On Feb. 6, Maple Scholar projects were announced — 10 projects in total from a range of departments.  Andy Ammons, professor of biology and Maple Scholars director, said, “We have had more student applicants than ever before this year and at least as many mentor applications if not more than the last four or five years.”  This year, 30 applications were narrowed down to 10 students who will be part of the research program. The selected students were announced on March 20.  One of the projects is being run by Cristóbal Garza González, associate professor of Spanish. He explained, “The...

By Annabelle Bartz • March 27, 2025 • News

Last May I found myself pacing the length of my living room while my younger sister, Sarah, sat on the sofa, music video queued on the TV, her patience wearing thin. After more than 15 minutes of arguing, it was becoming clear that my protests were in vain. In hindsight, I should have caught on sooner. Sarah and I had been arguing over this for six months. My stance remained the same: “K-Pop is so robotic and manufactured. How can you enjoy something so contrived?” Sarah’s eyebrows raised at “robotic.” In that moment, I knew I had gone too far....

By Alyssa Lerner-McDonald • December 8, 2022 • Features

The Goshen College physics room is home to some of the most unique sounds on campus, all made on a computer. In 2009, John Buschert, a professor of physics, and a group of students engaged in a project that improvised music on a system of connected instruments. Although this project was a success, it was limited. Buschert and his students are seeking to refine and advance the past model. Buschert, in effect, is a physicist who has a sideline career as a music mixer. His work combines the Bela computing platform and other elements to create new sounds. “The idea...

By Jayden Gerbus • December 8, 2022 • Features

The J.N. Roth Marine Biology Station, a Goshen College research compound located in Layton, Florida, is undergoing a $400,000 renovation that, when finished, will serve as a home base for students contributing to the study of climate change and marine environments. The marine facility is a single building surrounded by residential homes on one side and a channel leading out to the Atlantic Ocean on the other side. The ground floor hosts a rudimentary laboratory while the upstairs has a living room and kitchen, with two rooms filled with bunks. Since the 1980s, Goshen students have traveled there to research...

By Seth Smith Kauffman • December 8, 2022 • Features

As the director of institutional research and assessment at Goshen College, Justin Heinzekehr knows Goshen College as well as anyone – perhaps better than anyone. Heinzekehr said, “My work falls into three main categories: data analysis/maintenance, assessment and accreditation. The first part of my job has to do with connecting all the different pieces of data that we collect as a college and using that data to create meaningful information that we can use to make decisions on campus.” Another main part of his responsibilities is making sure that students are meeting the learning outcomes the Goshen College has set...

By Elias Ramirez • December 8, 2022 • Features

Parts of this article have been edited for clarity. Daniel Shank Cruz’s Twitter biography is lengthy. First, there is the flag of Puerto Rico, in emoji form. Afterwards, the entry reads, “queer disabled Mennonite lit Phd MFAing@Hunter_College. Author of Queering Mennonite Literature (Penn State UP, 2019). he/they.” Shank Cruz, 42, a former associate English professor who is now completing a MFA in Creative nonfiction at Hunter College, City University of New York, wears quite a few hats. Growing up in Mennonite communities in Lancaster and eventually Goshen, Shank Cruz had difficulty finding a space to internalize and accept his identity...

By Phil Witmer-Rich • December 8, 2022 • Features

Dale Kempf first put on his white lab coat as a chemistry student at Hesston College in the 1970s. It fit well. He transferred to Goshen College where he completed a chemistry major. He then went on to graduate school to study organic chemistry at the University of Illinois, where he got his Ph.D. He did post-doctoral research at Columbia University, and then took a job at a pharmaceutical company, Abbott Laboratories, as a medicinal chemist, in 1984. “I basically used my chemistry ability to make new compounds,” he said. “I would work closely with biologists and other scientists to...

By Amelia Lee • December 8, 2022 • Features

Regina Shands Stoltzfus, professor of peace, justice and conflict studies at Goshen College, believes that spiritual connection is important in the daily practice of antiracism. In the book “Been in the Struggle: Pursuing an Antiracist Spirituality” (Herald Press, 2021), which Shands Stoltzfus wrote with Tobin Miller Shearer, spirituality emerges as a key focal point of antiracist tactics. “We practice,” Shands Stoltzfus said, “Just like musicians and athletes do. I think that’s true for something like antiracism. We have been socialized in a very racist setting, living in America. We are expected to embody racism and practice those beliefs; that there...

By Faith Fegley • December 8, 2022 • Features

For Yudiria Garcia, studying virtually at Harvard University last summer was “overwhelming at first.” “Imposter syndrome was real,” Garcia said. “At the beginning, I really felt like I didn’t belong at Harvard.” Garcia was one of nine participants from across the country who were accepted into Fostering Advancement Camp; Careers through Enrichment Training in Science (FACETS), a six-week program focused on research, professional development and networking. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion within Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health hosted the program. After hearing about the opportunity from Brianne Brenneman, public health program director and assistant professor of public...

By Caleb Shenk • December 8, 2022 • Features

As I pulled into the parking lot of the Child and Parent Services building in Elkhart, there was only a single car in the parking lot. It was early. 7:22. When I punched in the address earlier, my GPS reminded me that Child and Parent Services, better known as CAPS, didn’t open until 9. The clock in my Subaru advanced to 7:23 as I pulled next to the lone vehicle. I was seven minutes early, but she was earlier than I was. As I a sat for a moment, I realized something. I was nervous. Why was I nervous? I...

By Mike Murrell • December 8, 2022 • Features

Small college presidents are not typically involved in conducting original, on-the- ground research with students and faculty. President Rebecca Stoltzfus is an exception. The research of President Stoltzfus focuses on the causes and effects of malnutrition in low-income women and children, particularly the integration of direct nutrition interventions with intersectoral initiatives such as infectious disease prevention, food safety and reproductive health. She has approximately 150 peer-reviewed scientific articles to her credit. In 2017, when she came to Goshen College from Cornell University, where she was the vice provost for undergraduate education and a professor of nutritional studies, she had two...

By Mariela Esparza • December 8, 2022 • Features

This summer, Goshen College will begin a new program in partnership with a Kenyan research station, studying carbon sequestration in soil. Four Goshen College students will team up with four Kenyan students to study grassland conservation and restoration. The eight-week program involves studying at Merry Lea for four weeks in June and then at the Mpala Research Centre in Kenya for four more in July. The program “seeks to understand the role fire and grazing play in sequestering carbon in grassland soils.” Carbon sequestration — simply put, capturing carbon in soil — has two major benefits: not only does a...

By Daniel James • December 8, 2022 • Features