The new incarnation of the 草莓社区 (EMU) Royals mascot will make his first appearance Friday, Oct. 16, at 7:30 on Facebook Live during Homecoming weekend. He’s coming to fill some (literally) large shoes left behind by the “sleek blue” Herm that Royals have come to know and love for 22 years.

But the history of Herm begins well before this passing of the torch 鈥� the Herm unveiled this October will be the fifth loyal lion to take to the court, fields, and campus-at-large. Read on to learn how our very own, very loveable Panthera leo came to be.

Many thanks to Ashley Kishorn, field hockey head coach, and Les Helmuth, former alumni relations director, for their contributions to this history.

March 1980 

•  Eastern Mennonite College basketball coach Sherman Eberly ’68 says that he’d like to see “some type of mascot” and an organized pep band next season, which would “add a great deal to team spirit.” Up until now, the Royals logo .

1981  

• Alumni relations director Les Helmuth ’78 holds a student competition to create a cartoon mascot for the Eastern Mennonite College Royals. The Royals Lion wins the competition, and a character design is first drawn by Darrell Yoder ’81 with the name “HRM,” short for “his royal majesty.”

• Gloria Lehman ’74, a home economics teacher at Eastern Mennonite High School, and Helmuth create the first iteration of the Herm costume. Helmuth said he served as the first HRM as “the headgear was intoxicating and I couldn鈥檛 find anyone to wear it.” This first incarnation became known as the “wimpy” lion.

• Rob French ’84 becomes HRM for the next three years. , “there was a disagreement between our cheerleaders and Bridgewater’s. I went over to apologize and they pulled my tail!” 

1984

• HRM is reborn as a professionally made costume with string hair.

1988

• A new and improved “Herm” enters the scene with a mane of blue and white feathers. “That was a flea-bitten old thing,” said Professor Lester Zook. “Every time it would run across the gym, those feathers would fly. It was almost embarrassing.” 

1994

• The athletics department commissions artist Henry Gomez to rebrand Herm, but “its rippling muscles and grimacing expression created controversy in the department,” The Weather Vane .

1995 – 1997

• Herm is mysteriously absent 鈥� gap years, perhaps?

1998

• The “sleek blue lion” Herm, designed by EMU communications staffer Wendell Esbenshade, begins its 22-year reign over EMU’s athletics facilities after appearing on the basketball court. Director of alumni and parent relations Janet Stutzman purchases the new costume on behalf of the alumni club “the Loyal Royals.” 

Fall 2000

• First-year student Rebecca Shimp, as Herm, hands out balloons for the newly-constructed University Commons. “Those big fuzzy feet are hard to manage,” Shimp says.

January 2002

• , who helps throw candy, t-shirts, and water bottles to the crowd at basketball games. Not to be outdone, “I can act stupid and make the crowd laugh,” says Herm.

February 2008

• Herm is named “player of the week” . “Herm can usually be seen dancing on the sidelines, goofing around with a referee, or running up and down the sidelines, all to encourage the fans to cheer on their Royals,” Sunil Dick ’08 wrote.

April 2009

• that Herm is suspended indefinitely for fraternizing with a rival mascot 鈥� the Bridgewater Lady Eagle 鈥� in “late night roller [rink] escapades”

November 2012

• as a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly University by the League of American Bicyclists.

October 2013

• to open the annual ResLife Olympics, in which dormitories compete against one another in “extreme” musical chairs, “Ninja” dodgeball, and soccer. Parkwoods wins this year for the third time in a row.

April 2017

• Herm helps escort EMU’s ninth president, Dr. Susan Schultz Huxman, around campus during her Inauguration Week.

April 2020

• Herm announces his retirement, saying, “my speed and agility are no longer a match for today鈥檚 athletes, and with my limited tech skills I have fallen behind in my abilities to stay 鈥榟ip鈥� with our student body 鈥� I feel the time has come for me to walk away from the Royal throne and pass the torch to the next Loyal Lion in line for EMU.”

October 2020

• Herm the Fifth begins his tenure as the EMU Royals mascot.

EMU provides many opportunities for students to have fun on the weekends.

For those who are adventurous and creative, the Shenandoah Valley holds a number of often over-looked opportunities to experience nature up-close and personal.

A group of EMU students did just that and braved a cloudy and misty morning to take advantage of a wonderful opportunity to go canoeing on the Shenandoah River Saturday.

The adventurers drove about 30 minutes to Elkton, Va., and then spent around four hours on the river with professor and outdoor adventurer, Lester Zook.

They experienced challenges and learned how to navigate through rapids, and how to recognize flow patterns throughout the river.

Although the day started out rainy and damp, the sun came out and the participants all enjoyed the canoe trip. They were able to see some of the local wildlife, learn about canoeing, and enjoy the change of pace in nature.

Junior Amanda Helfrich went on the trip and felt pleased about the result of the trip.

Helfrich, EMU Explore鈥檚 president, said, 鈥淥ur group was smaller, so we got the chance to learn new paddling techniques. And even though there was a variety of experience, everyone seemed to have a great time.鈥�

The mood was cheerful and exciting throughout the day, as the participants were given a chance to have fun while learning in a hands-on environment.

These students were able to participate in this activity through EMU Explore, a club devoted to helping EMU students explore nature through a number of different activities such as hiking, rock climbing, caving, mountain biking, and canoeing.

Helfrich says the club is, 鈥渁 great way to get outside and have fun in a healthy and safe way, and we lead a variety of trips that cater to many different interests and difficulty levels.鈥�

Students are able to sign up for trips and experience these opportunities to learn more about nature in the Harrisonburg area.

鈥淪tudents get to explore a part of the Shenandoah Valley that they may never have seen before鈥rom caving to hiking to a 360 degree view of the valley,鈥� said Helfrich.

Helfrich likes that students who would not usually be drawn together can come and interact through a shared love of nature.

Helfrich says, 鈥淚 really enjoy how Explore trips bring different people from the EMU community together in a way that isn鈥檛 necessarily achieved through class.鈥�

EMU Explore offers opportunities for students to experience the natural world surrounding EMU鈥檚 campus.

鈥淚 hope for future trips we can continue to offer fun鈥攁nd free!鈥攚ays to explore the beautiful land around us and get to know more of the student body through shared interests.鈥�

EMU Explore provides a chance to combine both of these interests into activities scattered throughout the year.

There are plenty of opportunities to adventure through the Shenandoah Valley that has offered EMU students an opportunity for fun and excitement for the past hundred years. EMU Explore gives this year鈥檚 students a chance to take advantage of this wonderful resource.

Malachi Bontrager, Opinion Editor

What is your major? What do you hope to do?

My first degree was in Communications, but this second one is in Environmental Sustainability. The next step is hopefully grad school for a Masters in renewable energy. It鈥檚 a growing field but it is also important for the future that we be responsible with our resources. I was interested especially in the Environmental Sustainability program at EMU because it incorporates social justice and sustainability.

What originally made you choose to come to EMU?

Probably the Mennonite aspect. I went to a Mennonite high school. Originally I was resistant as my parents wanted to send me here, but I appreciated the community and some of my friends from high school were already here. When I visited as a senior I stayed with one of my best friends who was on the track team, and that visit was a lot of it.

I was also recruited for the track team, which probably influenced my decision at the time, although I didn鈥檛 have the success I had hoped for. But after my four years I was happy with my decision, probably for different reasons than I originally came.

What has it been like athletically for you here, especially your unique story of running track, being the interim track coach two different times, and now running cross country?

From the beginning, even from the first time I met (then coaches) Paul Johnson and Lester Zook, I appreciated the community aspect of the teams and also the flexibility that I didn鈥檛 have to dedicate my whole life to athletics. I was able to participate in other activities and didn鈥檛 have to choose between track and singing with the chamber singers or the play. That was one of the most important aspects for me as an athlete, so as a coach I tried to continue that because at EMU there are lots of other opportunities besides athletics.

Now I probably try to be more of a leader than when I was in school before. I never was the most talented person on the team, but I try to work just as hard as everybody else. Cross country is hard to compare to track because of distances, etc., but I鈥檓 definitely having more success this season than when I ran cross country my sophomore year.

What has it been like being a student-athlete while at EMU?

It鈥檚 tough; it鈥檚 been a lot of work, but it鈥檚 very rewarding at the same time. You have to make some sacrifices, but I have learned to budget my time so I have more of a schedule in my day.

What are one or two things you have learned from playing your sport here that you will take with you when you leave?

Especially with cross country I think I鈥檝e learned that everybody can contribute to a team in their own way. Not everybody is a leader and not everybody is going to run 25:00 in an 8k. But when everybody is working hard to get better it makes the whole team better. Work ethic goes a long way. I鈥檓 not the most talented guy on the team but I try to help in whatever way I can.

That鈥檚 one of the reasons I like the sports of cross country and track specifically. It鈥檚 an individual sport but there鈥檚 definitely a team aspect to it. I think that鈥檚 something that Coach Lewkowicz has worked hard to create is that team togetherness.

]]> /now/news/2005/have-feet-will-run-cross-country/ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 04:00:00 +0000 http://www.emu.edu/blog/news/?p=942 Kendra Nissley

By Joe Lemire, Daily News-Record

Kendra Nissley traveled halfway around the world to rediscover her love of the sport she competed in every day back in the United States.

The junior standout at 草莓社区 lived the past year in Germany to fulfill an EMU requirement. While studying in Marsburg, Nissley realized how much she missed running 锟� something she has done competitively since seventh grade 锟� and saw a notice for a half-marathon scheduled for mid-July.

She rather spontaneously decided to begin training.

The Royals锟� top runner as a freshman — she finished 54th in the 2003 NCAA Division III Championships 锟� Nissley missed the competition and found training to run 13 miles to be good inspiration.

"At first, it was hard to figure out my routine, but then last summer I decided to do a half-marathon, and that structured my running a bit more," said Nissley, who was named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Cross Country Runner of the Week on Monday. "I锟絤 more of a competitive runner. I do it just for fun, but I need that goal, too, to work toward."

The experience, she said, was more than she could have expected and not just because she finished in 1 hour, 39 minutes and 5.6 seconds, which was good enough for fifth place among all women and for second in her age group.

"It was the most fun I锟絭e had running, like, ever," she said. "I have fun running cross country, but the race isn锟絫 long enough. For 13 miles, just to be running is the most wonderful thing in the world."

For the first half of Nissely锟絪 year abroad, she spent six months in Heuchlingen, as part of the Brethren Colleges Abroad program. A language aficionado, Nissley is majoring in German but also is working toward a second major in justice, peace and conflict studies.

Following her time in Heuchlingen, Nissely moved to Marburg, where she studied at Philipps University.

She is now back at EMU for her junior year and has quickly readjusted to competitive running, taking first place by more than 13 seconds in this last weekend锟絪 Blue Marlin Invitational at Virginia Wesleyan College.

Royals coach , in his 16th season at EMU, is glad to have her back and knows how important the school锟絪 cross-cultural experiences can be in the education of his runners.

"We don锟絫 have many students who come purely for a sport," Zook said. "There is something larger that EMU is about than just the athletic program. Certainly, athletics is a bait, but they锟絩e going to stay here and be committed if they buy into the bigger picture, which is a Christian education."

Zook then joked that Nissely锟絪 re-debut race has made it easy to forget that she was gone.

"Last year as a coach, I lamented to see her go a whole year away," he said, "and then she comes back and wins her first race, so what do I have to regret?"

Zook added that Nissley锟絪 recent recognition is a nice compliment for his ace runner, but that she still has work to do to reach the elite pack of ODAC runners.

"Interestingly enough, this week we锟絩e using a passage from Philippians 4 [for the team devotion] where the apostle Paul says, 锟絅ot that I锟絭e already obtained perfection, but one thing I do, I keep striving on,锟�" Zook said. "I talked to Kendra just today and said, 锟絋hat verse is remarkably apt for your situation.锟�"

Just as she continues to work on her running, so too is she working on formulating her post-college destination. Though she was enchanted with Germany锟絪 natural and urban beauty, she found it difficult to be away from EMU both athletically and socially.

"It was really hard," she said. "I went back and forth with [the decision to go] constantly. Even when I was there, I second-guessed it. Now that I锟絤 back here, I feel like I锟絭e missed a whole year of my friends锟� lives."

Previously, she had visions of moving to Germany after graduating, but she锟絪 now less sure. Like most college juniors, she锟絪 still not certain what her future plans are.

"Concrete? No," she said with a laugh. "Maybe I锟絣l get my master锟絪 in German."

Or maybe, like the idea of running a half-marathon, a new challenge will come along that she锟絣l just have to train toward.