the sounding board | november 10, 2011

The Sounding BoardLeadership Edition

Volume 9

2THE SOUNDING BOARD | NOVEMBER 10, 2010

CAMPUS NEWS

SOUNDING BOARDTHE

the voice of Grace College students since 1953

The Sounding Board is a weekly publication of Grace Student Organizations and the Journalism Classes at Grace College. The Sounding Board exists to glorify God by impacting people’s lives with relevant and timely news that connects them with the campus and the greater com-munity, by providing excellent education in the field of journalism and by acting as a medium of student expression. Editorials and opinions are those of student journalists and do not necessarily represent the official view of the administration of Grace College. All copy, art, and photog-raphy are property of The Sounding Board and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the editor. Letters/replies are encouraged and must be signed. Letters are limited to 250 words and The Sounding Board reserves the right to print and edit for length and content as neces-sary. The Sounding Board is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press and is printed in cooperation with The Papers, Inc. Please send emails to: [email protected].

Editor-in-Chief: Octavia LehmanPhotography Editor: Cassie Gareiss

Layout Editor: Josh DillmanCopy Editor: Ethan Sheckler

Sports Editor: Zane GardAdvisor: Dr. Sauders

Grace College, 200 Seminary Dr., Winona Lake, IN 46590

Staff Writers:Ashley Mazelin Christopher Tulley Alex Lerner Emily Gruber Matthew Hiester Paul MoralesSarah Kraus Haley Bradfield Megan GettsJonathan Haag Sarah Leichty

InBrief

Th e use of moodle is new for everyone this year at Grace College. For students, moodle is a place where they can take online quizzes, print off the syllabus, and submit homework.

For professors, it’s an online grade book in which they can sub-mit their grades for students to check anytime throughout the year. Moo-dle is an online system that Grace has put into full eff ect during the 2011-2012 school year.

Although moodle is in full use this year, it was on trial basis last year. A group of professors tried out moodle to see how they liked using it. Dr. Norris, the chair of the History and Political Science Department, was one of the professors on the trial. Th is year, he has gone from passing out papers in class, to posting every-thing online. According to Dr. Nor-ris, “It is highly suggested that the faculty use moodle.”

People may think using moodle is the same as going paperless. Ac-cording to Don Fluke, the director of Information Technology, “I see going paperless and using moodle as two diff erent things.” Fluke also said, “moodle was not implemented to achieve paperless, it was implement-ed to achieve in course delivery.”

Dr. Norris said, “My whole de-partment isn’t going paperless, that’s just me doing that.” He is virtually pa-perless, meaning everything is online including the syllabus. Dr. Norris felt himself convicted of being a respon-

sible steward of creation. “Th eologi-cally, I am moving toward being more environmentally friendly.”

Another reason he is going pa-perless is to benefi t the students. “I thought, what a waste; the amount of money students had to pay to turn in paper.” Now students can look at the same information he would have

used paper to print out, online on moo-dle.

Students still use textbooks in his class-es. However, they use online databases and outside research to gain more informa-tion. Information on moodle is accessible between faculty and

students. Th is means the profes-sors can determine what they want to make available to the students by either putt ing up everything online like Dr. Norris, or putt ing up only the grades. Students can also submit

assignments through moodle to their professors.

Dr. DeYoung, the Chair of the Math and Science Department at Grace, views moodle as more user friendly. According to Dr. DeYoung, going digital is “more convenient for the student; they can see notes and assignments, and you don’t have to be on campus anymore.” He does on-line courses during the summer and moodle is helpful for those students to see their grades whenever. As of now, the school is in its fi rst year of using moodle.

Dr. DeYoung said, “I think the use of paper will diminish; every-thing is in transition.” Dr. DeYoung added about moodle, “Th ere have been a lot of workshops to give us all the help we want.”

Dr. Norris said, “It’s not there yet, but the next step would replace books with e-readers. What’s most important is what’s best for the stu-dents.”

by EMILY GRUBER

Staff Writer

Will departments go paperless?

“I see going paperless and using moodle as two dif-ferent things...moodle was not implemented to achieve paperless.” -Don Fluke

Th e Sounding Board is now online.

Visit us at gcsbnews.comJoin the discussion.

Dr. Norris, history professor, chooses to ditch the paper and go digital

Could throwing a

regular playing card kill

a person? On Tuesday,

Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. Brianna

DeVries and Elizabeth

Heuss present their senior

project in McClain Audi-

torium. Enjoy fellowship,

food, experiments and an

episode of MythBusters! Sponsored by the

Mathematics Department.

Play On! The hilarious

story of a community

theatre group trying to

desperately put on a play

opens on Friday, Nov. 11

at 7:30 p.m. Other

performances include

Nov. 12, 17, & 18 at 7:30

p.m. and Nov. 19 at 1:30

p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets

are $5 for students ($7 for

adults) and can be pur-

chased at the door or at

Tree of Life Bookstore.

Taste of the World will be

held in the Gordon Recre-

ation Center on Wednes-

day, Nov. 16 from 5 p.m.

- 8 p.m. Dinner will not be

served in Alpha. Special

musical guests will also be

in attendance.

On Thursday, Nov. 17,

McClain Auditorium will

host a poetry slam from

7-9p.m. and a movie from

9-11 p.m.

Laura K. Balke will release

her new album, “Rumors

and Legends” at the Old

Train Depot in Pierceton

on Friday, Nov. 18 at 8

p.m. with special guests

Ryan Kerr and John Davey.

Admission is $5. Visit

laurakbalke.com for more

information.


CAMPUS NEWS

Homecoming Variety ShowHomecoming Variety Showclockwise from top- Photography by Scott Schloss & Cassie Gareiss

Royal Applause- The hosts for the variety show and 2011 home-

coming court congratulate last year’s reigning royalty.

Ghosts- J.T. Jacobson and Isaac Miller perform “The Ghost Song.”

Live, from the OCC- Matt Brunner and Brock Rhodes interview

Bethany Michalski and Dayton Merrell for the homecoming court intro-

ductions.

Double Duets- Matt Litzinger and Rachel Ladew perform Dave

Matthews while Mark and Melissa Morley perform “Stuck Like Glue,” by

Sugarland.


LEADERSHIP

by SARAH LEICHTY

Staff Writer

Introduction to Leadership class to be off ered in the spring

Leading through chapelWhen a student thinks of chapel, he may

view it as a mandatory requirement with a break from classes. People may not even put into consid-eration the amount of work it takes to organize a chapel or who even puts it together.

Each school year, Grace College puts together a chapel commission made up of Grace students as the coordinators. Th is year, the chapel commission includes three coordinators: Abigail Clements and Katelyn Mithoefer, both seniors, and sophomore Mike LaGioia. Th ese individuals work behind the scenes to make chapel into what the student body sees during the week.

Another senior, Jordan Gillett e, is the Stu-dent Chaplain. He is not on chapel commission, but he supports the committ ee members and sets up Day of Worship. “In all their work, they’re to help point our campus to God with one voice; not to see what we can get out of it, but instead to see how we can praise God,” Gillett e said of the chapel coordinators.

Th e meetings for the chapel commission are held each week on Monday and Friday. Everyone involved with chapel commission att ends Mon-day’s meeting. During the meeting, the students share ideas, look back at the previous week, and run through the schedule of the current week. Th e production meeting is Friday in which the people who att end are involved only with the chapel for the upcoming week.

Th e coordinators alternate weeks in which they take turns being in charge of chapel. Th e co-ordinator for the week is given the name of the speaker and determines how long they speak. Th e coordinator also suggests to the band director how many songs they would like sung during chapel. Th e rest of the coordinators pitch in wherever they are needed.

To be on the chapel commission, the coordi-nators go through an application process in which they are interviewed. Th e commission and Roger Peugh decide who will be on the chapel commis-

sion. As his fi rst year on chapel commission, La-

Gioia said, “I felt this would be a good way to be involved with leadership.”

Clements wanted to be in a position to make a diff erence on campus. “Th ere has to be action behind the words that are spoken,” Clements said. “It’s something we value and have chosen to make a part of our day.”

Mithoefer said about her involvement, “It’s a good thing for me to step behind the scenes to become aware of how much it takes to coordinate a day of chapel where people focus on the Lord.”

Th e speakers for chapel are determined be-fore the school year begins. During the summer, Interim Chaplain Roger Peugh and Chaplain Ad-ministrative Assistant Valerie Crumbley work to-gether to line up the speakers.

Some speakers come every year while others are on a two-or-three year routine. Grace’s student body can also suggest speakers. “We have students, people off campus, faculty members, and some-times the speakers themselves will write to us,” Peugh said.

A few other individuals involved with chapel are Justin Farrell, in charge of Media Technology, Kyle Brenneman, who overseas the worship, and Billy Starkey, the Chapel Band Director. Gillett e commented about the Chapel Band Director say-ing, “Billy is the face of chapel because he’s up there every day. He works hard to pick good songs; it’s easy to see that his heart’s in it, that he’s just not there for fun.”

Gillett e also commented about the sound guys and set up guys saying, “Th ey put in the most time; they set up and tear down every day and they are there for the band practice.”

As of plans for a new chaplain, Peugh said, “I agreed to stay on for another year. I encourage them to keep looking; it takes time to search out there.” Peugh isn’t part of the process of search-ing for a new chaplain. But he does want someone who relates well to young people: “someone who is encouraging, has a winsome manner, and builds other people up,” Peugh said.

by EMILY GRUBER

Staff Writer

Have you ever wanted to be a leader or wondered what it takes to be a leader? Th en you may be interested in Grace Col-lege’s Introduction to Leadership class (BHS 160), which will be held Th ursday from 6-8 p.m. and taught by Aaron Crabtree with assistance from Peter Wolff .

Th e class will meet over fi ve weeks during Spring session A.

According to Wolff , the ulti-mate goal of the training is to ful-fi ll Grace’s mission statement of preparing students for a lifestyle of service and ministry based on Christ’s example and call-ing. “Grace [College], and being involved in student leadership,

is a training ground for life that has real-life consequences, Wolff said. “But, this [class provides] a structured environment where students can make mistakes and then learn from those mistakes.”

According to Wolff , the ma-terial for the upcoming class will be “unique.” In the training, “we hope to introduce students to a concept known as 360 Degree Leadership,” Wolff said.

Students who take the course will learn about the “four directions of leading”: Leading self, leading up, leading across, and leading down. In Wolff ’s words, leading self “involves your relationship with Christ, char-acter development, self-aware-ness, etc.” Th e second direction of leading, leading up, “involves learning to be under authority.”

Leading across expounds upon the concept that “leaders of ex-cellence lead in cooperation with others rather than being a ‘lone wolf ’ out there on their own.” Finally, leading down involves those whom a leader has author-ity over.

“[Leading down] is typically what people think of when they think of leadership,” said Wolff , “but leadership is more than just telling others what to do. Lead-ing down is actually the last thing leaders of excellence focus on, and when they do, it is done from a heart of service and a desire to help others reach their redemp-tive potential.”

Past leadership classes have clearly had a signifi cant impact on campus life. “A few years ago, based on a study of growth group

leaders, we found that those who had taken the class reported low-er levels of frustration in leader-ship, felt more connected to the institution, and reported higher satisfaction in their jobs than those GGLs [who] had not.”

What are the requirements for students who wish to partici-pate in the training? Anyone can take the class, no matt er what their year or major. Even current and past leaders are invited and encouraged to re-take the class, although they are not required to.

Th ere are no prerequisites for the leadership course. “But it is a prerequisite for being in a [formal] leadership position in the future,” Wolff said. Any un-dergraduate who desires to lead at Grace College in the future

will need to have gone through this training.

Students in the three-year program who are concerned about overstepping the 18 credit-hour limit if they take this class can rest at ease. Said Wolff : “We have worked with the Registrar’s offi ce to correct [any surpassing of the credit hour limits]. Stu-dents can choose to take the class for no credit. Th ose who are only taking 12 or 15 hours spring se-mester may take the class for 1 credit.”

If Grace’s spring leadership training piques your interest, contact your advisor to sign up. Or, for more information on the class content or requirements, e-mail Peter Wolff at wolff [email protected].

All undergraduates who desire to lead in the future are required to take the class

PAINT TIME- Chapel staff , Jordan Gillett e, Katelyn Mithoefer, and Jessica Bauer serve during the Day of Caring this past August.

Cassie Gareiss | Sounding Board Photo

Life as an RA: Even they don’t have all the answers

Grace College is a great place of study, fun, and best of all, communi-ty. But it is to be recognized that one cannot have great community with-out great leadership. For the actively individualistic dorms across cam-pus, much of that leadership comes from their residential assistants; also known as their RA s.

Th e students would know them best as the fi ne-givers. Along with the handing out of the fi nes and executing room checks every Sat-urday and break, RA s also have the responsibility of desk shift s, being on call during weekends throughout the year, and the general care of their assigned hall.

From Beta to Westy, the RA s are like an extra set of guardian an-gels, who know how to have fun such as sliding down the stairs using

matt resses or having a Nerf Gun war to the ultimate level!

Regina Bontreger is in her sec-ond year as an RA in Alpha Th ree West. She’s been loving every min-ute of the experience… even having to extract a chipmunk from one of the hall’s rooms! What Bontreger has found most important about be-ing an RA is the mentor/mom/sis-ter she gets to be for the girls on her hall. She does not pretend to have all the answers, but she’s always ready to help one of her girls (or anybody) in anyway she can.

Bontreger has admired the po-sition of leadership since youth, but it wasn’t until freshman year at Grace College that she seriously thought about taking the opportunity to be in one herself. She admired her own RA s, Katie Adams and Julie Whita-care, as well as her growth group leader, and they all helped to further encourage her and advise her in the steps to becoming an RA .

“Th ere are so many ways to grow,” Bontreger smiles when asked about the impact on her as an RA . “And a major one is being honest with your hall and yourself, along with your own weaknesses.”

David Ferrier, a two-year RA of Indy 2 couldn’t agree more when it comes to the nitt y-gritt y of being an RA . “It can be hard. Sometimes you have to be a real killjoy, spoil other people’s fun. But what can be even harder is being a part of your hall and not just being in control of it.” He fi nds it important to use his life as an example on his hall… as well as realizing his own helplessness.

Ferrier has seen God teaching as much about himself in being an RA , as he’s been learning about the guys on his hall. He says that all RA s lack what it takes to be the perfect RA , but to be a successful RA , one just has to ask if he’s going to treat his hall as he sees best or as God would. If they pick God, then they

can’t go wrong. And Ferrier can’t express the number of opportuni-ties God’s led him into in the years he’s been an RA , years he will hold onto for years to come.

Courtney Bowden can testify to the opportunities and the last-ing impact that the life of an RA can produce. An RA of Indy last year and the year before, God literally trans-formed her life in those two years. Not only through the responsibility of checking weekend sign-ins, and preparing hall activities, along with growth group lessons, but learning how to be “the daily feet of Jesus.”

“I would say,” Bowden remem-bers, “that the most pivotal time of RA ing was the 2nd semester of my 1st year at Indy. Th e Gospel took a whole new meaning for me through the grace of God and the mentoring of the girls on my hall.” And Bowden couldn’t have seen herself being an eff ective RA without God. She came to realize that in Christ, nowhere

else, could she receive perfect rest, perfect wisdom, perfect guidance, and the perfect example of a leader to follow.

Luckily, the seriousness of be-ing an RA , which Grace can always be thankful for, doesn’t overshadow the fun. So many stories can hap-pen in just one semester, like having a hole kicked in the ceiling, as well as the many quote walls from most fl oors, and all the general goofi ness that can’t help but occur in a college dorm. But also, a lot of relationships take root between the individu-als and the RA or the RA and the whole hall. And when it comes to the heavier issues of life, it’s a great comfort to Grace’s student body to have people to go to that they can identify with.

“Without RA s,” Bontreger rec-ognizes, “Grace College wouldn’t be as united. And plenty would agree with her.

by HALEY BRADFIELD

Staff Writer


LEADERSHIP

Walking into a residence hall on a late Wednesday night, you might ex-perience an uncharacteristic silence. In Alpha, no girls can be seen screaming as they roll each other down the hallways in computer chairs or talking animatedly in the hall with their best friends about a new Beta boy who may or may not be “marriage material.”

In Beta and Westy basement, no boys are doing -- well, whatever boys do normally. And in Indiana Hall, the lobbies are surprisingly deserted and no people -- freshmen or otherwise -- are playing football or skateboarding along that cherished lawn of theirs. And the cause of all this silence? Th ree words: growth group leaders.

But what is a growth group leader? What are their duties? According to Pe-ter Wolff , “Th e duties of a GGL [growth group leader] can best be described by the word connect.” A GGL is a member of a hall’s leadership team, whose main focus is to connect their hall’s residents to Christ, the hall community, and the Grace campus. Th ey also must work to support their RA ’s designated themes and visions. To successfully achieve these expectations, GGLs must exemplify a healthy lifestyle and a godly example, as well as leading intriguing and inspiration-al discussions throughout the week and in their Wednesday night small groups.

Growth group leaders are picked neither lightly nor randomly. Each inter-ested individual must fi ll out extensive applications and att ach references. Once their applications are chosen, the RA s then interview potential GGL candidates and write out their “wishlist” of GGL interviewees they would like to have on their halls to their Residential Director.

Ultimately, the RDs have the fi nal deci-sion and will either “yay” or “nay” a GGL for their halls. Wolff agrees that the most sought-aft er quality in any student leader is whether or not a person is teachable. Th ey “need to be aware that [they] don’t have it all fi gured out” and must be aware of their own sin and brokenness, as well as being willing to grow and to initiate growth in other people.

As with all leadership positions now, those interested in being a growth group leader must complete the Introduction to Leadership (BHS 160) course and att end training sessions a few days before the fall semester begins. GGLs are required to teach 5-6 lessons from the chosen theme of the year (this year’s theme is “One,” as in “love one another, restore one another, etc). However, there are many weeks in which GGLs are able to pick their lessons. Taylor Golding, a GGL in Beta Hall, uti-lizes prayer time in which he allows God to lay something on his heart to teach. Chantal Denecke, a GGL in Indiana, lets her girls choose the topics they want her to cover and explain to them.

Being a GGL is not a constant bliss of happiness and “perfect” days. Chal-lenges arise from working with other people, connecting and relating to stu-dents who are at diff erent stages in their walks with God, and fi nding time to plan out the lessons. Denecke states that “there just isn’t enough hours in the day” sometimes. Despite these challenges, our GGLs underlying passion claims vic-tory over these dark shadows and speed bumps. Zoe Rozsa, a GGL in Alpha, puts it best when she said, “Seeing growth in any of the girls in my group reminds me of why I do what I do and overshadows the struggles and frustrations that dis-courage me.” All in all, the GGLs love their groups, and quite simply, we could never thank them enough.

by MEGAN GETTS

Staff Writer

What does it take to be a growth group leader?

Faces of leadershipFaces of leadership

FOLLIES- Various leaders, from RA s to GGLs to the student chaplain entertain the freshmen during Welcome Weekend. GRA CE FEST- Student body president Jonathan Haag speaks to the student mentors before the fes-tivities begin.FOLLIES TAKE TWO- RA s Jillian Jones and Rose-marie Greenawalt demonstrate what goes through a girls’ mind before open dorms.

Cassie Gareiss | Sounding Board Photos


PERSPECTIVES

Everyone was born with leadership quali-ties, but over an individual’s childhood, teen-age, and young adult years, I believe those in-nate leadership traits are either cultivated or destroyed.

Let’s look out how these developmental years aff ect leadership and why.

Babies exhibit many of similar leadership traits as CEOs, mayors, and entrepreneurs of today.

Th at is a big statement, but think about it for a second.

When we give babies building blocks, play-doh, matchbox cars, and crayons, we are giving them the tools to creatively solve the world’s problems and create countless imagi-nary worlds of tomorrow.

Babies are doing the job descriptions of many of our “grown up” leaders all before nap time!

Based upon their actions with objects like building blocks and matchbox cars, I oft en wonder what our world would look like if ba-bies could talk and we listened.

I wonder if through their placement of block buildings, they came up with a bett er regional planning model. I wonder if when playing with matchbox cars, babies are actually seeing bett er ways to move traffi c through an area.

Now before you call me out and say, “Ba-bies aren’t solving problems or doing anything productive. Th ey are just playing with blocks and toys.” Th at may be true, but these babies have a mindset that is invaluable.

Th ey are creating, developing, and lead-ing through action. Th ey aren’t afraid of being wrong and they don’t care about the status quo. Th at sounds like the traits of a quality leader.

Th en these kids enter grade school and are “taught” until they walk across a stage to receive their college diploma.

It’s during these years that instead of cre-ating and imagining, students are subjected to a specifi c style of learning for eight hours a day, fi ve days a week, for nine months of the year, for around 17 years.

Th is is when the leadership traits we were born with are cultivated or destroyed.

Th ere is this popular belief that leaders are made over time.

I think it appears this way because many of our great leaders had their traits “taught” out of them for years and while it appears that they are being made they are really returning to the way they were born. Th ey return to being creative, developing ideas, not afraid of being wrong, and forgett ing about the status quo.

I believe that the discussion between leaders being born and leaders being made is one of the most important discussions taking place, and how we answer it will dictate the di-rection we as a human race will head.

Th at is a terribly large statement to make, but I believe it with all of my heart.

Will only a select few in the world be made and lead while the rest follow, or will all of us return to our innate traits that we were so in tune with when we were babies and be leaders that create a bett er tomorrow?

Leaders are made, not born.Vince Lombardi, an American football

coach who led the Green Bay Packers to win the fi rst two Super Bowls once said, “Lead-ers aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.” Th e age-old debate of whether leaders are born or made rears its head once again.

While there are leaders in history who seem as if they were born to lead, many oth-ers were not. For example, take Abraham Lincoln, who is oft en considered to be one of the greatest leaders in American history. Under his presidency, many great things were accomplished. Th e Civil War ended and the Emancipation Proclamation was writt en, put-ting a stop to slavery in America.

Although Lincoln accomplished a lot during his time as president of the United States, he wasn’t necessarily a natural leader. Lincoln grew up in a poor family, living in a log cabin, without the opportunities many others had. In the years before he was elect-ed for presidency, he lost his job, had a ner-vous breakdown, and lost numerous political races. He didn’t have much going for him at all — aside from his determined mindset and refusal to give up.

In Lincoln’s case, life and circumstances fostered his natural leadership qualities to make him a leader. However, something else could have happened. For example, a person could be born with certain leadership quali-ties, but never become a leader because those qualities were never nourished in life.

If a person has the natural inclination to be a great leader, but that inclination is never supported and those qualities are never forced to grow—or worse, the person is never given the opportunity to lead—then is he or she still a good leader?

Despite whether or not someone was born with good leadership skills, those skills will never be manifested without situations in life that will make him or her a leader. In ad-dition, even if someone is not born with the natural tendency or desire to lead, he or she can certainly become a leader and overcome challenges, exceed all odds, and rise up against an issue if he or she is passionate, determined, and has the necessary drive.

Harriet Tubman, another leader during the time of the Civil War, was a “conductor” with the Underground Railroad and led nu-merous slaves to safety. Tubman grew up in slavery and was abused and overworked. Be-cause of her terrible experience as a slave, she decided that something needed to be done — someone had to rise up against slavery, so she did.

Tubman certainly wouldn’t have chosen to constantly put her life in danger rescuing people if she hadn’t believed so strongly in her cause of leading others to freedom. Similarly, Lincoln was not a “born leader,” but because of leadership qualities that were nurtured in his life and strengthened through circum-stances and hardship, he was able to become a great leader, going on to lead our country, end a war and bring freedom to many.

Face-Off Are leaders mademade or born?

MADE

In Lehman’s Termsby Octavia Lehman

by SARAH KRAUS

Staff Writer

by JONATHAN HAAG

Staff Writer BORN

Have you ever wished you were somewhere else? In the midst of all the hustle of life, the business, the busyness, the responsibility, do you ever fi nd yourself thinking, “I can’t wait till this is over, because once it is, I can move on for what I am truly made.”

We think of life as a stage and we are the play. Act 1 is the beginning. Act 2 is the climax, fi lled with trials and turmoils. Act 3 is our retirement, that age many so illustriously build towards. Life may be a stage, but each act has its own unique story and growth.

We get stuck thinking that each act should be bigger and bett er than the next. When we were kids we couldn’t wait to grow up and do grown up things like drink coff ee and drive cars.

We thought that once we were done with high school, real life would start. But aft er a couple years of college, we are still left wondering when the real life starts. Life can’t be all about movies, papers and sleeping in can it? “When do we get to start really living?”

Sometimes we think this, “Once I’m done with college I’ll start pursuing my ministry, or I’ll start preparing for my future.” Except that’s not liv-ing at all. Why do we think that real life starts aft er college? Is college the great climax?

Until now, we’ve been told by secular culture that college is the pivotal point of our lives. We should indulge ourselves and live it up. It’s our last hoo-rah before real life hits. Well, truth be told, it’s not.

Th e truth is we have been liv-ing this whole time. Some of us are just bett er at wasting it than others. High school wasn’t an excuse to do nothing. And college isn’t either. Real life doesn’t happen once you get a diploma.

We need to be fully engaged now. Not in fi ve years when we start families and move to the suburbs and buy nice houses. Not in ten years when we are taking the kids to soccer prac-tice and going on family vaca-tions. We need to stop being absent and be present.

Th e beauty is that we can live fully now. We can be present. Why do we always think that once we get a degree we can start a ministry? What about what God’s placed in front of you now? Are you diligent

with that? Maybe, the way you live with your hallmates is your ministry. Or the way that you complete your homework on time. What if we took this ap-proach with everything? What if we valued the litt le things?

Why do we look at life as al-ways trying to do the next big thing? Th e next big phase. We go through life this way too oft en, waiting for the next big thing, and thinking that what we have right now is good, but not good enough. But the truth is, we have been given so much and fail to the understand the present.

We need to live in the here and now. We need to be pres-ent. We need to engage what’s in front of us now. Instead of thinking, “Oh, I’ll do that once I grow older,” think, “I can do

that now!” What is in front of you now is what you are called to do.

Be diligent wherever you are in life.

Take root with what is in front of you. Quit wishing for an es-cape hatch. It’s not there.

We can’t be eff ective leaders if we are not present.

More importantly, we can’t be eff ective Christians if we aren’t present either.

Lead from where you are.

1 Corinthians 7:17 (Th e Message)“And don’t be wishing you were somewhere else or with someone else; where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and believe right there.”

Being present in an absent culture

“Wherever you are, be all there.”

Seasons of life are inevitable, but sometimes life changes in ways that never could have been foreseen. For Victoria Casey and Elizabeth Heuss, one change-turned out to be a bett er surprise than they ever could have ever ex-pected.

Th ough Casey and Heuss, both seniors on Grace’s women’s soccer team, have an inseparable friendship now, there was a time where they were not just unac-quainted, but rivals.

Th e distance from one side of Indianapolis to the other - eigh-teen miles - is all that separated Casey and Heuss for four years. While Heuss went to Covenant Christian High School, Casey went to Heritage Christian School, and the two competed against each other in both soccer and track each year.

Th ough they had not yet met, Heuss and Casey recall praying together with their teams before one of their games - a game that just happened to be on the day Casey found out her grandpa, who played a huge part in her life, had passed away. Casey was glad

that she could share that day with Heuss even though they had not really met.

“I wasn’t sure if I was even go-ing to play the rest of the game,” Casey said. “I ended playing the rest of the second half and ended up winning,” she continued with a smile.

It was not long aft er that that Casey and Heuss did offi -cially meet at Grace’s Presidential Scholarship Competition, where the two immediately connected.

Eventually, the two rivals found themselves calling each other “roommates” as they began their four-year journey through college together. Heuss, though, burned out on soccer, chose not to play for the Lady Lancer’s team. Yet Casey, who was on the team, was persistent and began talking to Heuss about playing alongside her on the fi eld. By her sopho-more year, Heuss had joined the team.

“I wasn’t going to play, but there was something about the team that was diff erent,” Heuss ex-plained. “For the fi rst time in my life I saw a team that was actually living out ministry and playing to glorify God. On top of that the whole team was just hilarious.”

Now four years since arriving at Grace, Heuss is ranked fi ft h all-time in program history for career goals, and leads the Lady Lancers with 12 goals this season. Not bad for only playing three years. Casey has also had a stand-out career, earning NCCAA All-American honors for the second year in a row and NAIA All-American hon-ors for the fi rst time last season.

Both were also named to the All-MCC team for the 2011 season.

Casey and Heuss are best friends and have a lot of memo-ries together to prove it. One of those memories came when the two studied abroad in Argentina together in the second semester of 2010.

Once Casey and Heuss were lost in Argentina - only Heuss was frustrated and wanted to fi gure things out, while Casey, on the hand, was laughing and taking pictures. As Heuss tried to fi gure out where they were, a bus came by and went right through a pud-dle, soaking her from head to toe. Casey laughed and started teasing Heuss - until another car came by and completely soaked her. Th is is only one of the many experiences they have been through together.

Not only have Casey and

Heuss become good friends, they have also helped each other grow spiritually and on the fi eld. Heuss credits Casey for helping her grow and fi nd freedom in playing soccer instead of playing for the approval of others.

“Since we are vulnerable, we are bett er teammates,” Heuss add-ed.” We can rely on each other to talk about what is happening on the fi eld, as well as what we can improve on or what we are doing well.”

Casey and Heuss have already successfully rewritt en Lancer ath-letics’ history together. In 2009, they led the Lady Lancers to the most successful record in program history and a berth to the NC-CAA National Tournament. Th is season the Lancers have a record of 11-7-2 and have a chance to make the tournament once again.

Head coach Michael Voss said that their friendship shows the character of Casey and Heuss, which is why he sent many re-cruits to stay in their room when they visited.

“Th ey are consistent examples of what it means to be a Christian athlete,” said Voss. “Th ey have left a great example for everyone else to follow.”

Whether it is playing against each other in practice or against another team, Casey and Heuss aim to leave behind a legacy of loving for their opponents. Win or lose, they want to care about their opponents as people, not just someone to beat on the soc-cer fi eld.

Aft er all, that is what Casey and Heuss, rivals turned best friends, are all about.


SPORTS

From Rivals to FriendsWomen’s Soccer Captains Fueled by Off -Field Friendship

“Since we arevulnerable, we arebetter teammates.

-Elizabeth Heuss

“

by ZANE GARD

Sports Writer

Four members of the Grace women’s soccer team were given awards after their outstanding reg-ular seasons.

Seniors Victoria Casey and Elizabeth Heuss were named to the All-MCC Team and CoSIDA Academic All-District for the Col-lege Division.

Junior Jocelyn Evans was named the Midfielder of the Year by the MCC, and sophomore goal-

keeper Carmen Barnhill was also named to the All-MCC Team.

“I think it is fantastic that these women have been honored on the conference and district level,” said head coach Michael Voss. “These players have done well and posted awesome statistics this year, and I am proud of each one of them for their accomplishments.”

Casey earned her second straight CoSIDA Academic All-District award and will hope to be named to the All-America Team as she was in 2010 (Third Team).

She also earned her third straight All-MCC award.

Casey was the controlling force in Grace’s defense this year, often marking and shutting down the opponent’s strongest forward. Grace’s defense to date this year has earned six shutouts while aver-aging one goal against per game.

Heuss was honored by CoSI-DA for the first time in her career. It is her second All-MCC award, however, after winning it in her first year in 2009.

Heuss has tallied 12 goals this season, including seven since the start of the MCC season. Overall, she has 30 goals in her three-year career which is fifth for Grace all-time.

Evans was named the premier midfielder in the MCC after or-chestrating Grace’s offense. The junior has recorded four goals and eight assists so far in 2011.

She earned her second straight All-MCC award as well. Her 17 career assists are fourth in Grace’s record books.

Barnhill’s award is a first for her career. The sophomore goal-keeper was the only goalkeeper to be named All-MCC after record-ing 108 saves in 19 games. Barnhill boasts a 1.07 goals against average per game.

“We know as a program that behind these four players are a host of other women that make it possible to catapult these four forward into the spotlight,” Voss continued. “We all share the ex-citement of this honor together as a team.”

Four Lady Lancers Honored by CoSIDA, MCCby JOSH NEUHART

Sports Information

Heuss (center) and Casey (far right) have impacted the Lady Lancer’s program while deepening their fr iendship.


SPORTSKNOW YOUR

- Sports Information

86 the minute the women’s soccer team was winning at 1-0 before falling 2-1 to Mount Vernon Univer-sity in the MCC Semifi-nals on Nov. 5.

63 the percentage the men’s basketball team shot from the field in the second half against UC Clermont on Nov. 5.

NU

MB

ER

S

182 the number of miles to Cedarville University, where the cross country NCCAA Championship will be held Saturday.

GUESS WHAT

Men’s and Women’s Basketball will each play in the KCCF Tournament, which Gerace will host this weekend.

Randy Sterk and Dan Ng, cross country, were both named to the ALL -MCC team on Nov. 5.

Jacob Peattie, men’s basketball, dunked twice within the first 15 seconds of Grace’s game against UC Clermont on Nov. 5.

- Sports Information

18 the rank of Taylor University, who defeated the men’s soccer team in the MCC Semifinals on Nov. 5.

Elizabeth Huess, women’s soccer, was named the NCCAA Student-Athlete of the week on Nov. 2.

Player of the WeekJacob Peatt ie, Men’s Basketball Ng, Sterk Earn All-MCC Honors at Conference Meet

This week in Lancer Athletics...Senior guard Jacob Peatt ie earns

Player of the Week Honors aft er posting his second-sraight 20+ point performance against UC Clermont in the Lancer’s Home-coming game.

In addition to 23 points, Peatt ie had two rebounds, two assists, and fi ve steals.

Peatt ie now leads the Lancers in scoring with 22 points per game and is third in NAIA Division II with 4.5 steals per game.

GOSHEN, Ind. – As they have for much of the season, Randy Sterk and Daniel Ng led Grace’s cross country team on Saturday at the Mid-Central College Conference Meet.

Both Sterk and Ng fi nished in personal bests. Sterk ended with a 13th-place fi nish in 26:07, and Ng’s time of 26:11 was good enough for 14th place. As a result, the duo was named to the All-MCC Team.

Th e men fi nished in sixth place in the meet as a number of runners turned in PR times. Jonathan Rex (45th), Richie Cornett (66th) and Sean Smith (73rd) each had a personal record to help the Lancers to one of their best MCC fi nishes in recent memory.

“Our guys ran about as well as they could. I believe sixth place is the best fi nish for Grace in at least 7-8 years. We had several personal records and everyone competed at a high level,” said head coach Jeff Raymond. “I’m thrilled for Randy [Sterk] and Dan [Ng] that they earned All-MCC honors, as they worked very hard over the past four years to be in this position.”

-Sports Information

As the season comes to a close, the Lady Lancers volley-ball team continues to impress.

With a regular season re-cord of 26-9, the team has im-proved greatly from last year’s 17-17 record, and even more from their 9-25 team in 2009. Th e team has been through a huge change in just four years since Andria Harshman be-came the head coach.

When Harshman came to Grace, her team consisted of two seniors, no juniors, two sophomores and nine fresh-men. Th at team went 3-15. Yet Harshman did not lose faith. Harshman said that she knew this group of freshmen, now se-niors, had the tools to be great.

Th e freshman class had been coached well, but they were not ready for the college level. Th e freshman that played that year had to be on the court right away. Th ey did not have a lot of time to prepare them-selves because they started out at the varsity level.

“Most freshmen aren’t ready for the college level. Th ey get a chance to learn under up-perclassmen and don’t have to be impact players right away,” Harshman explained. “We lost a lot of games, but at the same time, sometimes losing teaches you if you stay through the fi re.”

When comparing the 2008 and 2011 teams, most of the players are the same, but the teams are worlds apart. Five of the original nine freshmen stayed with Harshman’s pro-gram and played through this year. Th e other four dropped off due to school or work. Harsh-man understood that would happen, but is pleased with the fi ve that stayed though. Th eir growth is undeniable and Harshman credits them.

“Th e ones that are left en-dured it. Th ey saw the total change of a program. I pushed them and I coached them, but they are the ones who did it,” said Harshman.

Aft er the accident with Mallori Kastner that happened last year, nothing was the same. Aft er seeing the team go through so much, Harshman said it was b eau -

tiful to see them rally back this year. Everything this team had gone through was fi nally pay-ing off .

Th e team has been led by their senior core. Outside hit-ter Stephanie Lawson is at the top of the MCC with 45 aces the season. She is also fi rst on the team in kills with 367, av-eraging 3.1 per set, which is good for fourth in the confer-ence. Sett er Rachel Bult leads the team with 1,287 assists, av-eraging over ten per game. She is ranked fi ft h in the NAIA this year and is second on Grace’s all-time assists leaders. Other seniors Bethany Michalski, En-rica Verrett , and Andrea Knight have also made signifi cant con-tributions.

2011 was exactly what Harshman expected, and even more. Th e volleyball team beat the teams they should have, a n d p layed

poorly in only a couple they should have won. Harshman believes the team is prepared for the post-season. Th e Lady Lancers have set their sights on the MCC championship, which is on Saturday.

It is safe to say that the volleyball team would not be where it is without its seniors. Harshman compared the sen-ior’s growth to a fl ower gett ing pruned.

“Growth requires pruning, and sometimes the pruning process hurts when you pluck a few thorns, but it turns out to be a beautiful rose. Th at’s what happened,” Harshman explained.

Perhaps pruning is an un-derstatement to describe the

transformation these seniors have gone t h r o u g h these past

four years.

Seniors Lead Volleyball to the TopTeam’s continued success a result of dedication

by CHRIS TULLEY

Sports Writer

Seniors fr om left to right: Rachel Bult, Andrea Knight, Bethany Michalski, Stephanie Lawson, and Enrica Verrett

the sounding board | november 10, 2011

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