InDepthA collection of our most-followed stories. From immigration to administration, we cover it all.
A collection of our most-followed stories. From immigration to administration, we cover it all.
November 21, 2024
Appreciating GC’s sports communicators
Two driving forces behind all sixteen of Goshen College’s sports teams are Tony Miller, statistician, and Justin DeWeese, assistant athletic director of communications and operations DeWeese explained that his role has two parts, with the communications part entailing “writing up the game previews and reviews for the college athletics website, goleafs.net.” The operations part of his job entails ensuring that everything on game days runs smoothly for all of the teams when they play at home, including “setting up and tearing down and getting all of the workers together,” DeWeese said. Miller explained that he is “the person responsible for...
November 14, 2024
SST enrollment drops
In 1983, at the height of Goshen College’s Study Service Term program, 82% of that year’s graduating class went on a semester SST and GC ran three to four programs each semester. Now, this past academic year, only 36 total students went on the three semester programs that were offered, which were Ecuador (twice) and Indonesia. A multitude of factors are at play in why exactly the numbers have drastically dropped so much — such as price, athletic responsibilities and overall appeal — but Kendra Yoder, co-chair of the Global Engagement Office, said that after attending a global education conference...
September 12, 2024
New Master of Arts in Teaching
After two years of development Goshen has the final approval for its new Master of Arts in Teaching program. Although the program doesn’t officially start until the fall of 2025 the first cohort is already in swing. Suzanne Ehst, professor of education and director of the M.A. in teaching, said that they have “21 new students in the new version [of the program]. The classes they are taking this year are not yet master’s level, but they will be able to finish the full program with a master’s degree as long as half of their coursework is master’s level.” Despite...
September 12, 2024
Academic Success Center adds new positions
The Goshen College Academic Success Center (ASC) renovated their facilities in the Good Library with help from a $3 million grant from the US Department of Education. The facility was finished on Monday, August 19, just when classes started. This allows them to expand their services and staff in a new environment, and create a space where students feel welcomed. The grant was given to support achievements of Hispanic/Latinx and commuter students, connecting them to careers. “We want to make sure that the students have a solid foundation,” said Michelle Blank, director of academic success. Isacc Hernandez, a connections...
September 5, 2024
Albertin to change positions
Goshen College announced Wednesday that Erica Albertin, the current athletic director, will step down from her post on September 12, transitioning into a new position as associate director for athletic health and wellness. In her new role Albertin will supervise the head athletic trainer, provide athletic training and continue to work as a DEI officer. She will also teach and advise students in the kinesiology department, and will begin responsibilities as a deputy Title IX coordinator for athletics, according to an email from the president’s office. For Albertin, the transition comes from two main reasons. “I have three little boys...
February 22, 2024
GC proposes master’s degree in teaching
This weekend, the Goshen College Board of Directors will evaluate a proposal to add a Masters of Arts in Teaching program. If accepted, it would be GC’s fifth graduate program and second to be added in two years. Since 2005, GC has offered a transition to teaching program. Through this year, GC has offered those classes at the bachelor’s level, which is uncommon, as most other institutions offer those at the master’s level. The new program would combine the new degree with the preexisting transition to teaching program. “This particular program offers both a license, so you can be a...
September 15, 2022
I didn’t go on SST
One of the things I’ve been struggling with this semester is the awareness that, when I graduate in the spring, I won’t have completed a full Study-Service Term semester. My requirements will have been met — don’t worry, faculty advisors — but I won’t have the experience of spending an entire semester in another country. And that feels strange, because SST has always felt like something of an inevitability for me. When I committed to GC my senior year of high school, I told several GC alumni at my church that I would be attending. Their initial responses usually involved...
September 15, 2022
Summer SST unit travels to Senegal
16 GC students and two faculty leaders departed for their 13-week Study-Service Term in Senegal in early May. The group returned in late July. Goshen College’s Study Service Term (SST) is a program that each GC student experiences in some capacity, whether through SST alternate courses, hybrid semesters or a 13-week semester studying and serving abroad. SST contributes to GC’s motto, “Culture for Service,” and core value of global citizenship. When the group arrived in Senegal, they strapped luggage to their bus, traveled an hour to Thiès, and stayed in a small dormitory the first few nights. “I remember getting...
April 14, 2022
After the pandemic, I want to…
COVID-19 affected the lives of everyone. For many young people, that meant scrolling mindlessly through TikTok and binge-watching Netflix. It also intensified the looming uncertainty of the future. Despite the unknown, young people continue to hold onto the hope of a safe, Zoom-free world without COVID-19. Inspired by an article in the The Washington Post, we asked Goshen College students to respond to the statement, “After the pandemic, I want to….” In their own handwriting, here are their responses. Claudia Mobley, 19, was a senior in high school when the pandemic shut her world down. On Mar. 13, 2020, she...
March 17, 2022
Baltimore SST focuses on immigration
Next fall, Goshen College will send off its first split-semester Study-Service Term (SST) unit, with participants spending half of the semester on GC’s campus and the other half in Baltimore, Maryland. The unit will focus on the themes of immigration, asylum and refugees. During the first half of the semester, the students will take two classes: one on literature written by refugees and other displaced people, and the second on the causes and consequences of global migration. Then, after the midterm break, they will travel to Baltimore for service placements. The split-semester arrangement reflects a shift in the SST department...
February 25, 2022
Visas finally approved for Indonesia SST group
After months of waiting in limbo and much back-and-forth with the Indonesian consulate, the Indonesia Study Service Term group will finally be able to enter the country. The ten students will leave from Philadelphia, where they have spent the study portion of the semester, on Thursday, March 3, for their six-week service component on three Indonesian islands. Five students will do their service on the Java island, three will go to the island of Sumba, and two will travel to Timor. Jan Bender Shetler, director of international education, said that the visas came through on Monday, and they found out...
January 28, 2022
Master of Social Work program seeks director
The social work department has begun the search for a director to lead the Master of Social Work (MSW) program Goshen College is developing in collaboration with Bluffton University. A search committee, made up of students and faculty in the social work department, is in the process of evaluating candidates. The MSW is being developed by the two universities as a response to years of interest by numerous parties. The program, which plans to have its first students in the fall of 2023, will satisfy local employers, alumni, students and faculty who have been hoping for a small, personal MSW...
January 20, 2022
Omicron spreads on campus, variant less severe
Omicron, the newest COVID-19 variant, is spreading through campus like no variant before. Since the start of winter break, over 100 students have tested positive for the virus, compared to 16 total cases in the fall semester. But the more mild nature of the variant combined with the high vaccination rate on campus means there is less reason for concern. In shifting from the Delta to the Omicron variant, the “whole equation has changed,” said President Rebecca Stotzfus. Over 93% of campus is fully vaccinated, and many students and staff have also received a booster, both of which dramatically reduce...
January 20, 2022
SSTers learn flexibility as Covid changes plans
Last Wednesday, 15 students departed for their Study Service Term in Quito, Ecuador. On Jan. 25, 10 more students will head to Philadelphia as part of an adapted cross cultural experience focused on immersion in Indonesian culture both in the United States and abroad. Both groups have been forced to adapt to changes posed by the ever-evolving coronavirus. The prevalence of the virus became apparent for the group heading to Ecuador when test shortages and changed airplane schedules threatened to affect their travel plans. Even as the students boarded their first flight toward Quito, there was still uncertainty about their...