Uncategorized – Page 4

December 5, 2018

Giving Back: Psychology in Adoption

By: Noelle Beans

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Jana Hunsley at her IWU graduation in 2013

The Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at Texas Christian University strives to help children who suffer from the effects of early trauma, abuse or neglect. The institute accomplishes this by researching these children’s needs to help them overcome challenges – social, behavioral and emotional.

As a sibling to seven adopted children, Jana Hunsley, a 2013 graduate from Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU), has found her place pursuing a PhD at this remarkable institute.

However, her journey began at Indiana Wesleyan. Due to her family’s composition, Hunsley had always known she wanted to study psychology at a Christian university in order to become a post-adoption therapist.

IWU also offered an honors program, The John Wesley Honors College, which challenged Hunsley academically. That, in combination with the Holy Spirit’s confirmation, led her to call IWU home.

“I fell in love with IWU right away,” Hunsley said. “I tangibly felt the presence of the Holy Spirit on campus, and it was like nothing I had experienced in a place previously. During that campus visit, I felt like the Holy Spirit was telling me this was the place I was supposed to be.”

This proved to be true as Hunsley met friends who challenged and encouraged her during her time as a Wildcat.

She also met professors who recognized her potential.

She said, “The professors are truly one of the biggest reasons I’m doing what I am doing with my life today.”

The constant support of the faculty at IWU was unexpected. The professors assisted Hunsley in seeing all of the plans God had for her if she would be faithful in her walk with Him.

Professors Dr. Runyan and Dr. Steenbergh were two of the professors who had a lasting impact on Hunsley’s life.

Drs. Runyan and Steenergh invited Hunsley to be a part of their research team. They encouraged her to pursue a career in psychological research.

Although Hunsley became a clinician first, she attributes her courage to step into a research PhD program to their guidance during her undergraduate studies.

According to Hunsley, for the children of God there is power in psychology. Runyan has echoed this belief by stating that research is integral to a Christian university as it will shape tomorrow, influencing textbooks, popular media and the way our culture thinks and lives. Due to her conviction and Runyan’s influence, Hunsley integrates this dynamic into her work daily.

“All that I am doing with my life is because it is exactly where God has told me to go and what He has told me to do,” said Hunsley. “Through my experience of being a sibling to seven adopted children, God gave me skills and experiences to help other adoptive families. He made it very clear that He created me to bring hope and healing to families that have had experiences like my own. My career is just a manifestation of the work God puts in front of me to help adoptive families.”

Hunsley continues to work in ground-breaking research, learning how to care for foster and adopted children.

This research has spread all over the world to enable these vulnerable children to heal. Hunsley has the opportunity to further this work by researching the effectiveness of their intervention, Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI).

Hunsley also researches the effects of TBRI in different cultures and settings around the world and finds ways to specifically help adoptive siblings adjust well to their families’ adoptions.

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Written by Noelle Beans, a writer for the IWU Alumni Center. Noelle is a sophomore Nursing and Honors Humanities double major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College from Greenville, Illinois.

November 27, 2018November 27, 2018

Multiplying Good with Generous Coffee

By: Dezaray Barr

On most Monday nights, you can walk into any girls dorm on Indiana Wesleyan University’s (IWU) campus and find a pod of young women giggling at the TV or scrolling through their phone during commercials.

What’s so special about Monday nights? The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, of course!

While IWU students may follow these Bachelor celebrities on Instagram and watch them from the cozy lobbies of their dorms, Maddie Short, an IWU alum, gets to work with these very people every day.

Short graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) in 2017 with a degree in strategic communications from the IWU Division of Communication & Theatre.

Luckily, IWU connections never fade, even after graduation.

Short said, “In January, a fellow colleague direct messaged me an Instagram post about an organization that needed a videographer to go on a trip in a couple of weeks. I was on a break at work when she sent me the post, and only had 15 minutes, so I figured, what the heck, and emailed them my website link. A couple days later I received an email telling me I had moved on in the selection process for the trip!”

Short continued, “I ended up getting the position to go on the trip to Honduras and went down a couple of weeks later to do video for both Humanity and Hope United and Generous Coffee. My experience on the trip caused me to come back with a heart to serve. I offered up my time for volunteering, and one thing led to another.”

Ben Higgins, a previous contestant on The Bachelor franchise, is the Founder and President of Generous Coffee.

He ended up offering Short a job as the first employee of Generous Coffee — which she was not expecting at all!

She said, “I quit all my other jobs to work full-time for them.”

Generous Coffee is a for-purpose business that aims to make the world better with every business decision. They do this by selling products that are designed specifically to create and multiply good in the world.

Although Generous Coffee is best known for their specialty grade coffee, they also sell shirts, bracelets and necklaces. They then invest 100% of their profits back into non-profits and other social causes.

Whether it is creating jobs for parents, feeding children or improving education, Generous Coffee wants to create a world we all want to live in, because they believe in the unique value of every human being. The Humanity and Hope United Foundation fits into this, because right now they are the main beneficiary of Generous Coffee, where all the profits go back to.

Short explained that this position working with such influential people wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for her education at IWU.

“I found out later that there were over 350 people who applied to do video/photo on the trip,” Short said. “One of the reasons I was considered for the trip that led me to my current job, was because I had an actual website with actual work on it. I would not have had that website if it wasn’t for my senior communication seminar class with Dr. Mark Perry.”

There is one more thing Short would like to add, and she hopes every current and future IWU student reads this. “When I graduated, I had someone say to me, ‘How does it feel that you just completed the best four years of your life?’ And it was such a weird question to be asked. I didn’t understand why they assumed upon graduating, that everything I had experienced over the last four years at IWU wouldn’t amount to anything, or suddenly because I am not tangibly at a place, that I can no longer experience my ‘best days.’ They were wrong. I think each day from here on out is considered my best day. It is one day more that I meet new people. One day more where I learn something new. One day more that I have an opportunity to serve. One day more that I have the chance to impact and be impacted. So, to all the seniors out there – It is what you make of it. And it is up to you to find the hope in the biggest setbacks and it is up to you to find the joy in the smallest of victories.”

Written by Dezaray Barr, PR Specialist for the IWU Alumni Office. Dezaray is a senior Strategic Communication, Journalism and Honors Humanities triple major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College. Visit Dez’s website at www.dezaraybarr.weebly.com.

November 24, 2018

Thanks to Fusion, He Only Filled Out One Application: Zach McConnell

By: Kendra Housel

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Most seniors in high school spend months and months hunched over their computer, filling out application after application, writing essay upon essay about how something less-than-inspiring completely changed their lives, hoping to get accepted to a university.

It is an exhausting, often painstaking process filled with lots of uncertainty and often anxiety.

While this scene is very familiar to Zach McConnell, it is more reminiscent of the fact that he has applied to be on the television show Survivor for the past fifteen seasons.

No, McConnell’s college search was much simpler.

This youth pastor did something that he says that he would never advise his students to do. After a rather apathetic time of searching around for possible colleges to attend, with the encouragement of his youth pastor and a memory of an amazing time he had at Fusion (an IWU hosted high school conference), McConnell applied to just one college: Indiana Wesleyan University.

Of the decision to approach college with such confidence and optimism, McConnell said, “I was captivated and wowed by the campus and the environment. In 2007, God had called me to ministry, but I didn’t necessarily know where to go.”

“I only applied to IWU, because my youth pastor suggested I go, and I had really liked Fusion,” he explained. “But looking back, despite my apathy of searching for universities, I knew the Holy Spirit was leading the way … I don’t advise my students to just submit one application and ‘hope for the best’ just because of one youth conference. Terrible idea. But God knew what was happening.”

The time that followed this step of faith is what McConnell describes as “life-changing.”

His time at IWU was marked by a transformation of his heart, attitude and perspective. Much of that was due to the community that McConnell found one that continues to love and support him today.

“Every year continued to be a year of growth while attending IWU, ” McConnell said. “I found amazing accountability partners that I still connect with today. I have amazing ‘summit’ moments where I am reminded that I am uniquely and wonderfully made in the image of God.”

“I cannot express this any louder – I am so thankful for my time at Bowman Hall. The biggest piece of the puzzle I learned is that I am a Man of God, because He has created me in His image. I’m so thankful for the principles of Bowman and the people I was surrounded with while there,” McConnell said.

McConnell also found another relational blessing while studying at IWU.

As he pursued his degree in Youth Ministry, he also pursued his wife, Amanda. The pair graduated together in 2012 and are getting ready to welcome their first child this December.

McConnell and his wife, Amanda, at their graduation from IWU.

Currently, McConnell and his wife both serve in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at Linwood Church, where he is the NextGen Pastor and she is the Children’s Director.

McConnell rejoices in the opportunity to serve alongside his wife and lead his students to a more fruitful and authentic relationship with Christ through celebration, service and discipline.

In reflecting on his time at IWU, McConnell feels that he learned much about ministry, while also being affirmed that it was truly what he was called to do.

He said that he truly appreciates that IWU is an academic university that makes spirituality a priority over academics.

With a great love for IWU and the Fusion conference, of which he served on the leadership team while a student, McConnell continues to bring his students to attend Fusion annually, all the way from South Dakota. This year will be his 11^th Fusion.

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Written by Kendra Housel, writer for the IWU Alumni Center. Kendra is a junior Education and Honors Humanities double major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College. She is also a member of the University Chorale. Kendra is passionate about serving Christ through writing, singing and caring for others.

November 16, 2018

Small Kindnesses Leave a Huge Impact: Marie Beechy

By: Noelle Beans

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“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

This quote by Mother Teresa allows people to fathom how simple acts of kindness have immense – and eternal – effects.

Marie Beechy, a 2017 graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University’s master’s program and this year’s Distinguished School of Nursing Award recipient, understands this concept tenfold.

Beechy first attended Indiana University in Kokomo before her first nursing employments and before beginning her education at Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU).

She began her nursing career at St. Vincent Anderson, and in 2008 she moved to New Orleans where she worked for a company to analyze healthcare claims and develop wellness programs. At the same time, she worked part-time at a private psychiatric hospital.

When she returned to Indiana in 2016, she went back to work at St. Vincent where her previous experience had been pleasurable. She is also an adjunct professor at Marion University.

Both of her current employers have a focus on caring, respect and compassion for patients.

Beechy said, “I am thankful that I work for companies that encourage my Christian values to be displayed in my workplace.”

She also feels that working in the field of mental health gives her many opportunities to impart encouragement and kindness upon the people who need it the most.

Another way Beechy imparts God’s love in her life is through her ministry, One Refugee Child. This ministry stemmed out of a crowdfunding project called One Stroller – Many Steps Forward.

In a series of events, this project gave over 57 strollers to Syrian refugees and inspired others in Chicago, and even London, to do the same.

By January 2016, One Refugee Child expanded their projects to include blankets, hygiene supplies and winter clothes.

Facebook invited Beechy to their headquarters in 2016 to tell her story and from there, the ministry gained momentum.

One Refugee Child raises funds to improve the day-to-day lives of refugee children through projects that focus on health, development and education. The organization believes in pragmatism, in simplicity and in initiating specific projects that reflect changing needs and conditions on the ground. Most importantly, they believe in bringing comfort to children in crisis.

Their mission statement echoes Mother Teresa’s words: “Small kindnesses. Targeted projects. Transparency in the donation process. Huge impact.”

When asked about receiving this award, Beechy stated that she was surprised and very humbled.”

Beechy began her ministry with no intentions to do anything but help mothers and children in different circumstances.

Every opportunity has given her a chance to raise awareness about the crisis and help others to see what small things they can do with great love. They may be able to look back on their lives, like Beechy will be able to do, and see they have done great things.
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November 13, 2018

From Marion to Spain, IWU’s Impact is Strong: Navar Watson

By: Dezaray Barr
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If both of your parents attended and graduated from a specific university, that would naturally be the last place on your list.

This was the case for Navar Watson. “My parents are both alumni of IWU, so naturally, it was the last place on my list of colleges to attend,” Watson explained.

“Then I did an overnight visit on campus and enjoyed it very much. IWU beat out any other college or university I was considering. The communication department offered plenty of hands-on experience and extracurriculars.”

Watson graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) in 2016 with a degree from the IWU Division of Communication & Theatre in convergent journalism, and he said that his time at IWU was fantastic… something he wouldn’t trade for the world.

“I developed some of the strongest relationships in my life with fellow students; I developed incredible relationships with my professors as well. I loved them, and I could tell they genuinely loved and cared about me. I can’t be thankful enough for that,” Watson elaborated.

It wasn’t just the relationships that he made during his time at IWU that changed his life – it was also the impact IWU had on his spiritual life.

“I can’t begin to describe how much IWU impacted my faith,” Watson said. “What benefited me the most was exposure to people – students, professors and faculty members – whose personal backgrounds and perceptions of God differed from mine. It’s critically important to understand faith through other people’s eyes, and experiences with other people helped shape, and continue to shape, my own understanding of it.”

Immediately after graduating from IWU, Watson jumped into a journalism career working with the Chronicle-Tribune newspaper in Marion for a year and a half.

Now, Watson is in Spain teaching English as a foreign language.

In both career paths, Watson’s education at IWU has been incredibly influential.

“My classes, professors and experiences at IWU helped establish a confidence in myself and my abilities. That confidence allowed me to excel in my newspaper career (gaining three state journalism awards in the process), take risks in life and more recently, move halfway across the world and embrace an unknown future,” Watson explained.

There are two pieces of advice Watson wishes to share with IWU students, because he wishes someone had told him these things.

One, “Don’t sweat life. It’s fun. It’s one big video game.”

And two, “Don’t worry about figuring everything out right now. In the words of singer Tony Bennett, ‘Life teaches you really how to live it, if you can live long enough.'”

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November 10, 2018

Illustration in the Big Apple: Trenton McBeth

By: Noelle Beans
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In the picture book, Stegothesaurus, readers get to follow the adventures of a young, word-loving stegothesaurus as he fights with his brothers, meets new friends, and is reminded of the never ending love of family.

Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) alumnus and current New York City (NYC) resident, T. L. McBeth, illustrated this successful book with author, Bridget Heos.

McBeth found himself at IWU after seeing that, in comparison to other schools, their art program was the most well-rounded and extensive.

He enjoyed his busy time as a student, graduating in three years, and is thankful for many of his professors who taught him and helped him make connections that would eventually allow him to move to New York to start his career after his 2015 graduation.

At the start of his burgeoning illustration career in NYC, McBeth was an extra in television shows and movies, including Daredevil (Netflix), Elementary (CBS) and Crashing (HBO).

As he has continues living in New York, McBeth has produced another children’s book, Big Words Small Stories: The Missing Donut, which is just recently published.

His first self-authored and illustrated book, Robot in Love, is set to go on sale December 25^th of this year.

A sequel to the beloved Stegothesaurus is even in the works!

Amidst living in NYC, McBeth keeps his wits about him and his faith at the forefront: “New York can be kind of a cutthroat place, especially if you work in a creative field, and everybody has a lot on their plate,” he said. “Taking the time to have empathy and be kind to someone can really make a difference.”

You can learn more about McBeth’s upcoming projects and get the latest updates on his website: http://www.TLMcBeth.com.

You can also connect with him on Instagram: @t.l.mcbeth and Twitter: @T_L_Mcbeth.

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November 9, 2018November 9, 2018

From Student to Professor in the Very Same Classroom: Brian Clark

By: Kendra Housel

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Everything could have been different for Brian Clark, a 2009 graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) and the John Wesley Honors College (JWHC).

Clark, who is currently a PhD student studying Religious Ethics at Southern Methodist University, did not begin his journey towards higher education with his sights set on IWU.

At what Clark thought was the end of his college search, he had his plan worked out to attend another university. It was in that time, as it has been for many of us, where God changed Clark’s direction entirely.

This is when Clark first heard about the community that would become his home during (and long after) his time pursing his bachelor’s degree: The John Wesley Honors College.

Clark said that he was initially attracted by the JWHC’s interdisciplinary community and the challenge of honors coursework. What he received from the honors college was more than he could have asked for.

As a student, Clark became a Religion and Philosophy major, also minoring in Theology. While he rejoiced in his growing knowledge, Clark found the community at IWU to be invaluable.

He experienced a depth of friendship and the unique fellowship of mentoring that he had never received in such a way before. His education became less about knowing and more about becoming in-step with Christ.

Clark describes the experience as “learning to drink deeply the font of Christian traditions.” He said, “I learned to live my faith in via as a pilgrim member of Christ’s church, toward my heavenly home.”

While at IWU, Clark also had the opportunity to travel across the globe, which he had never experienced before. He wound up traveling to six different countries and studying abroad in England as an IWU student.

Graduation came and went, and Clark found himself back at IWU once again, this time serving as Honors Instructor in Humanities for the JWHC.

He led classes that he once took himself as a student, and he became a beloved presence for the students and faculty alike.

As if his time in the JWHC had not poured enough into him, Clark met his now wife, Allison, who also studied in the JWHC. They met through a mutual friend and IWU alum after they had both graduated.

One can imagine that they bonded on their earliest dates talking about Plato’s Allegory of the Cave (a typical read for JWHC students). Clark remarked about meeting his wife through his IWU community, “the community kept on giving, even after graduation!”

During his pursuits at IWU and in the JWHC, Clark discovered he had a calling to the church as a pastor-teacher and to the university as a Christian-intellect, which helped him discern his current doctoral focus, Virtue Ethics, specifically the tradition of Christian virtue.

In true ‘Professor Clark’ fashion, he wishes to pass on this quick word of advice to current students: “Life is grace all the way down. Give thanks! Life is good, even though it sometimes threatens to break us. Every valley and every journey has an end. Keep walking!”

The 2016-2017 John Wesley Honors College faculty, including Brian Clark.

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September 18, 2018September 19, 2018

Using Your Gifts for God’s Purpose: Jacob Lapp

By: Kendra Housel

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When Jacob Lapp began his college search, he knew that God was calling him to attend a Christian university. Given his family background, he assumed his journey would lead to a Nazarene college.

He had never heard of The Wesleyan Church, but decided to check out Indiana Wesleyan University after he saw an IWU advertisement in a magazine.

It took only one visit to the Marion campus to end Lapp’s college search.

It was an important first step that eventually would lead to Lapp’s current job as Chief Information Officer (CIO) of The Wesleyan Church. He received a B.S. degree in accounting and management from IWU in 2006.

Lapp said he first developed a faith of his own during his years at IWU. During his first two years on campus, Lapp lived in Bowman Hall where he served as mission coordinator. He was a Resident Assistant in Phillippe Apartments his junior year.

The summer before his senior year, Lapp married his college sweetheart, the former Diane Taylor, who also graduated from IWU in 2006 with a degree in business administration.

Through his studies as an accounting major, Lapp developed a friendship and a mentoring relationship with Kent Williams, an accounting professor. Both men had grown up on farms, and Lapp said Williams understood him and made him feel at home.

Lapp was instrumental in starting IWU’s accounting club and served as the firsts president of the group in 2005.

Despite saying he never would take a job in public accounting, after graduating from IWU Lapp worked two years auditing non-profit organizations – many of them Christian organizations.

Through that experience, he discovered the different kinds of work people were doing for God’s kingdom across the nation and around the world.

In 2008, during the housing crisis, Lapp and his wife sold their home in Colorado and returned to Marion where he took a job as a purchasing agent. Less than two years later, Professor Williams alerted his former student to a job opportunity at the world headquarters of The Wesleyan Church in Fishers, Indiana.

Lapp began his ministry with the denomination in 2012 as the Director of Finance, and in 2017 became the Chief Information Officer with responsibility for all information technology.

He sees his dual roles as strategy and leadership, where about 60 percent of his work revolves around the question of how technology can support the mission of the church. The other 40 percent of his job deals with finances and accounting.

Lapp looks back on his IWU experience as a time when he felt the emphasis of using his gifts for God’s purpose.

“Although I work in a Christian community, it is also important to use those same gifts working in secular industries,” Lapp said. “Anything you do is significant if you do it for Christ.”

Any words of wisdom to share with current IWU students?

“Well, I have lots of words, but I don’t know if any of them qualify as wisdom,” he said. “I fear failure. I had to come to a place where I loved pleasing God more than pleasing others and more than I feared failure. I live for an audience of One.

September 18, 2018September 19, 2018

The Importance of Community : Joe Winger

By: Kendra Housel

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Joe Winger and his family at his graduation.

Joe Winger learned several life-changing lessons during his college years at Indiana Wesleyan University that cannot be discovered in textbooks or class lectures.

Winger, who graduated in 2010 with a B.S. degree in psychology, knew as a high school student in Colorado that he wanted to attend a Christ-centered university. After a Google search and a campus visit, he knew IWU was where he belonged.

The years he spent at IWU confirmed his choice, but in a way that he neither expected nor desired. The summer before Winger returned to campus for his senior year, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer that primarily affects the lymph nodes.

Winger remained in Colorado to begin chemotherapy and radiation treatments during the first semester of his senior year, but he was able to complete his degree thanks to independent study.

“Dr. Tim Steenbergh and other faculty members become advocates for me,” he said. “The opportunity to work on my studies helped me to stay focused and to have a positive attitude during my treatments.” Steenbergh, a Professor of Psychology, has taught at IWU since 2003.

Winger returned to campus for his final semester in the spring of 2010, but he struggled with taking a full load of classes and missed the Colorado community that had surrounded him.

Winger would quickly learn how important community and meaning were in successfully battling cancer.

“The IWU community made my transition back to campus as smooth as possible,” he said. “So many people at IWU did everything possible to support me in person, just as they had done when I was in Colorado.”

Through his diagnosis and treatment, Winger said God taught him that life has meaning regardless of your circumstances. He learned the importance of staying connected to people and to Christ at all times.

“My eyes were opened to the suffering of cancer patients,” Winger said.

During his treatments, Winger read Man’s Search for Meaning, a book by Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl. “The book focuses on the importance of maintaining meaning in the midst of suffering,” Winger said.

Fast forward to 2017 when Winger finished his Ph.D. He recently completed his first year as a postdoctoral associate at Duke University Medical Center.

Through a fellowship from the American Cancer Society, Winger’s work focuses on Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy (MCP) with an emphasis on helping patients with advanced cancer

and pain.

The study focuses on pain coping skills, relaxation techniques and identifying ways to stay engaged in a meaningful life. He is testing MCP with 50 cancer patients at Duke.

“God’s faithfulness put me in the field where I belong,” he said.

What advice does Winger have for today’s IWU students?

“Value being in a Christian community,” he said. “When I was at IWU, it never fully sunk in for me just how unique a time it was in terms of community. Especially for students who will go into secular environments, they will never get the same sense of community that seeks to glorify Christ in their work that they have now on campus.”

August 14, 2018

Nurse Tyanne Brewer

By: Dezaray Barr

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Tyanne Brewer graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) in 2014 with her BSN. She chose to attend IWU because it was both faith-based and close to her home.

As a student, she spent a lot of time studying, but she also built many friendships. “I also grew spiritually at IWU as I learned to become a nurse,” she said.

Brewer is now a registered nurse at Marion General Hospital in Telemtry. IWU inspired her to be the best nurse she could ever be. She said, “IWU taught me to never forget where I came from, and I try to inspire others because of that.”

Because of her education at IWU, when patients ask Brewer to pray for or with them, she does, and that’s how she said her faith impacts her work as a nurse.

Brewer would encourage IWU students to never give up on their dreams. “If nursing is truly your passion, stick with it and God will place you where you need to be,” she said. Brewer is a first-generation college graduate, and she worked full-time as a CNA while going to nursing school. She is now working on her Masters while working full-time as an RN.

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Written by Dezaray Barr, PR Specialist for the Alumni Office. Dezaray is a senior Strategic Communication, Journalism and Honors Humanities triple major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College. Visit Dez’s website at www.dezaraybarr.weebly.com.