CONCORDIA COLLEGE
ALABAMA
The Hornet
Herald
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Volume 1 Fall 2012
KABOOM! continued
Concordia students and staff were also excited about
volunteering their time to the cause. Audree Franklin,
Interim Director of Student Life at Concordia and a
Concordia alumna, felt it was her duty as a former
student to give back.
“I decided to volunteer because I felt that it was
important to be a part of a project that will have such a
positive impact on our community, especially since it is
built on property donated by CCA,” Franklin said, who
also volunteered with fellow staff member Kimberly
Benjamin. “The event itself was indescribable—it was
hard work, but it was nice to see the community come
together to accomplish a common goal.”
Sierra Strong, a sophomore and general studies major,
volunteered not only as a Concordia student but also
with her organization, AmeriCorps. “I volunteered all
day . . . we stayed as long as we could, with work going
way into the evening,” Strong said of the volunteer efforts.
“Since I was a student, I decided I would go, and I
thought that it [the project] was good; I thought it’d be a
great addition to the community because a lot of kids
now don’t have transportation to go to Bloch Park; they
walk. [The playground] complements the city and adds
more beautification, in my opinion.”
Selma Mayor George Evans and Concordia’s student
organization, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., also helped
with the project. The city of Selma, Hanil E-Hwa and
International Paper provided funding for the playground
as part of KaBOOM!, a nonprofit organization that
seeks to create playspaces for children in communities
across the country.
New Student Orientation Desiree Taylor
Nearly 300 new students became a part of the Concordia College Alabama family after
completing several orientations throughout the summer that ended Aug. 8. Aside from the
occasional glitches, Bien Harbin Sr., Interim Vice President of Student Services, said he
believed new student orientation for the fall semester went well.
“I think the process went smoothly and efficiently,” Harbin said. “We have already
begun to look at areas that we can improve upon for next year, to make this event an even
better process.”
Eric Dale, director of student activities, liked the parental involvement. “I liked the fact these sessions have
been broken up into increments to cut down on traffic at the beginning of the academic year,” Dale said. “Also, I think it’s
[orientation] beneficial because the parents get to walk through the process with their child. I’m looking forward to a great
academic 2012–2013 year.”
With a surge in international student enrollment, many new international students expressed their excitement about
being on Concordia’s campus. Freshman and Costa Rica native, Luis Araya, believes coming to Concordia is a great
opportunity for him, especially in the area of sports. “It’s [Concordia] very nice,” Araya said, who will play men’s soccer in
the fall. “The buildings and school is bigger for me than what I’m used to. The environment, the gym—all the people seem
genuine and nice. I’ve made some nice relationships since the first day I’ve been here.”
Araya’s teammate Tomas Wais, agrees. “I think it’s a great opportunity to study and play at the same time,” Wais said. “In
Costa Rica, we didn’t have that.”
Friends and freshmen, Yemsrach Heramo and Bruktawit Shetta of Ethiopia, believe Concordia is the perfect training
ground for their business degrees. “I always wanted to be in business. My family owns a lot of businesses,” Heramo said. “It’s
[Concordia] really different than the universities and colleges in my country—it’s good. Coming to Concordia to get my
degree was a priority.”
For Shetta, she likes the fact she can learn in a religious setting and serve the Lord. “It’s [Concordia] a Lutheran school . . .
and I want to do religious stuff—sing in the choir, play the piano, etc.,” Shetta said.
For more information or to enroll at CCA, call 874-5700.
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Desiree Taylor
hen you think of the word “bootcamp,” you may imagine someone
dressed in army camouflage, screaming at a deviant teen to drop on
the ground and perform daunting push-ups. For Concordia College
Alabama, however, “bootcamp” is all about academics and building
relationships that last a lifetime.
Concordia held its annual summer Academic Boot Camp, or ABC, May 29–June 29 for 41 area high school graduates
who intend to enroll at CCA. The event culminated in Wright auditorium with a special awards ceremony and words
from State Rep. Darrio Melton (D-Selma). As part of the school’s Quality Enhancement Plan, or QEP,
which empowers young males to be successful, students also earned seven college credits that included
orientation to college, computer technology, and fitness and health.
The Rev. Reginald Wells, director of the Man Center, which hosted the camp, said he believed the
event was a favorable one. “Last summer we had 37 [students], and this year we had 41 to complete
the program . . . it was a great success,” Wells said. “The Man Center is the heartbeat of QEP; one of
the goals of the QEP is “learning to learn” [and] I think we were successful in that because all 41
students were able to receive seven credit hours, complete
their class work, go to tutoring, etc.”
This “vital” program, Wells said, gives students a chance to
learn discipline, be mentored, hear lectures on leadership and
travel beyond Selma. “An objective of the program is bridging the
gap between high school and college—developing discipline
for attending class and doing their work . . . it’s very rigorous.
We strongly encourage the students to choose a career,” Wells
said. “We traveled to Atlanta to visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. Museum, Tuskegee to hear about
the Tuskegee Airmen, and to Chattanooga to Ruby Falls and the aquarium.”
Wells said the program’s student mentors were also keys to its success. “We had 11 mentors this year,”
Wells said. “To me, this is what sells the program—what makes it work; they [mentors] know some of the
pitfalls students go through. Our black men are in trouble, and they need help. This program is designed to help
them.”
Concordia senior Joshua Stewart, who has mentored in the program for the past three years and still keeps in
touch with his former classmates, feels the program is a benefit to those who continue to participate. “The first
year, I thought it’d be fun to do. When I went through academic boot camp, it was kind of difficult, but there was
a bond,” Stewart said. “It puts [students] in a leadership role to be a little bit more successful in college.” Stewart
calls the grueling five-week process a “grooming” experience. The bonds made, Stewart said, are “everlasting.”
“It’s five weeks [and] you build such a relationship . . . it almost made you become that person’s brother, even if you
didn’t want to,” Stewart said. “The money we get paid will run out, but the impact we’ll make on their lives will last forever
. . . the counselors get to know ourselves through the people in the camp . . . we’re reaching down to help them [students]
as well— that’s the beauty of the whole thing. This was my greatest joy—to be a part of academic bootcamp.”
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The youngest of three, Stewart
said the camp gives him the chance
to be a role model of sorts. He calls
the opportunity to enrich lives a
blessing. “It definitely gave me the
opportunity to be a big brother to
someone else, to kind of be the
person I’d look up to in someone
else,” Stewart said. “It taught me
how to be more understanding of
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how a teenager thinks—how they
cry out for attention; it helped me
to be reminded that, “Hey, you had
to go through that stage too.”
QEP is founded on the
following tenets: learning to learn,
learning to lead, learning to work,
learning to teach and learning to
serve. The program prepares male
students, especially first-time
freshmen, for global
competitiveness through providing
a Christ-centered learning
environment that helps to identify
their spiritual, moral and academic
direction and success.
9 0 t h A n n i v e r s a ry G i f t
I
n 1922, Lutheran and Rosebud, Ala. native Rosa J. Young had a vision of service
to the community through Christ-centered education. Now, more than 90 years
later, her legacy continues—insipiring young men and women to complete their
educational pursuits and encouraging them to be ambassadors to the world.
You can be a part of history by joining The 1922 Club. Whether you’re a faculty/staff member, an
alumnus or a parent, your gift will make a difference. You can change a young person’s life by giving him
or her the opportunity to go to college.
For your special love gift, you will receive a complimentary mug to commemorate Concordia College
Alabama’s 90 years of service to the community.
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YES! I want to give: (Please check one.)
£
£
£
£
Student $19.22
Parent $192.20
Alumnus/Friend $192.20–$1,922
Church $1,922
Please return this section with your payment
to The 1922 Club at:
1712 Broad St.
Selma, AL 36701
Name___________________________________
Address__________________________________
________________________________________
Phone ______________________________
Email_______________________________
C
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Welcomes Nearly 20 New Faculty and Staff
Concordia College Alabama recently hired 15 new
employees to join its faculty and staff in the upcoming
academic school year. Positions were filled July 9 for Vice
President of Student Services, Vice President of
Institutional Advancement, as well as positions in the
communications/public relations, athletics, English,
education and math departments.
Concordia’s president, Dr. Tilahun Mekonnen
Mendedo, said he is “grateful to God” for the new
members, who he believes will strengthen the college’s
vision. “Concordia’s vision to be a diverse, global
institution of excellence and a leader in developing
intellectual, spiritual and moral leaders of Christcentered justice, has to be enhanced with qualified faculty
and staff,” Mendedo said. “We are welcoming the new
family members to such a noble cause that changes the
lives of many; I am proud of the search team and my
board members, who have spent several months, days and
hours searching for these nuggets. I am also humbled by
[the] willingness and positive response of these
individuals.”
Current faculty members are also pleased with the
selections. CCA athletic director Shepherd Skanes said
he is excited about getting the year started. “In leadership
class they teach you about putting the right pieces of the
puzzle together—the right pieces of the puzzle have come
together,” Skanes said. “This is the right athletic staff that
will help Concordia be successful. I’m looking for an even
better and bigger year athletically across the board . . . I
can’t wait to get on the fields and courts.”
Dr. Cheryl Washington, Vice President of Academic
Affairs, believes the new faculty and staff will be a great
benefit to the school. “We are excited about the highly
qualified individuals joining our faculty and staff,”
Washington said. “We believe their diverse credentials
will be an asset to the CCA family and significantly
enrich the lives of our students.”
New employees include Howard J. Moore Jr., Vice
President of Institutional Advancement; Bien D. Harbin
Sr., Interim Vice President for Student Services; Desiree
Taylor, Director of Communications and Public
Relations; Dr. Wenjing Li, Assistant Professor of
Mathematics; Dr. Rebecca Bragdon, Assistant Professor
of Education; Kimberly Anderson, Developmental Math
Coach; Alexis Owens, Developmental English Coach;
Oronde Walker, recent Concordia graduate and Assistant
Men’s Basketball/Assistant Track Coach; Venecia Eaton,
Head Volleyball and Softball Coach; Michael Ellis,
Offensive Line Coach; Curtis Wimberly, Head Baseball
Coach; Stanley Conner, Assistant Head Football Coach;
Reginald Lumpkin, Outside Linebacker Coach; and
Brandon Skanes, Assistant Football Coach.
KABOOM!
Desiree Taylor
Many children throughout Dallas County cannot afford to go to Chuck E. Cheese’s or an
amusement park every weekend, but thanks to local volunteers, a place to play close to
home is now a reality. More than 200 volunteers, including Concordia College Alabama,
the city of Selma and members of the community, came together this summer to help
build a playground on the corner of First Avenue and Green Street. The playground, which includes
slides, benches, a shaded area for games and a swing set, sits on land donated by CCA.
Selma City Ward 4 councilwoman Angela Benjamin, who led the project, said she was thrilled about helping area
youth and continuing the partnership with Concordia. “I see a play deficit in our city that can easily be closed if we
look around and utilize the space, skills and resources that we have been blessed with,” Benjamin said. “I’m so elated
to see this come to pass . . . We are very excited about this project for our kids—Selma’s kids.”
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