Team Habitat Erica Sears · 2019. 9. 16. · February 2011 Volume 10, Issue 2 Intellectual Inquirer The Habitat for Humanity Fall Break Trip was one of the best experiences I’ve

Team Habitat Erica Sears

Inside this issue:

President’s Message

Calendar of Events

2

7

Faculty Spotlight:

Dr. Terry Lindvall

2

Senior Spotlights:

JC Caldwell

Kristen Duncan

Dana Lynch

Dennen Miner

Henna Nadeem

Caitlyn Worner

4

4

4

3

5

6

Feature Articles:

Team Habitat

Winter in Berlin

Roman Immersion

Acting Bizarre?.

1-2

3

6

7

H O N O R S & S C H O L A R S A S S O C A T I O N

February 2011

Volume 10, Issue 2

Intellectual Inquirer

The Habitat for Humanity Fall Break Trip

was one of the best experiences I’ve had at

VWC thus far.

With our alarms set at a time before the

sun even rises, we boarded the bus and

headed for Diane Hotaling’s house for a

wonderful breakfast and a last minute pep

talk. On the first day we went straight to

the construction site where we were

greeted by contractors Doug and Glen.

They held a funny expression of, “are you

kidding me?,” when we, ALL NINE

GIRLS, approached them (our sole guy in

the group had not yet arrived). In my

opinion this was our most difficult day.

Although our tasks were simple, mixing

mortar and laying concrete blocks, we

found ourselves battling nature. Let’s just

say eating lunch in the rain was the least

of our problems. Being that we were out-

side surrounded by forest, there were tons

of bugs and an invasion of mosquitoes.

YIKES! I’m sure that we each left that day

with multiple mosquito bites, some of us

more than others.

During the time of the trip we stayed at a

church close to our construction sites. The

church family was extremely hospitable.

They provided us with a wonderful buffet

style dinner and welcomed us to any left-

overs in the kitchen. The next two days we

worked on a house that was pretty much

complete. This house was the same size as

the foundation of the house on the first

day. Honestly, it was nice being inside

and protected from the elements. After a

short tour of the house we went straight to

work. We installed

doors, painted walls,

worked in the crawl

space, painted more

walls, moved cabinetry,

and did I mentioned we

painted walls. . . . A lot!

Unfortunately, we didn’t

meet the family who

would be living in the

house, but we worked with

a student whose family lived in a Habitat

for Humanity house. She gladly shared

her experience with the organization.

Aside from working on the houses, we

had the opportunity to meet the people

behind the Habitat for Humanity scenes.

We also learned about the early years of

the organization and how Habitat selects

(Continued on page 2)

Page 2

Volume 10, Issue 2

families who would receive these

homes. As gifts of appreciation, we

received pens, t-shirts, and a

bumper sticker (which one of our

team members was very excited

about). I think that we all worked

really well as a team. We had a great

team leader, Maura Bradley, who

worked just as hard as the rest of us

and still managed to keep us all on

task. Our group was just the right

size. It was large enough to even out

the workload, but small enough for

us to make new friends. Overall, I

enjoyed my Habitat for Humanity

experience and I look forward to

another one.

(Continued from page 1)

Scholars,

Spring semester is upon us, and it affords us scholars three

more months to pursue our studies, complete volunteer

work, and achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. I

hope that last semester ended well, that your holidays were enjoyable, and

that you are now ready to not only be back, but to try to accomplish more

this semester than you thought possible. While many are still getting into

the swing of things, I would just like to wish you all the best in your en-

deavors this semester. As members of the Honors & Scholars Association, it

is our job to be leaders on this campus. Stay involved and keep busy! Spring

will be here before we know it and then many of you, including myself, will

be graduating. Whether this is your last semester of the year or the last se-

mester of your college career, take advantage of all the experiences offered

to you, and in all of your undertakings, aim for success. Good luck scholars!

Maura Bradley ‘11

President’s Message

Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Terry Lindvall

Lindvall practices the adage “early bed, early to rise” by waking at 5 am with lights out at 9 pm each day. In a typical day, Dr. Lindvall teaches a wide range of courses in his attempt “to try to stamp out invincible ignorance and have a jolly time interacting with students.” In his Religion and Literature course, he ex-plores tropes and metaphors and themes between the Bible and Western Litera-ture, from Boccaccio and Chaucer to Tolstoi and Flannery O'Connor. He ends his school day with a lively and ani-mated class on The Art of Animation, interpreting the social and cultural con-text of historical cartoon parables and contemporary animated films, from Canada, Estonia, and Great Britain. Lindvall believes H&S students are a sheer pleasure to serve and mentor. He has found them eager and curious and full of intellectual bounce. VWC's H&S students are superb athletes of the mind and soul and I celebrate their prospec-tive futures.

Lindvall makes time with family (and ACC basketball) a priority, by having dinner with his wife Karen and high school junior daughter Caroline, while

chatting up his son, Chris, a second year Media Studies major at UVa. He is also a true scholar who begins and often ends his day with writing, research and read-ing. At present I am engaged in a pro-ject exploring In the Seat of Scoffers: A Religious History of Satire from the He-brew Prophets to Stephen Colbert that I hope to get published in about two years. His Sanctuary Cinema book (NYU Press) was released this month in paper-back, and its sequel, Celluloid Sermons: The Emergence of the Christian Film Indus-try will be published (hardback) by New York University Press in August of this year.

As a prolific reader, Lindvall has many favorite quotes, including the apostle Paul from his epistle to the Philippians, "rejoice in the Lord always, and again, I say rejoice" or Flannery O'Connor's "Only if we are secure in our beliefs can we see the comical side of the universe." or, in a mischievous and unintended application, John Wesley's "he that plays when he is a child will play when he is a man." Mostly though, I remember Sam-uel Johnson's aphorism: "The size of a man's understanding might be justly measured by his mirth."

Born in Basel, Switzerland, Dr. Terry Lindvall exemplifies the liberal arts. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Biology and Literature from a small undergraduate Christian college, Vanguard University, in Orange County California. Lindvall continued his education, delving into a Masters in Divinity in Greek, Hebrew, and theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasa-dena followed by his immersion into Communication Arts and Sciences in pursuit of his PhD at the University of Southern California. Lindvall wrote his dissertation on Communication Theory of British author C. S. Lewis.

Lindvall joined the faculty at VWC five years ago after teaching at the College of William and Mary, Duke University School of Divinity, and Regent Univer-sity, all while living in Virginia Beach (he married a VB native and couldn't leave). Fortunately, he found a wonder-ful community here and particularly appreciates the community of scholars and students, with a fresh diversity for exploring ideas across different disci-plines. Lindvall stated “The people with whom I work are sterling, not only bright, but fun and delightful.”

Professor of Communications & Religious Studies

CS Lewis Chair of Communication & Christian Thought

Page 3


Senior Spotlight: Dennen Miner

Favorite course:

Dr. Bob Albertson’s Internship Prep course. I learned about who I am and what I want in not just a work envi-ronment, but in life.

Favorite Quote:

“Never say never.”

Professor who inspired you:

Elaine Dessouki, my advisor, has been there with me through thick and thin over the past 4 years. She taught me to always be flexible through just who she is and how she works. Just seeing how many students love her and how well she gets along with everyone is a great lesson in the merits of being willing to be flexible.

Advice to H&S underclassmen:

If you erase the words “can’t” and “won’t” from your vocabulary, you’ll find out how much you really can do in life.

Hometown: Virginia Beach, VA

Major: Business: Administration

Minor: History

What attracted you to VWC:

Close to home and small enough that I wouldn’t get lost in the crowd.

Best memory from VWC:

The 13 days in Berlin in WS 2011 with Dr. Sewell —what an amazing trip!

What you do for fun:

Weight lift, video games, and watch football (Go Giants!)

Future plans:

Law school

Winter in Berlin Rebecca Driscoll

include what parts of Germany’s history should be re-membered and how should they be represented. With such a controversial past, these are incredibly difficult questions to answer. It seemed as though every place we went, there were reminders of the Holocaust and the Berlin Wall. Does such an abundance of monuments create feelings of indifference in the people who walk past them daily, or do all of these reminders reopen scars in Berliners’ memories and make it impossible to move on from Germany’s past?

Ideally, remembering rather than ignoring or forgetting helps a nation heal. It seems too soon to say whether this will be the case with Berlin; even now, Germans feel uncomfortable with showing national pride and dis-playing their flag. For two weeks, we struggled with what is appropriate for Germany to remember and whether the ways they have chosen to represent their past are the best. At the same time, however, we were able to enjoy ourselves and return home at the end of the trip. When Berliners, and Germans in general, grapple with these questions, they are deciding how to define them-selves. This struggle with their identity is ultimately what makes Berlin unlike most places in Europe, and it will be interesting to see how they the city and its people continue to change in the years to come.

This Winter Session, Dr. Sara Sewell and four students, myself included, found ourselves not having class in a classroom but on the streets of Berlin, Germany. For twelve days, we experienced Berlin’s history by visiting monuments and museums, churches and palaces, and by immersing ourselves in the city’s culture. As we dis-covered, Berlin is an ever-changing city. Buildings are constantly being torn down while others are erected, new monuments arise, old places destroyed by World War II air raids are reconstructed, street names are changed, and sites reflecting violent and controversial portions of Germany’s history have been removed.

So why go to Berlin for Winter Session? In part because of the constant transformation that has and still is taking place there. Berlin is unique in ways that no other city can be. Still fairly young, it lacks traditional medieval buildings that one expects to find in Europe. Instead, it is chockfull of sites from more recent periods, especially this past century. In one hundred years, Germany—with Berlin in the center of the activity—experienced devastating air raids during the World Wars, the rise and eventual fall of Adolf Hitler and Nazism, a combi-nation of capitalism and Communism that mixed like oil and water, the construction of the Berlin Wall, and fi-nally the tearing down of the Wall and the attempt to reunite a separated peoples, which is still something of a problem even today.

The main questions that Berliners face on a regular basis and that we tried to answer ourselves while on the trip

Page 4

Volume 10, Issue 2

Senior Spotlight: Kristen Duncan

Favorite course:

Extreme Religion. It covered a broad range of interesting topics. Also, the required reading was intriguing and I enjoyed how Dr. Wansink included other media forms to enhance the overall learning experience.


Dr. Craig Wansink—he is a full-time minister and a full-time professor. Having worked in a church for 2 years part-time, I know how draining it is and how stressful it can be. On top of that, he brings the material to life and

makes things, which would otherwise be dull, interesting.

Favorite Quote:

“For I know the plan I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” –Jeremiah 29:11


Stay on top of your reading and make sure you space out your honors courses. Listen to the advice of your professors, including the advice that is not directly related to the course which you are taking .


Major: Religious Studies


Small school close to home


Going to Cirque du Soleil with the Honors & Scholars Program


Play sports and play the Wii.

Future plans:

Attending Seminary and getting a job at a church as a Minister of Education and Spiritual Formation .

Favorite Quote:

“Even a happy lfe cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word, ‘happy,’ would lose its meaning ifit were not balanced by sadness. It is far better to take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.” –Carl Jung


Don't spend all your time working on homework and projects. Get out there. Walk across campus and find your friends, spend the evening with them. Having a lot of clubs on your resume is meaningless if you don't have memories of fun times with those groups. Taste college's social life, not just it's academic life.

Senior Spotlight: Dana Lynch


I like visiting the museum and eating at local restaurants.

Favorite course:

Music and Art History in Western Civilization because we explored the artists and composers in creative ways. There was never just a lecture in that class.


Professor Timmons inspired me in my writing. Though I only took two classes with him, his attention to detail

and his method in writing has always stuck with me. He truly loves his sub-ject, and the passion that he has is shown through his teaching.

Favorite Quote:

“You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” –A.A. Milne


Work hard. Success isn't just going to magically fall into your lap. And when you do succeed, stay humble. Being cocky is the quickest way to lose focus.

Hometown: Fayetteville, NC

Major: English & Teacher Certification


VWC community acts like a family. My professors look out for me. There is a sense of camaraderie between the students.


Spring Fling 2008

Future plans:

To become a middle or high school English teacher, and to go to graduate school within the next few years

Senior Spotlight: JC Caldwell

Favorite course:

Social Problmes with Dr. Dor-ton. I had a really good time in discussions in that class and had my eyes opened to a lot of things about our country and

world. Also Pate’s Haunted Self—I have three words “House of Leaves.”


Drs. Malone & Shedd—both of them are experts in their fields and have offered up their experiences, but are also approachable and welcoming on personal levels. After taking their classes and working with them in pro-ductions, I can call them friends, as well as advisors.

Hometown: Chesapeake, VA

Major: Music

Minor: Theatre


How friendly everyone was


Airband 2010—watching my sisters get second place and hanging out with alumni friends afterwards.


Read, listen to music, play computer games

Future plans:

Peace Corps—either Central America or Subsaharan Africa—at this second, it is still up in the air!

Page 5


Senior Spotlight: Henna Nadeem

was a great course taught by the now retired Dr. Frank. That course gave me insight on the many ways families raise a child in different environments.


Dr. Liverman has been the greatest inspiration to me. His background in the CJ field is amazing and that makes him such a wonderful teacher. When he teaches, he speaks from experience and that is the best thing any student can ask for when majoring the CJ Field.

Favorite Quote:

“Always keep the faith.”


Honestly when it comes to advice I really don't know what to say, so I'll just speak form my experiences.

When you are a college student, eating out depletes the wallet. Seriously, ramen is the way to go.

The professors here, especially the ones I've had, want you to succeed. I know this because they have done so much to help me. I know this has been preached numerous times, but do not wait until the last minute to finish assignments. Use the help of-fered here at VWC - seriously it is FREE!!! I cannot emphasize this enough, Use the writing center. They are there to help you and I personally have done well because those wonder-ful individuals. When professors tell you to read I know we blow it off, but I am not joking some professors will want chapters read and some profes-sors will kick you out of their lecture if you have not read. Which brings me to another point, try not to be

late. Once again, some professors have a policy, if you are not on time you will be locked out. I know for college students, it is waking up at the crack of noon, (I know I'm one of them) but try to be on time.

When it comes to money, apply for scholarships early. Keep on top of application dates, trust me it is well worth it. Many scholarships want essays, and once again the Writing Center helps tremendously. Even if you are wonderful at writing, it does-n't hurt to have an extra pair of (professional, usually a Master's de-gree) eyes to double check. I have met some wonderful people and have had phenomenal professors.

Just as a side note most of my time is spent at the OIP office, the best people hang out there. You cannot graduate without meeting the Ms. Lena, her office has snacks, coffee, exotic de-lights from all over the world, and Ms. Lena is such a delight!

I do not want to leave out the Career Services Center. Please visit there just once and see what they can do to help. They deal with scholarships, resumes, career panels, internships, externships, anything to help you in-crease of getting a job in the future.

If you get anything from my advice know that I know that these tough economical times have taken a toll on the job market but know that keeping your grades up opens up more chances for you. Know that I have loved my time at VWC, and I hope you will too

Hometown: Somerville, NJ

Major: Criminal Justice


Individual attention, student to pro-fessor ratio of 13:1, and it is 7 minutes from my house.


I have made life-long friends and we have laughed so much that it has added years to my life. The best memories I have are all with my friends.

Air Band 2011 was fantastic, many of my friends participated. I hope the DVD comes out soon!


Hang out with my friends and just chill.

Future plans:

At this point, graduating with Honors and finding a job after graduation. In the future I would like to be estab-lished in my CJ career enough so that I have security (if there is such a thing) and hopefully find something that I love so much that I cannot wait to get back to work. Also have enough money so that I can travel to far off and exotic places, like China, Rome and Florida.

Favorite course:

Applied Criminal Profiling because it taught you the fundamentals on how to get into the criminal mind.

Criminal Law because I now have a better understanding of legal termi-nology so that I am not lost when they use those words on my crime dramas.

Child Development Across Cultures

Present your research on campus at during the Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium or off campus

at the VCHC Spring Conference.

Roman Immersion Caitlyn Worner

hour supermarkets and convenience stores. We prefer to

live by deadlines and set schedules. I feel comfortable

saying that the majority of Italians I interacted with were

the polar opposites. They take their time with things and

are rarely in a hurry to accomplish anything, even in the

big city of Rome. My instructors were frequently, if not

always, late to class. The deadlines for

assignments were not only flexible, but

negotiable. I never felt any sense of ur-

gency to complete anything, which,

fortunately, was not a habit that stuck

with me once I left Rome. The Italian

people I met, particularly the Romans,

live a completely different lifestyle than

the kind we are familiar with in the U.S. It is a leisurely

type of lifestyle that, presumably, does not encourage

labor after 8 p.m.

More importantly, my professor explained that Italians

are very traditional, and place a huge emphasis on

spending time with their families, and thus the work day

ends much earlier than it does in America. It also gives

them ample time to prepare and enjoy dinner with their

family. I can’t argue with that.

Although I grew accustomed to running errands in the

afternoon and doing my grocery shopping in the morn-

ing, the time I spent in Rome made me appreciate my

routine at home. I don’t find my lifestyle superior to that

of anyone else; I just prefer the fast-paced, deadline-

influenced routine that I have grown up around. But if I

ever need to relax and slow down for a while, I know

exactly where to go.

G.K. Chesterton once said “the whole object of travel is

not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on

one's own country as a foreign land.” In my opinion,

there is no better way to fulfill such a concept than to

spend a semester abroad. I chose to spend my spring

semester last year studying at John Cabot University in

Rome, Italy.

To say that my time in Rome was a

life-changing experience would be

cliché, but also an understatement.

My roommates that John Cabot

picked were incredible and made my

transition from American to Roman

life practically painless. The fact that

I only knew one word in Italian at the beginning of the

semester proved to be the most difficult part of the ad-

justment. In hindsight I probably should have taken an

Italian language class while at JCU, but I chose electives

that fit more with my communications major, including

an Italian film class. Fortunately, I did eventually learn

how to confidently order two of the Italian necessities at

restaurants: pizza and coffee.

My first real taste of Italian culture hit me like a bag of

bricks. It was during my second night in Rome that I

ventured to the local grocery store only to discover that

it closed at 8 p.m. I learned later from a professor that it

is rare to see a store or market open after 8 p.m. in the

city, and businesses close even earlier in the suburbs.

I think Americans are typically impatient; as a culture we

don’t like to wait for much. We are accustomed to 24-

Page 6

Volume 10, Issue 2

“The whole object of travel is not to

set foot on foreign land; it is at last to

set foot on one’s own country as a

foreign land.”

~G.K. Chesterton

Senior Spotlight: Caitlyn Worner

have 3 more to go!

Future plans:

I plan to attend graduate school, and eventually I want to work for a travel magazine or television network.

Favorite course:

Extreme Religion with Dr. Wansink — it was the most fun I’ve ever had in a course!

Favorite Quote:

“Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.” –Ralph Emerson


Dr. Lindvall has been a person I have looked to for support (and laughs) throughout my college career. He has given me scholarly as well as practical knowledge, and he offered words of encouragement at times when I needed them most.


College goes by so fast! Make the most of your time at VWC, and if a unique opportunity presents itself, such as studying broad or joining a new club, take advantage of it!


Majors: Communications

Religious Studies


Small campus and student body


The three years I spent running Cross Country and Track for VWC are the source of my best memories.


I love to travel! My goal is to reach 22 countries before I turn 22 years old. I

Virginia Wesleyan College 1584 Wesleyan Drive Norfolk, VA 23502 ww2.vwc.edu/academics/honors-a-scholars

Phone: 757-455-2126 Maura Bradley, President: [email protected] Dr. Easter, Director: [email protected]

H O N O R S & S C H O L A R S A S S O C A T I O N

Mark Your Calendars: Spring 2011 Honors & Scholars Co-curricular Events

The Last 5 Yeers —Virginia Stage Co. Thursday, March 10 8:00 pm Wells Theatre, Norfolk

Madama Butterfly—Viriginia Opera Wednesday, March 23 7:30 pm Harrison Opera House, Norfolk

VCHC Honors Conference Friday, April 8—Saturday, April 9 Marymount University

Fully Charges, Ringling Bros. Circus Friday, April 15 7:30 pm Scope Arena, Norfolk

Honors & Scholars Spring Banquet Monday, April 18 6:00 pm Shafer Room, VWC

Norfolk Tides vs. Durham Bulls Sunday, April 24 1:15 pm Harbor Park, Norfolk

Acting is a big responsibility because you take on a lot.

But, when you are in it and you are in it for the right

reasons, the work you can produce is boundless. I have

a new found love for acting because I love telling stories

that I feel are relevant, especially when acting those out

as honest as possible. I have respect for the process of

building a character, giving attention to detail and doing

the proper research for artistic pieces. It is a fascinating

way to express the self, with no limits and never ending

challenges. I have recently

added Theater as a minor

along with my major in Health

and Human Services and my

ideal achievement is to one

day be an actress portraying

the lives of refugees.

The world of acting is bizarre. I use the word bizarre,

without a negative connotation because you never know

what to expect, even in a day’s work. I spent the majority

of the Fall semester trying to create my own version of

the characters I chose in Dr. Malone’s honors acting class.

I spent hours trying to understand the different mentali-

ties my characters possessed and trying to captivate the

essential techniques of a good actor.

Dr. Malone’s Honors Acting course came as a strong

challenge for me. I have always felt that if I am not the

right person to do something then I simply will not do it

because I have no desire to step forward to do something

poorly. But an instinct, not exactly knowing why, drew

me to the class. The course was an astounding lesson as

to what capacities I have as a person and as an actor.

Our final project was a monologue. I chose a monologue

from Kellie Powell’s “Thanksgiving in the Wilderness.“ I

played Jillian, a nineteen year old college freshmen rant-

ing about monogamy and relationships. In her, I found

something I cared about, something I identified with and

most importantly, something I wanted to express. In

performing the monologue, I had the opportunity to do

something different, which displayed range and a unique

side of me as a woman. The piece could relate to any girl

really, whether it be the typical college girl looking for a

relationship or an older woman in an established rela-

tionship recalling what it was like to be single and con-

fused. I found the piece to be hilarious and heartbreaking

from moment to moment, which made it genuine and

appealing.

Acting Bizarre? Ana Perez

Page 7

Documents

Team Habitat Erica Sears · 2019. 9. 16. · February 2011 Volume 10, Issue 2 Intellectual Inquirer The Habitat for Humanity Fall Break Trip was one of the best experiences I’ve