Summer 2010 - Northwestern College

AROUND THE GREENAROUND THE GREENOf CourseAssignmentsBefore undertaking the mainaudio project, students listenedto NPR commentaries, studiedaudio competition entries,researched their SSP sites, andanalyzed the work of broadcastersDavid Isay, Glenn Gould andSandra Loh. Other assignmentsincluded telling a story using justambient sounds and no voice,going on a sound walk, andlearning to write sound notations.Sound LearningClassThe Audio Essay: Stories of ServiceInstructorRichard SowienskiAssistant Professor of Composition and RhetoricProfessor Richard Sowienski wants to teachhis students to listen. He likes to quote radioproducer David Isay, who says, “Listening is anact of love.” In The Audio Essay: Stories of Servicecourse, students learned to listen better by goingon Spring Service Project (SSP) trips and to othermission-based organizations to document their experiences and tolisten to the stories of the people there.“You cannot learn about yourself without actually puttingyourself out there,” says Sowienski, which is why his students, digitalrecorders in hand, embarked on various SSPs this past March inorder to capture the sounds of their project sites: from kids bouncingbasketballs to roofers swinging hammers. Students also interviewedthe people they encountered. When they returned, students wroteaccompanying voice-overs and put everything together in a finalnarrative to summarize their service experiences.Junior Jenna Van Oort incorporated the sounds of kids playingat the youth center in Cary, Miss., and saws cutting wood on theirwork day. “Sometimes you learn the most by just listening andtaking it in. Listening to real stories is so powerful,” she says aboutthe audio essay experience.Sowienski is a big believer in giving students opportunities towork with digital technologies to give them an edge when they enterthe job market. “Digital technology is one of those things that, froma marketability standpoint, is going to be great for our students,”he says.Yes, students are getting the chance to work with new digitaltechnology, but in reality, the oral aspect of storytelling is not newat all. “It is almost like coming full circle, and we now have theopportunity to tell our stories again,” says Sowienski—and theopportunity to listen.Training MissionNorthwestern students are getting firsthandexperience in ministry and communitydevelopment through a summer internshipprogram funded in part by a grant fromthe Lilly Endowment. The program placesstudents in a variety of ministry contexts,where the interns work with and learn frommentors.Six students majoring in religion,Christian education or youth ministry areserving Reformed churches in Iowa, NewJersey and Washington; an independentchurch in Texas; and a consortium ofChristian Reformed churches in Minnesota.Another nine students are at one ofseven Christian Community DevelopmentAssociation ministries: Cary ChristianCenter in Cary, Miss.; the John M. PerkinsFoundation in Jackson, Miss.; Mile HighMinistries in Denver; Mission Waco in Texas;Trinity Christian Community and UrbanImpact in New Orleans; and World Vision inPhilippi, W.Va.Honored ProfRay Weiss, who served Northwesternas chaplain, dean of students and religionprofessor for nearly 30 years, received aDistinguished Alum Award from WesternTheological Seminary in May.Weiss joined the staff in 1970 aschaplain and retired from the religionfaculty in 1998. He returned to serve asinterim vice president for academic affairsin 1999–2000. He was a Reformed Churchin America missionary in the Middle East for11 years before coming to NWC.Grade-A TeachingAn analysis of Northwesterncourse evaluations shows thatstudents believe they are receivinghigh-quality instruction.A study of evaluationscompleted using a nationwiderating system revealed thatNorthwestern faculty rated higherthan the national database averagefor quality of instruction. Inaddition, 73 percent of classes wereat or above the national average onthe “excellent teacher” rating, while65 percent were at or above theaverage on the “excellent course”rating.“I’m so encouraged by thisstudy,” says Dean of the FacultyDr. Adrienne Forgette. “Theresults show that our students arelearning, and they appreciate theinstruction provided by our faculty.The evaluations also show thatour faculty frequently use teachingmethods that are acknowledged asgood for student learning.”Creation-Care EffortsTwo efforts to promoteenvironmental stewardship werehighlighted on campus duringspring semester.The Student GovernmentAssociation’s ConServe initiativechallenged students to implementchanges that would help curbenergy consumption. Encouragingstudents to take steps such asshortening showers, turningoff computers when not in use,unplugging gaming systems andturning off water while brushingteeth, ConServe resulted inNorthwestern students rate their faculty above national averages, according to an analysis of course evaluations.a savings of nearly $9,600 onNorthwestern’s energy bill over atwo-month period.“I know students went aroundat night and made sure lights inthe bathrooms and lobby areaswere off or kept to a minimum,”says SGA President Wes Garcia.“It was interesting to walk throughColenbrander and notice howdark the hallways were duringConServe. It was a small changeto have all the overhead hallwaylights off, but in the end itdefinitely helped. Each dorm tooka different approach depending onits personality.”From Northwestern’s energysavings, $5,000 was donated toministries suggested by students,faculty and staff: the Summer ofService program; The Bridge, atransitional housing facility forwomen and children; BethanyChristian Services, an adoptionagency; and ATLAS, anorganization that provides personaldevelopment services to hurtingindividuals and families. Theremainder of the money will beused to further campus creationcareinitiatives next year.A second effort, Give andGo, resulted in the collection ofnumerous furniture, clothing andhousehold items that studentscleaned out of their dorm roomsat the end of the semester. Goodsworth a total of nearly $10,000were donated to Justice for Allfor use by needy families—itemsthat in past years would have beenplaced in campus dumpsters.GEOFF JOHNSON6summer 2010Northwestern Classic 7