Category: Features

Elizabeth Pruitt

Each May, millions of twenty-somethings are thrust from the protective bubble of college into the so-called “real world”, where they must find jobs and navigate life on their own. 

But, the Class of 2020 was thrust into a world that was shut down due to COVID-19. Many businesses were closing their doors to new hires. The Class of 2020 was in for a wild ride, and Spring Arbor University’s graduates were no exception. 

Now that a few months have passed since their graduation, what did Spring Arbor University’s Class of 2020 do?

Despite the pandemic, many SAU grads were able to find careers post-graduation. Amy Montoya, a computer science major, found a job working for Hewlett Packard Enterprise in Atlanta, Georgia as a solutions architect. She was able to snatch up her job in November of 2019, so she was secured before COVID-19 hit the United States.

However, Montoya’s work days have still been affected as she works remotely every day. She has only met with her coworkers and bosses in person just two days out of the last few months she has been in the position. Montoya had to give up a semester abroad in Japan when COVID-19 struck and had to live alone in an apartment in a new city halfway across the country from her hometown. Still, she presses on and is optimistic about her future. 

“Although the class of 2020 had to make sacrifices for COVID-19,” said Montoya, “…I understand the sacrifices were made for the greater good. It’s easy to feel like COVID-19 has personally attacked you and ruined your plans, but the truth is, everyone has had to make sacrifices and adjustments for COVID-19; not just me and not just you. The sooner we begin thinking about others as ourselves, the sooner we can move past this unprecedented time and make way for a brighter future.”

Professional Writing major Libby Koziarski has started working remotely as a communications copywriter for the Orlando-based non-profit, Ligonier Ministries. The job she applied for was not originally a remote position. It was strictly for people who could work on location. Koziarski, who had always dreamed of working with Ligonier Ministries, applied anyway, and after a rigorous interview process over Zoom, got the job. 

“I was extraordinarily blessed when it came to finding a job during COVID-19. I got the job by God’s grace and I couldn’t be more grateful,” Koziarski said. 

Many students who graduated from SAU in May were not employed right away and some are still unemployed. Either way, they have not given up hope. Madilyn Nissley, a youth ministry major, has become a nanny for local families a few times a week as she continues to look for a full-time position in youth ministry. She is enjoying the time she gets to spend with her family after four years away from them.

Kaelyn Hale, a communications major, did some freelancing, such as designing a website for Branch Adventures Day Camp and doing SEO for Chrome21, a Down Syndrome Awareness store, until she found a full-time position. She recently has been hired as a marketing associate at Design Force Marketing in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She went on many job interviews before nabbing this position, but did not give up hope that she would find a job that was right for her.

Other students went the graduate school route. This past spring, health and exercise science major Megan Mitchell was dealing with the sudden loss of her senior year, her grandmother’s death, being wait-listed for grad school, and had no idea where her future would take her. 

“Yet through that time, I could feel Jesus holding me close and whispering, ‘I’m here. I know and understand everything that’s breaking your heart. I love you more than you can imagine and we’re going to get through this,’” Mitchell said. 

Megan was then offered a spot at Grand Valley University’s occupational therapy graduate school. Mitchell completes most of her classes online and through Zoom. She also meets in-person for some classes just three days a month. Although it was rough for her, she said she has learned a lot about herself and grew in ways she never thought she would have. 

Megan Brown, a biology major, moved to Arizona where she is attending the University of Arizona’s College of veterinary medicine. Brown is a part of the university’s first veterinary medicine class. Moving from Michigan to Arizona was a big step, especially in the midst of COVID-19, but Brown has been successful in her classes and is enjoying her time in Arizona.

SAU’s Class of 2020 is an example of the faith in God the university teaches students to have. In times of uncertainty, these graduates were resilient. Whether they have found a job or are still on the lookout, the class of 2020 pushed on. 

Check out what some of the other members of the SAU’s Class of 2020 are doing post-grad by checking out the Spring Arbor Student Alumni Council’s Instagram, linked here. 

Want more information regarding navigating life post-grad? Visit the Career Development’s website, linked here, or contact Chad Melton at chad.melton@arbor.edu.

By: Merry Castle

My name is Merry Castle. I am a Senior at SAU majoring in English and minoring in professional writing. I was drawn to Spring Arbor University because it was a small Christian college that had an excellent English department, the opportunity to travel to South Korea for my cross-cultural trip, and was just far enough away from home to be independent.

My favorite thing about SAU is the relationships I have built while I have been here. SAU truly has a strong sense of community, and I am so thankful for the relationships I have forged with my professors and other students. I am an introvert who enjoys photography, reading, listening to music, critiquing movies with my family, and collecting vintage clothing. My goal is to one day own an authentic piece of clothing from every era.

By: Leslee DeRossett

Many  families have been forced to stray from normal holiday traditions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Travel plans were forced to be cancelled for Easter and outside gatherings were limited during the Fourth of July which meant that many Americans stayed home instead of heading out to see local fireworks.

Americans are now encroaching on Halloween and again, COVID has forced many families to decide what traditions they will continue on Halloween night. Jackson and most surrounding counties are still allowing traditional trick-or-treating along with local churches and other organizations holding trunk-or-treats at numerous locations.

If you are interested in your communities trick-or-treating hours, looking for alternative activities, or you would like to participate in handing candy out at a trunk-or-treat location, check out these links to events scheduled in Jackson, and the surrounding areas, for the weekend of October 31, 2020.

Jackson Halloween Activities

Hillsdale Halloween Activities

Adrian Halloween Activities

For those that do plan to celebrate Halloween in their communities, below are some of the precautions suggested from the City of Jackson webpage to keep our communities safe. 

FOR TRICK-OR-TREATERS AND PARENTS: 

• Stay home if you are sick. 
• Maintain social distancing of at least six feet. 
• Wear a cloth mask that covers both the mouth and nose. A costume mask does not provide adequate protection. 
• Wash hands frequently or use hand sanitizer while trick-or-treating. 

FOR RESIDENTS:  

• If you intend to hand out treats, turn your porch light on as a sign of welcome. If you don’t wish to participate, turn off your porch light or exterior lighting.
• Mark six-foot lines on your front sidewalk or driveway so trick-or-treaters know to social distance as they wait for candy. 
• Position a distribution table between yourself and trick-or-treaters to maintain distance. 
• Leave treats on a table outside your home where trick-or-treaters can pick them up. 
• Consider handing out treats in an open space where distancing is possible, rather than a front door. 

For even more information on ways to keep safe and healthy on Halloween, check out the MDDHS webpage.

While trick-or-treating is still on the agenda for some families, there are other families that are straying from this tradition to limit their exposure to the public. One them is Kelly of Somerset Center, “We usually get together with our neighbors and take the kids by vehicle around the lake. But this year we have invited close friends and family to our house for a cookout followed by a bonfire. Everyone is welcome to dress up, but it is not required. We did ask that all adults bring a bag or two of candy so we can scatter it around the yard for the kids to find. It’s going to be like an Easter egg hunt, only without the eggs and with Halloween candy.”

Tera, of Devils Lake, has also chosen to stray from the traditional trick-or-treating, “It has been really hard to get into the Halloween spirit this year. My girls are always so excited to buy costumes so we are doing that this weekend. We have family that lives close so there are around 8 houses that my kids will be trick-or-treating at this year, ending in dinner at my parent’s house. I’m sure we will be able to keep our night busy, I am just ready for everything to get back to normal.”

Whether you are planning to to keep with the traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating, participating in a trunk-or-treat, or, or holding a small gathering at your house, we can all agree that Halloween 2020 is still about the children and everyone is committed to making it a memorable one.

By: Leslee DeRossett

Spring Arbor University students coming back to the 2020 fall semester have seen many changes. This is also true for the SAU competitive cheer team. In August, SAU named Jessica Dowling as its new head coach of the competitive cheer program.

Cheer is not new to Dowling, between four years as a member of her high school varsity competitive cheer and sideline cheer teams and eight years as the Addison Community Schools middle school competitive cheerleading coach, the middle school sideline cheerleading coach, as well as the varsity competitive assistant coach. She guided her team to five straight Cascades championships, along with three consecutive undefeated seasons.

Dowling may be new to the SAU competitive cheer team, but she is not new to SAU. When Dowling is not working with her competitive cheer team, she is teaching as a professor in the SAU School of Education.

Dowling said, “The number one thing I enjoy the most coaching for SAU is working with my athletes and building a tight-knit team. The girls are amazing and all so unique in the best way! We are a perfect mix and have formed a great bond already.”

The SAU competitive cheer team is new as of last year.

“Another thing I enjoy about coaching cheer at SAU is building a foundation for years to come. I have really enjoyed working to build a program which strives in character and is centered in faith. We are eager for a safe return for big crowds as we have some big ideas for community involvement at SAU.”

Jessica Dowling

By Sarah Williams 

 During Spring Arbor University’s (SAU) spring break, SAU students went on mission trips to Guatemala, Las Vegas and North Carolina.  

Post-Undergraduate Outreach Ministry Intern (PUOMI) Cecilia Said, helped plan and coordinate SAU mission experiences and encourage students to become involved in the community.   

The mission trip locations were chosen based on different types of service opportunities provided for students. Guatemala was chosen for its relational ministry aspects, the Las Vegas trip focused on prayer and the North Carolina trip focused on service work.  

When Said was planning the trips, she wanted each student to deepen their understanding of their faith, understand how their presence can impact others and what it means to be a follower of Christ.  

According to Said, 38 students volunteered for the mission trips. Seven students went to North Carolina, 20 went to Guatemala and 11 went to Las Vegas.  

Johnathan Husted, student leader for the North Carolina mission trip, said he went on the trip for the manual labor.  

The main goal of the trip was to help Hurricane Florence victims get their houses up to code for an inspection so they can move in permanently. The campers provided to the victims by the government were being taken away at the end of March. 

“There is something about working hard for someone else with no expectations of getting anything in return that makes me feel fulfilled,” Husted said.  

The trip was one week. Excluding drive time, the students spent five days in North Carolina. They would get up at 7 a.m., have a devotion, work and then debrief during dinner. They had a recreation day where the students toured a battleship and watched the sunset on the beach.  

Kensington Thomas volunteered for the Guatemala mission trip. The students assisted with God’s Child Project, a center for malnourished babies, as well as Casa Jackson school and Obras Sociales hospital for people with severe disabilities. 

At the God’s Child project, the students fed babies, changed diapers, cleaned up around the facility, cleaned windows, folded clothes, moved heavy items and played with the children. At the school, they helped teachers grade assignments and played with the kids. At the hospital, they fed children and took a Zumba class with kids in wheelchairs. 

The volunteers would get to the facilities at 8 a.m. and stay until 12 p.m. They volunteered for four days. They also visited other places in Guatemala and learned Spanish. The students went to the Mayan village where they ate traditional food, made tortillas, drank coffee, acted out a traditional Mayan wedding and bought homemade souvenirs. They also went to Antigua where they did a historical tour of old cathedrals and buildings.  

The students stayed with host families during part of the experience. Thomas’s host house had six girls. Other houses had either seven or nine. The host families cooked all of their meals and provided them with a living space.  

“I learned a lot about the culture. The food was amazing, and the people were so kind,” said Thomas.  

Carol Nichol volunteered for the Las Vegas mission trip. She said she felt called to go when people from Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and Grace City Church came to her peer advisor meeting and discussed the trip.  

Nichol said the trip initially seemed out of her comfort zone, yet she trusted in God’s faithfulness and protection.

The students packed sack lunches and ate with the homeless. They led worship on the street outside the MGM hotel and offered testimony and the gospel. They went into gas stations and motels to pass out flyers of three missing children that were at risk of being trafficked. One of the children was found the next day.  

Co-leader of the Las Vegas Trip, Brandon Valentine, said they also provided worship for people on the Las Vegas strip, offering “Free Prayer” on Fremont St. and worshipping with middle schoolers on the week-long trip.  

“Our commitment statement toward one another was, ‘to have zero expectations but one: to serve wholeheartedly’,” Valentine said. 

According to Nichol, the trip schedule consisted of cleaning the YWAM base after breakfast. They had quiet time and evangelism training for their outreach. Then, they ate lunch, went out on their outreach, debrief and had dinner. Finally, they would have another outreach or team bonding experience.  

Nichol said her favorite moment was when they were worshipping outside the MGM hotel and some police officers told them they couldn’t have an amplifier resting on the ground as it was blocking foot traffic. The students picked the amplifier up and sang gospel music for another half an hour. Many people stopped and joined in. 

According to Said, SAU does mission trips for multiple reasons: Mission trips allow students the opportunity to broaden their worldview, give them the opportunity to engage with Christian organizations and ministries, give them a glimpse into the lives of others, provide love and encouragement and to allow students to participate in the world with Jesus at the forefront.  

By Kaylee Clayton

Until 2018, the United States shipped roughly 7 million tons of plastic to China each year. In China, the plastic was sorted, broken down and reused to create new materials. Paper and aluminum was also shipped over from the U.S.

Not just the U.S. but about 70 percent of the world’s plastic waste went to China according to NPR writer Christopher Joyce. Many Chinese people became millionaires with new recycling businesses that bought the world’s trash and made money from processing and selling it. Joyce said this aided in making China the second wealthiest economy in the world.

At U.S. West Coast ports, empty Chinese shipping containers that had delivered goods to American consumers were sent back full of plastic and paper recycling. While American recycling machines often struggled with breaking down certain types of plastics, China had the capacity to handle the plastics with enough cheap laborers to sort the recyclable materials.

About five years ago, the Chinese government began to worry about the amount of incoming plastic. Much of the plastic was contaminated, which made it difficult to recycle and unprofitable. In 2017, the Chinese government implemented stricter regulations and began to cut down plastic trash imports. In January 2018, China banned almost all imports. “That means a huge amount of plastic is looking for a place to go,” said Joyce.

This left American recyclers with three options: pay a higher price for recycling, send it to different countries, or send it to the landfill.

“Plastic is getting separated at paper factories, dumped in neighboring communities, and the only way to get rid of it is to openly burn it,” said environmental activist Stiv Wilson. “Air, water, and land are all affected.”

Many smaller cities that feel they cannot afford to pay more for recycling choose to incinerate their recycling rather than pay for recycling, which results in harmful toxins being released into the air. Keefe Harrison who runs the nonprofit Recycling Partnership, said “more plastic in the U.S. is ending up in landfills or getting incinerated, which creates pollution.”

Shipments of plastic waste are now diverted to Southeast Asian countries instead of China. These shipments have increased exponentially since 2018. According to Laura Parker from National Geographic, exports from the U.S. to Thailand jumped almost 7,000 percent in one year. Malaysia’s increased several hundred percent. Those numbers have begun to decrease since those countries have cut back on imports.

Alana Samuels reported in The Atlantic that waste-management companies across the country are telling towns, cities, and counties there is no longer a market for their recycling. Recycling is ending at a time when the United States is producing more waste than ever before.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the total amount of municipal waste was 208.3 million tons in 1990 and 262.4 million tons in 2015. According to Frontier Group, “The U.S. produces more than 30 percent of the planet’s total waste, though it is home to only 4 percent of the world’s population.” A Columbia University study estimated Americans throw out seven pounds of materials per person every day, which is 2,555 pounds of materials per year.

The Zero-Waste Movement proposes an alternative to shipping waste to other countries and landfills. This idea started 20 years ago when Daniel Knapp, Ph.D., CEO, Urban Ore, Inc., a Material Recovery Enterprise in Berkeley, California, shared his research around the world on his idea of “No Waste.”

The Zero-Waste Movement encourages the redesign of resource life cycles so all products are reused. By eliminating single-use items, plastic water bottles, Ziploc baggies and plastic straws, one can live a lifestyle of reducing and reusing. The goal is for no trash to be sent to other countries, landfills, incinerators or the ocean. Of the 260 million tons of plastic the world produces each year, about 10 percent ends up in the ocean, according to a Greenpeace report. Plastic Oceans reported that “more than 8 million tons of plastic are dumped in the oceans every year.”

The Zero-Waste Movement encourages people to take responsibility for their product consumption and only use materials that can be reused. Some individuals have managed to keep

all the waste they have created for several years in a 16 oz. mason jar. Lauren Singer, environmental activist and CEO of Simple Co., kept all the trash she made in four years in a 16 oz. jar. She began with eliminating single-use plastic, analyzing what her trash consisted of, composting raw materials, making her own products, and investing in sustainable and reusable alternatives.

Spring Arbor University (SAU) junior and environmentalist Madilyn Nissley said “the Zero-Waste Movement is a good thing, but if someone cannot commit to changing everything in their life then it

feels overwhelmingly impossible.” The Zero-Waste Movement could be the answer to America’s current recycling dilemma.