thespecial issue

inside4 David Olson [recording] | 5 Rychelle Willis [outreach leader] | 6 Rachel & Stephanie Smith [artists]

7 Tom Emmerson [art] | 8 Thomas Blum & Adam Young [engineering] | 9 Michael Kudla, Jon

Anderson, Nathan Curry & Tom Ekkens [engineering | physics] | 10 Kevin Ellis [musician] | 11 Karly

Joseph & Steven VanOrden [athlete | business professor] | 12 Josh Jamieson & River Davis [musicians]

13 Mary Aparicio Castrejon [writer] | 14 Trevor Chinn & Michael Di Bonaventura [automotive]

15 Erik Edstrom & Jesse Churchill [filmmakers]

THIS IS A YEAR OF CELEBRATION FOR THE ASSOCIATED STUDENTS OF

Walla Walla University. In honor of ASWWU’s centennial, The Collegian de-

cided to produce a special magazine highlighting the people of WWU.

In the last 100 years, a lot has happened that we can be proud of. The

people of WWU have been artists, engineers, outreach leaders, filmmak-

ers, pastors, writers, scientists, doctors, and many other amazing things.

This special edition of The Collegian serves to display some of that talent.

Obviously, this magazine doesn’t cover all of the talent on our campus.

These individuals’ names were given to The Collegian by various faculty,

staff, and students as examples of of people who are going above and

beyond to serve others, expand intelligence, pursue ambition, and

embrace creativity. We would like to recognize them for giving

back to the WWU campus, the College Place com-

munity, and the world.

I invite you to get a quick glimpse into the lives and

talents of several students, faculty, and alumni; a

small glimpse into the lives and work of people

selected out of a pool of incredible talent

and potential. I hope that this issue

inspires you to exceed expectations,

live your dream, and share your pas-

sion. As the Holstee Manifesto states,

“Life is about the people you meet

and the things you create with

them. So go out and start creating.”

The Collegian is the official publication of ASWWU. Its views and opinions are not necessarily the official stance of Walla Walla University or its administration, faculty, staff, or students. Questions, letters, and comments can be mailed to aswwu.collegian@wallawalla.edu or grant.perdew@wallawalla.edu. This issue was completed at 7 p.m. on 29 January 2014.

The Collegian | Volume 98, Issue 13 | 204 S. College Avenue | College Place, WA 99324 | collegian.wallawalla.edu

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Grant Perdew | ASSISTANT EDITOR Nathan Stratte | HEAD LAYOUT EDITOR Alix Harris |HEAD COPY EDITOR Carly Leggitt | HEAD PHOTO EDITOR Kurtis Lamberton | NEWS EDITOR Carolyn Green ARTS & MEDIA EDITOR Chad Aufderhar | LAYOUT DESIGNERS Andralyn Iwasa & Greg Khng | DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Haley Coon

Photo credit: Arella Aung (cover), Kurtis Lamberton | Special thanks to ASWWU Senate for their support.

the

the

special issue

special issue

saturday, february 8 | 6:15–7:30pmblack boX theatre in the ctc

Come enjoy an informal evening of projects and creative works that display the exceptional talents of Walla Walla University highlighted in this issue of The Collegian. The evening will include poetry, song, art, engineering, and technology, all created by in-dividuals of Walla Walla University.

Jon Anderson | Thomas Blum | Trevor Chinn Rychelle Willis | Mary Aparicio Castrejon

release party

the collegian

live

light refreshments providedlive music by josh jamieson & kevin ellis

Grant Perdeweditor-in-chief

3

David OLSONr e c o r d i n g a n d p r o d u c i n g

You are likely to find David in the audio lab at the Canaday Technology Center at just about any hour of the day. He has been recording several different artists on campus this year and has been a musician in his own right from a young age. Here at Walla Walla University, he is taking advantage of opportunities to grow as an engineer and producer.

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve been interested in technology and doing creative, artistic things with it,” says David. Music has always been a part of his life: “My mom always played the piano, and I learned all the songs from my favorite Disney movies as a kid.”

In seventh grade, David started a band called Snafu with his friends August and Alex. They recorded in his living room with two mics and GarageBand. “We instantly started writing our own material because that’s what we were interested in. The songs weren’t great, but the legacy is still in my music.”

David has an understanding of music on both a theoretical and an emotional lev-el. “Recording and writing music have al-ways gone hand in hand. When I’ve writ-ten something, I want to save and share it.” David now brings that understanding of theory and technology together with his musical intu-ition to the produc-ing process. He works with other musicians on campus, such as Kevin Ellis (see pg. 10), with varying levels of involvement, depend-ing on what they need help with.

— CHAD AUFDERHAR

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Rychelle WILLISc o m m u n i t y o u t r e a c h l e a d e r

Many around campus may know Rychelle Willis by her cheerful demeanor and radiant smile. Many may also know her as the powerhouse behind community outreach in Campus Ministries. After spending time on Yap as a stu-dent missionary, Rychelle worried that coming back to school would not be as fulfilling as her missionary time had been. Her solution: becoming the volunteer coordinator for Campus Ministries.

In the past two years, Rychelle has built a wide volunteer database, organized countless programs for outreach in the community, and made invaluable connections with Helpline and Blue Mountain Action Counsel that have saved local families from unnecessary hardship. Some of her major projects have included blanket drives, organiz-ing students to spend Sabbath afternoons in downtown Walla Walla and with nursing home residents, and unifying students to financially assist local families with utility bills — which once saved a single mother and her children from eviction. She is currently in the midst of the annual blanket drive, and while she has big plans for the rest of the year, Rychelle notes that service projects change as the needs of the community change. She doesn’t know what needs may come up, but volunteer ministries will be there to meet those needs. “My passion is connecting with the commu-nity. If other students share this passion and want to be more involved, that’s what I’m here for.”

Rychelle is continually moti-vated by a quote from Shane Claiborne’s book Irresistible Revolution: “If your church disappeared, would your community notice?” She asks herself, “Are we do-ing enough? What are the needs? What more can we do?” Day by day, Ry-chelle’s passion for ser-vice brings WWU clos-er to the community.

— CAROLYN GREEN

blanket drive

5

Rachel and Stephanie Smith are linked in art as in sisterhood. They have de-

veloped a beautiful duo of painting, design, and art ideas in the past few years. They have established a studio together and have participated in local and regional shows together.

Their collaborations suggest an almost natural, egoless passion to produce works of art together. Partly a vestige of their times, they do follow in the footsteps of several famous couples devoted to the greater sum obtained in mutuality. But the Smiths seem able to apply the concept uniquely. Their contributions are each unique — strengths differing — in

their process and thinking, but what they come up with has the separate strands from each blended into a seamless unity.

Both women are exceptionally bright, curious, motivated, and involved — these are the seeds for real creativity in art. They are not satisfied unless they engage their minds in every project. In class, if assignments were given that had any potential for

making commentary on life or extending possible meanings to the realm of ideals for human life, they both found something interesting and effective to say. One knows from the close inspection of subject matter as well as material experimentation that they both want to make a good difference in their world.

I think it’s wonderful that Rachel and Stephanie are employed by WWU to teach topics of their separate expertise in design, as each excelled in design in their undergrad work. It was obvious even then that they each brought a teach-

er’s understanding to their assignments, asking “why” and “what can I do beyond the basic idea?” I look forward to the expansion of their art and their influence in the future at WWU and beyond. — MARTHA MASON

Rachel & Stephanie SMITHm i X e d m e d i a &

i n t e r a c t i v e a r t

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Tom EMMERSONp r o f e s s o r o f a r t

Each quarter at WWU, Tom Emmerson teaches classes in

pottery and sculpting, along with other art classes, through-

out the Fine Arts Center. Of his connection with the build-

ing, Tom said, “It has recently occurred to me that I’ve been

in or near this building since I was 18. And I’m not tired of it

yet.” His patience in teaching and passion for various forms

of art have deeply enriched the WWU campus.

Tom is a man of idealism and dreams; “beauty” is a theme

of which he never tires, and it comes most naturally for him.

This is intricately linked to his spiritual and personal goals for

students because he truly cares about students and works

to better their lives; his input for them comes from of his ide-

alistic imaginations for their works. In a world of cynicism, this

is perceived as refreshing and helps them chart their own

personal ways in the larger art world.

He interacts with his students very

lovingly, very compassionately. Many

former students are still personally

connected after years of separation.

His community friends are also myriad

and loyal. Tom’s gift of a loving life is re-

ally an example of the kind of outreach

that, based on true friendship, speaks

of the Heart of Goodness that people

appreciate and need.

And this is the way the Art department

runs daily under Tom’s direction. It’s

the principle of giving, loving, creating,

and learning without a thought about

recovering the cost. This department

could not do any better.

— MARTHA MASON

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Thomas BLUMp h y s i c s

Adam YOUNGm e c h a n i c a l e n g i n e e r

Have you ever seen a moving time lapse in a vid-eo? They can be difficult to obtain, especially be-cause of the cost. The cheap alternative is to take a photo, move the camera, take another photo, and repeat ad nauseum. This is not very efficient or very fun. As an engineer and filmmaker, Adam was tired of seeing expensive sliders on the mar-ket and decided to build an inexpensive one of his own that could continue moving for as long as the user wanted it to — a “hyperlapse.” Remote con-trolled and battery powered, this dolly has been taking Adam’s time for a year and a half now, and he plans on finishing it in March.

— GRANT PERDEW

While solar panels are sustainable and economi-cal, only about 15 percent of the light from the sun gets transformed into usable power. Frederic Liebrand and Thomas Blum are working to cap-ture some of the lost heat energy. With this extra energy, their solar panels could double existing efficiency. This summer they designed and began testing a new type of panel that could replace an entire roof and provide energy as well as a source of hot water. Watch for this technology in the next few years!

— JOE HUGHES

solar roofing panel technology

mechanical motorized timelapse dolly

8

Tom EKKENSp r o f e s s o r o f p h y s i c s

Michael KUDLAJon ANDERSON

Nathan CURRYm e c h a n i c a l e n g i n e e r i n g & c o m p u t e r s c i e n c e

Standard light microscopes, such as the ones used in high school biology, have an inherent physical limit to how much they can magnify. If you want to see something smaller than 20 millionths of an inch, you just can’t use light anymore. This leaves us with an interesting problem, the solution to which Tom Ekkens is exploring with his Intro to Nanotechnology class. Part of the class is building a type of microscope, called a scanning–tunneling microscope, which uses quantum tun-neling rather than light to “see” a surface. Rather than looking through an eyepiece, a computer is used to read the voltage and produce an image. Though STMs were invented back in 1981 (and won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986), Tom is making them especially cheaply: The class is building four of

them — which cost about $8,000 commercially — for about $20 each. They hope to be able to see things

as small as 10 atoms across — not bad for less than the cost of a few meals.

— JOE HUGHES

For their senior project last year, these three engineers devel-oped a small unmanned aerial vehicle to survey terrain from above. Nathan and Michael, mechanical engineering majors, designed and developed the structure, while Jon, a computer science major, wrote the programming. Two outside companies funded and bought the project, which will be used for agricul-ture, photos, mapping, and other surveying purposes.

— GRANT PERDEW

scanning-tunneling microscope

autonomous micro uav for terrain surveillance

9

Kevin ELLISm u s i c i a n | r a p p e r

An individual with immense talent but who has the most humble attitude is a rare person, and Kevin Ellis is such an individual. I got the chance to know Kevin last year after I heard him rap on a video he put on Facebook. The video caught my attention, and I was astonished by his great rapping skills. I thought I had discovered a person who could potentially became one of the best Christian/alternative rappers out there of our time. Once I befriended him, I encouraged him to take his rapping skills to the forefront and showcase them to his peers. As a result, he rocked it at Spring Jam as I performed alongside him as a hype man, and the rest is history. We have done other events together, and he has released a successful EP called “Riding Vibes.” Kevin surely deserves this recognition for the tremendous work he has put into his craft. I am honored that he is in my circle of friends, and I hope he will become a great role model. He has definitely been a breath of fresh air for this campus!

— KOFI TWUMASI

10

Though athletes are sometimes thought of only as those who play a sport, this could not be further from the truth for Karly Joseph. Karly began attending WWU after playing in a basketball tournament on campus. She was approached and asked if she’d like to attend WWU and play basketball for the Wolves. However, her recruitment is not the most special part of Karly’s story.

“The person I was three years ago came to play basketball. I didn’t know that God had bigger plans,” said Karly. When she started attending WWU, Karly knew noth-ing about Seventh-day Adventists and didn’t know much about who Jesus was. As Karly began to experience the love of Christ through people at WWU — her coaches, her teammates, spiritual leaders on campus — she suddenly felt that there had to be more to life than basketball.

Karly took last basketball season off to work on herself — she went through counseling, learned about herself, got a dog, and found a stability that she hadn’t been able to experience before.

Through a series of personal connections, Karly recently became the coach of Walla Walla Valley Academy’s girls’ junior varsity basketball team. The thing that she loves most about coaching is the chance that she has to make connections with the girls on her team. She puts her coaching em-phasis not on winning or losing, but on building character. “I want take an interest in the kids’ lives and be there for them,” she says.

Because she graduates in the spring, Karly is dealing with conflict-ing emotions of excitement and not wanting to leave a place that

has changed her life. “I’m happy and healthy and excited about my life. I would never had gotten to this point if I weren’t

here, surrounded by people who are living out their love for Jesus, even if they don’t realize it.

There is a tangible love here, and it has changed my life.”

— CAROLYN GREEN

Karly JOSEPH

s t u d e n t a t h l e t e & c o a c h

Steven VANORDEN

p r o f e s s o r o f b u s i n e s s

When Business professor Steven VanOrden saw a need for an elemen-tary school on Bangka Island in Indonesia last summer, he didn’t think it’d be possible. But when his brother-in-law moved there to make the school happen, VanOrden got on board. In his Global Marketing and Management class this fall, the students decided they would help take on this project. The mission: to start a

self-sustaining, tuition-based school on Bangka Island. After creating a logo and in-depth business and marketing plans, the class presented it to some business profes-sors at WWU, who reacted with excitement. What’s next? Professor VanOrden will take another trip to Indonesia this summer to continue recruiting, marketing, and

connecting. Next fall, more classes will take over this project to help make it a reality.

— GRANT PERDEW

walla walla international school, indonesia

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Mary is one of those people you can’t help but feel a little lazy around. Not only is she double majoring in both English and graphic design, but she is also an RA, helps out with various campus ministries, spent a year as a student missionary in Egypt, and has put in multiple summers interning as a graph-ic designer for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hawaii. Mary is also a passionate artist. She can often be found in her room watching an anime by Studio Ghibli and doodling on anything from a sketchpad to a piece of cardboard box.

If you were to have a conversation with Mary, you would quickly notice that she has a special way of making you feel at ease and like you are important. She is the type of friend who will always be there to listen and help you out. This year Mary has spoiled me rotten by helping me run the weekly ministry I coordinate on campus. She doesn’t have to help, but in typical Mary fashion, she really cares about making our campus a better place. I am so thank-ful for everything that she does for our school.

— GABBY SMITH

You can find Mary’s fantastic writings in the most re-cent edition of The Gadfly.

Mary APARICIO CASTREJONw r i t e r

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m u s i c i a n & r e c o r d i n g a r t i s t

Josh JAMIESON

Josh Jamieson is the man every woman wants. Let me explain. First, he’s Canadian and he sings, which means he’s like Justin Bieber, except talented. Second, his face looks like it was sculpted by angels who primarily used rainbows and ruggedness. Third, his voice makes grown men weep beautiful tears from the deep well of their souls. And fourth, he’s accomplished more than most of us. I got to know Josh when I heard him sing at OPS worship one evening a few years ago. I promptly decided to attach myself to someone destined for greatness because, who knows, maybe one day he’ll buy me a house.

But seriously, I’ve known Josh for four years now, and I’ve been able to see him progress as a worship leader and musician who, above all, de-sires for people to worship God and have fun. He’s come in second and third place in two songwriting contests, has an EP out, has guest starred in a made-for-YouTube show called Dorm Life, been featured on the radio in his native Canada, and has played at youth rallies, worship-leading workshops, and more venues than I know. On top of all that, his love songs will make you laugh, cry, and fall in love with love again.

— JESSE CHURCHILL

RIVER DAVISm u s i c i a n & r e c o r d i n g a r t i s t

River experiences music in a special way. He views each note as a specific color. On The Soundkeeper, his latest release and an experimental EP, songs were written from pictures he has in his head. As he puts it, his songs are like “a storybook or dream that I set in musical notes.”

When I asked him more about why he does his music, he said this: “My quest is to make music that makes people have that indescribable feeling of being touched by a song. Maybe it could be called ‘music for feelings.’ The focus of my music-making is not to become famous. I gave this up a long time ago. Although it would be amazing to get signed or even get 2,000 likes on my Facebook page, that is no longer my focus. I make music now for those who want to hear it and sometimes for myself. If there is someone out there who hears ‘Like A Soldier’ and finds a deep inspirational drive from that, I feel like I have succeeded. I make music for others on the same journey. We are all in this together.”

What’s most different about River is his focus. His eyes are pointed heavenward and his passion is Christ. River has the ability to move hearts.

P.S. If you love River’s music, you can look forward to his new album, Calling All Shadows, which he is hoping to have out by fall 2014.

— HALEY COON

TrevorCHINN

Michael came to Walla Walla University after researching the best automotive programs in the country. He decided this was the best one for him and came here without any other knowledge of this school — or its religious affiliation. His senior project focused on his work for a semi-pro Mazda racing team, which he has been working with for six years.

Chad: Why do you love cars, and how did you join a racing team while in high school?

Michael: I’ve loved cars since I was a kid. It just fascinates me when I see a car to think about how it works. If I hear it start, I can imagine the pistons and everything else moving inside it.

I joined the racing team just by luck. My friend and I used to work on our cars at another friend’s house. His neighbor knew we worked on our cars a lot because we were always borrowing his tools, and he asked us to try out for his race team. He was VP for Mazda North America, but I didn’t know that at the time. So we tried out for the team and started out just doing oil changes, then moved our way up.

C: Tell me a bit about the race you guys did most recently.

M: Well, it’s a 25-hour road race between different teams from all across the world. This last race unveiled the Mazda 6 twin turbo diesels that will be available in the US in April. We built three Mazda race cars in about nine weeks and brought them to the track to run for 25 hours straight without testing them first. The car is in production in Europe, so we knew how they would run stock. We didn’t change anything about the engine or transmission: We changed out stuff like brakes and tires and we added roll cages. Our goal was to show how reliable these twin turbo diesels are, to get people on board with buying them in the States. It worked out pretty well: All three finished, in third, fifth, and sixth. After the race, our Mazda 6’s were packed up and shipped to the Detroit auto show to be displayed to the public, with all the dings, dirt, and scratches. It’s kind of cool that cars I helped build are now on display at a big auto show.

C: Does this mean you’ll have a few job offers when you graduate next fall?

M: I got an offer with Mazda at their research and development building as an R&D engineer so I’ll actually be building race cars and will also show cars. I’ll be testing out prototype vehicles, doing hot-and-cold weather testing, and designing suspension for all of Mazda North America.

— CHAD AUFDERHAR

“I knew I’d want a car right out

of college, and I knew I would spend a fair chunk of change, so I

figured, why not build one?”

For his senior project, Trevor Chinn is building his post-graduation ride. He is putting it together him-

self with components chosen by him. Trevor said that the only factory stock part on the car is the chassis;

everything else he has chosen or made. When he is not working on his senior project, Trevor helps run the shop,

helps others with their work, and TAs freshman labs.

What makes someone want to spend more than 80 hours a week in a shop that is less than a mile from

where he grew up?

“I had already done engineering for a year and it wasn’t for me. Then I task-forced at Big Lake Youth Camp for three months — my happiest days were when I went

home with coolant in my hair and oil all over. Those were the days I had fun. I love working on cars — it’s similar to

cutting grass in the instant progress made. I learn hands-on, and this is a place where I can do hands-on.”

The automotive department has a 100-percent hiring rate, meaning that every graduate of the program has

recieved a job offer. Trevor says this doesn’t mean you don’t have to work hard. Your dream job is often

something you have to work for and work up to. Trevor’s dream is to own a shop, but not just a typical shop. He wants to work with the community to create a system in which he can provide automotive services to people who need it but may not be able to pay. He wants to be in a place where he can help people who

need reliable cars but can’t afford them. “Some people say auto isn’t valuable. But as auto majors, we learn to

make things work, one way or another.”

— CHAD AUFDERHAR

c u s t o m c a r b u i l d

Michael DI BONAVENTURA

m a z d a s e m i - p r o r a c i n g

Erik EDSTROMc i n e m a t o g r a p h e r & c o - d i r e c t o r

Jesse CHURCHILL

s c r e e n w r i t e r & c o - d i r e c t o r

Erik and Jesse wanted to create a film with a meaningful story, so they’re spending the next few months creating a biblical allegory they call The Way. Written by Jesse, The Way portrays a modern-day telling of the conversion of Saul. An alternate-present time frame allows them to tell the story of Saul through relatable meta-phors. As Jesse puts it, “Biblical stories set in a modern world are more relevant and can have incredible spiritual messages without being too preachy.” So, with the help of $500 from ASWWU’s student senate to get them started, the two filmmakers have finished auditions and plan to start shooting within the month, using the communication department’s Blackmagic Cinema camera. Their goal is to finish the film by the end of March and to submit the 30-min-ute film to several film festivals, including SON-screen. Learn more and help out at facebook.com/thewayshortfilm.

— GRANT PERDEW

The Way

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