Category: Stories In Focus

Categories
Stories In Focus

Professor “Connects Cultures” in Oman

Earlier this semester, Laura Alexeichik, assistant professor of sport, recreation, and wellness, spent three weeks in the Middle East working on a research project through Connecting Cultures. Alexeichik spent her time in Oman, located in the Arabian Peninsula, and bordering Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and United Arab Emirates.

Alexeichik graduated with her Ph.D. two years ago from Indiana University. Her dissertation focused on research she did with Connecting Cultures in Oman. Her trip to Oman this year was an opportunity to continue research looking at the impacts of participation within a culturally focused experiential learning experience.

According to their official website, Connecting Cultures is a unique educational program that gathers students from countries in Europe and the Arab world to promote intentional, face to face dialogue in short journeys through the desert of Oman. “This program brings youth that are 18-25 years old from all over Europe and the Arab world,” Alexeichik stated. “There are twenty participants: ten from Europe and ten from the Arab world.” She continued, “Connecting Cultures brings them together for a five day desert expedition that focuses on intentional discourse and dialogue towards building respect and mutual understanding.”

The environmentthe participants endure creates a level playing field. “They’re in the desert,” Alexeichik explained. “They’re hiking. They have no cell phones. They’re going to the bathroom outside. They are sleeping in tents or under the stars and they come to realize how powerful the environment is while having these conversations. You’re exposed.” She added, “Everyone is tired, hungry, or covered in sand and it neutralizes the participants by creating an uncomfortable environment for everyone. It allows them to have these real and raw conversations.”

The purpose of this program is to expose the stereotypes and assumptions these young people have by bringing them through an intentional curriculum. “One of the major parts of the curriculum is having conversations about what people value,” Alexeichik said. “They come to find that the values of people from the Arab world and from Europe are the same, that we hold the same values and we’re not so different.”

Although Alexeichik was not a participant or a facilitator, as an outsider she was still able to interact with the participants as she completed her research. Her research provides her with a unique perspective that can impact the influence she has in the Houghton community as a professor. Assistant professor of recreation and equestrian studies, Andrea Boon, anticipates the continued impact Alexeichik’s research will have on students. “We are excited about the depth of knowledge and experience Dr. Laura Alexeichik brings to the Sport, Recreation and Wellness department,” she said. “Her continued research and intercultural connections opens doors to cross cultural student engagement and encourages continued growth of our student’s worldviews.”

Cross-cultural engagement is necessary for breaking down stereotypes and assumptions, but it often doesn’t come without a cost. “We often have to come to grips with our own ways of thinking about others and be willing to expand our views and opinions about others,” Alexeichik shared. “If we limit the ways in which we think about people different from us we become a part of the problem, rather than the solution.”

 

Categories
Arts Stories In Focus

Film Review: Get Out

We all have different thresholds for confrontation. For some, all they need are a few off-handed comments diminishing their favorite book or an uninformed insinuation that grains are the most important food group to go flying off the verbal handle. Yet for others, the benefit of the doubt will still remain intact even after the “local neighborhood chainsaw salesman” they let into the house has started swinging at them. “I’m sure it was just an accident.” It is in this relational ambiguity that Jordan Peele’s recently released film Get Out finds it’s home, and manages to unnerve the viewer in ways that are far deeper than its genre format may initially suggest. Paranoia runs rampant in the uncomfortable and the awkward, when people are just a few degrees away from understanding each other, but can’t quite connect. What people do to each other within this disconnect is what’s truly terrifying.

The film centers on Chris Washington, played by Daniel Kaluuya, who is black, and his girlfriend Rose Armitage, played by Allison Williams, who is white. Chris knows this shouldn’t be a big deal in modern society, but the desire to preface a relationship in such a way is often culturally expected even though distinguishing between “interracial relationships” and whatever painful phrase indicates a “same race relationship” can lead to strange confrontations. So when he leaves the city to visit his girlfriend’s family for the first time, he is prepared for the worst. While they are not nearly the prejudiced suburban family that he imagined living deep in the woods, he can’t help but feel that they interact with him in a way that’s quietly unsettling. When the groundskeeper and maid start behaving oddly, Chris begins to think that the family has planned something sinister for him.

It is incredibly difficult to talk about this movie to people who haven’t seen it. No matter how much you gush about its impeccable pacing, tremendous performances, and witty writing, it can’t be proven until it is seen. This film is bonkers, yet it manages to restrain itself and worm its way into your mind with silent, subconscious tension. It’s brilliant, and worth seeing if you have even the tiniest of stakes in the cinematic landscape of the modern world.

Get Out is delightfully clever, and from the film’s first moments it is clear that you are in the hands of a methodically constructed work of fiction. It knows its audience is intelligent, and treats them in kind, which is a refreshing experience from a low-budget horror film. When the pieces of the plot start fitting together and you think you are getting ahead of the story, characters will chime in to explain that they’ve made the same connections, just to remind you that the movie knows what it’s doing. This is usually the result when a brilliant writer and director are working in tandem, and in this case, both are Jordan Peele. While Peele showcased some of his directorial prowess on his often brilliant sketch show Key and Peele, this film proves that he can easily translate his skills to long-form drama while still keeping an air of wit and comic relief that is more than welcome when the tension starts growing unbearable. There has never been such an organic balance between dread and humor in a movie of this kind, and it is a genuinely wonderful experience to feel tonal balance shift back and forth with ease.

This movie is weird, sincerely odd, and it’s all the better for it. It is tightly plotted, scripted, directed, shot, marketed (but please avoid the trailer if you can), and is easily a masterwork of genre filmmaking. Go see this movie, you will not regret it. And if somehow you do, find a friend to talk it over with because part of Get Out’s design is that it is meant to be discussed, parsed, and obsessed over. If you have any desire to watch a movie from a perspective you haven’t experienced before and come out a changed person, albeit with a slight aversion to lacrosse sticks, hypnotism, and deer, you will not be disappointed.

 

Categories
Campus Stories In Focus

SPCA Brings Puppies and Kittens to Campus

For the stressed college student far from home and the comfort of their own pets, sometimes the chance to cuddle a furry friend can be the difference between a good afternoon and a complete breakdown. Every few weeks, students at Houghton have just this opportunity. The psychology club has organized an event where students need only to take a trip to the main lounge in Gillette to be surrounded by puppies and kittens. This event began when members of the counseling center discovered a new Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) shelter being built in Belmont, and realized an opportunity to provide overstressed students with a few moments of relaxation.

The director of the counseling center, Bill Burrichter, was instrumental in the creation of this event. “We [the counselors] met with Linda, the director and president of the local SPCA,” he said. “She gave us  a tour of the new building, and we talked about ways in which we could partner together. So, it was simply a meeting where we expressed a desire to have animals on campus periodically for emotional support for students. She was pleased to help out whereas they like to have the animals socialized with people so that when they go to a forever-home they are familiar with safe and caring people.” Burrichter also added  once the new facility is completed, the counseling center hopes that students will be able to volunteer, helping to care for the animals as they await adoption.

Right away, the event became wildly popular. Kevin Biondolillo ‘17, a member of the psychology club, recalled its astounding success. “I believe the event began with a Stress Fair two years ago when the counseling center had a couple of puppies in their office with a five minute time slot per student in line. The line was over an hour long, so the counseling center knew students really wanted more animal events.” Biondolillo described how the event developed from the Stress Fair format into a circle of chairs and a pile of Bernese Mountain dog puppies, and from this into the event in Gillette lounge.

Burrichter cited the science behind how beneficial the opportunity to pet these animals is. He said, “We know from scientific research that the act of petting an animal can release Oxytocin (a neuropeptide or chemical in the brain) which produces a sense of calm, comfort and focus.  In addition, there is research that suggests that interacting with a pet can also release neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin (that helps alleviate depressive or anxious symptoms).”

According to BestFriends.org, events like this also helps socialize the animals at the shelter, making them friendlier and more accustomed to being around humans in a loving environment. For shelter animals hoping to be adopted, this socialization is all too important. By being around humans, being pet, held, given treats, and played with, these shelter animals develop the ability to interact well with humans. It makes them less anxious around people and this in turn makes them more adoptable, giving them an opportunity to find a new permanent home.

For many students, going to the SPCA at Houghton events can turn a bad week into a fantastic one. Some are reminded of their own pets at home, and others are just glad of the opportunity to interact with these adorable, curious, furry creatures. There is significant work for the psychology club in organizing and cleaning up after the event, but for Kevin Biondolillo, it is absolutely worth it. “My favorite part is seeing the look on a student’s face when they first see a puppy, cat, or even rabbit,” he said. “More uninhibited joy and selfless affection is seen in that moment than I have seen at many other Houghton events.”

 

Categories
Stories In Focus

Making Literature, Making Connections

This past February break, from March 2 to 4, Houghton students Sophia Ross ‘17 and Ava Bergen ‘17 presented at Taylor University’s Making Literature Conference. The conference, held every other year, invites undergraduates to submit fiction, poetry, and critical essays. If their work is accepted, students present in panels composed of three other students whose work resembles their own. This year’s conference drew students from Houghton, Hope College, Wheaton College, Taylor University, Anderson University, and several more schools. According to the conference’s official website, programming this year also included keynote academic speakers such as Tom Noyes (Houghton College alumni), Jessica Mesman Griffith, David Griffith, Grace Tiffany, Shari Wagner, and Amy Peterson, as well as a book fair hosted by Eighth Day Books.

Houghton students were made aware of the conference by Laurie Dashnau, professor of English. Houghton students have attended the conference in the past, but there was no trip planned to attend the conference this year. Even so, Dashnau invited students to submit papers. Bergen and Ross were informed of their acceptance in early February, and made travel plans accordingly so that they could attend.

Bergen, a double major in English and communication, presented her critical essay, “A Malleable Sense of Justice: Robin Hood’s Enduring Appeal to English Readers” and a collection of poems entitled “Transit.” In her essay, Bergen analyzes the use of Robin Hood as an English hero in different works over time. She researched his role in the texts “A Gest of Robyn Hoode” and the “Little Red Robin” by Vivian Matthews and Alick Manley, and argued that the character continued to be appealing to English readers due to his malleable sense of justice and military successes. She wrote the essay while studying at Oxford University in the Fall of 2016 as part of the Best Semester program. Her collection of poems, meanwhile, focus on the theme of “times of transition, times of uncertainty, and, above all, time spent in motion.”

Ross, a double major in English and writing, presented a fictional short story titled “Gone Places.” The piece takes place on a bus travelling through a snowstorm. There are only two passengers, and both are heading to a nursing home. One passenger is going to visit her dying grandmother and the other passenger is a nurse. The story centers on the relationship between the passenger and her grandmother, which Ross said is loosely based on her own relationship with her grandmother, who suffered from dementia during the last seven years of her life. Ross began the story during her sophomore year in Writing Fiction, a class taught by Lori Huth, assistant professor of creative writing. She came back to the work last semester and revised it for her graduate school applications.

While attending the conference meant working through half of their February break, both students agreed that it was worthwhile.

“I’m glad I attended,” said Ross. “This was my third time presenting at a conference as an undergraduate, which is fairly uncommon for students in the arts and humanities at Houghton. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to connect with students from other schools in my discipline, as well as professionals like Tom Noyes and Jessica Mesman Griffith.” She continued, “I always find it refreshing to see the context in which I’m working. It helps me remember that there is a big world of writers out there.”

Bergen, too, enjoyed the networking aspect of the conference as a source of inspiration.

“Having the opportunity to connect with writers and artists from other schools was wonderful,” she said. “There was also an encouraging underlying message from the pros: failure is inevitable. To be a writer is to entertain rejection. To persist, and continue writing, despite this is life-giving.”

Categories
Campus Stories In Focus

Finding Solace In Silence and Scripture

In Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France, one will find an ecumenical monastery called the Taizé (pronounced tah-zeh) Community, made up of Catholics and Protestants living together in a community structured around prayer. According to the Taizé Community’s official website, their existence “is a ‘parable of community’ that wants its life to be a sign of reconciliation between divided Christians and between separated peoples.” Taizé services are solemn, and filled with repetitive music and silent prayer.

Although Houghton, New York is far from Southern France, Taizé-style worship services have arrived on campus. Lindsey Holt ’18, a chapel deacon, has been in charge of putting together these reflective worship services. She said, “I felt like these types of services would be a welcome addition to Houghton’s opportunities for worship.” Lindsey learned about the Taizé Community when she was in high school. “I had the opportunity to go for a week, which is why these services are so meaningful to me,” she said.

The Taizé services on campus consist of 60 minutes of prayer, repetitive singing, acoustic music, and scripture reading. Michael Jordan, dean of the chapel, also helps to plan these services. He said, “The Taizé services are carefully planned with particular choruses mixed in with Scripture readings, especially the psalms, and silent prayer.”

This silent prayer is described by Holt as the most striking part of the service. “In the middle there is 10 minutes of silent prayer,” she said. “I think that having silent prayer for such a long period of time is important, because in most cases we don’t have enough silence in our lives”.

The music of the Taizé worship is intentionally much different from a typical chapel service. Rather than high energy worship music, the songs are usually a simple refrain sung over and over again. The accompaniment, usually piano, violin or guitar, is also simple. According to Holt, this is because “the worshiper is more comfortable with the music, and so able to focus less on singing, and move into deeper meditation on the truth of the words being sung.” Jordan also commented that he thought this style was very important. He said, “It takes seriously our need for stillness”.

The reflective, quiet services of Taizé at Houghton began during the fall semester. Holt planned two services on campus. One took place in the evening, and one during chapel. This semester so far, only one Taizé service has happened, taking place at the end of January. Usually, there are about 20 to 30 people in attendance.

All are welcome to attend and take part in the Taizé Community on campus. “There is a way in which you go to Taizé scattered, but leave gathered—ready to reflect Christ’s love to the world with confidence, fearlessness and joy,” said Jordan. At its core, Taizé strives to be a quiet, peaceful reflective space for one to go and worship in a relaxed and solemn way.  Jordan’s final comments on Taizé were of its necessity on campus. He said, “[The services] provide a very different and very helpful form of worship for over-busy, over-anxious, over-tired college students”.

Taizé takes place in the Wesley Chapel, and the next service is scheduled for the month of March.

Categories
Campus Sports Stories In Focus

1 in 1,000: Basketball Player Scores Career Milestone

On Saturday, February 18, basketball player Phil Pellegrino ‘17 scored his 1,000th point in his final career game. This lofty accomplishment was a highlight of Phil’s successful basketball career as a college player.

Pellegrino said he is humbled by this accomplishment, which was achieved through hours of hard work and dedication. “It is an unreal feeling. I have been playing basketball since I was a young kid. All I ever watched on TV was college basketball and I remember wanting to be just like them,” he said. “Scoring the 1,000th point was the icing on the cake for my dream to play college basketball. It makes all of the countless hours spent in the gym worthwhile.”

Pellegrino has been faithfully supported by his teammates and coaches who have encouraged him in this endeavor. “My coaches and teammates are family,” he said. “I love each and every one of them from all my years of playing at Houghton.” He emphasized the importance of camaraderie on the team, and stated, “I couldn’t have achieved this accomplishment if it wasn’t for my teammates. The coaching staff has always been supportive of me, and pushed me to be the best basketball player and man that I could be.”

Corky McMullen, head men’s basketball coach, expressed his appreciation for Phil’s contribution to the team both on and off the court. “Phil has been a joy to coach,” said McMullen. “He has really brought into the new system that we put in place. It’s difficult to get a new coaching staff for your senior year, and he has made our job easy.” He continued, “On the floor he gives us instant offense, and always puts his teammates before himself. Off the floor, he is a man of high integrity and leads our underclassmen by example. It has been an honor coaching this young man.”

Pellegrino’s teammate, Jordan Scott ’17 echoed Coach McMullen’s appreciation. “Phil’s accomplishment reflects his hard work, but more importantly his attitude towards his accomplishment reflects his selflessness,” Scott said. “He rarely discussed the possibility of getting 1,000 points during the year.” He added that Pellegrino was more focused on winning and team success than with this personal accomplishment coming as a result of their playing. “He always put the team before himself and it was refreshing to have him as an unselfish leader for our team.”

On the court, Pellegrino is a player that can be relied on for his dynamic offense. “As a team, we looked to him as a primary scoring option, which is reflected in his 1,000 career points,” Scott ’17 said. “Transitioning to a new offense with a new coach made it difficult, but as the point guard I knew I could trust Phil to score, and I could look for him as an option when facilitating the ball. I am very proud of what Phil has done on the court, but more proud to call Phil a friend for life as a result of the bond we share from being teammates here at Houghton.”

Houghton’s mission in athletics is “excellence for the glory of God.” According to his coach, Pellegrino’s career accomplishment aligns with the mission Houghton strives to implement on and off the court. “Scoring 1,000 points is no easy feat at any level,” said McMullen. “Striving for excellence is all that we do on and off the court. Your identity is not made by wins and losses or scoring 1,000 points. Your identity is in Jesus Christ. Phil is a perfect example of that model. He is a noble servant leader first, and a basketball player second.”

Although his career is almost at its end, Pellegrino expressed that he is grateful for the opportunities he has had on the team. “I am so thankful to be part of the Houghton basketball program,” he said. “I have no regrets leaving the game I love.”

 

Categories
Campus Stories In Focus

Singing Their Way Down South

Over the course of next week, the Houghton Singers, Houghton’s acapella group, will leave on a tour which will cover Florida and make additional stops in Virginia and North Carolina. The tour is part of a joint effort with the Advancement Office to publicize Houghton in Florida.

According to Kelly Van Kirk, the group’s director, the idea of a week-long Florida tour came from alumni and community engagement director, Phyllis Gaerte, who first envisioned a partnership between the Singers and Advancement. “It was the perfect storm,” Van Kirk recalled. “It’s not only a great thing for the members of the group [to go on tour], but a chance to connect with our denomination and alumni and to do some recruitment.”

While the Houghton Singers typically do a shorter, more local tour in the spring semester, the tour in Florida will break from previous years in several ways. The Singers are only doing four church concerts, instead playing the majority of their performances at retirement homes and schools. They have also expanded their repertoire to include more than acapella pop which Van Kirk called the group’s “bread and butter.” They will now include a few older jazz standards, a gospel piece or two, and even a Beatles song.

The Houghton Singers were created four years ago by Kevin Dibble during what Van Kirk termed “the post Pitch Perfect phase.” The group is highly selective, with a limited number of slots each year filled by an intensive audition process. Ellenore Tarr ‘18, an alto in the group stated, “I love working with this small, intimate ensemble. We’re more than a singing group. We’re a family of believers, and we get to use our gifts to create something beautiful.” Several members of the group expressed their excitement at the opportunity for a longer tour. “I’m excited to get to go off campus with people in a situation that’s less stressful – no homework or assignments,” said Hannah Jager ‘18, another group member. “We get to just perform, we don’t even have to rehearse every day.”

Additionally, the Singers will experience the Florida weather, and make time in their packed itinerary to visit St. Augustine and Tampa, and hopefully the ocean. “We’re excited to enjoy the weather, enjoy the sunshine,” Van Kirk said. “In a busy tour, this is all the break we’re going to get.” The singers are also looking forward to their role in the advancement process. Jager, a music education major, specifically mentioned the group’s school visits. She also referenced the group’s church ministry, and stated, “We get to lead worship one Sunday, so I’m pretty excited for that.”

To cut down on the cost of a tour bus, the group will be driving themselves, doing the trip down south over two days and the trip home in one. Van Kirk referred to the process as “an adventure.” Despite the long hours on the road, the group is in high spirits. “I’m excited to make personal connections in the places where we travel,” said Tarr.  “It will be special to create real memories out of the itinerary that we’ve only seen on paper so far. In a couple of weeks, we’ll be looking back on experiences instead of talking about expectations.”

 

Categories
Campus Stories In Focus

SPOT Review: All Caught Up

When I first heard the theme for this year’s SPOT, “The Big Catch-Up,” I have to admit I was a little skeptical. I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to sit through a two-hour long recap of a year that many people (myself included) considered to be pretty rough. When I sat down in my seat and watched the lights slowly fade as the variety show began, I didn’t expect much.

I am happy to say, however, that I was proved wrong. The hosts did an amazing job of keeping the audience engaged, using the original theme to their advantage. While I waited for a dig at the politics of 2016, I was pleasantly surprised that the hosts instead chose to focus on some of the more positive aspects of the past year. They proved that dance crazes and Internet memes can unite a divided world in a way that negative quips can’t.

If the hosts did a good job, then the musical acts did even better. Every SPOT, I am always happy to see talented individuals make their way onto the stage to give performances that, in some cases, I didn’t know they were capable of. But while usually I walk away from SPOT with one or two musical acts in mind that I didn’t particularly like, this semester’s variety show left me with no ill-feelings towards any of them. From the SPOT band serenading us with nostalgic 2016 songs, to parodies about freshman couples and translated languages, to expert singers and instrumentalists (bagpipers included) who never cease to amaze, it’s safe to say that our campus has a plethora of students with outstanding musical talent.

While the hosts and music were amazing, my  favorite part of SPOT was the comedy. I found myself relating to the video about doors being held open, and even a day later saying the “Things You Overhear at Houghton College.” I also discovered that one of the possible penalties for breaking the Community Covenant was being tackled by accented cops I didn’t even know Houghton hired. And of course, digs at those overly-affectionate freshman couples are always a must. My favorite comedy act, however,  was Carpool Karaoke. Seeing your favorite celebrities singing in the car is one thing, but seeing the dean of the chapel doing it is even better. Nonetheless, my favorite part of the whole act was professor Gaerte admitting what I think we all kind of already knew: he is the boss.

Overall, I felt that all those who were involved in SPOT did an excellent job, whether they were the hosts, part of the acts, or a part of the tech team. Although I haven’t seen too many SPOTs in my time here at Houghton, I can safely say that this one was my favorite by far. Our ability to laugh at and with ourselves is something that brings us together, and Spring 2017 SPOT proved it.

 

Categories
Campus Sports Stories In Focus

Sixty Houghton Scholar-Athletes Named To Empire 8 President’s List

The Empire 8 Athletic Conference named sixty Houghton College student-athletes to their President’s List for maintaining a 3.75 grade point average during the Fall 2016 semester. According to a press release on the Houghton website, student-athletes that performed with excellence in the classroom, while also displaying positive contact on and off campus, were chosen to be honored by the Empire 8.

Those honored as scholar-athletes succeed in reflecting the mission of both Houghton College and Houghton Athletics. Harold “Skip” Lord, Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, is encouraged by their quality performance. “Houghton College aims to ‘equip [students] to lead and labor as scholar-servants in a changing world,’” said Lord. “Our athletics’ motto is ‘Excellence for the glory of God.’ In a nutshell, we want our student-athletes to excel in their walk with God, in the classroom, in athletics and in their relationships.” He continued, “These kinds of recognitions are evidence that we are succeeding at those goals.”

As a liberal arts institution, Lord said, Houghton encourages whole-person education. “The core of both ‘whole-person’ education and a ‘liberal arts’ education is the curricular content, so well communicated by our dedicated faculty. That core is enhanced by a multitude of experiences that happen outside the classroom,” Lord said. “Some of those experiences happen as we do life together. Others are intentionally designed to provide a depth of educational experience that impacts that whole person — spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially, etc. For almost a third of our student-body, athletics is a portal for those experiences in a direct way.”

A spirit of discipline and determination is required for excellence in the life of a student-athlete. Laurie Call ’18, a member of the Houghton women’s basketball team, is one of the sixty student-athletes honored by the Empire 8. Call understands the importance of a strong work ethic in the classroom and on the court. “I think being a scholar-athlete reflects commitment and dedication. It would be easy to simply ‘get by’ in the classroom, but thanks to my parents, I’ve learned the importance of giving 110% to everything I do,” she said.

Lord admires the character of all student-athletes striving for excellence for the glory of God. “I admire their dedication to excelling in multiple areas of their lives. I admire their personal discipline and work ethic that is reflected in this kind of accomplishment,” he said. “I admire the fact that for many of these student-athletes, like most of our students here at Houghton, the success recognized by this award is reflective of the people who is excel in many areas.”

According to Lord, the sixty student-athletes honored by the Empire 8 Athletic Conference President’s List reflect the hope that Houghton has for every student-athlete. “Our primary hope for every student-athlete is that they will leave Houghton with a deepening personal walk with Christ, having mastered the content of their selected area of study and prepared to make a difference in the lives of the people God brings across their path each day,” said Lord. “The student-athletes who are recognized in this way are not the only ones who are fulfilling this hope, but they are great examples of what it can look like.”

 

Categories
Campus Stories In Focus

Business Administration Professor and Houghton Alumn To Retire

Kenneth Bates, associate professor of business administration and chair of Houghton’s department of business and economics, was not planning to be a teacher when he was first working. In fact, he worked in business in Washington, D.C. for seventeen years after graduating from Houghton in 1971. He did not expect the phone call from his old college roommate alerting  him to an open position at Houghton College. Now, after 27 years of teaching for the college, he is retiring.

At first, Bates was not interested in the position for various reasons. Working at Houghton meant a significant pay cut, the possibility of needing more schooling himself, moving his entire family from the suburbs  into the rural country, and working at school where the denomination was different than his own. Bates thought the visit to campus would be a courteous gesture for his roommate, but this visit swept him from under his feet. However, Bates said, God answered all of the concerns that he had and kept calling him to Houghton College. Bates felt that he could, perhaps, be good at teaching and decided to follow God’s call.

Since answering this call, Bates has been praised as a business teacher by his students. Joseph Gilligan ‘17, a business major, said, “Professor Bates allowed me to take leadership roles right away at Houghton which provided me the opportunity to refine my leadership skills and understanding of business.  I owe him a debt of gratitude for allowing me to aggressively pursue my dreams.” Gilligan added that students who have taken a class led by  Bates will tell you that he truly cares for his students, is patient, is understanding, and is passionate about being Christ-like in his work.

Naomi Christensen, instructor of accounting and a colleague of Professor Bates, has been working with him for about two years. Also a Houghton graduate,  she was taught by Bates. “Professor Bates has been a huge help to getting me assimilated into being a professor,” she said. “Any time I have any questions he helps me. We are really going to miss him around here, he is leaving a very big hole.” She recalled a memory from her senior class year where Bates had said, “You may be the only one in the room that represents Jesus and you should take that [honor] very seriously.”

When asked what lesson he wanted his students to remember, Bates said:

“We are all Christ’s ambassadors in this world. That means we are not citizens of this country, we are citizens of heaven. When an ambassador’s job is finished, they are called home and the fact that I am here today tells me that God has something more for me to do to influence others for His kingdom. The only reason I was able to wake up this morning is because God has something more for me to do.”