Alumni
Bethel Parent
A newsletter for parents of Bethel University students
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The Resource Zone |
Help on All Fronts
By Kay Wible
It's October and your son or daughter may be in the throes of his or her transition to college—some for the first time, others after a summer off. Either way, Bethel has resources to help. It's important that students, especially freshmen, know where to turn. "Research says the friendships and habits established in the first six weeks help determine success" in college, Judy Moseman, vice president for student life, told parents during orientation week. Here is where students in any year at Bethel can find help with emotional, spiritual, academic, and lifestyle adjustments:
Office of Student Life
Student life is responsible for student growth outside the classroom."Our hope is to provide a rounded educational experience, contributing to the ‘whole' part of ‘whole and holy persons,'" says Dean of Students Jim Fereira. In addition to an open door for students simply needing to talk, the Office of Student Life coordinates housing assignments, organizes Welcome Week, hires and supports residence hall staff, supervises the Bethel Student Association (student government), offers resources for minority and international students, oversees student clubs, and sponsors student activities. "Student life is here to support the student's success in college," says Fereira. "We also work to encourage the development of Christian values."
Counseling Services
Professional counseling is available free of charge for students wrestling with relationships, identity issues, or just the challenges of college life. Bethel's counselors are trained to deal confidentially with personal, intellectual, or emotional issues, as well as developmental or occupational decisions, with the goal of enabling each person to achieve his or her goals. "We provide students with an opportunity to bring healing, transformation, and growth into their lives," says Jim Koch, director of counseling services. "Counseling is a time for reflection and interaction that takes a willingness to discover new things about one's self, courage to change what needs to be changed, and commitment to live life more fully in the present, open to God's grace and the world around them."
Office of Campus Ministries
Bethel's campus ministries team is committed to encouraging faith development and deepening students' relationship with God. They also provide experiences that reinforce what it means to be a Christian witness in today's world. Campus ministries offers weekly chapel services; facilitates discipleship groups such as RIOT; and coordinates other small groups that foster spiritual growth. The office also links students to weekly volunteer work through Twin Cities Outreach (see article, page 3), and mission trips during spring break and the summer. Campus pastors are also accessible for student support and counseling.
Academic Enrichment & Support Center
In the Academic & Support Center (AESC), students can receive walk-in tutoring in most 100- and 200-level courses in math, science, some world languages, physics, select business courses, Christianity and World Culture (CWC), and writing skills. Students can listen to podcasts on study skills, and receive face-to-face mentoring on basics such as time management, study strategies, and test-taking. All services are free, but students must come with partially completed homework since the goal is to help them complete their own work. Last fall, 885 students—almost 32 percent of the student body—requested some type of academic assistance. "We encourage students to identify their strengths and weaknesses as learners, observe the connection between their study strategies and results, and develop and implement a plan for improvement," say Ruth Nelson, co-director of AESC.
Making Disciples
Faith Construction Ahead
By Nicolle Westlund '09
A Monday morning prayer walk. Prayer teams for chapel. Prayer retreats to train students. As Bethel's new head campus pastor, Jim Lo has big dreams for Bethel that have a lot to do with prayer.
Before students arrived, Lo and his campus ministries staff had already blanketed the campus, students, and faculty with innumerable prayers. Lo is now challenging the entire Bethel community to depend more on prayer.
Lo has many new ideas about how to make Bethel a place of prayer. He plans to organize weekly prayer walks beginning this month. A team of faculty and students will meet with him on Monday mornings before classes to pray over the campus. "I want to have enough people to go into every classroom, touch every chair, and pray over every profession, so that when students walk into that classroom, they can sense the presence of God."
When we become excited about prayer, says Lo, there is spiritual awakening. He hopes to see evidence of God's response to prayer all over campus, including chapel, held three times each week. "I want students to feel the stirring of the Spirit in their hearts, but not because of the preaching or the music," reflects Lo. "It's easy to…make a commitment based on emotion" rather than in response to a spiritual call.
Lo also invites parents to be active in the prayer ministry. For more information on how to contribute to Bethel through prayer, please call the Office of Campus Ministries at 651.638.6372 or email campus-ministries@bethel.edu.
A Slice of [Campus] Life
Not Your Same Old Cafeteria!
By Nicolle Westlund '09
College cafeterias no longer tend to serve starch- and preservative-filled meals. After staff spent time researching students' likes and dislikes, the Bethel Dining Center now boasts no less than five entrees per meal, plus a full soup-and-salad bar, and two dessert stations.
Sodexho, Bethel's food contractor, annually asks students about their food preferences. Since completing a full renovation of the entrée lines in the fall of 2003, service managers observe that not only has the food become more appealing to Bethel students, but serving nearly 1,200 people per meal is no longer a matter of guesswork.
Bob Schuchardt, head of Sodexho at Bethel, says the DC staff works to provide large quantities of food in short periods of time without sacrificing home-cooked taste. "Since the big renovation, we have been able to get almost 800 students and staff through the lines in about 45 minutes," he says.
With efficiency that impressive, it's hard to imagine how the goal of quality can still be achieved. "We do a lot of batch cooking," Schuchardt says. "We cook a couple pizzas and set them out as soon as they come out of the oven. We also do a lot of cooking on each line."
With the increased popularity of the DC and an ever-present interest in student and parent feedback, the staff last year added a "Recipe from Home" week. The Sodexho staff sent out postcards to parents, inviting them to send their students' favorite home-cooked recipes. The 600-plus responses were organized into categories ranging from Jell-o salads to casseroles. The recipes were then featured in the DC, along with the name of the student whose parents contributed the new menu item. The feature was so successful that "Recipe from Home" week will be an annual affair. Postcards will be mailed out to parents this month, and the responses received will be featured in the DC sometime in November.
 At the Asian food station, Bethel students can watch chefs stir-fry fresh ingredients. |
The Taste of SuccessFreshmen and any other student living in campus housing without full kitchens are required to have a meal plan from Bethel. While some students complain about the seemingly rigid rule, a national study recently discovered that students, especially freshmen, who live on campus and participate in school-sponsored activities—such as eating in a community setting, participating in clubs, sports, or other pastimes—have a better chance of succeeding both scholastically and professionally. |
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Staying Involved
Join Moms in Touch
Moms in Touch leaders invite mothers to pray for their Bethel students—one of the most powerful actions parents can take for their sons and daughters. The Bethel Moms in Touch chapter held its initial meeting on Monday, September 11.
Do you love to pray for your kids? Joining Moms in Touch is a great ways to support your student and pray with other Bethel mothers. Evening groups are held at Bethel on the first Monday of every month from 7-9 p.m. Day groups are held every other Monday from 9:30-11 a.m.
Those who aren't able to attend on-campus meetings are warmly invited to stay in contact via email. Please send your name and email address to
momsintouch@bethel.edu. Prayer requests can be sent anytime throughout the school year, and all requests will be confidential.
Janet Beich (763.422.1915) leads the daytime group, and Melanie Swedell (763.786.9134) and Rhonda Myrmel (651.631.1505) facilitate the evening gatherings. Please call or email with any questions or if you want to get involved.
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Send a Christmas Care PackageInterested in giving your student a boost during final exams and helping a worthy cause? Check out the enclosed Christmas Care Packages insert and order form. |
Did You Know?
New to Bethel this year are Prayer Gatherings to pray for the world's unreached people groups and the persecuted church. The gatherings take place each Friday afternoon, at 2 p.m. in the CLC Lobby. Concern for worlds needs also has led students to begin two organizations: World Challenge, which focuses on biblical justice for exploited people groups such as those in Darfur, Sudan; and Acting on AIDS, to encourage knowledge and raise funds to combat this worldwide epidemic.
Hearts for Service
Twin Cities Outreach Matches Students with Ministries
By Kay Wible
This fall introduces countless new experiences into the lives of students at Bethel—new faces, new classes, and new opportunities to make a difference in the community in far-reaching ways.
Twin Cities Outreach (TCO), based in the Office of Campus Ministries, "help[s] Bethel students use their best resources to serve commonly forgotten people in the Twin Cities," states the program's mission statement. Pastor of Outreach Ministries Donna Johnson directs the program, but each ministry team is student-led and most commit to volunteer for three or four hours every week.
"I'm excited to see students who want to serve God and have these opportunities available," Johnson says. Approximately 150 Bethel students roll up their sleeves and get involved each semester. All the ministries work through community partnerships, taking students to more than a dozen different locations around the Twin Cites to mentor, tutor, and meet practical needs.
An example is "Hammers of God" (HOGs), led by students Taryn Robb and Danielle Thiebert. A team of 12-15 students work with a local urban improvement ministry to identify families who need repair work, cleaning, painting, or construction. "It's fun," says Robb, a junior nursing major from Los Angeles. "I like to work with my hands, to be able to see God working to provide people with homes and good places to live." This is the third year Robb has volunteered with HOGs. She still remembers the satisfaction she felt her freshman year, when the group restored a 1908 house that had been an active drug location in the neighborhood. "It was so great to see a family move in," she says.
Other teams partner with local schools, churches, and community organizations. A new program this year called "Gloves and Boots" is the brainchild of students Tom Cozzolino and Tyler Van Eps in partnership with Northwest Youth and Family Services. Other teams head to nursing homes and homeless shelters, or teach swimming to disabled children and English to adult speakers of other languages. About half the ministry sites are new this year, according to Johnson.
Students wishing to participate in TCO can inquire throughout the year by calling the Office of Campus Ministries at 651.638.6372 or emailing
campus-ministries@bethel.edu.
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By the Way |
Comprehensive Resource Campaign Launches
University Commons Building is Centerpiece
On October 5, Bethel University launched The Next Step, the public phase of a $105 million comprehensive resource campaign, the largest in the institution's history. More than $67.3 million has already been contributed by key donors since the campaign began quietly in 2002. Part of those funds have built Lissner Hall, the newest student residence.
The campaign, which continues over the next 18 months, aims to provide for facility improvements, an increased endowment, and bolstering of the annual fund—all necessary resources to keep pace with Bethel's growing enrollment.
Chief among the new facility plans is a $30 million University Commons—a 110,000-square-foot student center that will be the hub of campus life, featuring student organization spaces, lounges, the campus store, the post office, and a spacious dining center overlooking Lake Valentine. "If we believe in education of the whole person, this is a crucial project," says Jay Barnes, provost of the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Adult & Professional Studies, and the Graduate School.
The University Commons will free up 36,000 square feet, which will be used to expand the library, remove temporary classrooms, and provide offices. The campaign also aims to add $10 million to strengthen Bethel's endowment fund—money that is vital for new programs and creating more scholarships. Gifts to the annual fund, which pays for operating expenses not covered by tuition, are also encompassed in the campaign.
"Bethel is 135 years old, but 85 percent of our graduates have been educated here in just the last 35 years," said President George Brushaber, describing Bethel's rapid growth. He says the campaign seeks not only to raise money for immediate needs, but also to prepare younger alumni to be leaders in Bethel's future. "We are laying a foundation of vision for stewardship that will serve Bethel for generations to come," he says.
The public campaign launch took place at a dinner on October 5, where President Brushaber and board members thanked donors who have already made significant contributions totaling $67.3 million. The following day, faculty and staff were informed of the campaign's launch and goals, and helped to celebrate the remarkable progress made so far.
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Don't-Miss Dates |
November 3-5 Parents Weekend
Spend time with your student during this special weekend. Enjoy great concerts, sporting events,* and a community worship service on Sunday. There are also seminars for parents, a Parent Prayer Breakfast, and opportunities for you and your student to share meals on or off campus.
November 22 - Thanksgiving Break begins at 5 p.m.
November 27 - Classes resume
Nov. 29-Dec. 2 - 50th Festival of Christmas
This splendid concert will feature music around the theme Gloria in excelsis Deo. For those with young children, a family discount night will be offered on November 29. A tree lighting ceremony complete with cookies, cocoa, and carols will take place on November 30. Best of all, this beloved tradition will be recorded in high-definition format and featured on Twin Cities Public Television and many affiliates. For more information, visit www.bethel.edu/special-events/festival.
December 13 - Last day of classes
December 15-20 - Final examinations
December 20 - Winter Commencement
January 3 - Last day to register for Interim courses; Interim begins
*Fall sports are underway. Check the Bethel website http://cas.bethel.edu/athletics/ for schedules.
Credits
Bethel Parent is published four times a year for parents of Bethel University students. It includes stories about students, information about campus events, and opportunities for involvement at Bethel.
Office of Alumni and Parent Services
651.638.6462 • email: parents@bethel.edu
Editor: Patty Thomson
Writers: Nicolle Westlund '09, Kay Wible
Designers: Jenna Bolmgren '03, Tom Vukelich '82
Staff Photographer: Woody Dahlberg '69