Sterling College

Sterling College sophomore, Britany Gasper, was named the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference "Player of the Week" after helping lead the Lady Warriors to wins over University of Saint Mary and Friends University last week.

Gasper, a 5'10 forward, averaged 22.0 ppg. and 9.0 rrg. in Sterling's two conference victories last week. 

"Britany has come up with some big performances as of late," said Sterling College Head Coach, Lonnie Kruse.

In the first game of the week, Gasper scored 24 points and grabbed 8 rebounds against Saint Mary. Gasper finished the week with a 20 points and 10 rebounds performance in the Warriors important win over Friends University on the road.

Gasper is averaging 10.7 ppg. and 5.52 rrg so far this season. The Lady Warriors are 19-4 and 13-1 in the KCAC and ranked #15 in the nation. Sterling travels to Kansas Wesleyan on Thursday, who is one game behind the Lady Warriors.

Gasper is a graduate of Tipton High School and she is majoring in Athletic Training at Sterling College.

The 2009-2010 Warrior cheerleading and dance tryouts will be held March 6th on the campus of Sterling College. 

Anyone interested in should contact Head Cheer and Dance coach Whitney Hamilton at 620-480-9017 or by email at hamiltons1@live.com

Sterling College alumnus Jim Brackensick and his wife Cindy recently made a $50,000 donation to Sterling College. The funds will be used for the general scholarship fund, the stadium renovation project, and four named student scholarships.
 
Brackensick graduated from Sterling in 1979 with a degree in business administration. He went on to the Culinary Institute of America and graduated in 1980 with an Applied Occupational Science degree. Jim entered the hospitality industry and made his mark in the Middle East, Far East, Asia, Micronesia, Europe, South America and the U.S.
 
Brackensick has been with Rosewood Hotel and Resorts in Dallas, Texas, as senior vice president of purchasing for the past 25 years. He is a past member of Sterling College’s National Advisory Council, and he and his wife have been active in supporting the College for more than 20 years. Their most recent gift was prompted by their desire to provide more for Sterling College students. “We want to see students at Sterling receive significant financial assistance so that SC will be affordable for them,” said Brackensick. “My Sterling education helped me prepare for my career and the Lord’s challenges in life, and I want to see other students benefit from Sterling’s educational programs as I did.”
 
“We are thankful for Jim and Cindy’s generosity and creativity in developing important areas that will move the College forward in its mission,” said Don Reed, Sterling’s director of gift planning. A portion of the Brackensicks’ gift goes to the Sterling Fund, Sterling’s unrestricted gift fund used for general student scholarships and for faculty/staff development and support, and another portion goes to the stadium renovation project, specifically for a new hammer/discus throw area. This enables the College to host track meets and events and supports the athletic area of Sterling’s educational experience—an area Jim was highly involved and interested in when he was a student at Sterling. “I’m excited about improvements made to the track and football field and the potential that has to attract athletes to Sterling,” said Brackensick. The Brackensicks’ gift also establishes four specific scholarships for the 2009-2010 academic year: two for students majoring in athletic training and two for students majoring in Sterling’s growing sports management program.
 
“It is a true blessing to have partners like the Brackensicks,” said Sterling College President Dr. Paul J. Maurer. “Their support allows Sterling College to continue to provide a liberal arts education that is centered on the truth of Christ.”

When Sterling College’s production of “Cocktails with Mimi” opens this weekend, Stuart Parman’s role in it—though a sizeable one—will not be his greatest contribution to the show. Though he enjoys acting, his passion is set design, and the set of “Cocktails with Mimi” reflects that. For Parman, set design is an art, “a way for me to express my vision.” It has been part of his entire Sterling College experience—and he hopes it is part of his future as well.

Parman, of Arkansas City, Kan., “fell in love with set design” last year. “I enjoy creating the picture the play takes place in. The color, the details of dressing the set—every little thing adds to the message of the show and what the audience will take away from it.” He tests his abilities with every new set he designs or builds, and for “Cocktails with Mimi” he challenged himself by creating a depth of field with free-standing arches that define an interior space. “I want to create the illusion of a whole house.” Student Director Mandy Nichols was pleased. “The entire set design gives the audience insight into Mimi’s character,” she said. “A person’s house says a lot about them.”

Parman, too, is pleased with the progression of the set, but it is not his favorite among the sets he has designed. “That would be ‘Arsenic and Old Lace,’” he said, referring to last spring’s production directed by senior theatre student Jennie Czuba. “Everybody knows that set from the old movie, and we got to actually visit the house that the movie set was based on. It was my inspiration, and it was nice to design and build a set people would be familiar with, but that still had some of my own interpretation.”

He has worked on set construction all four of his years at the College and has been the student supervisor of the theatre scene shop for the last two years. Recently he was able to design the set for Liberal High School’s “Anatomy of Gray,” and he hopes to do more of that.

“Every set is a learning experience,” he said. His hope is that all the learning and all the experience lead to a career.
Parman’s professors believe he has what it takes. “Stuart has the drawing and design skills—and the construction skills—to be effective,” said Theatre Department Chair Gordon Kling. “Undoubtedly he will go on to graduate work in technical theatre and design as others have before him.”

“I’m looking for great things from Stuart,” added Theatre Senior Associate Professor Diane DeFranco-Kling. “I hope he finds his opportunity.”

The Sterling College Theatre Department presents “Cocktails with Mimi” at 8 p.m. on February 5 and 6 in Culbertson Auditorium on the SC campus. Tickets are available at the door. The box office opens at 7 p.m. and doors open at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $3 for students, children, and seniors.

For the second year in a row, two Sterling College education graduates have received the Horizon Award, given by the Kansas State Department of Education to recognize exemplary first-year educators. Alex Underwood ’08, a music teacher at Russell High School, and Taylor Harrison ‘07, a physical education teacher at Valley Center Middle School, are the fourth and fifth Sterling College graduates to receive the Horizon Award, a prestigious honor that is given to only 31 first-year teachers each spring.

Interim Kansas Commissioner of Education Diane DeBacker said of this year’s Horizon Award winners: “These first-year educators have shown themselves to be tireless advocates for Kansas students. They are truly making a difference in classrooms across the state.” This is high praise, but Underwood and Harrison’s college professors are not surprised at their winning such an honor. “Alex is a wonderful example of the Sterling Spirit. I’m sure he is an excellent teacher and a wonderful mentor for his students,” said Diane DeFranco-Kling, senior associate professor in the Sterling College theatre department.

Associate Professor of Exercise Science Mary Ver Steeg said of Harrison, “I’m not surprised. The moment she stepped in front of a classroom her personality and her focus just came out, came alive. She really has a heart for kids.”
The two young teachers are open about their passion for teaching. “I love working with my students and challenging them to become better musicians, students and people,” said Underwood. “My goals for my students may seem lofty and far-fetched, but I think these things are incredibly important. I work practically toward these goals every single day.”

Harrison even loves the ups and downs of teaching middle schoolers. “Every day is a new adventure. It definitely never gets boring.”

Harrison “decided to become a teacher because two of my high school teachers helped me through a very difficult time of my life. From that I felt the desire to work with youth, and education felt like the right answer.” Underwood felt the call of the subject matter first. “I wanted to conduct choirs, and most choir conductors are in the education field. Little did I know I would fall in love with teaching, not ‘just’ conducting choirs.”

Both teachers credit their college professors for preparing them for both the academic and emotional challenges of teaching. “Sterling College not only helped me become an educator, it prepared me for obstacles that might arise during my first year of teaching,” said Harrison. “SC helped me be confident in my own skills as a teacher.”

“With tons of experience and knowledge, each of the education professors modeled good teaching in their classrooms,” added Underwood. “I could go on and on about how much respect I have for these people and how much they taught me in my four years at Sterling.”

In much the same way, the College’s education professors like to brag on their students. “We take pride in the accomplishments of our graduates,” said Dr. Gladys Ritterhouse, chair of the Sterling Teacher Education Program (STEP). “These STEP graduates successfully combine pedagogy and content to provide successful classroom experiences for their students. They model the servant leadership and concern for each student’s achievement that is at the core of excellent teaching.”

Dr. Ritterhouse is not just speaking of Underwood and Harrison. In the eight years the Horizon Awards have being given, three other Sterling graduates have received the honor. The first recipient, Sarah (Koehn)Tucker ’03, teaches theatre in the Andover School District, and Professor DeFranco-Kling has high praise for her: “I have had the privilege of visiting her classroom. She is loved and respected by her students, and her theatre productions have a reputation for quality. Her students are blessed to have such a capable and experienced person leading them into the future.”

Last year two other Sterling graduates, Andrew Wesner ’07 and Maeghan Bishop ’07, were named as Horizon Award winners. When this year’s Horizon winners were announced, Bishop wrote, “I want to congratulate the STEP department on two more Horizon awards! I know that individual teachers work hard for such recognition, but every one of your graduates owes a great deal to the excellent training and enthusiasm we received as part of our education.”

These teachers are the product of excellent training in both education and their subject matter: of the five Horizon winners, two teach theatre; one teaches music; one math; and one physical education. There are also other SC graduates who are receiving less well-known honors, such as Jennifer Branscum ‘04, who received the December 2009 Good Apple Award, chosen by the Wichita USD 259 principals. Branscum is a special education teacher specializing in autism.

Taylor Harrison, one of this year’s Horizon Award teachers, said, “I want to continue to grow and learn as an educator so I can provide the best learning environment for each of my students.” It seems she is not alone among STEP graduates in this attitude.

And for that, the Sterling Teacher Education Program is truly proud.

As part of a renewed commitment to the Champions of Character program, sponsored   by the NAIA, the KCAC has recognized six Sterling College, fall sport, student-athletes for their commitment to the five Champions of Character core values. These core values are Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Sportsmanship, and Servant Leadership. The awards were given out on Saturday at half-time of the men's basketball game.

The fall sport athletes recognized were:

Volleyball: Brooke Denton, Junior, Rolla, Kansas

Men's Soccer: Wes Tom, Junior, Omaha, Nebraska

Women's Soccer: Kylie Yates, Junior, Berthoud, Colorado

Men's Cross Country: Ernest Newton, Senior, Vega, Texas

Women's Cross Country: Whitney Dautel, Junior, Goodland, Kansas

Football: Justin Hejny, Senior, Olmitz, Kansas

These student-athletes have not only met this high level of commitment to the Champions of Character program, but have also been nominated by their respective head coaches for their positive impact on their campus, in their sport, and within the conference during competition this past fall.

The KCAC and the NAIA both desire to see this level of commitment to the Champions of Character program from all student-athletes.

(In picture left to right, Wes Tom, Brooke Denton and Kylie Yates. Justin Hejny has already graduated and Whitney and Earnest were participating at an indoor track meet)

Dalton Ginther, a senior at Russell High School, signed a letter of intent to play golf for the Sterling College Warriors next year.  Dalton has played for his high school team the past three years and is ready to finish his senior year with a trip to the state tournament.

"I'm excited Dalton has signed to play golf at Sterling College," said Head Coach Luke Cureton. "He is a quality young man who comes from a great family. It's great to sign a student who is from the area. He's played some of the courses we compete at during our season. His experience will be beneficial to the team next year."

This is the second signing for the Warrior Golf Program and first for the men's team next year. Sterling College is a member of the KCAC and competes at the NAIA.

There is a big difference between hearing Placido Domingo sing live rather than through a recording. The Sterling College students who took musical theatre for their January interterm class had that opportunity-and many others-when they spent a week in New York City. "The students returned with an increased appreciation for the skills needed to be a professional in the theatre and for the great ‘machine' for musical theatre that is New York City," said Theatre Department Chair Gordon Kling.  

Theatre Professor Diane DeFranco-Kling taught the class and planned the group itinerary for the trip. The students toured backstage at the Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, where they saw Placido Domingo in rehearsal with James Levine and toured the scene and costume shops, rehearsal and dressing rooms, and the great hall. They were also able to watch as the enormous turntable sets for "Carmen" were installed. Later that evening they attended the show. As a group the students also went to the shows "West Side Story," "Wicked," and "Finian's Rainbow." They toured Radio City Music Hall and got a close look at its stage machinery. "This trip was quite educational and informational," said DeFranco-Kling. Students also had to attend other shows of their choice. Those shows included "Lion King," "Phantom of the Opera," "Chicago," and "Avenue Q."

"It was a full week," said Gordon Kling, "but we were energized by the pace of the city." The group visited Ellis Island, circled the Statue of Liberty, and went to the top of the Empire State Building. They toured several museums, including the Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art. When the students returned from the trip, they researched and reported on major contributors to the American musical, wrote critiques of the shows they had seen, and turned in the diaries of daily observations and reflections they had written while in NYC.

"It was great to see theatre at its most professional," said Jennie Czuba, a senior theatre major who went on the trip. "It's magical when all the pieces are there and at their finest."

Cutline: Sterling College students in the musical theatre class gather in the Edison Hotel in New York City. The group toured the Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, and several museums during their interterm trip.

When college students use their cell phones to text during class, how much information do they lose? Sterling College Psychology Chair Dr. Arnold Froese has asked many students that question-but he's not being sarcastic-he's doing research. Last semester Dr. Froese and a team of students decided to find some real answers to the question. They conducted a survey and an experiment and then sent their findings to the Southwestern Psychological Association (SWPA). Recently they received the news that they will be presenting the results of both the survey and the experiment at the SWPA's annual conference in early April.

So what are the answers? "We found that more than 30% of the college students we surveyed-and these were students from four different schools in the Southwest-are ‘super-texters,' meaning they send more than 100 texts per day," said Dr. Froese. "More than 50% total send out 50 or more texts per day. And our project documents that texting during a class leads to, on average, a 27% loss of information."

Dr. Froese presented his research students with the topic in the early fall. "It's a strong topic, very relevant, very interesting," said senior Brian Allen of Caldwell, Kan. But though his fellow researchers agreed and felt they would get good responses from other college students, they first had to create a survey and experiment. "I learned a lot from the process," said senior Christina Carpenter of Bailey, Col. "The first draft of our survey was completely different than the final product. We had to be very careful about word choice and lack of bias. The process of obtaining valid results was very complex, but every step was important."

The team created a 21-item survey that was sent to several colleges in the Southwest and one in New York. More than 400 surveys came back. "One of the survey results that interested me," said sophomore Jessica Schooley of Liberal, Kan., "was that even people who are ‘super texters' rarely take their phones to church-and according to the results of our survey, super texters take their phones everywhere."

Besides asking college students how often they carried phones in different contexts and how often they used them for texting, the survey also asked responders how often they responded to cell messages in different contexts and what effects they thought texting had on their learning. "What most surprised me was the finding that students expect to lose information when they text-yet they do it anyway," said Dr. Froese. "The survey did reveal, however, that low frequency texters expect greater decrements from texting than high frequency texters do."

For the experiment, the research team recruited 40 Sterling College students to receive two presentations. The presentations described stories from two books and included recorded narrative and projected visual information. The participants were divided into groups and were told to either ignore or respond to their cell phones, and then student-researchers texted questions to them during the presentations. Instructions were reversed for the second session, and participants were given a ten-question quiz following each session. In addition to the quiz results, researchers recorded the number of words in participants' notes, how long participants were engaged in texting activities, and how many words they produced during their texting sessions.

"The student-researchers showed great creativity with the method we used to conduct the experiment," said Dr. Froese. "What they developed could be used for other experiments."

The results of this experiment were sobering. Texting reduced participants' quiz scores by nearly 30%, and texting also reduced note taking. Note taking correlated positively with quiz scores.

There were a few exceptions to the general results. "It was really interesting to me," said Rebecca Barnes, a first-year student from Hiawatha, Kan., "that a few people were able to do well on the quizzes even while texting."

It is exceptions like this that lead to more research. "Research projects create a platform for a program," said Dr. Froese. "The program actually explores answers." As the current president-elect of the SWPA, Froese plans to use this project, and others that the SC students will complete, to contribute to the presidential address he will present in April of 2011. "The student presentations that are coming up this spring continue the strong showing SC students have traditionally had at the SWPA. Since 1990, SC students have presented at eight annual conferences."

Still, Dr. Froese expects good interest in this particular topic. "Not long ago I was at a teaching conference and I told a cognitive neuropsychologist about our project. He said, ‘People are going to want to talk to you about this. This has great appeal.'"

Katelynn Cantrell, a senior from Ulysses High School, has signed a letter of intent to play golf next year for the Sterling College Women's Golf Team.  Katelynn had a very successful senior year at Ulysses High School.  She finished 16^th at the 4A State Tournament this past fall and helped lead her team to a 4^th place finish.  She also had four top five finishes in tournaments including winning the Colby Tournament.

"I'm very excited about signing Katelynn to the women's golf team," said Head Coach Luke Cureton. "I had a great conversation with her the first time I talked with her on the phone. She is a great fit for Sterling College and the type of athlete I want representing Sterling College on the golf course. She'll make an immediate impact on the campus and our golf team with her outgoing personality and love for life."

This is the first signing this year for the women's golf team, and the first year for the women's golf team at Sterling College.