Eastern Mennonite University

If there was one thing Appreciation Week planners at Eastern Mennonite University hoped to leave out in the February gray and drear last week, it was this: the winter doldrums.

Students competed in the C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest at Eastern Mennonite University, an annual contest, established in 1974 by the directors of the C. Henry Smith Trust. The contest offers students an opportunity to discuss the application of the Christian peace position to contemporary concerns in an 8-10-minute speech. The winner of the school contest will go on to compete at the bi-national level against winners from other Mennonite-related colleges in the US and Canada.

Ten graduating seniors will be honored as Cords of Distinction recipients in a ceremony Saturday afternoon, May 5. They will wear gold and blue cords during the graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 6, as recognition for their significant and verifiable impact on the university and on student life; for their contributions to developing the institution's positive image; for substantial contributions to the Harrisonburg/Rockingham County area and beyond; for their high academic and social standing; and their embodiment of EMU's shared values of Christian discipleship, community, service and peacebuilding.

Elementary education students studying classroom management and organization are gaining real world education experience at the Early Learning Center (ELC). The ELC experience challenges EMU students to think on their feet both responsively and proactively. More than 500 alumni have gained teaching experience at the center, which has served area families since 1977.

Eastern Mennonite University senior Maleke Jones (Charles Town, W.V./Washington) has proven himself consistent and confident on the basketball court, and is the Royals Athlete of the Week.

More than 100 prospective students converged on Eastern Mennonite University last weekend - an inaugural Scholarship Weekend coupled with the traditional annual Honors Weekend. Current honors students were insturemental in the organization and success of the weekend events.

Senior Myneshia Walker (Freeman, Va./Brunswick) is known for being consistent and a humble leader for the EMU women's basketball team. She is also known as one of the best shooting guards in ODAC, with a field goal percentage at 40.4%. In last Saturday's game against Emory & Henry, Walker poured in a season high 27 points, including a stretch in the fourth quarter where she scored 15 of EMU's 17 points.

Seminary commuter students who travel more than an hour each way to attend seminary classes this semester are doing so for various reasons - the emphasis on personal formation, small class sizes, the relationships created, and the diversity of beliefs represented.

Eastern Mennonite University junior and entrepreneur Andrea Cable has been awarded a $2,500 scholarship in Insureon's Small Business, Big Impact essay contest.

Eastern Mennonite University is pleased to recognize students who were named to the Fall 2017 Dean's List. The Dean's List, compiled at the end of each term, includes degree-seeking students who achieve a semester GPA of at least 3.75 with no withdrawn, incomplete, or failing grades for 12 semester hours of standard grades.

Eastern Mennonite University biomedicine graduate students presented and defended theses in December 2017.

Eastern Mennonite University students, Earnest Kiah, Matej Gligorevich, and Bruce Cypress. arranged and performed the music in the video Advent greeting for 2017.

Eastern Mennonite University spring 2017 production of 'The 39 Steps' has been selected for presentation at a regional event of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF). The seven-character cast, which received a Certificate of Merit for Ensemble Acting from the KCACTF in spring 2017, also earned nominations for the KCACTF's Irene Ryan Acting competition and stage manager competition.

Students were honored for leadership, service, academic work, and athletic success at the Fall Recognition Chapel on December 8, 2017.

Eastern Mennonite University Lancaster RN-BSN program is pleased to recognize students named to the Dean's List for the summer semester 2017. The Dean's List, compiled at the end of each term, includes degree-seeking students who achieve a semester GPA of at least 3.75 with no withdrawn, incomplete, or failed grades for 12 semester hours of standard grades.

Four Eastern Mennonite University students received second-place in the pitch contest at the Nov. 2-4, 2017, convention of Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA). The EMU team took second place with "Better Health, Better Wealth," a proposal to train Liberian community members to address mental health concerns using methods based on the "direct connection" of mental health to agricultural output in rural Africa.

The Eastern Mennonite University field hockey team raised more than $1,200 to purchase 40 "Sweet Cases" for foster children through the nonprofit organization Together We Rise. They decorated the duffel bags, filled them with items, and returned them to the organization for dispersal. The project had special meaning for top fundraiser Bri Miller, who is adopted.

The "Story Exhibition," hosted by EMU's DACA Dialogue Planning Committee, was a way to raise awareness on campus about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and highlighted a current EMU student, an EMU alumnus, four students in the Harrisonburg community, and five others from around the nation.

Lebanese native Myriam Aziz MA '17 returns to Eastern Mennonite University as a teaching fellow at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. She has significant work experience with Syrian refugees, some of whom are featured in a documentary she produced with funding from CJP's Arts in Peacebuilding grant program.

Sabrina L. Burress, a graduate student in the MA in Counseling program at Eastern Mennonite University, is one of 30 students to be awarded an NBCC Minority Fellowship Program-Youth by the National Board for Certified Counselors Foundation.

Audiences laughed, reflected, celebrated and sang at the performances of "What we bring. What we take. What we leave." during Eastern Mennonite University's Centennial Homecoming and Family Weekend, Oct. 13-15, 2017. The production, commissioned by EMU's Centennial Committee and sponsored by Everence Financial, was a collage of stories of the experience of being a student at EMU written by Ingrid DeSanctis '88 and Ted Swartz '89, MACL '92.

During its fall concert, the Eastern Mennonite University Jazz Ensemble will play swing, up-tempo funk, two Benny Carter pieces and more. The 16-member ensemble under the direction of Robert Curry will take the stage in Lehman Auditorium at 7:30 pm on Thursday, Nov. 30.

Senior Mikaela Zook (Millersburg, Ind./Northridge) was a force to be reckoned with on Eastern Mennonite University's women's soccer defensive line, and this week she wrapped up her soccer career with being voted onto the All-ODAC Third Team by the other coaches in the conference.

When Gregory Winship begins teaching a new course of conflict transformation training at a minimum-security prison in Kansas, he will use his personal story and master's degree in restorative justice to implement a new vision of justice. The MA in Restorative Justice program of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding is the first of its kind in North America.

Senior photography major Lila Marks presents "The Ignored," featuring 75 frescos of Hawaii's natural beauty and its homeless people. The exhibit runs from Oct. 2-6 in the Margaret Martin Gehman Gallery. An artist's talk and reception with light refreshments will take place at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6.

Eight students this fall are exploring life in Washington D.C. and gaining experience through internships in fields ranging from music therapy to journalism to immigration law as part of studies at Eastern Mennonite University's Washington Community Scholars' Center (WCSC).

Eastern Mennonite University midfielder Emily Augsburger (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) has been selected to play in a national senior all-star game. The 2017 Victory Sports Tours/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) D-III Senior Game roster was announced today, with Augsburger named as one of 72 student-athletes selected as either participants or alternates for the contest held on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky.

For Emily Augsburger (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite), the final stretch of her final year of field hockey at Eastern Mennonite University is turning out to be pretty special. Augsburger was selected for the NFHCA Division III Senior Game and Royals Athlete of the Week. Preceding all of the off-the-field recognitions, Augsburger had a strong week of play. She assisted on the team's only goal in their game against Bridgewater and then scored a stroke in Saturday's senior recognition game against Roanoke.

Freshman Rachel Sauder (Lyndhurst, Va./Stuarts Draft) is making her mark on the soccer field. The midfielder jump-started Eastern Mennonite University in both of their wins last week, accounting for two goals and two assists.

Valerie Showalter, a graduate student at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, addressed 450 donors at the annual Donor Appreciation Banquet during Centennial Homecoming and Family Weekend.