Summer 2014 Issue
Past IssuesAlumni Spotlight – Bilingual and Loving It
Her French skills, honed through language exchanges during a semester abroad in Paris with Central College, got Katie Huff ’11 her first job and recently a promotion, with opportunities to travel internationally.
Cindy Deppe
September 24, 2014
Major changes at Maytag Student Center
Maytag Student Center has been under heavy construction as it received a $3.1 million renovation.
Hillary Hotz
September 24, 2014
Where Are They Now – George Ann Huck
Class Notes
George Ann Huck, professor emerita, served Central College students from 1968 to 2005 as the residential director in Merida, Yucatan. She experienced a number of changes to Central’s program and within the country during those 37 years.
Laura Billingsley
September 24, 2014
Study Abroad Alum: Leiden Adventure Leads to Job
Studying abroad is often the catalyst to a career. That was the case for Luke Ridout, an alum of Central’s Leiden program who graduated from Calvin College in 2011. Ridout, an English and Dutch language and culture major, studied with Central in spring 2010. His experience abroad led directly to a job in the Netherlands soon after graduation.
Laura Billingsley
September 24, 2014
Discovering Ghana
Every summer since 2010, a small number of students have taken advantage of Central’s newest study abroad program in Ghana. The one-month program takes students through Ghana’s history and introduces them to the nation’s performing arts.
Jenni Hodges
September 24, 2014
Diving into Dutch Insurance Company
Chris Poesch ’15 combined studying in a new country with his first internship and found insight into his career path.
Jenni Hodges
September 24, 2014
Where Are They Now – Eric Sneddon
Class Notes
Eric Sneddon served Central students as the London study abroad residential director from 2001 to 2009. Today, Sneddon still works in London—now as associate director for New York University’s academic center.
Laura Billingsley
September 24, 2014 | 1 Comment
Morocco Exchange, Granada, Spain
Morocco Exchange, known as the cultural highlight of Central’s Granada semester, is an intense excursion across the Strait of Gibraltar to North Africa, where program director Veronica Montero says, “Nothing is typical.”
Veronica Montero
September 24, 2014
Connections Through Service
Central’s study abroad program turns 50 this year, but service learning abroad is a relatively new component that took root about 12 years ago. Service learning is an experiential component that allows students to learn and develop skills by volunteering in the local community. In many cases, these skills relate directly to students’ future careers by helping them learn about contributing effectively to an organization.
Hillary Hotz
September 24, 2014
Living Globally
Some things in life aren’t easily measured. What, for instance, is the value of a study abroad experience that sparked a passion for foreign policy, provided experiences crucial to graduate school admission essays and eventually led to a job working with the Department of State? How do you measure the worth of a semester abroad that led to further exploration of world cultures and ultimately to a position teaching Japanese studies at a university in Singapore?
Laura Billingsley and Cindy Deppe
September 24, 2014
Discovering a Sense of Place: Looking Back at Study Abroad
Being a guest in the Central College house in Merida, Yucatan, in January for three weeks made me so happy I could not sleep the first couple of nights I spent in the “faculty room.”
Shannan Mattiace
September 24, 2014
Central Hosts Stem Fest With Lt. Governor
A STEM extravaganza took place May 5 when Central hosted Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, along with Mary Andringa, the co-chair of the governor’s STEM advisory council and president and CEO of Vermeer Corp., for a STEM town hall meeting.
Laura Billingsley
September 12, 2014
Class Gift Aims for a Lasting Legacy
The class of 2014 has given a pond filtration system to the Central College campus as its senior class gift. The environmentally conscious pond filtration system relies on biofilters and aquatic life to help keep the water clean in the pond outside of Maytag Student Center.
Hillary Hotz
September 12, 2014
Dutch distance star Horton regional track athlete of the year
Athletics
Central junior Eli Horton is continuing his ascent to national track and field prominence.
Larry Happel
September 12, 2014
Three Central Players are All-Conference in Men’s Golf
Athletics
Central junior Desmond Stoll finished second at the 72-hole Iowa Conference men’s golf tournament and was joined by junior Adam Squires and junior David Watson on the all-conference list.
Larry Happel
September 12, 2014
North Illinois coach to lead Dutch tennis programs
Athletics
Ryun Ferrell left his post as Northern Illinois University head women’s tennis coach to take over the Central men’s and women’s programs.
Ferrell was head women’s coach at Drake University for seven years before joining the Northern Illinois staff in 2006. He led Drake to a pair of Missouri Valley Conference titles.
Larry Happel
September 12, 2014
All-America Baseball Distinction for Rushing
Athletics
Senior designated hitter Robbie Rushing became the first Central baseball player in 44 years to receive all-America recognition.
Larry Happel
September 12, 2014
Schirm Named Baseball Coach
Athletics
Veteran assistant Matt Schirm is the new Central head baseball coach.
Larry Happel
September 12, 2014
Central lands record 26th NCAA softball berth
Athletics
A 30-12 record and a record 26th NCAA Division III tourney berth left the Central softball team 20th in the national rankings following a typically memorable season.
Larry Happel
September 12, 2014
A Bigger World, More Possibilities
It is five years after graduation from Central College, and I find myself living in a town similar to Pella. It is a small community in the Midwest, with cornfields just outside of town.
Andrea (Montrone) Levine ’09
September 12, 2014
Going Farther
If the term “excursion” conjures images in your mind of luxury suites and infinity pools, you are not a likely candidate for Central’s Outdoor Pursuits course in Wales or Morocco Exchange in Granada, Spain.
If, however, you seek authentic cultural learning, physical and mental challenges, and the daily potential for life changing experiences, then these Central College program offerings promise to deliver, as they have for more than a decade.
Cindy Deppe
September 12, 2014
Standing on the Shoulders of Global Giants
A few months ago our campus community assembled in the Harry and Bernice Vermeer Banquet Hall of the Graham Conference Center to kick off a year of celebration, recognition and reflection for the
50th anniversary of our study abroad programs.
Mark Putnam, Central College president
September 12, 2014