Parent Connections: past issues

Building community and learning to lead:
Student leadership at Goshen College

Ask any Goshen College student what makes learning unique here and one of the answers will be the many opportunities that exist for campus involvement - gaining leadership skills and valuable “hands-on” experience. Recent graduate Sam Tyx ’05 stated it this way: “There are so many possibilities to get involved [at Goshen College]—almost everyone is a part of something on campus, which I think creates a unity that a lot of schools don’t have.” Here are just some of the many student leadership opportunities available at Goshen College:

Athletic team captains serve a variety of roles, depending on the sport. For volleyball, basketball and soccer, the most visual role of team captains is to speak to officials for the team. But captains serve in other ways as well. For example, Anna Herdeck was the volleyball team captain on and off the court, giving feedback to younger players, leading team meetings and helping her peers make on-court adjustments during games. Jordan Buller, Tyler Sheerer and Eric Walsh share the team captain responsibilities for the men’s basketball team, providing additional leadership in practice and during games. Teresa Bartal and Kelsey McKee serve as team captains and spokespersons for the women’s basketball team; they meet with coaches to talk about team concerns or issues - and provide emotional leadership. Ben Taylor is the captain of the baseball team, leading stretching drills and acting as an extension of the coaching staff both on and off the field.

Black Student Union steering committee members are Ashe Abebe, President; Miriam Mohamed, Vice President; Thomas McDowell, Treasurer; and Ebony Goodwin, Secretary. BSU engages the college community about issues related to African-Americans and organizes academic and campus-wide social events.

Campus Activities Council is made up of four students (Liz Goering, Scott Lehman, Zach Miller and Messay Tamrat) who are elected by the student body to plan and run activities throughout the year, such as Kick-off, coffeehouses, Hour After performances, dances, seasonal festivities and many more creative and fun events.

Campus Ministries Team consists of five student leaders (Amanda Beachy, Joel Gonzalez, Nathan Herr, Heather O’Laughlin and Jessica Roth) who share the goal of engaging students in opportunities to meet our living God in refreshing ways, with daily and weekly opportunities for Christian spiritual growth as well as several styles of welcoming worship services. The team is responsible for Campus Worship Night, chapel music and worship, small groups and Bible study groups, Community Voluntary Service and Special Programs. Four students assist with the planning of chapel services as part of the Chapel Committee (Joann Gallardo, Joel Gonzalez, Libby Smith and Sarah Wilson) while other students help organize the biweekly Taizé prayer services (Sarah Buskirk, Hope Langland and Anna Yoder). Student-led small groups are an opportunity for students to meet together for prayer, support and Bible study. Small group leaders this year include Teresa Bartal, Alex Bouwman, Dustin Combs, Amanda Esh, David Haire, Anita Hooley, Liz Martin, Marelby Mosquera, Sam Moyer, Elena Nussbaum, Phil Schmidt, Tyler Springer, Nicole Swain and Sarah Wilson.

Eco-Pax which began as part of the PAX student peace club, is made up of environmentally minded students dedicated to communicating with and between the student body, administration, and the broader community on issues pertaining to our God-created world; promoting and exploring ecologically sound lifestyles; taking active steps to change the existing unsustainable practices of our immediate and broader communities; and fostering enjoyment of and an interest in the earth. The group has a rotating leadership structure, and consistently maintains certain projects like "Adopt a River" (along the Elkhart River). Eco-Pax leaders include Nicole Bauman, Elizabeth Heiks, Aubrey Helmuth and Adrienne Landis.

The Goshen College Record , the weekly campus newspaper, strives to provide a broad window on campus life as an opportunity for students to develop journalism skills in reporting, writing, editing and management, and to advance their credentials. The Fall semester masthead includes 29 students, not including the corps of reporters, with Rebecca Johnson serving as editor; Anna Groff takes the helm in the Spring. Parents are welcome to read the paper online at http://www.goshen.edu/record or contact faculty advisor Duane Stoltzfus if interested in a subscription.

International Student Club serves as an accepting home at Goshen College for students from all over the world. The group organizes fun activities that help all students and the local community to learn about and appreciate a variety of cultures including the very popular International Student Meal and performance. Committee members are Esi Cudjoe, Christopher DeShield, Melody Huffman, Dawit Kebede, Miriam Mohamed and Subhekchya Sharma.

Java Junction, the campus coffee bar, is a joint project of the academic business department and the student life office. JJ is managed by business students who receive course credit and are responsible for decisions related to operating the coffee bar - from customer service and worker training to marketing, accounting and inventory. Student managers for 2005-06 (some for one semester only) are William Leichty, Liz Martin, Kate Nafziger, Jared Price, Tyler Sheerer, Tyler Springer, Peter Widmer, Lei Yang, Adam Yoder and Reuben Yoder. “The opportunity to run a small business on campus and receive college credit was an opportunity that I simply could not pass up,” shared Tyler Sheerer. “The learning experience will undoubtedly benefit me for the rest of my career and life.” Added Nafziger, "It gave me more confidence in my abilities as a leader."

Latino Student Union steering committee members are Diana Castillo, Diana Diaz, David Martinez, Ivannia Perez and Francisco Reyes. A chief priority of the LSU is to foster a community atmosphere among Hispanic students. LSU also provides the campus with quality educational, social and cultural programming.

Parables the worship team is comprised of eight individuals who visit churches on behalf of Goshen College. This joyful, Christ-centered group offers meaningful worship services that creatively connect with audiences through drama, personal testimony, scripture and music. Members for 2005-06 include David Bontrager, Jaron Caldwell (fall semester), Jessica David, Amanda Entz, Cheryl Eunike, Karen Graber, Mike Honderich, Jesse Landis-Eigsti (spring semester) and Jonny Meyer.

Resident Assistants are responsible for providing leadership for the residence hall units. They develop programs and activities with floor members that contribute to social, spiritual, and intellectual growth; act as a communication link between students and the Student Life office; help enforce college policies; and serve as a friend, listener and advocate for floor members. Current Resident Assistants are Dan Adcock, Melanie Antram, Kassidy Cheek, Lindsy Glick, Chris Gosteli, Jeff Hochstetler, Reuben Houser, Brooke Hutchison, Mary Roberts, Tyler Springer, Jason Yoder, Mitch Yoder and Sarah Zwier. Resident Leaders for junior and senior floors are Sam Moyer, Adrienne Nesbitt, Nicole Swain and Matt Troyer.

Student Senate serves as a formal representative voice for the student body in the shaping of policies, strategies and programs and as the formal link between students and other Goshen College publics (faculty, administration and the Board of Directors). Current Student Senate Cabinet members are Teresa Bartal, Jesse Johnson, Myra Karina and Joel Miller.

This is just a small sampling of the many avenues available to students for developing leadership skills during their years at Goshen College. More than 1,200 publicity releases are sent per year by the Goshen College Public Relations office to students' hometown newspapers, honoring the accomplishments and leadership positions of Goshen College students as well as other achievements, such as being selected to join a campus choir or theater production, making an athletic team, entering a Study-Service semester, participating in a special service project, graduating and more.

Thank you, parents, for encouraging your student to be involved in the wide range of activities open to students and for supporting them in their endeavors. Leadership positions and involvement in campus groups helps them to build skills, meet a broad range of students across disciplines, to reinforce existing interests or discover new things, learn how to be an engaged member of a goup or organization and to increase their confidence. You've probably modeled these traits in your own life, whether in your work, community, church or elsewhere, and by appreciating your students' involvment you affirm their God-gifts and calling.