Emily Kauffman sat across from me at a booth in Maple City Market, where she’s worked for the last few years. To her left was a paper bag full of ingredients to make pasta for her and her roommate and a single red rose for herself because it was Valentine’s Day and self-love matters.   The contents of this seemingly ordinary grocery bag are telling of the important role food and community have in Kauffman’s life. She makes the effort to show compassion for those around her, to foster belonging.   Cooking became a de-stressing mechanism, creative expression and a...

By Anna Keller • March 7, 2019 • Features

Andrew Pauls, a 2017 Goshen College graduate, returned to town to perform at Goshen Brewery Company (GBCo) last Sunday, Feb. 17. He played a two-hour set. Usually, Pauls performs in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he lives with his spouse. His music can be described as folk or bluegrass. During his event at GBCo, he played the acoustic guitar and harmonica while singing. His artist bio says, “Themes of hope, sadness and striving fill Andrew Pauls’ original songs. Rooted in traditional American folk music, Andrew’s lyrics dance with soulful banjo and guitar playing to create thought-provoking songs. In Andrew’s music, listeners will...

By Emily Cummings • February 22, 2019 • Arts

Rose Hutchinson is the oldest living Goshen College Alum. She was born in 1913 and graduated with the Class of 1935. At the age of 105, she is still an active member of her church and community.   What led you to decide to attend Goshen?   I wanted to go to college and that was about the cheapest way I could go. My dad shoveled out the money at the time and I told him I would pay him back.   Did you end up doing that?   Yes! I paid him back. He was happy with that.  ...

By Kadie Daye • February 8, 2019 • Features

Zach Miller is a Goshen College graduate who now works for Federated Media, producing commercials for radio stations in the Elkhart County FM radius and beyond. Zach was the 2008 student station manager at 91.1 Globe, and he looks back fondly on his time spent with WGCS.   When did you graduate from Goshen College, and what was your major?   I graduated in 2008, and my major was communications, emphasis broadcasting. I also signed up for a minor in marketing.   Do you remember why you chose Goshen College?   I chose Goshen College because… Can I say that...

By Riley Friesner • January 24, 2019 • Features

This April, a new batch of Goshen College graduates will disperse to locations across the U.S. and the world. Yet every year, there is a group of students who choose to start their adult lives just blocks away from their alma mater. Kennan Bitikofer, a 2018 GC graduate from Manhattan, Kansas and Phillip Chan, a 2018 graduate from Zhuhai, China, have both found their first jobs only minutes away from the college. Bitikofer graduated with a major in computer science and now works at Studio Ace of Spades in downtown Goshen, in a building right beside Better World Books. Bitikofer...

By Carter Mckay-Epp • November 28, 2018 • Features

Any given day, one might see 35-year-old Justin Gillette, a Goshen College alumnus, running on the Millrace Trail, pushing a stroller as he chips away at his mileage for the week, which averages near 80. Chances are, he’ll wave as he passes, perhaps briefly stop to talk before he continuing down the trail. For many people, to run a marathon would be an accomplishment of a lifetime. For a select handful, the goal is to win a marathon. Gillette takes it one step further; he is well on his way to winning 100 marathons, a feat that would into the...

By Siana Emery • October 31, 2018 • Features

This past Friday served host to the 2018 Alumni Awards convocation during Homecoming Weekend. The event began with Harold Watson, the athletic director, introducing the history of the Champions of Character Award to a primarily alumni audience. The Dr. Roman Gingerich and Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Awards are presented each year to a male and female alumni athlete who exemplify the college’s core values in their lives, work and community service. This year’s awardees were Byron Shenk ’63 and Penina Acayo Laker ’11. Over the last 67 years, Shenk has spent time in the roles of professor, coach...

By Landon Weldy • October 10, 2018 • News

Back in September, during a visit to Rachel Yoder’s apartment, Grace Leatherman was delighted to discover that Yoder had placed a selection of art history cards all around her window. These cards were used by Leatherman 60 years ago, when she was a student herself at Goshen College. Leatherman used the cards in an Arts Appreciation class in 1958 with Mary Oyer. She gave them to Yoder, who is an art major, as a gift when she found out she was taking the class. “It made me smile.” Leatherman said. “I loved it because I had all the memories which...

By Megan Bower • February 8, 2018 • Features

“How can we communicate better?” This was the question posed to Pat Lehman’s Principles of Public Relations class last week when Lassane Queodraogo, a 2014 graduate of Goshen College, returned to campus to speak. Queodraogo is currently a Ph.D. student in Media Studies at Ohio University in Athens. He came to share and connect his work with media and the Muslim world to the class’s current chapter on cross-cultural communication. In the case of cross-cultural communication, the goal is to create common ground without falling into two “sins”: essentialism or exceptionalism. Essentialism, he explained, is a belief system grounded in...

By Kristin Troyer • November 9, 2017 • News

In place of a receptionist, there’s a sticky note stuck to the front door that reads “Please Knock,” and there are toys in the small lobby for children to play with. There are big, inviting windows, and, most importantly, clients continue to stream in. Koop, a Goshen College alum, works for the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), a Chicago-based non-profit that provides affordable legal defense to immigrants and refugees. Koop began at the NIJC in 2006 and helped to open a Goshen branch in 2014, in addition to the South Bend and Chicago locations. The new office, located at 110...

By Lucia Nisly • November 9, 2017 • Features

A few years ago, hundreds of people filled Sauder Concert Hall for the annual Music Gala during Homecoming weekend. All Maryn Munley needed to do was move the restored Steinway grand piano, worth $120,000, to the center of the stage. By herself. Matthew Hill, a Goshen College music professor, was waiting in the wings to enter and play a piece by Beethoven. “Well, I’m a fairly petite person,” said Munley, the performance venue production manager for Goshen College. “So usually, it takes a little bit more muscle than just me to get that piano rolling.” The stage was set up...

By Samantha Horsch • October 26, 2017 • Features

Five alumni will return to Goshen College on Oct. 6 to receive awards for their dedication to GC’s core values in their lives post-graduation. The 2017 Culture for Service awards will be presented to Sheri Hartzler ’73 of Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Philip Thomas ’87 of Goshen. Nicole Cober Bauman, an ’08 graduate and Elkhart resident, will receive the 2017 Young Alumni Award. The 2017 Dr. Roman Gingerich Champion of Character Award will be received by Stan King ’61 of Goshen, and the Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award will be presented to Justine (Clemmer) Pletcher ’72 of Goshen. The...

By Abby King • October 5, 2017 • News

This past week, Goshen College welcomed Eugene Stutzman ’73, a nationally-recognized fashion designer, back to Goshen. He and the Eugene Alexander Hope Foundation sponsored Fashion Week, an event in northern Indiana that is the first of its kind. As Fashion Week came to a close on Sept. 24, the exhibit “Eugene Alexander: The Fashion of Eugene Stutzman” opened at the Hershberger Gallery, located in the Music Center. Stutzman was one half of Eugene Alexander, a fashion company Stutzman ran along with his late partner, Alexander Wallace. Stutzman and Wallace created fashion pieces under the Eugene Alexander label throughout the 1980s...

By Kory Stoneburner-Betts • September 28, 2017 • Arts

LightBox, located downtown across the street from the Goshen Theater, is a studio space used by local artists to work independently or collaboratively on projects involving photography and graphic design. The studio was founded by Rafael Barahona, a Goshen College graduate, who uses the space at LightBox as a graphic designer. Anne H. Berry, another GC graduate, is a professor at Cleveland State University, also specializing in graphic design. Stuart Meade shares the space as a photographer and business owner of his company. There are other recent grads who use the space for their projects, including Jordan Kauffman, and Jill...

By Emily Stoltzfus • September 21, 2017 • Features

On Friday, students, staff and faculty, community members and others will come together for the Juanita Lark Welcome Center dedication and celebration. Lark was Goshen College’s first African American graduate, receiving her diploma in 1943 with a major in education. Lark spent part of her college years at Hesston College, as well as Howard University, before graduating from Goshen. According to Jim Caskey, vice president for institutional advancement and an organizer of the dedication on Friday, President James Brenneman is the force behind the dedication. Brenneman wanted to recognize “luminaries” who helped make Goshen College an “inclusive educational environment.” Brenneman...

By Abby King • February 9, 2017 • News