Alumni E-News
November 2020
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Virtual Alumni Weekend
by Steven Atkins
October 16-17, 2020, should have been AA's traditional alumni weekend, when hundreds of alumni return to Andrews Academy to reunite with friends and classmates, and to worship our God. Due to COVID, the traditional alumni weekend could not be held on campus, so it was postponed until next fall, when we plan to honor the class years ending in 1 and 6 that would have been honored this year.
Instead, we had a virtual alumni weekend, which began on Friday evening with a vespers program that was streamed on Facebook and YouTube. Our Bible teacher Jeremy Steinkraus (class of 1998) presented his testimony for the evening. Christine Rorabeck was honored for her seven years of service at Andrews Academy, as she is now teaching at AU.
For Sabbath worship, Dr. Lowell Hamel (class of 1973) presented a moving “fireside chat,” sharing about his miraculous recovery from COVID, and the five lessons he learned. A portion of the program included a thank you to Jeannie Leiterman for her leadership when she was vice-principal and then principal of Andrews Academy, and Rebecca Wright was also thanked for her 25 years of service. You can still be blessed by these virtual services by watching them on YouTube.
A big thank you to our alumni coordinator, Gina Meekma, and our principal, Pastor Mario Ferguson, for all their effort and time in making these virtual alumni weekend programs. Thank you also to our in-house technology person, Daniel Rojas, who played a major role in recording and editing the videos.
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| Vespers photos on Facebook » |
| Sabbath worship photos » |
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Top Left to Right:
Pic 1 – Megan Woods with her mentor, Deborah Davis, ready to cut some bushes down to size.
Pic 2 – Conner Moore delivers some treats from Apple Valley to his mentor, Amita Bairagee.
Pic 3 – Caleb Steinkraus and his mentor, Jean Patterson, pause their yard work for a picture.
Bottom Left to Right:
Pic 1 – Laura Palacios and her mentor, Lenier Henley, raking leaves and tending to tomato plants.
Pic 2 – Isabella Patel moving plants inside for her mentor, Merna Witzel.
Pic 3 – Michael Woods with his mentor, Deborah Gray, winterizing the patio and hot tub.
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Partnering for Eternity at AA
Hello, Beloved Fellow Alum of Andrews Academy!
This is Joelle (Perry) Ashley here—class of 1988. I coordinate a scholarship program that pairs students with older adults in the community to provide house and yard work, as well as companionship. In return, students receive integral insights and a forever friendship from their mentors, as well as an $800 scholarship each semester to support their Adventist education. The program is called Partnering for Eternity 9-12, or PFE for short.
The students visit once a week and accomplish whatever their mentor needs. They wash cars, deliver groceries or meals, weed whack, split and stack wood, harvest garden veggies, wash windows, rake leaves—you name it, they do it. They also play board/card games together, read books, and share hobbies, stories and life lessons together, as well.
This program is funded by individual donors like you and a matching grant from the SFFC Foundation. A $240.00 donation from you, combined with grant matching, becomes one semester’s $800.00 scholarship for a student. $480.00 becomes $1,600.00, enabling one student to participate in the PFE program for a school year.
For the 19 Andrews Academy students that are helping senior citizens in our community right now, we still need to raise $1,540.00 by December 31, 2020, and $4,540.00 for next semester.
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If you have a heart for...
- Kids
- Senior citizens
- Adventist education
- Andrews Academy
- All of the above
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...then please consider financially supporting this amazing program and inviting others to do the same.
You can give online at www.andrews.edu/GO/GIVE/AAPartner. Alternatively, you can make a check payable to Andrews Academy, designate “Partnering for Eternity 9-12” on the memo line, and mail it to the school’s address:
Development Office
Andrews Academy
8833 Garland Ave.
Berrien Springs, MI 49104
Thank you—not only from me, but also from all our participating students, older adults, and of course from Andrews Academy! Thank you for partnering with us and the SFFC Foundation to promote Adventist education and create inter-generational relationships to last a lifetime.
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Prayer
Pastor Mario Ferguson, AA interim principal, started a new practice at Andrews Academy at the beginning of this school year: begin and conclude each day with corporate prayer for the school family. These prayers are in addition to the prayer that usually begins each class period, as well as the corporate prayer that occurs each morning during our chapel time together as an AA family.
Please keep our students, families, and faculty/staff in your prayers. The State of Michigan has issued an order prohibiting in-person classes for the next three weeks in high schools and colleges/universities, starting today, November 18. Having already planned for remote classes for a few weeks after Thanksgiving, we hope to be able to open again in January for in-person classes.
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PE
As the weather allows, Mrs. Samantha Mills, AA PE teacher, has been taking her PE classes out for walks on the AU campus on Fridays to enjoy the fresh air and the beautiful fall colors.
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Pickleball is one of the sports played in the racquet sports PE class. At the end of class, students have COVID cleaning procedures to follow so that things are sanitized for the next class.
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| More photos of COVID Teaching Strategies » |
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If you haven't kept up with what's happening at AA, please visit our FB page to learn more.
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Reconnect at Alumni 2021
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We hope that you are planning to join us from October 15-16, 2021, for our annual alumni reunion! All EMCA/AUA/ AA attendees, graduates, and their families, as well as former faculty and staff, are welcome, especially our honor classes (those that graduated in years ending in 1 and 6).
Note that submissions for the Alumnus of the Year are due by April 1, 2021.
Highlights of the Weekend:
► Vespers on Friday evening
► Teacher Legacy Award (Cleon White) and Alumnus of the Year (TBD) citations, and roll call of honor classes and decades during Sabbath School
► Worship Convocation on Sabbath, planned by the Class of 1996
► Honor class photos and a haystack fellowship lunch
► Hanging out with friends on or off-campus
► Shydepoke on Saturday evening
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Continuum Magazine
The Spring 2020 issue of our alumni magazine, Continuum, is on our web site. It has stories about students' activities, alumni news, pictures, and details of the 2018 alumni weekend, a tribute to Knobby Mauro, and more. Due to COVID-19, it has not been printed at this time.
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| Spring 2020 Issue » |
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If you attended or graduated from Andrews University, or if you worked at AA or AU, please join the new Andrews Network.
The Andrews Network is a free mentoring, networking, and job posting platform exclusive to the Andrews community. Click on the link to sign up and to learn more about the benefits of joining, including reconnecting with classmates, expanding your network, and (once this is launched soon to the AU student population) the optional opportunity to help a current AU student out through mentoring.
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Wanted: Alumni News
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Have you recently graduated, gotten married, had a baby, changed jobs/got a promotion, published a book, or know of an AA attendee/graduate/ former staff that has passed away?
Please share your news with us, including a picture if you would like, for inclusion (as space permits) in the AA alumni magazine, Continuum.
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| Update Your Info » |
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We welcome changes in contact information also! Please email news and contact updates to aaalumni@andrews.edu. Or update your information by clicking on the Update Your Info button.
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You are invited to partner with us!
During this time of uncertainty, we are continuing to do all that we can to fulfill our commitment to provide Christian education and academic excellence to our students.
Your support of our general scholarship and worthy student fund helps make it possible for students to attend AA that otherwise would not be able to without partners like you.
Donations to our worthy student fund, renovation fund, annual fund, and many others can be made at any time. Thank you for your continued investment in quality Christian education at AA!
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Gina Meekma, Coordinator
Alumni & Development
Andrews Academy
8833 Garland Ave
Berrien Springs, MI 49104
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296-471-6140
or
269-471-3138
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