Each year, a new group of highly motivated and gifted scholars is invited to join the EMU . From this group, two prospective students are selected to receive the annual full-tuition .

Nicole Litwiller of Sarasota, Florida, and Maria Yoder of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, will begin their education in the fall of 2015 as contributors to EMU’s legacy of academic excellence.

During Honors Weekend in February, Litwiller and Yoder came to campus with 42 other candidates for the final interview process. The group averaged 1,269 on the SAT critical reading and math sections, 29 on the ACT and a high-school grade point average (GPA) of 4.11.

Full Tuition Yoder Scholarships

The Yoder Scholarships, established in 1993, are named for Paul and Carol Yoder of Harrisonburg, Virginia, both 1963 graduates of EMU. The rigorous selection process for the two scholarships includes a comprehensive academic and service resume, letters of recommendation, creative essays and interviews with Honors Program professors. Candidates who do not win the full-tuition scholarships receive academic scholarships covering approximately half of tuition, as well as membership in the Honors Program.

“We are looking for creative students with wide-ranging interests and strong leadership abilities,” said , a mathematics professor and faculty member in the Honors Program.

Benefits Include 1:1 Mentoring and Critical Thinking Boosts

Over the past three years, the graduation rate for EMU honors students was 100 percent, with a third completing double or triple majors. These students, representing diverse cultural, racial and religious backgrounds, participate in special academic and co-curricular opportunities to learn from and be mentored by faculty.

A majority of honors graduates responding to a 2009 alumni survey “strongly agreed” that the program increased their overall learning and deepened critical thinking skills. Forty-two percent of the survey respondents indicated an educational track beyond their undergraduate degree.

Maria Yoder: The Animal Lover

Maria Yoder loves cats and dogs, and as she took biology classes in the past year, she thought about becoming a veterinarian someday. Lately she’s been volunteering at an animal hospital. At EMU, she plans to enroll in the pre-professional health sciences program.

At Hempfield High School, Yoder is involved in sports, music, tutoring and academic clubs. She was captain of her school’s volleyball team, which won consecutive state championships in 2013 and 2014. She is also captain of the track and field team. A cellist in the school orchestra, she was selected this spring for the state orchestra.

At EMU, Yoder will run , her favorite sport, and join the team. She will play cello in the orchestra.

“I like to keep a busy schedule,” she says, “but I have to be organized and make sure to leave some time for relaxing so I don’t feel overwhelmed.”

Her parents, Randy and Marianne Kurtz Yoder, graduated from EMU in 1982 and 1983, respectively. Her mother earned a in 2013. Although EMU was high on Yoder’s list, she also considered Haverford College near Philadelphia and the University of Mary Washington in Virginia.

Nicole Litwiller: Looking Forward to Cross-Cultural

Nicole Litwiller says that “EMU has been on my radar since I was young.” Her parents are both graduates – Larry ’80 and Nelda Rempel Litwiller ‘85. “I am excited to expand my faith and be challenged by professors,” she says. “Also, I love how EMU puts a huge focus on becoming more knowledgeable about other cultures worldwide.”

During the middle of her sophomore year, Litwiller went through an emotional experience when her family moved from Kansas to Florida the day after Christmas. She did not know anyone at Sarasota Christian School, but she looks back on that transition as full of “many new and fun things.”

Today she is president of her senior class, and she is trying to make the year an unforgettable one for her classmates. During her sophomore and junior years, she was on her school’s team that advanced to world competition both times.

A member of her high school soccer team and one of its three captains, Litwiller will probably play for EMU this fall.

Her major, at this point, is undecided. “I hope that through my classes, the cross-cultural trip and other experiences at EMU that my path will become clearer,” she says. “I am looking forward to many opportunities to experience the world.”

Each year since 1993, two EMU students have been awarded full-ride tuition scholarships. The Yoder Scholarships are named for Carol and Paul R. Yoder Jr., 1963 graduates of EMU.

The rigorous selection process for this elite award includes a comprehensive academic and service resume, letters of recommendation, creative essays and interviews with Honors Program faculty members.

“We are looking for high-caliber creative students with wide-ranging interests and strong leadership abilities,” says history professor , director of the at EMU.

During Honors Weekend last February, 56 students participated in the final interview process for the Yoder Scholarships. The group averaged 1285 on the SAT critical reading and math sections, 29.5 on the ACT, and had an average GPA of 4.1.

Outstanding academic achievement is a given for Yoder Scholars, but it doesn’t tell the whole story on the two selected for the honor this year.

Michaela Mast

Michaela Mast knows the sound of applause – on stage as young Cosette in “Les Miserables” and six years later as Maria in “The Sound of Music;” on the field after scoring the winning soccer goal in the state championship game; at the podium delivering the 2013 valedictory speech at Eastern Mennonite High School.

But it was the smile and hug of an impoverished gypsy girl that “snatched up part of my heart,” Mast wrote on her blog, and compelled her to return to Romania during the fall of 2013.

Mast first met Magda one afternoon during her high school choir’s 2012 trip to Europe. “As we were leaving, she started running toward me, arms outstretched. I scooped her up into the biggest hug. Magda taught me what joy is. I heard God in her laughter, saw God in her smile, and felt God in her hugs…” Michaela wrote in her journal.

With the support of her family and church, , Mast returned to that country 15 months later to volunteer for four months in several villages. She lived with a Romanian family, taught in a kindergarten, planned music activities and games for 50 children and, once again, hugged Magda.

As she looks back on her eight years at , music stands out.

“I grew up singing with my family and taking piano and violin lessons,” Mast says. “Music is rooted in who I am. I flourished within the music program at EMHS, participating in Touring Choir and Chamber Choir during my junior and senior years.”

In the academic paper she submitted with her Yoder Scholar application, she advocated a greater integration of the visual and musical arts into school curriculum, through use of the arts to teach other subjects.

She is excited about exploring her many interests during her four years at EMU, and is thinking about combining an elementary education major with an English as a Second Language minor. She has also considered a liberal arts major before studying music therapy in grad school.

“My dream job would include working closely with children, especially children who are struggling, whether that’s due to their surroundings or family or physical disability,” Mast continues. “It would allow me to share my love and live compassionately.”

Harrison Horst

Harrison Horst, the other 2014 Yoder Scholar, dreams of being a city planner in an underdeveloped country, where he’d use energy-efficient infrastructure to make the village or town as sustainable as possible.

In his last year at (Lancaster, Pa.), Horst volunteered one afternoon a week at the local Boys and Girls Club, where he helped children create musical instruments from found materials. “Our goal is to teach [them] that music can be made everywhere from anything,” says Horst.

“A lot of the ideas for original, creative instruments came from Internet sources like Pinterest and YouTube. We use lots of buckets; we’re heavy on percussion,” he says.

Horst began making music at a young age, starting with saxophone lessons in the fourth grade. He’s played the sax in every band his school offers, from marching to orchestra to symphonic to jazz, and even organized a new saxophone quartet.

Horst ranked in the 99th percentile nationally on the critical reading and math sections of the SAT, and is a member of the chess team, quiz bowl team and National Honor Society. For his senior research paper he explored the themes of transcendentalism that run through the play “Death of a Salesman.”

When his busy schedule allows, Horst volunteers on Thursday nights at the local food bank and community center, serving hot meals and learning to know his less-fortunate neighbors. He is also the youth representative to the leadership board of .

“I am so excited about the global perspective that runs though EMU. And when you align that with faith and cultural values, it’s where I want to be,” says Horst. He plans to major in environmental sustainability, with a possible music minor. “And I’d like to take as many courses as possible in peacebuilding and global service.”

Perhaps one word could describe something these two Yoder Scholars have in common: “meraki.” It’s an untranslatable Greek word that Mast chose for the title of her blog, meaning “the soul, creativity or love put into something; the essence of yourself that you put into your work.”