Author: Bethany Kuiken

“Houghton has been a home for me and a place where I have grown and changed,” stated Emma Steele ’18 as she reflected on the past four years. As a major in business administration with minors in math, art, data science, Bible, and communication, Steele embodies what it looks like to be a passionate student-leader with a host of diverse interests.

Over the past three years Steele has been involved in her class cabinet, serving as vice president her sophomore and junior year, and the senior class president this year. She was also a Highlander leader and an EMT, running with the Houghton ambulance for the past two years.

One of Steele’s passions is student engagement on Houghton’s campus, since “there is so much more that Houghton has to offer than simply taking classes and getting a degree.” Her leadership roles also reflect her deep-seated desire to “reflect God’s love for me in the way that I interact with and help others.” These motives have manifested themselves in her leadership roles, and have led her to cultivate a deeper love for people. “Serving in these positions has fostered my love for people and desire to help them,” she said. “And, of course, working in these positions has helped me see Houghton’s needs as a campus in a much clearer light.” Her passions have “given me the drive I’ve needed in order to take on these positions and fulfill all that they require. It hasn’t always been easy with classes, friendships and life in general, but I would say that it has definitely been worth it!”

Steele considered it “an absolute joy” to serve as a Highlander leader. The role involved “working with another leader to guide a group of incoming students on a wilderness adventure in the Houghton woods and then the Adirondacks. Along the way, a Highlander leader not only needs to have the hard skills required in outdoor living, but also the soft skills required to help mentor the Highlander participants through this change in their lives. Working the ropes course and balancing decisions and viewpoints with my co-leaders were fantastic experiences for me.”

Steele would encourage underclassmen “to pursue any and all interests or passions they have energy for, and intentionally invest in the people around them. Houghton is this unbelievably cool opportunity where you can dive into areas of study that most people would never have the time to explore, and do it with the support of faculty that care deeply about their students holistic growth.” She added, “As a side note, I think all students should take a math class while at Houghton because our math faculty rock. And try to get involved in Highlander. If you missed the chance to do the actual program, take Outdoor Leadership Training from Coach Smalley!”

Following graduation, Steele will be getting married to Luke Duttweiler in May and moving into the Rochester area, where she is currently job hunting. “Even though it will be bittersweet for me to graduate, I feel confident in leaving that I am ready for what God has prepared next.”

Throughout his past four years at Houghton, Andrew Hutton ’18 has learned what it means to be a student leader. Every year, he has learned more about the importance of being involved in the Houghton community, and has discovered what that means for himself.

During his sophomore year, Hutton was involved with Journey’s End Tutoring (JET), an opportunity available to Houghton students who have a desire to teach English to refugees in Buffalo each week. “I was going to Buffalo once a week on Saturday mornings to help teach English to refugees that have maybe been in the states for only three months or so,” Hutton explained. “For a lot of them, they’re still learning English,” Hutton said. “We tried to help them integrate into the culture.”

This past year, Hutton stepped into the vice president position at SGA, where his main role is assisting the president, Emma Steele ’18, and communicating within the SGA council and with other departments in the school. Currently, SGA is planning senior week activities, including Senior SPOT. Hutton added, “I can’t say anything about that.”

In his experience with these two positions, Hutton found that he is “so passionate about helping people—especially refugees. It’s so rewarding to be able to teach something to someone and to help them learn.”

Hutton also joined College Choir this past fall. The group visited and performed in various churches and high schools in the northeast over their February break tour.

“I also volunteer at the fire department,” Hutton said. “I joined that last year.” His involvement at the fire department includes reporting for calls and attending weekly meetings. Hutton was inspired to volunteer at the fire department by a few of his cousins who are also firefighters, and also his brother, a Houghton graduate, who was involved in the EMT program. “They’re always looking for student applicants,” he added.

As a biology major, Hutton has been involved in various research projects. “Last spring, I was conducting research with Dr. Wolfe. We were measuring chloride levels in nearby Allegheny lakes,” he said. “In the spring, snowmelt and rain can cause road salt (NaCl) to flush into watersheds and accumulate in nearby lakes and rivers. Chloride levels in these lakes can fluctuate depending on how harsh the winter was. Myself, Alyson DeMerchant ‘18, and Evan Stern ‘18 presented our findings at the Rochester Academy of Science at St. John Fisher College in Rochester.”

This semester, Hutton is conducting research with Dr. Poythress, as well as Esther Udo ’18, Sarah Vande Brake ’18, Zachary Fisher ’18, Keegan Frenya ‘19, and Tess Taggart ‘18. “We are testing a therapeutic method of electrical stimulation to heal wounded smooth muscle tissue,” he said. Hutton and the rest of his group will present their research on April 23.

Hutton wants to attend school to become a physician’s assistant, but not before he takes a gap year after graduation in May to gain experience working in a hospital or a clinic. He plans on moving to Scotland for the year to work and teach piping.

During his freshman year, Hutton admitted that he wished he had gotten involved on campus more. When asked what advice he would give, Hutton said, “Don’t overextend yourself, but definitely once you get settled, don’t be afraid of signing up for stuff like jobs, clubs, anything. And stay in touch with your family.”

Eliza Burdick-Risser ’18 showed no signs of hesitation in getting involved on campus when she transferred to Houghton during her sophomore year. As a senior biochemistry major with a minor in chemistry, Burdick-Risser serves as Executive Director for the NYFCR (New York Federation of College Republicans), president of the Houghton College Republicans Club and Sigma Zeta, the SGA class of 2018 chaplain, and an RA in Gillette for the past two years.

Burdick-Risser transferred from Campbell University after her freshman year. “My freshman year of college I was a Division I athlete at Campbell and was really involved there. We did a lot of outreach programs like helping out with the local schools,” she explained. “Then I got plugged into student government, and I was a freshman RA there, so when I transferred to Houghton I wanted to have the same level of involvement here as well.”

If you would have informed her as a senior in high school about everything in which she would be involved for the next four years of her life, Burdick-Risser admitted that she “would have laughed.” She advised students to not get involved with various opportunities “just because it will look good on a resume, do it because you’re really passionate about it and do it because you enjoy it.” Speaking directly from her own experience at Houghton, Burdick-Risser encouraged students to not waste their college years, but to “take these four years to really cultivate who you are and who you want to be as you transition into adulthood.”

Expressing her passion for politics, Burdick-Risser joined Jonathan Libby ’20 to form the Houghton College Republicans Club last year, which led to their involvement on a state board. “Since September I’ve been serving as the western region chair for the state board of NYFCR, and then a few days ago I accepted a position as the executive director of the federation,” she said. In this position, Burdick-Risser oversees all the regional chairs, and plans different deployments for various candidates.

Additionally, Burdick-Risser serves as president of Sigma Zeta, a STEM honor society on campus. “In order to be in [Sigma Zeta], you have to be completing your sophomore year, be declared as a STEM major, so science, technology, engineering or mathematics, and have above a 3.0 GPA,” she said. STEM hosts a “Lab Saturday” once every semester when local high school students “come participate for the afternoon and kind of get a feel for what college labs are like in chemistry or biology or physics, and we also share a little bit about what we do here as well.” Burdick-Risser appreciates the society’s emphasis on using their gifts to give back to the community.

Burdick-Risser concluded by clarifying the purpose of keeping Christ central in all our pursuits. “Put God first in what you do. Be confident in your identity as a Christian, knowing that everything you do doesn’t define you. [Being a Christian] is what defines you.”

As of now, Burdick-Risser plans on attending New York Chiropractic College in Seneca Falls where she received a scholarship to pursue her passion for sports medicine.

When Jessica Robinson ’18 first came to Houghton, she was mainly interested in pursuing an Art Education degree. Over the next four years, Robinson “accumulated majors” and is now graduating as a triple major in business administration, communications, and human resources.

Robinson holds a deep appreciation for how well she believes Houghton has prepared her to step into the professional world after graduation. “The business department is especially very intentional about real world experience and driving us to be the best that we can be.” As a native of south central Pennsylvania, Robinson plans to move back to that area in May, “work for a little bit, and then down the road get an MBA once I solidify what I want to do.”

Robinson’s primary leadership role is serving as the senior RA for her staff, “which means I’m kind of the point person for other RAs for questions, and things like that.” She’s also serves as the president of SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) and holds multiple jobs around campus.

One thing that Robinson explained “really shaped my Houghton experience” was becoming an RA. She encourages other students to “not look past the opportunities God is giving you.” Robinson had told herself she would “never” become an RA, “and my mom says as soon as I say, ‘I’m never going to do something,’ God is like, ‘You sure? You sure about that?’”

After much encouragement from Krista Maroni, Robinson’s Resident Director at the time, she filled out her application and stepped into her role as an RA as a sophomore. Speaking from experience, Robinson said, “Take those opportunities and be open because college is all about shaping yourself, and you don’t know how you’re going to be shaped.”

Even though Robinson never saw herself stepping into this position when she came to Houghton, her role as an RA has “pushed me to interact with others because I’m an introvert and I kind of like just sitting by myself, but pushing myself to talk to others and get to know others has made my college experience more well-rounded because of all those people I’ve had the opportunity to meet or mentor through my position.” She has learned the importance of time management and what it takes to balance a heavy work load and meaningful relationships.

On March 23, Robinson will have the opportunity to share her faith journey in chapel which she explained “is a lot about my learning disability, which I wasn’t diagnosed with until 5th grade, but it’s a severe learning disability that I’ve had my entire life and will have my entire life.” Robinson described her struggle with learning how to speak and how to read, and how even though “I looked normal from the outside, internally it’s hard to function on an everyday basis.” Robinson is looking forward to sharing with the Houghton community how she’s seen God’s hand at work in her life in the past twenty years.

There’s more to Jeffrey Hansen ’18 than the fact that he’s never seen without his iconic name tag. In fact, when asked about the reasons behind the name tag, he responds, “You know, a lot of people ask me this question, and I always wonder why people don’t ask me other questions, like, ‘Why do you always wear blue polos to class?’”

What people might not know about Hansen is that he is “the sole remaining undergraduate music composition major,” with minors in linguistics and philosophy, and that he is formally “the philosopher-king of the Gadfly Society, Houghton’s Philosophy Club, and also the president of the instrumental council of the Houghton Symphony Orchestra.”

His main “duty” as the president of the Gadfly society is, as he described, “to be infuriatingly annoying.” Although, Hansen admits that he seems “to be doing poorly at that job in general, seeing that I haven’t been sentenced to death by the Athenian Parliament, or even kicked out of Rothenbuhler by Residence Life.” In this position, he gets “to decide the least convenient time of the week to have meetings and choose topics which I hope will get people to vehemently disagree with each other in a manner which is conducive enough for civil discussion, but meaningful enough that you stay up at night wondering if that person was being serious or just playing devil’s advocate.”

As a man with many musical talents, including being an organ and horn player as well as a choir member, Hansen gets to participate in “chapel music and other campus worship events fairly frequently.” As president of the Houghton Symphony Orchestra (HSO), Hansen takes on “a somewhat different role” than his presidential role in the Gadfly Society, due to the fact that the orchestra “is actually formally a class, which has graduate students and multiple professors, so a lot of what would normally be associated with a typical president of a club is not formally ascribed to the president of the orchestra.” Hansen has led devotionals, given interviews for the STAR, and assumes that he “would be involved with the planning of a reception if our concerts needed such things.” The HSO is currently working on music for upcoming chapels and planning for various concerts.

Hansen is also involved in “slightly less formal roles” which include his participation “in numerous musical ensembles for the duration of my tenure, including the Houghton Wind Ensemble, the Houghton Symphony Orchestra, Men’s Choir, Gospel Choir, and College Choir. In College Choir, for example, I have been given the mighty power of having my own daily entertainment segment on the Tour Bus called ‘Curious Quips With Jeff,’ a power I have used solely for nefarious self-serving ends.”

“My time at Houghton has been very interesting,” Hansen explained. He came to Houghton with the intention of studying Physics and Music Composition, maybe with “a little study of linguistics on the side. I certainly was not expecting to be applying to linguistics school.” As a freshman, Hansen said that he “was not initially accepted into first year honors (for more than good reasons; could you imagine a poor human doing Physics, Music, and East Meets West all at the same time?).” Hansen participated in  the Highlander Program during his first year, then joined the Gadfly Society, which led him to his philosophy minor. Although he didn’t plan to join choir, he explained how “Men’s Choir ‘mysteriously’ showed up last second on my transcript, and that turned out to be smashingly successful.” Hansen was in the first cohort of Scholastica Honors “because I had done well my first year and adopted more realistic educational aspirations (dropping down solely to a music composition major, freeing up a lot of free time) and I got hit like the brick by the plight of those without their own cultural access to Christianity, despite formal inclusion in the Church, and that messed my perspective on a lot of things up.”

The skills Hansen has acquired at Houghton have helped him prosper in his musical endeavors, including an experience with the Youth Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes, his attendance at various music festivals, and his employment as an accompanist for the Presbyterian Church of Wellsville.

After graduation, Hansen hopes to attend the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics in Dallas, Texas “to take part in their Master in World Arts Program.” He wants to study music at a linguistics school because of his interests in “the fields of Ethnomusicology, and Ethnodoxology, especially in regards to how the Christian faith might be manifested within particular cultural contexts. Perhaps the most important work done in this field is done in the field of Bible Translation, but the process of Bible Translation involves an entire community. Not only are literacy and language development essential for the effectiveness of a translation,” he added, “it is essential that cultural objects such as music and art likewise become adapted culturally. I am really interested in the Bible Translation movement and all of the disciplines that can serve and function in aid of Bible Translation, particularly in the discipline of music.”

In a few words of advice to underclassmen, Hansen would like to “tell all substatuspeople to not sacrifice their roommates to Marduk as burnt offerings. There is probably at least one ethical problem with such an action, maybe even two.” In addition to that, Hansen believes in the importance of having “a good sense of humor in regards to oneself.” This, he would argue, “helps you realize your own faults and sins, and to confess them to others. It also leaves you open to relationships with others you might not necessarily suspect or plan. In other words, be confident in oneself to be open to dialogue with ideas which will change you and your perception of other ideas. Acknowledging ones’ vices and failures very frequently paves the way for its corresponding virtues and successes.”

“I want to see what the Houghton of 2018 is and be a part of it,” Diane Emmons said when asked why she was compelled to audit classes as a community member. Emmons, along with fellow auditor Eileen Spear, are two community members who are far from losing their passion for learning.

Spear started auditing classes in 1999 after retiring from working in the International Development department and the library at Houghton. “I’ve audited fifty-seven classes and they varied from Bible, English, writing, theology, science, communication, history, psychology, church music—note, there were no math courses in there,” Spear said.

Eight of Spear’s grandchildren graduated from Houghton, and she was able to audit a class with each one of them. She also went “on the first semester to Australia” and “on a ten day trip with an English class to see movies and theater productions.” Spear graduated from Houghton in 1952 with a degree in music education, which she admitted “limited my liberal arts education.” Auditing classes has given her the opportunity to learn in new disciplines. This semester she is auditing a class that examines the Pentateuch.

For Emmons, who also graduated from Houghton with a degree in music, auditing classes has provided her with a “fresh opportunity.” Emmons has audited Outdoor Leadership Training, and is currently enrolled in Western Civilization and Old Testament Theology.

“Coach Smalley’s Outdoor Leadership Training (OLT) class on the ropes course challenged each student to contribute toward group success and to set personal goals,” Emmons stated, reflecting on her experience. “Knot tying, rock climbing, and shelter building became catalysts for stretching and strengthening the bonds among classmates and emphasizing our dependence on God’s grace at all times.”

This semester, Emmons joined Old Testament Theology because she wants to grow spiritually and enjoys being in the presence of Dr. Derck, whom she describes as “a model of grace in action.” Emmons is also auditing Western Civilization this semester. “When I told Dr. Pearse that my understanding of Western Civ was pathetic, he still welcomed me to join the class,” she remarked. “Of course, one great benefit of auditing classes is the freedom to learn new things without the pressure of papers to write, tests to take, or grades to earn!”

“Personally, I’m at a stage in life when I struggle to know where I belong and how to contribute in meaningful ways,” Emmons said. “I’m finding that auditing a class can help keep vitality in life—even after loss of precious loved ones.” She smiled as she explained how auditing classes makes her feel “like a child in a way—an old lady, yet free to experience the wonder of a five-year-old.” One way Emmons seeks to contribute is by creating intentional and meaningful relationships with fellow students and teachers. “I feel connected that way,” she said.

Regardless of the stage of life where we find ourselves, Emmons and Spear model how it looks to be a lifelong learner.

Since the start of her freshman year, Jacqi Lewis ’18 has been a natural student-leader on campus. From her job as a Visit Intern at the Admissions Office, which she’s held for three years, to her position as captain of the women’s tennis team, to her role as a member of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC), Lewis has grown into her leadership strengths.

Lewis applied for the Visit Intern position during her first year at Houghton. After three years, she still holds the same passion and appreciation for the job. “I make a lot of schedules and call a lot of students. We also contact a lot of professors to coordinate when they can meet with visiting students and if they can go to classes,” she said. “I love the people I work with. Everyone in admissions is so fun and it’s a really laid-back environment.” Lewis has found that working in the admissions office has grown her confidence in sending emails, talking on the phone, and managing conflict.

In addition to this position, Lewis served as captain of the women’s tennis team this past season. She was responsible for coordinating team bonding activities and being a representative voice for the team.

Lewis was nominated by her team to sit on the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC), a nationally organized group that meets “to provide insight on the student-athlete experience and offer input on the rules, regulations and policies that affect student-athletes’ lives on campus.”

“Every school with an athletic program has a SAAC,” Lewis explained. “It’s basically leaders from each team that are on it, and they do a lot of different things like fundraising and special Olympics, but it’s also the group that discusses current issues on sports teams and how we can make them better.”

In these meetings, the committee discusses a range of issues that student-athletes encounter and works towards a collaborative solution. “SAAC is anything that happens with students and athletics,” Lewis said, adding that the committee later gives “an overview of what’s going on the Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics (CIA).” Lewis was further nominated to join the CIA, which meets once a month to help maintain a healthy relationship between academics and athletics.

Although Lewis is involved in a range of commitments, she feels like she’s struck a healthy balance in her time management strategy. “My freshman year I tried to do everything,” she admitted. “I was in Organic Chemistry, I was in Calculus 2 and I did Science Honors and I played tennis and it kinda burnt me out my freshman year. I think freshman year should really be about building those connections, and then once you have your support group it’s easier to focus on your studies because you have those friends. I’m glad I worked hard in school, but I’m really glad for the relationships I’ve built.”

“Ultimately,” Lewis concluded, “branch out and try to make friends, because when you leave that’s really what you’re going to remember.”

When Matt Young ’18 graduated from high school in 2010, instead of immediately going onto higher education, he enlisted in the Army. For the following three years, Young was stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. In those years, he married his wife, Arielle, and welcomed their first son, Liam. The Young family later moved to western New York, where he worked one year for the Buffalo News before enrolling at Houghton in the fall of 2014.

As a non-traditional student, Young found the transition into civilian life after the Army “weird.” He said, “It was weird because the army is not a normal work experience. It was weird getting out of the Army and going into the normal workforce for a year, and then to come here is just completely different.”

Young is a father of two young sons, Liam and Owen, who was born during the year that he worked for the Buffalo News. Owen suffered from several birth defects, an experience that Young described as a “punch in the gut to my faith.”

“It was during that time that I was considering which college to attend, and we settled on Houghton because of its Christian focus. I hoped to find some answers to why a good and powerful God would let things like this happen to children like my son,” Young said. “What I found at Houghton was a religious faculty that was willing to sit with me in my pain, frustration, and confusion, without shrinking away. They looked at the hard questions with me and did not offer trite and simplistic answers. I am very thankful to them for that.”

Although Young’s faith is not what it was when he arrived at Houghton almost four years ago, he still values Jesus “and his message of self-sacrificial love for our neighbors. Maybe one day the faith will come back,” Young said. “But as the author of Ephesians says, that will be a ‘gift of God.’”

Young is a philosophy major, and dreams of using his degree to “teach at some level, either as a professor or to use it as a springboard for a masters of education work,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind being a high school teacher either.”

Not only is Young an active voice in the philosophy program, he is also the vice president of the Student Government Association (SGA). Although his position came about a bit unexpectedly, Young filled the role with grace. “Last spring, the former vice president, Daniel Merriam ’17, and Joanna Friesen ’17 invited me to lunch and they said, ‘We think you should run for Daniel’s position in SGA. Have you ever thought of it?’ I said, ‘Not really, but tell me more about the position.’” After hearing more, Young was highly interested in stepping into the job. “I really like trying to make a difference in whatever community I’m a part of,” he stated. “I thought it was a good opportunity to represent the students’ needs to the administration, and vice versa. I try to do whatever I can.” All of the campus clubs fall under the SGA’s administration, so each club has to register and report to the SGA. In some cases, the SGA partners with clubs on campus.

Sergio Mata ’19, who serves as the SGA president, frequently shares responsibilities with Young. “I basically assist all the other executive officers with their duties. I keep track of all our office hours and attendance at our meetings,” Young said. “I also run all the blood drives in partnership with the Red Cross. That’s actually my favorite part.”

At the most recent blood drive, Young reported that they processed roughly forty donors. With each donation on average saving about three lives, “we literally saved 120 lives as a campus.” Houghton will host one more blood drive in April.

When asked what he would advise underclassmen to do in order to make the most of their time at Houghton, Young focused on the opportunity students have to learn from professors outside of the classroom. “One of the things I’ve enjoyed the most at Houghton has been the faculty lecture series,” he said. “It’s something that not a lot of students go to, but some of the most interesting research topics get covered from a variety of the faculty every semester and it always surprises me how few students are actually there. It’s a great opportunity to learn things outside of class.”