Category: Stories In Focus

When Lois Ross first joined the Houghton faculty in fall of 2008, she wasn’t anticipating that within two years the accounting major would be cut. Ross, associate professor of accounting, is and has been the only accounting professor at Houghton since her arrival at the college. Once the major was cut, Ross got right to work to bring it back.

Through an immense amount of research and work, Ross helped reframe the justification for having an accounting major. Kenneth Bates, associate professor of business administration, said that because of Ross, “We were able to make a strong, irrefutable case as to why the college needed to bring the accounting major back.”

Ross’s dedication and determination did not go to waste. The following fall, the major was reinstated. “She breathed life into a program that had died,” said Bates, “Since then it has grown leaps and bounds.”

Bates and Ross are longtime acquaintances, both attended Houghton and were only a couple years apart. He was a busboy at the old dining hall that used to be in the basement of Gillette, and she was a waitress, and that’s where the friendship was born. They kept in touch over the years and when a position opened up for an accounting professor at Houghton, Bates notified Ross and suggested that she interview for it. She did, of course, and they went from being classmates to colleagues.

Aside from being known as the person to bring back the accounting major, Ross is also known for her humor. “When I first met Professor Ross, I thought she was unapproachable, but once I got to know her, I found out that she was actually pretty funny,” said senior, Kevin Miranda, and accounting major who came to Houghton the year that the major had it’s revival. “I appreciate her sense of humor,” said Bates “She has brought levity to situations that have been too serious.”

Most people view accounting as tedious. “I had this misconception that accounting was uninteresting and that accountants didn’t have a lot of personality,” said Miranda. However, over the years Ross has proved just the opposite to him. “She makes accounting more interesting, especially once you get past the introductory classes,” said Miranda “She relates some of her own experiences to her teachings, rather than just teaching from the textbook.”

The students at Houghton, in particular the accounting students, are what have made the biggest impact on Ross. “Getting to know the students and prepare them as Christians in the business world has been really neat,” said Ross. Being the only accounting professor and advisor to many, she has developed close relationships with those students. “I’m excited when I think about some of these students graduating because I am thinking what an impact they are going to have and how the Lord is going to use them,” said Ross. “I will miss the interaction with them definitely.”

The students have enjoyed interacting with her as well. “I have heard regularly how much her advisees enjoy getting to know her outside of the classroom,” said Bates. He continued, “She has a cheerful personality and maintains an even keel.” Miranda added that Ross creates a better learning environment because of her willingness to help students understand the material. “You get the sense that she cares,” he said. “She is always available to help and genuinely wants to help. She is very personable and easy to talk to.”

Ross has dabbled in a lot of different things during her career. After receiving her B.A. at Houghton, she went on to get her M.A. at California State at Los Angeles then proceeded to get her M.B.A. from SUNY Buffalo. Ross worked in both public and private accounting firms, taught at the high school level, and received CPA credentials. Her last stop in her career was Houghton, where she said she was “happy to meld my two interests together, teaching and accounting.”

What does Ross plan to do come fall when she doesn’t need to report back to campus? “Decompress,” she said laughingly. After her eight years of teaching at Houghton, she is ready to leave the work behind, but not the people. “I will miss the students and my colleagues, but I wont miss the work,” chuckled Ross.

Ross also plans to spend time with her family, go away to Florida for a month, and tend to her vegetable garden.

Camenga Makes the Difficult Decision to Leave Houghton.

Though Kristin Camenga was not a Houghton student, she has always felt connected to the school. Her mother, a high school teacher, visited campus for a conference while pregnant with Camenga, marking the future professor’s first visit to the college. After nine years as a professor in the department of Mathematics, and five years as chair of the department of mathematics and computer science, Camenga will leave her positions at Houghton at the end of this spring semester.

Camenga did not begin her career intending to teach at the post-secondary level. She wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps, and trained to teach high school math at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Following her graduation, Camenga taught at the secondary level for two years, during which time she dated her now husband, Andrew Camenga, a ’92 Houghton graduate. Shortly before they were married in 2000, Camenga’s then-fiancé, an ordained Seventh Day Baptist pastor, took a job directing the denomination’s Board of Christian Education in Alfred, NY. Camenga used their cross-country move as an opportunity to continue her education. She was accepted at Cornell University, and graduated in 2006 with both her Ph.D. in Mathematics and M.S. in Education. She then applied for teaching positions in the Alfred area; one of these was at Houghton.

“It was exactly what I wanted,” said Camenga about the Houghton job posting. “It was a math job, and it meant working with people who wanted to be math teachers. That’s what I wanted to do, because I was a math teacher. I’d seen how important it was.”

In 2006, Camenga began her Houghton career as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics, and has taught several math courses, as well as the Math Methods course for the Education department. In 2010, she was appointed Chair of the Mathematics and Computer Science department. Colleagues consider her to be a diligent Chair, noting that Camenga is always on top of her work, ensuring that the department’s projects are always on time. More recently, she has acted as the Faculty Development Coordinator, organizing and leading such events as the new faculty seminar and faculty retreat.

Among students, Camenga is known for her thorough and individualized instruction. Camenga’s courses help them feel prepared for whatever is next, whether it’s student teaching or heading into the workforce. “All of the work feels really purposeful,” said senior, Emily Bradley.

Camenga creates a strong connection with her students. According to senior, Amanda Gokey, the way that Camenga cares for each student in her class makes her an exceptional professor. When students have difficulty with their work, Camenga is available and eager to help them. This relationship is a major part of what Camenga says she will miss about Houghton.

“It’s really hard to leave my students who aren’t graduating yet,” said Camenga. “I’ve known a lot of them since before they walked on campus officially as freshmen. They’re my friends, and I’m going to miss that. I’ll also miss my colleagues. I have trouble imagining a place where I’ll have colleagues that work this well together.”

Camenga’s decision to leave has been almost two years in the making. The couple felt it was time for Andrew to move on from his one-person office in pursuit of a pastorate, leading him to resign. Last fall, he accepted a position in Salemville, PA, but the congregation understood that his wife would want to finish out the year at Houghton first. Camenga was able to officially resign in mid-September, and helped to find her replacement.

“Some people would feel that, even if you know you’re leaving, you don’t actually resign,” said Camenga. “I wanted to know that the things I’ve worked on for the last nine years are going to continue.”

While Camenga is sorry to leave the community she has built at Houghton, she trusts that this is the right decision.

“You’ve got to go where God leads you,” she said. “You trust Him to take care of the pieces where they fall.”

Camenga’s lifetime connection to Houghton, her dedication to teaching and preparing students to teach, and her ability to discern God’s leading in times of change are enduring gifts to this community.

Born in February 1994, Jerbrel is an aspiring young composer that offers a wide variety of style and sound at different levels of achievement for young  ensembles, all the way up to college & professional level ensembles. He currently studies music education with a focus in music composition & Percussion at Houghton College in Houghton N.Y.  He currently studies composition under Dr. Carrie Magin, and has studied with Dr. David H. Davies. Jerbrel studied/studies percussion under Dustin Woodard, and Jim Tiller. He also studies and performs jazz with Dr. Ken Crane. Jerbrel Graduated from Webster Schroeder High School in 2012 in Webster N.Y where he grew as a percussionist and composer. He marched 4 years as a snare drummer and has also served as section leader for the 2011 field season and the winter percussion ensemble and has been involved with the drum corp. world since 2009. Jerbrel was given the opportunity to premier one of his wind ensemble compositions entitled “Flash” where he coached his high school ensemble and conducted it at the concert in March of 2012. He has also had drumline cadences premiered on national television, as well as jazz charts that have been performed at the Rochester international Jazz Fest. Jerbrel is also an internationally premiered composer having compositions premiered in Belgium Europe, and Melbourne Australia.

Jerbrel has been composing since the age of 8 and playing the drums since he was 2. He continues to prosper in this field is growing and making new musical connections. He has written over 90+ pieces for Symphonic wind ensembles, orchestras, choirs, marching bands, drum Corps, Drumlines, and chamber ensembles. He looks to serve ensembles, students, and educators that love to make and perform music just as much as he does.

Check out Jerbrel’s music on youtube, soundcloud, or on his website.

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/jerbrelbowens?feature=mhee

Souncloud: https://soundcloud.com/jerbrel-bowens

Website: http://jerbrelbowenscomposer.weebly.com/

Growing up in the heart of Amish country, Andrea Melhorn ‘15 began her track and field career as a high school first year at Donegal High School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  She soon discovered that she not only loved the sport, but also excelled in all throwing events.  Once in college, she continued throwing weight and shot put for indoor track; and hammer, discus, shot put, and javelin in outdoor track.  Andrea has qualified for Indoor and Outdoor Track Nationals every season since her first year of college.  She has placed at Nationals every year, often within the top five, and holds the school record for weight and hammer.  In addition, she was picked as the NCCAA Athlete of the Week.

While Andrea has a deep love for track and a variety of other sports, such as downhill skiing, she said that it is the people who make it worthwhile.  As captain of the Houghton Track and Field team, she is constantly encouraging and supporting her teammates.  However, Andrea takes it a step beyond to truly encapsulate the slogan of Houghton Athletics: “Excellence for the Glory of God.”

As Cara Davenport ‘15, a teammate and close friend of Andrea’s, puts it: “She consistently improves and is always making new goals for herself and setting the bar higher.  It’s encouraging and inspiring to see the way that she interacts with the throwers from other teams, and her camaraderie and investment in them epitomizes the team’s mission of outreach to other schools at meets.”

Andrea would like to continue with athletics after her time at Houghton as a collegiate coach.  Her coach, Robert Smalley,  has been “one of the most influential people in my life at Houghton,” Andrea said. “He is the epitome of a servant leader and I strive to be more like him.  He is such an example of what grace should look like; he puts his athletes first.”  She wants to coach because she sees sports as “a tool to teach more than just athletic abilities, but also learning about others, yourself, and God.  You can teach morals through sports.”

For Andrea, track is not just for exercise, but rather a way she “experiences God’s joy.”  Realizing that she can do sports for God puts so much purpose behind why she competes, she explained. Andrea credited part of this realization to a program she did in Spain during summer 2015 called Athletes in Action.  The purpose of the program was to spread the Gospel through training with Spanish club teams and competing against them.  At the end of the program, she participated in an ultimate training camp involving 24 hours of non-stop intense physical activity, modeled along the same timeframe as the Stations of the Cross.  “Experiencing a snippet of Christ’s pain made me understand so much more about the deepness of Christ’s love for me on the cross.”

Majoring in Spanish, she carries her love for athletics into her academics with minors in business and sports ministry. While she wants to eventually go on to coaching collegiately, she has some exciting plans for the meantime, such as working for a fishery in Alaska, as well as trying out for the US Women’s Olympic bobsled team this summer.  However, her Lancaster roots still shine through as she hopes to one day “grow old on a farm making warm chocolate chip cookies for her grandchildren.”