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Olympic Gold Medalist Trains in KPFH

Olympic Pole Vaulter and gold medalist, Jenn Suhr, began training in the Kerr-Pegula Field House (KPFH) on weekday afternoons. According to Athletic Director, Harold ‘Skip’ Lord, Rick Suhr, Suhr’s husband and coach, called the athletic department in late September asking about the KPFH as a possible place for his wife and him to train. After multiple contacts, the Suhrs offered to be present for the homecoming ceremonies at the KPFH, including the ribbon cutting ceremony. The couple wanted to support the new facility, as well as the sport as a whole.

Jenn Suhr Front PageAccording to Lord, Suhr’s ties to Houghton go back to her high school years. Originally a basketball player, Suhr did not participate in track and field until her senior year. She had been recruited by Lord to play for Houghton when he was the head women’s basketball coach, but instead played basketball games in a Roberts Wesleyan uniform on multiple occasions at the Neilsen Physical Education Center.

Shortly after, she  began setting national records in track and field, improving over time until she reached her current status. At  the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, Suhr won the gold medal in pole vault. Then in 2012 Olympics, which took place in London, England, she received the gold medal in pole vault. Suhr also holds the world indoor record for pole vault, as well as five indoor and four outdoor pole vault records.  In addition to being a two-time olympian, Surh also anticipates a third trip to the 2016 Olympic games.

Suhr and Mr. Suhr  live in Rochester, but come to the KPFH about twice a week to train. As there are numerous field house complexes in the Rochester area, such as at Brockport University, Roberts Wesleyan, RIT, and the University of Rochester, Suhr choosing to train at the KPFH compliments the facility in many ways.  Lord said, “This [the KPFH] is as nice as any one of them, if not nicer.”

Jenn SuhrThe advantages of Suhr’s presence include increased visibility and publicity of the KPFH. Now that Houghton can now advertise hosting an Olympian on campus, Lord thinks filling up the building for both high school and collegiate indoor track and field events may be easier. “Prospective Houghton students still in high school, especially those we bring in for track meets, may be more drawn to the college because of this,” Lord stated. It is hoped high school track athletes visiting campus will be as impressed with the KPFH as Suhr is.  Lord added, “This is a very good field house for a NCAA division three school.”

Increased visibility for the KPFH is a primary goal for the Athletic Department. Though, as Lord remarked, Houghton is still “learning how to get the word out” and use the facilities to the maximum benefit of the students and institution. The hope is with the events and visibility of the KPFH, it will expose prospective students to Houghton, create a stream of revenue for the college, and stimulate both the local economy and the surrounding community.

Current students can look forward to the possibility that Suhr may enter  some inter-collegiate indoor track meets as an open, unattached competitor. Houghton pole vaulter, Judith Marklin, thinks it would be intimidating to compete with Suhr, but also would motivate her to be a better competitor, “I think that when you compete with people that are a lot better than you it really pushes you in so many different ways and seeing how she trains and just looking at her, herself, how much conditioning and strength training has to go into everything and how she really has to touch on all aspects.” She said, “ It’s not just focusing on pole vault technique, but everything. Seeing how to really focus on on all different aspects of your life , spiritually included, in order to become a good athlete, and then being able to compete against someone like that, you also have to step up your game and take into consideration all the different things you’re doing.”

Marklin also thinks competing with Suhr would also help people to get to know Suhr as person, not just an athlete, “I think a lot of times we like to put people that have achieved that amount of excellence on pedestals and not really see them as humans, but I think in competition you really get to see people’s strengths and weaknesses, so I think it’d be a good opportunity to see that in some ways we are just like Jenn.”

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Diverse Roles With a Common Purpose

Former Indiana Wesleyan graduates and college sweethearts, Joshua and Sarah Derck exemplify the success that the dichotomy of classroom and hands on experience provides for the modern college graduate.

In 2012, the Dercks became one of the rare Houghton families that includes both a staff and a faculty member. Josh Derck works on the maintenance front while Sarah Derck works in the classroom. The couple described how their individual vantage points present a holistic perspective of the school.

ABurdo DerckCMYKJosh and Sarah Derck met at school in Indiana where they both pursued bachelor’s degrees in Biblical Studies. While in school, Josh found Biblical Studies a comfortable realm for study because he was a “pastor’s kid.” He pursued this interest and received a master’s degree in New Testament from Nazarene Theological Seminary. In college, he worked as a student worker in maintenance where he discovered skills in maintenance and leadership. His skill set in this field allowed him to find jobs around the world as he and his family traveled to England. He worked in facility management while Sarah finished her Ph.D. program in Old Testament at the University of Manchester.

Josh now works for Sodexo and manages five employees as the Building Trades Leader and safety coordinator for his unit. Contrary to his former work in maintenance, his position in management results in more paperwork and overseeing projects such as painting, carpentry, set-ups, and teardowns of events. An important part of his job is finding “creative ways to do things, manage people, and make sure they’re enjoying their job,” he said.

Finance resources are a challenge for Josh and his team, but he said, “You just have to do your best with limited resources.” Along with his management role, Josh enjoys hands on projects the best. Recently, he and his team helped set up the Willie Cole Exhibit in the Ortlip Gallery. He said it was a great experience to work with a world-renowned artist and to help mount the pieces.

Sarah originally pursued a career in secondary education at Indiana Wesleyan with the influence of her mother as a teacher. Her original goal of becoming a secondary English teacher changed after taking classes in Bible as her interest in Theological Studies grew. She knew she wanted to be a teacher, but the college classroom was new for her.

Currently, Sarah works as a full-time Professor of Old Testament teaching Biblical Literature as well as all of the upper level Old Testament courses. She mentioned that her greatest satisfaction in her work is when she is, “able to have a conversation that helps a student see God in new ways.” Junior, Jessica Vaughn mentioned, “So many people trust her to listen well and speak honestly into their lives. She is very generous with her time.”

Sarah discussed how one challenge in building these relationships is her busy schedule, yet according to Vaughn, Sarah always seems to be meeting with students outside of class and investing in their lives. Despite limited time in her day, she commits her teaching to helping students understand that “their experience with God doesn’t encompass all of humanity.” Vaughn testified to this statement saying, “Dr. Derck helped me to see that the church is much bigger than one tradition, and that it is in the conversations we have across differences that we find the richness and depth of our faith.” Sarah desires to connect with her students with a teaching style that is “invitational rather than confrontational.” Sarah is also an ordained Wesleyan pastor, giving her a dynamic approach to her teaching.

Josh found his technical experience more practical in his career, and Sarah found that her education in Theology propelled her forward into a career as a professor. Both used their undergraduate experience to explore career possibilities. For Josh, he did not enter into a career involving what he studied. He joked that his fellow staff members direct theological questions to him because of his masters in New Testament.

Josh and Sarah Derck share the common goal of helping students. Josh said, in reference to helping students with direct problems such as room maintenance or projects, “That’s why I do my job. So they can have a good experience.” Although the Dercks work different positions on campus, their common goals of service strengthen Houghton’s goal expressed in the Community Covenant to live in a way that “honors Christ, follows biblical principles, builds loving relationships, and develops whole Christians who will be active in serving Christ.”

When the Dercks are not busily working around campus, they enjoy walking in the woods or reading with their two children. They enjoy catching up on British Television comedies and mysteries or antiquing around local towns. They also exercise their creativity in projects including knitting, nature photography, and carpentry. This multi-dimensional Houghton family balances work and living in a Christian community through their careers, relationships, and creative outlets.

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Meilaender’s Research During Sabbatical Breaks New Ground

Professor Meilaender, political science, is on sabbatical this semester. While the words for “sabbatical” in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew connote a “ceasing,” Meilaender has kept himself very busy as he translates and researches the works of early 19th century Swiss-German author Jeremias Gotthelf.

In the United States the works of Gotthelf are few. Meilaender said that, “almost nothing he wrote has been translated into English” further explaining that he probably has, “the best Gotthelf library in the States.”

Courtesy of houghton.edu
Courtesy of houghton.edu

Meilaender first heard about Gotthelf while reading a work by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in which Bonhoeffer mentions Gotthelf and explains that his readings were very enjoyable and interesting. Meilaender followed up on this reference while visiting Switzerland. In particular, Meilaender soon developed a keen interest in Gotthelf’s writings of fiction in which characters would dialogue about the major political issues of the time including topics such as socialism, communism and industrialization, to name only a few.

Gotthelf, who was a pastor in a small fairly conservative Swiss village, wrote while living through several French revolutions and the Napoleonic Wars. He called himself a republican (lower case), and warned that Europe was coasting towards far-left political philosophy which, in his opinion, went against Christian doctrines. His contemporaries Alexis de Tocqueville of France and earlier statesman Edmund Burke of England were all, at the time, discussing similar issues focusing around the same centennial period.

Gotthelf novellas are well-known in Switzerland and Germany (where the novella is more commonly accepted in literary circles than it is in the United States). However, most of his fiction tends to average at the 500 page mark. By the time Gotthelf turned 20 years old, he had written 42 volumes, 60% of which was fiction. He is regarded as one of the top three 19th century Swiss authors and actively pursued reforming Swiss poverty law and education. The Willard J. Houghton library possesses one book written by Gotthelf “on order,” another book by him in the stacks, and a brief biography of him also in the stacks. All of these books are written in either Hoch Deutsch or Swiss-German, languages that very few students speak. Thus, the work that Mailaender is undertaking this semester will be of great academic benefit to Houghton College and others.

Specifically, Meilaender is presently in the midst of a long and difficult process in translating several of Gotthelf’s works and compiling a comparative political philosophy book in which Gotthelf’s theories will be compared to other political philosophers of his time.

The struggle throughout this process has been translating Swiss-German as a non-speaker. Dr. Meilaender, who is quite able to translate from German to English, is reading in Swiss-German which, though similar to German, is still a unique and complex language. Presently, Meilaender is translating a Gotthelf novella The Son of Tell, which is a Swiss version of the famous Wilhelm Tell story. During his interview for the Star, Dr. Meilaender explained that though translation is easier when he can take his time and read the language, he is stretching his translation skills with Gotthelf. He expressed that Swiss radio podcasts have been helping him develop better skillful translation of the language, but the translations are still coming slowly.

This sabbatical for Meilaender has been a time of intense, and enjoyable, academic research into the works of a lesser known political philosopher and Christian.

Through his work, Meilaender shows us that while the pursuit of knowledge may be lengthy and difficult, it ultimately provides satisfaction and new opportunities for more than oneself.