2011 Fall Festival Highlights CMU Launches School of Business ...

ALUMNI REFLECTIONS
“I saw International
Development Studies come
alive right before my eyes. You
can learn about these things,
but they don’t sink in until you
see them in action.”
Erin Weaver
Erin Weaver, Dr. Gerald Gerbrandt, and Becky Ressor
“Much of my work explored
trying out what I had learned
at CMU musically, biblically,
and theologically.”
Becky Ressor
Exploring Future
Possibilities
By Carla Lowe
CMU alumnae Erin Weaver and Becky Reesor – inaugural winners
of the CMU President’s Awards for the 2011 graduating
class – are using their passions, talents, and CMU education to explore
options for the future.
Weaver’s time at CMU helped her explore her interest in community
and international development.
“We learned solid steps we can take and tools we can use as future
development workers,” she shared at “In Gratitude,” a graduation
weekend event held in April 2011. “We also learned humility; tools and
theories are fallible, and not always applicable.”
For her practicum assignment, as part of her four-year BA in International
Development Studies (IDS), Weaver volunteered for three
months in Uganda with ‘Food for the Hungry.’ “I saw IDS come alive
right before my eyes,” she says. “You can learn about these things, but
they don’t sink in until you see them in action.”
Weaver is now back home in Red Lake, Ontario,
working at a group home for people with disabilities.
She’s looking for a development agency
to which she can apply for an internship as well as
considering pursuing a Master’s degree in International
Development or working in community
development in Ontario.
Reesor, a pianist and first-prize winner of
CMU’s spring 2011 Verna Mae Janzen music competition,
says her experience at CMU helped her
explore the intrinsic value of music.
A Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance/
Music Ministry graduate, Reesor completed her
practicum in her Ontario home congregation,
Listowel Mennonite Church, as a summer student
interim pastor of music and worship. “Much of
my work explored trying out what I had learned at CMU musically,
biblically, and theologically,” she says.
Reesor says CMU gave her not only a broad yet deep education as
well as practical experience, but also a community of support. “I was
able to leave feeling both confident and prepared.”
She completed a term position at Winnipeg’s Fort Garry MB Church
as worship arts pastor in June 2011 and is now teaching in the CMU
Music Department’s Community School of Music and the Arts, and
playing for The Royal Winnipeg Ballet. She’s considering pursuing
graduate school options – likely in Toronto or Montreal – and working
at Scotland’s Iona Abbey as a music assistant or director.
24 Fall 2011