By: Dezaray Barr
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As the year comes to an end, this semester’s spotlight on the John Wesley Honors College at IWU comes to a close. As the series wraps up, be sure to review the five alumni of the JWHC who have shared their stories.
Annastasia Bonczyk: Pouring into the Community She Has Loved From the Beginning
Annastasia Bonczyk graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2011, after pursuing Biblical Studies in the school of Theology and Ministry. Following graduation, Annastasia attended Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan to further her education and earn a master’s degree. Five years after graduating, Annastasia returned to Indiana Wesleyan, as a coordinator of recruitment and student formation. “I’m recruiting students for the honors college, and I am helping with the external communications, with the broader community whether it’s with our alumni, or our prospective students.”
Chloe McLaughlin, a 2016 graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University, said, “I applied for the honors college because I wasn’t very humble. I stayed in the honors college because it humbled me… The best way to learn something,” McLaughlin said, “is to be in a room with people who are smarter than you.” McLaughlin, upon graduation this April with a double major in Christian Worship and Honors Humanities and a minor in Church Music, took the position of Modern Worship Leader & Youth Director at Trinity United Methodist Church in Elkhart, Indiana.
Amy Wagner graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2012 with a degree in Fine Arts. In addition to majoring in Fine Arts, Wagner was also a member of the John Wesley Honors College. Wagner said that growing up she had always excelled in school and had been placed in gifted programs at an early age. Joining the honors college on campus just seemed to make sense. She began working at God TV, and met her now husband, Derek Wagner. Before the two married last July, Wagner began working for a company he had started, called Peak Distribution LLC.
Ethan Linder graduated from Indiana Wesleyan in 2015 as a Christian Ministries major with an Honors Humanities minor through the John Wesley Honors College. Linder also had a positive experience being involved with the John Wesley Honors College. He said that he enjoyed learning from people who were in other majors outside of Christian Ministries and loved that the honors college values shaping students not only in knowledge, but in virtue. “You’re not going to just be shepherding Christian Ministries majors in your church after graduation, you’re going to have people who think deeply about nursing and education and journalism and marketing and things like that,” Linder said. “So having the opportunity to engage with people who were outside my discipline and find out how the spirit would draw them to shepherd areas of their own influence was really helpful for me.”
Anna Noveroske Freije graduated Indiana Wesleyan University in 2012 with a major in Biology. Freije was also a member of the John Wesley Honors College during her time at IWU. Frieje said her experience with the honors college was one of the more formative pieces of her college career. “I enjoyed a higher caliber of academic rigor and the honors college just seemed like a really cool way to incorporate that into my studies at Indiana Wesleyan,” Frieje said. “And I had known somebody from before college who had recommended the JWHC to me, and I’m so so glad I was a part of it.” Freije said the honor’s college was like a small family, and it was a very valuable part of her college years.
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Written by Dezaray Barr, PR Specialist for the Alumni Office. Dezaray is a sophomore Strategic Communication and Honors Humanities double major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College. At IWU Dezaray is involved in PRSSA leadership and runs both the JWHC Blog and her own blog. Visit Dez’s website at www.dezaraybarr.weebly.com.