The spring semester of 2020 will go down in history at Dordt University as the “quiet semester.” Since 5 p.m. on March 5 when we began our spring break, the campus has been eerily quiet—devoid of the usual hustle and bustle of teaching, learning, and living that enlivens this place. This week, a good friend mentioned to me that organizational …
Farmer Joe the Illustrator
If he didn’t know the unique hazards of that particular day on the farm calendar, he should have. It was the day of sorting cattle, and any farm kid should know that the worst days of the year to screw up are those days. But screw up he did. Big time. He drove the pickup smack into the side of …
Visser Helps People Overcome, Learn, and Make Changes
Looking back, Dr. Stanton Visser (’70) can see how God orchestrated moments in his life that prepared him for each new step or hurdle he tackled. Visser spent more than 35 years working as a counselor at Creative Living, a Christian counseling center in Rock Valley, Iowa, that he and two friends started as a part-time endeavor back in 1978. …
Being Dordt during COVID-19
When Dordt students and faculty left for spring break on March 6, they planned to come back to campus to finish off the spring semester. Because of COVID-19, a coronavirus that caused a worldwide pandemic of respiratory illness, those plans changed. On March 12, Dordt announced that spring break would be extended by a week and that classes would be …
Du Mez Brings Energy to Engineering
“I have always been interested in how things worked,” says Kate Du Mez (’10). As a child, Du Mez spent her free time building or fixing things; in school she particularly enjoyed her math and physics classes. “When I was preparing for college, engineering seemed like it could be a good fit with how my brain works.” Deciding on a …
Going Virtual with Dordt’s Commencement Ceremony
During the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic, Dordt administration made the difficult decision to host a virtual commencement ceremony instead of an in-person one. “We wanted to provide students and families with a meaningful experience that honors students’ achievements as graduates, even if we could not hold an in-person event in May,” say Brandon Huisman (’10), vice president for enrollment and marketing. …
Chemistry Majors Set Sights on Graduate School
Of the seven chemistry majors who graduated from Dordt University this year, five are heading to graduate school in the fall. Marcus Van Engen will attend graduate school in Pittsburgh to study organic chemistry. Abbey Bos is headed to Iowa State University for veterinary school. Evangeline Colarossi will earn a master’s degree in material science engineering at Colorado State University. …
Three Sells Award Recipients in 10 Years
Before he started studying for the CPA exam, Jacob Westra (’19) set a goal to pass all of the exams on the first try. Approximately 50 percent of those who take the CPA exam pass on the first attempt. It turns out Westra had nothing to worry about. Not only did Westra pass all the exams, he qualified for and …
We are Living Loved
Last summer, Kade Krosschell missed a flight. This wouldn’t have been a big deal, except that all the other flights to his destination were booked for the day, so he and his colleagues ended up having to fly to a different city and then make an hour-long drive to get to a meeting. “I was on the wrong plane, at …
The Hope Fund
Tyler Postma had an abrupt end to his senior year at Dordt University. In March, he traveled back to his hometown of Abbotsford, British Columbia, and spent the rest of the spring semester working on online classes to finish up his business degree. In April, he learned that he’d be getting a billing adjustment for partial room and board credits …