This startling image characterizing the depth of poverty in the Shenandoah Valley was one of many shared during the recent Interfaith Discussion on Poverty hosted by ˛ÝÝ®ÉçÇř.

Cooper, director of agency relations and programs at the Verona-based non-profit organization, was among approximately 30 representatives of local social service providers who met with national public policy advocates from the and the (CAP). The event was also sponsored by the and .

Virginia Interfaith Center is Virginia’s oldest faith-based advocacy group working for social justice “and strategic change that makes a difference over time,” said Marco Grimaldo, president of the Richmond-based non-profit. The organization is the Virginia affiliate of the Center for American Progress’s campaign, which aims to cut national poverty rates in half in 10 years.

The two organizations had previously collaborated on similar stakeholder discussions in Petersburg and Manassas. The Harrisonburg area, however, has a uniquely diverse population, with a high rate of uninsured and (an accurate indicator of poverty).

“We’re interested in seeing the connections on the ground here in Harrisonburg to federal policy initiatives,” said Erik Stegman, associate director of CAP’s Half in Ten campaign. “We want to know what advocacy is going on at the local levels, what opportunities we have to assist in this advocacy, and how we can knit together these local movements to get these stories out to the media on the national level.”

During the three-hour meeting, several EMU and students received a firsthand look at how public policy advocates network with and support local service providers. Local participants represented a diverse group of community-based programs in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, from health care and housing agencies, immigrant service organizations, community service boards, food banks, and faith-based agencies.

An overview of local issues relevant to the indicators of hunger, healthcare, housing and employment was provided by Cooper, of the Blue Ridge Food Bank; Christopher Nye, of the Harrisonburg Community Health Center; Candy Phillips, executive director of , which offers a variety of services addressing domestic abuse; and EMU professor of social work .ĚýFollowing the presentations, participants broke into focus groups for discussion.

EMU’s partnership in the event derived from a long-term relationship with co-sponsor Harrisonburg Community Health Center, according to professor of nursing .

“The EMU nursing program is known for our holistic and multilevel approach to health that includes individuals, families, groups and communities,” she said. “Understanding factors that influence poverty in the community is essential to the provision of well-targeted and relevant care.”

For students in Hurst’s “Social Work 3” class, listening to the interwoven concerns of local professionals helped to conceptualize the foundational principles of macro and mezzo practice (macro practice typically involves large-scale interventions that can affect large systems, while mezzo practice describes more intermediate work with groups, such as community organizations and schools).

“This is a great discussion for them to be involved in right now. My students are learning about assessing communities and working with other community partners who are engaging with the most vulnerable in our communities,” said Hurst. “Traditionally you think of social work as person-to-person, but there is an aspect of social work that is working to change and improve communities, and to make a difference on the policy level.”

“This event reinforced the importance of coalition building, community needs assessments, and collaboration,” said senior social work major McKenzie Sauder. “When agencies can work together, clients can receive services faster and be linked to resources they are in need of. The importance of research and of listening to others’ perspectives was reinforced.”

Senior Michelle Zook, also preparing for a career in social work, was reminded of “the great importance of knowing the demographics of the area I will be working in and the specific social issues that may be impacting area residents.”

Suggestions that emerged from the small-group discussions included public transportation to remote parts of the county; affordable daycare; subsidies to encourage area farmers to sell locally; increased health literacy initiatives; better access to essential services; and more social workers who can help those in need navigate an increasingly complex health care system.

All of EMU’s ODAC-sponsored sports were represented on the All-Academic Team.Ěý Men’s volleyball competes in the Continental Volleyball Conference and is not eligible for the ODAC team.

The ODAC All-Academic Team eclipsed 1,000 student-athletes for the eighth consecutive year and set a new high-water mark for conference honorees for the fifth year in a row.Ěý With representatives from each of the 17 ODAC institutions (including Catholic University for football only and Greensboro College and Notre Dame of Maryland University for swimming only), 1,558 student-athletes earned recognition on the 2013-14 ODAC All-Academic Team.

Eligibility for the ODAC All-Academic Team is open to any student-athlete that competes in a conference-sponsored sport, regardless of academic class.Ěý He or she must achieve at least a 3.25 grade point average for the year to be considered for an ODAC All-Academic Award.

For more information, visit the ODAC’s home on the Internet atĚý. ĚýDon’t forget to become a fan of the ODAC onĚýĚýand followĚýĚýon Twitter.

The entire list of Royals named to the ODAC All-Academic Team is listed below.ĚýĚý

EMU’s ODAC All-Academic Team
Elizabeth Alderfer – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Kayley Argenbright – Women’s Volleyball
Jordan Aylor – Softball
Becky Barrett – Women’s Basketball
Trey Barrett – Men’s Basketball
Tyler Brenneman – Men’s Soccer
Carol Brinkley – Field Hockey
Jonathan Bush – Men’s Soccer, Track & Field
Lauren Campbell – Softball
McKenna Carter – Women’s Volleyball
Hannah Chappell-Dick – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Robert Cook – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Melissa Cox – Field Hockey
Nicolette Cuevas – Softball
Hannah Daley – Field Hockey
Mary Beth Danaher – Field Hockey
Patty Danaher – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Paige DeBell – Field Hockey
Tyler Denlinger – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Jenessa Derstine – Field Hockey
Erica Detweiler – Women’s Soccer
Katie Eckman – Women’s Cross Country
Mariah Foltz – Softball
Daniel Friesen – Men’s Soccer
Erica Garber – Women’s Track & Field
Carlos Garcia – Men’s Track & Field
Abi Gardner – Field Hockey
Jessica Goertzen – Women’s Volleyball
Naomi Good – Women’s Soccer
Joe Hall – Baseball
Rebecca Hardy – Women’s Volleyball
Derek Harnish – Men’s Soccer
Bethany Hench – Field Hockey
Ryan Henschel – Baseball
Brooke Hensley – Softball
Morgan Hill – Women’s Soccer
Jordan Hollinger – Men’s Soccer
David Hooley – Men’s Soccer
Brendan Jeschke – Men’s Soccer, Track & Field
Viktor Kaltenstein – Men’s Soccer
Brianna Kauffman – Field Hockey
Rachel Kennel – Women’s Volleyball
Louise Krall – Field Hockey
Lanae Kreider – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Jacob Landis – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Jordan Leaman – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Parker Leap – Men’s Soccer
Mollie Lehman – Field Hockey
Jake Lind – Men’s Soccer
Lexi Link – Women’s Volleyball
Mariah Martin – Field Hockey
Tim Martin – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Dilmer Martinez – Men’s Soccer
Mark Mast – Men’s Soccer
Saralyn Mast – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Brad Matthias – Baseball
Brittany McDonaldson – Women’s Golf
Macson McGuigan – Men’s Soccer
Chris Miller – Men’s Track & Field
Katie Miller – Women’s Volleyball
Austin Mumaw – Men’s Soccer
Jonathan Nisly – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Ian Norris – Baseball
Nora Osei – Women’s Soccer, Women’s Basketball
Jolee Paden – Women’s Cross Country
Jesse Parker – Men’s Cross Country
Hannah Patterson – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Dylan Polley – Men’s Soccer
Alicia Poplett – Women’s Soccer
D Probst – Women’s Volleyball
Casey Racer – Softball
Jess Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Steph Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Krista Rittenhouse – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Kyle Salladay – Baseball
Juni Schirch – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Caleb Schlabach – Men’s Golf
Chanel Shands – Women’s Basketball
Jacob Shank – Men’s Soccer
Kayla Smeltzer – Women’s Volleyball
Molly Smith – Softball
Nicole Smith – Softball
Ashten Spencer – Women’s Soccer
Mandy Stowers – Field Hockey
Ryan Thomas – Men’s Soccer
Shannan Thompson – Women’s Basketball
John Toney – Men’s Golf
Londen Wheeler – Men’s Track & Field
Camille Williams – Field Hockey
Alex Wynn – Men’s Track & Field
Bianca Ygarza – Women’s Basketball
Alena Yoder – Women’s Volleyball
Andrew Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Chris Yoder – Men’s Basketball
Michelle Zook – Field Hockey
Marla zumFelde – Women’s Basketball

Sophomore (Mountville, Pa./Hempfield) had a big hand in the victory, as she charted her first career hat trick. The midfielder scored the game’s first goal just 5:35 in, then added a second unassisted score in the 33rd minute.

The Royals earned a penalty corner just before the half and scored in stoppage time to lead 3-0 at the break.Ěý (Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock) caged the goal with an assist from (Chester, Va./Thomas Dale).

In the 42nd minute, Derstine set up (Allensville, Pa./Belleville Mennonite). Then Brinkley picked up her second helper in the 50th minute, as Cox scored for her hat trick.

Virginia Wesleyan got their goals in the 57th and 64th minutes, but it was far too late to dig out of the hole.

(Matoaca, Va./Matoaca) made 10 saves between the pipes.Ěý (Powhatan, Va./Powhatan) and (Media, Pa./Delaware County Christian) each notched a defensive save.

The Royals are now 4-3 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and are fifth heading into their regular season finale at first-place Lynchburg on Wednesday. The win pushes the women two full games ahead of Washington and Lee, which is sixth. Bridgewater is a half-game ahead of EMU at 4-2, while Shenandoah is 5-2. Both teams hold tie-breakers over the women, meaning the Royals will likely be playing as the fifth seed in the ODAC Tournament, which starts next Saturday.

All of EMU’s ODAC-sponsored sports were represented on the All-Academic Team.Ěý Men’s volleyball competes in the Continental Volleyball Conference and is not eligible for the ODAC team.

The ODAC All-Academic Team eclipsed 1,000 student-athletes for the seventh consecutive year and set a new high-water mark for conference honorees for the fourth year in a row.Ěý With representatives from each of the 17 ODAC institutions (including Catholic University for football only and Greensboro College and Notre Dame of Maryland University for swimming only), 1,459 student-athletes earned recognition on the 2012-13 ODAC All-Academic Team.

Eligibility for the ODAC All-Academic Team is open to any student-athlete that competes in a conference-sponsored sport, regardless of academic class.Ěý He or she must achieve at least a 3.25 grade point average for the year to be considered for an ODAC All-Academic Award.

The entire list of Royals named to the ODAC All-Academic Team is listed below.

Nels Akerson – Cross Country, Track & Field
Elizabeth Alderfer – Cross Country, Track & Field
Sonja Anderson – Field Hockey
Kayley Argenbright – Women’s Basketball
Trey Barrett – Men’s Basketball
Ruthie Beck – Softball
Jennifer Blankenship – Women’s Basketball
Jessica Blanks – Field Hockey
Carol Brinkley – Field Hockey
Jonathan Bush – Men’s Soccer, Track & Field
Hannah Chappell-Dick – Cross Country, Track & Field
Hannah Clemmer – Cross Country, Track & Field
Melissa Cox – Field Hockey
Nicolette Cuevas – Softball
Mary Beth Danaher – Field Hockey
Patty Danaher – Cross Country, Track & Field
Jenessa Derstine – Field Hockey
Alli Eanes – Cross Country, Track & Field
Katie Eckman – Cross Country
Ryan Eshleman – Men’s Soccer
Jonathan Estrada – Baseball
Daniel Friesen – Men’s Soccer
Chantelle Garber – Field Hockey
Jessica Goertzen – Women’s Volleyball
Naomi Good – Women’s Soccer
Patrick Graber – Cross Country, Track & Field
Derek Harnish – Men’s Soccer
Bethany Hench – Field Hockey
Ryan Henschel – Baseball
Brooke Hensley – Softball
Jordan Hollinger – Men’s Soccer
David Hooley – Men’s Soccer
Holly Jensen – Women’s Soccer
Brianna Kauffman – Field Hockey
Janna Kaufman – Women’s Soccer
Rachel Kennel – Women’s Volleyball
Lanae Kreider – Cross Country, Track & Field
Jonathan Leaman – Men’s Golf
Parker Leap – Men’s Soccer
Mattie Lehman – Women’s Volleyball
Mollie Lehman – Field Hockey
Rachel Lehman – Women’s Volleyball
Lexi Link – Women’s Volleyball
Owen Longacre – Men’s Basketball
Karla Martin – Women’s Volleyball
Katie Martin – Women’s Volleyball
Phillip Martin – Track & Field
Ian Mast – Men’s Soccer
Mark Mast – Men’s Soccer
Saralyn Mast – Cross Country, Track & Field
Brittany McDonaldson – Women’s Golf
Thomas Millary – Cross Country
Katie Miller – Women’s Volleyball
Michelle Miller – Women’s Volleyball
Kaitlyn Morris – Softball
Austin Mumaw – Men’s Soccer
Joel Murray – Men’s Golf
Dan Nafziger – Cross Country, Track & Field
Jolee Paden – Cross Country, Track & Field
Jesse Parker – Cross Country, Track & Field
Hannah Patterson – Track & Field
Alicia Poplett – Women’s Soccer
Jess Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Steph Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Sara Ritchie – Women’s Volleyball
Krista Rittenhouse – Cross Country, Track & Field
Adriana Santiago – Field Hockey
Meghan Schaefer – Cross Country
Juni Schirch – Cross Country, Track & Field
Jacob Shank – Men’s Soccer
Aaron Sloan – Track & Field
Kayla Smeltzer – Women’s Volleyball
Aaron Springer – Cross Country, Track & Field
Andre Swartzentruber – Men’s Golf
John Toney – Men’s Golf
Alena Yoder – Women’s Volleyball
Andrew Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Kegan Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Tyler Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Michelle Zook – Field Hockey

Each of EMU’s sports was represented on the ODAC All-Academic Team except for men’s volleyball, which competes in the Continental Volleyball Conference.Ěý The CVC will also release an all-academic team later this summer.

The full ODAC All-Academic Team eclipsed 1,000 student-athletes for the sixth consecutive year and set a new high-water mark for conference honorees for the third year in a row.Ěý With representatives from each of the 17 ODAC institutions (including Catholic University for football only, Greensboro College and Notre Dame of Maryland University for swimming only, and Shenandoah University for field hockey and track & field only), 1,350 student-athletes earned recognition on the 2011-12 ODAC All-Academic Team.

Eligibility for the ODAC All-Academic Team is open to any student-athlete that competes in a conference-sponsored sport, regardless of academic class.Ěý He or she must achieve at least a 3.25 grade point average for the year to be considered for an ODAC All-Academic Award.

For more information, visit the ODAC’s home on the Internet atĚý. ĚýDon’t forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook (clickĚý) and followĚýĚýon Twitter.

The entire list of Royals named to the ODAC All-Academic Team is listed below.Ěý to see the full list of the ODAC All-Academic Team.

Nels Akerson – Cross Country
Elizabeth Alderfer – Cross Country
Laura Beckler – Women’s Soccer
Bradley Billings – Baseball
Jennifer Blankenship – Women’s Basketball
Rachel Breeden – Softball
Carol Brinkley – Field Hockey
Bethany Crouse – Women’s Soccer
Mary Beth Danaher – Field Hockey
Jenessa Derstine – Field Hockey
Erica Detweiler – Women’s Soccer
Allison Eanes – Cross Country
Katie Eckman – Cross Country
Ryan Eshleman – Men’s Soccer
Jonathan Estrada – Baseball
Daniel Friesen – Men’s Soccer
Lynae Fry – Women’s Volleyball
Jessica Goertzen – Women’s Volleyball
Naomi Good – Women’s Soccer
Bethany Hench – Field Hockey
Brooke Hensley – Softball
Jordan Hollinger – Men’s Soccer
David Hooley – Men’s Soccer
Phillip Jordan – Baseball
Rachel Kennel – Women’s Soccer
Justin King – Baseball
Lanae Kreider – Women’s Soccer
Valerie Landis – Field Hockey
Mattie Lehman – Women’s Volleyball, Softball
Owen Longacre – Men’s Basketball
Jenna Longenecker – Field Hockey
Becca Longenecker – Field Hockey
Mark Mast – Men’s Soccer
Thomas Millary – Cross Country, Track & Field
Michelle Miller – Women’s Soccer
Katarina Napfel – Softball
Peter Nelson – Cross Country
Cara Paden – Women’s Soccer, Track & Field
Jesse Parker – Cross Country, Track & Field
Stephanie Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Andy Richter – Baseball
Sara Ritchie – Women’s Volleyball
Bryce Shank – Men’s Soccer
Jacob Shank – Men’s Soccer
Amber Shelly – Women’s Soccer
Aaron Sloan – Track & Field
Kayla Smeltzer – Women’s Volleyball
Raquel Stoltzfus – Women’s Soccer
Scotty Tiosso – Men’s Soccer
Jon Trice – Baseball
Keri Weaver – Cross Country
Kori Wenger – Women’s Soccer
Taylor Wenger – Women’s Soccer
Camille Williams – Field Hockey
Roberto Wingfield – Cross Country
Bianca Ygarza – Women’s Basketball
Andrew Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Marla Young – Women’s Basketball
Kelsey Zook – Women’s Soccer
Michelle Zook – Field Hockey
Marla zumFelde – Women’s Basketball

The Lady Royals controlled the first 35 minutes and took an early lead on their home field just 11:11 in.Ěý The speedy Derstine dribbled to the goal line and centered a pass which Santiago sent home to put EMU up 1-0.

The women nearly added a second goal late in the half, but (Telford, PA/Souderton) had a shot from a corner come out off the post, and a minute later she flipped a backside one-timer just wide.

Bridgewater regrouped and earned a corner as time expired in the half.Ěý Joan Burleson drilled the long shot off the corner to tie the game at 1-1 at the break.

Santiago helped the women take the lead back just 2:44 into the second as she dribbled up the right side and sent a cross to a wide open (Allensville, PA/Belleville Mennonite) for an easy goal.Ěý But the Eagles had a quick answer, getting a score from Jennifer Bateman less than two minutes later to tie it up again.

The Lady Royals continued to have an advantage on the field, but the game stayed precariously tied.

Bridgewater nearly broke through, but (Matoaca, VA/Matoaca) made a great save on a breakaway with nine minutes left. On the resulting corner, EMU dodged another bullet when a shot from outside of the circle hit the cage, but no one touched it along the way.

The women earned a handful of corners in the final minutes, but couldn’t make one stick and the game went into seven-on-seven extra time.

Overtime was full of excitement as both goalies made great saves.Ěý Bencsik hit another shot of the post before Derstine found Santiago for the game winner, giving EMU its second consecutive ODAC Quarterfinal win over the Eagles.Ěý The women beat BC 2-1 in the same round last fall.

Also like last year, the Lady Royals (10-10)Ěýadvance to the semifinals to take on top-seeded Lynchburg on Wednesday.Ěý The Hornets, ranked No. 3 in the Kookaburra/NFHCA national poll, have won five straight ODAC titles.

The Lady Royals had a 25-12 edge in shots, including 6-3 in the overtime period.Ěý Danaher finished with five saves.

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