Bible and religion professor Paul Keim lives in language.  He has since seventh grade, when he began learning German, opening the door to nearly 15 languages that Keim now humbly considers himself literate in – German, French, Spanish, Arabic, Greek, Latin, Polish, Hebrew, Akkadian, Ugaritic, Aramaic, Ge’ez…  His journey with languages, those both dead and alive, is shaped by the relationships he’s made with others while studying language together, a realization that became clear to Keim during his time as a Goshen College student. Now in his last teaching semester at Goshen College, Keim continues to pass the gift of...

By Mackenzie Miller • January 16, 2020 • Features

Most people today don’t think that hair is valuable, especially after it’s been cut off, but Steve Shantz knows better. Shantz is a systems operations technician at the Goshen College Physical Plant, and for the past several years, once or twice a month, his barber has sent him a trash bag full of hair. Sometimes he sends it to the Physical Plant, other times he tosses it in Shantz’s yard as he drives past and other times he sweeps up all the hair when Shantz gets his own hair cut. “It’s an experiment,” Shantz said. “You know life is a...

By Violet Smucker • November 18, 2019 • Features

Students and professors have switched roles in the gym this semester. Exercise science students Ollie Smith and Elias Baer have taken as trainees professors in the communications, nursing, and Bible and religion departments. This is a part of the students’ coursework. Last December, Brenda Srof, professor of nursing, turned 59. Her colleagues asked her what plans she had for her 60th birthday. “I’m going to get physically fit,” she replied. A few weeks later, Srof received an email from Ollie Smith, then a third-year exercise science major who was looking for professors to train. They began training together in January...

By Kristin Jantzen • November 18, 2019 • Features

Those who were in attendance at the Homecoming Gala earlier this fall will remember witnessing an important announcement: the changing of the name of the Men’s Chorus to Vox Profundi, which is Latin for “Voices of the Deep.” The change came following the rechristening of the Women’s World Music Choir to Voices of the Earth last spring. That concert also marked the 15th anniversary of the creation of the two choirs. Deb Detwiler, the conductor of Voices of the Earth until her death last spring, thought that it was especially important to make sure that Goshen’s choirs were inclusive to...

By Kristin Jantzen • November 1, 2019 • Arts

The managing editor for the biggest Tottenham Hotspurs sports blog in the U.S. sits at the front desk of the Goshen College Music Center.  Tottenham Hotspurs FC are a soccer club from Tottenham (pronounced “totnum”), in North London. The team is currently ranked sixth in England’s most competitive league, the English Premier League, and they have fans all over the world.  One of those fans is the office coordinator at the Music Center, Dustin George-Miller, who is also the managing editor for the Hotspurs blog.  At the college, George-Miller coordinates space-use, sends emails to students and helps the Music Center...

By Gabe Miller • October 9, 2019 • Features

Three goatees, two baseball caps and one GC art professor play folk music on the lawn of Goshen Brewing Company (GBCo).  This is The Dawg. The Goshen-based trio is comprised of Duane Gundy on mandolin and guitar, Jim Shenk on guitar and pedal steel guitar and GC art professor, Randy Horst, on upright bass. On Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m., the band played underneath a black lawn canopy with GBCo’s lettering and hop seed logo. On the grass, patrons sat on lawn chairs and milled about with beer and food in hand as the sweet sounds of folk music...

By Nathan Pauls • October 2, 2019 • Arts

Many people recognize the sculptures “Sky Rhythms” and “Broken Shield” but don’t know the man behind them: John Mischler, associate professor of art and full-time sculptor. Mischler got his start at Goshen College in 1985 due to a vacancy in the art department. According to Mischler, one of the professors was gone on either sabbatical or SST, so he filled in to teach beginning sculpture. When the same thing happened the next year with another professor, Mischler filled in there as well. “[The vacancies] continued for several years, and then, eventually, the class kind of became mine,” Mischler said. Mischler...

By Nathan Pauls • October 2, 2019 • Features

This past Tuesday, I observed Merrill Krabill construct a teapot during my Ceramics 2 class. He was showing an example of how to properly trim the body and lid of the pot. In the previous class period, he had thrown the body, two spouts and a lid. Here, Merrill trims the bottom of the body of the teapot. A finished lid and two spouts sit waiting to be added to the body. The teapot has to be at just the right moisture point to trim. Too wet, and the clay is too soft. Too dry, and the pot will become...

By Nathan Pauls • September 25, 2019 • Arts

Last Wednesday, Goshen College campus mourned the loss of Kennard Martin, the longest-serving employee at GC, during what would have been his 58th work anniversary. Martin passed away on Aug. 29 at Borgess-Pipp Hospital in Plainwell, Michigan. His funeral took place Thursday, Sep. 5, at Harvest Community Church, where he was a long-time member. Martin was born to parents Melvin and Mary (Stahl) Martin on Oct. 23, 1940, in Peru, Indiana. After declaring to be a conscientious objector to the Vietnam war, Martin came to Goshen College on Sept. 5, 1961 at the age of 20. He was given a...

By Megan Bower • September 5, 2019 • News

You can always count on a few things from Ken Newbold. A hard-working attitude in administrative initiatives, a smiling face around campus and an extra cheering voice in the stands at Maple Leaf athletic events. As of Aug. 31, Newbold’s encouraging presence has been a bit more scarce as he has moved on from the various roles he has played at Goshen College, most recently as presidential consultant. Newbold’s journey at GC began in the fall of 2014 as he was ushered in as provost by former President Jim Brenneman. Newbold’s impact was felt instantly as he helped run day-to-day...

By Nick Yutzy • September 4, 2019 • News

As the second week of classes at Goshen College comes to an end and students adjust to their new routines and living spaces, student life faculty also continue their work on creating an environment on campus that is welcoming, supportive and aware of its student’s needs. Gilberto Perez, Jr., vice president of student life has been working alongside a group of student life directors to identify the needs of all students. The student life department oversees all aspects that relate to and affect students, such as athletics, student involvement, diversity, equity and inclusion, community engagement and operations. A new and...

By Cecilia Garcia • September 4, 2019 • News

As spring semester draws to a close, the choral season does as well. Goshen choirs will join in Sauder Concert Hall to perform one last show for the 2018-2019 season this Saturday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m.. Earthtones is an annual performance put on by all of the Goshen College choirs which celebrates the culture and diversity of the world. The choirs will perform pieces from numerous countries, sung in languages such as Swahili, French, Sami and Hindi, as well as in English. Some songs don’t include words at all, but rather voices mimicking percussive sounds. The choirs will also...

By Patrick Qualkinbush • April 4, 2019 • Arts

During her senior year of high school, Kathryn Aschliman and her parents met with I.E.  Burkhardt and Leland Bachman, two representatives of Goshen College. As they sat around the Aschlimans’ dining room table, the representatives discussed the need for teachers. After the conversation, Aschliman’s parents thought it would be a good idea for her to attend college and become a teacher. She did so and began a lifelong commitment to education.         Aschliman began attending Goshen College in 1948. After taking classes for two years, she began teaching first grade in Archbold, Ohio at the age of 19. She returned...

By Elsa Lantz • March 29, 2019 • Features

Shifting a career path for more faith focus is not something that happens every day, but it has been life-giving for a former professor from Goshen, Indiana. Beverly Lapp says that she found a need in her personal life for engagement with faith and particularly with the work that she was doing. The opportunity for this came when a new position was offered to her by Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS). Lapp took on the role of vice president and academic dean of AMBS starting July 1 of last year. Lapp replaced Rebecca Slough, who was retiring after 11 years...

By Andrew Nussbaum • March 29, 2019 • Features

After a 13-year hiatus, Joanne Gallardo has returned to Goshen College as the interim campus pastor following Gwen Gustafson-Zook’s resignation last semester. Gallardo joins the community after working as a campus pastor at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), a counselor and case manager in Washington D.C. and a pastor of faith formation at Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship. Gallardo grew up in Wauseon, Ohio. She calls the area “very Mennonite,” but she did not grow up as a Mennonite. One of her parents was Baptist and one was Catholic. In her teen years, Gallardo grew distant from both groups. She said she...

By Zack Begly • March 28, 2019 • Features Carter Mckay-Epp • March 28, 2019 • Features