Indiana Wesleyan University
Coming to IWU Homecoming line up this fall (October 2, 2015 – 8:45 PM) is the FNL Flashback directed and led by IWU Alumni. Save the date today!
Here is a flashback featuring Jim “Umfundisi” Lo – FNL Fall 2011: “A little Umf” – YouTube. Tickets will be on-sale in July. Look for more information in the upcoming Triangle Magazine.
Jason Pattengale beat Crohn’s Disease to become a varsity cheerleader at IWU, but he probably never expected to become a clothing model for his youngest brother’s company.
Mike Pattengale has been an entrepreneur for as long as he can remember, selling air band concert tickets door-to-door at age nine and mowing yards by the time he was twelve. His most recent venture started not from a desire to make money, but a desire to save it. During his sophomore year at IWU, Mike went on what he later described as “an unsuccessful shopping trip” to buy tank tops for spring break. He soon realized tank tops cost an average of $30. “That really rubbed me the wrong way,” Mike says. “So I decided to make my own.”
Mike knew he needed help to design a tank top and turned to Matt Rush (’14). The two had heard of each other through high school sports in Grant County and through mutual friends. Both men later enrolled at IWU, where they became close friends during their sophomore year.
When Mike showed Matt his design, Matt got on board. “We knew we could make tank tops with more appealing designs than the ones widely available in stores and that we could sell them for half the price the stores charge – all while making a profit,” says Matt. He and Mike hashed out ideas for the company over the next several months, settling on an official design and a name.
“We chose Two North Apparel as our company name because we wanted to encourage adventure, challenge complacency, and create boldness – all the things I experienced in my time living on Hodson 2 North,” Mike explains.
Although Matt later switched to a Marketing major and Economics minor, he had a two-year background as a graphic design student. He helped convert Mike’s sketch of a tank top design into a vector image. They ordered thirty tanks with the design on them. “Aside from Mike posting one picture on Instagram … the only promotion was word of mouth,” Matt says, “We sold out of that first order in under a week.” Two North soon developed a small following, its number of customers increasing with each order.
A friend of the two entrepreneurs, IWU alum Santiago Jaramillo (’12), helped them take Two North to the next level. On Jaramillo’s advice, Mike and Matt incorporated Two North Apparel in August 2012, building a company website and creating social media accounts.
The company’s goal is to provide high-quality coastal apparel with unique design. Two North does so under the tagline “Welcome to the Midwest Coast.” Eventually, Mike hopes to expand the Indiana-based business to an actual coast. “I would love to be [somewhere like] California,” he says. Another change he would like to see for Two North is the transition from a solely web-based business to owning his own store front.
Besides bringing class and style back into the clothing industry, Two North is a company geared at helping others. “We want to encourage our customers and those around them to step out of their comfort zone, to quit playing the ‘what if’ game and start playing the ‘one-time-I-decided-to’ game,” Mike says. He believes tank tops are perfect for encouraging people to be bold, feel comfortable, and recognize their own beauty.
Part of the way Two North promotes this brand is by using customer photos. Matt explains, “We encourage all customers to post pictures of them wearing their Two North gear. So in a sense, we try to use all our customers as models.”
Mike’s oldest brother, Jason, is one of those customers. “[He] is my best friend,” Mike says. “He is also the manliest man I know. I want to encourage adventure and boldness, and he is a perfect example of that … just look at his beard!”
Besides Jason’s encouragement, Mike has also been positively influenced by relationships he formed with friends and professors at IWU. “I always [had] ideas of how to turn a profit. My time at IWU just helped me focus that,” Mike explains.
Similarly, Matt credits his involvement with Two North to Mike, Jaramillo, and IWU professor Phil Millage. He says, “The connections I made [at IWU] helped grow my interest in and love for business and entrepreneurship, while sharpening my knowledge and skills.”
Matt also refers to Two North as “the most valuable entrepreneurial experience I’ve had,” experience he is now taking with him to his new job. Early in 2015, Matt sold his share of Two North in order to focus on God’s next call in his life. He now works at Jaramillo’s company, an app creator called Bluebridge. He remains friends with Mike, and the two continue to talk about Two North business together.
As for Mike, the 2015 alum plans to continue operating Two North under its current bold, innovative brand. True to the company’s character, Mike’s advice to fellow 2015 alumni is both frank and encouraging:
“Don’t expect anything to be handed to you. Earn everything … and if you have a dream, go for it! Life isn’t about money. Dream bigger than you think is possible.”
Written by Megan Emily. Megan is a 2015 IWU alumna and operates Earthworms, a blog about finding hope and security.
View the Marion Campus on 21Alive. Newly added to the network of Skyview Cameras you can now view the Ott Hall of Science and Health building Indiana Wesleyan University | 21Alive: News, Sports, Weather, Fort Wayne WPTA-TV, WISE-TV, and CW | Skyview Cameras.
This 21Alive Skyview camera shows live streaming video of the five-story Ott Hall of Sciences and Nursing, which is the newest building on Indiana Wesleyan University’s residential campus in Marion. The camera is mounted atop the university’s Jackson Library and is facing north.
Every spring for the past 20 years, Indiana Wesleyan University has hosted a unique middle school event called Never2Young. This year is the largest it has ever been, with over 1,100 attendees who will be on campus for the weekend.
The conference is widely known because of its special focus. Roger Alcock, IWU Director of Events, expresses its purpose: “The reason we started Never2Young was because we wanted something that was uniquely designed for just middle school students.” 
There are a lot of conferences geared toward high schoolers, but not very many are specialized for middle schoolers.
Never2Young is a time of worship, speakers, games, pizza and fun for the students and sponsors. There is a large rally on both Friday and Saturday this year that includes the worship band, Revolution, the talented speaker, Stephen Perry, and the Momentum Dance Crew. While the focal point of the weekend is spiritual growth, IWU also offers activities such as swimming, basketball, tournaments, and inflatables.
Junior High students bring enthusiasm, curiosity and vulnerability to IWU. “They are on a totally different energy level,” said Tom Sloan, the Associate Director of Admissions. “A highlight [of the weekend] is definitely when you see kids making commitments to the Lord. That’s a major factor of why Never2Young exists.”
More than 30 IWU students come back in May to serve as volunteers for the weekend. Spencer Olson is a special and dedicated contributor to Never2Young.
Olson attended the conference in middle school with his youth group, then enrolled to IWU and became a volunteer to help with the event. Now he is a youth pastor and is bringing his youth group back to attend. As a volunteer last year, he saw Never2Young from a new perspective. “Josh Lavender [IWU alum], came back and led worship, and the kids were actually engaging in worship. It was amazing to hear Josh explain why we were worshipping between sets and songs,” he said. “For me, it’s an ultimate experience watching junior high students truly praising God. Once I saw that, I knew I would keep coming back.”
This conference is also special because of its unique attributes. 
Never2young is open to anyone from families to friends to churches. A mother could bring her daughter for a weekend away with the girls, or a father could bring a group of boys with his son. This creates a great ministry by reaching outside the church.
Never2Young has been a great success over the past 20 years and is projected to continue growing. The ministry impacts students’ spiritual lives and their future paths. Sloan says that some middle schoolers end up attending IWU in their future: “If they come [to Never2Young] their 6th, 7th, and 8th grade years and then hit Fusion from 9th through 12th grade, we’re family. We are a community.”
When Olson attended Never2Young with his youth group years ago, that was his first exposure to IWU. It spiritually made an impact on his life: “I had completely written off the Wesleyan church because I grew up there and bridges had been burned, but I remembered Never2Young and looked into IWU. They made an impression on me and I was interested that a University was able to hold such a memorable event. I have the utmost respect for IWU,” he said.
Faculty and students collaborate together to create this powerful, life changing event. To read more, visit Never2Young.
Sara “Julia” Castle (Medows,) 81, Marion, passed away at 6:30 a.m., on Tuesday, April 21, 2015, in her home. She was born in Birmingham, AL to the late W.E. and Dolly (Clary) Hobson. She married Ben E. Medows on September 12, 1953; he preceded her in death. She then married Howard Castle on October 1, 2011; he survives. Julia is a Marion College graduate (1954) and beloved alumnae. She served her fellow classmates as reunion leader and many other roles through the Alumni Association for many years. – See more at: Obituary of Sara Castle Medows.
For a year, Ashton Rank (’12) worked as a full-time nanny and Outreach Coordinator of a church-plant in Columbus, Ohio. She led volunteers in planning community events to attract people to the church. Church planting helped Ashton prepare for her next role: Resident Director of Beckett Hall East, IWU’s only all-freshmen female dorm since Shatford House’s 2012 repurposing.
Even before leading church events and volunteers turned into leading dorm events and RAs, Ashton had a solid framework for ResLife. She was an RA and ARD in Shatford, and ARD in the townhouses. “Those relationships I built with the RA staff and … with my RD are something I cherished and learned a lot from,” she says.
One influential ResLife staffer was Laura Bronsink, former Shatford RD and now RD of Kem Hall. Ashton’s relationship with Laura is special because, “I was a student under her supervision for two years … We maintained a relationship after I graduated, and now we get to work with each other.” Laura is even the one who called Ashton when Beckett East’s RD position opened.
Becoming an RD in her early twenties was sometimes difficult for Ashton, especially when it came to balancing her roles as friend and supervisor. “Because I was younger starting out … I didn’t allow myself to build friendship-type relationships with my staff. I made sure I didn’t do anything to compromise their respect of me or my supervisor role,” Ashton explains. “That was difficult, because I felt like I didn’t know my staff well.” However, as a second-year RD, Ashton has found a better balance between being a fun, silly friend and being a mature, respected leader.
Besides managing her staff, Ashton loves interacting with residents. She views herself as a resource for students as they transition to college: “I want them to learn to be independent. Our goal [is] to help students make life choices … in a safe environment.” She enjoys pointing people to on-campus offices that can help them and feels rewarded when she sees former residents succeeding as upperclassmen.
Residents owe some of their success to Beckett’s mentoring program. Upperclassmen in Beckett West act as spiritual role models and help the freshmen navigate the difficulties of college.
Ashton says mentoring is at the core of Beckett’s legacy: “Our hall is unique because we’re not named after someone who donated money, but we’re named for [Cheryl Beckett] … She cared deeply about mentoring other women.” Cheryl (’00) was serving as a medical missionary in a poor region of Afghanistan in August 2010, when she and nine others were shot to death by unidentified gunmen.
Cheryl’s legacy of service, self-sacrifice, and love lives on in Beckett Hall. “Part of Cheryl’s story was that people felt a sense of calm when they would just walk by her door. They didn’t even have to see her … and it [would still be] peaceful for them,” Ashton explains. She wants residents to feel peace and belonging when they come to Beckett. “I want them to know it’s a home where they can be themselves, feel support, and live out their story as Cheryl did.”
Written by Megan Emily. Megan is a senior English/Writing major and a member of the John Wesley Honors College. She also operates Earthworms, a blog about finding hope and security.
Dr. Brian Poplin ’97 graduate of IWU is selected as new CEO. TrustHouse Founder Hand-Picks Successor | Business Wire.
Dr. Poplin comes to TrustHouse most recently from Medical Staffing Network Healthcare, LLC, where he has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since April 2013. The dynamic leader was previously with Aramark Healthcare Technologies for 19 years, where he was an integral part of the team that created a market-leading technology services company within the healthcare sector.
Read more at Businesswire.com.
Join Dr. Jim Lo’s Prayer E-newsletter. Sign up by sending us a message – alumni@indwes.edu – and ask to be added!
Allow me to share a reality: There are times when it seems as though God is nowhere to be found. Students have come to tell me that sometimes they cannot feel God being near them. I have felt this way. Job, in the Old Testament, also felt this way. But in chapter 23 I was reminded that God is still “there”. That when I do not “feel” His presence I am to still closely follow His steps and keep His ways… I am not to depart from His commands and I am to still treasure His Word. Faith in God will allow me/us to eventually “come forth as gold”. (Thank you Lord for this reminder)
Pray for…
Thank you so much for your ministry of prayer. I love the words of William Law when he wrote, “He who has learned to pray has learned the greatest secret of a holy, happy and productive life.”
Rev. Dr. Jim “Umfundisi” Lo+
Dean of the Chapel- Professor of Religion
Indiana Wesleyan University
Two-year-old Uriah asks, “Can we go to the lobby?” He loves playing in the lobby of Bowman House, where his father, Luke Johns (’11), is the Resident Director. Luke and wife Lauren (’11) are expecting their second child in June.
Luke, who became the RD in 2012, is no stranger to Bowman. As a student, he lived in Bowman for four years, filling the roles of resident, Events Coordinator, RA, and ARD. “I climbed the ResLife ladder,” he explains.
Bowman had a strong impact on Luke, because it’s “set up to mentor young men and teach them what it means to live in community.” Jared Begg, the former RD, was also a positive influence: “There’s a temptation in Christian culture to fake it. You want to look the part. But [Jared] didn’t try to make us think he had it all together.” Jared’s openness inspired Luke to be equally honest when he became an RD.
On a typical day, RDs have one-on-one meetings with 2-3 students, plus several business meetings, packed in around office hours and hours spent in the hall, interacting with residents. Fulfilling an RD’s role is a never-ending responsibility. “You could work 60-70 hours a week if you wanted to,” Luke says.
To balance his schedule, he counts on the ResLife staff to help mentor residents: “My target audience is my staff … The majority of my time is spent developing [them] so they can develop the residents.” Staff involvement is instrumental in providing a positive influence in the lives of Bowman’s 100-plus young men.
Following thirty years as a comprehensive female hall, Bowman became an all-freshman boys’ residence in 1996. The dorm now hosts events geared toward helping young men live faith-based lives according to its five pillars: Discipleship, Honor, Excellence, Leadership, and Tradition.
Luke’s favorite tradition is the beginning-of-the-year House Retreat. After watching White Squall together, staff and residents camp out at Ketcham Woods. “We play games … We go over the pillars of Bowman House and tell stories,” Luke says.
The community-building that begins at the House Retreat continues all year. When moving on to other dorms as sophomores, former residents tend to remain friends and roommates. “A lot of times, they travel in packs,” Luke says. But he hopes that they will open the Bowman community to include others.
Bowman is unique in how it brings young men from diverse backgrounds into close proximity and works to draw them closer to Christ. Its powerful impact on its residents is obvious, especially as they grow and influence the rest of IWU’s campus. However, following the 2014-2015 academic year, Bowman will no longer be open to undergraduate housing.
To commemorate Bowman House’s rich history, the dorm is hosting the Bowman House Reunion and Celebration. On Friday, April 10th at 6:30 p.m., Bowman alumni are invited to Ketcham Woods for an overnight camping trip to reminisce about past Bowman retreats over a bonfire, games, and the Bowman Book. Next, Bowman alumni are invited to the Henry West Banquet Rooms from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 11th for a banquet and time of sharing memories. The celebration will move to Bowman House at 8:30 p.m., where all are welcome to hang out, look at old pictures, and join in Roots-A-Palooza (a.k.a. Brew Night).
Honored guests include Todd Jensen, Rob Dawson, Nate Beals, and Jared Begg, all former Bowman House RDs. Luke hopes dorm alumni will also participate in the event with current IWU students, connecting generations of Bowman Boys as they celebrate one of IWU’s most beloved dorms.
Check out the event details here!
Written by Megan Emily. Megan is a senior English/Writing major and a former resident of Shatford House, the sister dorm to Bowman. She operates Earthworms, a blog about finding hope and security.
IWU Orchestra Concert to Feature Concerto Contest Winner
The IWU Orchestra will perform their Spring concert on Wednesday, April 8 at 7:30pm. The concert will feature Anna Uecker, violin, winner of the IWU Orchestra Concerto Competition performing Ralph Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending. The program will also feature Professor Mary Grogan performing Italian opera arias, music from the films The Godfather and Lord of the Rings and classic Broadway hits, West Side Story, The Phantom of the Opera, and Les Misérables. Tickets are $3 per person or 2 for $5.
via Division Of Music | CAS | Academics | Indiana Wesleyan University.
