10 minute read
BRAND NEW
UMHB LIVE ON PURPOSE
New Brand Encourages Students, Campus Community to
Live On Purpose
BY CHRISTI MAYS
Live on Purpose.
Just three little words, but with so much meaning.
These words are more than a new tagline. More than a mantra.
More than words on a door sign, light poles, and Chapel banners.
These three words are why we exist — the reason we have been here for more than 177 years. These words frame us and remind us daily why we are here. We were called to a life of purpose — every single student, faculty and staff member, alumnus, donor, board member, and parent.
“Who better to help students figure out their purpose in life than a distinctly Christian university? It’s why God put each and every one of us here,” said UMHB President Dr. Randy O’Rear. “I'm so excited about the new rally cry to ‘Live on Purpose.”
This summer, the new logo, brand and rally cry welcomed returning students in bright purple and gold messages across campus. Motivating, student-centric messages encourage students to also “grow, learn, believe, lead, serve, excel and play” on purpose.
“We know a student’s college experience is about much more than earning a degree,” said Dr. Rebecca O’Banion, vice president for advancement. “We want students to discover their gifts and live out all they were created to be and do.”
It has been 31 years since UMHB refreshed the logo. With its launch, the new branding has opened opportunities for UMHB to share its unique story – past, present and future.
“In many ways, this new brand and rally cry are just the beginning,” said O’Rear. “We’re excited to continue to share the MHB story.”
BRAND NEW!
When students arrived at campus this semester, they were welcomed with new purple and gold signs and banners at every turn.
UMHB LIVE ON PURPOSE
— Macaiah Peterman
UMHB FEATURES
GROWonPURPOSE
Macaiah Peterman
Junior Psychology Major | Belton, Texas
When other five-year-olds were starting kindergarten, Macaiah Peterman was stuck in a hospital bed. After going through countless rounds of what doctors thought were reoccurring ear infections, they finally discovered Macaiah had a rare type of cancer in her right ear called rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS).
So instead of storytime, show-and-tell, recess and field trips, for Macaiah, it was long weeks in a hospital bed, IVs and needles, surgeries and chemotherapy that made all her curly hair fall out. Left with a vulnerable immune system, being around other children was out of the question, so a teacher came to her house for her first five years of her schooling, and she had only her parents, Gimel and Tammy, for companionship.
Not all the memories of long days in a hospital bed are unhappy, though. One of her favorites is of her dad sitting by her bed watching television shows with her.
She and her father, who was a pastor and in the military, spent long days talking about each characters’ personalities, attitudes and actions. The discussions soon became a game to see who could best analyze the behaviors of each character. Figuring out what made them tick was so fascinating to Macaiah, it eventually led to the discovery of her purpose in life — to pursue a degree in psychology and one day help people navigate their relationships.
“It’s really fascinating to me how our minds work and how past experiences with parents, or how someone grew up, can affect how our relationships work,” she said.
Her father also taught her at a young age that even though she didn’t get the chance to make friends to talk to, she could always talk to God.
“I just felt like He was my friend,” Macaiah recalls. “When I would feel really sick from the chemo, I would pray for Him to help me fall asleep, and I would fall sound asleep and have the best dream ever.”
When Macaiah was finally able to go to school, around fourth grade, it wasn’t always easy making friends, and she often found herself just sitting back and observing other students. Something about her soft-spoken demeanor drew them to her though, and she discovered her gift of listening.
“One thing I learned, being the quiet kid is that people just want to be heard and listened to. Sometimes, they don’t want a resolution. They just want you to listen,” she said.
Macaiah has loved her time at UMHB, and says her professors inspired her to hopefully teach one day, as well as have her private practice.
“All of my psychology teachers are amazing. I love them so much!” she said. “It’s so good to hear what they do on a daily basis. They give so many real-life examples that they have experienced and use critical thinking skills.”
Even though she missed out on so much as a child, Macaiah knows God was in control the entire childhood as she fought and beat cancer. She learned to lean on Him for guidance and friendship, and she hopes He will speak through her to her patients one day. “I definitely would like to be a vessel for God.”
UMHB LIVE ON PURPOSE
— Caleb Shackelford
UMHB FEATURES
LEARNonPURPOSE
Caleb Shackelford
Senior Biology Major | Lott, Texas
If it involves dirt and the great outdoors, Caleb Shackelford probably loves studying it.
The senior biology major spent the summer before last snake hunting in the high desert near Boise, Idaho, as a summer intern with the U.S. Geological Survey. Climbing over rocks and through shrubs, he caught rattlesnakes, striped whipsnakes, and gopher snakes, swabbing each to test for snake fungal disease. This past summer, Caleb spent his days growing and tending a patch of prickly “weesatch” plants to study the bacteria on their invasive root systems. It was part of a two-year research project he is working on as a research assistant with Dr. Kathleen Wood, chair of the biology department. He was thrilled when he learned about the project.
“Soil has always interested me. It fascinates me. It’s kind of a nerdy thing to be interested in, but it's amazing how diverse soil is and how there’s a huge web down there, a big ecological system that we don’t see,” said Caleb, who will graduate in December. For graduate school, he plans to study soil science/chemistry at Texas A&M University.
His research at UMHB has earned him some notoriety when he presented at three conferences and won top prizes at each — two first-place wins in microbiology at Heart of Texas last year and again this year, and first place in plant biology at the Texas Academy of Science Conference.
Since these conferences are regionally based, he competed against students from much larger research schools, including the University of Texas and Baylor University.
“I was really proud of getting first place, not because of me, but because I was representing UMHB in this way. I want to be the best for UMHB,” said Caleb.
Presenting at conferences looks good on a resume, but to him, it’s more about being a good researcher and communicator.
“The goal of conferences is not necessarily to see who’s the best. It’s to teach, especially undergraduates,” he said. “When you’re in the field of science, you need to know how to share ideas. Conferences teach us how to be a good communicator of the research we’re doing.”
Caleb had no idea that getting an opportunity to do research as an undergrad would set him apart from the crowd, but it did when he applied for the summer internship position with the U.S. Geological Survey.
“I remember talking to the people who hired me at the USGS and asking them why they hired me. So many people apply, and I was just a random applicant from Central Texas, which is not even close to Idaho,” he said. “They told me it was because of my research experience. Other students didn’t really have that. I feel like I’m very fortunate to go to a university that is the perfect size to give me these opportunities.”
UMHB LIVE ON PURPOSE
— Ruth Lawson
UMHB FEATURES
SERVE onPURPOSE
Ruth Lawson
Senior Transformational Development Belton, Texas
When Ruth Lawson was 16, a family friend asked if she wanted to go on a mission trip to Uganda. She was thrilled at the opportunity, and began to pray. Her entire life, Ruth had been taught to “go to God in prayer” for everything. She knew if she was supposed to go on the mission trip, God would let her know.
She prayed and prayed but heard nothing. Weeks went by, and she needed to give her friend an answer. One Sunday morning during her church’s worship service, she became frustrated that she still hadn’t gotten an answer.
“God, I’m not hearing you. Do you want me to go or not?” she prayed. “All of a sudden, I just heard the Lord say, 'GO!'”
But at that moment, Ruth knew in her heart that God wasn’t simply telling her to go on this one mission. He was calling her to a life of missions.
“God was telling me to go—just as Ruth (from the Bible) went into a foreign land, and as Esther walked into places that were dangerous,” she said. “God told me, 'This will be hard. Your life will not be easy. It will be scary. You will walk in the midst of persecution. But you are not alone. I’m here with you and we will walk through the fire together. I’m calling you to go!'”
Crying, Ruth couldn’t wait to tell her parents, but they already knew.
“My parents are the most prayerful and faithful people I know,” Ruth said. “I’ve never seen them not take something to the Lord. So much of who I am is because of who they are, and their faithfulness to the Lord.”
The daughter of Mike and Myriam Lawson, Ruth grew up in the mission field. She spent the first eight years of her life in Haiti where her parents were doing mission work, and then moved to Belton where her father works for Feed My Sheep. Because her father’s work has always been “support-based,” meaning his income comes from supporters who have committed to help fund his ministry and missions, Ruth has grown up seeing her parents live sacrificially in everything they do.
“Sometimes that has meant living without a lot of different things,” she said. “But the Lord has always provided for my family. My family has never been wealthy; we’ve always been blessed. And we don’t allow money to be something that has a hold on us.”
Ruth says without the blessing of donors, she would not have been able to attend UMHB.
“I don’t know if they know how much of a blessing they are,” she said. “The Lord is providing through them.”
With the help of scholarships, Ruth says she will graduate next semester with no debt.
“Knowing the lifestyle that I’m going to be going into — carrying loans into a missions world would just be very hard. So having no residual debt accumulating is a huge blessing.”
