around the green – campus

Bethel College 2007 enrollment shows increase in diversity

Enrollment at Bethel College remained steady, increasing slightly to 541 students this fall as compared to 539 in fall 2006. This fall’s student body is more internationally mixed than has been true in several years.

In fact, Bethel ranks first for the state of Kansas in U.S. News & World Report’s annual college survey 2008 in percentage of international students in the four-year liberal arts college category.

Vice President for Admissions Allan Bartel ’73 pointed out that, with 201 new students on campus, this is the first time in 10 years (since 1997) that Bethel has reported more than 200 total first-time freshmen and transfer students in the fall semester.  Melanie Zuercher

Return to top

New group for nurses helps supply mentors

The importance of good mentors can’t be overestimated.

That was a major motivation behind the formation of a new student group at Bethel College, which has turned out to be the only one of its kind in the country.

At the end of July, Nikkii Dolce, senior nursing major and chair of the Bethel College student chapter of National Black Nurses Association (NBNA), attended the organization’s national conference in Atlanta, traveling with officers from the Wichita chapter of NBNA, under whose wing the Bethel group was organized a year ago.

Debra Davis and Thelma Latrice Moses, both 2007 nursing graduates, joined the Wichita chapter of NBNA as juniors. They got approval from the national organization to start the first student chapter as long as it was organized under the auspices of the Wichita chapter. Davis and Moses served as co-chairs with Rachel Garcia as secretary for Bethel’s first NBNA group, which had about 20 members in its first year. Dolce, Marla Bell and Patricia Ngigi are this year’s officers.

“Going to the conference made me really excited,” Dolce said. “I look forward to all the possibilities [it raised]. I met a lot of new nurses and some students, who were there because other [experienced] nurses had made it possible for them to attend. The mentoring is so important.” Melanie Zuercher

Return to top

Summer work shores up study, expands student horizons

For several Bethel College students, exploring their various fields of study didn’t end with the school year.

Emily Kerbs, a global peace and justice studies major from Newton, interned for DOOR (Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection) in Miami. Her work involved guiding various groups of middle school- and high school-age youth through a week of exploration of, appreciation for and service in the city.

Laurie Steffen, a Spanish and psychology major from Kingman, spent the summer at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md., in a position with the Psychosocial Research Department of the Pediatric Oncology Branch. Steffen and two others collaborated with oncologists and social workers in the Clinical Center.

Michael Unruh, a biology major from Peabody, spent his summer working part-time at Camp Mennoscah near Murdock. While performing the basic duties of a camp staffer, Unruh also served as the Nature Guy, which allowed him to catch and observe the eating habits of snakes as research for his senior seminar.

Joel Linscheid, a music education major from North Newton, also spent his summer working with children but in a much different setting than Unruh. He worked in downtown Kansas City, Kan., at Rainbow Mennonite Church, one of 18 Freedom School sites in the metropolitan area. Freedom Schools are a program of the Children’s Defense Fund and are meant to improve children’s reading skills and self-confidence.” Mayeken Kehr

Return to top