Ryan Scott Bomberger ’93
Marketing major
Atlanta, Georgia

Adopted into a multi-racial family of 15, Ryan Scott Bomberger’s acceptance into a loving Christian home fostered his own passion for adoption and seeking God’s purpose in his life.  Today, he and wife Bethany Koopalethes Bomberger ’97 are co-founders of The Radiance Foundation (www.theradiancefoundation.org), a life-affirming organization that seeks to empower people by building their sense of purpose. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Rachel Moffett ’09
Elementary Education major

Every Tuesday afternoon Rachel Moffett ’09 boards a bus to work with inner-city youth at the Allison Hill Community Center in Harrisburg.  After four years of helping with homework, cleaning, serving meals, and lending a shoulder to cry on, this elementary education alum bids farewell to the individuals that have helped shape her life, broaden her horizons, and strengthen her fortitude. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Emily Rainville ′04 
English Literature major
Currently residing in South Asia

Study abroad experiences in West Africa and France shaped this student’s view of the world and convicted her about the investment she could make in the lives of those outside her immediate circle of influence. Read the rest of this entry »

Amanda McMillan ′08
Politics major with a minor in environmental studies
Hometown:  Herminie, Pennsylvania

Amanda McMillan ‘08 is on a crusade for conservation. In just her first two months on the job as the executive assistant to the president of a worldwide Christian environmental protection organization, McMillan travelled from New York City, to Barcelona, and then back to the company’s operation in southern France. Read the rest of this entry »

Ryan Witmer ′09
Environmental Studies major
Hometown:  Wooster, Ohio

Planting gardens in abandoned lots strewn among Philadelphia’s economically disadvantaged neighborhoods is more than a beautification project. To Ryan Witmer ‘09, and others studying at Messiah College’s Philadelphia campus (MCPC), the ongoing service project is an effective way of combating gang warfare, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, in addition to supporting ecological sustainability among the historic city’s 30,000+ vacant lots. Read the rest of this entry »

Housing crisis moves agency to pick up the pace

Becca Knight ’03
Majored in Sociology
Director of Home Repair Ministries
Appalachia Service Project, Inc. (ASP)
Johnson City, Tennessee 

The national housing crisis has been in the news lately but housing problems are not new to Appalachia (pop. 20 million)—one of the poorest, most isolated regions of the United States. Yet, as the economic downturn deepens and the number of troubled families continues to rise, there are those who plan to not only meet the need, but to double their efforts.  Becca Knight ’03 is among them.

Read the rest of this entry »

Scott A. Heintzelman, ′89
Partner, McKonly & Asbury, CPA, CMA, CFE

For the unstoppable Scott Heintzelman, success is a journey, not a destination. At 42, this self-directed, self-proclaimed “exuberant accountant” holds a list of noteworthy achievements that reads like a who’s who of Pennsylvania movers-n-shakers, yet he’s only just begun to live a life of significance.

Read the rest of this entry »

Chris Book ’78
Religion major
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Chris Book ’78 views his years at Messiah College as the formative years that confirmed God’s call to a life of Christian service. Now executive director of Paxton Ministries in Harrisburg, Book and his wife Marlys have a goal of continuing in service that makes a direct impact in improving the quality of life for people in a way that honors God.

Read the rest of this entry »

Patrick Wolfkill ′89 and Todd Suessmuth ′90
Marketing and Business Administration majors respectively

It’s game time at Messiah College. Soccer fans eagerly seek bleacher seats in anticipation of what most believe will be game of the century-the NCAA tournament’s Final Four. Shoemaker Field, home to the College’s six-time national soccer champions, abounds with nervous anticipation … and the alluring smell of the infamous, grilled “cheesy dogs.” Read the rest of this entry »

Ryan Keith ′02
Politics major
Watertown, Massachusetts 

A few weeks before moving to Boston for his first semester of graduate school at Harvard University, Ryan Keith ′02 got a call from his church that changed his plans drastically. West Shore Evangelical Free Church (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) wanted to send Keith and 11 other people to Zimbabwe to explore ways the congregation could respond to the AIDS epidemic. Read the rest of this entry »

Read the rest of this entry »

Jennifer Esbenshade ′11
Chemistry and Math double major
Hometown: Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania

When Jennifer, a double chemistry and mathematics major, isn’t hitting the books, leading an organic chemistry supplemental instruction session, setting up physics labs, working on a water filtration project through the Collaboratory, or even conducting nanotechnology research for the U.S. Department of Energy, she’s among friends—the canine kind—in Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania. Read the rest of this entry »

Peter Greer ′97
International Business major
Currently, President of HOPE International, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

As president of HOPE International (Lancaster, Pa.), Peter Greer ‘97 reaches some of the most desperate people of the world, not only with opportunity but also with the good news of Jesus Christ.

Read the rest of this entry »

Brittany Williams ’09
Mathematics major with Teaching Certification
Hometown: Hudson, Ohio

Co-authoring a Braille-inscribed book for disabled children in West Africa is one way this Messiah College mathematics major is stretching herself beyond the classroom.   

Read the rest of this entry »

Sarah Nowicki ’10
Biology major
Hometown: Middletown, New York

Sarah Nowicki ’10 had a less than thrilling day performing auto refractions (computer analyses of eyesight) while on a service-learning trip to Knoxville, Tennessee. The biology major hoped the experience with the Remote Area Medical team (RAM) would help her decide on a major—a personal dilemma which she believed had reached crisis proportions.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tabita Vacareanu ′09
Human Development and Family Sciences major
Homeland: Lasi, Romania

As a founding member of Friends of Du Bois University of Africa (named after the 20^th century civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois), Tabita Vacareanu ′09 and fellow Messiah students share their testimonies with churches and communities willing to listen to how God provided education for them through the generosity of others.

Read the rest of this entry »

Amy Sherman ’87
Political Science major
Hometown: Buffalo, New York

From the halls of power in Washington D.C. to international centers of urban poverty, this Messiah alum expertly blends education, experience, and Christian faith to bridge the gap between public sector groups and faith-based organizations.

Read the rest of this entry »