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. 

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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. 

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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 »

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.

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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.

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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.

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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 »

Lucy Barnhouse ′08
Medieval Renaissance Studies and German double major
Hometown:  King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

Children can be persistent. Just ask any parent who has resorted to the dreadful, sometimes regretful, “because I said so”—the commonly invoked universal justification for decisions affecting young inquiring minds.  Read the rest of this entry »

Mark Herman ′85
Behavioral Science major
Residing in Greencastle, Pennsylvania

Mark Herman ′85 is a middle school principal, a coach, a ministry leader, and a father of eight, who is also working toward a doctorate in educational leadership. But none of these roles are what defines him. 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 »

Jonathan Bean ′01
Studio art major
Manhattan, New York

Jonathan Bean ′01 has the best of worlds, living and working in a New York City apartment near Central Park. The Pennsylvania native grew up hiking, bird watching, and drawing landscapes—pastimes he frequently pursues as a resident of the Big Apple. In fact, finding places of solitude in a metropolitan landscape are what inspired Bean to write and illustrate At Night, a tale of a city-dwelling child seeking a quiet place to rest. Read the rest of this entry »

Dave Tanis
Director of Adventure Programs
Messiah College

Who would you consider wise enough and skilled enough to hold your teetering life in their hands? That’s what Dave Tanis, director of adventure programs at Messiah College, pondered when he decided to climb the jagged vertical rises of the Grand Teton, Wyoming’s second tallest mountain. The hike required climbers with a grand capacity for mental fortitude and backcountry bravery.  Read the rest of this entry »

Steady H. Moono ′85
Education major
Currently the Vice President for Student Affairs,
Montgomery County Community College
Residing in Collegeville, Pennsylvania

When Dr. Steady Moono ’85 earned national recognition as the “2008 Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate,” his acceptance speech cited not his master’s degree alma mater, nor his doctorate alma mater, but Messiah College—a place that taught him the meaning of mentoring relationships.

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Chris Boyles ′02
Marketing major
Residing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

A decision by the Chinese government to revoke Chris Boyles’ travel visa just days prior to his departure for the Beijing Olympics gained international attention as well as heightened the Messiah College graduate’s commitment to Team Darfur—
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Bryan Doo ′95
Sports & Exercise Science major
Residing in Waltham, Massachusetts

Bryan Doo, a 1995 sports and exercise science graduate, has made it to the big leagues…literally.

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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.

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Jessica Frederick ′07
Christian Ministries and Social Work major
Hometown: Jamestown, New York

While accompanying shepherds as their sheep graze in the rocky hills of At-Tuwani in the disputed West Bank, Jessica Frederick ‘07 dons a symbolic bright red “CPT” hat as a message to Israelis that she is a nonviolent activist.

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Agaba Bisengo ’06
Political Science major
Homeland: Democratic Republic of the Congo

The supportive, objective environment at Messiah College helped Agaba Bisengo ’06, a former Rwandan refugee, find the courage to speak about issues of justice and equality in public forums.

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Johanna K. Hartman ’07
Secondary Education major
Hometown: Columbia, PA

“I didn’t expect that when I walked down the [graduation] aisle, that I would know my professors beyond the classroom,” said Johanna Hartman ’07, magna cum laude music education graduate.

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