Morningside Connect

 It has been a winter wonderland on campus these past few weeks. As you can see the above picture of Dimmitt, taken quite a few decades ago, still holds the same loved resemblance to the current Dimmitt that many students call home. Below you will find a current pictures of Dimmitt covered in snow.

If you have any picture of Dimmitt that you would like to share, please do! We would love to see them and feature them in next month’s newsletter!

The answer for last month’s trivia question, what building first housed the library on campus when the campus first opened, was Charles City Hall. The library has been moved to three different buildings. The first was Charles City Hall, then to the second floor of Lewis Hall, and final it moved into the library.

Did you get it right? Let us know!

As years go by, plans change and people move all over. We like to stay in touch with our Morningside family. Feel free to let us know what you have been up to or how life is going, we would love to get connected!

Feel free to comment below to let us know or update your information here: https://www.morningside.edu/alumni-and-friends/contact-us/update-contact-info/

Chances are, at some point in your professional career you will be approached by college students or others, either directly or indirectly, interested in pursuing careers in your field of study.  It’s sometimes difficult to know how to guide young people in the right direction.  What kind of information should you share?  How much should you do for students?

As a college alum, the best advice you can offer to students is the value of your experience!  Think back to your own thoughts, fears, and regrets.  Can you think of a time when you passed up a great opportunity that you later regretted?  Were there things in your college experience you credit with getting you where you are today?  How did your experience shape your career choices?  For example, it may be difficult for a student to understand how being the president of the Climb Club could help them become an effective educator,  how participating in choir could affect their career in business, or how being a collegiate athlete could lead to becoming a nurse manager.

In addition, talk about the types of things you participated in or the college decisions you made and how those impacted your relationships.  Maybe there are some relationships you still have today?  How have those impacted you? These are great experiences to share with students, as well as a helpful nudge for students into making decisions that will impact their career and their lives in a positive way.

Whether you are at a basketball game, theatrical event, or just back on campus once a year for Homecoming, as you connect with alumni, faculty, staff, Alumni Relations, Career Services, and students of the college, a simple invitation that indicates that you are open to sharing your experience with students will go a long way.

Next month, I will offer some tips on the appropriate way to provide networking contacts or job leads to students.

Stacie

Here we are – two weeks into the New Year! If you are like most of us, you made New Year’s resolutions in an effort to do things differently in the coming year. It’s an important exercise.

I am a strong believer that we must look back in order to look forward. I don’t care to be singularly focused on looking in the rear view mirror. Let me share with you why.

As the director of alumni relations at Morningside College, I have a foot planted in the past, but I need to be moving forward at the same time. Looking back and looking forward. Sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? It really isn’t, as long as we understand the need to have both in some sort of balance.

Last June, President Reynders created strategic planning task forces across the college, asking us to look at what we’ve been doing in the past and then determine what we should be doing in the future. As our small alumni relations group grappled with where we have been and where we are going, I was guided by what Steve Jobs, the founder and chair of Apple, once observed:

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

So as the alumni office looked to the future, it was important to those of us on the committee to have input from alumni, students, staff and friends of the college. We asked questions such as the following: What kinds of programs should we have in the future? What programs for young alumni, retired alumni and everyone in between? What should they look like? What are we doing to build a strong alumni base for the future with programs for current students? What should we be doing? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the office? To say the least, it was a sobering yet exciting exercise!!

We haven’t landed on exactly what the task force’s final recommendations might be, other than to say we will be much stronger and more focused on advancing the cause of building relationships at Morningside College. While we are most proud of our past accomplishments, we must continue to “look through the windshield” at the future. It cannot happen without you! With your continued help, support and prayers – it will happen!

Gene Ambroson

Director of Alumni Relations

Julie Eickhoff has remained connected and involved in Morningside College even after graduation. She serves on the National Alumni Board as the Chapter Liaison and on the College Board of Directors.

“I Love this place!” said Julie. “Its exciting being on campus and seeing all the growth and change.”

The Morningside College Chapter Program is an extension of the National Alumni Board. Alumni Board members work with the Alumni Office to develop chapters in selected cities across the country and help coordinate events for alumni to attend. The goal of the Chapter Program is to establish and maintain a closer connection between the college and its alumni.

“We work to keep alumni informed about news and progress as Morningside College and give alumni opportunities to interact with one another in their particular region. As the Chapter Liaison,” said Julie, “I help coordinate functions between the board and Shiran Nathaniel, the Chapter Adviser.”

Julie has watched the campus change and grow throughout her continued involvement with campus.

“The campus has never looked better with the beautiful green spaces and gorgeous new buildings. But I think,” said Julie, “the biggest change is the genuine enthusiasm I feel from everyone on campus . . . the administration, faculty, staff, and students. Present Reynders is a remarkable leader and through his vision he has transformed the college into a place that everyone – past, present, and future – can be proud of.”

“I’m thankful I had the opportunity to go to Morningside College,” said Julie “and I’m proud of the institution that it has become.

Finally, I want to wish you a very happy holiday, and thank you for all the support you provide to Career Services.  Every time you are contacted to talk with a current student, allow them to job shadow, or even as you consider hosting interns or hiring Morningside graduates for full time positions, you are helping our students to be successful.  We appreciate it!!

During this holiday season, we would like to share a story of a gift of love that keeps on giving. This moving story is about a sister’s love for her brother.

Nicky Stansell is a 1997 graduate of Morningside College.  Her brother contracted AIDS while a student in college. How does she come to terms with it?  How is a family from small town Iowa to deal with the news? How did things turnout?

Nicky Stansell in her own words – tells the story about the death of her brother and how it has led her on a journey to adopting a child.   It’s rather long BUT worth the read!!

“If you’re ever gonna find a silver lining, it’s gotta be a cloudy day.” Kasey Musgrave.

In order to understand my silver lining, I need to tell you about my cloudy days.

When I was three days shy of my 18th birthday, I learned something that would forever change my life. I was a senior in high school and for some reason just didn’t feel very well that day, so I came home early. After I got home, my mom told me that my older brother, Noel, was coming home from college that day. He was due the next weekend for his fall break so it was odd he was coming home early.

Later that night, the phone rang. It was for me. I don’t remember who it was but I remember what happened when I came back in the kitchen to hang it up. The mood had changed drastically. My parents were alone, and I could tell something was wrong. When I asked what was going on, they told me why Noel was home. He had tested positive for HIV. Even now, writing that sentence still takes my breath away. Here it was 1991 in small town Iowa, and even though I had learned about HIV/AIDS in school, I never thought it would impact my life.

Fast forward four years, and now Noel was sick, really sick. I was a senior in college. I had never expected him to get sick so soon. Even back then, before the retro-viral medications had been invented, people with HIV could live 8-10 years before having any illnesses. I thought we would have more time. And even when the call came from my parents on the eve of my 22^nd birthday telling me to come home because the doctors didn’t think he would live through the weekend, I still didn’t believe he would actually die. I got up early the next day and spent four hours driving home, crying and praying that I would make it in time to say goodbye.

My dad and I went to the nursing home where Noel had been for the past 4 months. I had seen him just a few weeks before, but I could see that his condition had deteriorated. What I did next, would take me a very long time to forgive myself for. I went to Noel’s bedside and sat with him, not really knowing what to say, I asked him if he knew what day it was. He shook his head no. “It’s my birthday,” I said. As much as I knew he was suffering, I couldn’t bear it if he died on my birthday and I wanted him to know that. It was probably the single most selfish thing I have ever done in my life.

As it turns out, he didn’t die on my birthday. Or the day after. Noel held on seven more long, excruciatingly painful days. I know he held on for me so that I wouldn’t have to live the rest of life remembering my birthday as the day he died. During those last few days, he was in a lot of pain and I will always feel guilty for that.

Two days before he died, I had told Noel it was ok to go. I told him we loved him and we would always miss him, but we would be ok. The day before he died, I prayed the hardest prayer of my life: I prayed for God to take him home and end his suffering. On the night he died, my parents and I were in his room. I was trying to sleep, but I remember feeling a tugging at my heart to turn around and look at Noel. When I did, I knew it was almost over. I sat by his side and felt his hand; it was already growing cold. We all were crying and hugging each other as he took his last breathe at 4:35 AM.

Surviving Noel’s death was the hardest thing I have ever done. Noel was my first friend and he was my best friend. After the funeral, I had to go back to college. To say I was depressed is an understatement. I went to class and slept. I studied and slept. I felt very alone. It was as if my right arm had been cut off and I had to relearn how to live my life with only one arm.

The days and months to follow were full of dark and stormy clouds. And they just wouldn’t go away.

The First Silver Lining

I was in the library doing research for a paper for a psychology class. It was about how grief resulting from HIV/AIDS was different than grief from other illnesses. In my research, I found an article about a man, Neil Willenson, who started a summer camp for children impacted by HIV/AIDS. I had been a camp counselor for the past three summers and as I read the article I knew I HAD to go and work at this camp.

I wrote a letter to Neil and explained why I would be the perfect camp counselor for Camp Heartland. Weeks later, I got a response. It turned out that Neil actually lived in Wisconsin and they had rented the campsite in New Jersey. But just as the article had found its way into my hands, the letter had made it into Neil’s. He told me he would love me to come and work and once the summer staff applications were available he would send one.

On my way to Camp Heartland, I had to drive through a huge rainstorm. I was nervous about the rain, missing my turns, and about this new adventure. As the storm lightened up, I saw the most beautiful rainbow and I knew I was in the right place. I knew that God (with maybe a little help from Noel) had led me to camp.

Camp Heartland played such a huge part in my grieving/ healing process. It was (is) a place full of love, happiness, healing, and acceptance. Camp was my silver lining. Through it, I made lifelong friendships.

Those summers spent at Camp Heartland and the friendships I made was my silver lining for all the cloudy days I had to endure… but I wouldn’t fully understand the depth of the lining until this summer, nearly 19 years after my brother’s death.Like Loading…

Connecting The Dots

“I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord, “They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” Steve Job

This summer while I was still waiting for my adoption agency to find me a match, I tried to stay busy. I ran a lot of races, biked, and visited friends. There was one weekend that I was especially looking forward to: July 4^th weekend. I was going to be returning to Camp Heartland for the first time in 13 years. Neil had decided to host a reunion to celebrate the camp’s 20^th year.

In the weeks before camp, I had been in contact with my adoption agency. They were asking many questions about how I was planning to fund my adoption. To be honest, I really didn’t have any great answers for them. I was nervous about the money. I spent time talking with friends who had adopted and asking for advice.

When the time came for the reunion, I packed my bag and headed north. I was looking forward to a fun weekend of hiking, canoeing, singing camp songs, and catching up with old friends. I had agreed to pick up a former camper and her daughter who had flown in for the reunion. We got to camp in the early afternoon and settled into our cabins. What I didn’t know then, was that in a few hours I would have a conversation which would change my life.

As the afternoon progressed, people began arriving. Some of them I knew and some I didn’t. We all ate dinner and then had an opening night “campfire” where we did skits and sang songs. Later when we were roasting marsh-mellows and making s’mores, Neil came over and asked to talk to me.

He said to me, “You’re adopting, right?”

“Yes…” I replied. Neil went on to ask me if I had noticed the young couple, Sam and Maya (names have been changed for confidentiality). He had learned from Susan that Maya was pregnant and they were considering adoption. And he was thinking, wouldn’t it be great if he told them about me and we all had the chance to get to know each other over the weekend. Jaw. Dropped.

Neil wanted to know if he could tell them about me. Ummm, yes. A huge emphatic yes! This could be the answer to my prayers. I would finally have a match. A match that I had been hoping and praying for. I knew better than to get too excited, but deep inside my heart, it all felt so right.

Finally on the last morning, Neil came to me after breakfast and told me they wanted to talk to me. We went outside and found a quiet spot. I knew they were both just 18 years old and that Sam was a former camper. As we talked, I found myself surprised by the depth of the questions they asked me. They asked me questions which I had had to answer during my home study; questions asked by a licensed social worker.

Kids come to Camp Heartland because they are affected by HIV/AIDS. This can mean a parent or sibling has HIV or it can mean the child themself. Sam shared with me there would be a slight chance the baby would have HIV. I hadn’t known his HIV status, nor did he and Maya know about my past. When I told them what had led me to camp, a bond was formed.

Sam told me they were going to talk things over and make a decision. He asked how he could get in touch with me so I gave him my contact information. I asked if I could pray for them, gave them both a hug and walked away.

Later, I said good-bye to camp friends and drove home filled with anticipation. I could not believe the events of the past three days. If Sam and Maya did decide to give their baby up for adoption, and if they chose me…. it was all so amazing.

Two days later, they called. They wanted me to adopt their baby. And I said yes.

And so began my love affair with this baby and this sweet, wonderful couple.

Nineteen years ago, Noel died, and it was horrible. I couldn’t possibly know back then what laid ahead.  But God had an elaborate plan for me. I couldn’t see it then. I couldn’t have imagined how the dots were going to connect together to complete this beautiful puzzle. My heart was emptied and now it is being filled up again with such joy and love.

When I first starting telling my friends and family this story, I would say that this match just fell into my lap. But it didn’t. This match was PUT in my lap. It is truly a match made in Heaven.

Paige McKern is heavily involved in campus organizations and flutters from one event to another in her busy schedule. Besides all of her positions on campus in organizations she also has an off-campus internship with the Mid America Museum of Aviation and Transportation. Plus, she has multiple jobs that fill up the rest of her time.

A typical day for Paige includes lots of meetings, classes, a quick lunch, more meetings, office hours, and work.  Besides all of her activities and busy schedule, Paige is a RA for 27 girls on her hall.

Being a RA is no easy task. At the beginning of the fall semester all RAs are required to go through an extensive training course. During that period they meet with counselors, take assault training, complete program models, CPR training, and work through problem scenarios. They meet with all the people they would need to be able to contact if someone under their watch was having problems.

It’s Paige’s job to help guide residents through their first year and enforce the rules to ensure safety. “The rules are there for a reason,” said Paige, “to keep them safe.”

Being and RA on campus for two years has given Paige the chance to develop more as a person. “Being a RA has really helped me deal with conflict,” said Paige. “It made me more of a leader.”

To Paige, the best part of being a RA is getting to know more faces around campus and the opportunity to get creative with her hall meetings and activities. With her ever-growing busy schedule, she loves that she still gets to have time to meet new people and help out her residents.