Beat #3--Event Story--Student Affairs Panel

If you’re like most Calvin students, you cross paths with Student Affairs employees on a daily basis: Resident Directors, Student Life Deans, and Student Organizations Directors. But have you ever considered what these people who you live and work with were like when they were in your shoes? Or, would you ever consider having one of their jobs in the future? For those moments when students need some adult mentoring or guidance, multiple Calvin employees work full time to accommodate students’ needs, and on October 21, Calvin hosted a panel discussion for students who were considering just these sorts of careers.

Over cookies and drinks in a Hiemenga Hall classroom, a panel of four Calvin employees who work with student affairs shared insights and anecdotes with eight interested students. Throughout the meeting, the speakers echoed certain recurring themes. “I don’t think any of us grew up thinking, ‘I want to be a student affairs official,’” said Dana Hebreard, Calvin’s Associate Director of Academic Advising. Hebreard majored in Journalism and Communications and found herself at Calvin following a chain of events, while other staff members came from teaching, business, and legal backgrounds.

The panelists said that they had loved their undergraduate experiences. Ralph Johnson, Calvin’s Assistant Dean for Judicial Affairs, described himself during his undergraduate years at Grand Valley State University as the expert on student affairs. Later, when considering a change of career from the corporate world, Johnson said, “I asked myself, ‘Where was I happiest?’” That turned out to be the college scene, and Ralph said that he had found a “perfect fit” in student affairs.

When asked to describe the responsibilities of a student affairs employee, the panel gave a variety of responses. Resident Director Kyle Heys said that there was no such thing as a normal day. “It’s one-quarter building maintenance, one-quarter working with student leaders, one-quarter meeting with students, and one-quarter random things that come up,” he said.

Hebreard said, “It’s not a constant day-to-day similarity,” and described a range of obligations in her job, such as paperwork, taking calls from parents, collaborating with other offices, and meeting individually with students.

All of the panelists either hold advanced degrees or are currently working toward attaining one. However, they pointed out that these credentials aren’t essential for a Student Affarirs job at every school. For potentially interested students, the panelists advised that they find job options related to their interests, not get intimidated by the demands of the job, and always strive to keep learning and be attentive to God’s call.

The Calvin Ecosystem Preserve 25th Anniversary: Celebrating the Past, Looking toward the Future

Ecosystem Preserve 25th Anniversary

Students and Politics

Midterm Elections for Congress: Student Involvement
The Gallup daily tracking poll taken in March reported that people aged 18-29 were the least enthusiastic about the midterm elections, which was reflected in the turnout rate this November.

According to CNN Politics, President Barack Obama urged college students to become involved in the November midterm elections because their votes make a difference. Todd Neckers, volunteer coordinator for Justin Amash,advised that the best way younger people can get involved with politics during election season is to “Go see a candidate—make yourself available for one afternoon a week and be consistent.” Most of students from Calvin College who volunteered either made phone calls, coordinated volunteer activities, wrote letters to the press on behalf of a candidate, or went door to door to deliver flyers.

For the press releases, senior Solita Hoogendam said, “They send you a write up of what to put in the papers/magazines.”

Todd Neckers says students can benefit by volunteering because it is a “good way to gain world experience and great way to network for job search.”



Students are using viral mediums to learn more about politicians rather than watching television. Senior Ariel Timm from Aquinas College said, “Facebook makes it easier for younger generations—it’s a different dynamic to the different campaigns that are going on.”

Pat Miles brought sexy back with his youth oriented campaign. He also had a group on
Facebook called Students for Miles. To relate to young voters, he had an event where young people could talk to him about his campaign over pizza and beer. Miles also came to Calvin’s campus to talk to students.

Todd Neckers said that Amash emphasized his belief in transparency and focused on the younger generation by being “The first republican in the country to post his voting record on his Facebook page.” He adds the key difference between Justin and other campaigns concerning social media is that, “Justin does it himself instead of hiring
interns to manage his page and he explains all of his votes.”

Calvin Studen Sailed Around the World

Kathy Feasel

D. Hettinga

ENGL 245

11/2/2010

Calvin Student Sailed Around the World

After more than four years sailing around the world, Calvin sophomore Amanda Granger and her family spoke at Calvin last week about their adventure. Within those four and a half years, the family visited 38 countries. Gregg Granger has written a book about their experiences.

In an interview, Gregg explains that he and his wife used their retirement funds, money given from parents, and faith in Gods ability to provide. Originally from Gun Lake, Michigan, Gregg Granger explains that the idea came to him after much prayer and thought about his family situation in 2002. He wanted to provide for his family, and he felt that required more than just the typical American dream.

Once his wife agreed to the extraordinary idea, they planned a two year itinerary and bought a boat. They began sailing a year later, unaware of what lay ahead that would more than double their expectations. Emily was then sixteen years old, Amanda had just turned twelve, and Gregg II was five.

The family began in Hampton, Virginia, with a new 56-foot monohull. They sailed through the Atlantic Ocean, visiting many of the small islands on their way to Panama. Passing through the Panama Canal took two weeks, while they waited for their turn. Once through the canal, they cross the Pacific Ocean, a long leg of the trip equaling eight months. They came to Australia, which Gregg tells was his wife’s favorite place of the entire route. One of his favorite locations was Yemen, many of the pictures in his book show things they did in Yemen. From Australia, they headed northwest, making a few stops through Indonesia on their way to Singapore. From there they proceeded around India and above Africa through the Mediterranean Sea. The last leg of their trip was across the Atlantic Ocean, up the east coast of America, and back to Virginia.

As they had prayed, God did take care of them over and over again. When Gregg was treated for malaria at the UN Hospital in Asmarra, Eritrea, he was told that without the medication, which they lacked, he would not survive. He was sent to Cairo, Egypt and treated properly. Because they carried no health insurance, this hospital bill was an out-of-pocket expense, totaling $450. When his son needed stitches near his eyebrow, the cost was three dollars; after paying the paperwork fee, this equates to approximately nine cents per stitch.

Aside from illnesses and injuries, other obstacles that lengthened their trip were boat repairs and weather. One stop that should have taken a few weeks turned into ten months, during which the family rented an apartment. There was also the lack of wind. They had not expected that to be a problem, yet for many days they floated and swam in one location, waiting for wind.

Gregg explained that the language barriers were overcome by drawing pictures. When he went to a store in need of an oil can, he drew on a pad of paper that he carried with him, and sometimes needed to try a few times but eventually was able to obtain what he needed.

The Granger family purposely avoided major tourism cities, opting for the more traditional and natural culture rich areas. They developed many friendships, some of which they continue to keep in touch with.

While traveling, the children were home schooled, and arriving back home in 2008, Amanda was able to walk with her graduating class. Emily had graduated during a six week trip home for Christmas a previous year. Their book, Sailing Faith, the Long Way Home, tells more about their adventure.