Don Murk’ 79 Professor of Early Childhood Education Mechanicsburg, Pa.
What makes a kid who grew up in rural, eastern Pennsylvania interested in teaching in a city? That’s the question Don Murk ’79, professor of early childhood education asked himself more than 30 years ago as student at Messiah College. Murk, who was an early childhood and elementary education major, decided he wanted to complete his student teaching experience in an urban school and spent his student teaching semester at Downey Elementary School in the Harrisburg School District teaching kindergarten. Read the rest of this entry »
Silalei (Shani) Owuor ’09 Human Resource Management Nairobi, Kenya
What does it take to be a professional athlete?
Silalei (Shani) Owuor ’09 is learning that like any other professional pursuit, it takes time, commitment and hard work. However, for Owuor, not only is she pursuing a sport she is passionate about, she is making a name for the sport and its popularity across Kenya as captain of the Kenyan Women’s National Basketball Team. Read the rest of this entry »
As a full-time contractor in Nashville, Tenn., Rick Dohler ’93 comes across a variety of buildings every day. From updating existing structures to building something from the ground up, one thing he continually runs into are people who desire custom furniture, and a lot of discarded materials from old buildings that are being torn down.
Inspired by that increasing demand for unique furniture and his own interest in up-cycling materials that could very easily be thrown away, Dohler created a small business selling reclaimed wood furniture on Etsy. Read the rest of this entry »
Over the past year, journalism alumna Sari Heidenreich ’12 became very familiar with asking the right questions. After all, as senior social media producer for WHTM-TV (abc27) in Harrisburg, Pa., Heidenreich was responsible for reporting breaking news at a moment’s notice and keeping online information accurate, concise and relevant.
It’s no surprise then, that when Heidenreich heard about a job opening with Best Semester’s Middle East Studies Program (MESP), a program in which she participated in during her junior year at Messiah, she started questioning if it was the right opportunity for her. Read the rest of this entry »
Kevin Driver ’03 Philosophy/Biochemistry Charlottesville, Va.
Coming to Messiah College as a first-year student, Kevin Driver ’03 knew he wanted to pursue a career in medicine, so he declared a major in biochemistry. He had many family members and friends that served as mentors and helped him find his passion for medicine. What he didn’t know, however, was that he would spend as much time buried in books about metaphysics and epistemology as he would in the lab. Read the rest of this entry »
Andrea Cole ’15 Biology/Pre-Med Winfield, Pa.
As Andrea Cole ’15 walked through the streets of the small Honduran town she was visiting on a church-sponsored mission trip in 2011, she noticed that many of the children were running around on the rough terrain with no shoes. Her heart ached for those children because they were missing, what seemed to her, a basic necessity. Read the rest of this entry »
Recent grad Nicky Hess ’13 knows the importance of managing her time. After all, she spent her entire college career carefully balancing her two passions: nursing and basketball.
In addition to her role as starting point-guard for the Messiah College women’s basketball team, who made it to the third round of the NCAA tournament this season, Hess managed a full course load as a nursing student—complete with clinical practice, site visits and time-intensive labs. Read the rest of this entry »
Todd Bosma ’96
Portland, Oregon
Director of game operations and events for the Portland Trail Blazers
From the moment a fan pulls into the parking lot of the Rose Garden to the moment they leave the door, director of game operations and events for the Portland Trail Blazers Todd Bosma ’96 is in charge of making sure visitors have a memorable night at the game.
“I am responsible for everything that goes on during a game besides the five guys on the court dribbling,” says Bosma. “It’s challenging and a bit chaotic, but I absolutely love my job.” Read the rest of this entry »
Rolando Vega Bridgewater, N.J. Film and Media Arts
Combining his creative spirit, passion for technology and love of film, Rolando Vega ’13 created a professional-quality short film for his senior honors project that culminated his academic experience at Messiah and prepared him for a future career in film. Read the rest of this entry »
As Messiah College’s first-ever waste diversion coordinator, Adam Arditi ’13 works to create a more sustainable campus each day by picking up pre- and post-consumer food waste from Lottie Nelson Dining Hall and pre-consumer food waste from the Union Café and transporting the waste to campus composting piles. Read the rest of this entry »
Grace Lankford ’11
Health and Exercise Science alum
Hummelstown, Pa.
Featured on the cover of the summer 2011 issue of The Bridge, health and exercise science alum Grace Lankford ’11 continues to pursue her love of photography in addition to her job as a wellness instructor.
Though she focused her major course work in the sciences, Lankford broadened her horizons by taking many art electives during her time at Messiah. Read the rest of this entry »
Jeff ’08 and Emily (Barcklow) Mitchell ’08
Owners of Lancaster Cupcake
Lancaster, Pa.
What did one alumna do while waiting for her nursing license to transfer from one state to another? She baked. Then she started a cupcake business with her husband, which led to an appearance on the Food Network’s hit television show “Cupcake Wars.”
Lisa (Zaleta) Williams ’91 Authorand Licensed Clinical Social Worker Smyrna, De.
Lisa (Zaleta) Williams ’91 has always enjoyed working with children. As a mother of three and a licensed clinical social worker who works with middle school students, she is improving the lives of children and teens every day.
In addition to her social work job, Williams—who graduated from Messiah with a degree in Spanish before pursuing her master’s degree in social work from Temple University—also enjoys writing psycho-educational and advocacy pieces on mental health issues for Hispanic newspapers. Read the rest of this entry »
Director of Human Resources for the Boston Red Sox
Boston, Mass.
If someone told Mike Danubio ’95 when he was in college that he would be the director of human resources for the Boston Red Sox, he would not have believed it. But with a Messiah business degree in hand and a passion for human resources and talent acquisition, that is exactly where he is today—playing a key leadership role in the hiring, employee training and employee relations for the front office operations of the team in Boston, Mass. Read the rest of this entry »
Innovative lesson plan helps alumna land first teaching job
Elizabeth Arnold ’12
Teacher at the Alliance for Progress Charter School
Philadelphia, Pa.
For fourth grade teacher and Messiah alumna, Elizabeth Arnold ’12, learning to embrace technology played a vital role in helping her secure her current job. Just months after graduating, Arnold was hired as a full-time teacher at the Alliance for Progress Charter School in North Philadelphia, where she uses innovative technology to bring life to her lesson plans.
As a student at Messiah, Arnold joined a pilot program through the College that loaned students iPads to use during their student teaching experiences. She quickly learned the role technology could play in the classroom.
Amber (Sollenberger) Kane ’07
Artist and art teacher
Mechanicsburg, Pa.
Much like the intricate scarves she weaves on her loom, art education graduate Amber (Sollenberger) Kane ’07 follows her own pattern as an artist. What began as an elective weaving course at Messiah now has led Kane to combine her love of art with a passion for teaching with people of all ages. Read the rest of this entry »
Ed Lanza ’89 Attorney and member of the Governor’s Advisory Commission for Latino Affairs Harrisburg, Pa.
An attorney, activist and advocate, Ed Lanza ’89 strives to address the needs in his community one day at a time.
Born in Honduras, Lanza moved to the United States as a teenager. Still relatively new to the U.S. when he came to Messiah College as a politics major, Lanza became involved with the International Student Association (ISA) and enjoyed the camaraderie of connecting with other students who were making the same transition.
“Although I had been in the U.S. for a few years, it was great to be part of an international group,” said Lanza. “We commiserated with each other about our new experience and adjusted to the change together.”
After college, Lanza began working as a clerk at a law firm in New York City that was seeking someone who was bilingual. Originally, Lanza had no plans to become a lawyer, but following his work as a clerk and paralegal, he returned to central Pennsylvania to attend the Penn State Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle. Read the rest of this entry »
Coordinator of Special Services and School Psychologist at Northern Lebanon School District
Ordained Minister at Mohrsville Church of the Brethren
Mohrsville, Pa.
Launched by a B.S. in psychology degree from Messiah College, alumnus Chad Kinsey ’96 has built a rewarding, successful vocation by practicing what he preaches. Literally. Read the rest of this entry »
Like any international student who attends college thousands of miles away from family and the familiar, Messiah College junior and international business major Dorottya “Dori” Gyori ’13 defines home differently.
Born in Biatorbagy, Hungary, in 1990, Gyori discovered a second home in Grantham in 2008 when she accepted a freshman spot on the Messiah Falcons’ women’s basketball team. A 6’2 highly-recruited forward during her senior year at Mechanicsburg Area High School in Mechanicsburg, Pa., Gyori had earned significant attention from Division 1 athletic programs across the U.S. Read the rest of this entry »
Each August, familiar hello-goodbye scenes unfold across the Messiah College campus on Move-In Day. For students, the next four years will include new experiences, friendships and paths toward adulthood. Parents, too, find themselves standing at the crossroads of beginnings and endings during this time.
First-year nursing student Lindsay Koach ’15 and her mom Peggy, the editorial assistant in the Office of Marketing and Public Relations, recently sat down at The Falcon to discuss this transition that a family experiences as a student leaves home for college. Read the rest of this entry »
Don Murk’ 79
