WHEN ML LORMEJUSTE ’25 arrived at the Washington Community Scholars’ Center (WCSC) during the fall of 2024, he admits he wasn’t there to make friends. “I was just there to do what I needed to do and move on,” recalled the public health major. As the semester progressed, Lormejuste was nudged out of his comfort zone by social outings and group activities—and found himself forming close friendships with his eight housemates and discovering the value of community. Reflecting on that semester spent in Washington, DC, he said, “I love that group… They became a part of me.” 

Lormejuste is one of more than 1,000 students whose lives have been transformed through EMU’s longest-running intercultural program, which is celebrating its 50th year of connecting students with internships, urban studies coursework, and shared community life. Launched in 1976, the program originally operated as the Washington Study-Service Year (WSSY) until 2002, when it was renamed Washington Community Scholars’ Center (WCSC) as part of a shift from a yearlong format to three shorter terms per year. 

These transitions have allowed the program to stay relevant and responsive. Program staff spent the past two years gathering input for a new name from its alumni, EMU students, and campus faculty and staff stakeholders. In April, the Provost’s Council and President’s Cabinet approved rebranding the program to the EMU Washington Semester. 

The EMU Washington Semester offers fall and spring semester terms and a 10-week summer session. It remains the only urban studies program among Anabaptist-affiliated institutions and draws students from schools across the country, including Bethel College, Bluffton University, Goshen College, and Viterbo University. 

Living, learning, and launching careers

Up to 15 students in the EMU Washington Semester share cooking responsibilities, manage a collective food budget, and work together to maintain their home at the Nelson Good House in the Brookland neighborhood of Northeast DC. Alumni over the past five decades point to their experiences in the program as a highlight of their college careers, if not their lives. 

“I never realized what a great program this was. I learned valuable lessons in adulting, from navigating a large city to living in community,” said Meredith Lehman ’25, EMU’s first Rhodes Scholar. 

Like many students, her internship paved the way to a future career opportunity. She interned at the Institute for Policy Studies this spring and returned to DC over the summer to work as a fellow at the progressive think tank. “Everyone should do this program, no matter their major,” said Lehman, who double majored in political science and biology. 

Cynthia Lapp ’86, a music education graduate and pastor at Hyattsville Mennonite Church in Maryland, has benefited from the program in multiple ways. She was a student from 1983 to 1984, later served on staff for four years, and continues to support program interns at her church. Many of those interns have gone on to become pastors themselves. 

Lapp said her internship at Elizabeth Seton High School opened the door to a teaching position after college. She added that the program is especially meaningful for students new to community living. “Surrounding ourselves with people from different cultures and backgrounds helps us see beyond the way we think and live, including how our decisions impact those around us.” 

Some students find their perfect match through the program—not just professionally, but romantically. Alumnus Micah Shristi ’00, an English major who now works as director of International Student Services at EMU, met his wife, Charlotte Gingerich Shristi, a Goshen College alumna, while in the program from 1998 to 1999. Many of his housemates from that year are among his closest friends, including Nathan Musselman ’00, who now lives next door. 

“What’s wild is that there’s another couple from our year,” he said. “Jenelle Hershey ’99 and Keith Hoover ’00 also got married after their time together in the program.” 

A ‘Good’ start 

In the fall of 1976, a scrappy academic program began immersing students in the cultured community of the nation’s capital. Nelson Good ’68, who came to DC as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, founded and directed the program until his retirement in 1987. 

The program, like the city around it, has seen plenty of changes. From the shift to three shorter terms and an accompanying name change in 2002 to a 2005 move from South Dakota Avenue to its current location on Taylor Street, the program has continued to evolve to meet the needs of its students and an ever-changing higher education landscape. 

“The new name more clearly communicates the program as a university-run academic offering, is grounded in the context of our nation’s capital, and is easy to remember and say. It also aligns with common naming conventions used by other universities’ DC-based programs, making it more recognizable regionally and beyond,” said Ryan Good, EMU Washington Semester director and son of the late Nelson Good. 

While evolving, the program has remained committed to supporting students’ personal and career development. Students consistently report leaving the program with improved professional confidence, greater clarity about career direction, more comfort in working with people who are different than they are, and increased awareness of systemic injustices, said Good. 

“Dad would be thrilled to see the ways this program has evolved over the years. Though much has changed, the bones of the program he envisioned remain the same… supporting students as they make sense of who they are in a complex world, both personally and professionally.” 

Two events will celebrate the program’s 50th anniversary: a reunion during Homecoming 2025 on Saturday, Oct. 11, from 1-3 p.m. in the Student Union, and a spring gathering at the Nelson Good House on Saturday, Feb. 21, from 10 a.m. to noon. 

For more information about the EMU Washington Semester, visit:

This story appears in the Summer 2025 issue of Crossroads magazine.

Had she known about the generous stipend support available to ��ݮ���� counseling students, Jessie Hoffa MA ‘22 (counseling) says her decision of where to attend graduate school would’ve been an easy one. “EMU would’ve been a shoo-in,” she said.

It was only after comparing the counseling programs at different schools that she realized EMU’s program struck the perfect balance. It offered a quality curriculum, skilled and passionate teachers, and solid student outcomes—all at an affordable price. The fact that it was within an hour’s drive of her Greene County, Virginia, home also didn’t hurt. 

“I can tell you right now, there’s no program out there as good as EMU’s for that price—I’ve looked at so many of them,” said Hoffa, who is now a resident in counseling for the Charlottesville-based Piedmont Counseling Collective. “On top of that, to receive an extra $10,000 during my final year was such a blessing.”

The licensed professional counselor is one of 121 EMU counseling graduates since 2017 who have benefited from substantial internship stipends, interdisciplinary and interprofessional seminars, and expanded partnerships and training opportunities funded by two previous Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grants.

Grant reflects quality of graduate counseling program

A new $2.37 million, four-year grant awarded to EMU’s Master of Arts in Counseling (MAC) program this summer from HRSA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will continue to build on the work of those two previous grants. The MAC program received a $1.28 million grant from 2017 to 2021 and a $1.01 million grant from 2021 to 2025. Those awards provided $10,000 internship stipends for counseling students serving rural and medically underserved communities.

The latest grant project, known as the Interdisciplinary Education in Action: Valley Counseling Expansion (IDEA: VCE) Project, will provide $25,000 stipends for 59 counseling students in internships from Fall 2025 through Spring 2029, while expanding their partnerships and services to schools and clinical sites in areas including Page County, Virginia, and Pendleton County, West Virginia. The grant also will fund conference registration and travel reimbursement for internship students and provide specialized training in telehealth, integrated behavioral health in primary care, and trauma-informed care.

Dr. Michael Horst, former director of EMU’s graduate counseling program, and Sarah Pace, administrative assistant for the program, submitted the grant proposal application in January and learned they had received the award at the end of June. 

“This recognition from HRSA speaks to the remarkable quality of our program,” said Horst, who became dean of EMU’s Health, Behavioral, and Natural Sciences division on July 1. “Not only to the instruction in the curriculum and that we’re CACREP-accredited (accreditation by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs is the recognized gold standard for mental health counseling training), but also to the incredible site placement work that Dr. Jennifer Cline, counseling program director, has done over the years to ensure our students are serving in rural and medically underserved communities.”

Stipend a ‘game changer’

Students in the three-year MAC program are required to complete 600 hours of internship experience during their final two semesters, which is equivalent to about 20 hours per week. With that many hours spent at their internship sites, not to mention their classes and coursework, students can find it difficult to devote time to other responsibilities. 

Back when he was a student in the program, Zachary Pennington MA ‘19 (counseling) had a full plate. In addition to his academic courseload, he balanced raising three young children and working three jobs. When he learned he would be receiving a $10,000 stipend during his final year of training, he breathed a sigh of relief knowing he could step back from those jobs and invest more energy in his clients through his internship placement at National Counseling Group in Harrisonburg.

“That stipend was a game changer,” said Pennington. “It allowed enough space for me to focus on my clinical training and academics, and it helped me balance it out and make it all possible.”

Pennington now serves as clinical director of Shenandoah Psychological Services in Roanoke, an office he opened two years ago. He continues to serve clients from rural and underserved communities and said his internship experience, traveling to clients’ homes around Rockingham, Augusta, and Shenandoah counties, shaped his commitment to helping those populations.

Like Pennington, Hoffa served rural and medically underserved communities during her internship and continues that work today. She interned at Region Ten Counseling Center, where she treated clients who “fell through the cracks”—they didn’t qualify for Medicaid, but also could not afford to have insurance—and worked with them to find a payment they could afford. She also provided counseling services to students and teachers in Greene County Public Schools.

A nationwide need

The purpose of the HRSA grant, which is administered through the agency’s Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) , is to train more mental health counselors and address shortages in the counseling workforce, both nationwide and locally, in areas where mental or behavioral health services may not be accessible. The program also has a specific focus on understanding the needs of children, adolescents, and young adults at risk for mental health, trauma, and behavioral health disorders.

While the prevalence of mental illness is similar between rural and urban residents, the services available can be very different, according to the . Results from a 2018 study show that one of the most significant challenges preventing rural Americans from receiving care has been the shortage of mental health professionals in those areas. Data from a 2021 report show that rural areas have 87.7 counselors per 100,000 people, compared with 131.2 counselors per 100,000 in urban areas.

Many clients served by EMU internship students pay low-fee or pro bono rates, receiving care they might not otherwise have access to if it weren’t for those students. And many EMU counseling graduates continue working at their internship sites after graduation, with many securing positions even before finishing the program. Nearly 100 percent of counseling graduates find employment within the first nine months after completing their degree.

“By expanding into more of these rural and medically underserved areas, we hope to not only have our interns there for the next four years, but also to place our alumni there as counselors who will continue serving those communities,” Pace said.

“It creates a ripple effect,” said Cline. “We believe that every person who becomes healthier contributes to a healthier system. Those clients might become better parents, better partners, better coworkers, and the impact continues to expand, influencing positive outcomes in many areas of life.”

Learn more

An open house informational session for prospective students interested in the Master of Arts in Counseling (MAC) program will be held from 4:30-6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 20, in the MAC program department, which is located in the lower level of the Seminary Building at 1181 Smith Ave., Harrisonburg. A virtual open house will be held from 5-6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 10. Please RSVP for these sessions by emailing counseling@emu.edu or by registering online at .

The deadline to apply for the program’s Fall 2026 semester is Jan. 15, 2026. Learn more about the graduate counseling program at .

While sharing information about nutrition, birth control and diabetes last summer, Katelyn Sellars experienced what it would be like to have face-to-face interactions with patients in a clinic. The nursing student at ��ݮ���� said the opportunity helped increase her confidence and learn about holistic approaches to patient care.

Learn more about nursing at EMU.

Sellars interned with , a community health center, while studying at EMU’s Washington Community Scholars’ Center. WCSC programs run in the fall and spring semesters, and in the summer. Students are placed in internships relevant to their majors and prospective career paths; they benefit from vocational mentoring and career exploration.

Nursing, pre-med and other pre-professional health sciences majors have great opportunities in Washington D.C. for challenging internships that complement their programs of study and help them better understand the life experiences of the patients they’ll be working with as professional clinicians, says program director Professor Ryan Good. 

The program has a strong reputation for placing students in internships that often lead to full-time job offers after graduation.

“WCSC’s program has enabled our nursing students to gain experience in the health care field that significantly broadens their perspective and prepares them for the workforce,” said Professor Melody Cash, undergraduate nursing program director. “Our students return with increased confidence, increased skills, and practical knowledge gleaned from interacting with colleagues in the field.”

Internships such as those offered through WCSC also provide nursing students with valuable professional references when they begin job hunting, Cash added. “These experiences always provide opportunities to not only show capacity for but also grow in professional communication, teamwork, collaboration and organizational skills.”

Read more from Sellars about her experiences below:

How does your experience at WCSC build on nursing coursework and experiences? 

Being a nurse in a hospital and being a nurse anywhere else look completely different. In Mary’s Center I was able to see nurses in roles that I did not even know were nursing fields. For example, their Employee Health Nurse performed N95 fit testing, reviewed employee health records, handled employee illness reports, data analysis, and much more. 

This internship allowed me to get a better understanding of patient populations. In community health you can get to know your patients and form a connection that allows for trust and long-term education. You can see patterns in the communities that you are serving and learn what needs to be done to address the larger issues that are causing health discrepancies. For example, Mary’s Center mainly serves low income Latinx populations in DC and Maryland and because of that focus, they gained an understanding of community needs and what might address those needs. 

What have you learned about yourself? 

Too many times to count, I have gotten the question about what line of nursing I would like to go into after school. The opportunity to speak to nurses in different positions in Mary’s Center allowed me to bounce my ideas off of them and get insight into how their journeys in nursing looked. This has given me greater confidence in my plans for nursing and has helped me focus in on what I would like to do in healthcare. 

What skills will you take with you?

In nursing school, most patient education work is theoretical, so I really benefited shadowing opportunities. I was able to observe educational appointments about nutrition, birth control, and diabetes. I also learned eClinicalWorks, the software that Mary’s Center and many other practices use for health records and practice management. 

Share with us a highlight of your internship.

One day, I paired with a medical assistant to travel to two patient homes. In the facilitated telehealth program, the MA can take vitals, draw labs, give vaccines, and use technology to connect the patient with their provider. The MA I was paired with told me how she finds this line of work to be extremely fulfilling. The patients who qualify for the facilitated telemedicine program are usually homebound and have chronic health conditions. We discussed how this also allows Mary’s Center to provide holistic care and address the patient’s social determinants of health. The MA is able to help patients apply for food supplementation programs, give references to case managers, and assess their home environment.

If you could change something about healthcare, what would you change?

Healthcare is expensive; we all know this. I don’t know the best way to solve this problem. People who are low income and/or are uninsured are stuck dealing with health conditions that worsen because they are unable to seek treatment and they are unable to afford preventive care. Washington DC has DC Healthcare Alliance which provides medical insurance to “low-income District residents who have no other health insurance and are not eligible for either Medicaid or Medicare.” Residents are eligible for DC Alliance regardless of immigration status, and many patients in Mary’s Center utilize this program to help with their healthcare needs. 

Ten ��ݮ���� students are gaining professional experience this fall at the Washington Community Scholars’ Center (WCSC). They represent nine different majors, showing the range of placement possibilities available through the program. The diversity includes four computer science majors (with two also double majoring in math), two history and social science majors, one social work major, one liberal arts major, one digital media major, and one peacebuilding and development major.

The center, located in the nation’s capital since 1976, is a program of ��ݮ����.

The semester-long experience is also a community-building endeavor, with students living together in the Nelson Good House in the Brookland neighborhood of Northeast Washington, DC. This semester’s placements include several organizations that are long-time hosts of EMU students, highlighting WCSC’s deep ties within the region. Many alumni can trace their careers back to a pivotal experience at WCSC. 

Read more about WCSC success! Nursing major Ashlyn Eby talks about personal growth and learning from her internship. Grads Tessa Waidelich and Terry Jones find full-time work after their internships.

Read on to learn more about the students, their placements and the organizations they are involved with. 

Zyeasha Ba, a peace and development major from Stafford, Virginia, is with the peace education program . She helps to lead discussions about conflict resolution with elementary school age children and men experiencing homelessness.

Seth Andreas, a math and computer science major from Bluffton, Ohio, is doing a variety of tasks at , from scripting to 3D modeling, in the realm of virtual reality game development.

KC Argueta-Rivas, a social work major from Springfield, Virginia, works with case managers at providing legal services and social services to clients.

Cor’Shauna Cunningham, a liberal arts major and psychology minor from Brooklyn, New York, is with , an addiction treatment center.

Mykenzie Davis, a digital media and communications major from Lititz, Pennsylvania, is with , where she is filming and editing videos for clients and enhancing her portfolio for post-graduation job search.

Natalia Hernandez, a computer science major from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, is with , where she is implementing malware detection software. She was recently offered a position as a service desk engineer at the same organization.

Anya Kauffman, a history and social science major from Goshen, Indiana, is interning at the criminal defense law firm, . “I help two legal assistants with tasks including requesting accident reports from the police department, scheduling hearings at the DMV, checking for court dates or case numbers. I think the most significant learning experience will be working in a fast-paced law firm, understanding the ins and outs of a criminal defense firm, and learning the process of a criminal legal case.”

Tace Martin, a history and social science major from Eugene, Oregon, is with . The site was one of the first public schools for African American children in the United States, and currently houses a museum, a research room, art exhibits, and the archives of the District of Columbia Public Schools. He is documenting and rehousing collections related to the school itself, as well as “pulling collections for upcoming scholarly visits.” Martin is also contributing to the site’s draft application to be listed on the National Park Service Register of Historic Places.

Joey Sun, a computer science major from Shenyang, China, is with the . His role consists of providing technical support to all Smithsonian employees regarding verification issues, technology assistance, and moderating access to special documents. He is learning to navigate the user interface and software the OCIO uses to support the entire Smithsonian network.

Noah Swartzentruber, a math and computer science major from Lancaster, Pa., is working on projects for the Smithsonian National Zoo’s website and collaborating on a web-based tool for zookeeping staff.

Summer 2022 placements included:

• A physical therapy practice
• Mennonite Central Committee’s National Justice and Peace Ministries office 
• Community of Hope, a community health clinic that provides quality healthcare and housing to families 
• Covenant House, an organization that provides educational programs, job training and placement, medical services, mental health and substance use counseling, legal aid and beyond to homeless youth
• St. Anthony Catholic School, gaining experience working with children and observing different teaching styles
• Washington Digital Media, making business cards and several other templates.
• Bread for the City’s primary care clinic in a Spanish-language setting
• Anacostia Watershed Society with their adult education classes, tree surveying, invasive species removal, wetland planting, and boat tours on the Anacostia River
• Keegan Theater
• Girls on the Run DC
• Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development, which fosters just and equitable community development solutions that address the needs and aspirations of low- and moderate-income district residents.

Jamie Reich, WCSC’s associate director of communications and retention, contributed to this article.

After spending last summer interning at a health clinic in Washington DC, nursing major Ashlyn Eby returned to her senior year studies at ��ݮ���� with some valuable field experience and a more realistic picture of the healthcare world.

Eby says getting out of the classroom and into the real world to interact with patients of all ages and backgrounds, including marginalized populations, has led her to a better understanding of the many factors involved in providing quality care.

To gain this experience, Eby enrolled in EMU’s Washington Community Scholars’ Center, a program that offers professional internships and a community living experience located in the nation’s capital. She interned with Community of Hope, a community health clinic that provides quality healthcare and housing to families. Eby was on two interdisciplinary teams with goals of reducing uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension in the population they serve.

“WCSC’s program has enabled our nursing students to gain experience in the health care field that significantly broadens their perspective and prepares them for the workforce,” said Professor Melody Cash, undergraduate nursing program director. “Our students return with increased confidence, increased skills, and practical knowledge gleaned from interacting with colleagues in the field.”

Internships such as those offered through WCSC also provide nursing students with valuable professional references when they begin job hunting, Cash added. “These experiences always provide opportunities to not only show capacity for but also grow in professional communication, teamwork, collaboration and organizational skills.”

Nursing, pre-med and other pre-professional health sciences majors have great opportunities in Washington D.C. to find rewarding and challenging internships, says program director Professor Ryan Good. 

WCSC programs run in the fall and spring semesters. Participation fulfills EMU’s intercultural requirement. Typically a semester experience fits best in the spring of sophomore year prior to beginning the clinical level of the program, Cash said. 

Other options for nursing students include participating in the summer between junior and senior year. The program has a strong reputation for placing students in internships that often lead to full-time job offers after graduation.

Read more about successful students who were offered full-time employment after graduation (two computer science grads were just the latest: Tessa Waidelich ’21 and Terry Jones ’21).

Learn more about summer 2022 internship placements here.

Below Eby shares more about her summer at WCSC with , a nonprofit organization dedicated towards improving health and ending family homelessness to make Washington, DC more equitable.

What is a highlight of your internship? 

The highlight of my internship was being on interdisciplinary CARE teams at Community of Hope. Because of the explosion of medical TV shows in the past ten years, there is a picture of how medicine works that is broadcasted by these shows. A clear hierarchy where doctors are on top of the rest of the staff is included in the show, they are seen as less than or as if they must take the doctor’s word as gospel. In this CARE team I saw a nurse taking the role of leadership, medical assistants not only being valued for the work they did, but given support with their work. Providers were willing to do non-traditional tasks to help the group and balance the workload, and everyone was truly appreciated for the contributions they make to the healthcare process beyond typical diagnosing and treating. 

What skills will you take with you? 

I was able to grow my critical thinking skills and grasp of the nursing process in the context of long-term care and care over a lifetime, in comparison to the nursing process of short-term acute care we develop during clinical experiences. I was able to use the nursing lens and truly appreciate all of the factors of daily life that impact a person’s health and how socioeconomic status and healthcare infrastructures can create significant barriers to health. 

What have you learned about yourself? 

I learned I am very passionate about equal healthcare access and the ways in which our system needs to be changed to catch up with the rest of the world.

How does this build on your nursing coursework and experiences? 

I was able to see a different side of nursing than we learn about at school. In nursing school, you get to learn the “cool” side of nursing (NG placement, venipuncture, medication administration) but at Community of Hope, I was able to learn about how nurses take leadership and managerial roles in the primary care setting. Nurses at Community of Hope are responsible for providing education and higher-level nursing care to the entire population of the site, from newborns to elder populations. I also learned about government and private funding and grants and how nurses can be responsible for making sure their clinics are funded.

If you could change something about healthcare, what would you change?

I would change the businesslike model of hospitals and the influence insurance companies are allowed to have over healthcare providers and their patients. 

What do you think other nursing students or future medical professionals could learn from working in a community health center? 

I think all healthcare students should volunteer in the community health setting for one semester. Working in this setting allows you to understand what these populations are fighting against to improve their health and all of the cards stacked against them in our current system. The populations you are working with are also typically stigmatized in the media for their health struggles and working in a community health setting allows you to see how these individuals ended up in these situations.

Jamie Reich, WCSC associate director of communications and recruitment, contributed to this article.

Whether collaborating with graduate students in a university medical center’s research lab or shadowing doctors in hospitals in Peru, several ��ݮ���� undergraduate students heading into careers in medicine and the health sciences came away from summer 2022 with memorable experiences and insights into their future.

Aden Weybright spent nine weeks at Baylor University working in a lab through the Baylor College of Medicine’s undergraduate research SMART program. He applied to about 20 programs offering similar opportunities and was accepted to five. Baylor’s program matched his research interests. He hopes to return there after graduation to a lab environment and then pursue a career in surgical oncology.

Cindi Boyer and Belen Hernandez Rosario, with several EMU s, traveled to Peru with Professor Kristopher Schmidt. They were recipients of CT Assist’s annual Experiential Learning Grant for students in EMU’s pre-professional health sciences program. Boyer hopes to become a physician’s assistant. Rosario is considering earning an MS in biomedicine before moving on to medical school and a specialty in cardiology.

Learn more about studying pre-professional health sciences at EMU.

Read on as they share more about their experiences.

‘Hands-on experience’ and ‘valuable advice’ 

Aden Weybright: I worked in the lab of Dr. Joshua Wythe in the Department of Integrative Physiology, specifically investigating the blood vessels that feed specific brain tumors and developing treatments that would target these blood vessels. I worked with a team of graduate students and laboratory technicians on mice models to determine how the blood vessels feeding these brain tumors could be treated resulting in a more specific and targeted treatment for these devastating tumors.

This summer experience was extremely valuable in providing more hands-on experience in medical research. I also met many other students also considering academic medicine with amazing stories about how they had become interested in science and medicine. Being able to talk to other people, especially graduate and medical students, was insightful and helped me to confirm that this was a community I want to be a part of. They all were very friendly and offered valuable advice about what things I should be considering if I want to start a career in academic medicine.

In Peru

Boyer and Rosario spent five weeks in Peru. While living with host families in the capital city of Lima, they went each day to Hospital Nacional Docente Madre y Nino San Bartolome to shadow two different pediatric surgeons.

With a group of EMU biomedicine graduate students, they attended seminars on Peruvian history, culture, and the healthcare system.

Rosario also spent a week with two graduate students in the rural town of Cieneguilla, working seven-hour days providing physical exams for about 150 residents, including seniors and children from three nearby orphanages. 

“There are almost no healthcare facilities in this area,” Rosario said, “ so the population had none to little access to annual check-ups and providers. We provided a quick physical exam which included blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen, temperature, height, weight, glucose, covid test if needed, and one of the grad students provided free dental cleanings.”

Boyer found the opportunity to compare healthcare systems and explore cultural differences “invaluable” to her future plans.

Rosario said she gained important skills and was inspired by the “passion, determination, and humility of all of the providers I met. “The experience made me even more sure that I want to go into medicine.”

Rebecca Slough, professor emerita of worship and the arts at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, is also a co-producer.

The video is the centerpiece of the collection, which are supported a 2021-2022 Vital Worship Grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Grand Rapids, Michigan, with funds provided by Lilly Endowment
Inc. Additional funding came from the Marpeck Dean’s Fund.

The video and an accompanying discussion guide are designed to inspire the imaginations of
congregations who are ready to explore how the visual dimensions of worship might expand
their relationship with God and with each other.

Students Allison Shelly, Asha Beck, MyKenzie David and Alijah Johnson joined theology graduate students from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in the project. Students conducted interviews with key leaders in seven intercultural Anabaptist congregations that use visual art in worship. Slough and Holsopple described the students who worked on the project as “representing a span of ages and cultural experiences that enriched the work of our intercultural documentary team.”

Congregations from Pennsylvania and Virginia participated, including Community Mennonite Church and Laurel Street Mennonite Church, Lancaster; Immanuel Mennonite Church and Manantial de Vida Ministries in Harrisonburg; New Hope Mennonite Church in Alexandria, Virginia; Oxford Circle Mennonite Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Whitehall Mennonite Church, in Whitehall, Pennsylvania.

“We believed the selected congregations had insights to share with the broader church about creating worship spaces that welcome all who want to participate,” Slough said.

Holsopple was inspired “by the thoughtful ways the artists and leaders approached the visual
arts in their own worship spaces and practices.” He observed how the creators of the art were
themselves changed by the use of their work within worship: “Many seemed to be more
connected to their worshiping communities.”

Two public online events will feature more about the documentary and discussion guide:
● Teaching webinar hosted by Anabaptist Worship Network, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2 p.m. Eastern, 1pm Central, 60-90 min.
● Video premiere and Q&A with the documentary team, Thursday, Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m. Eastern, 6:30pm Central, 75 min.

Senior Caleb Hostetler already has an extensive list of accomplishments – in April 2022, he and two other students from ��ݮ���� won the 2022 international Kryptos Codebreaking Competition – and this summer, he added mathematics research at Carnegie Mellon University to his resume.

Hostetler participated in the undergraduate research program, working with a group of four students studying a mathematical game. The research has applications in the mathematical fields of graph theory and linear algebra.

Hostetler applied to over 15 mathematics Research Experiences for Undergraduates (here’s the comprehensive , and was accepted to Carnegie Mellon. He then had a say in which of the four areas of mathematics research he would work.

The experience provided insight into the world of academic mathematics, Hostetler said. “In addition to exposure to the world of academia, I also built valuable connections with people that would be very helpful if I decided to pursue research further.” 

Participants presented their research, and attended panels with grad students, postdoctoral students, and other professionals in the field.

Mathematics and computer science professor Daniel Showalter recognizes this experience as a prestigious and competitive accomplishment. “Caleb’s selection for the Carnegie Mellon REU allowed him to spend the summer in one of the top five computer science departments in the world and positions him well for graduate school should he choose to attend,” Showalter said.

A personal highlight, Hostetler said, was talking with the other members of his research group about math outside of research. 

“Whenever I talk to someone who doesn’t love math as much as I do, the conversation generally moves quickly to some other subject. I don’t blame them, math isn’t the most interesting topic if you don’t really enjoy it,” Hostetler said.

He remembers one conversation about favorite mathematicians and preferred kinds of math while walking back to their apartment after dinner. “I’ll admit, it is a pretty nerdy conversation to have, but it was genuine,” Hostetler said. “It was so cool to be in an environment where everyone was as excited about mathematics as I was, and to not have to feel restrained when talking about the things I love.”

The group also spent time outside of research settings, doing team-building activities such as rafting, visiting the Kennywood amusement park, and going to the Pittsburgh zoo.

In addition to research, over the summer, Hostetler enjoyed working as an engineering intern at Ventrac, a tractor and equipment company. He isn’t sure what is next for him, but math research and graduate school are high on his list of options.

The group included six students from area universities: two from ��ݮ����, three from Bridgewater College, and one from James Madison University.

EMU students Anika Hurst and Laura Craft, now back on campus to continue their chemistry and environmental science studies, both said their individual teaching and research experiences helped to confirm where they’re headed next. Hurst hopes to do more field research, while Craft was energized by adapting her water health research learnings to lesson plans for Aboriginal learners from ages 8-18. Nicole Miller ‘21, a graduate of EMU’s chemistry program, is considering graduate school.

EMU chemistry professor Matthew Siderhurst is the principal investigator for the initiative, which is titled “Tephritid fruit fly Multidisciplinary Australian Research Collaboration for Biosecurity,” or T-MARC-BIO for short.

Siderhurst has led insect tracking and field trapping studies stateside, in Hawaii and the Pacific region for many years.  

The grant is part of the NSF’s International Research Experiences for Students program, designed to give US students multidisciplinary research experience in Australia that will advance basic science and address internationally significant challenges in biosecurity and global food supply chains. The program also aims to foster life-changing learning by enhancing interpersonal skills, empathy, and global awareness that come from living and working outside the US.  

A total of six students were funded by the initiative; in addition, a recent EMU graduate was supported by independent research funding. EMU biology professor Jim Yoder, who has led multiple to the Pacific region, traveled with the group to connect them with Australian scientists. 

Four students were hosted by Macquarie University in Sydney, split between two labs with different foci of chemistry education, mentored by Dr. Joanne Jamie, and blowfly research, mentored by Dr. Soo Jean Park; those students were Craft, Mary Shifflett and Emily Schloss from Bridgewater College, and Jacqueline Kossey, from James Madison University.

Three others were based at Queensland’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries headquarters in Mareeba and mentored by Stefano De Faveri and Jodie Cheesman. Their research was in tracking fruit flies with harmonic radar.

“I spent a lot of time out in the papaya field, tracking the Queensland fruit fly using a RECCO unit and flagging tape,” Hurst said, of her teamwork with Allison O’Brien, a Bridgewater College student, and Nicole Miller, a 2022 EMU graduate. 

Tephritid fruit flies are “among the most damaging horticultural insect pests worldwide, constituting pest management issues, trade barriers, and invasion threats for Australia, the U.S., and throughout the tropics and subtropics,” according to T-MARC-BIO documents. 

The student research is aimed at bolstering strategies for monitoring and controlling the invasive fruit fly species in ways that will reduce the negative impacts of pesticide use. 

Having been delayed twice by COVID travel restrictions, Siderhurst was excited to see a first cohort of students begin their travel and research. 

Two further cohorts of American students will be heading to Australia in 2023 and 2024.

Three ��ݮ���� students heading to careers in science and medicine have earned funding for summer research and travel.

The CT Assist Health Experiential Learning Program awards funds to pre-professional health science students at EMU to support overseas clinical experiences that help prepare students for professional health programs. is a Harrisonburg-based healthcare staffing business owned by two alumni. 

Cindi Boyer, a junior neurobiology major who wants to become a physician’s assistant, and Belen Hernandez Rosario, a sophomore majoring in biology on the pre-med track, were awarded grants from CT Assist. They will be traveling to Peru this summer with Professor Kristopher Schmidt. 

“Students will shadow in large hospitals and small clinics around the country, exposing them to a variety of treatment centers,” Schmidt said. “They will also be auditing a graduate class with me on cross-cultural healthcare.  We will hike a section of the Inca Trail as well as some touring around the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.”

The Kauffman-Miller Research Awards are named for emeritus professors Glenn Kauffman (chemistry) and Roman Miller (biology), each of whom were “champions of undergraduate involvement in authentic scientific research at EMU. Over their 30-plus year tenures, Kauffman and Miller each worked with more than 40 undergraduates on research projects ranging in topics from organic blueberry production to the synthesis of new cyclic organic compounds.

Zach Bauman, a junior environmental science major, will be supported by a Kauffman-Miller Research Award in surveying changes in stream water quality, including nutrients and sediment loading, of the North, Dry and Briery Branch rivers.

The research will help to explain how much agricultural land impacts the rivers as they transition from a more natural environment to a more human-influenced environment, Bauman said. He is one of several students who have contributed to ongoing research in water quality differences between forested and agricultural lands with Professor Doug Graber Neufeld.

“We’re in a unique area where there’s such a clear boundary between forested and agricultural lands, so I’ve had students working for some time to try to use that to understand that role,” Neufeld explained.

The research is “some of the only research on headwater streams in the Shenandoah Valley,” Bauman said.

For three of ��ݮ����’s seniors looking ahead after graduation, the beauty of a career in aviation is in the endless opportunities.

Ivy Kreiser has spent her final semester with Venture Jets, a private charter and aviation services company in Lancaster, and now plans to work there after graduation. But she loves the potential of her chosen profession: “I’m never quite sure where aviation will take me.”

That’s also the beauty of the education they’ve chosen: Graduates of EMU at Lancaster’s aviation program hold a bachelor’s degree in leadership and organizational management, as well as several flight certifications – preparation for a career as a corporate or commercial pilot, but also for opportunities in the aviation industry as airport operations managers, safety inspectors, and flight instructors.

Aviation 430 is the capstone course that helps almost-grads prepare for their next step and narrow their interests.

“This six-credit course is an exciting way for our seniors to finish their studies and explore a particular field within the profession,” said Director of Aviation John Sibole, a veteran commercial pilot, instructor, and former FAA safety inspector. “Because the other courses in the final semester are online general education courses, they can take their internship anywhere in the world. These positions can help to confirm that our students are heading where they want to go with their job search, and internships often are a gateway to employment with the host organization.”

Sibole and other aviation staff, including the program’s industry liaison Karl Clemmensen, help to match students with host organizations. 

Kreiser used her already-established network and knowledge of the area to choose Venture Jets Inc. for her internship. “They have excellent and fun airplanes, they are located at Lancaster airport which is very close to me, and I have a few friends who already work there that have had a great experience,” Kreiser says. She has found value in learning to fly jets as well as handle customer relations, preparing her to work for Venture Jets after graduating.

Noelle Yorgey first learned of Agape Flights as a junior in high school, on a family vacation in Florida. She heard Agape’s chief executive officer, Allen Speer, who was serving as the interim pastor of the church she visited. She then toured Agape and learned of their desire to serve. “My passion for aviation was sparked as I realized the impact aviation could make on people’s lives,” Yorgey says.

Agape Flights, which means “God’s Love Flights,” is a mission aviation organization committed to providing the resources needed by missionaries serving within the Caribbean along with natural disaster relief, from medical supplies to daily mail. The organization also provides volunteer opportunities to the community.

“The opportunity to learn under an excellent maintenance team has already helped further my understanding as a pilot,” Yorgey says. This experience has also broadened her horizons to exploring mechanic positions, as those are needed in missions as well. Upon graduating, Yorgey plans to continue pursuing opportunities that allow for her to serve in mission aviation and build relationships within the aviation community.

Cienna Stover fulfilled her internship while working at Aero-Tech Services teaching private and commercial pilots. She was hired there as an instructor in June 2021.

“My main responsibility is providing a safe learning environment for my students to reach their goals,” she says. Her favorite part of the job is “getting to see people realize their potential in aviation.” 

Stover’s most rewarding moment, she says, was probably sending her first trainee for his checkride. “It is also the little things that I love about aviation. I have done first flight lessons with people ages 12- to 81-years-old and the excitement on their faces when they realize they are flying an airplane is so rewarding.”

Besides the thrill of watching her students succeed, the internship also helped Stover realize just how much she loves to learn. “For my future in this career I hope to find a job that provides me opportunities to push myself,” Stover says. “There are infinite areas to learn, improve, explore, and that is something I find exciting about aviation.”

Stover is still considering other options post-graduation besides flying for the airlines, such as charter planes. She will soon reach 1,000 hours of flight time, which will position her for a broad range of flying jobs.

Every Tuesday for four hours, Julie Weaver gets a glimpse of her future. She’s shadowing physical therapists at Sentara RMH Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center. The setting is exactly where the ��ݮ���� student hopes to be in the future.

Her experience is part of a Life Sciences Practicum open to all students who are considering a career in health sciences. This spring semester, six EMU students are participating – they are future doctors, physical therapists, and physician’s assistants.

“The goal of the practicum is to provide clinical exposure and dialogue with health care practitioners,” said Professor Jeff Copeland, director of the pre-professional health sciences program. “EMU has offered this course for years and it has been invaluable to students entering medical or physical therapy school. The clinical experience lifts a curtain to show EMU students what it is like to interact with patients and to understand health plans.  For many, it is the first taste of what it is like to work in the profession.”

Weaver says she highly recommends the experience. “It gets you into the real world instead of reading or hearing about it. I’m seeing exactly what a physical therapist does in a day, which often includes lots of documentation, patient interaction, and hands-on care and this is helping me solidify that this is actually what I want to do.”

Observing communication styles with patients, hearing the pros and cons of different specialties, learning about different treatment methods — these are common ways in which EMU students have gained knowledge and valuable hours as they explored their future.

Shadowing is a great way to interact directly with a potential career field and ask professionals any question that you may have about the field,” said Hannah Giagnocavo, another pre-physical therapy major who spends her Tuesdays at Wampler Rehab in Harrisonburg. “Shadowing can help you grow in confidence and certainty about your future and whether you find the career you’re interested in enjoyable or not. Exposure is key.” 

Giagnocavo observes interactions, evaluations and approaches to treatment plans. That exposure has given her not only a lot of ideas about how to approach scenarios but also the confidence to know there’s different ways to help patients. She learned a lot about how each therapist brings “their own approach to a similar problem.” She’s also learned more about her own interest in rehabilitation research and new treatment methods, and is considering how that interest might guide her next steps. 

Jessie Landis is a pre-med major spending time in a pediatrics practice. She has shadowed before this semester and urges students to get started on this unique learning experience early. 

“Don’t wait to do it,” she said. Shadowing is a requirement on medical school applications, but “also an incredible opportunity to learn and see what the life of a doctor really looks like.” Her various experiences have given her insight into different approaches and a comfort level in interacting with medical staff and in different facilities. 

Shadowing has confirmed her future profession, though she’s not sure what her preferred speciality will be. “I can see myself in that role and it gives me so much joy to think about caring for people in the way I’ve watched physicians at work,” Landis said.

Similarly, Cindi Boyer isn’t sure what her speciality will be, but she’s excited to continue exploring a career as a physician’s assistant. She’s worked alongside a PA at a local dermatology practice, who is “great at educating me about and explaining different nuances of common skin conditions.”

One of the reasons she has enjoyed spending time in a medical practice: “These experiences can show you a glimpse into your own possible future.”

Tessa Waidelich, a recent graduate of ��ݮ����, says she wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted to do after college.

But after spending just 10 weeks in EMU’s working in the information technology field as an intern, she not only had the confidence to know what she wanted to do, but a full-time job as well.

Waidelich says vocational development was a big part of her successful experience. WCSC staff assessed “my needs and wants” and “found an internship that gave me a wide variety of work.”

Along with her internship and coursework, Waidelich worked on her resume, prepared for interviews, and started job-hunting. But it was her connections through her internship that made the difference.

“The most helpful preparation I received during WCSC was the concept of networking,” she said. “Networking and forming relationships in a job setting is the reason I was hired.”

So that she could gain more diverse experience,  , Waidelich’s internship organization, decided to place her with a client. Briya Public Charter School is a two-generation education site, offering English classes for adults and early childhood education for their children. It’s a holistic and inclusive model that strengthens families as they learn together. 

Waidelich’s work included resetting, cleaning and setting up computers, as well as arranging desks and fixing broken computers. She built relationships with both her team at Community IT and the staff at Briya, which eventually led to a job offer to become Briya’s IT support specialist.

She enjoys a variety of work, from helping students and staff with their tech needs to inventorying computers and managing paperwork.

Waidelich’s experience is not unusual at WCSC, a program well-known for providing students with a kickstart to their careers.

“We take very seriously the goal of supporting our students in discerning their next steps and building the skills and connections needed to take those steps,” said program director Ryan Good. “It’s extremely validating for us as WCSC staff to see somebody like Tessa come in with uncertainty about their direction, put in the effort and work to figure it out, and then come out the other end with a job.”

WCSC has been located in Washington D.C. for over 45 years.  Each year staff place 30-40 students from EMU and partner institutions in competitive internships spanning many fields and majors.

Read more about WCSC

—Spring 2022 placements

—Another 2021 grad finds employment in DC after his WCSC internship.

Hickman, a December 2021 graduate of EMU’s social work program, now works as an independent living specialist at (VAIL). She teaches skills such as money management, organization, and grocery shopping to individuals with disabilities. She has recently been transitioning into a service coordinator position that focuses on serving low-income individuals. 

VAIL is one of 17 different independent living centers in the state of Virginia. The organization provides transitional services, house modification services, options counseling, technical and waiver assistance, and peer support services. VAIL is also consumer-driven – 51% of VAIL’s staff and board of directors are people with disabilities.

Learn more about studying social work at EMU.

The distinctive EMU experience with its values on community and intercultural learning provide a fabulous home for a social work program.

Professor Carol Hurst, director of EMU’s social work program

Internship and intercultural: two best EMU experiences

Besides her intercultural semester abroad, Hickman says the internship at VAIL was her best experience at EMU. “It gave me insight on how to put theory to hands-on work. It showed me what lies beyond EMU’s walls.”

The connection to VAIL was made when Gayl Brunk ‘92, the organization’s executive director, came as a guest speaker to a class in social policy analysis. Hickman was inspired by Brunk’s account of policy work on behalf of disability services and immediately drawn to the work of VAIL.

Like many college students, Hickman recalls that her career path was not initially clear. She transferred her second year to EMU, unsure of what major to pursue. She thought social sciences might be for her, and after networking with students and staff, had a conversation that proved to be a turning point.

“I have to give thanks to Deanna Durham,” Hickman says.

Durham, a professor of social work, helped Hickman think about the possibilities of future jobs with a bachelor’s degree in social work and all the different areas in which she could work in the Valley. “Tessa clearly expressed her desire to work with people in direct service and wanted to jump right in,” Durham says. 

A couple years later, Hickman had a job before she even graduated. “In April 2021, I got an interview for my practicum at VAIL during midterms,” Hickman says. “A few days later they wanted me back for a job interview.”

Social work majors grow in unique EMU community 

Hickman says her experience was “unique in a good way.”  During practicum she worked with Brunk as her field instructor and was immersed in learning about VAIL’s work in the community, day to day work with consumers, and the organization’s policy efforts.

EMU’s social work program is a professional degree program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, meaning students can go straight into professional social work roles with their BSW degree.

“In social work, we call field [work] the ‘signature pedagogy,’” says professor and social work program director Carol Hurst. “We mean that a social work education is not complete without really working with people. You can’t really know how to practice without doing it.”

While the practicum requirement is an essential part of the social work program, Hurst says that what really makes the program unique is the fact that it is a part of EMU. “The distinctive EMU experience with its values on community and intercultural learning provide a fabulous home for a social work program,” she says. “Professional social work values demand respect for the dignity and worth of every person, and emphasize the importance of human relationships, service, and work for social justice.” 

After graduation, Hickman and her supervisors regrouped and thought through her ideal position. She took on a new caseload and is now figuring out her role while expanding her knowledge. “There have been a lot of exciting times building rapport with consumers,” Hickman says. Hickman is extremely passionate about the disability community, having a disability herself. “This opportunity seemed like the stars aligned.”