ISSUE 05 | February 18, 2014
Working Students Nordic Ski Introduction Hillcrest Impressions Spelling Bee Strategy Dean Erkenbrack has been a consistent face at Hillcrest. He celebrates thirty-eight years of service as he retires this year.
Erkenbrack Builds Legacy at Hillcrest
Brandon Doering | Staff Reporter
Hillcrest’s Dean Erkenbrack to retire after 38 years of service An era is coming to an end. For the past thirty-eight years God has worked in the lives of many students and faculty through Dean Erkenbrack. With a servant’s heart and the ability to reach those who seemingly could never be reached, Dean has exemplified what it means to be a follower of God. One whom the Lord will call, “My good and faithful servant.”
One of the things that Dean cherishes about Hillcrest are the close relationships with students and faculty that he has developed. God gave Dean opportunities to reach those who couldn’t otherwise be reached, and these relationships are still strong. He has seen generations of families walk the halls of Hillcrest Academy, and has felt it a privilege to be a part of these lives.
based environment for a life of significance, and Dean fulfills this mission daily. He takes time to remember the song Amazing Grace because it reminds him of the grace and forgiveness that Christ has given him. He takes every opportunity to help and encourage those around him. He does this for the sake of others, not for the betterment of self. In this way, he fulfills the mission statement daily.
It was in a jail cell in Chicago where Dean came to Christ. Until that point, he lived a different life and didn’t follow the Lord. But God worked in Dean’s life in unseen ways. When he hit rock bottom in jail he realized what God wanted to do for him, and from that point on he has walked with Jesus Christ as his Savior.
Being at Hillcrest gives Dean an opportunity that not many jobs can match. Dean shares about the Lord openly as part of his job. As Dean says, “a job is a job,” but when this job creates opportunities for him to further God’s kingdom, then it becomes much more than just a job; it becomes a ministry.
In 1976 Dean was looking for a job. A pastor at his church told him about Hillcrest , explaining the school’s need for a custodian. He still remembers the day of his interview when he showed up in bib overalls and a white tshirt. Although the years have passed quickly, Dean thinks often of the many lives God has given him to serve at Hillcrest.
Everyday Dean asks himself, “How can God use me today?” And many times the answer is to help those who have problems, offering a word of encouragement and being there to talk. These are small things that make all the difference. Dean believes, “It’s the small things in life that pay big dividends.”
Over a period of nearly forty years there are bound to be changes, and Dean has seen some major ones that have helped to make his job a little bit easier. Some of the most memorable ones include the renovation of the boys’ dorms, the remodeling of the classroom section in 2013, the addition of the football and soccer fields in 1981, irrigation systems in the fields, and the addition of the west parking lot. When Dean’s job requires him to keep the campus running, every little bit helps.
The mission of Hillcrest Lutheran Academy is to equip students in a Christ-centered, Bible-
Over the years, Dean has been involved in other activities around the school, aside from custodial work. He enjoyed coaching football and baseball, and still finds himself helping out with softball. Driving bus throughout the Continued on Page 4... |1
HLA Impressions Eddie Jiang | Staff Reporter
Seeing Hillcrest for the first time is exciting, but experiencing the school reminds me that Hillcrest is the kind of private school I have been hoping for. A place to meet new people, make new friends, experience new activities, and grow closer to God.
Eddie Jiang has made friends quickly at HIllcrest transferring in the second semester
Working Students Shrug-off the Weekend It’s 2:57 on a Friday. The weekend is almost here. As a Hillcrest student, you have some homework for the weekend, but nothing major. You want as much time as you can get to catch up on your favorite TV show. Just before the bell rings, the teacher assigns reading and an essay. Everyone groans. There goes your weekend of leisure. You look over and realize there are other students who have the same amount of homework as you, and on top of that they have to work. Recently the HLA Today caught up with a few students who juggle schoolwork and a job to capture their perspective. One of the biggest challenges in working part-time in school is proper time management. Bethany Hemmila, a senior working two jobs while training to become a certified nurse’s assistant (CNA), said having a job helped her to be well organized and efficient with her time. Kari Simonsen, a junior working at a local restaurant, said having her job has forced her to use all her available time at school to finish homework, leaving less to do at home or after work. Junior Nathan Doering, currently working retail, says a job can turn any amount of homework into a menacing task at ten at night after a long shift at work.
Jonathan Eckhardt | Staff Reporters Working students complain about not having enough free time. Two big things students miss out on are fun activities and time with family and friends. Nathan Doering said, “I relish every moment of free time I have.” Students tend to take their free time for granted. After it is gone, they really realize how much they miss it. Even though a job creates headaches sometimes, Hillcrest’s working students encourage their classmates to consider working because it can help prepare students for the challenges of working while in college. Bethany Hemmila said she is working so she can graduate college debt free. Nathan Doering says having a job has helped him develop a better work ethic, preparing him for his future goals. Kari Simonsen hopes that working now will help her make a smooth transition to working after high school. The experience and skills learned from working in high school launch students into working in college, but more importantly working after college graduation.
Bee-utiful Strategy Breeds Success Ductile (adj.) - capable of being drawn out (as in to wire) or hammered thin. This was the winning word spelled by Isabelle Kremeier at the Hillcrest Junior High Spelling Bee on January 29. The preparations leading up to school spell-off were long and arduous, but in the end, they were worth while for the seventh grade champion. The competition process starts with the junior high students studying a list of one hundred words for the written round. The top sixteen students in each grade move to the next round, oral elimination. The winnowing reaches its climax as the top four from each grade move on to the final oral round at Hillcrest, the school spelling bee. This year the top eight students were Conner Christenson, Nate Frustol, Brooke Heikes, Danny Isaac, Eric Konynenbelt, Isabelle Kremeier, Gretchen Larson, and Isabelle Needham.
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Brandon Doering| Staff Reporters The school spelling bee presents each student with the the arduous task of studying a list of over 400 words. Students have their own method of studying. Isabelle Kremeier, the school bee winner, made flashcards for every word and had her mom quiz her. She had the words down pat as evident in her winning the school bee. The final round of the school spelling bee took place in Hillcrest’s chapel on January 29, with Mrs. Kathy Doering as the pronouncer. After sixteen rounds of competition Isabelle Kremeier was the last one stading, with Eric Konynenbelt and Danny Isaac finishing in second and third place respectively. Isabelle represented the Junior High well at the regional bee on February 11, closing out her competition with resilience despite failing to move to the next round. Isabelle followed her intense study regimen, being both excited and nervous for the competition. Her ability to memorize gave her an advantage representing HIllcrest in district competition.
Stepping on campus the first time made me realize this is the place I belong. After arriving on campus, Resident Assistant Ben Baker showed me around school. When I stepped into the boys dorm, the staff and students were welcoming, helping me set up my new room and making me feel like I was part of the dorm family. Everyone greeted me, even when I was on the phone with my mom. I notice that Hillcrest has so much to offer me, not just academically but also spiritually and socially. Before I could even settle down and place my luggage in my room, a Norwegian student asked me if I wanted to go to Applebee’s with a group of friends. Going to Applebee’s was a great place to start off my Hillcrest experience. It was an unforgettable time, celebrating a birthday
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I notice that Hillcrest has so much to offer me, not just academically, but also spiritually and socially.
dinner with international students in the middle of the United States, building lifelong friendships with people that I met minutes earlier. Students at Hillcrest have gone out of their way to make me feel at home. Sitting down in my new room for the first time I noticed I was missing some essential dorm supplies. After connecting with my new roommate Caleb, he offered to lend me the things I needed for the night, and then drove me to Walmart the next day to get my needed supplies.
Everything I expected Hillcrest to be has become real, and is better than I imagined. The things I am most impressed by are the people and the great joy-filled attitude students have towards each other. Some other things I’m very impressed by is the structured dorm life. I feel curfew times are reasonable. By far my favorite parts of Hillcrest are the people, the teachers, the good spiritual climate and the nice dorm environment. I am looking forward to exploring more of the Hillcrest life, and Fergus Falls as well. I am ready to meet more people at Hillcrest, and participate in some of the many activities.
Comet Sports Recap Elisabeth Peterson and Quincey Circo | Staff Reporters
On January 30, the Comet boys’ basketball team traveled to Parkers Prairie and picked-up an earned win with a score of 79-56. Daniel Nersten, Chris Tungseth, and Evan Malmstrom all scored in the double digits, as well as Evan Newman who put up a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Malmstrom and Jake Isaac distributed 5 assists. The following Saturday, February 1, the boys took on Oak Grove. After a hard fight, the Comets fell 83-69. February 3 saw the Comet boys’ home game relocated due to a heating device malfunction. The game was played at the Fergus Falls Community and Technical College due to water leaking from the heating unit in the Student Activity Center. Jake Isaac took advantage of the relocated game scoring a team high 27 points. Daniel Nersten followed Isaac’s lead with 22. Evan Newman had 9 rebounds, and Chris Tungseth had 5 assists. Despite the change in location, the Comet boys won with a score of 65-52. February 7 the Comet boys traveled to Underwood to add on a 66-36 win. Jake Isaac led with 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. Daniel Nersten had 18 points and 7 rebounds. Quincy Undseth distributed 4 assists. February 8, the boys hosted Park Christian and stepped up during the second half to earn another win with a score of 73-62 as the dust settled. Daniel Nersten had 29 points, Jake Isaac and Chris Tungseth both added 12 points, and Evan Malmstrom contributed with 10. Evan Newman pulled down 10 boards.
Ski boots are a common sight around the fire place at Spidahl’s Ski Gaard
Nordic Ski-daddle Quincey Circo | Staff Reporter
Hillcrest athletics has a tradition of showing Christ in how they win and lose. While most Hillcrest students stay inside every chance they get during cold months in Minnesota, the ski team practices in spite of the cold elements. Building mental strength in the frigid conditions, Hillcrest’s ski team prepares to display Christ to their public high school team-mates as well as those they compete against. The ski team consists of four Hillcrest students, who join the Fergus Falls Public High School to field a nordic ski team. Armin Jahr serves as a Hillcrest representative while also driving the bus for practice and meets. Nordic skiing traditionally offers two options. There is classic skiing and skate skiing. Classic is where the skier keeps the skis parallel to each other and uses the poles to propel. Skating is using the skis more as skates, using skis instead of poles to propel forward. Hillcrest students employ the skating method using more of their body to compete in meets. A highlight for this year’s team was their recent six hour trip by bus to a ski meet. The team performed well, and stayed overnight in a cabin which offered great team bonding and made their trip worthwhile. While in the US downhill skiing is much more popular, Nordic skiing is favored in Norway.
Norwegian Daniel Grytten said his favorite part of Nordic skiing is being outdoors, giving a peaceful aspect of the sport. Skiing both in meets and practice creates a lot of alone time to examine one’s self and God’s creation. Hillcrest sports teams have an opportunity to show Christ through how they treat their opponent and how they respond to winning or losing. The Hillcrest ski team represents Christ in a different way, building relationships with students and showing their faith to friends from Fergus Falls High School. The skiiers have a chance to strike up conversations about God, or just lead by example while they are competing. Even in the cold sub-zero temperatures the skiiers still make it out to practice everyday. Traveling to Spidahl’s Ski Gaard by bus every day for practice, the team enjoys the 10 mile drive of bonding. Before the snow falls, practice consists mostly of running in town, which also provides opportunities for the team to grow close, building endurance and forging new friendships. Hillcrest’s ski team continues their trend of growing in popularity. Through practice and meets, the students are growing closer to each other and God as they participate in what some might call a little known sport.
The Lady Comets have also played tough in the Little Eight this season. Friday, January 24 the girls’ basketball team traveled to Battle Lake. Kelsey Nersten contributed 12 points, and Megan Aasness pick-pocketed 4 steals, also adding 8 points. The girls fought hard, but were defeated 44-28. Saturday, January 25, the lady Comets were held back by CGB, 48-34. Megan Aasness dropped 11 points, with 3 steals. The girls lost in Ashby Friday, January 31 and again to Oak Grove on February 1, losing 72-35. Kelsey Nersten had 9 points, 3 assist, 3 steals, and 5 rebounds. Megan Aasness and Emma royce both added 8 points, and Royce pulled down 13 rebounds. February 7th, the girls had a home game against Rothsay. After a tough fight, the Comets fell 48-40. Nersten led the Comets with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Aasness added 9 points, while Ingrid Hammer had 6 rebounds and 4 points. The following day, February 8th, the Hillcrest girls won against Park Christian with a score of 39-37. With four seconds left in the game and a tied score of 37-37, Kelsey Nersten made 2 free-throws, and finished with 14 points. Emma royce added 9 points and 10 rebounds, while Laura Tungseth had 8 points, 2 assists, and 7 rebounds.
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Hillcrest’s Knowledge Bowl team got second place. Tov Ramberg believes Eddie Jiang is weak because Eddie refuses to eat chili in public. Amanda Doiron has been known to type her HLA Today articles on her iPhone. Janaya Caines could write a novel loosely based on Kelly Dzailo’s sleep talking. Tiffany Lu lost her phone a few weekends ago, but found it in a trash can, leading many to question where she was calling them from. JK Lee sits by a new girl every day in English class as a strategy to help him pay attention to Mr. Undseth. Quincey Circo and Gus Anderson were Chris Pellegrino’s secret sister. Armin Jahr III and Gus Anderson have the same pants cycle. Nhi Nguyen asked her Secret Brother where his locker is. Chris Pellegrino and Solveig Bech celebrate their 18th birthdays together whenever they can. Han Gao’s secret sister made him do three push-ups in the hallway. Adrienne Schultz made her brother Bobby Schultz play with Bratz dolls. Bobby was so good at it Adrienne thought he actually liked them. Tonya Anderson’s sweatshirts fit her feet. Luke Joy is thinking of playing baseball this year because Coach Undseth thinks he played last year. Live Gilje, Raquel Kvamsdal and Zoey Schweitzer created Fancy Friday to alliterate. Book Wangrattanasopon whispered to Kara Nash in Mr. Undseth’s class, which is completely out of the ordinary for the new student. Madaline Veum heard child birth was one of life’s most amazing things from both Wayne Stender and Mr. Undseth within a matter of hours. Isaac Iverson raised $1064 in 1 minute for the Dominican Republic Mission. Kara Nash stresses about choir tests. Suzy Hoops’ parents traveled 28 hours to visit her at Hillcrest because they heard the weather was fantastic compared to Mississippi in February. Vegard Schjelderup sang the Norwegian dinner prayer for lunch and invited the student body to join him in the solo. Gus Anderson gave a shout out to Haley Filippini in a video shown at Tuscarora. Matt Filippini smiles a lot. Jared Christenson will fight for his secret sister’s honor. Evan Newman helps people find Armin Jahr III. Emma Royce keeps chapstick that has been used by Wayne Stender in the pocket of her jacket. 4 Police officers crashed Maddie Veum, Kara Nash and Liz Peterson’s slumber party. Mr. Brue and Mr. Strom have random contests to see who can make their students smile the most as students arrive in their classrooms. Will Choi was an Egyptian goddess for Valentines Day.
HLATODAY is produced by the Journalism program at Hillcrest Academy. Quincey Circo Amanda Doiron Liz Peterson Maddie Veum Jonathan Eckhardt 4|
Brandon Doering Kara Nash Zoey Schweitzer Eddie Jiang
Resident Assistant Kendra Grothmann serves students at Hillcrest in a Resident Assistant role in the dormitory.
Grothmann Lives From Unconditional Love Kendra Grothmann knows God’s love is unconditional. She believes she can go to him for anything without working to win his approval. Even when she is going through a rough time, she knows God has a purpose for her. People who have impacted her life and led her to Christ have shown her the character of God. Growing up, Kendra always thought she was automatically in Christ. Going to church every Sunday didn’t matter to her at the time Because her parents were German and Christian, she thought everybody who was German was Christian. In high school Kendra didn’t consider herself a Christian. She had a lot of friends and it was not hard for her to fit in. Her friends liked her because she was funny. She was seeking her friends’ approval in everything she did. She would do whatever her friends were doing, judging people by their looks and personalities. She never thought to seek after Christ, and she never felt that was wrong because the reality of Christ was not shown to her.
Amanda Doiron | Staff Reporter
God became real in her life during her first semester of college. She made a lot of Christian friends. She found the friends who were loyal and cared about her were the ones who believed in Jesus. They were always supporting her during hard times. Kendra joined Inspiration Point Bible Camp as a counselor three years ago after building a solid faith in Jesus Christ. As Jesus shines through her, she hopes that she has made an impact on kids’ lives and seeks to bring them one step closer to knowing Jesus. She has been impacted by what God has done for her in sending Jesus to be her savior. She wants to share the Gospel message with the dorm students this year, allowing them to see the way she lives with God shining through her. Kendra believes that students are all spiritually hungry--they don’t want to just know God in their heads, but know him on a personal level. By living in the dormitories she hopes to help students achieve that goal.
Erkenbrack Legacy (Cont.) years has given him countless opportunities to be involved in students’ lives and cheer on the Comets at many different venues. When Dean isn’t working, he spends his time doing a variety of things. Being an avid outdoorsman, he loves to camp, fish, and hunt. Being a husband to his wife for over forty years, a father of two, and a grandfather of seven, he has been greatly blessed with a wonderful family and takes every chance to spend time with them. He enjoys making time to help his neighbors and church family. He does this with a servant’s heart, without expecting anything in return. The end of May will mark Dean’s retirement from Hillcrest. His last day is going to be sad for him, but he is looking forward to what the Lord has in store for him for the rest of his life.
He knows that the Lord will continue to provide opportunities to be a blessing to others, and that he will use these opportunities well. Hillcrest is going to miss him greatly as well, and his years of service will not be forgotten. If there is one thing Dean has learned over the years it is that no one should ever underestimate the power of God. He provides us with opportunities to help and encourage those around us, and these opportunities may be the ones that save someone’s life. God has given Dean a great blessing, his testimony of service serves as a call for others to minister to those around. His example shows these actions are all for the glory of God.