The Collegian News from the campus of Oakland City University

Winter 2014 www.oak.edu Volume 66, Number 3

Enter to Learn . . . Go Forth to Serve

Sponsors of The Collegian

We would like to thank the following sponsors for donating to our campus newspaper.

Brian and Jamie Baker Emily Taylor Julie Hensley

Caleb Fendrich Julie Brewster Teresa Hibbs

David and Megan Depoister Cheryl Yates

David and Heather Hose Nickolas John Marc Grimes Heather Smith

Kimberly Dudley Fletcher Boyd

Stanley Coy

To be a sponsor of The Collegian, contact Heather Smith at smith-heather@myocu.oak.edu for details.

By Jason Moore Guest Writer

When it rains in the desert, the

sand turns to mud. Christmas day, 2004. 1000 hours.

The mud was not an initial problem that morning. Unlike infantry, our MP squad did zero foot-patrolling. Death before dismount, I had heard Staff Sgt. Cherry say back in Germa-ny. Abu-Ghraib was a hundred miles and three hours behind us.

The three muddy Humvees were our life-line. The down side—when we worked, we were always outside the wire and IEDs were set primarily for vehicles.

Ahead, a familiar form began to emerge on the horizon. T. J. pointed with her chin and said, “There it is.”

I felt fortunate to have T. J. as our driver. She was pleasant and easy on the eyes. I rode shotgun. Seated behind us was Sharpe who manned the turret gun.

Our Humvee was in the middle of a squad of three vehicles. T.J. turned the wheel a bit too hard in order to follow the lead Humvee into Camp Cuervo. I felt my empty stomach lurch. Sharpe shifted his feet on the turret platform and laughed. He shouted down at us.

“Women drivers!” Once inside the wire we dis-

mounted. The gripping mud made a sucking sound each time I extracted my boot. I looked back at T. J. and Sharpe. “Be careful,” I said. “Don’t slip in this stuff.”

Our squad had been patrol-ling the MSRs for what seemed like hours. Despite the mud, it felt good to be out of the Humvees. Nine wea-ry, desolate faces stared out from under our Kevlars as we walked and stretched tired muscles. In a country where it hardly ever rains, fate had singled us out to be the butt of some twisted mud-sodden joke on Christ-mas Day.

Most of us removed our helmets and body armor. The PX, half the size of the Dollar General Store back home in Indiana, served our lunch. I came out of the little PX shack and looked at the food cupped in my hands. I spoke to no one in particular.

“Potato chips and Red Bull. What kind of Christmas is this?”

notions to brighten my mood. Back home, Americans were lounging in clean quiet houses. Couples held hands. Children ran and shouted like happy banshees. Living rooms hosted giant Christmas trees; succulent turkeys waited to be con-sumed, and football games played on giant screen televisions.

As our patrol moved out again, what little of the chips I had scarfed down burned in my belly, and the Red Bull left me slightly wired.

The arrival back from where we had started from that morning seemed anticlimactic.

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Christmas in Iraqi 2004 Continued from Page 1

I was so exhausted, I didn’t even care anymore about the mud or having a decent Christmas. We were safe and back at our temporary home. That was enough of a Christmas pre-sent.

We cleared out weapons at the clearing barrel. Mac and I led a slow walk to the chow hall. We carried our helmets but wore our armor. Being at a forward operating base, we could neglect to clean our boots, muddy as they were.

We were almost to chow when the sound of Christmas music began to float around us. Mac gave me a “What’s this” look.

Inside the chow hall, lights had been dimmed. A few Christmas wreaths and other ornaments hung on walls and a brightly glowing Christ-mas tree sat at the front of the room. The aroma of turkey and dressing filled the air.

Perhaps it was from being on patrol all day—being so wet and clammy from the rain and mud—but the chow hall was like a whole other world. First Sergeants, Sergeant Majors, Command Sergeant Majors, and upper level officers were decked out in dress blues and, with great care and dignity, were quietly serving the unkempt soldiers who had just come out of the field. Not only was it quiet in there, it was peaceful, calm. It was Christmas.

I looked over at Mac. He had turned his head away. When he turned back, there were tears in his eyes.

I spoke to him in a choked-up voice.

Not even Casiano, our often sarcas-tic staff sergeant offered a response.

Mac—Patrick McStravick—had kept his Kevlar on and water now came off the helmet in steady drips. He leaned against the Humvee as if he were back on the block. His head bobbed as he ate his chips. He talked with his mouth full. “Yeah, we used to patrol back home in Boston on Christmas. Can’t wait to do it again.”

Mac was the Charlie Team Leader, a Southie resident, a real comedian type, always able to keep morale high. Pretty amazing when you consider this was from a guy who was past his ETS date and under the iron fist of stop-loss, essentially working overtime for Uncle Sam. Of course, we were all in bad moods, working on Christmas Day, with the possible “bonus” of being injured or killed by the enemy.

The rain soon turned my chips mushy. I wasn’t very hungry any-way. I wadded up half a sack full of the disgusting mess and threw it into a green trash barrel. Mac ran over and dug the sack out and ex-plained,

“Waste not, Want not.” “Whatever dude,” I said. The Humvees waited like patient

horses. Staff Sgt. Casiano climbed into the lead vehicle and put a hand mic to his ear. Then he spoke out an order that lacked much conviction.

“Let’s go.” The cloth of a Kevlar helmet soaks

up water in a rain, making the in-side chilled when placed back on and leaving the chin-strap wet and uncomfortable. Same with our body armor. Several troops, as they strug-gled back into their gear, let out an audible groan under the renewed weight and chill.

We mounted up. Christmas or not, we went back to patrolling.

Mud now reigned inside the Humvee. We tracked mud every time we moved our feet on the front seat floor. Sharpe had taken the gunner position again, his feet behind us and at waist level. As he nervously tapped and moved his muddy boots on the turret platform, more muck flew everywhere, eventually smear-ing the inside of our vehicle.

Empty landscape rolled by the window, inspiring dark thoughts. I could not come up with any good

Christmas in Iraq 2004

Left to right: SSG Philip Casiano (3rd Sqd Ldr), SGT Patrick McStravick (C Tm Ldr), & SGT Jason Moore (B Tm Ldr) Photo taken in March, 2005. Our year in Iraq had ended, and we were waiting for the buses and birds to take us back to Germany.

Major General A.C. Roper honored at Founders’ Day

By Tyler “Trent” Rust Staff Writer

Maj. Gen. A.C. Roper re-

ceived an honorary doctorate of divinity at Oakland City Uni-versity’s Founders’ Day ceremony on Friday, Nov. 7. The celebration of the university’s 129th anniver-sary was held at the Johnson Health and Physical Education Center.

Maj. Gen. Roper has accom-plished much in his time. He proudly holds the titles of major general, chief, doctor, reverend and probably some other I don’t remember. He has served in command and staff assign-ments during a career spanning 32 years: Acting Deputy Command-ing General of the 335tth Signal Command (Theater), Commander of the 415th CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radio-logical, Nuclear) Brigade, Task Force Operations Commander and many others. As a colonel, he served as the chief of staff of the 87th Army reserve Support Command East.

Maj. Gen. Roper delivered a pow-erful speech about leadership before accepting the honorary doctor-ate. He talked about the correlation between service and leadership. He was speaking of Christian lead-ership when he described the heart of a servant, while at the same time, being a leader to others. Maj. Gen. Roper has had much experience and is very capable of speaking on the topic of leadership when you consid-er all the fields in which he has taken charge.

The ceremony began with a prel-ude performed by Ms. Carolyn Spit-ler. This was followed by the facul-ty processional. Next, the audience rose for the National An-them sung by Chris Cook. After-wards, OCU’s president Dr. Ray Barber officially welcomed the crowd to the ceremony. He gave general information regarding the University, including the philoso-phy and mission of the school and how it was founded. This was fol-lowed by Dr. Thomas Walls’ read-ing of the scripture and invocation.

Following prayer, the Univer-sity Choir performed “The Lord’s Prayer” by Albert Hay Malotte and arranged by Janet Klevberg Day. Maj. Gen. Roper then delivered his speech and accepted his honorary doctorate. The choir joined in as the audience heartily sang OCU’s “Alma Mater.” Rev. Marc Grimes, gave the benediction. The choir closed the ceremony with “May You Go Forth in Love,” which was based on a canon by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and arranged by Donald Moore. Spitler played the recession-al, “Hornpipe,” by Handel.

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Major General A. C. Roper

Continued from Page 1

The Founders’ Day event has

some traditions that have endured over the years. One of the traditions is the bearing of the Oakland City University Mace, which symbolizes the authority of the academic community to grant de-grees. It is wielded at the beginning of all academic processions of the faculty by the Grand Marshal of the University. At this particular event, that honor went to Dr. Ronald Mercer.

Faculty regalia has a centu-ries-long history. Back in medieval Europe, all the townspeople wore long flowing robes and gowns, with different materials and colors signify-

Captain Jason Moore on Veteran's Day, Nov. 11, 2014.

Page 2 The Collegian Winter 2014

The Collegian Oakland City University

138 N. Lucretia Street Oakland City, IN 47660

www.oak@edu

Staff

Heather Smith: Editor Kimberly Dudley: Assistant Editor

Fletcher Boyd: Staff Writer Tyler “Trent” Rust: Staff Writer Jessica Eberhardt : Staff Writer

Maria Cottier: Staff Writer Tristan Nagelkirk: Staff Writer

Stan Coy: Senior Editor

Photo by Jerrica Hape

“Merry Christmas, Mac.”

Editor’s Note: Jason is currently a Captain in the Indiana National Guard and a MDIV student at OCU, studying to become an Army Chap-lain.

ing the wealth and rank of each indi-vidual. Although this was governed by royal decree back then, it gradu-ally changed into a practice in a vari-ety of professions, trades and guilds.

The gowns at the ceremony have a significance according to the level of education the wearer has. Holders of bachelor’s degrees wore black robes and caps. Unique to the bachelor’s robes are the long pointed sleeves. Meanwhile, a master’s gown has closed sleeves with slits in them to serve as armholes. Fur-thermore, doctor’s gowns have bell-shaped sleeves and trimmings, which are exclusive to doctor’s

gowns. Bachelor’s degree hoods are the

shortest. Master’s hoods are 3 1/2 feet long, closed ended, and have no side panels, and doctor’s hoods are 4 feet long with side panels. The in-side lining of all hoods contains the color of the subject field of the degree-holder. For instance, the hood lining of those who hold a degree in the subject field of theology and divinity is scarlet. The President’s regalia is decorated with a black velvet panel and four chevrons on the sleeves representing the office of presidency. Scarlet pip-ing and hood symbolize the Doctor

of Ministry degree. The hood is lined with gold and black, which repre-sents Asbury Theological Seminary, this specific president’s alma mater. Finally, the President’s Me-dallion was worn around the neck, indicating the historical develop-ment of the institution since its establishment. The name and date of every President’s term at the Univer-sity is inscribed on each link of the chain of the medallion wore by the President.

Dr. Robert Yeager and Dr. Jeffrey McNabb look on as Maj. Gen. A.C. Roper receives an honorary doctorate from Dr. Ray Barber.

The University Choir prepares to perform at the Founders’ Day ceremo-ny.

Dr. Ray Barber (left) and Dr. Robert Yeager (right) pose with Maj. Gen. A.C. Roper during the Founders’ Day ceremony.

OCU Honored as Military Friendly School for

2015 Victory Media, the premier media

entity for military personnel transi-tioning into civilian life, has named Oakland City University to the coveted Military Friendly Schools® list. The 201 Military Friendly Schools® list honors the top 20 percent of colleges, universi-ties and trade schools in the country that are doing the most to embrace America’s military service members, veterans, and spouses as students and ensure their success on campus.

Paintings Drawings Collages

Dr. Donna Ha-zelwood

Gallery hours: Fri. — Sat. 10:00 am —

5:00 pm; or by appointment

812.682.3799

wiglena@att.net

Just a Few Moments to Contemplate Red

Capturing life: Kelly Parrish, photographer

By Kimberly Dudley Assis-tant Editor

Many students recognize her as the

sweet, petite, speech teacher here at OCU. Her soft-spoken and always-smiling demeanor is typical of Dr. Roxanne Mills, and this makes her one of OCU’s hidden gems.

A native of Oakland City, Ind., Mills graduated from OCU with a bachelor’s degree in English. She attended Indiana University and obtained her master’s degree in Eng-lish education. Finally, Mills re-ceived her doctoral degree from OCU in Educational Leader-ship- curriculum and instruction track.

Mills has been with OCU a total of 29 years. She started full time in Student Support Services and became an advisor in the Talent Search program (Directions) for 16 years. Mills is currently an Associate Pro-fessor of English at OCU.

Mills teaches 12 different classes that include three courses that rotate topics every other semester. In addi-tion to fundamentals of speech and freshman composition, Mills teaches mass media, history of the English Language, African American Litera-ture, advanced speech and technical and professional writing, to name a few. Studies in composi-tion: Beginning a Novel and Studies in Composition: Beginning a Screenplay are Mills’ favorite classes to teach. The class resonates with her creative side, and Mills enjoys watching her students’ work take on a life of its own.

Mills brings unique teaching styles to her classes and implements real-world situations into her lesson plans. This semester, Mills’ Professional and Technical Writ-ing class spends one day a week in lecture, the second in the computer lab applying the lecture, and the last day in the online classroom. Students collaborate through Google Docs, email and the online classroom, al-lowing the class to get a feel of what

communicating via email and online in the work place will look like.

Mills has written a number of arti-cles for professional journals, and has plans to continue to do so, but creative writing is her passion. “I love to write. When I retire someday, I’d like to write a lot more and take up painting and drawing again,” Mills said.

Perhaps Dr. Mills is widely known for her positively adorable relation-ship with Dr. Randy Mills, her hus-band of 27 years. You often can find them in Holy Grounds grabbing a cup of coffee together, or him carry-ing her bag to her next class. They also have had the opportunity to spend time together collaborating on various publications including their novel, Unexpected Journey. The novel is an account of an U.S. Marine Corp Reserve battalion from Evansville, Ind., during the Korean War.

Elizabeth Dudley, a former psy-chology major at OCU, spoke with Mills about her struggle to change majors. “She is a very helpful person, even though I am not officially her advisee, or even in her department, she helped me choose a path in which I am much happier. I cannot think of anyone that is more caring about the students on this campus,” Dudley said. Dudley is now majoring in early childhood education.

Whatever the situation, Mills is always eager to help OCU students succeed. Whether it is advising her own students or helping others, Mills always offers that extra effort that makes OCU a unique campus.

By Heather R. Smith Editor

Most have heard the old adage,

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” The chipped paint and rusty bolts of the International L-170 series truck in the photograph seem to whisper, “Yeah, it was a rough run, but, man, it was worth it.” The photo-graph happens to be a Kelly Parrish original. Antiquated, ex-tremely rusty cars and trucks are Parrish’s favorite photographic sub-jects.

Parrish earned a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from Oakland City University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Indiana State University. After seven years of teaching experi-ence at the university level, Parrish has returned to OCU as a photog-raphy instructor. “I love the challenge, and I love the rapport with students. They make it interest-ing and keep me coming back,” Par-rish said.

In addition to her photography teaching experi-ence, Parrish owns and operates Par-rish Photography and has recently launched Props Plus Studio in Owensville, Ind.

The “simplistic beauty” of Ansel Adams’ landscape photography and his development of the Zone System to calculate proper exposure earned Adams a spot as Parrish’s favorite photogra-pher.

Parrish advises budding photogra-phers to “Develop your talents and discover what truly excites you….Find a unique style that makes you stand out from all the others.” She also reminds shutterbugs to fo-cus on “composition…composition…composition….”

The photograph of the International L-170 series truck is Kelly Parrish’s favorite.

A creative force: Dr. Roxanne Mills—small but mighty

By Kimberly Dudley Assis-tant Editor

With the arrival of Veterans Day, schools gear up for programs to honor our fallen heroes who have not returned and recognize those who have. We thank our veterans, engage in patriotic songs, fly our American flags proudly from our poles and porches and occasionally experi-ence a parade or two.

Veterans Day has always been an important part of my life. My grand-father, Dale Duzan, was a Purple Heart recipient from World War II. He was one of the few survi-vors when his platoon was caught in a mine field. He carried his best friend, who didn’t make it, out of the combat zone on his back. He lost two fingers and did irreparable damage to his hands, but never spoke a word about his medals. We didn’t even know he was a Purple Heart recipient until after his death. He was of the mindset that you didn’t talk about it, and it would anger him if you asked him about his service. My uncle is also a decorated Opera-tion Storm veteran, as well as several of my cousins. Military pride is something that runs deep in my fami-ly.

night ops were in fact beginning a four-day attack on Baghdad because Sadaam Hussein wouldn’t comply with United Nations regulation in-spectors who were seeking to look into Hussein’s weapons for sensitive materials. They had taken off with loaded weapons. We had watched them, and a few short hours later we were watching those bombs decimate Baghdad.

This is when reality engulfed me like warm candle wax sliding down the edges of a candelabra. This was real. Just a few hours away, bombs were being dropped, people were dying, and I had watched it all, un-knowingly, play out right before my eyes. I even had a hand in it with support activities. I remember the gravity of the situation and how much it impacted my life. I remem-ber thinking that I was now a soldier; what I was doing was important; and, truthfully, I was the most scared I had ever been in my life.

My service opened so many doors for me. I have had a career and returned to school, and the military has been instrumental in accom-plishing that for me. It gave me a voice: work ethic and taught me how to be selfless. For that I am forever grateful.

My father has always been a free-spirited, guitar playing, fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants type of guy with an eclectic group of friends. Little did I know a late night conversation with one of his best friends, a senior chief petty officer with the United States Navy, on New Year’s Eve, Decem-ber 31, 1997, would land me in boot camp three weeks later. I was 17 years old, bored and wanted more out of life than the corn and bean fields the small, rural, town of Oakland, Ill. had to offer. Boy, did I get it.

On January 28, 1998, I was sworn into the Navy and landed at Naval Training Center Great Lakes, Ill. It was the middle of winter, a recruit division commander was screaming in my ear, and I, a strong-willed teen-ager thought, “What have I done?” I endured three months of the coldest, grueling, mentally-exhausting training of my life, but it was the best decision I ever made.

After boot camp, I received my orders, and they couldn’t have been more perfect: Kaneohe, Hawaii. This small town girl was about to embark on an adventure that some people only experience in their dreams. For four years, I lived in a tropical para-dise while traveling and seeing plac-es and meeting people from all walks

of life. From the crystal blue waters of Hawaii to the sweltering heat of the desert, I got to see it all.

I was oblivious to the fact that what I was doing was dangerous. To me, it was just a job. It wasn’t until Op-eration Desert Fox that it became very real for me.

I was an aviation machinist’s mate, which is a fancy term for an airplane engine mechanic. I had many quali-fications, and that allowed me to travel on our planes to different sites throughout our deployments. For six months, our home port was Diego Garcia, B.I.O.T. (British Indian Ocean Territory), which is a small island in the southern part of the Indian Ocean that supports patrol squadrons. For the duration of our six-month deployment, we would work an arduous schedule of 12 on 12 off, every day.

December 15, 1998, was like any other day of deployment. This partic-ular, early morning we had watched the Air Force’s B52 Bombers run night exercises. This struck us as odd because the Air Force rarely did night training operations. The morning of December 16, we were sitting in the coffee mess having breakfast and watching CNN. The bombers we had been watching do

Winter 2014 The Collegian Page 3

From cornfields to pineapple fields: A small-town girl joins the U.S. Navy

Callings By Heather Smith

Editor

VERSE TO PONDER: I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3 (NRSV) My 4-year-old self was too intrigued with the shiny hypodermic needle the nurse was using to be afraid. I bravely watched as she drew blood from my tiny arm. Clutching a bag of medical toys, I finally returned home from the hospital after a bout of pneumococcal disease, eager to pretend I was a medical doctor. My fascina-tion with medicine and other sciences has not waned, but other interests competed for my time and effort as I grew up. Belting out “Three Blind Mice” in the YMCA locker room and bugging my second grade teacher to let me play “Joy to the World” on her keyboard led to grand-mother-mandated piano lessons every Saturday morning. After a few years of playing simple melodies and scales, I was in love with piano and the magic that is music. The desire to learn more about music theory and music min-istry made my selection of a music performance major at Oakland City University relatively uncomplicated. After graduating in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in music performance, I continued

to explore other academic disciplines, including English and communications. Friends and family spoke about their callings to become teachers, nurses, soldiers or parents as though an all-

inclusive instruction manual for their lives had shown up in the mail one day. Since my life purpose was a gray area, I began to feel insecure and even ostracized among those following a definite path.

Then I read Albert Schweitzer’s biography. A scholar of music and theology, Schweitzer was called to study medicine at the age of 30. After finishing his med-

ical studies, Schweitzer and his wife left the security of home and entered the unknown: Africa. Countless patients were cured within the walls of makeshift hospitals in Gabon. Thus, Schweitzer lived only one life on this earth, but he had diverse vocations throughout his rich existence.

The film “Forrest Gump” illustrates the life of an individual who overcame social stereotyping and followed many callings for short periods of time. God is a wonderfully mysterious Being. Why would His callings be any different? As Gump says, life truly is “like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”

Faith Building a church without building a building

Mat Murphy Guest Writer

The clouds are covering the sky,

allowing the last week of July to be a little more enjoyable as I walk through the fair dressed up as a knight. Throughout my OCU education, I told many people that I wanted to be an actor after gradua-tion: someone who could bring joy to people’s lives. Dressed as a mascot at the county fair, I was able to do just that by walking through the midway and paying for kids’ armbands for rides and family dinners for the night.

This is Refuge Church in Cookeville, Tenn. Much effort is going into outreach as we are getting ready for the Oct. 26 launch service. I now work full-time coordinating

outreach efforts for Refuge as it builds a church. Some of our initia-tives include giving out lemonade at fairs, plates of cookies to local busi-nesses, and school supplies to the local teachers. We have done all of this to show God’s love in a practical way. The goal of our church is to provide a safe place for people to find Jesus. It is our hope that God will touch the hearts of the people we have encountered and that they will come experience His love for them-selves.

People have asked, “Where is the church going to be built?” Our an-swer is this: building a new church does not require

building a church building. Begin-ning in October, Refuge will be meeting in the local movie theater for church services. We will set up the

equipment needed to turn the theater into a church every Sunday morning, and after the service is over we will take it down in time for the theater to begin showing their movies at noon. We believe that a church is not made up of four walls and a roof. Rather, a church is a group of people who are radically changed by the Savior’s love and want to change the world as a result. We are building something that will last far longer than any building ever will, and meeting in the local movie theater is a great place for us to start.

I know many of you are as passion-ate as I am in building Christian communities within your community.

If you have any questions or if you want to help Refuge Church by par-ticipating in outreach events, pur-chasing supplies or visiting us at our launch service, please send me an e-mail at m.murphy@foundrefuge.com.

Mat Murphy as Knight

Page 4 The Collegian Winter 2014

To the Lakota in South Da-kota

By Tristan Nagelkirk Staff Writer

In the springtime, Oakland City

University’s FOCUS Missions group will be going to Mission, S.D., to work with Habitat for Humanity for a week. Shayna Misukonis, the student president of FOCUS, com-mented, “Basically, the purpose of going to Mission, S.D., is…to serve where there is need, and there is an obvious need there, and we want to experience a different cul-ture….” The group will leave for the trip the day after graduation.

The precise details of the trip will be set in stone next semester. It is possible that the group will be doing maintenance on build-ings for Habitat for Humanity. In their spare time, the group will visit locations in South Dakota, such as Mount Rushmore. “Basically, we have a list of possibilities, and once we get everybody who is wanting to be involved, involved, we have our mission trip meetings starting next semester,” Misukonis explained.

FOCUS has the mission trip open to anyone who wishes to go. Educa-tion majors are especially encour-aged, as the group will be visiting schools on the Lakota Indian Reservation. The current expected price of the trip ranges from $300 to $350. “It’s probably the cheapest mission trip I’ve ever been on,” Mis-ukonis said. The exact cost of the trip will be determined next semester.

Misukonis is very enthusi-astic about the trip. “My overall goal is to glorify God…. And sometimes praising God means doing the grunt work that nobody really cares about

doing….The work needs to be done, and somebody needs to do it,” she explained. Misukonis is “excited about the work that we are going to do and the things we are going to see,” and she encourages anyone interested in the missions trip to con-tact FOCUS.

Theologs: Giving back and lov-ing through actions

By Jessica Eberhardt Staff Writer Emily Engle Guest Writer

Oakland City University, as we all

know, is a General Baptist-founded affiliated campus. Faith and reli-gion are a large part of many of our lives, and now, our education. It is good to see students putting their faith into action, especially those who dedicate their life fully. There is a club on campus represent-ing these students. Though they may be little-known, they are still working and keeping the club, Theologs, alive. I got input from the club presi-dent, Emily Engle, as to what the club is all about.

“Theologs is the religious studies club that has been a part of campus for many years. We welcome and encourage all religious studies majors to join. Some familiar names from campus you may or may not know are Theologs include Jessika Reitz, Noble Boger, Nick Bauer, Roman Lambert, and Robert Fellows.” Engle put plainly the overall goal of the club, saying,

“Our hope and goal is always to be giving back to the community and showing the love of Christ through our actions.”

“As students who God has called into ministry, it is really important that we are here for each other as well.” Engle said, “Theologs has helped me stay encouraged to contin-ue on in what God is calling me to do. When there are hardships or

bumps in the road, we are there for each other. Theologs is a wonderful forum to share ideas about possible outreach events and get feedback and support.”

Our sponsor, Dr. Mercer, goes above and beyond to help us fulfill what God has placed on our hearts. So far, we have participated in two of the community outreach events on campus. For Trick-the-Halls we had pumpkin pie eating contest, and kids could carve a pumpkins for free. At the homecoming carnival day, the other event, we made a fishing game for the kids that had a spin on Find-ing Nemo. We called our game, "Finding Jesus.” It was a great day to be able show love to the kids.

Engle recalled a special time mem-bers of the Theologs share every year. “My favorite memory from Theologs every year is our retreat. We pick one weekend in the fall to spend a day at a local camp. On that day, we read devotionals prepared specifically for us by our professors, participate in a service project for the camp, worship together and end with our favorite peach pies over a bonfire (Mercer gets credit for teach-ing us how to make these).”

In closing, Emily would like those who are not already involved in the club to receive the following message: “I would like to encourage people to share their ideas with us if you want to help the community and are not sure how to get the ball rolling. We have done shoe drives, delivered free

pizzas to the homes surrounding our campus in need and hope to mentor elementary students in the coming future. We would love to hear your ideas and be a part of sharing Jesus in Oakland City.” You don’t have to be a religious studies major or a member of Theologs to help the community and show love through your actions. We are all encouraged to enact our ideas and to ask for help.

First General Baptist Church 224 W Harrison St., Oakland City, IN

(812) 749-3724

Sunday School – 9:30 a.m.

Morning Worship –10:30 a.m.

Choir Practice & Bible Study – Wednesdays 7 p.m. The church family wishes you a merry Christmas, a happy New Year, and a blessing on your semester. We would like to invite you to attend with our church family.

Around Campus

By Jessica Eberhardt Staff Writer

This summer, Beau Crabtree, a

senior history major at OCU, had the opportunity to intern at the George Rogers Clark Memorial in downtown Vincennes, generally assisting pa-trons of the memorial.

“As far as enriching my major, [the internship] got me to research and apply that knowledge to the job, sort of ‘realistic application’ outside of papers and projects for school,” Crabtree said.

Crabtree chose this intern-ship when he was looking for a part-time summer job and heard of an opening. “Although a paid job would have been beneficial at the time, I feel like an internship is something that is more valuable for the long run.”

Crabtree shared a few fun facts and amusing stories about his summer at the memorial.

Fun Fact #1: George Rogers

Clark and his “posse” were all hunters. They were all able to stay right outside the range of their enemies’ muskets with their (more powerful) hunting rifles, and that’s how they were able to cap-ture Vincennes.

Crabtree was able to shoot some of those expensive rifles, and the funny thing was, those at the memorial shot the rifles when a wedding party was a “nigh 100 feet” away. “But that’s how the memorial do,” Crabtree shrugged and high-fived a chuck-ling bystander. Not to worry though, Crabtree quickly added that there were no real bullets involved, merely blanks.

Fun Fact #2: No fewer than five people asked the silly question, “Where is the memorial?”

It is then that the intern gracious-ly pointed out a more than 80-foot-tall memorial building, plainly seen by the naked eye.

Fun Fact #3: The George Rogers Clark Memorial is the largest out-

side memorial in the United States that does not reside in Washington D.C.

The expansive memorial has 33 steps, 16 columns and seven murals. Inside, you will find that if you sit on one side of the room and whisper a message, it will travel along the wall and be heard by anyone sitting on the other end. Another feature inside the memorial is the 8-foot statue of GRC himself.

Most Fun Fact of All: The basement of the memorial serves as a fallout shelter.

Many of these enclosed shelters were constructed during the Cold War to protect against radioactivity and debris. If ever we encounter a similar conflict, we’ll all know where to go!

Crabtree would absolutely do this internship again, and, “If anyone would like to visit the memorial, it is open 9-5 every day, and admission is free. Tada!”

A Beaudacious internship

George Rogers Clark Memorial in downtown Vincennes, Ind.

Crabtree holding down the fort at the George Rogers Clark Me-morial.

By Jessica Eberhardt and Fletcher Boyd Staff

Writers In our previous issue, we asked

freshmen what they thought of what had taken place in their first semester here at Oakland City. The variety of answers seemed to hold only one thing in common: the college experience is drasti-cally different from high school. We thought that seniors, who have attended college for a while, might have something different to say about their college experience. They might, as well, have a few tips and tricks for those who still see gradua-tion a long way off.

What drew you to Oakland City? “I was recommended to come here

by a former piano teacher. I came here and took a campus tour, and decided to attend.” –Chris Hortin, Bachelor of Arts in Music

“Baseball; got recruited.” –Cody Sparks, Sports Admin-istration Major

“God… He kinda just made it hap-pen.” –April Scott, Secondary Math Education and Church Music Majors

What are you looking forward to most after graduation?

“More school!” –Colby Laxton, Social Science: History Major

“Helping others (especially young people) to better themselves and realize their self worth – hoping to obtain a career in juvenile deten-tion.” –Cecilia Olinger, Business Administration Major with

Criminal Justice Concen-tration

“Money.” –Logan Eberhardt, Busi-ness Major

What has surprised you the most in your college experience?

“My growth in self-confidence and musical ability.” –Chris Hortin, Bachelor of Arts in Music

“How much stress is involved with college. Though I admit, it’s been worth it.” –April Scott, Secondary Math Education and Church Music Majors

“I have surprised myself. When I thought I couldn’t do something, it turns out, I could do it.” –Colby Lax-ton, Social Science: History Major

Do you have any words of advice for underclassmen?

“Don’t procrastinate. Learn to split your time between school and sports.” –José Ruiz, Business Admin-istration Major

“Just keep your eyes focused on God. He works everything out in the end. Stress seems crazy in the mo-ment, but college is not the end, only the means to get there.” –April Scott, Secondary Math Educa-tion and Church Music Majors

“Take as many classes as possible to finish in four years instead of five.” –Cody Sparks, Sports Admin-istration Major

“Your experiences are what you make of them.” –Michael Wilson, Social Sciences Major

“Don’t let big assignments or in-timidating teachers get you down. You may just surprise yourself.” –

Winter 2014 The Collegian Page 5

Seniors looking back Colby Laxton, Social Science: History Major

There you have it, folks. This is the last word from those who are on their way out of the college life and into the working world. Their experiences here have shaped them into who they are, and they will con-tinue to shape themselves long after they are gone from Oakland City. For those students who still have a few years left, maybe in the future you’ll look back at your life at this school and realize that you have been affect-ed just as much as these seniors have been.

Choir Christmas extravaganza By Fletcher Boyd Staff

Writer

Christmas is right around the cor-ner, and while the Thanksgiving turkey might disagree, everyone knows which holiday the majority of us are looking forward to most. Choir director Mrs. Cynthia Retana will certainly be hard at work preparing for the choir Christmas concert, which is held every year.

Retana has been directing the Oak-land City choir for 10 years, and she has been singing in choirs since she was 5 years old. After singing in high school and college choirs, she went on to direct the Oakland City College choir back in the 1990s.

Around Christmastime, the OCU choir holds their final for the choir class, which is a concert. Histori-cally, this concert has been very popular; so much so, in fact, that four years ago, it was decided that the crowds were so huge, the choir would hold two concerts. The first is a private dress rehearsal, open to faculty, staff and students, so as to prevent overcrowding of the auditorium during the second con-cert, which is open to the public. This first concert is referred to as the “Preview Concert,” which is not publicly advertised and much more informal. “We don’t wear fancy out-fits. We wear our favorite Christmas sweaters,” Retana said. The actual Christmas concert, however, that is open to the public, is a bigger ordeal. “It has a serious, meaningful side, but it’s also the whimsical anticipation of Santa, kind of all rolled up into one evening.”

The choir sings a variety of music in both concerts, with songs that appeal to both the older and younger generations. In addition, they sing secular and sacred selections as well as the traditional and non-traditional. The full choir of students, consisting of 31 voices this semester, will sing a range of seven different songs, plus some smaller choral ensembles and a clarinet trio. “We have a fairly wide variety of music. We do everything from ‘Up on the Housetop’ to ‘O Magnum Mysteri-um’,” Retana explained. Included this year is something that rarely happens during the Christmas con-cert, and that is ensembles that are student-directed. One of these en-sembles is the clarinet trio, which is being directed by a music major in Retana’s Basic Conducting class. The other, also a music major, has arranged two a cappella Christmas carols for the concert.

The two concerts themselves will be in the first week of December, at the Recital Hall in Cornwell-Reed. The public Christmas concert will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4. However, all faculty, staff, and stu-dents are cordially invited to “dress up in their fa-vorite silly looking Christmas sweater,” as Retana put it, and come to the Preview Concert on Dec. 2, also at 7 p.m., for no admission charge.

For those of you who are looking into joining the OCU choir, there are two very simple ways to go about it; one way is to register for choir as a one-credit-hour course when register-ing for any other classes for the se-mester, and the other is to simply stop by Retana’s office in downstairs Cornwell-Reed or to show up at choir practice in the Cornwell-Reed Recital Hall. “I do want to encourage any-body in any major to consider join-ing choir… I have always want-ed choir to be a reflection of the entire campus population, rather than just one small area, and so I encourage any-body… to come join us,” Retana said. Even those with no musical background or experience are wel-come, and, in fact, encouraged, to join the university choir.

Can you find this photo? The Collegian is getting students out and about on campus. Every issue, The Collegian is going to take a photo of an object that is located on the OCU campus. The first person to identify the photograph via private message on The Collegian Facebook page will win a fantastic gift certificate from the OCU Bookstore. Happy hunting!

Bookstore 

Located in the Student Life Center, Room #212   

Mighty Oaks Apparel & Gear Gifts & Fashion Books & Supplies Drinks & Snacks 

Open Mon-Fri 9am-3pm 

Closed Wednesdays 11am-12pm for Chapel

Bookstore Coupon

Buy one snack item, get your drink half price. Expires January 30, 2015

Students who are interested in Movies, TV, Anime, Arts, Comics, Games, Literature or any other art forms are encouraged to check out The Artifice: http://www.the-artifice.com. The Artifice is an online magazine that covers a wide spectrum of art forms. The site is a collaborative effort of indi-vidual articles written by undergraduates, graduates, to emeritus professors, and a little bit in between, to share articles on a wide variety of topics. “The Artifice is collaboratively built and maintained by your fellow writers. It is structured to let you focus on the quality of the content while it deals with the exposure of it to an audience of millions.”

Tintinnabulation coming soon to OCU

While hurrying to class, OCU students and faculty may catch a glimpse of the early signs of construction where Brengle Hall once stood. A 65-foot bell tower will stand sentinel over OCU’s Main Campus in the near future.

Robert Fellows, RA: Here to help OCU resi-dents

By Tristan Nagelkirk Staff Writer

Robert Fellows is a reli-

gious studies major who has been attending Oakland City University since 2013. He graduated in 2011 from ITT Technical Institute with an associate degree in criminal justice, and applied to OCU in the following year. He started as a commuter at OCU before moving into Dearing Hall. “I wanted to be a part of life here on campus,” Fellows explained. Most important to Fellows is being “a good witness” and sharing his faith and the impact of Christ in his life with the other stu-dents.

In the fall of 2013, Fellows applied to be a resident assistant of Dearing Hall. Fellows applied for the position because he felt he “could make an impact . . . with the residents and the other students here on campus.” Fellows found he was able to relate to the students quite well. Being older than many other students, he has often already experienced anything the students are going through.

Staying calm and taking tension out of difficult situations are important traits for an RA to possess, as well as good time and stress management. Fellows recalled the busy schedule he has as an RA, bal-ancing his duties with life outside of college and his work as a student. “Good sense of humor helps,” Fel-

lows said with a smile. Fellows is responsible as an RA for

Dearing Hall and for the residents living there. He reinforces the rules of the campus and deals with personal problems, such as disagree-ments and broken rules. In the case of problems with the building, he is responsible to fill out a report to the maintenance office. “We’re there to keep an eye on the building, and to be there for the residents,” Fellows said.

For anyone considering becom-ing an RA, Fellows gave the follow-ing words of wisdom: “Know what you’re going into. It’s not a cake-walk. Realize that you are responsi-ble for the residents; you are respon-sible for the dorm. You’re also responsible for your own con-duct.” As a final note, Fellows added, “If you’re grounded in your faith, if you have a relationship with God and with Christ, always use them as your example.”

David Depoister oversees appli-cants for RA positions. If the applicant is a strong can-didate, Depoister will bring them in for an interview. If the interview left a good impres-sion, the applicant is brought in as a part of the team. The job may be time-consuming and stressful, but for Fellows, working with the residents is worth the trouble.

Page 6 The Collegian Winter 2014

Join us at The Collegian

Want to learn about what it takes to be a newspaper reporter? Interest-ed in knowing how a newspaper is laid out? Want to be in the know of what is happening on campus? If you do, we have a place for you on The Collegian. You can either reg-ister for the Campus Practicum (COMM310) next semester or join us as a volunteer. Interested? You can contact your academic advisor or me at scoy@oak.edu. to answer your questions.

The Staff at The Col-legian wishes everyone

a Merry Christmas and a safe return after

the new year.

Page 8 The Collegian Winter 2014

Stephen Black’s art dis-played at The Michael Dunn Gallery

By Tyler “Trent” Rust Staff Writer

Pieces of art created by Stephen

Black were recently displayed in the Dunn Gallery located in the Cornwell-Reed Fine Arts Center. Some of his work showed his fascination with cycles of birth, growth, decay and rebirth. Others showed knowledge of his interest in working with man-made and biological forms. In early September, Mr. Black visited OCU to discuss his work and offered an in-depth explanation for what he was tried to say artistically in a number of his pieces.

Stephen Black is an artist and pro-fessor at Vincennes University. His

class teaching responsibilities include Drawing I, Figure Drawing, Comput-er Art/Design, Graphic Design, Art Appreciation, Portfolio Develop-ment and Assessment. He studied at the University of Iowa where he earned his Master of Arts in print-making in August of 1988, and his Masters of Fine Arts in May of 1989.

Stephen Black discusses his art at his reception in the Michael Dunn Gallery.

Semester Highlights Staff reveal hidden talents to welcome freshmen

By Jessica Eberhardt Staff Writer

Beginning of the semester, classes

have yet to start, freshman are being shuffled from one activity to the next, an entrance test here, confusing papers to sign there, “What’s your major?” is being asked again….and again….and again. It can be hard to feel welcome in a new environment, especially one as time-consuming as college. The uni-versity staff made an extra effort this year to show off their fun-loving side and welcome the freshmen into their new college life.

Holy Grounds, the caffeine, chat, and study hub for many, housed the first annual staff talent show to wel-come in the freshmen and to say, “We know how you feel.” With the small coffee shop packed, an energet-ic MC, Caleb Fendrich (Day job: Director of Admissions), got the crowd warmed up with a few personal anecdotes of college and the relationships that come along with the experience. With the bounce of his heels and excitement in his voice he introduced a wide array of characters.

First up was the Campus Life Band. They surprised the packed room with their office-supply instruments and a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall”. This was followed by a switch from

mugs and trashcans to guitars and drums and some worship songs that each member of the band sung from the heart. (Day jobs: career services and campus life)

Next up, Jorge & Harmony, an eccentric country duo who performed original instrumental songs with surprising talent and sang in honesty about the changing body image Jorge has encountered in his old age with the song, “I Just Don’t Look Good Naked Anymore.” Their performance induced giggles and whispers, and definitely left an impression. (Day jobs: Maintenance and IT departments)

After Jorge & Harmony got the audience’s attention, the largest group got up to perform, un-named, we’ll call them Emily & Players as they were directed by our bookstore’s own Emily Eberhardt and were representative of just about every office on campus. The players performed a skit in-dulging ideas of what they would be, were they not Mighty Oaks.

Last, but most certainly not least, the admissions team performed some Disney favorites reworded to fit the college life. Caleb Fendrich once again took the stage and belted out a Mulan favorite, “Reflection”. He was followed by Abby Winter and Elizabeth Wellinghoff (day jobs: admissions counselors) acting as a future student and a fifth-year

senior singing “In College” (parody of Frozen’s “In Summer”) and the Little Mermaid’s “Part of That World” directed toward the “real world” soon-to-be graduated dream of.

The show ended with a bang, and the over-crowded coffee shop ap-plauded. All of this the staff had done to say to the freshman and returning students, “This is who we are, and we’re here for you.”

Dorm Dish Divine, with Chef Beau Yardee By Fletcher Boyd

Staff Writer

Microwave Strawberry

Fudge Brace yourselves, Little Chefs.

Winter is coming. There are two kinds of people in this world; those who embrace the beauty and cold of winter like a long lost lover, and those who despise it with a burning passion equal to my love for cooking. Do you wonder how I could possibly please both kinds of people with one recipe, Little Chefs? The easy answer is, with wonderful food! The biggest common factor between these two types of people is that they all love to eat delicious dishes!

Your minds will be blown by the simplicity of this next dish, for it only requires two ingredients! What could this amazingly simple dish possibly be, you ask? Well, Little Chefs, this dish is the pink delectability that is strawberry fudge! It only requires these few, common household objects:

A 9x9 inch square cake pan Aluminum foil or parchment paper A suitable vessel of your choice A hungry microwave 1 16oz can of strawberry frosting 1 12oz bag of white chocolate

chips A working refrigerator Once you have gathered these

Rhonda, or perhaps Hurricane Stan, or quite possibly Hurricane Mephi-stopheles.

This step is the simplest, Little Chefs; stir in the pink strawberry frosting, gently folding it into the melted chocolate mixture until you become tired of gently folding and begin to mix the two together with reckless abandon. When this time comes, mix the two together with reckless abandon.

Pour your strawberry-white -chocolatey mixture into the square pan that you so cleverly prepared beforehand with your aluminum foil or parchment paper in step one. Look at you, Little Chefs, with all your brilliant forethought. You make me tear up with pride.

Once you have poured, smooth out the top layer of your to-be fudge until it is as beautifully smooth and perfect as the marble surfaces of ancient Greece. Alternatively, if you are feeling creative, Little Chefs,

you may twist and swirl a design on top of your to-be fudge with brilliance equal to that of Mozart composing his newest symphony.

Allow your fudge to chill in the fridge, with no pun intended, Little Chefs (but if you really must know, the pun was entirely intended).

At this point, Little Chefs, your strawberry fudge is ready to be sliced and eaten at a moment’s notice! Your wintry delight will be sure to satisfy you during these cold months. Until the next time you need a new recipe to satisfy your innermost desires, Little Chefs.

Chef Beau Yardee

things together in the sanctuary that is your kitchen or alternate cooking place, the process of creating these delicious cold fudgy squares can begin!

Line your square cake pan with your aluminum foil or parchment paper. This step is very important, Little Chefs. Treat the layering of protection just as my close personal friend and expert cake decora-tor, Chef Duff Goldman, would for the President’s wedding cake.

Find a suitable vessel of your choice (mayhap the same one you make your microwaveable chocolate cake in?) to fill with white chocolate chips. Carefully place this suita-ble vessel of choice into the center of this microwave, close the microwave door, and steel yourself to begin microwaving the white chocolate chips in 30 second intervals, breaking between the intervals to stir your chocolate until smooth and calm like the eye of a raging Hurricane

Sports Page 10 The Collegian Winter 2014

2014-2015 Men’s Basketball Schedule

Date Opponent Location Time Dec. 6 Ohio University-Lancaster Oakland City, IN 3:00 Dec. 11 Boyce College Louisville, KY 7:00 Dec. 13 Ohio State University-Mansfield Oakland City, IN 3:00 Dec. 17 University of Cincinnati-Clermont Oakland City, IN 7:00 Dec. 18 Austin Peay State University Clarksville, TN 7:00 Jan. 3 Boyce College Oakland City, IN 3:00 Jan. 7 Kentucky Wesleyan College Owensboro, KY 7:30 Jan. 10 Ohio Valley University Oakland City, IN 3:00 Jan. 13 Wright State University-Lake Celina, OH 7:00 Jan. 17 Ohio Mid-Western College Oakland City, IN 3:00 Jan. 20 Miami University-Middletown Oakland City, IN 7:00 Jan. 24 Bluefield College Bluefield, WV 3:00 Jan. 28 Kentucky Wesleyan College Oakland City, IN 7:00 Jan. 31 College of Faith Oakland City, IN 3:00 Feb. 1 College of Faith Oakland City, IN 2:00 Feb. 7 Ohio Valley University Parkersburg, WV 3:00 Feb. 14 Bluefield State College Oakland City, IN 3:00 Feb. 18 University of Cincinnati-Clermont Cincinnati, OH 7:00 Feb. 21 Robert Morris-Peoria Oakland City, IN 3:00 Feb. 24 Robert Morris-Springfield Oakland City, IN 7:00 Feb. 28 Ohio Mid-Western College Oakland City, IN 3:00

2014-2015 Women’s Basketball Schedule

Date Opponent Location Time Nov. 29 Indiana University-Southeast Oakland City, IN 1:00 Dec. 3 University of Ilinois-Springfield Springfield, IL 7:00 Dec. 6 Ohio University-Lancaster Oakland City, IN 1:00 Dec. 9 University of Evansville Evansville, IN 11:00 Dec. 11 St. Catharine College Oakland City, IN 7:00 Dec. 13 Ohio State University-Mansfield Oakland City 1:00 Dec. 15 Kentucky Wesleyan College Owensboro, KY 7:00 Dec. 17 University of Cincinnati-Clermont Oakland City, IN 6:00 Jan. 8 Lindsey Wilson College Columbia, KY 6:00 Jan. 16 Lincoln Christian University Oakland City, IN 7:00 Jan. 17 Ohio Mid-Western College Oakland City, IN 1:00 Jan. 19 St. Joseph’s College Oakland City, IN 7:00 Jan. 24 Bluefield College Bluefield, WV 1:00 Jan. 29 St. Mary of the Woods College Terre Haute, IN 6:00 Jan. 31 St. Catharine College St. Catharine, KY 1:00 Feb. 2 Kentucky Wesleyan College Oakland City, IN 7:00 Feb. 5 Crowley’s Ridge College Oakland City, IN 12:00 Feb. 8 Indiana University-Southeast New Albany, IN 1:00 Feb. 14 Bluefield State College Oakland City, IN 1:00 Feb. 18 St. Mary of the Woods College Oakland City, IN 7:00 Feb. 21 Robert Morris Univ.-Peoria Oakland City, IN 1:00 Feb. 28 Ohio Mid-Western College Oakland City, IN 7:00 TBA NCCAA Midwest Regional TBA TWB

Maria Cottier Staff Writer

Fall 2014 is the last soccer season

for the seniors of the men’s and women’s OCU soccer teams. The following questions were asked of senior soccer players Samantha Parsons, Estefaniz Solorza, Aljosa “Al” Stankovic, Jonathon Stroup, Ashley Lampert, Jason Opel, Nestor Delfin and Michael Wilson, in order to say thank you for the memories and God bless you with your future!

What do you hope to do when you graduate?

-“First thing would most certain-ly be going home, since I haven't been back for more than 3½ years. After that, I would like to find a job in the accounting industry, obtain Certified Public Accountant’s li-cense and play semi-pro or pro soc-cer. Also, I have a passion for coaching soccer, so that would be one of the things I would like to get involved in,” Stankovic said.

-“Leaving Oakland City and travel-ing, then get a job most likely,” Wil-son said.

-“I hope to work in the U.S. for a year at least, and then I’m thinking about getting a master’s degree or finding a job in a different country. I like to travel very much,” Delfin said.

-“When I graduate I hope to get a job in accounting,” Opel said.

-“Go to med school,” Stroup said. -“My majors are human anatomy

biology and environmental biology, with a chemistry minor. After I graduate, I would like to use the knowledge I learned from OCU to work in a lab at a hospital in Michigan. I would also like to get my masters to further my education,” Lampert said.

-“Find a steady job,” Parsons said. -“I hope to get my masters in ma-

rine biology or sign up for Interna-tional Samaritan…another origin of the Peace Corps that is Catholic,” Solorza said.

Did you enjoy OCU soccer? -“I found OCU soccer as a getaway

from the environment of the school. To be honest, it was a big change for me. So playing soccer helped me deal with the transition and to adapt easier,” Wilson said.

-“Yeah! I always have enjoyed playing soccer here at OCU,” Delfin said.

-“Yes, I enjoyed OCU soccer. These four seasons for Mighty Oaks have been amazing. I played with players from all over the world. We had players that spoke different lan-guages, grew up in different coun-tries, but no matter where we were coming from we always found the same language on the field and that's what I really like about OCU,” Stankovic said.

-“I enjoyed OCU soccer. It was a lot of fun and I met some good peo-ple,” Stroup said.

-“Yeah, I love the team and all the guys. We’ve gotten pretty close. All the ups and downs over the course of a season will do that to a team,” Opel said.

-“I enjoyed being a part of the OCU soccer team and meeting some wonderful girls. I am thankful I got the opportunity to continue playing the sport after high school and make many memories. Even though it was difficult sometimes to balance school work and soccer, I don't regret it one bit. It helped me to manage my time and work efficiently. I enjoyed the trips to our away games and espe-cially having a new coach to help our team. I think being in a college sport allows you to make friends that are willing to help you out and be there

for you in times of need. I had a great time all four years and will miss playing,” Lampert said.

-“Yeah, I enjoyed meeting new friends and the opportunities I was given while playing OCU soc-cer,” Parsons said.

- “This last season was stupen-dous by far,” Solorza said.

Do you hope to play soccer some-where when you leave here?

-“Of course, I've been playing this game ever since I was five and it's just part of me, who I am. It would be great to keep playing on a good level and that's what I will be striving for. However, I enjoy playing with my friends as much as playing with footballers, I'm happy as long as a soccer ball is around,” Stankovic said.

-“When I leave I hope to get into coaching a bit if I have free time outside of my career,” Opel said.

-“I will play just recreational most likely,” Wilson said.

-“I thought about it very much. I love soccer and I always will. But some things come first and I now want to focus on my career. I think of myself as a marketing enthusi-ast, so I will develop that part and see where it takes me,” Delfin said.

-“I won’t be playing anymore, this is retirement for me,” Stroup said.

-“I don’t plan to play soccer when I leave, but I hope to coach high school soccer someday,” Parsons said.

-“I would like to join a small club team, but not compete seriously. I am at that point in my life where I want to focus rather on my career,” Lam-pert said.

-“If it leads me to it, then I will play,” Solorza said.

Do you think your educa-tion and soccer experience will be something you will always re-member?

-“The opportunities given to me by the university and playing soccer and the classes taught me something I will always remember,” Parsons said.

-“My education and soccer experi-ence will always be something I will remember because I plan on keeping in touch with some of the people I have met. I will probably talk about our soccer seasons even when I'm old because I had such a wonderful time and was so blessed to be given the opportunity. I will always remem-ber that all the hard work and study-ing truly pays off in the end. I will remember these experiences because they will be the first step to my ultimate goal of finding a career that I love and enjoy,” Lampert said.

-“I definitely will always remem-ber OCU, it’s taught me real life lessons,” Solorza said.

-“Yes, I will always re-member my experience. Especially soccer because, with this sport, you learn so many skills that can be used outside in the real world. I will al-ways appreciate my education here. I am the first of my family that has traveled overseas in search of a col-lege education and I am very thank-ful to this school for giving me that opportunity,” Delfin said.

-“I’m sure I will always remem-ber my experience here. Some for positive and negative reasons. It was-n’t all I had hoped for in a college experience, but you remember what you make of it,” Wilson said.

-“The education is memora-ble because it’s helping me build a future career. But the season will always be something I definite-ly remember. As one of the older guys on the team, you learn to appre-ciate all the practices, games, and time off the field hanging out with

the team. Soccer has given me some of the best and worst memories. It’s a sport that can give you everything in one second and take it away the next. It’s a funny game, really. Noth-ing is guaranteed. But that’s why we love it so much,” Opel said.

- “I definitely won’t forget it be-cause of the people I’ve met,” Stroup said.

-“Yes, I will remember it. I really appreciate everything this university did for me and I'm looking forward to the days when I will be able to give back. First reason would most certainly be that I have never been closer to Jesus Christ because of the environment on campus, staff and students who are living and acting like true Christians and I'm able to follow their examples. Second reason would be the fact that I was able to be involved in many things and be successful at every one of those. For example, my senior year I'm taking classes, playing soccer, doing an accounting internship at Toyota and I'm Resident Director at Jordan Hall. Overall, Oakland City really pre-pared me for the years that are com-ing and that's what I'll remember,” Stankovic said.

Oakland City University greatly appreciates all the hard work the players put into their athletic careers and would like to thank the seniors of the OCU men’s and women’s soccer teams. We wish you all the happiness in your years to come after you grad-uate Oakland City University.

A senior soccer farewell

Men’s Basketball-2014-15

Front row, L-R: Manager Todd Glickfield, JP Hevia, Alex Wittmer, Joe Hinton, Lawrence Kinney, Jordan Simmons, Tommie Bell, Manager Kody Sloan Back Row, L-R: Assistant Coach Charles Brauser, Grant Byrne, Leo Vrkas, Jonathan Sulak, Brandon Morton, Head Coach Dr. Mike Sandifar, Byron Dulin, Ryan Helfert, Trevor Smith, Matt Lucas, Assistant Coach Mikel Breeden

Women’s Volleyball-2014 L-R: Cori Cummings, Kayla White, Bre Jones, Taylor Hayne, Tya Harmon, Bethany Hyndman, Kaebra Pledger, Ellen Williamson, Haley Taylor, Christina Zeigler, Kiersten Atkinson

Winter 2014 The Collegian Page 11

Fall-Winter sport’s teams When I was a little girl, the com-

mute from Odon, Ind., to a Christian school I attended in Washington, Ind., allowed plenty of time to listen to Christmas music. I remember sit-ting in the back seat of a clunky, brown Oldsmobile 88 listening to my favorite cassette which featured the velvety voices of Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole and Dean Martin. So much has changed in my life since those idyllic years of child-hood. When I hear those yuletide tunes, I am thankful for the gift of memories. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! — Heather R. Smith

Christmas is, by far, my favorite time of year. Not only do I enjoy Christmas Eve’s midnight worship, but I enjoy carrying on that tradition with my two children. It is important to me that they under-stand the importance of what Christ-mas truly is, not just opening pre-sents and spending time with our loved ones, but celebrating the birth of our Savior.

There is no one particular Christ-mas memory that stands out in my mind, but I am grateful that my par-ents instilled in me the true meaning of Christmas and that is a tradition we carry on to this day. I come from a large family, I have six sisters, and Christmas is the one time we gather together to spend time with each other, catch up on one another’s lives, and of course fill the pew!

For me, giving is always more gratifying than receiving. I put a lot of thought into the gifts I give for Christmas, and attempt to make them special; let the receiver know that I love and appreciate them. Christmas is about family, friends, and above all faith. — Kimberly Dudley

I come from a family of five kids, and for our first ten Christmases, we would each receive an ornament that had our names inscribed on it, as well as the year that we received it. — Tyler “Trent Rust

My favorite Christmas memory is of a family reunion, being gathered together around the family room, listening to my Uncle share a brief message and then singing our favor-ite Christmas hymns. — Tristan Nagelkirk

Men’s and Women’s Golf-2014 Men’s: Brad Douglas, Alex Manion, Clay Ford, Ethan Sparks, Jamie Valvano, Todd Glickfield, Joseph Hinton, Joseph Hinton, Brandon Long and Kody Sloan. Women’s: Courtney Schester, Brittney Walker, Ale Mattingly, Nikki Wilderman and Ashley Green. Men’s Coach: Mikel Breeden Women’s Coach: David Hose 

Women’s Basketball

2014-15

Front Row: Monique Jones-Murphy, Rashawnda Shamell, D'Nell Greenwell, Raven Greer, Chelsea Jelli-son, Hailey Menke, Ashley Forbes Back Row: Assistant Coach Brad Zellner, Samantha Shoulders, Maggie Simons, Brandi Richardson, Saman-tha Beatty, Chelsea Gould, Emily Pitkin, Head Coach Terry Enlow

Women’s Soccer-2014 Front Row, L-R: Manager Denise Toby, Kylee Wargel, Lauren Rapp, Lauren Wuerth, Ashley Lampert, Tori Flowers, Christina Haag, Sierra Voice-Robinson, Stephanie Solorza Back Row L-R: Assistant Coach Katie Harrison, Maria Cottier, Sam Parsons, Brittany Jones, Mikayla Wargel, Eleni Moreland, Allie Schechner, Hannah Tupman, Mandy Sykes, Kansas Carpenter, Head Coach Emmanuel

Staff Christmas memories

Men’s and Women’s Cross Country-2014 Men’s: Jesse Stanley, Louis Dubon-Guzman, Zachary Lantham, Tanner Mason, Kevin Diaz, William Niederhaus, Corey Oser, Nathan Sparks and Seth Farley. Women’s: Mandy Sykes, Shelby Lindsey, Lauren Davis, Whitney Holder, Tori Flowers, Hanna Guthrie and Maria Cottier. Head Coach: Cassidy Nalley Assistant Coach: Zachary Keeney Managers: Jessica Hobson

Men’s Soccer-2014 Front Row: Louis Ross, Aljosa Stankovic, Conor Jamieson, Conor McGoldrick, Graham Campbell, Ben Eklof Middle Row: David Stroup, Sam Lee, Thomas Ethridge, Stevie Cummins, Josh Frankham Back Row: Head Coach Steven Peck Jr., Nestor Delfin, Jon Stroup, Michael Wilson, Connor Felstead, Jason Opel, Liam Brown

Page 12 The Collegian Winter 2014

“News Travels”

The Collegian is looking for photos to share in our upcoming issues of stu-dents, alumni and faculty and their travels. To have your photo printed in The Collegi-an, bring a copy of a printed Collegian with you to wherev-er you are traveling. Take a photo of yourself holding the

Rockport Campus News Angelena Cavazos, HR Manager & Nickolas Em-mick, HR Associate

Angelena Cavazos is a 2007 OCU graduate. Nick Emmick is a student at the Rockport site. He is currently wrapping up his degree in Human Resource Management. Angekna and

Nick are from Lewisport, Ky.

Dana is a global leader in the supply of highly engineered driveline, seal-ing and thermal-management technologies that improve the efficiency and performance of vehicles with both conventional and alternative-energy powertrains. Serving three primary markets – passenger vehicle, commercial truck and off-highway equipment – Dana provides the world's original-equipment manufacturers and the aftermarket with local product and service support through a network of nearly 100 engi-neering, manufacturing, and distribution facilities. Founded in 1904 and based in Maumee, Ohio, the company employs 23,000 people in 26 countries on six continents. In 2013, Dana generated sales of $6.8 billion. Forbes magazine selected Dana as one of America’s 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in 2014. For more information, please visit dana.com.

Rockport campus celebrate their 2014 graduation class

paper with a landmark of some sort to help readers iden-tify your location. Include family, friends, pets, and whatever you choose to share with everyone a little about you. Let’s see how far The Collegian can travel!

Follow us on Facebook Go on Facebook and search for The Collegian. Then LIKE us and you will be all set. Be in-formed of campus events and up-to-date schedule of the next is-sue of The Collegian.

Oakland City University’s Rock-port campus celebrated the success of their graduates with a recognition carry-in dinner on Nov. 11.

Through the effort of Pam Bolen, campus director and admissions counselor, students were presented with awards, certificates and gifts.

The main campus was well repre-

sented as Dr. Jeffrey McNabb, Dr. John Sutton, Dr. Cathy Robb, Betty Burns, Susan Sullivan, Anita Miskell, Rhonda Beasley, Cassie Scaper and Jennifer Hollinger traveled south to be with our new graduates.

The evening was a complete suc-cess as faculty, staff and students

enjoyed the evening’s festivities.