Malachi Bontrager Archives - 91��Ƶ News

Summer’s a’comin’: Annual Camp Placement Day targets prospective staffers

Walt Wiltschek — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 16:42:32 +0000

With a virtual campfire flickering on a screen, camp songs ringing through the Campus Center at 91��Ƶ (91��Ƶ) and display tables from 27 camps circling the space, Camp Day returned this week.

Students met with representatives from 21 camps around the country.

“I always enjoy Camp Day just to reconnect with camps from around the country,” says 91��Ƶ senior Malachi Bontrager, an outdoor ministry and adventure leadership major. “Growing up as a camp kid, I have probably been to 60 percent of these camps, so there are a lot of familiar faces.”

Bontrager shared during the Camp Day chapel service about growing up at Camp Deerpark in southern New York, which brought urban kids from New York City to have experiences in nature, and his later gap year experience at a camp in Florida that offered similar, but longer-term, experiences.

“I fell in love with nature,” Bontrager says. “I think nature is the catalyst for educating young people to be successful. You just have to say, ‘Wow! This is awesome. This is God.’ ”

Doug Phillips ‘82, director of Brethren Woods camp and retreat center in nearby Keezletown, Virginia, says he has been coming to Camp Day since it began more than 30 years ago.

“It’s a good chance to connect and network with folks at other camps,” says Phillips, who majored in social work and minored in outdoor ministry at 91��Ƶ. “And we have always had at least one or two summer staff from here.”

Senior Malachi Bontrager, who has worked at two camps, leads worship during the annual Camp Day.

Phillips says his camp employed four 91��Ƶ students last summer, and he has hired one of them—senior Amanda Helfrich of Gettysburg, Ohio—as assistant program director following her graduation this spring.

Dean Williams, program director at Highland Retreat in Bergton, Virginia, says his camp program has had a steady pipeline to 91��Ƶ, too, but the way those connections happen has changed over the years.

“The biggest difference from when I first came to this day 21 years ago is that students used to come by based on your display. Now they check out the website beforehand, so we talk to fewer students, but a higher percentage of them end up on staff. The personal contact is what makes this significant.”

Williams says he typically has three to five “really good contacts” at the event. He also holds a pizza party after the formal schedule is done, encouraging former staff to invite their friends.

“It’s your staff who are on campus here who are your best recruiters,” Williams says. “I have had very few experiences where staff have steered me the wrong way.”

, chair of 91��Ƶ’s department, has noticed the changing trends, too. Most students who work at the camps come from a variety of majors, not just outdoor ministry or physical education.

Brownscombe, who has taught at 91��Ƶ since 1978, says Camp Day, which is co-hosted with the , will continue.

“It’s a really exciting event, and we’ll keep it going,” Brownscombe says. “The camps appreciate the quality of students they get when they come to 91��Ƶ, and as you look around many of the directors are 91��Ƶ alumni. We have a commitment to all the camps, and it’s an important role we share.”

In addition, students in two classes —“Recreation and Sport and Modern Society ” and “Introduction to Youth Ministry” —attended the event. , who work with to minister to students in the residence halls, also attended a special session.

Sustainable Food Initiative partners with Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community farm to grow, harvest vegetables

David Brennan — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 13:48:34 +0000

When Tyler Eshleman took the helm of 91��Ƶ’s sputtering student-led (SFI) last year, his goals were modest: to return the weed-choked campus gardens to their former glory. Now Eshleman, backed this summer by six work-study students, not only has the gardens brimming with produce, but has expanded SFI beyond campus borders, sharing the group’s mission with a variety of local schools and organizations, including Eastern Mennonite Elementary School and Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community’s Farm at Willow Run.

SFI, who seeks to expand local sustainability and social responsibility in food production, began in 2010 when a concerned group of students witnessed large amounts of unused cafeteria food being thrown away. This led to a food donation program, a campus composting program, the planting of campus vegetable gardens and even a student-run Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, which sold produce grown on campus to local buyers. However, when this core group of students graduated, SFI was left a ship with no captain, and its programs quickly fell into disarray.

Eshleman’s vision for the group focuses on longevity. “We are a student club,” the rising senior pointed out, “but have started to work towards being more of a coalition of local organizations and persons, to encourage better practices within our food systems, as well as helping groups fully utilize their own spaces to achieve healthier and more sustainable systems.”

Partnering on and off campus

As many as six students work 6-12 hours a week at the farm, helped by community members.

One key to achieving this longevity is partnering with other campus organizations, such as , the and (ESW), to draw interest and forge common connections. Already this summer ESW helped the SFI crew install solar panels on the campus chicken shed to power the heat lamps that burn throughout the winter months.

“One of our visions for the next year is to share a meal made of locally grown food with as many campus groups as we can,” said Eshleman. “What better way to show people what we do, than through the food itself?”

The group also strives to promote 91��Ƶ’s mission of sustainability outside and . “We want to live the way we talk,” said Malachi Bontrager, an major. “SFI is tangible and easy to access. We can fill a need and do so conscientiously.” Such an ethos demonstrates the group’s commitment to building sustainable local communities through dedicated service.

One of SFI’s key partnerships has been with the Farm at Willow Run. The farm, located on Willow Run Road just minutes from campus, is owned by the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC), and was once the property of former 91��Ƶ president Myron Augsburger and his wife, Esther. Tom Brenneman, the market garden coordinator at VMRC, has been working with VMRC’s dining services director Tobie Bow on a farm-to-table renaissance with the help of SFI students.

Forging real connections

Produce is delivered to Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community for use in its dining services.

Brenneman, a 1992 graduate with a degree in social work, lives at Willow Run and manages the gardens, in addition to his work with court-involved youth in the 26th District court service unit in Harrisonburg. Despite the enormity of the Willow Run project, which is now delivering produce directly to VMRC kitchens from 1.5 acres of cultivated land, Brenneman laughed when thinking back to its humble beginnings.

“I just had all this extra produce,” he said, which he then passed along to his friend and “co-conspirator” Cal Redekop, who in turn shared the produce gratis with fellow residents in Park Village from a stand at the end of his driveway. The fresh produce has been a huge hit over the past four years. Soon a formal conversation began at the invitation of the executive team of VMRC about how local produce might be brought directly into dining services with sourcing from its own land and resources.

The Farm was quickly identified as a viable location, but who would do the work of growing it? Brenneman rallied volunteer support , some with the local network, which encourages community-building through creative skills-sharing. But the project gained steam when the partnership with SFI was formed. With five to six students working three to four days a week for two to three hours a day, Willow Run is now staffed with a consistent and dedicated workforce.

Mentors help with ag-business skills

“Without the labor from SFI, this really couldn’t have happened,” said Redekop, who often works side by side with the students. “The Farm at Willow Run really provides almost unlimited opportunity to bring different generations together around common concerns, like how we raise our food or how we might show better reverence toward the earth.”

“The farm-to-table initiative makes good sense for VMRC,” said Judith Trumbo, VMRC president and CEO. “As an advocate for aging well, VMRC continues to identify ways to help people live healthier lifestyles. We are pleased to have the support of 91��Ƶ students to make the farm a success.”

Along the way, the members of SFI have learned valuable lessons, not only about large-scale gardening, but also about how to keep their vision afloat. The opportunity to learn from local farmers such as Radell Schrock, a 2001 graduate who operates in Harrisonburg, has given SFI members a clearer sense of the realities of what they are attempting to accomplish.

“Effectively we’re running a small business,” said SFI treasurer and nursing major Abe Thorn. It’s an experience the group will carry with them long after they have left 91��Ƶ, and a legacy they hope to leave behind for future generations of students.

91��Ƶ “Honors” 53 Incoming Students

Mike Zucconi — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:58:24 +0000

91��Ƶ (91��Ƶ) will welcome in 53 incoming students to the honors program, the largest class in the program’s history.

In addition, two incoming students, Hannah Chappell-Dick, a senior at Bluffton High School in Bluffton, Ohio, and Charlie Good, a senior at Warwick High School in Lititz, Pa., were recognized as Yoder Scholars, the highest academic award an incoming student can receive.

“I’m very excited about the number and caliber of students who applied this year,” said Mark Sawin, program director and chair of history at 91��Ƶ. “Hannah and Charlie are both wonderfully creative and curious people with wide-ranging interests and strong leadership abilities. I’m grateful they’ve decided to join us as next year’s Yoder Scholars.”

Honors student candidates are evaluated on academic performance, community and extra-curricular involvement, creativity, clarity of thought and leadership potential. In addition to being in the honors program, candidates submit a portfolio of their high school achievements, write a series of essays and meet with a member of the honors faculty for a one-on-one interview.

“The interaction with faculty mentors and each other in a variety of settings provides an opportunity for highly motivated scholars to develop as thinkers and wrestle with big questions,” says Sawin, a 2008-09 Fulbright Scholar at University of Zagreb in Croatia.

Chappell-Dick is an incoming biochemistry major while Good plans to major in chemistry.

The students accepted into the honors program are:

Alex Bender from Sarasota, Fla., Pine View School

Malachi Bontrager from Westbrookville, N.Y., Iowa Mennonite School

Rachel Bowman from Archbold, Ohio, Archbold High School

Kristoffer Broadley from Wichita, Kan., homeschooled

Anne Brothers from Rockville, Md., Montgomery Blair High School

Ashley Cox from Mountville, Pa., Hempfield High School

Melissa Cox from Mountville, Pa., Hempfield High School

Patty Danaher from South Chesterfield, Va., Matoaca High School

Isaac Driver from Harrisonburg, Va., Eastern Mennonite High School

Amy Feeser from Lancaster, Pa., Penn Manor High School

Rehana Franklin from Modesto, Calif., Modesto High School

Derek Harnish from Strasburg, Pa., Lampeter-Strasburg High School

Kate Harrold from Millersville, Pa., Penn Manor High School

Amanda Helfrich from Bradford, Ohio, Greenville Senior High School

Caitlin Holsapple from Harrisonburg, Va., Eastern Mennonite High School

Melissa Jantzi from Albany, Ore., Eastern Mennonite High School

Brianna Kauffman from Harleysville, Pa., Christopher Dock Mennonite High School

Andrea King from Lititz Pa., Warwick High School

Kari King from Harrisonburg, Va., Harrisonburg High School

Sierra Kiser from Stuarts Draft, Va., Stuarts Draft High School

Jaclyn Kratz from Telford, Pa., Christopher Dock Mennonite High School

Rachelle Kratz from Telford, Pa., Christopher Dock Mennonite High School

Brooke Lacock from Paradise, Pa., Pequea Valley High School

Olivia Mast from Lancaster, Pa., Lancaster Mennonite School

Katie Miller from San Antonio, Tex., Louis D. Brandeis High School

Maddie Miller from Wellman, Ia., Iowa Mennonite School

Elise Mitchell from Elkhart, Ind., Elkhart Central High School

Erin Nafziger from Archbold, Ohio, Archbold High School

Jolee Paden from Saint Joseph, Ill., St. Joseph-Ogden High School

Aaron Patterson from Midlothian, Va., homeschooled

Alicia Poplett from Plymouth, Minn., Wayzata Senior High School

Emilie Raber from Dalton, Ohio, Central Christian High School

Jesse Reist from Lancaster, Pa., JP McCaskey High School East

Jess Rheinheimer from Manheim, Pa., Lancaster Mennonite School

John David Satriale from Gap, Pa., Lancaster Mennonite School

Lauren Sauder from Smoketown, Pa., Lancaster Mennonite School

Michelle Sauder from Linville, Va., Eastern Mennonite High School

Carissa Sherer from Joy, Pa., Donegal High School

Kritika Shrestha from Germantown, Md., Clarksburg High School

Rachel Springer from Minier, Ill., Olympia High School

Seth Stauffer from Lebanon, Pa., Northern Lebanon Jr-Sr High School

Sarah Sutter from Urbana, Ill., University Laboratory High School

Kate Swartz from Spring City, Pa., Christopher Dock Mennonite High School

Sam Swartzendruber from Kalona, Ia., Iowa Mennonite School

Ryan Swartzendruber from Sellersville, Pa., Christopher Dock Mennonite High School

Stephanie Toth from Lake Milton, Ohio, Cardinal Mooney High School

Aaron Wile from Telford, Pa., Christopher Dock Mennonite High School

Alena Yoder from Elkhart, Ind., Bethany Christian High School

Kegan Yoder from Plaine City, Ohio, Jonathan Alder High School

Malachi Bontrager Archives - 91����Ƶ News