23
24
34
42
28 The mission of Vanguard uniVersiTy is To equip each sTudenT for a spiriT-empowered life of chrisT-cenTered leadership and serVice.
in this issue
It Is my prIvIlege to Introduce
Fall/Winter 2013 | VoluMe 14 | issue 2
thIs Issue of Vanguard magazIne, and It Is especIally meanIngful to do so for the fIrst tIme as presIdent.
FEATuREs
As an alumnus of Vanguard myself, I have
around the taBle ............................................... 12
read each edition to find out how fellow
vanguard university music professor dr. susanne reid shares how she creates community
graduates are serving the Lord, experiencing life, and living out the
by inviting students to join her for special get-togethers around the dinner table.
mission of the University here and all over the world!
communItas ...................................................... 16
The focus of this issue is: communitas: the spirit of community. Rather
guest contributor and professor dr. Jamie huff writes about what “community” means to him.
than focusing on structure and organization, communitas exists when people experience life together in unity, authenticity and equality.
those Who teach.............................................. 18
Vanguard University is committed to the idea that all of us—students
alumni scott Bedley, Bonnie Brigman, and glen Warren are all successful teachers who
and professors, administrators and staff—honor God by integrating
got their start while undergraduates at vanguard university.
these values in our connections with each other. In this issue, we tell
an IntervIeW WIth dr. mIchael Beals ................. 28 vanguard university’s tenth president speaks with vanguard magazine about what he
the stories of a number of students and alumni whose experiences at Vanguard highlight the power of these connections.
cherishes about the university and how he plans to lead in a season of fresh vision.
Our cover story features a group of students who explored the
an ace on the court ........................................ 32
Kristen Achziger, Justin Salazar, and Austin Baffa each discovered and
student-athlete Jessica neves reveals the true inspiration behind her success on the volleyball court.
community in and around Vanguard through the lenses of their cameras. highlighted an aspect of community by capturing it on film. Music professor Dr. Susanne Reid is the focus of the second part of our cover story. She cultivates community among her students using a
DEpARTmENTs
time-tested method: food! Dr. Reid is known for treating her students
message from the president ......................................... 1 on campus ............................................................. 2 faculty spotlight ..................................................... 26
to dinner parties in order to inspire them to engage more fully with her, each other, and the material. And the third part of our communitas cover story features student Christian Rivera, who is taking the spirit of community from Vanguard
my story ............................................................... 27
and sowing it far and wide. Christian traveled to Peru with a close-knit
sports ................................................................... 32
group of like-minded Vanguard students.
class notes ........................................................... 36
Vanguard University has a long-standing reputation for producing great
learn of me ........................................................... 45
teachers. This year, two out of five of the Orange County Teachers of the Year were Vanguard alumni. This issue honors those two, Scott Bedley ’93 and Glen Warren ’85, as well as Bonnie Brigman ’73, a semi-
uNIvERsITy GovERNANcE chaIr, Board of trustees
david oddo
dIrector of communIcatIons
retired elementary school teacher who also taught in Vanguard’s highly
shana martin
respected teacher training program.
assocIate creatIve dIrector
Finally, Bruce Durkee ’90 was an accounting major at Vanguard
uNIvERsITy ADmINIsTRATIoN
tawny marcus
presIdent
WrIter / copy edItor
michael Beals
rene J. scheys
estate planning and trust and probate law. He knows firsthand how
actIng provost / vIce presIdent for academIc affaIrs
lead photographer
significantly alumni can bless the University with their generosity.
mike Wilson
vIce presIdent for BusIness and fInance
lettie cowie
InterIm vIce presIdent for enrollment management
chauncey d. Bayes
assocIate dIrector of marKetIng and communIcatIons
erin hales
graphIc desIgner
who went on to establish a successful law practice emphasizing
I believe that you will be encouraged by these stories and that they will inspire you to connect and continue relationships you first established at Vanguard University!
candice co
darren Bush
vIce presIdent for student lIfe
tim young
vIce presIdent for unIversIty advancement
Kelly Kannwischer
Vanguard University of Southern California, in compliance with laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, age, disability, national origin, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices or procedures. vanguard magazine is a free publication published 2 times per year by Vanguard University. All contents copyrighted, 2013, Vanguard University.
Michael Beals PhD PresiDent, VanguarD uniVersity
Bulk rate postage paid at Las Vegas, NV. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Vanguard University Alumni Relations Office, 55 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.
vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
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on campus
On Campus VANGUARD UNIVERSITY ACHIEVES RECORD ENROLLMENT IN FALL 2013 Vanguard University enrolled 2,418 undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies students in the Fall of 2013, breaking the previous high mark. The number represents a 4.7% increase over Fall 2012 enrollment, and a 17.7% increase over Fall 2010 enrollment. Darren Bush, interim vice president for enrollment management at Vanguard, also notes that, “43% of Vanguard’s freshman class are students of Hispanic origin—the most ever—reflecting greater diversity on campus.” These trends bear out Vanguard University’s continued positive growth, making the University well-positioned to fulfill the promise of its
GRADUATE PROGRAMS AND SCHOOL FOR PROFESSIONAL STUDIES MERGE TO FORM SCHOOL FOR GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES (SGPS) This year Vanguard University announced that
the resources and reputation of the graduate
it will unite its graduate programs with the
and professional studies at Vanguard, and
School for Professional Studies, creating a
on streamlining the processes by which they
consolidated institution of adult and graduate
function in order to recruit new students and fully
education called School for Graduate and
support current students.
Professional Studies (SGPS). The move will allow Vanguard University to serve the adult professional with a unified vision of education and more efficiently drive the growth and development of the program.
“All of our graduate and professional studies programs equip adult students for professional excellence,” says Dr. Stenhouse. “Our students are not the traditional students who live on or around campus and take classes throughout
Dr. Andrew Stenhouse, who is himself a
the day. Our students attend classes in the late
graduate and undergraduate alumnus of
afternoons, evenings, on weekends, and/or
Vanguard, has been appointed Dean of
online. They generally have family obligations
the School for Graduate and Professional
while furthering their own careers and are highly
Studies. As such, he oversees curricula in
motivated to succeed academically as well as
organizational management, ministry and
professionally. With this new organizational
leadership, human development, nursing, early
structure we can better leverage our efforts
childhood education, clinical psychology,
to attract, equip, and graduate students into
education, theological studies, and leadership
fulfilling careers whether its business, education,
studies. Dr. Stenhouse is focused on leveraging
nursing, counseling, or ministry.”
2 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
sterling academic reputation.
@VANGUARDU
TweeTs @NicoleSuydam Thank for @vanguardU @vanguardalumni for #vUCityserve and giving your time @secondharvestFB to #endhungeroC!
@laurenfrancis89 Darrellyn Melilli, Ernie Allen, Sandra Morgan, and Mary Beth Molnar
GLOBAL CENTER FOR WOMEN AND JUSTICE CELEBRATES ITS TENTH ANNIVERSARY
such a joy to share my heart for the local church to some awesome @vanguardu students in chapel.
@VULions
This fall the Global Center for Women and
measure of true religion offered in James 1:27:
Justice (GCWJ) at Vanguard University observed
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure
its ten-year anniversary over a weekend of
and faultless is this: to look after orphans and
events that honored the innovative founding
widows in their distress and to keep oneself
of the Center, which exists to advance the
from being polluted by the world.” Looking after
global status of women, promoting gender
marginalized women and children is at the
reconciliation and the inherent dignity of all
heart of the Center’s commitment to “Study the
@agcolleges
persons. The birth of the GCWJ ten years ago
Issues, Be a Voice, Make a Difference.”
Costa mesa will forever be impacted by the presence of @vanguardU in its community. Thank you for your outreach!
put Vanguard on the leading edge of social justice. “Vanguard University was one of the first Christian universities to offer an interdisciplinary Women’s Studies Minor and a dedicated Center for research, education, advocacy and collaboration,” says Sandra Morgan, director of the GCWJ. The anniversary weekend was an opportunity for Vanguard to commend the pioneering work of the Center so far, and to prepare for many more years dedicated to the cause of justice.
The tenth-anniversary weekend featured a number of events that furthered the mission of the
wsoC: #2 in latest @play_naia Top-25 poll #goldpride #undefeated @gsaCathletics
GCWJ. “The weekend brought the community together for more than a celebration,” says Sandra Morgan. “Rather, we strengthened our
@kristinelemus
collaboration with the screening of Girl Rising
so thankful to be part of live2free and at vanguard University! @sandiemorgan #live2free #stophumantrafficking #vusc
at the Lido Theater, a campus birthday party featuring the unveiling of four historical panels in Heath Academic Rotunda, and finally, the More Priceless than Diamonds luncheon, which enlisted our community in the newest challenges
@HayleeBaker
The Center believes it is the responsibility of a
to women and children found in digital and
Christian higher education institution to provide
Internet exploitation.”
i can’t believe that in one week i’ll be living in Costa mesa starting school in @vanguardu. i’m so excited!
a strong foundation for students who are compelled to respond to the plight of women and children caught in modern day slavery, the violence of war, the politics of gender-based violence, and to stand up for the least of these. The GCWJ aims to academically apply the
Read more about the GCWJ tenth anniversary celebration on page 35. For highlights of the Center’s growth over the years, visit gcwj.vanguard.edu/timeline
TweeT @VANGUARDU some love and YoU jUsT mighT end Up in The nexT vangUard magazine!
vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
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on campus
City Serve 2013 leaders display signs directing volunteers to various projects at the opening meeting.
VANGUARD UNIVERSITY CONTINUES ITS TRADITION OF REACHING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY THROUGH CITY SERVE 2013 This fall, more than 750 students, alumni, staff,
blessing of being part of the few that established
County. Other beneficiaries of City Serve 2013
faculty, and administration from Vanguard University
City Serve, and to see how the Lord is continuing
included Orange County Ronald McDonald
participated in City Serve 2013. Since its founding
to use it in mighty ways is amazing,” Kayli says.
House, Vintage Convalescent Homes, Second
in 2004, City Serve has acted as a catalyst for the
“My vision and prayer is for our students to deeply
Harvest Food Bank, the Finally Home Foundation,
Vanguard community to give back to its neighbors
embrace Costa Mesa as their home while they
and Mercy House, to name just a few. In addition
through various acts of service. Students, faculty,
are here, learn how to invest in the lives of others,
to these, organizers also found ways to serve even
and staff spend the day in a variety of service
and be a good neighbor no matter where they
more creatively: they sent a group of about 25
projects throughout Costa Mesa and surrounding
go in life.”
students to Newport and Balboa beaches to bless
cities with the goal to simply show Christ’s love in their actions. The event is also a great opportunity to encourage the community into continued service that lasts much longer than the one day.
After meeting at Vanguard early in the morning, participants fanned out across the city, plugging themselves where needed into opportunities to provide for the people of Costa Mesa. One of
Kayli Hillebrand, associate director of outreach
the major needs of the day was filled by the 300
at Vanguard University, was responsible for
volunteers who assisted Convoy of Hope in its
organizing this year’s event. Her expertise extends
preparations for a large event that supplies food,
to the very first City Serve in 2004. “I have the
medical services, and more to people in Orange
4 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
people by paying for their parking for the day. City Serve 2013 gave students, faculty, and staff the chance to connect to their community with Christ-like kindnesses, both large and small. Check out a recap of this year’s City Serve activities at vanguard.edu/cityserve
Coming this fall to Vanguard’s lyCeum theater
VANGUARD UNIVERSITY RANKS IN TOP 10 FOR US NEWS & WORLD REPORT’S 2014 BEST COLLEGES When US News & World Report
Vanguard University’s continued presence
announced its 2014 rankings, Vanguard
on the list of best regional colleges is
University found itself in its familiar
particularly impressive in light of the
place near the top of the list. For several
US News & World Report’s changing
consecutive years in a row, Vanguard has
methodology behind the ranking system.
ranked in the top 10. This year, in the
Recently the methodology has shifted to
Best Regional Colleges – West category,
increase the weight of “output factors,”
Vanguard ranks #10.
such as graduation and freshman retention
There are 1,596 regionally accredited U.S. institutions that are part of the U.S. News data collection universe. Regional colleges (such as Vanguard University) focus on undergraduate education but grant fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts disciplines. These rankings are split into 4 regions: North, South, Midwest, and West. The data gathered on colleges – and the rankings of the schools that arise from these data – serve as an objective guide by which students and their parents can
rates. “These are exciting developments,” says Darren Bush, interim vice president for enrollment management. “Vanguard continues to advance its outstanding academic programs and student life, and raise its visibility and reputation as a first-choice Christian higher education institution.” Want to get more information about Vanguard? Visit undergraduate.
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HOMECOMING 2014 FEATURING THE RUN FOR MERCY 5K
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vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
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WELCOME WEEK WATER WARS This year at the vanguard University all-school party, students met on a water-logged battlefield, armed with weapons of mass saturation. The event was water wars, and it pitted the sophomore/junior class against the freshman/senior class. The party consisted of various water games in which the two sets of classes would compete and win points. here students simply try to drench each other—while staying as dry as possible themselves.
A
sk a typical graduate of Vanguard uniVersity what he or she remembers most about being a student here,
and the answer will almost certainly include the word “community.� Vanguard prides itself on creating and sustaining a relational culture, going beyond the
normal definition of community, and allowing faculty, students, and staff to reach out and connect with each other. this spirit-filled community is united by a shared faith in christ and a desire to build lasting relationships.
Kristen Achziger, Justin Salazar, and Austin Baffa were inspired by a photojournalism class to capture stories in their community through the lens of their cameras. Dr. Susanne Reid is a music professor who fosters community in a unique way: by inviting students to dine with her. Christian Rivera is a student who found new meaning in his life as a christ-follower by engaging with a community faraway.
vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
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When
Vanguard University professor Chauncey Bayes directed the students in his photojournalism class to discover the untold stories of individuals in the Vanguard community, Kristen Achziger, Justin Salazar, and Austin Baffa each turned their photographer’s eye towards people in and around Vanguard’s campus. Senior Kristen Achziger found another student making every
for their autistic son. “The main goal of my images was to do
effort to serve the community surrounding Vanguard. This
the Hittenberger family justice where it came to their story,” says
student was senior and sociology major Jenna Marek, who
Justin. “They have a story that talks about struggle and triumph.
started a ministry to reach homeless residents in one of Costa
I wanted to capture each member of the family in a unique way.”
Mesa’s smallest motels. The focus of the ministry was on building relationships with these residents and inviting them to church. With her camera, Kristen was able to capture moments of connection, grace, and loss, as she accompanied Jenna on her visits with the residents of the motel. The larger aim of the photojournalism class was to experience a hands-on application of faith in the classroom, as a means of carrying out the part of Vanguard’s mission that seeks to integrate faith and learning. By this measure, Kristen’s experience photographing Jenna’s ministry at the motel was successful. “Jenna opened my eyes to see Vanguard students who go beyond Vanguard to serve the communities just outside campus,” says Kristen. “The Great Commission isn’t just about going overseas or to another country. This motel is five minutes away from school. There’s a need there, and we can serve it, if we will go. We can be missional anywhere.” Justin Salazar spent time with Jeff Hittenberger and his family, capturing in photographs the unique challenges they face caring
Working with the Hittenberger family gave Justin a different understanding of how their real lives defy initial impressions. This understanding was essential to Justin’s definition of community. “Community is about being able to understand people for who they are versus what they do for work. There is more to someone’s story than the first impression!” Austin Baffa used the assignment as a means of exploring the community of his own family, taking probing photographs of his father. The photography gave Austin a context for examining his father’s life more closely, allowing him to learn things about his father he had never known before. “Through the use of photography I was able to break through barriers he had put up and saw a side of him I had never seen before,” says Austin. “It brought us closer. Simple as that.” The photographs that Kristen, Justin, Austin, and the rest of their classmates took were compiled for a special gallery exhibit titled “Your Story Matters: A Photography Student’s Perspective.”
by Kristen Achziger
1
“The main thing I try to capture in my photography is honesty,” says Kristen. “I had a guest of the photography exhibit ask me if I had ever considered Photoshop. He said this picture of the elderly woman would be a perfect portrait if the other person were not there. But I don’t want to ever manipulate a photo so that it doesn’t tell the truth.”
2
by Kristen Achziger
“These kids weren’t smiling at me just because I was pointing a camera at them. I didn’t pose them. I shot what I saw. These children are simply joyful in spite of their situation.”
10 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
by Justin Salazar
3
“Jeff Hittenberger and his son Ben love going to the zoo, where they share experiences that strengthen their family bond.”
4
by Austin Baffa
“When my father gets stressed out, he likes to mow the lawn, which is a healthy outlet after a stressful day at work. He likes to keep things clean cut. It makes sense.”
1 3
2 Student Photographers
O U R n A D
e tab l e th
“I’m
just a southern girl from Oklahoma,” says Dr. Susanne Reid, an associate professor of music at Vanguard University. “We believe everything is better with food.”
This very straightforward philosophy—that food brings people together and gives them a simple context in which to connect—is the inspiration for Dr. Reid’s tradition of hosting students to dinners at her home and restaurants. It’s a practice that has enabled her to put a unique stamp on her work as a professormentor at Vanguard, where, according to Reid, “Relationships are a priority, between faculty and students and administrators and staff.”
12 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
She adds, “There’s a family atmosphere here. I see students, I know them, and they know me. The sense of community is something that you notice right away.” Families do most of their own community-building around the dinner table, so Dr. Reid is certainly doing her part to perpetuate the family atmosphere she speaks of. “Food is a way to express a caring attitude. It’s a part of my upbringing in a cultural way.” It is possible, while speaking with Dr. Reid, to observe the enthusiasm with which she approaches the task of bringing students together. “I’m a very positive person,” she says. “And I’m a very relational person. I’m happy to do anything for the good of my students, and the culture of caring [at Vanguard] enables me to. That attitude of caring doesn’t exist everywhere. It’s foundational and unique. I felt like I came home when I came to Vanguard.” Last year Dr. Reid invited her students to join her at a concert performance of contemporary music in Pomona, California. The music was “avant garde,” and she admits that some of her students might not have been very keen to attend had she not offered to buy them all dinner before the show. In other words, it was a gentle bribe, and Dr. Reid was happy to make it, since the evening paid off as an investment in her students’ education and their lives. “It gave me an intimacy with that class,” she explains. “I went out of my way a little bit for a gigantic payoff. They’re able to see that I care about them as people.” The dinner gave Dr. Reid and the students a chance to be together, but the concert gave them a deeper understanding of the musical concepts they had been exploring all semester. “It wasn’t just about my relationship with the students. The night was also an opportunity for them to synthesize what’s happening in music right now. If I can guide students to dig into what music is about, and to think like a true musician in Christ, then I’ve been successful.”
“I’m happy to do anythIng for the good of my students, and the culture of carIng [at Vanguard] enables me to. that attItude of carIng doesn’t exIst eVerywhere. It’s foundatIonal and unIque.” dr. susanne reId Naturally, Dr. Reid feels drawn to the memory of countless students she has mentored over the years, but one student in particular stands out as an example of the positive effects that personally investing in the lives of students can have. “Her name is Danielle Culhane ’10, and I am so proud of her,” says Dr. Reid. Danielle graduated from Vanguard with a BA in music education, and shortly thereafter began to pursue her teaching credential. At the time, Danielle was also working with the Orange County Youth Orchestra, helping as a youth leader at her church, and taking on shifts at Starbucks. “It was like having four jobs, if you count the teaching credential,” says Dr. Reid. “I had such a belief in Danielle’s abilities, and I did everything I could to encourage her. We had many meals together, too. When she was overwhelmed, I’d say ‘You can keep going! I can help! Let’s make a chart!’” Dr. Reid’s pride is evident when recalls watching Danielle grow and succeed over the years. “True mentoring is about close relationships, and those make living good,” she says.
Dr. Reid has no illusions about what exactly substantiates this deeply personal approach. She sees the Holy Spirit as in residence at Vanguard, compelling the faculty and students towards one another in a feast of love. “I always say that the Holy Spirit finds himself. He knows where he is. You know Christ, I know Christ, the Spirit resides in us. So there is a bond between us. Vanguard is special because it allows the Holy Spirit to be the maximum that he wants to be in our lives.” Shakespeare famously wrote that music was the food of love—for Dr. Susanne Reid, food is the food of love. Her belief that “everything is better with food” is born out by the Spirit-filled relationships she’s been able to establish by virtue of simple dinner invitations. She and her food are vessels of connection, used by the Holy Spirit to make Vanguard University’s community strong.
Dr. Reid is quick to point out that this personal approach is echoed across her department and the rest of the university. “Dr. Joni Prado and I just had lunch with an alumna of the music department, and it reminded me of how the response we receive from students is lasting. Our care for them is long, not temporary. One of the things that makes Vanguard’s music department unique is that we care about our students, but they can also see that the faculty cares about each other. We have a real camaraderie.”
vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
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a
Heart for Latin
america 14 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
T
he community at Vanguard University is not bound by the physical and social borders of the campus; one of the things that makes Vanguard’s community powerful is how its spirit extends into the world beyond the campus, carried there by students and faculty who believe in the potential of relationships. Current student Christian Rivera knows this firsthand, having had a transformative experience at Vanguard so far, finding his place in this community and pushing outside of it into others. Christian came to Vanguard initially intending to study biology in order to become a pharmaceutical researcher. He immediately noticed the professors’ commitment to establishing community within the academic culture of Vanguard. “The professors form personal relationships with students,” he says. “They build community outside of class through mentorship during office hours, and inside of class, where they know our names and we feel a genuine bond with them.”
“[AT VAnguArd] We hAVe A loT of differenT ideAs buT We All circle Around our loVe for chrisT. We’re Able To sTreTch our fAiTh And groW, Which AlloWs us To fAce The World heAd-on.” chrisTiAn riVerA Christian began to take small steps towards involvement with various groups and people on campus, helping where he could as a student worker with the spiritual formation department and then joining El Puente Club, which promotes community among Hispanic students. “Vanguard is very good at giving students opportunities to get connected,” says Christian. Eventually Christian met Fernando Tamara, an adjunct professor who teaches Spanish, and that’s when Christian’s course at Vanguard began to shift. “I asked him to help mentor me,” says Christian, “but he did so much more. He shaped my walk with God, and my entire view of school. He encouraged me in times of weakness and strength, and he taught me how to be used by God.” Fernando Tamara’s most profound influence on Christian happened earlier this year when he led Christian and a group of eight other students on a mission trip to Peru. After having fostered a tight-knit group of students with hearts for service on campus, Professor Tamara took this “extension” of Vanguard’s community to a place where they could engage with another community. As Christian puts it, the group went to Peru to “love and help people. We handed out clothes, played soccer, and most importantly, built relationships.” During the trip, Christian experienced a moment that will for the rest of his life serve as a touchstone for what it means to follow Jesus. He recalls entering a small, poverty-stricken Peruvian town where a woman ran out to meet them. “She was so excited,” says Christian. “She was crying, and she said, ‘Go to my house! I’m going to get my neighbors!’ She went to all her neighbors’ houses
and invited them to meet us. We learned that her husband and daughter were not living there anymore and that she had been praying fervently about her situation. She told us, ‘Today my prayers were answered. Jesus came to my house.” For Christian, this moment revealed the true power of community: it is when people are inspired to connect to each other by virtue of Christ within them. “I thought to myself, ‘How many more people would be touched if Jesus came to them?’” says Christian. “That moment shaped the way I think, the way I live my life, and how I act in public. It taught me the true meaning of following Christ.” The experience has motivated Christian to follow Christ on a new path. He had already changed his major to religion, and after his trip to Peru he added an emphasis in intercultural studies and pastoral leadership. His intention is to become an Assemblies of God pastor or missionary. “I felt that God put the people of Latin America on my heart,” he says. The woman Christian met that day in Peru confirmed this, speaking words over Christian that communicated God’s will for him. “She said God will use me more than I think.” Christian is grateful for the opportunity Vanguard gave him to connect to others in a place where relationships are valued and protected. “I feel that Vanguard puts us in a ‘good bubble,’” says Christian. “We have a lot of different ideas but we all circle around our love for Christ. We’re able to stretch our faith and grow, which allows us to face the world head-on.” Christian’s journey illustrates exactly how the community at Vanguard University empowers students to go beyond the limits of the world and people they know, emboldened by the relationships they’ve established at the school with each other and with God.
vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
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com•mu•ni•tas
F
by Dr. Jamie Huff Chair, Department of Anthropology & Sociology, Associate Professor of Anthropology
orgive me for nerding out just a bit, but one of my all-time favorite anthropologists was a man by the name of Victor Turner. In the early 1950s, Turner embarked on a definitive journey from Manchester, England to central Africa in order to complete his graduate studies in anthropology. He eventually settled in a sparsely populated corner of northwestern Zambia, where he spent nearly four years observing the religious life of the Ndembu people. Like most anthropologists, the time Turner spent living among the Ndembu profoundly impacted his scholarship and life.
16 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
Turner’s intellectual curiosity was legendary. Chief among his interests were the rituals we humans devise to mark the passing of seasons and to celebrate life transitions. The ones we’re familiar with include quinceaneras, graduation ceremonies, and Thanksgiving Day dinners. Others, such as hazing rituals in the Marine Corps or a pilgrimage to Mecca, are less familiar, but no less significant for those who participate in them. While living among the Ndembu, Turner paid special attention to the complex set of rituals they practiced to observe a young person’s movement into adulthood. A characteristic feature of these rituals was that they required a young person to be physically removed from their family and from the ordinary routines of village life. Ndembu boys, for example, were sequestered away for a period of four months.
Turner opted for the Latin term communitas instead because he felt it better conveyed the sacred and essential kind of human relationship that emerged spontaneously during the course of the rituals he observed. Communitas then is not the clichéd, warm-and-fuzzy sense of community that we so often use. Rather, it connotes deep and enduring ties of friendship.
While in isolation the boys were regularly subjected to lectures on the responsibilities of adulthood by their ritual elders. The experience of ritual separation aimed to strip away all that was familiar to the young participants. Turner’s insights about what these rituals did to the adolescents who participated in them have always intrigued me. First is his observation that the ritual places a young person into what he called a “neither here nor there” space. He characterized participants as “threshold people,” who for a period of time existed somewhere between the recognizable routines of adolescence and the untried responsibilities of adulthood. As threshold people they had no claim to a particular social status, nor were they distinguishable from one another because of a special rank or role. Instead, they were all equals.
I took the course, Applied Anthropology, in the
sure how to answer that question. In that
spring semester of my senior year at SCC. Peter
classroom we were all equals, who did not know
Desoto ’96, Scott Anderson ’95, Kenny Peavy ’95
what we did not know.
and I gathered twice a week in a small classroom in Scott Academic Center to be humored, inspired, and challenged by Ron Bueno ’90, our ritual elder and professor at the time. The energy Ron brought to the classroom was contagious. Every week he invited us to share in solving
Second is his description of the intense state
the intellectual and practical problems that
of communitas that the young participants
puzzled and moved him. Together we explored
experienced together. You and I refer to it as
questions like: “What causes poverty?” and
community. Turner opted for the Latin term
“Why have our efforts to solve it frequently
communitas instead because he felt it better
resulted in exacerbating human suffering?” and
conveyed the sacred and essential kind of
“What really works in alleviating poverty?”
human relationship that emerged spontaneously
As novices we didn’t have much to offer by
during the course of the rituals he observed.
way of intelligent response to these and other
Communitas then is not the clichéd, warm-
penetrating questions. In fact, the more questions
and-fuzzy sense of community that we so often
Ron asked about the world that existed beyond
use. Rather, it connotes deep and enduring
Vanguard, the more unprepared we felt about
ties of friendship. For Turner these ties were
entering into that world. And still, week after
formed in the crucible of seclusion, and in the
week, Ron challenged us to dream creatively
corresponding experience of social ambiguity,
together about how to roll up our sleeves and
that young people were required to endure.
tackle big problems.
Moreover, they were ties that lived on long after
The class generated a great deal of uncertainty
the ritual had ended.
for me. And as the semester progressed, the more
Turner’s insights on the significance of these
I recognized that I simply did not know what I
boys-to-men, girls-to-women ceremonies have
did not know. The rituals of the classroom – the
always struck a chord for me. Of course, I’ve
lectures, group discussions, exams, and so on –
never braved four months of ritual seclusion!
placed me in a “neither here nor there” space. It
Nevertheless, my life has been marked by
was a threshold moment. I was in between the
lengthy spells of ritualized uncertainty – and
familiar world of my youth and the seemingly
I recall that I frequently emerged from those
wide-open world beyond Vanguard, where
times with lasting and life-giving friendships.
human flourishing and suffering coexisted in
One such period unfolded in a Vanguard
perplexing, contradictory ways. How were we to
University classroom.
live and serve in that world? We weren’t exactly
This period of ambiguity proved to be definitive for me in a variety of unexpected ways. First, it settled in me a determination to figure it out (I haven’t yet, by the way). The class, along with many others I took from Vince Gil, Dennis McNutt and other faculty, ignited an intellectual curiosity in me that continues to energize my teaching and my research as an anthropologist. Second, it generated communitas – deep ties of friendship that endure to this day. Although we have taken different vocational paths, my Applied Anthropology classmates and I have remained close friends. Moreover, Peter and I, along with our families, eventually made our way to El Salvador where we reunited with our ritual elder, Ron Bueno, to work for ENLACE, a faith-based organization that exists to alleviate spiritual and material poverty. We finally got to rolling up our sleeves! Let me leave you with an etymological aside that I think is worth considering. My hunch is that Turner was aware that communitas fuses together the Latin roots of com and muni. They show up in words we’re familiar with – words like: composition, communion, municipal, and munificent (one of my favorites). One root connotes being together with another; the other signifies a gift, or service. Today I am deeply grateful for the threshold moments I experienced as a Vanguard University student. I am certain that they connected me deeply with others, and they made us together fit for service.
vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
17
I NOW KNOW O ne wall of fifth grade classroom 51 at
Plaza Vista school
in irVine, california
giVes a glimPse into the teaching PhilosoPhy of its teacher quite
nicely. the wall is comPrised mostly of a large window that looks out into the comPuter lab next door, with the words “i now know” arched across the toP. at any Point during one of the oPen sessions when students are working on their learning Projects, they can walk oVer to the window, uncaP one of the dry-erase markers stationed nearby, and write down a thing they learned. this window is consequently coVered in colorful, Varied scrawl, with Phrases such as “arctic PeoPle used seal blubber to ward off hunger,” “cells haVe organelles which use sugar to giVe energy to liVing things,” and “there are liVing things eVerywhere.” 18 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
ExTRAORDINARY EDUCATORS
This room and this wall belong to teacher Scott Bedley ’93, 2013 Irvine Unified School District Teacher of the Year, one of the 5 recipients of the 2014 Orange County Teacher of the Year award, and a Vanguard University alumnus. If an elementary school teacher’s classroom is a window into his or her personality and teaching values, then this is especially true of Scott Bedley, beginning with the “I NOW KNOW” window. It’s not just about the moment when a student learns something and writes it down, he says. “At any time they can go see what their classmates are learning. They learn from each other, but they can also edit each other’s learning and I can see what they are taking away from a lesson.”
a finished product according to his or her skills and interests. Doing this will keep the students engaged throughout the entire process while demonstrating their ability to gather reliable information and produce something from that information, rather than parrot back memorized facts for a written or multiple-choice test.
The rest of the classroom provides more clues about Scott’s teaching philosophy. Albert Einstein “speaks” from multiple posters on the walls, reminding students about the hard work and effort that true inspiration entails. Another sign in the room states, “It is intelligent to ask for help. No one needs to do it alone,” and yet another says, “It’s okay to make mistakes—that’s how we learn.” Scott wants his students to take academically focused risks in their learning, and he trains them to develop the skills to build independently on their own knowledge in an environment of safe creativity. One core goal is to create life-long empowered learners.
The students’ responses are on-point, and it’s a demonstration of how well Scott can steer the energy of the class, creating different points of useful interaction. The idea, he later points out, is to give them options for discovery so they can drive their own learning.
Project-based assessment is one of the keys to giving Scott’s teaching philosophy practical applications. After a few quick instructions to the class, Scott excuses his students to work alone or together on projects centered around learning about early American history. He releases the students to their work by announcing; “I’ll be coming around to help you if you want. I know you can find a lot of answers on your own, because you are skilled, but I’m here to help you if you need it.” Some students sit and work at their desks, occasionally chatting with each other, a few students sprawl on the floor with large reference books and iPads, and others congregate around Scott himself—some to ask questions, some to share what they’ve discovered in their research, some to simply apprise him of their progress. A group of about sixteen students makes a beeline to the computers next door. Scott is able to monitor their activity via his own computer, which presents sixteen displays of the students’ computer screens navigating to the Google homepage and beyond. The room buzzes with activity as the kids fill out the graphic organizer from which they will derive the content of their final project. On this project, they have the option of writing a narrative essay filled with facts, creating a piece of art with captions of information, or developing a learning game focused on the research topic; the idea is that each student will choose to make
At one point a student asks Scott a question, and instead of a direct reply, Scott looks up and calmly says “Class?” Thirty-five heads pop up simultaneously. “YES?” the students reply in unison. “Is a bow and arrow a tool?” Scott asks. A number of students immediately respond in the affirmative, and Scott adds, “Someone raise a hand and tell me why.”
Soon after, when Scott talks specifically about the way he approaches his job as a teacher, he explains that all of his instruction begins with connecting to his students in a meaningful way. “I believe that caring leads to learning,” he says. “It’s not just about content. When you build relationships with a student first, that’s when learning starts. I try to show my students I care about them as people. We all need to know what real love is—it’s God’s love—and I want to share that love with these kids and their families.” Scott’s approach to teaching was directly influenced by the years he spent as a communications major at
taught Scott about how to challenge students in order to inspire their highest potential. “He built relationships by expecting the best from you. He saw your talent and respectfully “pushed” you to improve if you didn’t give him your best work.” Scott also received lessons in the curriculum of community at Vanguard. “I was given opportunities to connect in so many different ways at Vanguard,” he says. “The depth of relationships with professors and peers is powerful.” For Scott this was established on the first day, as he was moving in. “I was unpacking my things and there was a knock on my door. The Resident Assistant came in and asked to pray for me and my roommate and our room. He said, ‘This is how we want to start the year with you.’ That simple connection was a vital part of what the school held valuable.” And these are the connections that Scott seeks to make now as a teacher of fifth-graders. “We all have a sense that we want to belong,” says Scott as he describes how and why he builds community in his classroom. “We need roles, and I have a chance to help my students define their roles, by finding and pointing out their strengths. When you’re connected in a community, you’re responsible to it and for each other.” The community of Scott’s classroom doesn’t end at Plaza Vista School. Scott builds a foundation of caring for his students and then challenges them to be critical thinkers who are engaged with the world around them. “I don’t want to only deliver content. There has to be a real world connectedness.” One such lesson: when Scott wanted to create what he calls an “authentic audience” for their writing, he had his
“WE ALL HAVE A SENSE THAT WE WANT TO BELONG. WE NEED ROLES, AND I HAVE A CHANCE TO HELP MY STUDENTS DEFINE THEIR ROLES, BY FINDING AND POINTING OUT THEIR STRENGTHS.” SCOTT BEDLEY Vanguard University, where he observed good teaching every day. “There are two professors at Vanguard who impacted my life and teaching career the most,” he says. “Keith Ewing is someone I still lean on today. He is so good about wanting to know you and drawing out the best in you, because he cares about you. His influence is one of the reasons for my success as a teacher now. I talk to my kids, I get to know them. I get to know their individual learning styles, and which kids have confidence and which don’t so I can help them excel.” If professor Keith Ewing taught Scott about the relational aspect of good teaching, then Professor Tom Carmody
students compose letters to CEOs of large corporations. A number of the CEOs responded, including Nike president Phil Knight, who called Scott’s classroom to speak to the students directly. Witnessing Scott in his classroom, moving among these children he loves and mentors, and who love being there, it’s easy to see why he was awarded Teacher of the Year. He’s not in it for the accolades, however, no matter how deserving. Scott wants give his students ownership of their learning and a place in a community. “I focus on developing them as whole people,” he says, “and help them discover how their choices can make a positive impact on the world.” vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
19
YOUR CHILD WILL BE LOVED:
The Teac hin g ca r e e r o f B o nni e B r i g m a n
W
hen you meeT Bonnie (Bethany) Brigman ’73, iT’s easy To feel like a 3rd grader again, in The BesT possiBle way. Bonnie infuses her conversaTion wiTh The
professionally maTernal warmTh of The lifelong Teacher ThaT she is, dispensing The kind of affirmaTion ThaT feels like she’s guiding you genTly To answers you knew all along.
20 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
extRaoRdInaRy educatoRs
Her career has been defined by the conviction that
God has called me to a mission field.” This missional
its finest. In the middle of the semester in 2004, Bonnie
to teach children she would have to love them— and
attitude drove Bonnie’s work, allowing God to use
was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was facing
with a heart full of compassion, that is what she did,
her as an agent of his love in a place that can be
surgery, so she had to tell her Vanguard students the
transforming children, parents, and college students for
unwelcoming toward explicit displays of faith.
following week. “I had 18 students in that class,” she
over four decades.
“On Parent’s Night at the beginning of every year,
recalls. “When I told them, I remember Danny Stewart’s head just fell and hit the desk. ‘Wait,’ I said. ‘I would
“From the get-go, teaching was in my blood,” says
this was my first statement: ‘Your child will be loved.
Bonnie when describing how she came to Vanguard
They will hear the word ‘love.’ I will love them.’ I was
University in 1969. As a senior in high school,
raised in a home with love, and I knew that God had
she had received a scholarship from the Burbank
given me a job to impact the lives of children and their
“Well, they all surrounded me, this group of Vanguard
Unified Teacher Association to attend Vanguard,
families. In my career, if there’s one thing I feel I’ve
students. I felt the spirit of God from head to toe.”
where her calling was almost immediately confirmed.
done well it has been loving and guiding my students.”
Bonnie’s class prayed for her that night and supported
“Dr. Waymann Carlson, who was the head of the
love if you would surround me in prayer right now. You don’t have to if it makes you feel uncomfortable.’
such wonderful words of encouragement. I remember
“I was RaIsed In a home wIth love, and I knew that God had GIven me a joB to Impact the lIves of chIldRen and theIR famIlIes.”
them even now. That man and that moment made an
BonnIe (Bethany) BRIGman
education department at the time, had everyone prepare a five-minute lesson in his Introduction to Education class. When he saw my lesson, he gave me
indelible mark on me. It sold me on being a teacher.” Any good teacher will tell you that if you make an
Bonnie’s teaching methodology was infused with the
assertion, you’ll have to support it, and Bonnie’s claim
idea that she could have an impact on her students that
that the professors at Vanguard are special comes with
extended beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic. “I
many examples.“It’s a community that serves God and
had single moms with sons who didn’t know what to
wants to invest in the lives of its students,” she explains,
do. So I referred them to Royal Rangers at Newport
while describing the ways that Professors Vince and
Mesa Church, where they could be mentored by godly
Miki Gil, William C. Williams, Lewis Wilson, and
men. I realized that God had given me the ability to
Shirley Felt all influenced her education. “The professors
shine a light through my life. The Lord protected me
all knew me by name, and they had a calling in life to
and allowed me to love families.”
touch the lives of their students. They are brilliant and
her for the rest of the semester, not only spiritually but also by doing small things like parking her car before class and carrying her supplies for her. And the number of people interceding on behalf of Bonnie didn’t stop at the 18 students in her class; the corporate body of Vanguard University rose up around her, lifting her illness to God, and in doing so, living the Spiritempowered mission of Vanguard far beyond the classroom. Bonnie felt the enthusiasm of her students’ faith, even tangentially. She recalls when her sister,
After a long and fulfilling career during which she won
Barbi (Bethany) Rouse ’74—also an alumna
Teacher of the Year, Bonnie returned to Vanguard. In a
and familiar face around Vanguard’s campus—told her
sense, she was giving back to the institution that had
about a student who spoke a word of encouragement:
Bonnie also experienced the unique spiritual community
helped her on the path to becoming a teacher, as she
“This student was fired-up,” says Bonnie. “She told my
that connects the students at Vanguard with each other.
began teaching in the education department herself.
sister, ‘We’re excited to see how God will move and
“My freshman year, the girls on my dorm floor became
As a result of this, Bonnie was able to observe directly
bring her healing!”
like sisters to me,” she says. “I loved my life on campus.
the ways in which the teacher training and credential
I remember, early in those first months and through the
program at Vanguard had evolved in its excellence
years going to the chapel late at night just to spend
over the years. She fondly recalls the collaboration
time in prayer with the Lord.”
she helped facilitate between the education programs
caring professors who want to make a difference in students’ lives.”
In the spring of 1973, Bonnie graduated and got her first job in the Newport Mesa School District teaching physical education and math at a middle school, where she felt slightly out of place: a lunch lady mistook her for one of the students the first time she attempted to buy a meal in the cafeteria. The following year she was hired to teach elementary school in the Newport Mesa School District, and she found her
at Vanguard and the University of California, Irvine, chiefly because it highlights Vanguard’s engagement with the community surrounding it. “I loved being in dialogue with others, and sharing ideas and curriculum in a partnership between colleagues and universities. We went out into the community to observe it and explore the ways to educate all the different groups of people in Orange County.”
exact calling. Bonnie recalls her grandmother’s initial
If one of the essential characteristics of a strong
disappointment when Bonnie was hired by a public
community is that the members become joyfully
school district. She had wanted Bonnie to teach
obligated to sustain each other in difficult times, then
at a Christian school, but Bonnie shared with her
Bonnie’s experience at Vanguard when she returned
grandmother the nature of her charge: “I told her that
there to teach is an example of Vanguard University at
Bonnie’s surgery was successful, and today, almost ten years later, she is cancer-free. The divine synergy that this story represents is not lost on Bonnie. She recognizes that when she was a student, her professors served as models for how to be godly teacher-mentors, allowing her to model the same for the students she had, both elementary and college-age. And the love she modeled gave her students the space to love her back. For Bonnie, this is the legacy of Vanguard University and its teacher training program. “I’ve been passionate about bringing glory to God,” she says. “It wasn’t a job; it was a calling! Because of God, I have loved and been loved well in return. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve done. I’ve enjoyed speaking into the lives of others, pouring out the love of God.”
vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
21
Extraordinary Educators
THE SECRET TO EDUCATION: a n i n t e rView w ith glen warre n
G
lEn WarrEn ’85 teaches broadcasting and computer technology
at mcpherson magnet school in
orange, ca. he is the Vice president of the california school library association, and a pastor. this year, something his students and colleagues haVe known for a long time has been reVealed to the rest of us: glen is a great teacher. he was awarded the 2013 orange unified school district teacher of the year, and is one of just fiVe orange county teachers of the year. Given Vanguard University’s interest in great education and outstanding alumni, vanguard magazine sent a writer to speak with Glen about what he calls “the secret to education.” VanGuard MaGaZinE: I’m certainly interested in your thoughts on what constitutes great teaching. But first, can you talk a little bit about what you teach at McPherson? GlEn WarrEn: I teach computer technology here at McPherson, but what that really means is that I teach information literacy. If you think about it, there were two transformative events in the world of education when it comes to how students interact with information. The first was the invention of the Gutenberg Press. It revolutionized access to information because suddenly everybody had access to the printed word. People had direct access to the Bible! As a result of this information being collected and printed in books, libraries provided a central repository so students could have easy access to information. University libraries grew in size as more and more books were written. Now imagine walking into one of these huge libraries without a librarian. The librarian serves as a “concierge” of the information, guiding the patron and helping them understand what’s there and how to find it. Now of course, the second transformative event is the Internet. Our access to information has exploded, but there are few “librarians” at the front desk of the Internet. Students need to be taught by teacher 22 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
librarians the emerging 21st century skill of Information Literacy. The technology is constantly changing, but what will not change is the access to the nearly infinite amounts of information that technology provides. To underscore this point, I had a sixth-grader eight years ago who turned in a meticulously researched report, properly documented with correct citations, which argued that the pyramids in Egypt were built by space aliens. He did everything right, but obviously something went wrong. When I checked his source of information I discovered that the web site he used was authored by a second-grader. I had a sixthgrader academically referencing a second-grader— you can see the challenges that present themselves. Our students are both consumers and creators of information. VM: How do you guide students through these challenges? GW: I helped write the California state standards on the subject. We have five major objectives when approaching information literacy: We want to teach students how to access information, evaluate information, integrate information, originate information, and use information safely, ethically and legally. We want to give them a way to deal with the overwhelming amount of information, and then become creators, who can process the information with creativity and critical thinking. VM: How do you get students to do this? GW: I give them opportunities to drill into their own personal interests. I teach them to go deeper and formulate their own questions. It’s clear that the model of education that has the teacher say: “I want you to care only about what you must learn” doesn’t work very well. I believe that the role of the teacher is to bridge the distance between what students want to learn, and what they have to learn. VM: Can you give me an example of that? GW: Kids love gaming. So tapping into that passion, I have them research a place like Jamestown and then collaboratively create it in the video game Minecraft, connecting it to their academic bibliography. One of my students built a liver for me in Minecraft. I told him, “I want to be able to walk around inside the human liver!” He did it. It was amazing.
VM: This all sounds great—but now I want to hear about the secret of education. GW: I’ll tell you what I told the panels that interviewed me for Teacher of the Year. The secret of education is not found in curriculum, pedagogy, or technology, although these are important. The secret of education is faith, hope, and love. A teacher who truly cares for and loves every student, has faith that every student possesses something of value right now, and operates with a relentless hope that each student has a bright future-- that’s the secret. I plagiarized that from the Bible, by the way. I’m convinced that any effective teacher—believer or nonbeliever—agrees with this. It transcends religion. Some might resist the idea, but it’s not a bad start to accept it for the kids. VM: It’s interesting that you mention “love,” since the other Vanguard alumni who are teachers also indicated that their love for their students is integral to teaching. GW: Apart from love, our educational efforts are meaningless. I rely on my own faith where that’s concerned. The love I have for my students is not good enough. What makes it meaningful is the source I depend on daily. On my own I do not love as deeply as I should, but I’m connected to the One who does. Caring about our students must include believing in our students, too. Another thing I told the panel was “We are all here today because someone believed in us when no else did.” As a teacher, what we believe about our students is what really matters. That’s a great gift to give a student: to say, “I believe in you.”
COMMUNITY & COMMUNICATION It mIght seem unlIkely that after her graduatIon Ivana Mendez ’11 was so quIckly hIred as dIrector of communIcatIons for a major socIal organIzatIon, sInce she grew up In a spanIshspeakIng household and dIdn’t even learn how to read or wrIte englIsh untIl the 4th grade.
But the remarkable span of her journey was no stroke of luck; it was the result of the opportunities Vanguard University gave her to discover and nurture her gifts, and of her steadfast pursuit of the goals these gifts awakened in her. As the Director of Communications for the Anaheim Family YMCA, Ivana is responsible for all of her office’s public relations efforts, from marketing and social media to the graphic design of their website. She and her staff engage with the predominantly Hispanic community of Anaheim in order to cultivate healthy living, the development
soccer team, Ivana also had a family within a family—one that later allowed her to carry on the tradition of serving new students that had first welcomed her. “I did a lot of volunteer work through the soccer program, including helping the incoming freshmen move in. Doing it helped me truly value it, and I found that when I was exposed to service, it became contagious.”
The shape of her journey began to emerge when she took Karen Nishie’s Introduction to Speech class. “After my first speech, she told me I should be a communications major,” says Ivana. So she became one. Later, while taking Stacy Ellis’ public relations class, Ivana’s journey became even more clear. “She told me I should have an emphasis in public relations,” says Ivana. “Hearing those words, and knowing that my professor cared, made me work even harder, and it shows how invested the professors are in their students. They not only recognized my strengths, but were willing to help mold iVana mendez ’11, Director of me. They validated what they Communications, Anaheim Family YMCA saw in me, and then helped of young people, and social responsibility. “I me develop my own confidence.” communicate the mission and values of the Y Many of Ivana’s challenging experiences at to the community through stories,” she says. Vanguard equipped her for later success. She Ivana’s education at Vanguard couldn’t recalls feeling self-conscious about what she have prepared her any better for acting as perceived as her lack of writing skill, and the liaison between a social organization working hard to overcome it. Ultimately and the people it serves. Her training began it was communications department chair immediately upon her arrival on campus. Dr. Thomas Carmody who helped her the “Everyone was so friendly,” she recalls. most with her writing. “His classes were so “There were volunteers to help move in our challenging,” she says. “His high standards stuff. I knew right then I wasn’t alone. God helped improve my writing skills because I gave me this new family.” As a member of the didn’t want to turn in assignments that were
“Vanguard has a goal of making eVeryone a family, and of bringing people together. Vanguard is my model. i’m the “Vanguard” at the ymCa.”
less than perfect.” She now moonlights as a guest writer for the OC Register; the paper was so impressed by the skills evident in her press releases that they asked her to contribute more content! Ivana will not forget the community at Vanguard, and how it has equipped her in a unique way for success now. “Vanguard has a goal of making everyone a family, and of bringing people together. Vanguard is my model. I’m the “Vanguard” at the YMCA. I want to bring people together. I want my community to know that we’re here to help make them stronger.”
vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
23
SOLDIER, MAN, & FRIEND 24 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
When current Vanguard uniVersity student nikolas longcob finished high school, he initially Wished to join the military immediately—so he signed up for actiVe duty. his father Wanted him to go to college, hoWeVer, so after going through basic training nikolas found a Worthy compromise by enlisting in the army reserVe, and then enrolling at Vanguard. this conciliation alloWs him to be a full-time student in costa mesa While spending one Weekend a month at the armed forces reserVe center in tustin. it’s a diVision of responsibility that is unique among the student body at Vanguard, but one that giVes nikolas ample opportunities to groW and trust in the lord. Nikolas had no reservations about Vanguard itself. He describes feeling comfortable on campus immediately. “As soon as I parked, I just knew this was the place for me,” he says. “I can’t really explain it. God said to me, ‘You belong here.’” Serving in the military while also a full-time student demands great discipline of Nikolas, but he has an exceptional ally: The Veterans Resource Center at Vanguard, which has helped him see the extent to which the University values his military service. Every spring, the Veterans chapel is a way for Nikolas and other students and alumni who are also members of
“Being a Christian means that we are called to be salt and light in the world. Vanguard taught me how much influence we have, and how to give glory to God no matter where I go. Vanguard has equipped me to be a better soldier, man, and friend.” Nikolas loNgcob
the military to articulate their presence on campus, affirming their identities as scholars and soldiers.
in the religion department, where professors like
in a combat zone—a call that could come at any
Nikolas found a place in the social life of Vanguard
Jerry Camery-Hoggatt have had a profound effect
time. Nikolas’ service in the military also gives him
through the built-in community of the Huntington
on him. “Without a doubt, Jerry Camery-Hoggatt
a special kind of training as a Christian. “I have to
Hall dorm. “I lived on the 3rd floor, and it breeds
is my favorite teacher of all time,” Nikolas claims
take orders, think on my feet, and be situationally-
community,” he says. “We are proud of being
enthusiastically. “He is a renowned story-teller, he is
aware of what other people are dealing with. This
from that floor. We go to meals and classes and
captivating and emotional when he teaches, and he
has given me an increased awareness of people,
everywhere together. We call each other brothers.
commands words so well. His humility has influenced
and I have a different approach to problems and
They are also so supportive of me in the military.
me so much. He always says, ‘Just call me Jerry.’ He
situations. I have more empathy because of my
They take pride in it, and are always thanking me.”
wants a one-on-one relationship with us.”
military service.”
Nikolas has also found a place in the academic
Humility is so important to Nikolas no doubt because
The practical awareness that Nikolas’ military
community of Vanguard, where he’s fully embraced
it is so essential to a soldier’s service to his country.
commitment has instilled in him complements the
his decision to study pastoral leadership. “Right
Nikolas must hold himself accountable to obligations
spiritual awareness from Nikolas’ education so far
now, I’m a student and a soldier. But being in the
that go beyond a typical student’s, and although
at Vanguard. “Being a Christian means that we are
ministry is my calling. I plan on going to seminary
it’s difficult, it is also all he’s known. One weekend
called to be salt and light in the world,” he says.
after Vanguard, and whether I go on to civilian
every month, he reports to Tustin, and for three weeks
“Vanguard taught me how much influence we have,
ministry or become a chaplain, I don’t know yet.
every summer he reports to annual training, all for
and how to give glory to God no matter where I go.
I’m just trusting the Lord, and I will do whatever
the express purpose of giving him and his fellow
Vanguard has equipped me to be a better soldier,
He wants me to do.” Nikolas is in good hands
soldiers practical, real-life training to be deployed
man, and friend.”
vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
25
COMMUNITY IN THE ORGANIZATION As DEAN Of THE sCHOOl fOR GRADUATE AND PROfEssIONAl sTUDIEs (sGPs) AT VANGUARD UNIVERsITY, DR. ANDREw sTENHOUsE Is DEEPlY INTEREsTED IN bUIlDING A COMMUNITY Of ADUlT-lEARNERs THAT Is As COHEsIVE AND CONNECTED As POssIblE—A DIsTINCT CHAllENGE fOR A sEGMENT Of THE UNIVERsITY POPUlATION THAT Is MOsTlY MADE UP Of sTUDENTs wHO DO NOT lIVE ON CAMPUs AND ARE OfTEN EMPlOYED fUll-TIME ElsEwHERE. Dr. Stenhouse’s expertise in leadership theory and organizational psychology make him particularly suited for this endeavor, and his discussions about the direction of Vanguard’s School for Graduate and Professional Studies invariably become lessons in the importance of community in organizations. “Our goal is to provide a quality professional education for adult learners,” says Dr. Stenhouse. “We want professionals to understand that if you want to be a teacher, minister, counselor, therapist, or businessperson, Vanguard is the place for a quality Christian education.” Dr. Stenhouse is so passionate about Vanguard’s unique approach that, after a career during which he experienced great success at other institutions, he returned to Vanguard. “I came back because I love this place,” he says. “There is a soul to Vanguard that is unique to Vanguard. Faith may not be always be important to students when they get here, but it is when they leave.” And what sustains and feeds the vibrancy of this faith at Vanguard is the community, which Dr. Stenhouse is able to speak at length about. “There are three things that every member of an organization wants to believe,” he explains. “These are vital for an organization to build a strong community.” “The first thing all members of an organization want to believe is that their organization matters. They want to see their organization making a difference in the community, and to believe they’re doing something special.”
Dr. AnDrew StenhouSe is the dean of the School for Graduate and Professional Studies, driving the growth of highquality, missionfocused, marketresponsive programs.
26 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
“The second thing they want to believe is that their team matters. They want to know that they matter to the organization and that what they do together makes a difference. These relational values are important because people perform better because of each other.” “And the third thing all members of an organization want to believe is that they matter individually. They want to know that their presence makes a difference, and that the organization would be different if they didn’t show up.”
my personal goal is empowering students to 1) discern their calling, 2) discover their giftedness, and 3) develop their competencies.” Community-building is not the only area in which Dr. Stenhouse applies business leadership principles to his role in the educational institution. He has also devised a strategic initiative for the School for Graduate and Professional Studies at Vanguard. “We will drive growth first with quality, because we are committed to high standards of student achievement. Second we will drive growth with relevance, informed as we
“The first thing all members of an organization want to believe is that their organization matters. They want to see their organization making a difference in the community, and to believe they’re doing something special.” While Dr. Stenhouse usually applies these principles to business management circumstances, he’s clear that they also correlate to the educational institution. “The challenge for me as dean of the School for Graduate and Professional Studies is to make sure all the students believe they matter. Even beyond that,
are by the current demands of the marketplace. Third, we drive growth with responsiveness, being sensitive to the unique needs of the adult learner. Finally, we will drive growth with our mission, which is a Spirit-empowered life of Christcentered leadership and service.”
my story
BROADCASTING EXCELLENCE I fIrst laId eyes on the campus of Vanguard unIVersIty In 2005 when I arrIVed for the fIrst day of welcome week. my decIsIon to attend Vanguard constItuted a step of faIth taken wIthout eVen a VIsIt to calIfornIa beforehand, so I was nerVous. adding to the stress of a new semester in a strange place was that just prior to my arrival from new Jersey, my father had been laid-off and my mother diagnosed with a serious health condition. I knew god had called me to Vanguard, but I struggled to follow this calling in the face of such grave concerns drawing me back home. I missed my family. but as the semester began and the activities of welcome week shifted to the opening
Jennifer rivera ’09 editorial Producer, fox and friends, fox news Channel
days of classes, I discovered one of the school’s strongest attributes: Vanguard itself felt like a family. I was embraced by my professors and classmates,
dividends! I am currently the editorial producer for
I call myself a “one-woman band.” I’m able to do
alisyn camerota, one of the weekend anchors of the
everything, and I owe that to Vanguard university.
television show fox and friends. I began work at fox
at Vanguard, I was able to get hands-on training
as an intern during the spring semester of my senior
in every area of production—just like professor
I committed to becoming the best possible
year. I worked hard every day in every job I was
cleveland promised.
communications major I could be. my emphasis
given, and eventually alisyn noticed me and hired
was in broadcast journalism and production, and
me directly.
who kept an eye on me and welcomed me into the community. I came to feel a peace that I couldn’t explain and that only god can give.
my goal was to be in front of the camera one day, delivering the news. then professor ann-caryn cleveland helped me expand this goal. she told me, “you’re not going to learn only about being in front of the camera. you will go on to learn about being successful at every part of production, from preproduction to filming to editing.”
I even recall fondly the famous mountain that every communications student at Vanguard must
a typical work day for me begins when I wake up
climb: the senior capstone class media criticism.
at 11pm in order to get on a train by 12:30am
dr. carmody’s intentions are clear from the start.
so that I’m ready to begin work at 2:30am in the
he teaches us to look beyond the surface level of
headquarters of fox news channel in new york city.
all the entertainment we consume, and to find its
I am essentially alisyn camerota’s “shadow”—I’m
purpose. my job is a huge privilege and a great
responsible for every part of preparing alisyn for live
responsibility. and I want the things I do to have
coverage of the day’s news. I also plan, film, and edit
a purpose.
the diverse education in every facet of broadcast
interviews that I conduct for the fox and friends blog
journalism that I received at Vanguard has paid great
called In the greenroom.
vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
27
An InTERVIEW with
Dr. Michael Beals
In
the Summer of 2013, Dr. michael BealS waS SelecteD aS the tenth preSiDent of VanguarD uniVerSity. Dr. BealS Began hiS time at VanguarD 36 yearS ago aS a 19-year-olD unDergraDuate StuDent, During which time he met anD marrieD
hiS wife faith. after graDuating with a Degree in religion, DouBle-majoring in chriStian eDucation anD pSychology, Dr. BealS earneD an ma from VanguarD in church leaDerShip. he earneD a SeconD ma from fuller theological Seminary in BiBlical StuDieS anD theology, anD he alSo holDS a phD from fuller in chriStian ethicS. Dr. Beals began teaching at Vanguard as an adjunct faculty member in 1991. In 2005, Dr. Beals became an Assistant Professor of philosophical theology and Christian ethics. He left that position in 2009. In 2012, after serving for 23 years as the senior pastor of Mission Hills Community Church in Rancho Santa Margarita, Dr. Beals returned to Vanguard as dean of spiritual formation, a position that serves as the University pastor for the Vanguard community and the senior administrator of the Spiritual Formation Department. President Beals recently sat down to speak with vanguard magazine about his journey with Vanguard so far, and his plans for leading the University during a season of what he calls “fresh vision and momentum.”
Vanguard Magazine: Congratulations
MB: When former president Dr. Carol Taylor
on your becoming the president of Vanguard
told the community that she would be leaving
university! Talk a little bit about what it means
and following the Lord’s call to Evangel
to you.
University, the first thing I did was start
dr. MiCHaeL BeaLS: I am honored and elated to be serving in this role! Having been a part of this community for so long, I have come to understand the power and the grace that is at the heart of the Vanguard University experience. As a student, a professor, a dean, and now as president, I have sought to stay connected and serve the University in various ways because of its importance in my own life and development. So I’m honored to be the leader of this University, and I’m truly humbled. I’m excited to draw from my experiences to collaborate with administration, faculty, and staff to create lifealtering experiences for students. VM: Can you speak a little bit about the selection process?
praying for God’s protection and provision for Vanguard. When the call came for people to submit their materials for candidacy, I did so prayerfully but knowing that this was a nationwide search and that there would be many qualified candidates. I knew I had something to offer, but my heart’s desire was that the Lord would provide and reveal the right person. I had tremendous confidence in the trustees, having worked with them this last year in my role as dean, that this was a wise and discerning group of folks. Of course, it’s easy to say that now, but that really was the way I felt going in! VM: You attended Vanguard university as an undergraduate. What was your favorite part of campus?
Dr. Michael Beals and his wife, Faith.
28 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
29
MB: I loved my dorm room. The dorms
VM: So they were officially connected to
Actually, it’s very difficult for me to pinpoint just
weren’t named then, since there were only two.
the University?
one place. I have so many memories from all
Huntington and Laguna were just known as the Men’s and Women’s dorms. My room was on the 2nd floor, 2 East Quad. I was in the same room for my first two years from 1977 until Faith and I married in 1979. I had a full-time
MB: Oh yes, they had so many roles. Art was involved in campus care, and Betty was involved in student care. They were like parents to many of us in those days.
over the campus. There’s not just a single place around here. Every space for me has significance because I’ve lived so much of my life here. VM: What are you most excited about as you begin your tenure as president?
job at a model train shop over on Baker Street,
VM: It sounds like they took a paternal
so I lived on campus over the summers too. The
and maternal ownership of the students on
MB: I’m excited to take the strong
men’s dorm was my home. I grew so close to all
this campus.
momentum that’s been built and established
the guys in the quad. We stayed together and formed friendships that have endured to this day. It was fun, it was crazy. We went through a lot of good and hard times together, but it forged relationships.
MB: Absolutely, and it was me and anyone. It wasn’t unusual for Art and Betty’s house to be filled. They had a pool table that they used as a dining room table and students would be jammed around it. Their house was always filled
And another one of my favorite places on
with students, in the front room and family
campus is a space that doesn’t exist anymore. It
room and den. It was a place where students
was the home of Art and Betty Price, which used
could go.
to stand where Newport Hall is now. Art and
by the leadership of Dr. Carol Taylor and the administration, faculty, and staff. We continue our academic excellence. I get to lead at a time of fresh vision built on hope and hard work. I’m excited as well to address the challenges facing Christian higher education. I’m looking forward to working campus-wide with faculty and administration on this. I believe we have the wisdom and the courage and that God will give
VM: What’s your favorite place on campus now?
us the resources to meet all of these challenges.
Their picture is up in the Price Room, which is
MB: Well, I’m very proud of our campus as a
VM: What are some of the challenges Vanguard
named after them. As a young man who was
whole. I’m proud of the sense of God’s presence
faces specifically?
here year-round with no family in the area, Art
and the life that’s on campus. As far as a specific
and Betty became like my family. I would spend
place, I really enjoy what’s underway with the
so much time there—when I had my wisdom
Scott building. The Courtyard has become a
teeth pulled, they took me into their home over
sweet space to connect, but it is also a signal of
the weekend to recover!
more things to come as we transform the Scott
Betty Price served the University for decades.
Academic Center.
MB: Well, two major challenges immediately come to mind. The first is to find our way in an environment of higher education that is calling us to diversify our delivery systems. So our specific challenge is to continue to extend our reach through online learning in a way that ensures that every student gets the quality of a
“I’m excited to take the strong momentum that’s been built and established by the leadership of Dr. Carol Taylor and the administration, faculty, and staff. We continue our academic excellence. I get to lead at a time of fresh vision built on hope and hard work.” Dr. Michael Beals 30 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
Vanguard University experience. Our traditional classroom degree programs are already known for excellence, and we are also having great success with our current online classes and programs. The challenge is to expand those in order to meet the demands of the marketplace and the need for financial sustainability, while providing the excellence that people have come to expect from Vanguard. The second challenge is the increasing hostility that we’re seeing towards faith-based institutions. There is unprecedented pressure
now to yield to cultural norms that would violate the foundations of our Christian worldview. This pressure to conform and abandon biblically rooted beliefs in the face of threats to government funding is a serious challenge. But I’m confident about the second challenge in the same way that I’m confident about the first, because we are not alone; Christians across the ages have been faced with the decision to compromise their faith to win favor with governments, yet God’s provision and grace in moments of standing firm in foundational beliefs is the testimony of the church. History is replete with moments of God’s favor when you stand firm for your beliefs! VM: As the new leader of Vanguard University, what attribute of the University are you most
Dr. Beals addresses the crowd during the 2013 Academic Convocation.
proud of? MB: I’m proud of the 93-year faith heritage
And I’m proud of the way we as a community
education or provide the education—but our
as an Assemblies of God institution, and our
keep Christ at the center. Any academic
community believes that education is more than
rootedness in the commitment of the Assemblies
community has a lot of highly-skilled, very
a curriculum and a diploma. Christian education
of God to higher education. I’m proud of the
intelligent people across the campus—faculty,
is preparation for a lifetime of serving Christ
way we seek to cultivate wholeness in our
administration and staff who are called to work
and serving others.
students, whether traditional undergraduates
together for common aims. Highly-skilled and
or graduate and professional students. We take
intelligent people, however, need something
a holistic approach to education that sees the
beyond expertise in order for them to be able
student not merely as the object of an academic
to collaborate effectively. I’m proud of the way
MB: Essential to preserving the Vanguard
delivery system, but also as a subject of care
our community works together, even when we
University experience is never losing sight of
and character formation. We are engaged in a
disagree, toward our common mission, solving
the fact that we are the ongoing story of God’s
transformational relationship with the student;
our common problems, and enhancing our
faithfulness, and a particular expression of
we have the desire to mentor and interact with
common life. We hold Jesus in common and in
God’s faithfulness in the Pentecostal outpouring.
students outside the classroom in order to help
the power of the Spirit we work together.
Community is being truthful to the story. I don’t
them become what God has made them to be. I am proud of the fact that we believe in our mission because we do; we are equipping
VM: Speaking of ‘community,’ what do you value about the community of Vanguard?
VM: How will you preserve what makes Vanguard’s community special?
believe you preserve community by putting a fence around it. I believe you preserve it by drawing people to the well. And the wellspring
students for a Spirit-empowered life of Christ-
The community of Vanguard is a connection of
is the ongoing story of God’s faithfulness in
centered leadership and service. The phrase rolls
believing and belonging. We are unashamedly
the Pentecostal outpouring that spanned the
easily off my lips because I believe it and see it.
a group of Jesus-followers. So we recognize
last century and is still active and visible today.
The power of the statement is that it’s linked
that part of what holds us together is common
Treasuring our heritage and identity as an
to who we’ve been for 93 years: valuing our
faith in the Lordship of Christ. We belong
Assemblies of God institution is at the heart of
Pentecostal heritage and the active work of the
together because we believe in Christ. We’re
preserving the community in all its diversity.
Holy Spirit, we keep Christ at the center.
here for common goals—either to get an
vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
31
sports
AN ACE ON THE COURT When Vanguard uniVersity student-athlete Jessica neVes talks about the person Who is her greatest inspiration, she doesn’t identify a professional athlete or another star Volleyball player; she talks about a four-year-old named gigi.
Jessica faced adversity away from the volleyball court as well. When she first arrived at Vanguard, she found it difficult to be away from home, and was having trouble connecting to people. Her Resident Assistant during her freshman year inspired a different approach. “Kyli (Putnam) Adams ’12 changed my outlook on getting to know people,”
Gigi is Jessica’s cousin, who as an infant was
dominates the consciousness of many college
Jessica says. “I would let people try to get to know
diagnosed with a form of cancer so aggressive that
athletes, but Vanguard values so much more
me, instead of trying to get to know them. Kyli made
doctors immediately informed the family that Gigi
than that. At the heart of the athletic department’s
me realize that there are more people out there than
had only a 65 % chance of surviving it. Jessica is
mission are five core covenants: Christ-like attitude,
just my fellow athletes, and the many people I’ve met
candid about how hard she took this news, and
faithfulness, selflessness, passion, and leadership. In
since then have helped me grow as a follower of
about how it shook up her walk with the Lord.
Jessica’s experience, these covenants are kept first
Christ.” For Jessica, the freedom to follow Christ fully
Gigi would face 14 rounds of chemotherapy
by the coach and then grow outward.
is one of Vanguard’s greatest attributes. “The people
and radiation treatments, in addition to a major surgery, and Jessica struggled with understanding how someone so vulnerable could be attacked by something so fierce. But Jessica drew strength from an unlikely source: Gigi herself. “Every time I asked Gigi how she was, she always said, ‘I’m fine—I have God,’” says Jessica. “Seeing her strength gave me strength. When you have strength and faith like hers your life is changed. Gigi is the reason I became a better athlete and person.” Gigi’s treatment was ultimately successful. After her surgery, multiple scans confirmed that she was completely clear of cancer. Jessica recalls how the doctors who treated Gigi were in awe that she survived, but that Gigi herself wasn’t. “She knew it,” says Jessica. Gigi’s faith in the face of a life-threatening illness gave Jessica a new perspective on the challenges a student-athlete faces, and the unique culture of the Vanguard University athletic department gave her the tools to face these challenges. Winning
32 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
“Our coach, Eryn Leja, always relates back to these
here realize that Christ is the most important thing.”
five characteristics,” says Jessica. “She is a leader
Another person at Vanguard that Jessica got to
who cares, who wants to help us through life with
know well was Professor Ed Westbrook. “He is
our struggles—not just in volleyball. We’ve grown
such a passionate teacher,” she says. “He loves
with her and we can go to her for anything.”
teaching, and he’s so successful, but he’s willing to
The coaches aren’t the only ones who encourage the idea that the success of a Vanguard athlete
show that he goes through struggles, too. He truly cares about you, not just your schoolwork.”
is measured by much more than winning. The
Whether with coach or professor, students at
athletes buy in, too, so that by the time they’re
Vanguard will build relationships that edify
seniors, they can build mentoring relationships with
their lives and educations. Jessica sees herself
teammates who are younger than they. Jessica
surrounded by coaches and professors who
recalls specifically the time when the volleyball
consider her a complete human being—not merely
team traveled to Iowa for nationals last year. They
an athlete and not merely a student—and can’t
didn’t do as well as they had wanted to, but the
help but marvel at the effect it has on her spirit.
adversity of losing strengthened their relationships
“Here you walk with God on the court,” she says.
and developed what Jessica calls “a sisterhood.”
“If we lose, it’s different here. It’s not something that
“When you don’t win, you become stronger as a team, but you also realize that sports isn’t everything. I can’t define myself as just an athlete,” says Jessica. “We were all there for each other, and that’s what was important.”
changes you or your walk with God. Instead of beating you down to inspire you, the coaches at Vanguard actually try to just inspire you.”
“Seeing her Strength gave me Strength. When you have strength and faith like hers your life is changed. gigi is the reason i became a better athlete and person.� JeSSica neveS
vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
33
beyond community:
THE WILL TO GIVE “The momenT mosT people hear The words ‘planned giving’ Their eyes glaze over and Their inTeresT wanes,” says BRucE DuRkEE ’90, an aTTorney and CerTified publiC aCCounTanT who graduaTed from vanguard universiTy wiTh a degree in aCCounTing. “buT These exTremely imporTanT Terms essenTially refer To a person’s abiliTy To make gifTs To an insTiTuTion by his or her will or TrusT.” The subject of planned giving might be a bit esoteric, but Bruce Durkee’s enthusiasm for it is contagious, no doubt because he’s been clearly called to his work as an attorney by divine commission. Durkee’s specialty is estate planning, and he has a particular passion for what this concept means for Vanguard. “When people think of giving, they typically think of writing a check,” he says. “That’s definitely a very important way of giving, but cash is typically less than 5% of a person’s net worth. The concept of planned giving is another great option. It’s very simple to establish and understand. A donor can include Vanguard University as a beneficiary in their will and trust, designating a specific dollar amount or percentage of their estate to further the mission of the university. In addition, there are very specialized planned giving strategies that give the donor tremendous tax savings and greater income opportunities today, as well as benefits to Vanguard in the future.” The mission of Vanguard University is close to Durkee’s heart. When he was a student in the accounting program in the late 1980’s, he found that the combination of accounting classes and Bible classes revealed to him how he could fully embrace his unique interests and follow God’s plan for his life. “I was equipped for Christian service at Vanguard, and the whole time, I felt God calling me to be an accountant. After my wife Christine (Varnell) ’91 and I graduated, I worked as a CPA at other firms before starting my own CPA firm. During this time, I helped churches with their bookkeeping, but I also had a sense that the Lord was preparing me for something else, even though I didn’t know what.” God’s plans for Durkee soon became clear, however, and constituted an enormous step of faith for Durkee and his wife. After ten years as a successful CPA, they sold everything so that he could go to law school and start a second career as an attorney—but not before he sought the counsel of Professor Ed Westbrook,
34 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
whom he has remained in contact with for all the years since graduating from Vanguard. Professor Westbrook helped Durkee discern that this major life change truly was the Lord’s calling. After completing law school, Durkee was recruited by AG Financial Solutions, which is the financial services arm of the Assemblies of God. While at AG
Financial Solutions, Durkee was promoted to serve as its Chief Legal Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Senior Vice President, as well as President of several of its subsidiaries. During his time there, the organization grew from $1.3 billion to over $2.3 billion in assets under management, and Durkee was able to participate in hundreds of transactions that resulted in tens of millions of dollars of planned gifts.
Durkee recounted helping a Vanguard alum from the class of ’36. “I loved listening to the donor’s passion for helping financially struggling students. Through planned giving, we were able to create a plan that produced significantly more income for the donor while he was alive. When he went to be with the Lord a few years later, Vanguard received hundreds of thousands of dollars from this planned gift.” Soon Durkee began a private law practice in Palm Desert, California, emphasizing estate planning and trust and probate law. Durkee’s service since then on the Vanguard Foundation Board of Directors and the Vanguard Board of Trustees has given him first-hand knowledge not only of the work that Vanguard does to help the Kingdom, but also of how powerfully that work can be advanced by gifts to the University.
“I was in Professor Wayne Kraiss’ Christian Life and Thought class, and we talked about the concept of tithing. It isn’t just the 10% that belongs to God. The other 90% does, too. Tithing is surrendering to God a percentage of our increase (not just our income)—and giving a bequest is a great way to tithe on our increase. Whether you’re a millionaire, or you’re making ends meet, you can bless Vanguard in this way.”
MORE PRICELESS than DIAMONDS In late September of this year, the Global Center for Women and Justice (GCWJ) at Vanguard University celebrated its 10th anniversary over a weekend designed to raise the profile and the funds of the Center, as well as to commemorate ten years of pursuing justice for exploited and abused women and children all over the world. The weekend’s main event was the More Priceless Than Diamonds Celebration Luncheon, featuring special guest speaker Ernie Allen from the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. The afternoon was coordinated by Darrellyn Melilli and
They name Vanguard’s mentoring
Mary Beth Molnar, who served as the co-chairs of the
program Live2Free as an example of
luncheon’s organizing committee. After fruitful careers—
the practical and effective approach
Darrellyn as a musician, and Mary Beth as an educator—
the GCWJ takes. Live2Free connects
the two gracious friends have devoted themselves to
Vanguard students with young people
serving their community. They had previously collaborated
in the community in order to help train
on the Concert for Hope in order to raise funds for the
them to make good choices as they
Orange County Rescue Mission, and were looking to
navigate the social and exploitative
involve themselves in additional deserving philanthropy.
dangers of the Internet. Darrellyn and
When they attended this year’s Ensure Justice Conference
Mary Beth were also moved by the
about cyber exploitation, they came away shocked by
connection the GCWJ made with the
the seriousness of the threat to the community, impressed
University of Duhok in Northern Iraq.
by the Global Center for Women and Justice’s willingness
Four professors from that institution visited
to challenge this threat, and determined to help the
Orange County in order to receive
Center with its mission. “After the conference, we looked
training from the GCWJ to enhance
at each other and decided that our community needed to
strategies for gender equity integration in
know about the good and vital work of the Global Center
multidisciplinary studies at the University
for Women and Justice,” says Mary Beth. “We became
of Duhok. The GCWJ also coordinated
involved to help raise awareness about the Center as well
the training of law enforcement officers
as raise funding so that the work could expand within our
from Duhok, Iraq by Orange County first
community as well as globally.”
responders so that they could address
Darrellyn doesn’t consider her work mere charity; she is
the abuse of women in their society.
personally invested in the efforts of the GCWJ. “I have
It’s clear that Darrellyn and Mary Beth
four grandchildren,” she explains. “The oldest is twelve.
value making connections that can
They’re immersed in technology and on the Internet, and
enhance the lives of people in their
they must be protected. They don’t have to go after the
communities. “We are organizers and
evil that is lurking on the Internet; it goes after them.”
connectors,” says Darrellyn. “We are
Darrellyn and Mary Beth were hit hard by the fact that human trafficking and exploitation is such a local problem; many people assume it happens mostly elsewhere. But as Mary Beth points out, human trafficking is second only to the drug trade in the amount of money
working to build awareness of the Global Center for Women and Justice, so that it can connect to resources
Darrellyn Melilli and Mary Beth Molnar
that will help it continue to carry out its mission.”
to be made by those who would exploit the law. “This
“That’s why we’re calling this a ‘friend-raiser’ instead of
intelligent, capable, and committed women who believe
problem is all over Orange County,” she says.
a fundraiser,” adds Mary Beth. The event was successful
in this cause,” says Darrellyn. Together, Darrellyn,
on both fronts; it raised over $75,000 for the Center
Mary Beth, and their committee of passionate women
and its programs.
were able to raise the profile of Vanguard University’s
And the Global Center for Women and Justice is wellpositioned to fight it. Indeed, Darrellyn and Mary Beth are marshaling their substantial network on behalf of the
Sharing Darrellyn and Mary Beth’s vision for justice are
GCWJ precisely because they see the Center having
a diverse group of women who assisted in the planning
such a clear and positive impact on the community.
of the anniversary events. “We have a committee of
Global Center for Women and Justice while helping to raise the funds that enable the Center to carry out its absolutely vital work. vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
35
class notes
Class Notes 1920s-50s Harry Leacock ’48 retired from teaching in 2011 and moved to Fiji to live with his son and daughter-in- law. He volunteers five days a week at two local schools helping children with their reading and also teaches Sunday school. In his spare time, Harry likes to fly and build model airplanes.
1960s Lucy (Kopoian ’62) Stand and husband, George, are currently living in Laguna Hills and celebrated their forty-sixth wedding anniversary this year. They had a wonderful time at the Decade of the 60’s Reunion in June, and enjoyed connecting with college classmates and sharing their story of God’s faithfulness. Jeanne (O’Meara ’64) Anglin is living in Anaheim and is a substitute teacher. She is also a volunteer at church feeding programs in New York City and Sydney, Australia. She has three children and one grandchild. Jeanne is thankful for God’s sustaining grace, His deep abiding love, and the life He gives her daily. Joyce (Cooper ’65) and Arden Harms ’64 had a great time at the 60’s Reunion and enjoyed reconnecting with lifelong friends. They currently reside in Fleming, Colorado. Joyce is a retired teacher and Arden is retired from public school administration. Maile (Proctor ’65) Cortez retired from teaching after thirty five years. She is currently a co-leader of
36 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
the Pathways to Health program, which is geared to those dealing with chronic conditions. She has been adjusting to life after the loss of her husband, Frank, and enjoyed a trip to Israel with friends in April. Don Jones ’66 retired after forty-five years of teaching and being an administrator, but he is still involved in education. This fall, he will be an adjunct professor for Northwest University and will also supervise three student teachers at Concordia University. Jennie (Tamburo ’66) Jackson is a retired teacher from the Montebello Unified School District. She and husband Leonard have two children and five grandchildren. Jennie enjoys traveling, reading, and gardening. Joyce (Smiley ’67) Guerra lives in Rancho Cucamonga and taught in the Central School District until her retirement in 2010. She has three sonswho are all teachers- and two grandchildren. Daniel Chan ’68 is the Senior Pastor at Church for the Nations in California, where his wife, Karyn, is also the secretary. They continue to supervise Unity Pastors International Fellowship that includes pastors from Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Philippines, Australia, and California. Daniel is in the process of completing his third book, Your Future Destiny is Affecting Your Present: A Biblical
Perspective of How Your Future is Attracting You. His previous two books, Apostolic Network: Christ’s Mandate for Unity to the Church and Rediscover the Gospel as God Intended can be found on amazon. com and lulu.com. Jan (Hokanson ’68) and Bruce Benson ’67 returned to Oregon in 2010 and continue to work for WycliffeAmericas Area from their home. Bruce is a translation consultant and helps other Bible translation projects come to completion. Jan serves as the Scripture Engagement consultant and a Partnership Development coach for new Wycliffe members. They are grateful for their three children and seven grandchildren. Mel Hurley ’68 taught 5th and 6th grade for six years before going into administration for twentyfour years. He retired from being an elementary school principal in 2000 and moved to Spain with his wife, Dianne, in 2007 to serve as the interim director at Evangelical Christian Academy near Madrid. They returned to the States March of this year. Bradford Rosenquist ’68 and wife, Carol, are both retired from public education after forty-two years. They have three children and ten grandchildren. They live in the Nashville area and welcome any SCC friends to stop by. Bradford is the chaplain in the Tennessee State Guard and is completing his dissertation for a PhD in Pastoral Studies. Kathi (Plunkett ’69) Hall and husband Larry sing in the choir at Central Assembly in Springfield, Missouri and enjoy the
DECADE OF THE 60s REUNION Vonnie Franks ’65, chairperson
never attended before, increasing the network of
hymns. On Sunday morning, the alumni assembled
of the Decade of the 60s Reunion at
alumni who are drawn back to Vanguard in order to
one last time for worship and devotion.
Vanguard University, doesn’t hesitate
honor connections, old and new. The connections,
to name her favorite part of meeting
says Sharon, are what make the group from the 60s
together with other alumni from the
unique. “When you maintain these connections, you
1960s every other year. “Old acquaintances
will remain tight. We’ve nurtured these connections
become new friends,” she says. “I’ve reconnected
and kept them through the years.”
with people that I didn’t know very well when we
Vonnie and Sharon appreciate the support they receive from Vanguard University in helping them foster relationships, both while they attended in the 1960s and now, fifty years later. “Vanguard was small, tight-knit, with wonderful professors and a
This June, over 150 alumni gathered for a few days
family atmosphere,” says Vonnie. Adds Sharon,
of food, fellowship, and community. Much of the
“I love to support Vanguard with my prayers, time,
schedule for the weekend was designed around
and effort. It means an awful lot to me, because
Sharon “Smitty” Saalinger ’63, the event’s
allowing alumni to meet and re-meet each other,
friendships I’ve made there have lasted through the
co-planner, echoes Vonnie’s sentiment—since it
and then to simply visit, while the “official” events of
years.” It’s a testament to that family atmosphere
applies to their own relationship. “We have become
the reunion gave attendees the opportunity to join
and those close relationships that Sharon can speak
very close and cherished friends through these
in worship. Friday night, everyone sang old Sunday
for the other 60s alumni when she says, “We love
reunions,” she says.
school songs, complete with hand and foot motions,
going to Vanguard. It’s like going back home.”
were at Vanguard, but who have since become very dear to me.”
Each year, according to Vonnie and Sharon, the reunion gathers more and more people who have
and the Saturday Night Sing-a-Long filled Needham Chapel with the sounds of classic gospels and
vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
37
class notes
opportunities it gives them to minister alongside many musical talents. They have two children and two granddaughters. Kathi is grateful for her years at SCC/Vanguard and the friendships that have continued decades after her time here. Karen (Wohler ’69) Jones taught in Christian schools in Southern California until she moved with her husband, John, to Arkansas in 2000. She writes and illustrates the Light Pole books- six sets of educational books for children on Reading, Math, English, History/Geography, the Bible, and Science. In June 2013 her first chapter book, Andrew in Miss Plum’s Class, was published by New Book Publishing. Karen also substitutes in a local public elementary school and shares her books with those students.
Rob Leacock ’78 and wife Lory moved to Fiji in 2011 and work with the Assemblies of God headquarters and churches there. They’re leaders of the Fiji Fellowship, which encourages missionaries from all denominations to network, encourage, laugh, pray, and eat together. They also work with Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Honolulu, Hawaii and have a passion for helping crippled children get lifechanging surgeries.
2000s
1980s
Johnny Evangelista ’03 and his wife Julia relocated to Clovis in August 2012 where Johnny is in a Controller position with Zinc Financial, Inc. Johnny earned his California CPA license in February 2012. On the side, he manages his own DJ and Karaoke business. He and his wife have been married for four years and are expecting their first child, a boy, in December.
1970s
Richard Tevis ’85 received a Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership from CSU Sacramento in May. His dissertation topic was “The effects of accreditation on the mission and vision of private Christian colleges from the perspective of faculty and administrators .” He is the Vice Principal at Capital Christian Middle School.
Shelley (Sondeno ’74) Schmeltzle lives in Dallas, Texas and is married to Dale. They have two daughters, two sons, and three grandchildren. Shelley retired from Neiman Marcus where she was a corporate executive. Dale is a Chief Financial Officer.
Vonda (Haus ’87) Montgomery is on staff at Coast Hills Church in Aliso Viejo. She is pursuing an MFT at Hope University, Fullerton. Vonda is also excited to marry her fiancé BJ Oropeza, PhD, professor at APU.
Valerie (Rosenquist ’76) and John McGill are blessed with three children and two grandchildren. They live on the central coast of California and enjoy the local beaches, golf, fishing, and photography. John works for the State Prison system in San Luis Obispo, while Valerie oversees her own photography business. They attend church and Bible studies regularly in their hometown. David Seidman ’77 has taken a position as Head of School at Hawthorne Christian Academy in New Jersey. He’s grateful for the mentorship of Dr. John Lackey and the education department for preparing him for his adventures in education .
38 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
1990s Karajean (Stephenson ’97) and Danny Hyde ’97 live in Oceanside with their four children. Danny has been the pastor of the Oceanside United Reformed Church since 2000 and is the author of ten books. Karajean is lecturer in the Department of Education at UCI and co-director of the Irvine Math Project. Cheyenne (Noel ’99) and Tim Luehrs ’01 have four kids: Brody, Lydia, Donovan, and Ethaniel. Tim is a police officer for the city of Phoenix, and Cheyenne is a stay-at-home mom. The Luehrs family established the first Royal Rangers Outpost in the North Valley in 2012, molding the next generation of boys and young men into Christ-like leaders. They attend Grace North Church in Anthem.
Heather (Starr ’00) Jackson and husband Nick have been married for twelve years. They live in Henderson, Nev. and have been foster parents for four years. They have five children: Noelle, 9; Jack, 6; Caleb, 3; Gwyne, 2; and Hannah, 7 months. Heather is a stay-at-home mom and Nick is a Juvenile Probation officer.
Karissa (LeFevre ’05, MA ’10) and Micah Adams ’05 will soon be moving to Costa Rica with their two children, Elijah and Raeah. They are missionary associates with Latin America Child Care and Assemblies of God World Missions. They love children and will share the gospel and love of Christ with the impoverished children there. To follow their journey and support them visit facebook.com/ TheAdams2CostaRica. Stephen Grindle ’05 is a transformational life coach, spiritual director, and healer. His primary passion in life is to be a voice for healing in the church. He works with CRM Empowering Leaders, which you can read more about here: crmleaders.org. Michelle Griffo ’06 received her teaching MA from Vanguard and has been teaching for seven years. She has a Kindergarten blog, Apples and ABC’s, and also operates an online business selling curriculum to other teachers. Through the blog, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, Michelle has created a brand to sell products and network with teachers across the United States. Visit her blog at applesandabcs.blogspot.com Matthew Nuss ’07 is pursuing his dream of sharing his music with the masses. He has performed
around the globe as both a solo artist and backing up Grammy Award winning Christian musicians Israel Houghton, Donnie McClurkin and Mac Powell. Their travels have led Matt to China, Korea, Guam, England, Nigeria, Jamaica, Mexico, and around the U.S. Matt is also the male lead singer of Southern California Top 40 cover band “House Party, ” who performed at the post-5K party at Homecoming. Check out his music and more at matthewdarren.com. Darryn ‘Fish’ Fisher ’08 is the youth pastor at Family Praise Fellowship in Riverside. He also does marketing for Chick-fil-A, and helps lead mission teams with Global Passion. Kim (Hanley ’08) Nehrig just finished her fourth year of teaching first grade at Newport Mesa Unified. She and husband Johnny celebrate their six years of marriage and enjoy their journey of life together. They are constantly blown away by God’s goodness and provision in their lives as they continue to seek Him.
Just Married Amy (Hassett ’13) Smith married Bradford on July 21, 2013. These high school sweethearts currently reside in Woodland Hills. Amy works at Pepperdine University in Auditing Services and the Office of the General Counsel.
Future Alumni Malia (Goodman ’07) Sanborn and husband Brenden had their first baby on January 11, 2013 and named her Genevieve Alyse. They are thrilled to bring her into their family and hope that someday she will attend Vanguard. Amira (Adams ’09) and Jonathan Barger ’09 are proud parents to Audrey Noelle Grace Barger, born February 19, 2013.
A CALL TO HOLINESS In recent years, students in the communications department at Vanguard University have distinguished themselves in all manner of ways, from creating award-winning films and television to gaining acceptance at prestigious graduate programs. Adding a distinctly sacred complexion to these accomplishments is the Reverend Scott Borgman ’93, who earned his communications degree at Vanguard, worked for a period of time in the entertainment industry—and then followed a powerful calling to take his vows as a priest in the Catholic Church. He now works as the Coordinating Secretary for the Pontifical Academy for Life at the Catholic Church’s headquarters in the Vatican. To hear Borgman tell it, his journey isn’t all that unique, simply because it shares characteristics with the journey of any believer who answers the call to follow Christ wherever he leads. “God uses everything in our past to bring us to the fullness of life,” he says. “Each one of us is called to holiness, and our journey takes us closer to union with God. Whatever you do, you can come to your purpose – which is intimacy with Him—through your vocation.” Borgman came to Vanguard from West Africa, where his parents were missionaries. As a result of this, the culture shift that some students encounter when they arrive in Orange County was a bit more pronounced in his experience, since it was also his introduction to the United States. The potential difficulty of this transition was mitigated, however, by what Borgman calls the “conviviality” of the campus and the professors here. “The kindness and availability of the professors stood out to me,” he says. “Keith Ewing was an excellent role model. He was warm and human—I couldn’t get enough time with him. And Jerry Camery-Hoggatt had so many characters inside his bearded head. I remember he
once did a whole lesson as St. Paul. He taught me about life and about being sincere and virtuous.” These memories help Borgman articulate what he feels is the most important part of Vanguard’s community. “The emotional exchanges we have stick with us,” he explains. “But the professors are also academically demanding, allowing us to learn and progress. The community gives us an example, and by that example demands that we contribute to society.” Father Borgman’s own contributions to society revolve around his work at the Vatican. “The goal of the Pontifical Academy for Life is to bring faith and science together in defense of human life,” he says. “We do hard scientific research to better understand creation.” The research Borgman’s office conducts aims to objectively validate a biblical understanding of many of our society’s modern moral dilemmas, particularly with respect to family planning. His work is an attempt to influence culture and politics as mandated by the instruction to be “in the world, but not of the world.” And as for those who are surprised by the improbability of a communications student at an Assemblies of God university becoming a Catholic priest, Father Borgman is candid and eloquent about his remarkable journey. “There might be some people who see my priesthood as a betrayal of what I learned at Vanguard,” he says. “But Vanguard taught me to accept and pursue my calling. These days, the Christian community is realizing we have a great challenge. All the basic things we agree on biblically lead us to ask ‘What does God want from me?’ I like to think of the body of Christ as a wagon wheel, with Christ as the hub: the closer we get to the hub, the closer we get to each other. At the highest levels of doctrine, Christians today are looking for ways to come together.”
vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
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Meagan (Shortridge ’05) Finegan and husband Chris bought their first home in Old Town Orange. They welcomed daughter Alyssa Michal on May 5, 2013 and celebrate three years of marriage. Meagan is the Vice President of Client Relations for Century Pacific Medical in Lake Forest.
AcRoss ThE WoRLd IN ELEvEN MoNThs These days, it’s not uncommon for would-be reality television stars to line up for the opportunity to trot across the globe in competitions contrived to test little more than their ability to experience bite-sized pieces of local culture and check in and out of airports efficiently. These travelers often have a limited engagement with the communities that inhabit the places they go, and their rewards often serve little more than TV ratings. It is possible, however, to have an adventure traveling across the world while serving the people you meet and the places you go; Vanguard University alumna Lynette Alegria ’12 knows this firsthand, having just completed a journey that took her to 11 different countries over a period of 11 months. She participated in a missions trip called the World Race, sponsored by the organization Adventures in Missions. The official aim of the trip was simple: to connect teams for a month of work in each country, partnering alongside organizations, churches, and pastors in order to serve the communities there. Ask her how it went, and Lynette is not at a loss for words. “It was amazing, ridiculous, awesome,” she says. “I got to do everything. I did manual labor, I lived in an orphanage, I spent a month evangelizing villages in India.” The trip quite literally opened up the world to Lynette, giving her the chance to see not just the range of beauty and suffering in the world, but also how diversely God’s grace serves it. In that sense, Lynette’s experience in the World Race reflected her experience at Vanguard. She recalls being told during her freshman year that getting involved directly with the campus community was the best way to get plugged in, and so in her junior year she became a resident assistant (RA) in Catalina Hall. “That year my world opened
wide,” she says. “I became invested with a world of different women. I got to know their stories and experience the diversity of students that makes up Vanguard’s community. I loved being an RA.” This community is one of the things that gave Lynette strength while she prepared for the monumental World Race. “I remember during the week-long training, feeling scared and asking myself ‘What did I get myself into?’” she recalls. “But then I remembered that I had a solid community of people here at Vanguard who loved me, cared for me, and supported me. Having that gave me such strength.” It could be difficult for Lynette to process the experience of such a long trip to so many different countries, but she is able to do so by identifying individual people and moments through which she saw God move. “During our fourth month, we went to China,” she says. “We had to stop all of our communication with people in the United States for the safety of our hosts, and our objective was very straightforward: go to universities, find English speakers, and share the gospel with them.” By the end of that month, Lynette and her colleagues had only been able to truly connect with one individual, a young Chinese woman named Cloud. Far from being discouraged, however, Lynette realized from the experience that God will commit his great resources to reaching the tiniest corners of the earth. “In the world’s eyes, our time in China might have seemed pointless,” she says. “But in God’s economy, nothing was wasted. We were able to share the gospel with Cloud, and we gave her a Bible. I saw how the Lord cares for intricacies and detail. He cares for that one person.” After her journey across the globe, Lynette is no reality TV star. Her journey instead was enriched by what she calls “God’s economy”—and it’s far more precious compensation.
Robin (Kuhnau ’99) and Steven Mundschau ’03 welcomed Jasper Esteban on May 19, 2013. He was 10 lbs., 14 oz., and 21 inches long. Jasper joins big sister, Jade, 2. Crystal (Lenderman ’06, MA ’10) and Shawn Kirch ’07 welcomed their first son, Grayson Charles, into the world on June 5, 2013. They live in Lake Forest. Crystal has been a high school Math teacher at Segerstrom for seven years; while Shawn works in real estate marketing. Joel Gackle (MBA ’10) and wife Kristin are enjoying parenthood for the first time after welcoming Levi Joel into the world on June 6, 2013. They live in Costa Mesa. Joel is the Director of Alumni and University Relations at Vanguard; and Kristin works at Calvary Church of Santa Ana with the college group. Corrin (Gonzales ’06) Kammer and husband Tim welcomed their second child, Ezekiel Thomas, to the world on June 12, 2013. Their daughter Amelia, 3, is happy to have a little brother. They live in San Jacinto where Corrin teaches GED at a local community college.
Lauren (rogers ’09) and Andrew riddle ’07 are full of joy and are happy to announce their first child, a baby girl, Avery Michelle Riddle, born on July 13, 2013. They live in Lake Forest. Lauren is the Administrative Assistant for the Office of University Advancement at Vanguard; and Andrew is a Math teacher in the Irvine Unified School District. Caitlin (Barney ’13) and Brent theobald ’11 are proud new parents to their first child, daughter Emmaline “Emmy” Theobald born July 14, 2013. They live in Tustin and are both enjoying parenthood. Brent is the Director of Veterans Affairs and Community Relations at Vanguard. Jennifer (reynolds ’10) Jahn and husband Jason welcomed their second child, Eli Ray, on July 24, 2013. Eli joins big sister Avery, 2. Jennifer is a freelance writer.
In Memory Joyce (randol ’66) Jones passed away on September 17, 2012.
Send uS your photoS! We would love to showcase pictures of your new baby, wedding or anniversary in Class Notes. Email your photos to alumni@vanguard.edu or mail your prints to: Alumni relations, 55 Fair dr., Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Prints will not be returned.
RendeRings subject to change
REcoNNEcT. RELAx. REmINIscE. ImagIne a place dedIcated just for you—our valued alumnI. a specIal destInatIon on vanguard’s campus where you can reconnect, relax In a comfortable space; enjoy a cup of coffee wIth an old frIend or make a new one. a place where you can reminisce with other alumni about wonderful memories of your days at vu and share what god has done in and through your life in the years since graduation. this special destination will also offer a venue for new grads to explore career opportunities. when vanguard’s new alumni courtyard is complete, you’ll find even more reasons to visit vu. we eagerly invite you to be part of this exciting new addition to your campus. construction is set to begin in spring 2014, and we need your help. your gift will not only help us complete this important project, but it will be a great opportunity to show your support in a meaningful way. please join us!
“The transformation in my life that started at Vanguard and the joy, peace, and fulfillment that I now have in my life is truly a miracle, and for that I am grateful.” Justin Mcintee ’98
make your gIft at
vanguard.edu/alumnicourtyard tell us your story! contact justin mcIntee at justin.mcintee@vanguard.edu to schedule a filming time on campus to share how vanguard’s impacted your life and why you’re passionate about supporting the alumni courtyard.
42 vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
Alumni Courtyard Building on our legacy
Vanguard
shelly (weber) harris ’83
All over the world, Vanguard alumni join together in friendship and fellowship. Even when they are unable to return for annual alumni events like Homecoming, these friends stay connected to the legacy of Vanguard by nurturing the formative relationships that found their first expression at the school. They are The Vanguard underground.
around the holidays of their senior year at Vanguard uniVersity, Shelly (Weber) harriS ’83 and fiVe of her closest friends decided to haVe a get-together. Their purpose was simply to throw a Christmas party as a group that had forged a close friendship through their participation on the cheerleading team at Vanguard. They had a wonderful time celebrating the holidays and each other. In fact, the six women had so much fun that they decided to convene again the following Christmas, for a sort of unofficial reunion and to catch up on their lives since graduating. Shelly, rhonda (rogers) blaze ’83, Michelle (McKenzie) Grams ’83, rebecca (Neal) Captain ’83, Janie (Martin) hardy ’83, and Donna (Millsap) Morris ’83 all met again the year after that, too. And the year after that. And the year after that—and so on. Shelly and her five friends from Vanguard have been holding get-togethers at Christmastime for over thirty years now. The tradition, born humbly from the campus of Vanguard, has become a way for the women to renew and nurture their ties, supporting one another through good times and bad. “Over time we have been there for each other through jobs, weddings, promotions, babies, parenting, divorces, and illnesses,” says Rebecca. One of the special ways by which the women convey their journey to each other is a time of focused sharing. “At each gathering, we have what we call ‘Peaks and Pits,’” says Shelly. “We go around the table and reveal our best times from the year and our worst times. This lets us stand together as we go through things that we rejoice for and things that we cry over.” Shelly is clear that Peaks and Pits is about giving each other an opportunity to join in celebration or commiseration— never about trying to impress the group. “Ours is a friendship not based on surface
values. We don’t put on airs and say that everything is okay, because we know there is complete acceptance among friends.” One year, Shelly almost didn’t go. She was due to have her second child, and the circumstances of her difficult pregnancy required that she be on bed rest. “That year, the Christmas gathering was at Rhonda’s,” she recalls. “I had to get special permission from my doctor to attend. The girls prepared the couch for me so that I could join them and still lie down. Well, I laughed so hard that night I ended up in the hospital. I just didn’t want to miss it.” Shelly was okay that evening; she can laugh about it now and tell the story in order to illustrate her and the other women’s loyalty to their shared time together. Shelly points out, however, that the group shared much more than time. “We shared our faith. We shared a bond through prayer and devotions, and we shared love. Ours is a deep and lasting friendship that exists because we choose to live in a deeper relationship with one another.” Janie and Donna agree that the group’s faith in God has intensified the bond between them. “I’m blessed to see how God has worked in and through our lives over the years to bring about His purposes,” says Janie. Adds Donna, “I know if I were to face a difficult situation in my life, I would have five sisters in the Lord that I could call upon for prayer and support.” Thirty years ago, Shelly, Rhonda, Michelle, Rebecca, Janie, and Donna began their story together at Vanguard. Each Christmas since then, they’ve written another chapter, bound by faith and love, and for Shelly, this special friendship was no accident. “God led us to each other,” she says. “God put us in each other’s lives for a reason. We really became sisters.”
Are you part of the Vanguard Underground? Give us the scoop on your story. Email alumni@vanguard.edu
Above, left to right: Cheer pose refrigerator magnet made for our 30th reunion. - Photo taken 1980. (Left to Right - Top) Janie, Michelle (Left to Right - Bottom) Rhonda, Donna, Shelly, Rebecca; Graduation - May 1983 (Left to Right) Donna, Rebecca, Janie, Shelly, Rhonda, Michelle; On the Vanguard campus - December 2013 (Left to Right) Rebecca, Rhonda, Janie, Shelly, Donna, Michelle vanguard magazine FALL/WINTER 2013
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learn of me
I grew up In Japan, where my parents were mIssIonarIes. There I learned from my father the value of being present. He was a quiet man—just like I am—but he was always there, and I knew he loved me. It Is a Joy to be present In the same way for my daughter and my grandchildren. My wife Claudia and I get to watch our grandchildren experience our love and grow into inquisitive and confident individuals who will engage with the world. ClaudIa Is my roCk. She is my solid place.
My psychology informs my faith, and my faith informs my psychology. My faith is central to what I do. When I reach the limits of my own abilities, I am carried further by the power of the Holy Spirit. lIfe In the spIrIt Is exCItIng for me. When I think of Jesus, I think of him as our model for Spirit-filled living. He was fully human but also full of the Spirit. He depended on the Spirit, who empowered him to do great works, and in the same way we are empowered through the Spirit to do great works. as an undergrad, I attended Westmont College, where Professor Carl Dodrill was influential on me in an unexpected way. Quite simply, he respected his students. When I came to visit his office, he honored me with his full engagement. As a young man, it was significant to be respected by someone I looked up to.
Life Lessons from Vanguard uniVersity Luminaries
Dr. Douglas Degelman Dr. Douglas Degelman is a developmental psychologist who has taught at Vanguard University for 27 years. He specializes in helping his students acquire the means to conduct research, and he has co-authored numerous articles in peer-reviewed professional journals with Vanguard undergraduates.
I approaCh my students as adults. I remind myself that I’m just one part of their time here. I try to respect them by being aware of the complexity of their lives. beComIng a teaCher has taught me to be aware of what I don’t know. As a professor, there is always the tension between providing content and expertise and being challenged to go deeper when a student asks a question that I don’t know the answer to. It’s helpful for students to see their professors encourage them to think and inquire. Vanguard has been a Very posItIVe plaCe for me. The other faculty, the administration, and students have all challenged me to learn and grow with them. The summer break is nice, but I look forward to meeting my students in my classes each fall!
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