alumni awards Archives - �� News

‘�� is family’: Highlights from Homecoming 2025

Ryan Cornell with photos by Macson McGuigan/�� — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 04:48:39 +0000

As Dorothy “Dottie” Nolt Weber ’75 can attest, there’s a special kind of magic in the air in the days leading up to Homecoming. The retired teacher, who taught for 40 years at Lancaster Mennonite High School, has had plenty of her students go on to attend ��. And on Thursday, as she parked her car near the Sadie Hartzler Library to catch up with Systems Librarian Audrey Shenk, she bumped right into one of them.

“I get out of the car and these two girls are running by and, all of a sudden, one of them says, ‘Hi, Dottie,’” said Weber. That student turned out to be Maria Longenecker, a senior biology major who had Weber as an eighth grade teacher.

“Maria was one of the students I wanted to see,” Weber said. “And here she was, the first person I meet on campus. It’s unbelievable.”

Her husband Tim chimed in: “You have to understand, we could be at the top of Mount Everest and she’d know somebody. We could go anywhere and inevitably someone will say, ‘There’s Dottie!’”

Weber recalled last being on campus in 2005 to cater the wedding reception of alumna and former faculty member Catherine R. Mumaw. She was one of nearly 70 members of the Class of 1975 making a special trip back to �� this weekend for their milestone 50th reunion during Homecoming 2025.

Members of the �� Class of 1975 reunite at Martin Chapel on Friday.

As she and a group of classmates sat at a table in the Seminary Building on Friday leafing through a Shenandoah yearbook from 1975, they marveled at old photos and reminisced, sharing stories and memories from their time at ��.

“It’s amazing who I can remember from these photos,” someone says.

Another alumna asks, “Does anyone remember taking classes in the old chicken house? Is this the building where it used to be?”

One of those classmates, Julia Shultz King ’75, traveled all the way from Melbourne, Australia, to attend the homecoming festivities. After graduating with a nursing degree, she worked for the Medical College of Virginia and eventually the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, before serving as a missionary with Youth With A Mission. She has lived the past 13 years in Australia.

She shared a story about putting out a fire in the Northlawn dormitory, after someone had left a candle near the window and a curtain had caught alight. This was the first reunion she could remember attending. She had missed the 50th reunion for her high school in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, because Australia had been in lockdown in 2021, and so “it made me extra want to be here,” she said.

“I’m happy to be well enough that I could travel alone to get here,” King said.

Her friend, Weber, said something similar: “Who knows, at this age, you might not be able to come back in another five years.”

Alumni from the Class of 1975 pose for a group photo.

This group of alumni, said Harrisonburg Mayor Deanna Reed, who serves as director of alumni engagement and community connections at ��, was the only graduating class to ever create a two-volume yearbook. The Class of 1975 welcomed Alex Haley, author of Roots, to campus as part of a lecture music series. And the cross country team made �� history, becoming the National Christian College Athletic Association cross country champion that year.

“There was also a unique tradition that happened during y’all’s time here,” she said. “Newly engaged students were thrown in the fishing pond. A lot of people got engaged that year, from what I’ve learned.”

Homecoming weekend is all about celebrating and reconnecting with one another, with this campus, and with the values that make �� such a special place, Reed said during the on Saturday morning. “Whether you’re an alum returning after many years or a student just beginning your journey, this is a time to remember that �� is family,” she said. “And there’s always a place for you here.”

Keep reading for highlights and photos from the weekend’s events!

Alumni attending the Class of 1975 gathering read through an old issue of The Weather Vane.

Seated on a couch in the Student Union, Doris Horst Toll ’79 and her husband Marvin took the morning on Saturday to relax and unwind as they sipped on a hot cocoa from Common Grounds and flipped through the latest issue of The Weather Vane student newspaper. The couple from Michigan had returned for Homecoming to connect with old friends and had attended the at Lehman Auditorium the night before. “It brought back a lot of good memories of being in that chapel as a student,” she said.

Hall of Honor

The four 2025 Hall of Honor inductees were recognized during a kickoff celebration (pictured) and later inducted at a ceremony in MainStage Theater. Left to right: �� Athletic Director Carrie S Bert, Phil Guengerich ’70, Justin Reesor ’10, Mitchell Leap ’12, �� Interim President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus, and David Falk ’15.

MainStage Theater was packed to the gills on Saturday for a ceremony celebrating this year’s four Hall of Honor inductees:

Athletics events coordinator Phil Guengerich ’70 was introduced by �� Athletic Director Carrie S Bert ’97.
Volleyball middle blocker Justin Reesor ’10 was introduced by former teammate Ben Yoder ’08.
Soccer forward Mitchell Leap ’12 was introduced by former coach Roger Mast ’85.
Basketball center David Falk ’15 was introduced by former coach Kirby Dean.

An alumna attending the ceremony, Debbie Swartley ’08, of Penn Laird, Virginia, ran cross country and track while at ��, and said she typically comes to Homecoming every year. “It’s just so much fun to be back on campus,” she said. “We typically walk around to see the changes for people who haven’t been here in awhile, and the kids love it.”

Gatherings and reunions

A gathering at Northlawn celebrated 50 years of ��’s social work program.

The weekend featured several gatherings, including:

one celebrating the 50th anniversary of ��’s social work program and the tenure of Professor Deanna Durham,
a gathering of alumni shaped by their experiences in the Middle East during 50 years of faculty-led interculturals to the region,
and a 50th anniversary get-together for alumni of the recently rebranded �� Washington Semester program.

Avery Trinh ’22 and his mom, Rebecca Dietz ’79.

An alumnus of the D.C. program, Avery Trinh ’22, was attending the lattermost gathering with his mother, Rebecca Dietz ’79. Both of them were in the program while it was called different names (Trinh was in WCSC in Fall 2021, while Dietz was in WSSY from 1977-78) and under different program directors (Trinh was led by Ryan Good, while his mom was taught by Ryan’s father, Nelson Good). In fact, Trinh said, his mom used to babysit Ryan Good.

It was his first homecoming since graduating from ��, Trinh said, and the D.C. reunion offered a way for both him and his mom to get involved.

“There’s always a lot of chatter about how �� is changing,” he said. “The reason I really enjoyed my time here is the professors who taught me. They were in it to help students grow. So, as long as people like them stick around, I think �� is in good hands.”

Chris Fretz ’05 (right) at the Homecoming Kickoff Celebration on Saturday morning in Lehman Auditorium.

It had been a little more than a decade since Chris Fretz ’05 had been back to Harrisonburg. But for the economic development grad, who now works as a web developer for a marketing agency in Lancaster, the 20th reunion was enough of a draw to bring him back to campus. His wife, Lindsey Frye ’04, was a student and staff member for the D.C. program and so they also attended the 50th anniversary gathering.

Some of the biggest changes he’s noticed since he’s been gone include Common Grounds’ move upstairs and the renovation of the old gym into the MainStage Theater, though other changes less visible have been just as significant.

“It’s been encouraging to see the growing diversity of �� and to see that the administration is really looking to meet students where they’re at,” Fretz said.

Meet-and-greet with Interim President Dycus

�� Interim President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus answers questions from senior nursing major Emily Suarez Nunez.

At a meet-and-greet with ��’s interim president inside the Campus Center, the Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus answered questions from first-generation student and senior nursing major Emily Suarez Nunez. Dycus spoke about her path to �� and to the leadership position she’s held since July 1, as well as what excites her most.

She called on alumni to loudly and proudly share the stories of ��’s successes and talk to others about how �� has impacted their lives, their children’s lives, and the ways their families have been nurtured by the university.

“We’re not proud enough about who �� is, but we have an amazing community here, a meaningful mission, and it shows up across the world,” said Dycus, who is the first Black woman to serve in the role. “And I am most excited about being able to be the person who gets to advocate for that everywhere I go.”

TenTalks

Fabrice Guerrier MA ’15 (conflict transformation) presents during the annual �� TenTalks on Saturday.

At the annual hosted at Martin Chapel on Saturday afternoon, ��’s three 2025 alumni award winners each had 10 minutes to impact, influence, and inspire the audience. This marked the first time that alumni award winners presented at the event.

The speakers were:

Jessica “Jess” King ’96, recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, has led equity-driven public sector organizations for more than 20 years. She spoke on the theme of fear and the role it’s played in her career and in her life.
Outstanding Alum of the Year Brittany Caine-Conley MDiv ’14, one of the lead organizers for Congregate Charlottesville, shared her experiences making connections with local justice groups leading up to the white supremacist rally in 2017 and spoke on the importance of solidarity.
Alum of the Year Fabrice Guerrier MA ’15 (conflict transformation), founder and CEO of the first collaborative worldbuilding production house for science fiction and fantasy storytelling, spoke about the power of imagination. He invited audience members to close their eyes and picture building a city on a new planet in the year 2035.

Royal City Celebration

Premiere Band, a quintet playing classic rock songs, performs at Royal City Celebration on the Front Lawn on Saturday.

Outside on the Front Lawn, the Royal City Celebration had everyone grooving to live music from the Richmond-based Premiere Band and savoring bites from food trucks offering barbecue, tacos, and ice cream. The crisp fall temperature and clear skies could not have been more perfect for the occasion.

The event also featured ��’s second annual crowning of a homecoming court, which included:

Seniors Jamaury Starks and Royale Parker
Juniors Christopher Varone and Janaria Kenreich
Sophomores Bennett de Tenley and Shawna Hurst
First-years Johnathan Badowski and Logan Turchetta

Royals fans take in a men’s soccer match against Randolph on Saturday. The Royals won the match 2-1.

Alumni Awards: Bridge-builder Brittany Caine-Conley MDiv ’14 selected for Outstanding Young Alum Award

David Pulgar — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 11:55:00 +0000

This is the third and final profile about the recipients of ��’s 2025 Alumni Awards. For more information about the annual awards and a full list of past winners, visit emu.edu/alumni/awards.

AS ONE OF THE LEAD ORGANIZERS FOR CONGREGATE CHARLOTTESVILLE, BRITTANY CAINE-CONLEY MDIV ’14 (aka “Smash”) called for 1,000 clergy and faith leaders of all denominations to counter-protest a gathering of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. Her efforts denied white supremacists key locations that would have made their Unite the Right rally more visible, and later that year, she was honored by the National Council of Churches as a co-recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in Faithful Leadership.��

Caine-Conley believes in the importance of connecting Christian communities with radical activists, using her pastoral presence as a bridge to form meaningful relationships between the church and social justice movements. She has been selected by ��’s Alumni Association as the 2025 Outstanding Young Alum. The award is given annually to an alum who, through professional achievement and/or Christ-like compassionate service, is making a significant contribution to the local, national or global community.

“I feel honored,” said Caine-Conley. “As a queer, Christian woman called to serve in the clergy, the space hasn’t always been welcoming. This award feels like an acknowledgement of my work and an affirmation for other queer folks who are serving the church and the kin-dom of God.”

The space between

Caine-Conley learned to bridge the gap between communities at Eastern Mennonite Seminary (EMS), where she earned a master of divinity degree. Professor David Evans’ Christianity through the Eyes of the American Outsider course impacted her deeply. Reading from the texts of enslaved people, Jewish individuals and queer Christians, she was able to explore the experiences of marginalized groups within Christianity.��

In another course, Formation in God’s Story with Dawn Monger, Caine-Conley’s small group was challenged to think about life journeys and how they intersect with God’s story.��

“Our group considered how many loops, intersections, roadblocks, obstacles, and reversals we experience in our individual paths. The conversation led us to one word: mangled.”

The “mangled” moment stuck with Caine-Conley, as did the seminary experiences of discussing theology over beers at Billy Jack’s and sitting on the campus lawn learning about peacemaking from people across the globe.

Caine-Conley graduated from EMS in 2014, the same year she married her wife, Lindsay. The two met while working on the leadership team for RISE United Methodist Faith Community in Harrisonburg.

“My love for ministry was significantly shaped by RISE and its pastor, Amanda Miller Garber. There, I learned to yearn for beloved community, and now I seek to co-create such community wherever I go.”

Baptism by fire

In the summer of 2017, co-creating community in Charlottesville meant undergoing “baptism by fire.”

“Everyone remembers that night on August 12, but there’s so much that came before it… prayer and worship meetings, late-night strategizing, direct action training on nonviolence, even active shooter training. It was a lot,” said Caine-Conley.

Through it all, she was focused on building bridges between communities that didn’t want to interact with each other, between people—particularly white, progressive Christians—who had different ideas about what it meant to resist, from peacefully protesting to doing nothing.

To build greater understanding between progressive groups who desired change, Caine-Conley organized educational seminars and anti-racism training. She wrote various post-rally articles, and Congregate Charlottesville received national press coverage.

Vocation and community

Caine-Conley is now bringing her experience to the classroom at Denver’s Iliff School of Theology where she is a PhD student in religious studies and adjunct instructor of Identity, Power, and Vocation in Community. A theme of the yearlong course is understanding how individuals are shaped by histories, structures, systems, practices, and memories. She aims to create a “disruptive,” yet caring, environment to help students become better ministers, leaders, and caregivers.��

“I am inspired every day by people who allow the spirit to shake their assumptions, trajectories, and long-held orientations,” said Caine-Conley. “It takes so much courage to allow the spirit to truly move us in new directions.”

Caine-Conley will share her story at �� TenTalks, held on Saturday, Oct. 11, at 1:30 p.m. in Martin Chapel during Homecoming 2025. For a full schedule of Homecoming events and activities, visit emu.edu/homecoming.

Alumni Awards: Civic leader Jessica King ’96 receives Distinguished Service Award

David Pulgar — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 11:55:00 +0000

This is the second of three profiles about the recipients of ��’s 2025 Alumni Awards. For more information about the annual awards and a full list of past winners, visit emu.edu/alumni/awards.

JESSICA (JESS) KING ’96 has worked to bring the foundational lessons of her Mennonite upbringing and education to others during her more than 20-year career leading equity-driven public sector organizations—from creating economic opportunity to facilitating transparency in government to building journalistic literacy in communities. In recognition of her work, ��’s Alumni Association and its Awards and Nominations Committee have selected King as the recipient of the 2025 Distinguished Service Award, which honors alumni who have significantly impacted the lives of others.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by my alma mater,” said King, who graduated from �� with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts with minors in English, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), and psychology.

Service lights the way

After graduation, King volunteered with Pittsburgh Urban Leadership Service (PULSE), founded by �� alumnus John Stahl-Wert ’81. In an experience she likened to a post-graduate program, King joined a community of young leaders to partner with Pittsburgh nonprofits for a year of service and leadership. She served at the Thomas Merton Center, a Catholic-founded center for peace and justice, and was later hired as executive director of PULSE, where she spent four years expanding her understanding of urban communities and the local businesses, organizations, and governments that serve them.��

King then led a six-year effort as founding executive director of the Union Project to transform an abandoned church building into an arts and enterprise incubator space. She spent more than a decade in Pittsburgh, where she met her husband, Chad. The couple has two daughters, Eleni and Esmé King Martin. Both Jessica and Esmé were greatly impacted by their intercultural studies at ��; Jessica studied in Greece and lived with families in France and Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa), while Esmé, a rising junior at ��, spent the spring 2025 semester in Guatemala and Mexico.��

Foundations in community

King grew up Mennonite in Lancaster County. Her father was killed in a plane crash when she was two. After her mother remarried, her mother and stepfather started a paint store, where King and her three siblings all worked at different points.

“Growing up, my family had a robust network of support, and our church community was also an essential part of our local economy,” King said. “Connections are important for a prosperous community.”

King has intentionally lived in low-income neighborhoods for much of her adult life, creating relationships and solidarity that have informed her work and career path—from Pittsburgh to Lancaster, where she fought poverty through entrepreneurship for seven years as executive director at ASSETS; ran for Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District; and served four “eye-opening” years as chief of staff for the City of Lancaster.

“There’s a narrative that our situations in life are based on our choices, but generational trauma and poverty, oppression based on race or gender, and access to quality education are huge factors. The rules of our economy are created by the wealthy and well-connected, creating systems of opportunity and disinvestment that are so much more than choice,” said King.

She says that Jesus teaches us about economic issues more than many other Christian themes. “Loving our neighbors as ourselves includes examining and changing socioeconomic systems that support people,” she said.

Since September 2023, King has served as inaugural executive director of in Lancaster. The nonprofit is focused on funding innovation in local news to support informed and engaged communities. It is also working “upstream from news” to build trust, center solutions, and equip action.��

King says her recent work reminds her of the conflict transformation teachings at ��, including those taught by John Paul Lederach.��

“Change is possible,” said King. “We can choose not to participate in the dystopian fears that can paralyze and isolate us. Values, teachings, and examples from �� and the broader world provide guideposts and road maps to other ways forward.”

King will share her story at �� TenTalks, held on Saturday, Oct. 11, at 1:30 p.m. in Martin Chapel during Homecoming 2025. For a full schedule of Homecoming events and activities, visit emu.edu/homecoming.

Alumni Awards: Collaborative worldbuilder Fabrice Guerrier MA ’15 named Alum of the Year

David Pulgar — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 11:55:00 +0000

This is the first of three profiles about the recipients of ��’s 2025 Alumni Awards. For more information about the annual awards and a full list of past winners, visit emu.edu/alumni/awards.

LOS ANGELES VISIONARY ARTIST AND FUTURIST FABRICE GUERRIER MA ’15 (CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION) has been selected by ��’s Alumni Association and its Awards and Nomination Committee as the 2025 Alum of the Year for his work as founder and CEO of (pronounced Syll-a-ble), the first collaborative worldbuilding production house for science fiction and fantasy storytelling.��

“Being selected for this award feels quite unbelievable and affirms my work around collaborative worldbuilding,” said Guerrier, who defines worldbuilding on his website () as “the creation of intricate, plausible fictional universes often found in sci-fi, fantasy, and video games.”

In collaborative worldbuilding, underrepresented creators from diverse cultures come together to imagine and publish their shared stories.

A refuge of books

Born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Guerrier immigrated with his family to Coral Springs, Florida, when he was 13. Already fluent in French and Haitian Creole, Guerrier learned English as his third language.

“It’s kind of magic… being Haitian from an Afrocentric world… being from an island… being able to speak multiple languages,” said Guerrier.

Nevertheless, Guerrier was an exile in a foreign country, forced to flee the 2004 Haitian coup d’état. He says while he “wanted to be an American,” the more he tried to fit in, the more he felt like he was destroying a precious part of himself.

Guerrier found refuge at Northwest Regional Library, where he worked as a page, volunteered, helped with community programming, and explored everything from manga and comics to encyclopedias and films to nonfiction and sci-fi books. His curiosity sparked Syllble, an idea that was furthered while reading “Blindness,” an essay in Jorge Luis Borges’ “Seven Nights” collection, as a sophomore at Florida State University.��

“I resonated with how Borges described being in a library as the closest thing to heaven, and how his blindness allowed him to see things in different ways. The impact of his words inspired me to become a writer,” said Guerrier.

Healing and growth

After graduating from Florida State in 2013 with a bachelor of science degree in international affairs and a leadership studies certificate, Guerrier decided to pursue a master of arts in conflict transformation from ��’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP).��

As a graduate assistant at the Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice, he worked with its then-director and CJP professor, Carl Stauffer MA ’02 (conflict transformation), and conducted “humbling and eye-opening” field research on the impact of Fambul Tok International in promoting reconciliation in communities after an 11-year civil war in Sierra Leone (West Africa).

“�� was a place of healing for me,” Guerrier said. “My peace studies showed me how personal and interpersonal work affects peace in the world.”

Guerrier worked with CJP Professor Emeritus Barry Hart MDiv ’78 to explore theories and practices of Strategies for Trauma Awareness & Healing (STAR), and in 2014, he started a chapter of Coming To The Table (), a racial healing and reconciliation organization aimed at Taking America Beyond the Legacy of Enslavement—a program that began at CJP. Guerrier later served on CTTT’s board of managers and became its youngest national president.��

Looking to the future

After graduating from �� in 2015, Guerrier worked on two novels, revising one to the point of exhaustion.

“It was probably one of the most painful and loneliest experiences I’ve ever had,” he said.

Guerrier began researching collaborative writing techniques in Hollywood and beyond, which led him to invite three writers to his home to create a story together. The successful session set Syllble in motion.

Today, Syllble is enabling marginalized voices across the globe to conceive and tell the stories of their shared universes in order to disrupt modern-day inclinations toward disaster and doom.

“Imagining radically hopeful futures allows us to replace the realities imposed by capitalism and technology and media with something that’s beautiful, nourishing, warm, and healing,” said Guerrier. “It is how we reclaim what it means to be human.”

Guerrier will share his story at �� TenTalks, held on Saturday, Oct. 11, at 1:30 p.m. in Martin Chapel during Homecoming 2025. For a full schedule of Homecoming events and activities, visit emu.edu/homecoming.

Nurturing seeds of faith in churches, individuals through conversation

Josette Keelor — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Ministry of Outstanding Young Alum Seth Crissman ‘09, MDiv ‘15 builds bridges between communities

Harrisonburg, Virginia, resident Seth Crissman ‘09, MDiv ‘15 has been selected by ��’s Alumni Association and its Awards and Nominations Committee as the 2024 Outstanding Young Alum for his work through the collaborative faith-based ministry The Soil and The Seed Project. The effort seeks to nurture faith in Jesus through conversations, art, poetry, music and daily readings.��

“I wanted to find ways of empowering the church to live out what we say we believe,” Crissman said, “… faith that doesn’t just live in our heads, but in how we live and move in the world.”

The award is given annually to an alum who, through professional achievement and/or Christ-like compassionate service, is making a significant contribution to the local, national or global community.

Seth and Theresa Peachey Crissman with children Eliana, Malachi, Maria, and Isaiah (left to right).

Crissman, 38, founded his Christian-based faith formation project in 2021 in partnership with and as a ministry of Virginia Mennonite Missions (VMMissions). With dozens of other artists, his team produces liturgical daily readings and new music albums every three to four months to help families talk about their faith.

“It’s meant to be an intergenerational project,” Crissman said.

The project grew from a previous effort he worked on with his wife, Theresa Peachey Crissman ‘09, called Kids Club, which helped area churches combine efforts to provide resources for children.

“I love helping people build bridges between communities,” Crissman said.

The Soil and The Seed Project has drawn talent from North America, Northern Africa and Southeast Asia; streams music to more than 130 countries; and has been shipped to 30+ states, all given away free of charge. More than 20 denominations and nondenominational groups are represented among the project’s followers.

Married with four children, Crissman pursued special education and history at �� before seeking a master of divinity from Eastern Mennonite Seminary.

Seth Crissman ‘09, MDiv ‘15, left, performs music with the collaborative faith-based ministry The Soil and The Seed Project.

This past year, he was awarded a $1.2 million grant through Lilly Endowment Inc. as part of its Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative. Awarded to VMMissions for the purpose of growing The Soil and The Seed Project, the grant will fund, in part, a music festival at Highland Retreat in Bergton, Virginia, from Oct. 25-27, 2024.

“There’s a temptation to think that what happens is because we’re clever or we hustle,” Crissman said. “What’s come of this project isn’t because I’m clever or have hustled a lot. It’s something God has done, and I’ve just had the joy of being able to help get it started.”

Career lawyer, educator Dr. Lee Roy Berry Jr. ‘66 selected for Distinguished Service Award

Josette Keelor — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 14:00:00 +0000

When Dr. Lee Roy Berry Jr. ’66 graduated from Eastern Mennonite College (now ��), several members of his Sarasota, Florida, church were there to celebrate his achievement.

“They were extraordinary people,” Berry recalled. “They played such an important role in helping to shape the course of my life.”

Because of his church family at Newtown Gospel Chapel, Berry joined the Mennonite community and chose to attend ��. He became an educator and later a lawyer, inspiring and defending countless others over a 53-year career.

Berry has been selected by ��’s Alumni Association and its Awards and Nominations Committee as the winner of the 2024 Distinguished Service Award, which honors �� alumni who have significantly impacted the lives of others.

Berry’s first experience with Mennonites began near Hartville, Ohio, during the 1950s. A child of migrant farm workers, Berry, now 80, would travel each summer with his parents and siblings from Sarasota to work on the mucklands harvesting vegetables.

Members of local Mennonite churches would come to the migrant camps and invite children his age to vacation Bible school after the workday ended. It was a welcome diversion from working all day in the Ohio fields. It was also his first experience as a Black child attending a church with white people, and he came away with a sense that the Mennonites were different from whites he encountered in the South.

“They treated us as human beings,” he said. “Their actions seemed to coincide with the beliefs they professed.”

Berry later met more Mennonites in Florida after a white man came to the migrant camp and invited him and others to church in Newtown, the predominantly Black section of Sarasota. Though he resisted numerous invitations, he had great respect for the Newtown Gospel Chapel congregation.

Lee Roy Berry, left, pictured with fellow churchgoer Arthur Jackson in March 1962 after their baptisms at Newtown Gospel Chapel.

Lee Roy Berry Jr.

After graduating from high school in 1961 and taking months to search his soul, Berry decided to become a Christian. That winter, he was baptized and became a member at Newtown Gospel Chapel. He was still a migrant farm worker, but was thinking seriously about college.

In the early 1960s, colleges and universities in the South remained highly segregated, so Berry had his eye on either Morehouse College, a liberal arts college that taught Black men, or Gibbs Junior College, an all-Black school in nearby St. Petersburg. He shared his plans with his pastor, who encouraged him to apply to ��.

Berry was accepted to �� and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in history and secondary education. “�� helped me prepare [for future career and educational endeavors],” he said. “You never stop learning.”

Following graduation, he applied for admission to the Mennonite Voluntary Service program in Elkhart, Indiana. In September 1966, he received a two-year assignment to the Voluntary Service Unit in Cleveland, Ohio, and became a public-school teacher. In June 1968, he returned to Elkhart and finished his Voluntary Service commitment by writing articles about the work of Mennonite volunteers in urban areas.

That fall, Berry enrolled as a graduate student at the University of Notre Dame where he received a master’s and PhD. In 1969, he became the first African American faculty member at Goshen College, teaching politics, Latin American studies and Black history part-time until his retirement in 2010.

While at Goshen, Berry took a sabbatical to pursue law school at Indiana University. In 1985, he was admitted to the Indiana bar and started his full-time law practice.

Many of Berry’s law clients were migrants from Central America and Mexico who encountered legal problems in Indiana but were not fluent in English and sought legal assistance from lawyers who could communicate with them in Spanish.

Eventually more Hispanic lawyers came to the area, but in the 1980s, Berry was one of the few who could serve that community.

“My objective was to be effective by doing the best that I could for them,” he said.

Now retired and living in Goshen, Indiana, Berry has himself a family of educators.

His wife, Elizabeth A. Hostetler Berry, a graduate of Goshen College with two master’s degrees, was a member of the Goshen College faculty and served as a teacher and the head librarian at Bethany Christian Schools in Goshen. Their three children—Dr. Joseph Berry, Dr. Malinda Berry, and Anne Berry (MFA)—are also in higher education.

Imagining a better future

Josette Keelor — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Clinical therapist and Alum of the Year Kendra Conrad Bailey ’03, MA ‘05 ‘humbled’ to journey with clients

Kendra Conrad Bailey ’03, MA ’05, a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) at her own private Iowa practice, was in a client session when her office received a call from ��. When she checked with members of her staff, they assured her the call wasn’t important.

She later learned that while she was helping clients that day, her colleagues were dancing in the halls. They had heard that Bailey, whom they had nominated, had been selected by ��’s Alumni Association and its Awards and Nominations Committee as the 2024 Alum of the Year.

The award is given annually to an alum who has been recognized for significant achievement in her/his/their profession, community or church. Given to honor the alum, it is also awarded to inspire �� students and fellow alumni to live lives of service and vocational excellence.

“I felt honored and humbled [to receive the award],” said Bailey, who added that being viewed by her staff in a way that drove them to nominate her was “the greatest gift.”

Bailey, 43, lives on a farm in Riverside, Iowa, with her husband, Jace Bailey ’04, and their three children: Bryce (17), Kale (15), and Jalise (11). An Iowa native, she learned about �� when college recruiters made a stop at the school she was attending. Upon visiting ��, Bailey said she “just overwhelmingly felt it was where the Lord was calling me.”

Kendra Bailey reads to children from her book, “Tower of Trust,” as her daughter, Jalise, holds up the pages.

Bailey went on to attend both undergraduate and graduate school at �� where she earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 2003 and a master’s degree in school and clinical counseling in 2005. She credits her �� professors with noticing her strengths in the classroom—and recognizing how she might excel as a therapist, a career she decided to pursue after undergrad.

Bailey had no intention of starting her own business until some former clients, colleagues and her husband started asking, “Why not?” She told them she couldn’t imagine it. When her husband suggested it might be God’s will, Bailey confessed there was one place she could see God leading her: to downtown North Liberty, Iowa, in a particular neighborhood that, as far as she knew, had no suitable space.

The following day, a man approached her husband at the bank where he works as a commercial loan officer and asked if he knew anyone looking to rent a space in exactly the spot Bailey had named. She recalled the space needing a lot of work but could “see the vision.” “It’s like the Lord opened my eyes and allowed me to see what could be.”

Bailey obtained a LMHC license in the state of Iowa and opened her business Imagine Therapy Solutions, which draws its mission statement from Ephesians 3:20: “And to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, to Him be the glory.”

That was nearly 10 years ago. Now with two locations, the business provides in-person and telehealth services to children, adolescents, adults, and families with a variety of mental and behavioral healthcare needs. “From the day we opened, we’ve had a waiting list and never advertised,” said Bailey, who along with 10 other therapists and five office staffers help clients throughout Iowa to envision themselves achieving their goals so that they can take the necessary steps for self-improvement.

“I enjoy sitting with clients one-on-one to be able to walk with them,” Bailey said. “I am humbled that people allow me to journey with them in their life story.”

In addition to carrying a full-client caseload at Imagine, Bailey provides supervision to therapists in training who are working to acquire their mental health license. She wrote “Tower of Trust,” an interactive storybook for children teaching them the value of second chances, and also speaks publicly on the topic of mental health to surrounding organizations, churches and schools.

Save the date for Homecoming and Family Weekend 2024

Ryan Cornell — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 13:28:00 +0000

Alumni, parents, students and community members are invited to celebrate ��’s Homecoming and Family Weekend Oct. 11-13, 2024. This year’s events include a Royal City Celebration, a theater production of “Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical,” a new track & field complex dedication, as well as program and affinity gatherings, alumni and athletic awards, athletic events, TenTalks, and more!

“This year’s festivities will feature a ‘lion’s share’ of new and exciting events, including the Royal City Celebration, which invites all class reunions, affinity groups, department and club gatherings to meet at Thomas Plaza and the Front Lawn for food, fellowship and fun!” said Deanna Reed, Harrisonburg mayor and �� director of alumni engagement & community connections. “In addition to the gathering, which promises to be the largest at Homecoming, all are invited to follow the ‘yellow brick road’ to campus for musical theater showings, athletic events, and the return of the ever-popular TenTalks presentations. This year there’s no place like HOMEcoming!”

The homecoming website is your complete source for events, updates, and registration.

��’s alumni award winners are:
Dr. Lee Roy Berry Jr. ’66; Kendra Conrad Bailey ’03, MA ’05; and Seth Crissman ’09. MDiv ’15.

�� Athletics will recognize four Hall of Honor awardees:
longtime employee and coach Roland Landes; standout jumper and sprinter Michael Allen ’13; volleyball, basketball and softball player Gina Campbell Troyer ’93; and basketball star Bianca Ygarza ’14.

Look for the ⓕ Facebook icon that denotes a livestreamed event. Go to the to view these events; recordings will also be available after the event. You do not need a Facebook account to view the livestream.

Athletics events will be streamed through the website.

Here are a few highlights of the weekend. See the full schedule for more details.

Friday

– Jubilee Alumni, those who have graduated 50 years ago or more, will gather for a program and luncheon that includes the induction of the class of 1974. * ⓕ

– Art Gallery Opening, from 4-5 p.m. in the Margaret Martin Gehman Gallery, features artworks from �� alumni artists Rebecca Souder Gish ’09, Rhoda Miller ’03, and Jon Styer ’07.

– Musical Theater Production of “Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.” �� students and community members play multiple roles in this epic rock musical version of Rick Riordan’s beloved young-adult novels about an underachieving kid who discovers he is a demigod. Tickets for the show, held in the Studio Theater at 7 p.m., are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, $10 for children 18 and younger, and $6 for college students.

Saturday

– Recognizing Hall of Honor and alumni award winners, the Opening Celebration Breakfast features a welcome by President Susan Schultz Huxman.

– A Hall of Honor Ceremony at the MainStage Theater from 10-11 a.m. will celebrate this year’s inductees.

– New to this year’s lineup of events, the Royal City Celebration invites all class reunions, affinity groups, department and club gatherings to follow the yellow brick road for food, fellowship, and fun! Meal tickets to the gathering, held from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Thomas Plaza and the Front Lawn, are $20 for adults and $9 for children ages 5 to 11. *

– See Royals athletics in action on the brand new Turf Field with Field Hockey vs. Sweet Briar at noon, Women’s Soccer vs. Guilford at 3 p.m., and Men’s Soccer vs. Lynchburg at 6 p.m. The Women’s Volleyball team takes on Lynchburg in Yoder Arena at 2 p.m.

– Prepare to be impacted, influenced and inspired at the annual �� TenTalks. Modeled on TED Talks presentations, this event in Suter Science Center 106 from 2-3 p.m. features alumna and novelist Ashley Mellinger ’24; Adesola Johnson, senior biology major; and Dr. Mark Metzler Sawin, �� professor of history, speaking for 10 minutes each with a Q&A at the end.��* ⓕ

– Turn out for the new track & field complex dedication at 3:30 p.m.

– “Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.” Another chance to catch this exhilarating spectacle starting at 7 p.m. in the Studio Theater.

Sunday

– Worship with �� Chamber Singers at 9:30 a.m. at Park View Mennonite Church.

– “Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.” A third and final showing of the epic rock musical, capping Homecoming and Family Weekend 2024, starts at 7 p.m.

*Registration required

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