learning, Information Systems staff are now advising on the acquisition of new technology for classrooms and installing it on arrival. Pictured is Josh Ayers, educational technology analyst.

14. Admissions hosts more than 100 students and 70 parents/guardians at their first virtual orientation and registration event in May, with a second event to follow in June. The team also creates a virtual admissions hub with online tours, video interviews, and special information related to EMU’s COVID-19 response for prospective students.

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15. Planning for fall semester begins in April, with six teams of 60 faculty, staff and administrators focusing on infrastructure, teaching and learning, enrollment, budget, faculty and staff, and student life. Lynn Veurink, with auxiliary services, checks measurements between desks to accommodate social distancing measures.

PHOTOS BY SCOT T EYRE '16, RACHEL HOLDERMAN '18 AND MACSON MCGUIGAN '17 OR CONTRIBUTED.

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EMU Prepares for Significant Financial Impacts of COVID-19 The global impact and implications of COVID-19 reinforce the relevance and urgency of EMU’s recently updated vision statement: We will open new pathways of access and achievement for all students who aspire to grow as unifying leaders equipped with intercultural competence, oriented toward peace and justice, and rooted in an active faith modeled on the life and teachings of Jesus.

We know that the financial challenges presented to our students and the university will be substantial and ongoing. To ensure that EMU is positioned to open new pathways of access to traditional and non-traditional students, we have prioritized our fundraising objectives to serve adversely impacted students and to resolve significant financial challenges the University is facing as a result of COVID-19.

STUDENT TUITION RELIEF FUND

UNIVERSITY FUND FOR EMU RESILIENCE

This fund will provide current and prospective EMU students with the direct tuition relief they need to resume or begin their education at EMU in the fall of 2020.

The profound impact of COVID-19 has placed additional financial burdens upon EMU — primarily in the form of the anticipated financial loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars, possibly reaching the value of a million or more, in revenue.

Therefore, anticipating the diminished availability of an already underfunded endowment, EMU is inviting you to give generously to the Student Tuition Relief Fund now to provide needed direct financial support to students so that they can return to EMU or arrive for the first time to encounter the transformative experience of an EMU education.

Your generous gifts to the University Fund for EMU Resilience will go a long way to help EMU persevere through the pandemic. Your gift before June 30 and after is critical to keep EMU resilient both during and after this crisis.

To support the Student Tuition Relief Fund or the University Fund for EMU Resilience, please visit emu.edu/giving/resilience-funds, or contact the Development Office (800) 368-3383 or devoffice@emu.edu.

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CARES Act Expands Charitable Giving Options The recently enacted government stimulus bill (the “CARES Act”) provides significant tax relief for donors to support causes and organizations impacted by COVID-19.

The EMU community and our students were not spared by the impact of COVID-19 and now urgently need your support.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE CARES ACT FOR EMU DONORS: • Suspended Adjusted Gross Income Limits — For 2020, current AGI limits for charitable deductions for cash gifts made by individuals and businesses are suspended. This provision excludes gifts into donor-advised funds. The new deductions limits are: » Individuals: Total charitable contributions can be deducted up to 100% of a donor’s adjusted gross income (previously up to 60%). » Corporations: Charitable contributions can be deducted up to 25% of taxable income (previously up to 10%).

• Universal Charitable Deduction — For 2020, there is an above-the-line charitable deduction for non-itemizers, for cash gifts up to $300 (this excludes gifts into donor-advised funds).

• Individual Financial Support — Individuals will receive direct payments of up to $1,200/taxpayer plus $500/child. If you do not need the payments, please consider donating them to EMU. • Suspended IRA RMDs — Although required minimum distributions have been suspended for the year 2020, donors may still authorize a qualified charitable distribution for up to $100,000.

SUPPORT STUDENTS AND EMU RESILIENCE NOW To learn more about the CARES Act and how it may be strategic for your charitable giving this year, please contact Jasmine Hardesty, director of development and planned giving, 540-432-4971, 540-271-8908 or jasmine. hardesty@emu.edu. Additional information for planned gift strategies can be found at emuplannedgiving.org. www.emu.edu | CROSSROADS | 9

COURTESY PHOTO

Brooke Hensley '14 is an emergency department nurse at Sentara RMH in Harrisonburg, Va. She writes: "Throughout the last month, I have seen an increase in teamwork amongst healthcare professionals and witnessed the entire community coming together ... There has been an outpouring of support and prayers from the community, which gives me, as well as other healthcare workers, the strength and courage to be on the frontline in this unpredictable journey, knowing that we are all in this fight together."

YUN SHEN SEM ‘19 / Fuzhou, Fujian, China Yun is a pastor with Luoyuan Christian Church. From correspondence with EMU, 2/14/2020 All churches in China were closed down for Sunday service and all gatherings from January 26. Chinese officials have closed transport within and out of Wuhan and other cities in Hubei province, including buses, subways, trains, and the airport. Also, my city has closed transport within and out of the city, so most people can only stay home and cannot go back to work. ...My church began Sunday service online with WeChat for four weeks. For the young people, we also have a small group online. For the old people, they do not use the internet very much, so they can not join Sunday service and the small group online, and we also cannot visit them. Moreover, we also do not know how long we will need to have Sunday service online; it depends on government policy. Please pray for my country, my church, and me.

ROYALS RESPOND More than ever, the world needs EMU graduates.

This spring, Crossroads staff followed up with EMU alumni who had shared recent updates to ask if they’d write first-person accounts of their life during the pandemic. Some reflections focused on work, others family and quarantine experiences.

We’re grateful to each for their contribution during this stressful time.

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WORÉ NDIAYE MA ‘13 (CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION) / Dakar, Senegal Woré is the country project manager for the Women’s Voice and Leadership Project, an initiative in 32 countries financed by the government of Canada.

For me, facing this pandemic initially meant understanding the problem and finding the serenity and balance to address it at a personal level. It was

also about getting the confidence and strength to support my team members, to give them the tools to adapt at the individual, community and national level, while creating a certain sense of global solidarity.

As we immediately started working from home, my team and I quickly designed an intervention strategy with our 25 local partner organizations in which we tackle the impact of COVID-19 on women’s and girls’ rights: to address the increase of domestic violence by putting in place a mechanism to protect women and support women health care providers including trauma healing. Our intervention also emphasized strong advocacy for a considerable number of women to be included in the government’s COVID-19 Response Group. Although only five women have been selected by the president out of 30 on the committee, we are still working on strong advocacy with women civil society organizations for gender-sensitive budgeting, so the needs of women living all forms of vulnerability can be considered.

DR. PHIL ZAPANTA ‘96 / Lorton, Va. A colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves Medical Corps, Phil is the otolaryngology residency program director and associate professor of surgery at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

COVID-19 has brought many personal and professional challenges. Due to my military background and professional medical training in Washington D.C., I have learned how to deal with mass events such as 9/11, chemical and biological warfare, the threat of Ebola, and now it’s COVID-19. However, my preparedness doesn’t eliminate the anxiety that accompanies each of these events. Other than my faith in Christ, my family brings me sustenance and sanity during this time. Last summer,

the US Army deployed me to Iraq as an ENT trauma surgeon. While I enjoyed serving my country in this capacity, I missed out on family time with my wife, Anne Charbeneau Zapanta ’97; son Jonny, a sophomore music and worship major at Liberty University; daughter Rebekah, a sophomore in high school; and our crazy, old-man dog, Jack. Now I am catching up on missed family time. So while COVID-19 has brought countless hardships, I am also viewing this as a blessing in disguise. Life in D.C. (and everywhere else) basically changed after the events of 9/11. In the same way, life after this will be different.

However, all of us are resilient and we will persevere.

JEANNINE UZEL MSN ‘18 / Richmond, Va. Jeannie directs the Office of Public Health Nursing at the Virginia Department of Health. Excerpted from a conversation with Professor Emeritus Ann Hershberger.

By early February, we knew we were in for the long haul with COVID-19.

However, our public health professionals and nurses have risen to the occasion.

We scaled back our clinics but maintained essential services. We developed ways to continue to serve our high-risk maternity and pediatric clients though tele-health home visits and have continued our comprehensive harm reduction services. Despite these actions, we realized we needed more help. On a video call with school nurses across the state, I asked for their help and they responded in droves. Student nurses, including EMU student nurses, have helped in our call centers. Retired epidemiologists, nurses, pharmacists, physicians, and others are helping manage outbreaks, providing care in nursing facilities, and assisting with testing and contact tracing… I am grateful and humbled by their generosity. www.emu.edu | CROSSROADS | 11

In a world that so recently seemed divided, the outpouring of support from volunteers has been overwhelming. I have seen communities looking out for one another and people offering to help in any way possible. Worship is continuing through electronic platforms from our homes, which seems to bring us closer together than if we were in the same building. May these glimpses of grace in these dark times sustain us.

ALYSSA GREEN ‘14 / Broadway, Va. Alyssa teaches kindergarten in Rockingham County Public Schools.

Place teachers in a classroom full of 20 five-year-olds and we can make magic happen! Putting us behind a screen and working remotely is a whole other story. I thrive in hands-on mode and this is very much a hands-off time, while communicating and responding to my students as much as possible and balancing my own toddler at home!

Right now, I am sending out weekly plans with my Kindergarten team, providing families with activities that the kids can mainly do independently.

We realize that parents are most likely at home working and are trying to provide a good balance of work that needs an adult's help and work that doesn't. We have created a lot of things that involve the kids looking around their house, writing things down, finding outside, or reading in fun places and spaces. We are sharing our weekly plans on our Kindergarten google site we created. I am also sharing tips and tricks on my social media page, “The Green Garten.” I am trying to provide a space for families to realize that learning is all around and their entire day doesn't have to be structured and planned like our school day is. Cooking with your child, sorting laundry with your child, and even going for a walk outside are all learning opportunities.

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RJ OCAMPO ‘19 / Virginia Beach, Va. In September 2019, I decided to jump into the world of Emergency Medical Services. I was ready to be there during people’s scariest moments and serve my community. Never did I think that I would also be fighting a deadly virus a few months later that would shake the world to its core. It is difficult adjusting to new protocols, assessments, and orders all while learning the basics.

For a while it felt like my world was spiraling out of control. My confidence and skills are tested daily, but my faith has been my saving grace. Through the encouragement of family, the Virginia Beach EMS community, and my Lord Jesus, I’ve been able to continue to serve my community without fear. My family has been praying daily and proclaiming the words from Psalm 91 over ourselves.

This simple act has been strengthening our spirits and giving us hope.

JARED YODER ‘96 / New York, N.Y. Jared is an administrator at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

A number of colleagues within the Patient Services Department have had COVID and a few of them lost loved ones. Death surrounds us and is forced on us as healthcare workers despite the fact that we want to be done even talking about it. I am jolted back to reality every time I walk in to work past the two refrigerated semi-truck trailers just outside the back door tent. The analogy goes like this - we have to swim

across open water and back every day for our livelihood. It had previously been protected waters but now it’s shark infested and the water is red. I wonder who is next in this insidious lottery?

This weighs very heavy on New Yorkers because there seems to be no escape.

We hate waiting it out and cowering in isolating fear. However, I am so grateful to know my wife, two kids and I never needed hospitalization after contracting COVID-19. Also grateful NYC is past the peak. You should hear the daily 7 p.m. standing ovation for the essential workers! Every day it gets louder and longer! People are amazingly resilient, finding hope in such creative ways and some even finding that God is still sovereign. Yea though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no shark, for you are with us!

ERIN FREEMAN ‘14 / Pittsburgh, Pa. Erin is an admissions counselor at Humane Animal Rescue The day before Pennsylvania shut down, I did an animal shelter intake for a senior chihuahua mix. He was emaciated, his white spots were brown, he smelled like he’d been living in a basement. He trembled at sudden movements and new people, but with some coaxing, he sniffed my shoes, took treats from my hand, and curled up in my lap. My partner, Jess, dropped by with lunch at just the right time; she offered that we could foster for a couple of weeks and help him regain his health before he went up for adoption.

He came home with us during an onset of rapid change and uncertainty.

He put on weight as our work schedules shifted; his ulcers healed as we worried about our families across the state. Sometime during the first night, while he was snuggled in a chihuahua nest at our feet, I said the word “spoon” wrong, and Jess decided his name would be Spoon.

Spoon gained half his body weight in the first week and became quick friends with our four cats. He loved wearing sweaters and riding in the car. He grew more energetic and started to play. When Jess and I both confirmed that we were “essential” and would be able to keep our jobs, we decided to adopt him ourselves. Now we’re seven happy creatures sheltering-in-place in a small, bright apartment. And I am lucky to have a home, a partner, and now a Spoon that continue to be a refuge.

KEVIN KING ‘81 / Lititz, Pa. I work for an organization that does things. Mennonite Disaster Service volunteers get people back home. Where faith is put into action. But in this disaster we are told to stay home. That is hard when the hammer doesn’t ring hope. Although I wanted to believe that COVID-19 would not touch Karen and me, the ever-burgeoning number of cases means we must pay attention. So, this is different. It is not localized like an earthquake or hurricane or flooding – there is not one specific state or province that we can rush to aid. Rather, this disaster is personal – each and every one of us will experience its impact in some way or another.

We are all disaster survivors.

So while I work from home I am hearing the quiet response from our volunteers in unique ways. Things like making plexiglass shields for Ten Thousand Villages stores, giving PPE items out of their tool trailers to the local clinic or hospital, sewing cloth face masks and gowns, volunteering in local food pantries, shopping for an elder person, and the list goes on.

What is not different? As usual, the most vulnerable among us will be hit the hardest and take the longest to recover.

For many members of congregations, the spread of COVID-19 is changing their

household economics, and as household economics change, so, too, are congregational economics. Many of our people simply have less to give, and the suspension of in-person worship services has meant that no offering plates are being passed around. As a response our board approved a grant of $350,000 to Everence to form a COVID-19 Congregational Relief Fund.

Disaster survivors are resilient. We will get through this. With God’s help.

Sometimes the hammer lays still but hope arises.

BENJAMIN BOLANOS ‘95 / Palo Alto, Calif.

Depending on the week or the day, I tell myself a different story. Before I log in to my work online [as a history and sociology teacher at Palo Alto High School], I read the news, watch Governor Cuomo’s update, or review the data on the latest COVID-19 trends in California and elsewhere. I feel immediately anxious. My heart rate climbs. I begin to sweat. I am angry and simultaneously heartbroken as I watch the most vulnerable suffer from this virus. I worry about the elderly and the poor. I worry about whether my wife will easily contract the disease as an ER nurse, given her previous battle with cancer and chemo. Will she die from this? Will I ?

What will happen to my children? Will we even survive this? Will this save or destroy our “democracy?” What if it’s even worse when the second wave hits?

What if Trump...

And yet on other days, I tell myself this story: That I feel hopeful about the future. I am hopeful because the pandemic has revealed to us a new way of living that may save us from our capitalistic and environmentally destructive culture. I am hopeful because mother earth is fighting back. She is holding a mirror to us and unveiled what is sacred

in this world. For us sacredness is helping our undocumented neightbors who have lost income and cannot access the basic necessities they need to survive.

Sacredness is witnessing kind strangers helping other strangers in their communities. It is asking “What do you need?” to our mailman or grocery store cashier or unhoused person sleeping on the sidewalk. Sacredness is changing the status quo to create a more just society. So which story do I choose to tell from now on? Both. I wish I could just say, without a doubt, the latter. But that’s not the reality we live in. Maybe we need the fear to find hope in this time. I imprinted a verse my late father always found solace in on one of my surfboards as a reminder of what it means to struggle and endure.

From Romans 5:3-5, “...we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

RACHEL BENSON ‘14 / Steeles Tavern, Va. Rachel is an RN in community mental health at a crisis stabilization unit.

Due to the rising need for acute psychiatric hospital beds, our unit has been converted to a quarantine zone to facilitate state psychiatric hospital patients’ transition to community treatment. The typical functions of our program have been expanded to provide essential treatment and holistic care to high acuity clients with profound mental health and medical needs. We have been prepared to assume care for COVID-19 positive clients, despite lacking what would ordinarily be considered ideal personal protective equipment, adequate staffing, and other useful medical resources.

These changes have had a powerful impact on my nursing role and my personal life, necessitating adaptability. More of my work time is spent teaching my cowww.emu.edu | CROSSROADS | 13

workers medical skills and proper safety techniques. I advocate assertively for the health and safety of the clients and staff at my place of employment, regardless of the hierarchical power structure in place.

Members of both my professional and personal communities seek information and advice from me, and providing both comfort and encouragement to those around me while remaining realistic has been extraordinarily difficult. Although I experience trepidation due to the risk of contracting COVID-19 myself or exposing my family to the virus, I am also reminded daily of the value of my role in this pandemic.

AMY MARSICO MA '09 (CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION) / Brooklyn, N.Y. While the pandemic is an unprecedented crisis, it is also an opportunity to recognize our inter-dependence, strengthen social cohesion, and act on our shared humanity. I have seen this play out on a local level in Brooklyn where I volunteer as an intake administrator for a mutual aid group.

In the city, dozens of these groups have sprung up in response to neighbors in need, many of whom can no longer afford to feed their families, are harassed by landlords because they cannot pay their rent, or are unable to risk a short trip to the grocery store due to their health status.

The skills I acquired at CJP which include leadership, world viewing, cultivating resilience, practicing self-care, and understanding trauma have helped me to collaborate with others to set up systems that are connecting people to resources and building relationships with other mutual aid groups so that we are sharing knowledge, skills and best practices in order to leverage impact. These skills have helped me to train intake volunteers to listen and respond to community members who may be in crisis and are experiencing distress.

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As peacebuilders we know that systemic change, healing from trauma, and increasing capacity to respond to unmet needs requires sustained engagement and accompaniment. We have a pivotal role to play in thinking through the long-term effects of this crisis and reflecting on how we can build on the social bonding and greater awareness of our interdependence to create a more just and equitable world. The disease doesn’t care about social status, color, ethnicity, location, but in many places, social distancing is a luxury. Not everyone has access to clean water and sanitation, and health care systems may be fragile and ill equipped to respond to a disease of this magnitude. Given that our ability to overcome the coronavirus will not succeed unless every country can control it, we have greater momentum to address the disparities that have been exacerbated by the pandemic and to work together to create the world we want to live in.

CALEB TOWNSEND ‘17 / Baltimore, Md. It's hard to feel fully comfortable mourning the things we lost in 2020, and it's hard to not make this feel like a premature memoriam for a year that just started. It feels silly to worry about the gym regiment I cannot access or the friends I can't see when thousands of people are dying.

But I think it's okay to mourn the simple things we miss. I miss a good face-to-face conversation. I miss having the endorphin release of a weekend and I mourn the projects that had to stop.

I picked the wrong timeline to be an extrovert. There's better things to watch than Tiger King. Watch a foreign film or something. Learn to make that Prison Sauce from Goodfellas. I'm growing my mustache out just because I like that shaving gives me another thing to do every day.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DURING COVID 19 PAULINE MARTIN ‘90 / San Salvador, El Salvador Pauline directs the master's program in education policy and evaluation and conducts research in the effects of gang presence on education at Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas.

Every day begins the same: waking up to the bread seller’s bicycle horn, the neighbor’s rooster or a mango falling on the roof of our home in San Salvador.

What a contrast to the loud alarm at 5:30 a.m. and the rush to get everyone out the door, then an hour-long trip in city traffic to travel eight kilometers! Life is slow and monotonous since March 21, yet time seems to fly by with the never-ending routines of work, study and housework.

Our mango tree is our blessing: In addition to serving as an impromptu alarm clock, it gives shade to our house in this dry season heat. This year has been an abundant mango year, but what can I do with so many mangos? Usually I share them with others, but this year I cannot.

I pray others may enjoy mangos as well.

As in all parts of the world, crisis reveals inequality. We are privileged with our living conditions, but many Salvadorans work in the informal sector or have no pay in these months, live in crowded households and struggle with schooling their children.

I have been through several crises in El Salvador in the 27 years I´ve lived here: earthquakes, a volcano eruption, tropical storms, Zika and H1N1 influenza epidemics. What I have learned from my Salvadoran community is a resigned faith in God. When you cannot trust in government, weather, the health system or social safety nets, the only thing left to trust in is God. And the security of seasons that bring mangos, and that this too shall pass.

Over these past few months, Crossroads has collected (through the grapevine) snippets of information about how our alumni are engaging in their communities with the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s a few we’ve saved to share:

SINCE 2018, The Citizen (www.hburgcitizen.com) has provided free, online, independent journalism for Shenandoah Valley readers, with pandemic coverage featuring in-depth looks at government budget decisions, health and medical issues, the food industry and more. The publishers are Andrew Jenner ‘04, Bridget Nolan Manley and Ryan Alessi.

Randi B. Hagi ‘14 is an assistant editor. Freelance contributors have included Ryan Eshleman-Robles ‘13, Liesel Graber ‘18, Harrison Horst ‘18, John Leonard ‘92, and Luisa Miller ‘17. // STUCK AT HOME? Want to dance?

Want to dance with somebody? Katie Mansfield, STAR lead trainer, started "Dancing Resilience," a virtual community of around 740 members, dancing five times day, and connecting globally through music and movement. Katie recently finished her doctorate in expressive arts and conflict transformation with the European Graduate School in Switzerland, so she can not only dance but she can share theory behind it. Ask to join the "Dancing Resilience" group on Facebook. // WE KNOW MORE ROYALS are sewing masks out there, but here’s a shout-out to Phil Helmuth ‘76, volunteer development coordinator with Mennonite Disaster Services, who helped to coordinate production of homemade masks among Mennonite church congregations and Old Order groups here in the Valley. // KEN SEITZ ‘60 has been keeping a daily journal to chronicle life under lockdown at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, focusing on what is different about each day, from phone conversations to emails, the stock market, Zoom church, weather, and bits of inspiration from poetry and readings. “Were I not recording the daily happenings and events of our lives, many of them trivial, we’d look back and wonder how did we survive?

What was it like?” His wife Audrey Metz ‘62 is also writing, but prefers to compose by hand. // RITA M. SMITH ‘86, Blountstown, Fla., shared the news this winter of her promotion as the statewide public health director of nursing at the Florida Department of Health. Then in March, she emailed us to let us know she was activated to the Florida Emergency Operations Command for the COVID-19 pandemic. Rita is pursuing her MPH from Florida State University, and holds a DNP from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. //

From right, in a photo taken in pre-pandemic times, The Citizen's publisher Andrew Jenner ‘04 and assistant editor Randi B. Hagi ‘14, with publishers Bridget Nolan Manley and Ryan Alessi.

COURTESY PHOTO

ALSO IN HARRISONBURG, Kirsten Moore ‘93 opened Magpie and Friends Market, partnering with farmers, chefs and bakers who usually supply to restaurants to serve customers in a no-touch, drive-through format. She will open Magpie Diner and Bakery in the coming months. Kirsten was a panelist during a May webinar hosted by the EMU Business and Professional Club on the theme of “successful pivots during the COVID-19 pandemic” (Jair Drooger ‘97, of CT Assist and EMU’s new Center for Innovation and Leadership, and trustee Deanna Reed, mayor of Harrisonburg, also joined.) // GWEN SNAVELY ANGEL ‘98, Seattle, Wa., was featured in a photoessay in the May issue of Rolling Stone magazine with other healthcare professionals on the front lines in Seattle. She is an assistant nurse manager in emergency services at University of Washington Harborview Medical Center. // ALSO IN SEATTLE, Eric Moyer, class of ‘03, was among three volunteer designers with the nonprofit Design That Matters to create one of the first open source 3-D printed face shields – and this is cool – fellow alum Gwen Angel (see above) was a collaborator (looks like she actually tested a prototype). Eric is an engineer at Boeing. Check it out at designthatmatters.com. // IN JUST TWO WEEKS, April Hepler MA ‘12 (counseling), helped to launch the Shenandoah Valley Emotional Support Line, a COVID-19 hotline staffed by volunteer mental health professionals. April is executive director of Adagio House, which also employs Casey Hurren MA ‘18 (counseling), Rebecca Peifer ‘00, MA ‘18 (counseling), and current graduate student Melissa Fisher. // EVAN LANDES ‘03, Raleigh, N.C., is an assistant manager at Octapharma Inc., which is involved in plasma donation collection, and specifically at this time, focusing on convalescent plasma of recovered COVID-19 patients.

www.emu.edu | CROSSROADS | 15

Immersive faith-based service was foundational in my formation as a missionary disciple. As my vocational discernment continued and I prayed about graduate school, EMU immediately stood out because its values aligned with the cornerstones of my volunteer experiences - faith, service, community, and simplicity. Receiving my MA in Conflict Transformation not only prepared me to be a more effective agent of social change, but was deeply enriching spiritually and personally. I regularly draw on the knowledge, skills, and relationships that I developed in graduate school in my current ministry to promote human dignity and flourishing.

Caitlin Morneau MA ‘19

MILEPOSTS FACULTY & STAFF This list is a small sampling of faculty and staff activities during spring semester 2020.

• • • • • • • • 16 | CROSSROADS | SPRING/SUMMER 2020

Brian Martin Burkholder, campus pastor, led a team of eight students to North Carolina on a Y-Serve spring break trip to help rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Florence in 2018.

Shannon Dycus, dean of students, preached at the Hope for the Future gathering in Dallas, Texas, in January. The annual gathering was created in 2011 to provide a space for Africans, African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, and Native Americans to freely discuss their experiences in the church.

Marti Eads, professor of English, launched a bibliotherapy program linking students with residents at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community for an hour of reading and conversation each week.

Kathy Evans, professor of education, published a policy brief titled “The Starts and Stumbles of Restorative Justice in Education: Where Do We Go from Here?” through The National Education Policy Center.

Ryan Good, co-director, Washington Community Scholars’ Center, co-authored a paper published in the Journal of Education

Policy about private fundraising organizations tied to public schools in Philadelphia.

Their study was reported on by WHYY, the Philadelphia-area PBS and NPR member station.

Barry Hart, professor of trauma, identity and conflict studies, Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, gave a keynote address on restorative justice in the context of a post-war society at a seminar organized by the Initiatives of Change Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in February.

Herm, university mascot, announced his retirement this spring. EMU is in search for the next blue lion mascot.

Katie Mansfield, STAR lead trainer, started a virtual dance community called Dancing Resilience to build community online while social distancing in response to COVID-19.

Daniel Showalter, professor of mathematics, was a lead contributor to the most recent edition of “Why Rural Matters,” a biennial report that analyzes the data behind academic performance, poverty, racial diversity, and other aspects of education in America’s rural schools.

Honorees of the first annual Excellence in Teaching Awards are: in the Senior Faculty

MEET TWO SUCCESSFUL ADULT GRADS: Letitia Bates '16 and James Ramsey '18, graduates of EMU's Accelerated Degree Program. Bates owns At the Wheel Coaching in Harrisonburg, where she uses trauma healing techniques and Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT tapping, to help her clients maximize their potential. Ramsey is operations manager at Artisan Packaging in Harrisonburg, where he started as an entry-level technician 12 years ago and worked his way through every production position en route to management. He is a graduate student in EMU's MA in Organizational Leadership program. (Photos by Macson McGuigan)

category, Daniel Showalter, associate professor of mathematics; in the Junior Faculty category, Johonna Turner, assistant professor at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding; and in the Contingent Faculty category, Bonnie Yoder, adjunct, education. The selection process began with nominations from the campus community, reviewed by a committee appointed by Faculty Senate.

Paul Yoder, professor of education, with a colleague from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, presented his published survey findings from nearly 400 teachers from Mennonite Council Schools at the 2020 Mennonite Educators Conference.

Zach Yoder Zach Yoder, earned a PhD. in Strategic Leadership with a concentration in Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership from James Madison University. His dissertation title is The Influence of Remaining Unmet Financial Need on the Persistence Behaviors of Students Enrolled at a Small, Private, Liberal Arts Institution of Higher Education.

1950-59 Henry Weaver ‘50, Goshen, Ind., is retired from a career teaching education at Goshen College and the University of California.

Marvin Groff ‘55, Canton, Pa., is retired from a career in education. He is a member of North Street Community Church.

Ruth Rudy ‘55, Manheim, Pa., is a retired elementary school teacher who taught for 32 years in six states and Canada.

Myrtle Shenk ‘55, Lititz, Pa., retired as CEO for the faith-based project “Sharing Programs.”

She worked as an administrative assistant for New Danville Mennonite School and East Petersburg Mennonite Church. She and her husband, John, now reside in independent living at Landis Homes. She spends her time caring for John, knitting prayer shawls for the Landis Home chaplains to distribute to hospital patients, quilting for the Landis Homes benefit sale, and cooking.

Ruth Simpson ‘55, Royersford, Pa., is retired from her career as a registered nurse and her work in massage and reflexology.

Lorna Sirtoli ‘55, Cortland, N.Y., is a professional cake artist.

Laura Weaver ‘55, Evansville, Ind., is retired from teaching English at the University of Evansville.

www.emu.edu | CROSSROADS | 17

1960-69 James Good ‘60, Harrisonburg, Va., is a teacher of adult education in Virginia.

Daniel Hochstetler ‘60, Goshen, Ind., is a retired middle school teacher. He was a teacher at two Hutterite colony schools in Montana from 1963-65 and also spent time as a research field worker. He co-founded the Jacob Hochstetler Family Association, Inc. in 1988, and has served as editor of their quarterly newsletter for 25 years. He was a charter member of Michigan Antabaptist Historians in 1992 and editor of their newsletter for nine years.

Esther Kraybill ‘60, Lebanon, Pa., is retired from a career in education.

Samuel Lapp ‘60, Lansdale, Pa., is an industrial arts teacher and supervisor for Wissahickon School District. He served with Mennonite Central Committee in Jamaica and Egypt from 1979-81 and 1997-98, and was a camp administrator for Camp Men-O-Lan until 2006.

AN EGYPTIAN MYSTERY How did the EMU logo find its way to the back window of a bus in Alexandria? This mystery was supplied to us by Hollis and Martha Showalter (courtesy of Hollis’s brother, Stuart Showalter ‘67). They snapped the photo while touring Egypt this spring with a group sponsored by Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary.

(Courtesy photo)

Robert Martin ‘60, Wrightsville, Pa., now retired, is a member of East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church.

Edwin Miller ‘60, Kalona, Iowa, taught elementary school for 26 years, and has now been retired for 12 years. He has volunteered with Jubilee Partners, Camp Deer Park, and the International Guest House.

Emma Myers ‘60, Philadelphia, Miss., is retired from a career in elementary school education. She was a pastor’s wife and helped to start two churches. She’s been involved since the beginning with the local Friends of the Library organization.

Richard Weaver ‘60, Lititz, Pa., is a retired doctor, surgeon and pastor. He served several terms as a missionary surgeon in Tanzania. In 1999, he was ordained in the New Holland Mennonite Church, and in 2003, he became a certified spiritual director for Oasis Ministries.

Jean E. Snyder ‘63, Pittsburgh, Pa., was named the inaugural Historian in Residence by the Harry T. Burleigh Society of New York City, in recognition of her biography Harry T. Burleigh: From the Spiritual to the Harlem Renaissance (University of Illinois Press, 2016).

Jean collected archives on Burleigh -- an African American baritone, art song composer, music editor and arranger -- for over 30 years while conducting research for the biography.

Elva Buckwalter Beach ‘65, Vilseck, Germany, is the treasury secretary for High Point Baptist Church.

INSPIRED TO SERVE Regina Chacha ‘85, Martinsville, Va., with Eastern Mennonite High School student Miriam Rhodes and her mother Laura Lehman Rhodes ‘95. After reading about Regina in Crossroads magazine when she was the 2018 Alumna of the Year, Miriam determined to volunteer. With financial support from Miriam’s grandfather, Paul Lehman ‘63, Miriam travelled with her mother to spend two weeks at City of Hope in summer 2019. Laura worked in the medical facility while Miriam taught music to children, using her ukulele.

Additionally, Miriam took portraits of several hundred City of Hope children to send to their sponsors. The duo also painted desks and chair and helped the children write letters to their sponsors.

(Text and photo by Andrea Schrock Wenger ‘86)

18 | CROSSROADS | SPRING/SUMMER 2020

Daniel Bowman ‘65, SEM ‘81, Harrisonburg, Va., is a retired rehabilitation counselor. His community involvements include active lay leadership and Sunday school teaching at church. He is an active member in the Richmond chapter of the Piano Technicians Guild.

Lois Frantz ‘65, Thompson, Pa., helped found the Faith Mountain Christian Academy in 1995. She served at the academy as a teacher and principal until 2015, and now volunteers there.

Lois Good ‘65, Lititz, Pa., retired from the Lancaster County Office of Aging and now volunteers at Landis Homes.

Ernest Hess ‘65 SEM ‘99, Lancaster, Pa., retired as a pastor and bishop in 2006 and as a guidance counselor in 2008. He currently volunteers through his congregation and is a substitute teacher in public schools and at Lancaster Mennonite School. Ernest also enjoys walking and hiking, having completed

the Appalachian Trail and the Camino de Santiago in Spain with his wife, Lois.

Robert Koch ‘65, Woodland Park, Colo., is a retired teacher and professor.

Grace Leichty ‘65, West Liberty, Ohio, is a retired business education teacher. Her community involvements include serving as Recourse Commission Chair, church council member, Stewardship Commission Chair, and on boards for Green Hills Community and Adriel School.

Susanna Moshier ‘65, Castorland, N.Y., is a retired medical records director from United Helpers Cedars Nursing Home.

Paul Nisly ‘65, Grantham, Pa., is a professor emeritus of English. He taught at Messiah College full-time for 36 years and part-time for 12 more. He has also served the church as an ordained minister beginning in 1975 and was later ordained as a bishop. He also chaired the Lancaster Mennonite Conference ministerial credentialing commission.

Jim Ranck ‘65, Harrisonburg, Va., is retired from real estate. He helped to found and incorporate Sea Island Habitat for Humanity in 1978. From 1990-97, he served and volunteered as executive director. This project has built over 350 houses.

Samuel G. Showalter ‘65, Rockingham, Va., is partially retired from his general medical practice. He earned his doctor of medicine from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in 1969, and completed his rotating internship at the Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, Ohio in 1970.

Joseph Gascho ‘68, Hummelstown, Pa., was the featured photographer in an exhibit at POSITIVE EXPOSURE 109 in New York City.

1970-79 Evelyn Baer ‘70, Kingston, Idaho, has been a bookkeeper for her family business, Silver Valley Doors, LLC, since 1992. She homeschooled her five children over a 27-year period and taught kindergarten for three grandchildren.

Nelson Baer ‘70, Newport News, Va., now retired, is a member of Warwick River Mennonite Church.

Thomas Beachy ‘70, Caseville, Mich., is the senior pastor at Pigeon River Mennonite Church. He is on the board of a local environmental organization, enjoys local and world birding experiences, and has been able to travel through his involvement with missions.

Bob Bishop ‘70, Doylestown, Pa., is a retired excavating contractor.

Barb Borntrager ‘70, Rockingham, Va., is a retired teacher from Rockingham County Schools. She has been a chaplain at Pilgrim’s Pride in Timberville since 2001. She is a Sunday school teacher for adults and involved in women’s bible studies.

Robert Brenneman ‘70, Goshen, Ind., now retired, volunteers as a ministerial assistant at Greencroft retirement community.

James Duncan ‘70 SEM ‘76, Ashville, N.C., is retired. He was an adult social worker in Harrisonburg from 1970-73, a missionary in Italy from 1973-78, and a Choice Books sales and service representative from 1980-2008.

He helped with church planting to start his congregation in 1979 and has been a member ever since.

Lois Greene ‘70, Lancaster, Pa., now retired, is involved in AARP Tax Ministry and Silent Samaritan.

Marian Hackney ‘70, Raphine, Va., is a retired teacher of students with visual impairments.

Lois Hochstetler ‘70, Bloomington, Ill., is a retired clinical social worker. Her community involvements include church, Mennonite Disaster Service, neighborhood helper and election judge.

Charlotte Hoover ‘70, Lebanon, Pa., is a farm wife and homemaker. She previously worked as a secretary. She and her husband are involved in church and teaching marriage classes. She volunteers with Jubilee Ministries and loves being a grandparent.

Elton Horst ‘70 SEM ‘73, Hagerstown, Md., now retired, volunteers at his local YMCA. Brenda King ‘70, Sugarcreek, Ohio, is retired after 30 years of teaching.

Henry Miller ‘70, Constantine, Mich., is a partner with his son Ricardo in Villa Miller Farms.

Richard Miller ‘70, Manheim, Pa., is a retired medical doctor of family medicine at the University of Virginia. He volunteers with local church activities and MCC. Myrna Moyer ‘70, Telford, Pa., now retired, is a member of Ridgeland Community Church.

Virginia Musser ‘70, Lititz, Pa., now retired, volunteers at the Lititz Public Library, Lancaster General Health, and Luther Acres Retirement Community.

Allen Peachey ‘70, Goshen, Ind., is a retired Spanish and ELL teacher from Bethany Christian High School and Goshen High School. His community involvements include volunteering at The Window’s Food Pantry, MCC thrift store, Ten Thousand Villages, and College Church Jubilee Assistance Ministry; serving as a clinic interpreter and Stephen Ministry leader; and participating in the Goshen Community Chorale and College Church choir.

Beth Steria ‘70, Lowville, N.Y., is a pharmacy technician for Kinney Drugs. She is treasurer for the NYS Correctional and Youth Services Association, secretary for New York Mennonite Conference, on the board of directors for Agape Shoppe fair trade store, and a council member for Lowville Mennonite Church. She has also traveled widely.

Marlise Horst ‘73, Montreal, Canada, is an invited Scholar in Residence at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden this spring. Last year, she published a book for teachers of English, titled Focus on Vocabulary Learning (Oxford University Press, 2019). Marlise was an associate professor of applied linguistics at Concordia University in Montreal until her retirement in 2016.

Robert Fisher ‘75, Bremem, Ohio, has retired from his careers as a pastor at Turkey Run Mennonite and as a USPS rural mail carrier.

Beverly Hendricks ‘75, Telford, Pa., is an administrative assistant for BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors. She also does counseling and enjoys traveling.

Clair Hochstetler ‘75 SEM ‘85, Cincinnati, Ohio, is a hospice chaplain and president of the Board of Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship.

Lanny Millette ‘75, Leola, Pa., is the ministry director for The Potter’s House: Addiction Recovery and Discipleship Ministry.

Miriam Herr Nafziger ‘75, Lancaster, Pa., is a registered nurse on the acute care surgical unit at UPMC Lititz. She’s been an oncology certified nurse since 1994. Miriam and her

husband Rodney D. Nafziger ‘74 attend the Landisville Mennonite Church.

Jane Peifer ‘75 SEM ‘98, Harrisonburg, Va., is a spiritual director and retreat leader.

NEW BOARD CHAIR AND MEMBERS

Janet Schlabach ‘75, Goshen, Ind., is a retired health and physical education teacher.

EMU welcomes new chair Manuel A. Nuñez ‘94 and new members J.B. Miller ‘70 and Stephen Kriss ‘94, to the EMU Board of Trustees.

They begin their new roles July 1.

Betty Shenk ‘75, Harrisonburg, Va., is a retired elementary school counselor for Rockingham County Public Schools. Her community involvements include volunteering at Gift & Thrift, Bridge of Hope, Bridges Community Gatherings, and Kids Club. She has taken trips with EMU’s Alumni & Friends Cross-Cultural Tours to Israel and Palestine, and Turkey and Greece. She has also taken a trip to China with Myrrl Byler and Mennonite Partners in China.

Keaton Shenk ‘75, Harrisonburg, Va., is a retired elementary and middle school teacher for Harrisonburg Public Schools, Page County Public School and MCC-Bolivia. His community involvement includes volunteering at Gift & Thrift, Bridge of Hope, Patchwork Pantry, and an ecumenical centering prayer group.

Bonnie Barnhart Shoemaker ‘75, Harrisonburg, Va., is retired from teaching first grade. She is a volunteer at Brethren/ Mennonite Heritage Center and helps take care of her grandchildren.

Dennis Trissel ‘75, Rockingham, Va., works in agricultural sales for Trissel Equipment Sales LLC. He is an EMT for Harrisonburg Rescue Squad.

Gloria Shenk Worme ‘75, MA (education) ‘12, Mount Joy, Pa., is a volunteer usher at Fulton Theatre in Lancaster. She earned her graduate degree and ESL certification at EMU Lancaster.

Phil Helmuth ‘76, Harrisonburg, Va., is a volunteer development coordinator with Mennonite Disaster Services and helped to coordinate production of homemade masks for first responders in Harrisonburg in response to the COVID-19 outbreak this spring.

Daniel Baynard Grimes ‘78, Goshen, Ind., was promoted to vice president for advancement and enrollment at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart in July 2019. For the previous four years, he served as the director of enrollment and financial aid. In this new expanded role Grimes will oversee admission, financial aid, and development and fundraising activities.

1980- 89 Mike Beckler ‘80, Rockingham, Va., is an attorney.

Shirley Garber ‘80, Lancaster, Pa., is the supervisor of employee relations at Cherry Crest Adventure Farms. She retired after 22 years in education at Lancaster Mennonite Schools.

Loretta Gehman ‘80, Holtwood, Pa., is a social worker at UPMC Hospital.

Sue Glick ‘80, Akron, Pa., is a retired executive assistant for international programs for MCC. She is on her church’s leadership team and is a worship leader.

Sandra Greenwood ‘80, Philadelphia, Pa., is a licensed agent for health insurance sales and service.

Marcy High ‘80, Lancaster, Pa., retired in 2019 from teaching at Locust Grove Mennonite School. She also worked for seven years at Kraybill Mennonite School and nine years at Mellinger’s Parent & Preschool Center. She is currently working as a substitute teacher

Nuñez replaces outgoing chair Kay Nussbaum ‘78. He is associate dean of graduate programs at Villanova University’s School of Business, where he oversees the MBA and specialty masters programs, as well as enrollment and career strategy services. He also serves as professor of practice in the management and operations department, and faculty director of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Prior to academia, Nuñez spent 16 years as a sales and marketing leader at Merck & Co. He also spent six years as managing director of the Office of External and Government Affairs at the Inter-American Foundation, an agency of the U.S. government that invests in community-led development initiatives throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. He holds an MBA from Villanova University and completed a post-bac at the University of Pennsylvania.

Miller retired in 2014 after a successful 43-year career as a financial services executive.

His final position was vice president of investment services at Everence in Goshen, Indiana, where he led the development of the Praxis Mutual Funds and served as the first president of the funds. He serves on the investment committee of Mennonite Education Agency and on the board of advisors for the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving. Now residing in Sarasota, Fla., Miller includes among his retirement activities teaching classes offered by Sarasota Public Schools about the Mennonites and Amish and the Plain community of Pinecraft. Miller holds an MBA from Wake Forest University. He is a member of Covenant Mennonite Fellowship.

Kriss is executive minister of Mosaic Mennonite Conference where he’s worked since 2005.

He has pastored congregations in Somerset County, Pa., and Staten Island, N.Y. and taught in numerous academic institutions in areas of communication, ethics and practical theology.

He attends Philadelphia Praise Center, a multiethnic Mennonite congregation. He holds an MDiv from Drew University and an MA and PhD from Duquesne University in rhetoric and communication.

(All photos are courtesy photos)

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for Conestoga Valley Schools and Lancaster Mennonite Schools. Marcy served for 10 years at the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society.

She has also been involved in the Neffsville Mennonite Women’s Ministry, Neffsville Choir, and in mentorship at Messiah College.

Joseph D. Irish ‘80, Cobleskill, N.Y., retired after serving 30 years at the Schoharie County Mental Health Clinic as a psychotherapist, and now operates a private practice. He earned a Master’s in social welfare from the State University of New York at Albany. Joseph and his wife Vickie have two adult children in doctoral studies, one in physics and one in social welfare.

Joy Maust ‘80, West Jefferson, Ohio, is a retired seventh-grade social studies teacher in London City Schools.

RINGING THE BELL

Lynn Miller ‘80 SEM ‘89, Woodburn, Ore., is retired from pastoring for 35 years. He has done three Mennonite Mission Network SOOP experiences in California, Pennsylvania, and Puerto Rico.

Brian Plum ‘01, president and CEO of Blue Ridge Bank in Luray, Va., rang in the first stock trades of the new decade at the New York Stock Exchange in January. The bell has announced the first trades of each new day since the current building opened in 1903. Brian shared the ringing with directors and managers of the bank’s parent company Blue Ridge Bankshares, Inc.

Lucinda Oberholzer ‘80, Hagerstown, Md., is a registered dental hygienist and clinical instructor at Hagerstown Community College.

She volunteers and is a board member for World Treasures Thrift Shop.

“The experience was a great opportunity for me to reflect on how much I appreciate those people in my life, both living and deceased, who have impacted me along my journey, and to be grateful to the Lord for the success I’ve had and the people He has placed in my life,” Plum said. “I know it meant a lot to my wife and parents and others who have supported me along the way.”

Darrell Zook ‘80, Harrisonburg, Va., is a high school science teacher and coaches cross country and track at Broadway High School.

He also serves as a church elder.

He joined Blue Ridge Bank in 2006 and became president in 2014.

Plum, a certified public accountant, has been designated a “super CPA” by the Virginia Business magazine and the Virginia Society of CPAs three times. In 2018, Plum was named chairman of the Virginia Association of Community Banks. (Photo by Nicole Pereira/ The New York Stock Exchange)

Diane Rowland ‘80, Verona, Va., works as a lobby cleaner for McDonald’s.

Tim Martin Johnson ‘82, Philadelphia, Pa., was named controller of Justice at Work, which provides free legal services to low-income workers, including migrant farm workers and other seasonal workers. Johnson also serves as the treasurer of the board of Redemption Housing, a nonprofit which provides housing for citizens returning from incarceration.

Dave Yutzy ‘82 and Jewel Risser Yutzy ‘82, Timberville, Va.,were recipients of the Farm Family Stewardship Award 2020 from the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce. The farm is run by the Yutzy family, many of whom are EMU graduates.

David Scott Driver ‘85, Cheverly, Md., was named the sports editor of the Daily NewsRecord in Harrisonburg in November 2019. He reported on the Washington Nationals for the Washington Times during the 2018-19 season, and was fortunate to cover Game 7 of the World Series in Houston in October. He is married to Liz Chase Driver ‘86.

Pearl Hartman ‘85, Rockingham, Va., is a pastor at Big Spring Mennonite Church and is a Virginia Mennonite Conference Faith & Life Commission chaplain supervisor.

CPE 20TH ANIVERSARY The family of Lena and Norman Yutzy ’55, SEM ‘58 were the guests of honor at the seminary’s Clinical Pastoral Education banquet in January. The program celebrated its 20th anniversary, thanks in large part to a $1 million endowment from the Yutzy family. Daughter Lenora Yutzy Bell ‘79 and husband Rick, daughter Charlene Yutzy Jacob ‘88, son David Yutzy ‘82 and wife Jewel; and grandson Ben Yutzy ‘06, with wife Risa Heatwole Yutzy and their two children were in attendance. From left to right: Penny Driediger, David Yutzy, Charlene Yutzy Jacob, Lenora Yutzy Bell, and Kenton Derstine. (Photo by Macson McGuigan '17)

Kathy Hertlzer ‘85, Lancaster, Pa., is the administrative assistant for college grants at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster.

Sharon Peachey ‘85, Shenandoah, Va., is a teacher for Greene County Public Schools.

Amy Rosenberger ‘85, Philadelphia, Pa., has been named as a Super Lawyer for Pennsylvania. She was among 16 attorneys at the firm Willig, Williams & Davidson to be recognized for their expertise in the practice areas of labor and employment, workers’ compensation, and employee benefits. The Super Lawyers and Rising Stars list is compiled through peer review and independent research.

Sarah Sauder ‘85, Leola, Pa., is a project designer for DOVE International and a board

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member for REAL Life Community Services.

Daniel Ziegler ‘85, Paynesville, Minn., is the executive director for Koronis Ministries, a retreat center for the United Methodist Churches of Minnesota. He has more than 25 years of experience in Christian camping, served eight years as president of Rosedale Bible College, and did five years of mission and relief work in Haiti.

Rita M. Smith ‘86, Blountstown, Fla., was recently promoted as the statewide public health director of nursing at the Florida Department of Health. In March, she was activated to the Florida Emergency Operations Command for the COVID-19 pandemic. Rita is pursuing her MPH from Florida State University. She earned her DNP from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2012, MSN from Florida State in 1991, and Family APRN from Florida State in 1990.

1990-99 Paul Groff ‘90, Harrisonburg, Va., is press manager for McClung Companies. He is also a baseball coach, Sunday school teacher and song leader.

Denise Hart ‘90, Kentwood, Mich., is a paralegal for Meijer, Inc. Denise has been a board member and secretary for Urban Family Ministries since 2009 in Grand Rapids.

Eric Hostetler ‘90, Goshen, Ind., works for Kountry Wood Products.

Lavonn Hostetler ‘90, Goshen, Ind., is the controller for Talon Products.

Jacalyn Lee ‘90, Luray, Va., is the housing services coordinator at Choices Council on Domestic Violence for Page County. Her community involvements include the Page County Community Choir, church worship committee, Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale and Luray Triathlon volunteer.

Pauline M. Martin ‘90, San Salvador, El Salvador, directs the master’s program in education policy and evaluation at Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas. She coordinates a research program on education in risk situations, focusing on how gang presence affects classroom dynamics, school functioning, and family and community integration.

Roxie Ramseyer ‘90, Dalton, Ohio, is involved with Growing Families International, which provides parenting resources based on biblical values. She is also on the board of trustees for Camp Luz, and helps with Sunday school at her church.

Tim Shultz ‘90, Newfane, N.Y., is a pastor for First Baptist Church of Newfane.

Brian L. Stauffer ‘91, Golden, Colo., is a professor of medicine and cardiology at the University of Colorado and the cardiology division chief at the Denver Health & Hospital Authority. He gave a Suter Science Seminar on cardiology during the spring 2020 semester. He is also a co-director of several multidisciplinary research groups studying heart failure and atherosclerosis, and has coauthored over 100 peer-reviewed publications.

Tom Brenneman ‘92, Harrisonburg, Va., was named the new executive director of Project GROWS in January 2020. Project GROWS is a non-profit, educational farm for youth located in the Central Shenandoah Valley. Previously, Brenneman built and ran the Farm at Willow Run, a farm-to-table program for the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, and has worked with EMU’s Sustainable Food Initiative.

Kirsten Moore ‘93, Harrisonburg, Va., opened Magpie and Friends market, partnering with farmers, chefs and bakers who usually supply to restaurants to supply customers in a no-touch, drive-through format during the covid-19 pandemic. She will open Magpie Diner and Bakery in the coming months.

Jeff Shank ‘94, Harrisionburg, Va., is the vice president of operations at LD&B Insurance and Financial Services.

Kristina Blakely ‘95 MA (counseling) ‘17, Harrisonburg, Va., is program supervisor for People Places Inc. Angela Breneman ‘95, Rockingham, Va., is a registered nurse in heart and vascular at Sentara RMH. J.J. Egli ‘95, Wolcottville, Ind., is the owner of Topeka Do It Best Hardware.

Stacey Egli ‘95, Wolcottville, Ind., is a special education teacher for Westview School Corporation.

Matt Hamsher ‘95, SEM ‘99, Kidron, Ohio, is the executive director at Evana Network.

He is also a board member for Spring Haven Counseling Center.

Joy Kraybill ‘95, Washington D.C., is the deputy director for Exchange Eligibility and Enrollment for the Federal Government of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Charles Robert Maines ‘95, Leola, Pa., has joined Kairos Health Systems as the senior director of contracting and network development. His 24-year career in senior living services has included leadership roles in advocacy; census development; stewardship; and financial, operational, and quality outcome management.

in the May issue of Rolling Stone magazine with other healthcare professionals on the front lines. She is an assistant nurse manager in emergency services at Harborview Medical Center.

Grant Rosenberger ‘99, State College, Pa., has owned an ACE Hardware store for 10 years.

His wife, Laura Dell’Olio ‘99, is a therapist in State College.

Lisa White Cameron ‘99, West Chester, Pa., is the new executive director of Bridge of Hope in Chester County. Previously, she served as the director of empowerment services at the YWCA Lancaster, where she is still involved as a consultant for a pilot program that focuses on trauma and girls and women of color.

Cameron is a licensed professional counselor and certified trauma practitioner.

2000 - 09 Kelly Gingerich ‘00, Rockingham, Va., is a substitute teacher for Rockingham County Schools.

Krystal Glick ‘00, Harrisburg, Pa., is a homeschool teacher.

Kevin Nafziger ‘00, Harrisonburg, Va., is a credit manager with Park View Federal Credit Union.

Andy Saltzman ‘95, East Peoria, Ill., is the vice president for the financial firm Ginoli & Co. Ltd.

Sandie Russell-Vickers ‘00, Lakeland, Fla., is retired and involved in Women’s Choice.

Kendall Ruth ‘96, Lititz, Pa., has been promoted to director within the Acuity Advisors and CPAs Agri-business Services Group. He is a certified public accountant with more than 20 years of experience and is a member of the Pennsylvania and American Institutes of Certified Public Accountants.

Phil Zapanta ‘96, Lorton, Va., is in his 18th year of service in the US Army Reserves Medical Corps. Last fall, he returned from a four-month combat deployment to Iraq, and he was recently promoted to the rank of colonel. In his civilian job, Phil is the otolaryngology residency program director and associate professor of surgery at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Phil is married to Anne Charbeneau Zapanta ’97.

Gwen Snavely Angel ‘98, Seattle, Washington, was featured in a photoessay

Anthony Siegrist MA ‘05 (religion), Russell, Ontario, Canada, has published Speaking of God: An Essential Guidebook to Christian Thought (Herald Press, 2019), linking the biblical narrative to the roadmap of 2,000 years of Christian theology. Anthony is the pastor at Ottawa Mennonite Church.

Esther Yoder Stenson, instructor in the Intensive English Program, has published her second book of poetry, Showing Up (Finishing Line Press, 2020).

Sara Nafziger ‘00, Harrisonburg, Va., is a nurse educator at Sentara Medical Center and Shenandoah Women’s Healthcare. She is the owner of Experienced Expectations Childbirth Education.

Julia Richer ‘00 MAEDU ‘18, Archbold, Ohio, is a Spanish teacher for Pettisville Local Schools. She is a part of the Zion Community Choir.

Anita Wansley ‘95, Meridian, Miss., was named the new principal at Northeast Lauderdale Elementary School. She holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from Mississippi State University.

Education with the Grain of the Universe (Cascade Press, 2019), edited by J. Denny Weaver, is an essay collection on the theme of “A Peaceable Vision for the Future of Mennonite Schools, Colleges and Universities,” and includes contributions by Benjamin Bixler ‘03, MA ‘13 (religion), Laura Brenneman ‘96, MA ‘00 (conflict transformation), Professor Sarah Ann Gehman Bixler ‘02, Rudi Kauffman ‘02 and Lonna Stoltzfus ‘89.

Quincy Longacre ‘00, Quakertown, Pa., is the director of marketing and distribution for Buckeye Energy Services, LLC. He is a board member for Swamp Mennonite Church and involved with the Spruce Lake Wilderness Retreat, Free Fall Action Sports, and Better Home Heat Council of the Lehigh Valley.

Julette Leaman Rush ‘95, Harrisonburg, Va., is an English learner teacher at Harrisonburg City Public Schools. She is married to alumnus David Rush ‘99.

Allen Umble ‘95, Christiana, Pa., retired from serving Virginia Mennonite Missions in Albania in 2016. Since then he has made extended visits back to the country. Currently he is employed part-time as a caregiver.

CREATIVE WORKS

Mike Gale ‘01, Stuarts Draft, Virginia, has been named athletic director at Rockbridge County High School. He was previously the boys varsity basketball coach at Stuarts Draft High School, accumulating 182 wins in 14 seasons.

Erik Kratz ‘02, Telford, Pa., was among four United States athletes named to the All-World Team by the World Baseball Softball Confederation following the completion of the Premier12 tournament in November 2019. He also represented the United States in Olympic qualifying tournaments.

Martha Kratzer Coleman ‘02, Apple Creek, Ohio, is an adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner at Inpatient Hospice and Palliative Care at Aultman Hospital in Canton. She and her husband Chip Coleman ‘01 have four children.

Kendra Forry ‘04, Rockingham, Va., teaches in the J. Frank Hillyard Middle School STEM Academy, which was recognized as a “Program that Works” by the Virginia Math and Science Coalition.

Renee Holsopple Glick ‘04, Brooklyn, N.Y., is the director of retail and a senior associate at A+I, where she has worked on projects for brands like Vince, Worth New York and W by Worth, Ketra, and Under Armour. She also worked as a store designer for Kate Spade Saturday, Bobbi Brown, and her own firm:

Hannah Kim MA ‘18 (interdisciplinary studies), Seoul, South Korea, and Jae Young Lee MA ‘03 (conflict transformation) co-wrote a chapter on the history and development of restorative justice in South Korea for the anthology Restorative Justice in Educational Settings and Policies: Bridging the East and West (RJ4All Publications, 2019). Eunkyng Ahn MA ‘19 (conflict transformation) is one of the book’s editors.

A Time Such as This (MennoMedia and Kindred Publications, 2020) reflects on “life in the shadow of COVID-19” and features contributors to Rejoice!, a quarterly devotional magazine. This first issue featured, among others, Sherah-Leigh Gerber ‘04, MDiv ‘09, Doris Steiner Diener ‘71, Dawn Mast ‘90, Gloria Diener ‘76, Jayne Byler ‘81 and Naomi Weaver ‘70.

Steven David Johnson, professor of visual and communications arts, was a contributor to A Guide to the Salamanders of Virginia (Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, 2020). His underwater image of a tiger salamander is featured on the cover.

Steven was also a guest this spring on Impact: The Conservation Photography Podcast.

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Amalgam design. In 2016, Renee was named one of retail’s “40 under 40” by the magazine design:retail.

Mary Beth Price ‘04, Strasburg, Va., is the interim city manager of Winchester. Price began as town clerk and director of finance in Strasburg, and moved on to several positions in Shenandoah County including county administrator. She retired from the administrator position last year to spend more time with her husband Tommy and their five grandchildren.

Heather Joy Bauman Yoder ‘04, Linville, Va., graduated from St. Catherine University in December 2019 with a degree in occupational therapy.

Kendra Beeman ‘05, Harrisburg, Pa., is the varsity head girls’ soccer coach at Halifax High School.

CJP PEACEBUILDER OF THE YEAR Cole Parke MA ‘12 (left) and Emmanuel Bombande MA ‘02 are the two Peacebuilder of the Year honorees of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. The award, given annually to a graduate of CJP who has shown exceptional commitment to peacebuilding work, was expanded this year in recognition of the center’s 25th anniversary.

Parke works with Carolina Jews for Justice of Durham, North Carolina, and has focused their career on supporting faith communities in social justice efforts. Bombande, a senior mediation adviser for the UN’s Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, has spent his professional career devoted to building peace on the African continent.

CJP's 25th anniversary celebration has been rescheduled to June 2021.

Visit emu.edu/cjp for more information. (Courtesy photos)

Heather Margaret Cribb ‘05, Harrisonburg, Va., is an English language learner teacher in the Staunton City Schools and at the Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center. She completed the EducateVA Career Switcher program to change careers and earn her teaching license.

Amanda Stauffer Nace ‘05 MA ‘14, Lititz, Pa., teaches German at Ephrata High School and was recognized this year by the German American Partnership Program for dedication to international understanding. Nace’s school and program were also honored as a National Center of Excellence by the American Association for Teachers of German in 2019.

She earned an MA in Gifted Education from Millersville University in 2017.

Dana Shannon ‘05, Leola, Pa., now retired, has been the life enrichment director at Evergreen Estates Retirement Community in Lancaster, Pa., since July 2019.

Katrina Swartz ‘05, Harrisonburg, Va., is a mental health case manager for the Harrisonburg/ Rockingham Community Services Board.

Ben Yutzy ‘06, MA ‘17 (organizational leadership), Timberville, Va., and his family were recipients of the Farm Family Stewardship Award 2020 from the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce. They run Windcrest Holsteins with other family members, many of whom are EMU graduates.

TEACHERS OF THE YEAR Nine alumni were recently recognized among area school districts in the Shenandoah Valley as Teacher of the Year honorees: in Augusta County, Sarah Bauman Stoll ‘04, music, Wilson Elementary School, Waynesboro, and Elizabeth Benbow, who earned a reading specialist endorsement at EMU, reading specialist and Title I teacher at Craigsville Elementary; in Harrisonburg City, John Hostetter ‘11, sixth grade English, Skyline Middle School; in Rockingham County, Amanda Williams Knight ‘01, MA’ 08, librarian, Fulks Run Elementary School; Kimberly Price MA ‘08, second grade, Lacey Spring Elementary School; Tracy Myers ‘96, 6-8th grade, Montevideo Middle School; Kim Dove MA ‘09, social studies,Wilbur Pence Middle School; and in Shenandoah County, Daniel Martin ‘15, social studies, North Fork Middle School; and Kathryn Creasy ‘99, algebra I/geometry, Peter Muhlenberg Middle School.

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Kevin M. Ressler ‘07, Lancaster, Pa., is the new president and CEO of United Way of Lancaster County. Previously, he served as the executive director of Meals on Wheels of Lancaster. Kevin is a co-founder of the Doplic Project, Lancaster Action Now Coalition, and Black Lives Matter 717. He ran for mayor of Lancaster City in 2017.

Valley Head Start and Early Head Start program in the Augusta County Schools. Laura earned her master’s degree from Southern New Hampshire University in 2012. She and husband Todd Jordan welcomed daughter Alison Mae in 2015.

Jonatan Moser ‘18, Alamosa, Colo., works with the San Luis Valley Immigrant Resource Center through Mennonite Voluntary Service.

He teaches English and citizenship to adults and tutors elementary and middle school students.

Monica Pangle ‘10, Bridgewater, Va., is the owner of Another Chance Events and is on the board of Turner Ashby High School Athletics Boosters.

James Ramsey ‘18, Harrisonburg, Va., is the operations manager at Artisan Packaging, formerly Graham Packaging. James first started out as an entry-level technician 12 years ago, and worked his way through every production position en route to management.

Marsha Stanley ‘10, Lancaster, Pa., is a homemaker and a member at East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church.

Aaron Yutzy ‘10 and Andrea Bowman Yutzy ‘10, Timberville, Va., were recipients of the Farm Family Stewardship Award 2020 from the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce. They run Windcrest Holsteins with other family members, many of whom are EMU graduates.

Ethan Zook ‘10, Broadway, Va., is a paramedic at Page County Fire-EMS. Shawna Cunningham ‘11, Houston, Texas, is the executive administrative assistant at Twin Eagle, a wholesale marketer of energy commodities including natural gas, coal, power, and environmental products and services. She also serves on the Texas International Fellowship of Christian Athletes Board which operates in Latin America.

Michael Spory ‘11, Washington D.C., moved to a new position with VMDO Architects, which designs innovative K-12 and higher education buildings, with a specialty in netzero and high-performance design.

R.J. Sims ‘14, Fort Washington, Md., works in international relations at the Pentagon.

Previously, he played basketball professionally in Lithuania, France, and the United States, and then served as an assistant coach to the EMU men’s basketball team.

Kara Stutzman ‘14, Charlottesville, Va., is a co-owner of Amore Events Co., a wedding and events planning company.

Melissa Cox ‘15, Akron, Pa., is an office nurse at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health.

Christina Hardman ‘15, Pittsford, Vt., is a psychosocial manager at Bayada Hospice. She is involved in church activities and volunteers at Rutland Regional Medical Center with pet therapy, the Alzheimer’s Association and Caring Canines.

Jacob Landis ‘15, Sterling, Ill., is an organic farmer and interim pastor.

Nic Sulc ‘15, Prince George, Va., is a flight attendant for United Airlines.

Phil Yoder ‘15, SEM ‘18, Wardensville, W.Va., is pastor of Crest Hill Community Church.

Jason Horst ‘09, Rittman, Ohio, is an energy analyst at Community Energy Advisors. He holds a master’s degree in microelectronicsphotonics from the University of Arkansas and an MBA in accounting from Liberty University.

Hannah Chappell-Dick ‘16, Gainesville, Fla., is working on her MBA at the University of Florida and will graduate in May 2021. She is also a graduate assistant coach for the Gators track team.

2010 -

Katherine Graber ‘16, Richardson, Texas, is a special education preschool teacher.

Kate Bergey ‘10, Harrisonburg, Va., is a career and academic advisor at JMU and is a board member at Park View Federal Credit Union.

Kara Fisher ‘10, Midlothian, Va., is a family nurse practitioner for Dispatch Health.

Dirk Holsopple ‘10, Arlington, Va., is a principal software engineer for Cvent.

Laura Lynn Cash Jordan ‘10, Staunton, Va., is the operations manager for Shenandoah

Jolee Paden ‘17, Washington D.C., works for Fellowship for Christian Athletes’ as a college director with students and coaches at George Washington, American, Georgetown, Howard, Gallaudet, Catholic, Trinity, and the University of the District of Columbia. She will transition this summer to the director of operations in Southeast Asia, working with coaches in eight countries. She hopes to move to Malaysia by the end of the year.

April Herring Hicks ‘19, Stanley, Va., is the director of operations at the Community Health Interpreting Testing and Training Service at James Madison University. Hicks oversees 85 medical interpreters who speak 13 different languages. Last year, they provided over 25,000 hours of interpreting services in medical settings, social services, public schools, and other businesses around Rockingham and Augusta counties.

Cristy Mwanika ‘19, Harrisonburg, Va., was recently promoted to enterprise application support analyst at Mary Baldwin University.

After serving in the Navy and while enrolled at EMU, Mwanika began working at Mary Baldwin as the assistant to the vice president of business and finance.

GRADUATE John L. Verburg SEM ‘79, Springs, Pa., accepted a pastoral position at Springs Mennonite Church. John has 33 years of experience in pastoral ministry, and has done mission work in Guatemala and Alabama. He holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Kentucky, and has taught sociology at several colleges.

Dawn Lehman MA ‘02 (conflict transformation), Pittsburgh, Pa., provides training, facilitation, and coaching services through the organization Collective Change Partners (www.collectivechangepartners. com), which she launched in 2019. Dawn has volunteered as a victim-offender dialogue facilitator through Pennsylvania’s Office of the Victim Advocate since 2003, and as a mediator with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission since 2011.

Nelson Okanya SEM ‘02, Lancaster, Pa., has been named a board member of Landis Communities. He is the global missions president of the Center For Serving Leadership, Claysville, Pa. Before that, he served as the president of Eastern Mennonite Missions for seven years and as pastor of Capital Christian Fellowship for nearly six years. He is a doctor of intercultural studies candidate at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Katharine Dow MA ‘04 (conflict transformation), New York, N.Y., is the Institutional Relations Manager at Footsteps, a nonprofit that provides support, educational and career guidance, and access to resources to those leaving ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities. She holds an MFA in Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University.

Austin Onuoha MA '04 (conflict transformation), Abuja, Nigeria, is earning a PhD in conflict analysis and resolution at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. He is director of the Nigeria-based Africa Centre for Corporate Responsibility. An expert on the oil industry, he is a member of the UN Experts Group on Human Rights and business and serves on the regional and national board of the West African Network for Peacebuilding. He has taught at the West African Peacebuilding Institute in Ghana and the National Peace Academy

in Nigeria. Among his accomplishments, he led the 28-person team that conducted the first evaluation of Chevron Nigeria’s Global Memorandum of Understanding.

Heike Peckruhn MA ‘04 (counseling), Buffalo, N.Y., is an assistant professor of religious studies at Daemen College. She teaches and researches at the intersections of disability, gender, sexuality, race, and colonialism. She earned a PhD in religious and theological studies from the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology.

Her bachelor of theology degree is from Bienenberg Theological Seminary.

Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits MA ’04 (conflict transformation) is an assistant professor in conflict and peace studies at the International Institute for Social Studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands. She contributed a reflection as part of a guest writer series in honor of CJP’s 25th anniversary.

Sumanto Al Qurtuby MA ‘07 (conflict transformation), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, is an associate professor of cultural anthropology at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals. He is also director of the Nusantara Institute on Culture and Religion.

A native of Indonesia, Sumanto obtained his PhD from Boston University, specializing in anthropology of Islam and Muslim societies, and holds degrees in Islamic studies, sociology of religion, and conflict/peace studies.

Sanjay Pulipaka MA ‘07 is a senior fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum Library in New Delhi, India. He contributed a reflection as part of a guest writer series in honor of CJP’s 25th anniversary.

Muhammad Asadullah MA ‘11 (conflict transformation), Regina, Canada, is an assistant professor at the University of Regina’s Department of Justice Studies. Previously, he taught at Simon Fraser University, the University of the Fraser Valley, and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. He completed his doctorate and a master’s in criminology at Simon Fraser University in Canada.

April Hepler MA '12 (counseling), Rockingham, Va., has helped to set up a COVID-19 hotline, similar to one that recently launched in New York City. The Shenandoah Valley Emotional Support Line is staffed by volunteer mental health professionals. In less than two weeks, she and fellow organizers developed a plan, recruited volunteers, secured a phone number and Facebook page, and launched the line. April is executive director of Adagio House, which also employs Casey Hurren MA ‘18 (counseling), Rebecca Peifer '00, MA '18 (counseling), and current graduate student Melissa Fisher.

Chad Killian MA ‘13 (education), Atlanta, Ga., received his PhD in kinesiology from the University of Illinois in December 2019. He is an assistant professor at Georgia State University in the kinesiology and health department.

Joshua Yorks MDiv ‘13, Troy, Pa., is the new pastor at Holy Trinity Church. After graduation, he pastored at Bedford UMC and Mehoopany UMC. For three years, he has been on the front page of the Wyoming County Examiner for carrying a cross, dressed as Jesus, through Tunkhannock on Good Friday. In February 2019, he traveled to Israel with 24 other pastors to renew his baptism in the Jordan River. In Troy, he’s involved in the Cub Scouts, with his oldest son, as well as the Masons and the Trinity Council of Churches.

REMEMBERING PARK WOODS After coverage of Park Woods clean-up efforts in the fall/winter issue of Crossroads, Rachel Gehman Metzler ‘63, Sarasota, Fla., and Rhoda Garber Cressman ‘59, Mount Pleasant, Pa., contributed these memories: In the days when the expanding Park View community was losing the nickname of Stringtown, two little girls had become very best friends. One was brunette, the other blond. In the 1940s, Rhoda Elizabeth Garber and Rachel Elisabeth Gehman (glad to have the same initials) attended the three-room Park School and playgrounds next to Park Woods.

When they were in third, fourth, and fifth grades, their teacher was Miss Elizabeth Showalter. For the purpose of observing nature she gave each student four sticks with colored tips different from each other’s – to stake out a small plot in the woods and return to it regularly.

Early this year of 2020, those same girls, ages 87 and 86, chatted by phone about those days. Rhoda remembers observing birds and their calls, as well as trying to identify tracks of animals, especially in the winter when snow was on the ground. Rachel remembers the extraordinary beautify, shape, and color of a wildflower named Columbine.

Our classroom had a nature display case for abandoned bird nests, rocks, etc. Students were encouraged to do artwork of nature themes and to make birdhouses. We were happy to be part of the Audubon Club.

We give honor to an excellent teacher who developed an awareness of nature and creation care in many young students.

How fortunate we were to have Park Woods so close to our school!

(Photo by Rachel Holderman '18)

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Gwendolyn Myers GC ‘14, Monrovia, Liberia, earned an MA in international politics and human rights from City, University of London. She is the founder and executive director of Messengers of Peace-Liberia, Inc., which does reconciliation and dialogue work and promotes youth volunteerism.

Jodie Geddes MA ‘16 (conflict transformation), Oakland, Calif., was the keynote speaker at the Girls Inc. Celebration of International Women’s Day in Madison, Wis. Jodie is the healing circles manager at Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth where she supports the design and implementation of over 10 weekly restorative justice circles.

Christine Kindler MA ‘17 (conflict transformation), Lexington, Ky., is a doctoral student in the clinical psychology program at Howard University and a Berlin Fellow with Humanity in Action, which recognizes commitment to social justice and human rights.

Wayne Marriott MA ‘18 (conflict transformation), Christchurch, New Zealand, is the Resolution Institute Michael Klug Awardee for 2019. Wayne was honored for his peacebuilding work and support to the community after the Christchurch mosque shootings in March 2019. He provides private conflict coaching, mediation, and other reconciliation services from his practice, Fleetwood Peacebuilders.

Talibah Aquil MA ‘19 (conflict transformation), Bronx, N.Y., is the program coordinator for the Furious Flower Poetry Center at James Madison University, the nation’s first academic center for Black poetry.

Felix Kioko ‘18, MA ‘19 (conflict transformation), Baltimore, Md., works in youth development with the International Rescue Committee. His wife Roxann Allen Kioko ‘04, MA ‘07 (conflict transformation) concluded her time as a professor in the business and leadership department and at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding this spring but plans to continue as an adjunct.

MARRIAGES Hilary Short ‘14 to Austin Groff, Stryker, Ohio, Oct. 20, 2019.

Jon Bishop ‘17 to Jess Rheinheimer ‘16, Maytown, Pa., Nov. 3, 2019.

Derek Harnish ‘17 to Lydia Tissue ‘17, Mount Joy, Pa., Oct. 20, 2018.

Jaclyn Kratz ‘16 to Seth Detweiler, Souderton, Pa., Oct. 19, 2019.

Travis Smith ‘05 to Danielle Smith, Florham Park, N.J., Sept. 30, 2017.

BIRTHS & ADOPTIONS Matt and Jackie Shock-Stewart MA (conflict transformation) ‘08, Beaver, Pa., Hazel Barbara, Oct. 20, 2019.

Jeremy ‘02 and Laura Schwartz Shue ‘02, Goshen, Ind., Benjamin J. Arthur, Sept. 4, 2019.

Crystal Campbell ‘95, Mt. Crawford, Va., Alysse Renee, Aug. 14, 2019.

Nathan ‘15 SEM ‘19 and Hannah Swartz Scarborough ‘14, Waynesboro, Va., Joy Adele, Nov. 15, 2019.

Ben ‘12 and Hannah Beachy Bailey ‘12, Harrisonburg, Va., Myra June, Dec. 16, 2019.

Zachary ‘07 and Lauren Michel Hawke ‘08, Princess Anne, Md., Camden Michel, April 26, 2019.

Jessica Hostetler ‘08 and Justin Roth ‘12, Harrisonburg, Va., Tobin Lynn, Dec. 15, 2019.

Aaron ‘09 and Maria Yoder Billings ‘10, Rockingham, Va., Patrick Lee, May 23, 2019.

Hampton and Audrey Berkshire Jackson ‘04, Midlothian, Va., Sarah, May 15, 2019.

Brad and Brenna Steury Graber ’07, Goshen, Ind., Margot Marie, May 23, 2019.

Justin and Sarah Beck Weirich ‘11, Auburn, Ind., Violet Marie, Aug. 23, 2019.

Michael ‘09 and Rachael Clemmer Charles ‘09, Lancaster, Pa., Louisa Sue, April 30, 2019.

Joel ‘06 and Stephanie Miller Lehman ‘06, Philadelphia, Pa., Eleanor Taylor, Nov. 18, 2019.

David ‘05 and Crystal Musser Rohrer ‘04, Harrisonburg, Va., Leah Juniper, Jan. 21, 2020.

Phil ‘10 and Pratiksha Pathak Tyson ‘10 MSN ‘17, Rockingham, Va., Evan Daniel, Oct. 26, 2019.

Marissa and Dustin Galyon ‘06, Sterling, Kan., Savannah Grace, Nov. 1, 2019.

Michael ‘12, MA (counseling) ‘14 (program director, MA in Counseling) and Simone Sommers Horst ‘12 (special collections librarian), Harrisonburg, Va., Hugo Arthur, March 17, 2020.

Michael ‘05 and Lindsay Kisamore Horst ‘12, Harrisonburg, Va., Joshua Gabriel, April 19, 2019.

Ted and Amy Sauder Lehman ‘00, Davidsonville, Md., Raleigh Franklin Rhodes, Mar. 24, 2020.

Travis ‘05 and Danielle Smith, Annandale, N.J., Samantha Jade, July 18, 2019.

DEATHS Nate Yoder, professor emeritus, Harrisonburg, Va., died April 3, 2020, at 64.

Nate held degrees from University of Kentucky and Notre Dame and was an accomplished scholar. He served at EMU for more than 20 years as both a professor of church history and university archivist, and also pastored at local churches. He was married to Mim Miller Yoder ‘08.

Byard “Doc” Deputy, Harrisonburg, Va., died Nov. 19, 2019, at 90. He practiced dentistry in Dayton and at the University of Virginia, where he became a professor emeritus. He was a staunch supporter of EMU athletics and the university. He was married to Betty Kurtz Deputy ‘48.

John Horst ‘43, Kinzers, Pa., died Nov. 20, 2019, at 96. John taught science at Ephrata High School, then biology and science education at Millersville University, where he became professor emeritus. He loved to travel and meet people of many cultures. He and his wife spent six months on a sabbatical, visiting universities all around the world.

Janet Weaver Yoder ‘46, Goshen, Ind., died Jan. 2, 2020, at 93. She worked with her husband in various ventures. Janet loved local and church history, hearing and telling stories, and following weather.

Paul Yoder ‘50, SEM ‘92, Harrisonburg, Va., died Oct. 16, 2019, at 91. He was married to Daisy Byler Yoder ‘52. He earned an MD degree in 1955 and MPH degree in 1972. They served under the Eastern Board of Missions & Charities in Ethiopia for 21 years. He later served as bishop of the Harrisonburg District of Virginia Mennonite Conference; bishop/ overseer for the Potomac District from 1983-99; and as a Mileposts compiler for EMU.

24 | CROSSROADS | SPRING/SUMMER 2020

Grace Derstine Brunner ‘51, Hesston, Kan., died Dec. 11, 2019, at 89. She was a member of the Hesston Mennonite Church. Grace and her husband, Paul, ministered for many churches over the years.

Roy Kreider ‘51, Broadway, Va., died Oct. 29, 2019, at 94. He was married to the late Florence Cressman Kreider ‘52, who died on Nov. 11, 2016, at 87. They were commissioned to Israel, where they lived with their family for 32 years. Among other involvements, Roy managed two Christian bookstores, coordinated Bible Lands Seminars, co-pastored a congregation in Jaffa, and authored and co-edited several books. In 1985, they returned to the Valley, where they served Cornerstone Churches in the development of counseling ministries.

John “J.R.” Burkholder ‘53, Goshen, Ind., died Dec. 20, 2019, at 91. He was married to Susan Herr Burkholder ‘53. After earning a PhD at Harvard, J.R. taught for 22 years at Goshen College, followed by teaching at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, the Latin American Biblical Seminary in Costa Rica, and the University of South Africa. An influential ethicist, he also taught peace and conflict studies, church history, and theology.

He and Sue were involved with many peace and justice initiatives.

Janet H Kreider ‘53, Lititz, Pa., died Jan. 28, 2020, at 91. For over 37 years Janet worked for Eastern Mennonite Missions, retiring as editor of Missionary Messenger. At East Petersburg Mennonite Church, she served as a librarian, Sunday school teacher, and song leader.

Janet’s passions were writing poetry, playing and listening to music.

Luke L. Horst ‘54, Lititz, Pa., died Jan. 29, 2020, at 97. Luke served for 26 years as a pastor at Fairview Mennonite Church. In 1969 he was ordained as a bishop in the BowmansvilleReading District. He was a 30-year board member of The Sword and Trumpet. He was married to the late Ruth King Horst ‘45.

Elmer Miller ‘54, SEM ‘56, Philadelphia, Pa., died Dec 6, 2019, at 88. From 1958-63, he and his wife, Anna Lois Longenecker, worked with indigenous people to translate the Bible.

Ezra Peachey ‘54, SEM ‘56, Belleville, Pa., died July 19, 2019, at 93. Ezra and his wife served as missionaries for 45 years around Red Lake, Ontario, Canada.

George Hostetler ‘55, Rocky Ford, Colo., died July 23, 2019, at 91. George practiced medicine in Kansas and Colorado. After retiring at age 69, he taught science and math at Holly Grove Christian School. He was an elder at Rocky Ford Mennonite Church.

Grace Martin ‘55, Orville, Ohio, died March 15, 2020, at 91. She was a music teacher and spent 22 years with the Cleveland Orchestra Choir.

She enjoyed volunteering for many charities, including many years with the Aultman Orrville (Dunlap Memorial) Hospital Auxiliary.

Luke Hurst ‘56, Harrisonburg, Va., died Nov. 29, 2019, at 86. He was married to the late Pearl Mast Hurst ‘60. Luke practiced dentistry in Penn Laird for 36 years. He also founded Hurst Bros. Painters and did shortterm medical mission work in the Dominican Republic and with indigenous tribes in the Peruvian Amazon basin. All his children, as well as seven of his grandchildren, are EMU alumni.

John Miller ‘57, Lancaster, Pa., died Dec 26, 2019, at 88. He did church planting and development work in Mexico and was a missiology professor at Oral Roberts University.

John also taught at Meserete Kristos College near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He was married to Doris Ehst Miller who attended EMC from 1965-67.

Elizabeth Nolt Kratz ‘59, Souderton, Pa., died Feb. 15, 2020, at 82. She was married to Vernon Kratz ‘57. Elizabeth taught home economics at Lancaster Mennonite School, and served under Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions with Vernon in Ethiopia and Somalia. .

Miller Stayrook ‘60, Hesston, Kan., died Jan. 21, 2020, at 90. He was a teacher, missionary, social worker, professor, Sunday school teacher, and youth choir director in the U.S. and internationally. He assisted in establishing the Edison Center.

Melvin Glick ‘61, Wakarusa, Ind., died Aug. 26. 2019, at 79. Melvin was an Indiana University professor of biochemistry at IU Hospitals for 32 years. Melvin loved traveling with his wife, going to auctions, being outside, landscaping with rocks, watching sunsets and, most of all, spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren.

Hilda Stolktzfus Kurtz ‘61, Goshen, Ind., died Oct. 26, 2019, at 83. Her childhood on the farm instilled a life-long love of gardening and animals. She worked in Tanzania, Swaziland, Zambia, and Kenya before settling in Elkhart, where she was an active member of Belmont Mennonite Church.

Anna Showalter ‘61, Harrisonburg, Va., died Dec. 11, 2019, at 92. She was a registered dietitian and employed by EMU and VMRC. She was a member of Bethel Mennonite Church.

Dorothy Jantzi Albrecht ‘62, Vassar, Mich., died Oct. 27, 2019, at 75. She worked in the family auction business and taught Sunday and Bible school at Pineview Mennonite Church. Dorothy was inducted into the Ladies Auxiliary Hall of Fame of both the Michigan State and National Auctioneers Associations.

She was a Paul Harris Rotary Fellow.

Virginia Glass Schlabach ‘62, South Royalton, Vt., died Nov. 11, 2019, at 79. She served many years on the EMU board of trustees. She was an English teacher in Pennsylvania, an editor, and a writer. She and her husband Abner spent three years in voluntary service in England. Virginia was active in Delectable Mountain Quilters, and a member of Taftsville Chapel.

Virginia Ann Shenk ‘62, Harrisonburg, Va., died Dec. 17, 2019, at 81. Virginia worked in libraries at Atlantic Christian College in North Carolina, Bridgewater College, and Mary Baldwin College. She often rode her horse through Park View and the country roads west of Harrisonburg. She volunteered with an animal shelter, a horse therapy program for disabled children, and Meals on Wheels.

Frances Murphy ‘64, Newport News, Va., died March 23, 2020, at 78. Frances was a mother and homemaker, and the neighborhood nurse adviser. She was always involved in church outreach, and is famous in certain circles for her homemade bread, apple cake, taco salad, cinnamon rolls and any kind of cookie.

Arthur Nwankwo ‘66, Enugu, Nigeria, died Feb. 1, 2020, at 78. He was one of Nigeria’s foremost authors, publishers, historians and political commentators. Arthur was convicted of sedition in 1982 and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment with hard labour for “seditious” writings. This case is now a locus classicus in Nigeria’s legal and judicial system.

William “Bill” Richard Fisher ‘81, Waynesboro, Va., died April 16, 2020, at 73. After attending Candler School of Theology at Emory University, he pastored 13 appointments with the United Methodist Church in his 40-year career, serving across Virginia and Georgia.

Richard Showalter ‘68, Irwin, Ohio, died Dec. 15, 2019, at 74. Richard taught at EMU and Rosedale Bible College. He helped found a number of Mennonite churches; served overseas in Kenya, Turkey, and North Cyprus; and was the president of Rosedale Bible College and then Eastern Mennonite Missions.

H. James Dobbs III ‘69, Newark, Del., died Dec. 30, 2019, at 73. Jim taught middle school history before becoming an entrepreneur in the machine tool industry, from which he retired.

Miriam “Mim” Showalter Wenger ‘71, Waynesboro, Va., died March 3, 2020, at 71.

She was married to David Wenger ‘71. Mim worked in nursing until she retired in 2014 from Augusta Health in Fishersville. Mim and Dave raised 30 acres of grapes on their family farm. She served on many committees and enjoyed leading hymns, playing church league softball, being with her family, and studying theology and Mennonite Church history.

Julianna Bontrager Bender ‘72, Goshen, Ind., died Feb. 13, 2020, at 71. She and her husband Philip did missions work in Ghana, China, and at EMU. Her justice work included reintegrating sex offenders into society and advocating for prison inmates. Julie will be remembered for her warm and vibrant spirit, her delight in homemaking, her strong faith, and her heart for those on the margins of society.

Paul Leaman ‘72, Reinholds, Pa., died Nov. 22, 2019, at 87. A self-employed carpenter, Mennonite pastor and long-term care administrator, Paul was CEO of the Mennonite Home, Lancaster from 1976-97. Paul served at the Oakwood Mennonite Church in Maryland and also Poarch Community Church in Alabama, and was later a member of the Forest Hills Mennonite Church in Leola.

Timothy Brenneman ‘73, Harrisonburg, Va., died Feb. 25, 2020, at 68. He taught chemistry and physics at Eastern Mennonite High School, as well as three years teaching with Mennonite Central Committee in Tanzania. He was a member of Harrisonburg Mennonite Church.

Steven Hostetler ‘73, Muscatine, Iowa, died Feb. 9, 2020, at 71. He was a school psychologist for the Mississippi Bend AEA in Iowa, served Mennonite Central Committee in Mexico, and was a longtime member of First Mennonite Church of Iowa City.

Clarence “Chuck” Davis ‘77, SEM ‘80, Winchester, Va., died Jan. 1, 2020, at 71. Chuck was a barber in Marlinton for 16 years prior to earning his seminary degree. He was a pastor with the Pocahontas Congregation of the Church of the Brethren in West Virginia and with Calvary Church of the Brethren in Winchester.

Stephen Leaman ‘79, Harrisonburg, Va., died April 5, 2020, at 62. He was a teacher, coach and principal before becoming director of advancement for Virginia Mennonite Missions.

Anne Rochelle Sensenig ‘82, died April 26, 2020, at age 59. She was a paralegal in New Mexico in immigration law and as a librarian, and then in Lancaster with an employment law firm. She was active with different choruses and “conjuntos.” She and husband Daniel were involved with Community

Mennonite Church as well as environmental concerns.

Mark Landis SEM ‘85, Harrisonburg, Va., died Dec. 12, 2019, at 84. Mark was an electrician by trade but his passion was serving the Lord. He established Efficiency Electric Inc. with his wife, Elizabeth, while also pastoring at Hickory Mennonite Church. He later pastored at Asheville Mennonite Church and Grace Mennonite Fellowship.

Ida Poole SEM ‘86, Sarasota, Fla., died Jan. 1, 2020, at 100. She and her husband, Arnold, served four churches spanning 40 years and continued in retirement to preach and teach in the Sarasota area.

Jeanette Mummau Nyakyema ‘96, Mwanza, Tanzania, died March 3, 2020, at 78. She held various accounting positions in Pennsylvania before serving as a missionary to Tanzania with Eastern Mennonite Missions from 1980-2019. There, she assisted with malaria research, planted Mennonite churches, helped with her husband’s pastoral ministry, and worked with children.

Jonathan Hofstetter ‘99, SEM ‘02, Lancaster, Pa., died Feb. 24, 2020, at 43. He was married to Danielle Miller Hofstetter ‘99. He was an accomplished attorney and a partner with Blakinger Thomas, P.C. Jonathan was an active member of Mellinger Mennonite Church and served as the chair of Everence Financial Credit Union board of directors.

Roger Foster MA (conflict transformation) ‘12, SEM ‘12, Harrisonburg, Va., died Jan. 23, 2020, at 70. At EMU, Roger worked with graduates in Myanmar, taught the Program Evaluation course taken by both undergraduate and graduate students, and helped establish the Inside Out Playback Theater group.

CORRECTIONS (from the fall/winter 2019 issue) Ariel Barbosa '20 was incorrectly referred to as a pre-med student in our “Lead Together” feature materials. She is majoring in Bible and sociology.

Tobin Miller Shearer was correctly identified as a professor at the University of Montana in Missoula, but incorrectly listed as living 100 miles away in Helena, which as he pointed out in a gracious email, would be a long commute.

Degree Key CLASS OF - attended as part of the class of a given graduation year GC - graduate certificate MA - master of arts MS - master of science MDiv - master of divinity Entries about alumni with both their undergraduate and graduate degrees from EMU are listed in the undergraduate section.

Have an update? Visit emu.edu/alumni/update.

Editorial Policy Milepost entries are printed on the basis of submissions from alumni or on the basis of publicly available information. We do not verify the accuracy of information that alumni provide, nor do we make judgment calls on the information that they wish to be published, beyond editing for clarity, conciseness and consistency of style. The information provided to us does not necessarily reflect the official policies of EMU or of its parent church, Mennonite Church USA.

REMEMBERING JAY B. LANDIS Poetry recitations, the gifts of home-grown roses, a special grace of dignity in the simple acts of being and sharing, and an encyclopedic memory that connected him deeply to all he met: Mourners of Jay B. Landis, professor emeritus of language and literature, took to phone, social media, and email to share poignant memories of a man who touched the lives of many across decades of teaching and mentorship. Landis died Sunday, May 17, 2020, at age 87 in Harrisonburg.

University administrators past and present acknowledge Landis’s legendary influence. With more than 50 years of service, he has likely taught more students than any other professor in institutional history, and befriended many others, including colleagues in faculty, staff and administration,who missed out on the opportunity to enjoy his gifts from a seat in the classroom. He served EMU from 1956 to 2007, through five presidents and immense intellectual and cultural change on campus. His wife, Peggy Heatwole Landis ‘61, also gave 16 years of service to the university, providing leadership to student life. The couple led several cross-cultural semesters to England and Ireland, and were a constant and beloved presence at university events after their respective retirements.

The family has created a memorial website, JayBLandis.com, to share remembrances and tributes. Memorial gifts may be made to EMU’s Language and Literature Department, 1200 Park Road, Harrisonburg, VA, 22802 or online at emu.edu/giving.

Photo Courtesy of EMU Archives

www.emu.edu | CROSSROADS | 25

ALUMNI HONOREES

HOMECOMING AND FAMILY WEEKEND 2020

Alum of the Year

LUKE GASCHO As one of the first members of Earthkeepers, Luke Gascho ‘74 made at least two contributions that are still flourishing on campus: a composting project and organic garden. Though he never heard the words “creation care” and “ecology” while growing up on a farm in Minnesota, his parents modeled both in their careful work on the land. From the beginning of his career as a 21-year-old principal of a small Christian school to cultivating the Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College into an accredited program with award-winning green building designs, EMU’s Alumnus of the Year has used every opportunity to live out his commitment to his faith, education, and creation care.

Gascho served two institutions for more than two decades. The first beneficiary was Johnstown Christian School, where he was principal and taught biology. In 1997, he took a position at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College: a 1,189-acre educational land preserve encompassing wetlands, lakeshores, forests, prairies, and meadows.

The center hosts over 5,000 K-12 students annually. Under his leadership, they also created field-based programs in sustainable agriculture, environmental science, and sustainability leadership with Goshen College, and a master of arts in environmental education – Goshen’s first graduate program. He also oversaw the design and construction of Rieth Village, an ecological field station for undergraduate classes which became the first building in Indiana to earn a platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.

For Gascho, his commitment to sustainability is inextricably entwined with his Mennonite faith. He was among the cofounders of the Mennonite Creation Care Network, a ministry of Merry Lea which aims to guide the Mennonite church in environmental stewardship.

Luke Gascho ’74 was most recently honored as environmental educator of the year in Indiana. Right: He and his wife Becky Lehman ’74 met in college.

Here, they pose for a photo in the organic garden behind the Suter Science Center, one of the first projects of the newly formed Earthkeepers Club.

PHOTO BY ANDREW STRACK

Gascho has also furthered many other creation care projects. He led Goshen College in strategic planning processes for 15 years, which included sustainability initiatives. He assisted Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in green projects, and taught the first “creation” course in their curricular offerings. Gascho also worked with the founding of several other creation care organizations: Mennonite Central Committee’s creation care taskforce, Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light, and the Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions.

Climate change, ecological leadership, and addressing the “doctrine of discovery” can seem like “almost unsolvable problems on certain fronts,” he acknowledges. In light of that, “I think it’s important for me and for Christians to be both joy-filled and

hope-filled people, which is an essential message to carry forward.” The concept of environmental stewardship for future generations is personal for Gascho: he and wife Becky Lehman ‘74 have three adult children and four grandchildren.

Gascho retired last June as the executive director of Merry Lea. He was honored with the 2019 Howard Michaud Award for Environmental Educator of the Year from the Environmental Education Association of Indiana.

These days, when he’s not studying, writing, or at a speaking engagement, Gascho can be found in his diverse fruit, nut and berry orchard and gardens. Caring for God’s creation remains at the core of his life commitments. — RANDI B. HAGI ‘14

Distinguished Service Award SUSAN AND STAN GODSHALL Susan and Stan Godshall, EMU’s Distinguished Service Award recipients, have devoted years of their lives to medical and missions work in the United States and in Africa.

Both Stan and Susan grew up in rural Pennsylvania in families that emphasized service as an expression of Christian faith.

The couple met at EMC. They first went to Tanzania in 1978 for a service term with Eastern Mennonite Missions. The couple, with their three children, served at the clinic that would become what is now Shirati KMT Hospital. A Christmas letter

home to a friend turned into a fundraiser of $25,000. When the Godshalls left after 15 months, medical services were increased so that Stan – previously the lone doctor on the team – was replaced by four doctors: two Tanzanians and two expatriates.

The majority of Stan’s 40-year medical career was spent in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, at a family health center alongside doctors Kenneth Brubaker and the late R. Clair Weaver ‘66. The trio had established the health center together to allow breaks for mission work; the Godshalls spent five years abroad over three different stints.

In 1996, Susan was chosen as EMM’s representative to Africa, the first woman in that role. She interacted with churches and mission personnel to assist their efforts in church development, education, health work, and leadership training.

In addition to this work, Susan taught Spanish and English language learners and did administrative work at EMM and Mennonite Central Committee. She also

chaired the EMU Board of Directors for six years, serving 12 years total. She later was a chaplain at the Philhaven Behavioral Health Hospital.

The couple now live in Harrisonburg, and enjoy interacting with their 10 grandchildren in Harrisonburg and Georgia.

They love singing, too; in fact, they met while singing in choir at then-Eastern Mennonite College, “and we’ve enjoyed singing together ever since,” Susan says.

Until the outbreak of COVID-19, the Godshalls were still serving their community – Susan at the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, and Stan at the Harrisonburg Free Clinic.

Reflecting back on their lives, Susan says that, when you make a work or service commitment, you don’t always know what you’ll be called on to do. “One of my goals was to be attentive to do what I could do, and look to God and others to provide for what I couldn’t do.” — RANDI B. HAGI ‘14

ALUMNI HONOREES

HOMECOMING AND FAMILY WEEKEND

Young Alum Award LYUBOV SLASHCHEVA Lyubov Slashcheva ‘11 bikes to work yearround, whether in rain, sun, sleet, snow, or ice: and the latter three are pretty common in Rochester, Minnesota. Her devotion and perseverance in cycling are qualities also apparent in her professional journey: a practicing dentist since the age of 23, Slashcheva works with the nonprofit Apple Tree Dental as a specialist in public health and special needs and geriatric patients. She also works as a research collaborator with the Mayo Clinic’s departments of dental specialties and health sciences research in Rochester, and holds leadership positions in the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry, the Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship, and the Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions.

In honor of her achievements and service work, Slashcheva is the 2020 recipient of EMU’s Outstanding Young Alum award.

“The times I feel most alive would have to be instances where I am able to work with others to creatively consider a challenge – clinical, organizational, or personal – and develop a uniquely-suited solution,” she says.

Slashcheva has always been driven to achieve, achieve early, and achieve across a diverse array of interests. She speaks three languages: English, Russian, and Spanish; plays the flute; holds an amateur radio license; and has won more awards and scholarships than can be listed here.

Slashcheva came to the U.S. from Kazakhstan with her parents at the age of five – which she says set her up for a unique perspective on life. “Perhaps because of my early experience of being an immigrant – interpreting for my parents, co-navigating complex adult systems with them, and experiencing their strong work ethic – each new opportunity has looked more exciting

Dr. Lyubov Slashcheva ’11 works for a nonprofit dental organization serving those with special dental access needs in Minnesota. Right: Slashcheva helps a patient during a 2016 volunteer event in El Salvador hosted by the Richmond chapter of the Christian Medical and Dental Association.

than intimidating,” Slashcheva says.

She enrolled at EMU after graduating from Turner Ashby High School at age 16, and finished her undergraduate degree in biology just 2.5 years later.

Slashcheva says that “EMU both widened the scope of my curiosities, and grounded my interests and values in scholastically and vocationally relevant ways that continue to challenge me to seek the greater good, rather than my own personal achievement or benefit.”

After a four-month service term in Latin America, she earned a Doctor of Dental

October 16-18, 2020 Surgery degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, followed by a Master’s in Dental Public Health and a number of graduate certificates from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry.

Her position at Apple Tree Dental fulfills a service commitment to the National Health Service Corps, which provided a scholarship for her dental training.

Slashcheva lives with her husband, Scott and three foster children, ages eight, 10, and 13, on their urban vegetable farm in Minnesota. — RANDI B. HAGI ‘14

Plans are underway for Homecoming 2020, October 16-18! We look forward to connecting with you (in some way) to celebrate alumni accomplishments, reconnect, remember and reminisce together. Look for information on our website emu.edu/homecoming for updates and changes in addition to social media channels and emails! Classes that end in ‘0’ and ‘5’, look for a letter from your class president about class reunion plans.

emu.edu/homecoming

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1200 Park Road, Harrisonburg VA 22802-2462 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED Parents: If this is addressed to your son or daughter who has established a separate residence, please give us the new address. Call 540-432-4294 or email alumni@emu.edu.

Help keep EMU Resilient!

Gifts to University Fund for Resilience or Student Tuition Relief Fund help students resume their education at EMU.

More information inside on pages 8-9 and at emu.edu/giving/resilience-funds Make your fiscal year-end gift by June 30.