• • Download Virtual Goodie Bag, #andrewsalumni Photo Contest, and Virtual 5k began

• • 7:30 p.m. | Welcome Video & Proximity Vespers (“Love is Life – John 3:16” presented by Anthony Bosman). Watch recording below:
    

• • 9 & 11:45 a.m. | Pioneer Memorial Church Livestreamed Services (Speaker: Dwight Nelson).

• • 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. EST | Francophone Group Sabbath School and Divine Service (French).

• • 10:30 a.m. | “Making Friends for Eternity” Scriptural Pursuit Sabbath School (English).

• • 2 p.m. | Campus Tour (tune in for a livestreamed walk-through tour of campus). View the recording below:

• • 3–5 | School of Architecture & Interior Design Alumni Zoom Open House.

• • 3:30–5 p.m. | “Real Talk: A Christian Social Work Response to Policing and Community Unrest” presented by the School of Social Work

• • 4 p.m. | “A Look Back” video presented by BSCF (Black Student Christian Forum). View video below:

• • 5 p.m. | Updates from the Seminary. View Recording here:

• • 7 p.m. | Video Feature—”Celebrate AU: Re-experience Andrews.” View Recording here:

• • 8 p.m. | “Courage + Resilience” Global Celebration of Andrews concert featuring the Andrews University Singers, Wind Symphony, and Symphony Orchestra. View video below:

• • 9 a.m. | Online Workout Class by Rachel Keele (interim manager, Andreasen Center for Wellness).

• • 10:30 a.m. | “Tea with the President” Q&A.

• • 1 p.m. | Andrews Webinar Series—”The Gut Microbiota Influences Health: A Malnutrition Report” presented by Dr. Kylynda Bauer (BA ’14, BS ’14). View Video below:

• • 2:30 p.m. | Virtual Healthy Cooking Demonstration presented by the School of Population Health, Nutrition & Wellness. View Video Below:

Click here for Beet and Carrot Salad Recipe | Click here for Wild Rice Soup Recipe | Click here for Pumpkin Bread Recipe

View Cooking Demo Q&A Video here:

• • 5 p.m. | Virtual 5k Results Submission Deadline (click here to learn more)

• • Virtual 5k Leaderboard Results and Participants Digital Photoboard

I graduated from Andrews University  Theological Seminary in 2008. Now I am the president of Sahmyook University in South Korea. Congratulations on the Global Celebration of Andrews from Korea.

Andrews University stands for quality. I have no regrets obtaining a Masters in International Development Administration from this credible Institution. In search for quality education? You always can trust the Andrews University Family.

Dear Andrews Alumni,

G’day and Greetings from Australia.Attached is a beautiful photo in the rainforest of Australia I am so privileged to be able to use the nature of God to bring people into the family of God.
What an opportunity to show how special Andrews is.  I still feel connected even though I have moved back to Australia, in the rainforest and beautiful beaches.  My heart will always be grateful for the amazing Professors like Ken Stout who was always there supporting me as a female Pastoral student.  It is a beautiful campus with fantastic people.  Thank you for helping me to be the creative preacher that I am today.

Many blessings
Dr Jessica Trevithick class of 2012

My son David graduated AU with his MDiv in Chaplaincy in Aug. 2017. He completed his CPE residency in 2018 and now works as a hospice chaplain. He was the fourth generation to study at Andrews. I graduated with an MA in Biblical Languages in 1987 and a PhD in New Testament in 1994. I retired from Southern Adventist University School of Religion in June 2018 but continue as Research Professor. My wife Connie retired from teaching 5th grade in June 2019. We have three children and four grandchildren. Greetings to my colleagues and friends. Life is good, and Jesus is coming very soon.

Since this would have been my 40th year since graduation, I will throw in a few random memories from those years between ’76 and ’80.  Shout out to the class of ’80! Fresh out of Battle Creek Academy (not a boarding school) life at AU was a big change. we were still writing letters home in those days.  One of those included a reference to a bomb threat preventing us from entering the Ad Building.  My folks must have wondered if they made the right decision sending us off into the harsh world.  I did reassure them in a subsequent post that I was doing better than OK, actually going right to the top as my custodial job had me cleaning the President’s bathroom!  Mostly keeping to the daily grind of studies, I relished the one long weekend bus trip organized by Campus Ministries to Union College in Lincoln. I was surprised to see campus buildings more than 3 stories tall on a campus that you could fit within  2 square blocks.  Obviously I needed to get out more. I still recall “Festival of Faith” speaker Des Cummings’ tag line, “designed for heaven, we’ll never be truly fulfilled until we get there.”  I was blessed to be part of the Burman vermin in the old wooden building beyond Marsh Hall with its fountain pond serving no function beyond receiving betrothed Seminarians every spring semester. News from the outside world was sporadically transmitted on the TV in the lobby.  February 22, 1980 stands out.   The sound of repeated cheering wafting into my room managed to pry me away from the textbooks to see the final period of the “miracle on ice” from Lake Placid, NY.  I figure my kids are more impressed that I witnessed that than finding the derivative in a quantum mechanics function.  College is such a mash up of so many things.  Grateful for all the work that goes into keeping AU running and churning out productive, faith-based world changers.
John A. Rorabeck, BS Chemistry 1980

Mission accomplished. 8.71 miles walked with my family at Newport, Rhode Island. Panoramic ocean views, crashing waves and the perfect amount of sea breeze on one side and stunning, century-old, Gilded Age mansions on the other.

Weavers are multiple generation Andewsites!  Now our forth generation is celebrating quality education in the best Christian tradition!  Much of our family mission commitment comes the from Gospel commission reinforced while at Andrews!

Greetings from Oshawa, Ontario Canada.
I enjoyed my time at Andrews in 2000.
I had graduated with Mdiv in 2001 and doctoral degree in 2011. Now I have been working with Ontario Conference of Seventh-day Adventist since I left Andrews in 2001. All I can say is praising to the Lord for everything he has provided me and family. May God bless you all and be safe from Covid-19.

Hello, greetings from Cherrapunjee, local name called Sohra.  University is a time where you will learn a lot about yourself and others. Put yourself out there, meet people, network, gain experience and grow your soft skills.

Hi! I finished my MA in Religion in 2017 and now I am pursuing my PhD in Mission and Leadership. I focus on urban mission, and the mission toward elites of the society. I serve with my family in NY city since Jan 2020.

Good morning and great blessings from Botswana.  Have no words to express that there is Andrews celebration.

Great to be part of this historic celebration. I am Samson Bamidele Popoola of Seventh-day Adventist Hospital Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Was a student in the Social Sciences, specifically International Development where I was able to graduate with Masters certificate. As an off campus student at Ghana site, it was a real fun with hard work. Dawn Dulhunty was a very good program Director and Mentor. I never knew I could finish, but with encouragement and support from my sponsors, I graduated in 2016. It was a real comprehensive program, which I have benefited greatly from to the benefit of my people and mostly to God’s glory. I wish many people will go through this Master,s program for Organizational Leadership skills and Development works. Happy Celebrations to all of us.

My name is Mohammed Saaka from Ghana in West Africa. I got admitted into Andrews University in 2013 to pursue a master degree of International  Development Administration Administration. I completed in 2016, but finally graduated August 2020. I can confidently say that this school is a school of difference in all the academic courses.

Loved attending, world-wide forever friends & family, teachers…it was the best experience of my life.

I attended Andrews from 1971 – 1975 graduating with a degree in Home Economics education and a minor in English.  I was again there in 1983 and worked on my masters. What I took away the most was the friendships that have lasted from then till now.  My most rewarding years have been spent working with Pathfinders in Il., In., Ohio and last year finished 30 years of service working with these young people as well as Junior Sabbath School leader for most of those years. I give credit to Andrews for teaching me in the classroom, how to teach and organize.

I’m currently a Desk Assistant at the Socio-Cultural Division of the Office of United Nations and International Organizations (UNIO) Affairs at the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.  Additionally, I’m working towards attaining my Master of Law (LLM) degree in International Migration and Refugee Law and Policy at the National University of Ireland (NUI) in Galway.

My name is Tonia James and I graduated from Andrews in 2006 with a master’s degree in community counselling.

I graduated in May 2020 with a DPT degree and this is my life after graduation. Currently, I am practicing in New York City and that has been such a big transition for me from Warm Midwesterners to Rude New Yorkers! While I did good in school, nothing had prepared me for what to expect as a PT practicing in NYC in the middle of the pandemic. In the past few months, I have worked in the Covid unit, Dementia unit and many other practices. One of the best skills that I gained from being a part of Andrews University  and Berrien Springs was being able to pray. If my medical skills couldn’t ease my patients suffering, I said a quick prayer for them in my head.  Which I have eventually transitioned into saying before I see my patients now. It helps me in being more kind to myself and remembering that I am only a human  and while I may fail a few of my  patients, there are many out there who are doing so much better.

I don’t know if my life is better here or was better as a student, but I can say for sure, my work is making a change in not only my patients’ lives but also their families. I am a part of changing their world for better.

Looking back to the nearly last 52 years of my life I cannot but be amazed at how God has carried me through the years and brought me to where I am today. I feel ashamed for so many times I have let God down and done my own things. But praise to Him for rescuing me from sure death countless times! Having left the door half opened for God to enter my life, I had made the decision to leave Mauritius in August 1994 for the States. God had allowed my parents, sister and other relatives to finance my university degree for 3 years. My decision to start my tertiary education was going to be at Andrews University only. Pastor Patrice Allet who baptized my dad a few years prior in Mauritius and his wife Arielle were happy and willing to accommodate me at Andrews for my first year while Patrice was himself studying at the Seminary. And my first year was amazingly a blessing to me and my family. I met my best friends in Ian, Megan, Wanda, Richard, Steve (ABIDE ministry group) and others during GO94 Conference and they were going to have a great impact on my journey with the Lord. I was baptized by Pastor David Rand on 27 May 1995 at the PMC and I earned my BBA Management degree in 1997. I chose to leave Andrews to do my graduate studies in Louisiana but I struggled to fit in a non-Adventist university and in the real world away from God. I started backsliding but was never too far away from God. He closed the door on my stay in the States and I had to go back to Mauritius at the end of 2003. But He provided an alternative by opening another door for me. This time to Melbourne, Australia where I started going back to an Adventist church in Preston and met my future wife there. Henriette and I got married on 10 December 2006. Even though the Creator of the universe has not blessed us with children, but on the contrary He’s allowed us to be used by Him to serve others in our local church in Mernda through children Sabbath school, prayer groups, singing, and helping those in needs. My prayer is that my wife and I continue to let God work in our lives by loving and serving Him and loving and encouraging people that God allows to come on our path. During this lockdown period of the COVID-19 once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, I’ve come to realize that every day of my life is a blessing. Despite the atrocities happening in the world, “your love still amazes me”. I can’t remain insensitive to what He’s done for me.

I attended Andrews University from 1973-1977. I did learn a great deal while there and am very thankful for the experience and the friends I made. For the past 28 years I have been a Family Childcare Provider in my home and got to use some of what I learned taking art up there! I really loved Mr. Alan Collins, he was a very good teacher. I was there when his sculpture, Regeneration, went up in front of the science complex. I have lots of great memories in Lamson Hall, the cafeteria, working in the Bindery and the Press and the classes. Dr. Waterhouse, Dr. Englemyer, Paul Canon were some great teachers! Oh, and I can’t forget George Knight!

I first went to AU in 1983 after a divorce. The Lord miraculously opened the way for me to go there. As a convert to Adventism & a 35 year old divorced mother away from my family of origin for the first time I thought it would be very difficult to fit in & make friends, but it was not. I had a wonderful experience. I even went as a student missionary the following year. Then I was diagnosed with cancer & given 6 months to a year to live. I moved to Montana to die. But the Lord blessed me with life.

I tried to finish my degree at University of Montana but that didn’t happen. I worked at Glacier National Park in grizzly bear research for many years. Then in 2007 the Lord brought me back to AU to work as the Administrative Assistant in the Dept. of Biology. I was there for 6 years & during that time I finally completed my Bachelor’s degree, graduating in 2010. In 2013 I retired & moved to New Hampshire. I made some wonderful friends at Andrews both of the times I was there. I am still very close to some of them. Andrews was one of the highlights of my life.

It’s so strange not to be making the 9 hours trek to AU this  September for Homecoming Weekend.  Fred Burghardt (BS Biology 1982) and I (BS Chemistry 1983) have been back to Andrews so many times in the last 6 years as our three daughters (Katharina BMu/BEd 2020, Annelise BMuBA Psych 2021 and Alaina BA Spanish/International Studies 2023) are all AU alums or students, and we have attended so many Music and Theatre and Basketball events over the years.  We love Andrews, have so many friends in the area, love Michiana and the fruit farms and beautiful Lake Michigan.  We wish we could be there to greet all our friends and classmates in person, it is always a joy to have a serendipitous encounter with someone we haven’t seen in decades.  Andrews students, staff, faculty, administration and alumni are all in our prayers as we navigate this new COVID19 world. Fred is involved in Education here in the NY Conf as Ed Superintendent and principal of Union Springs Academy and has overseen the rapid deployment of online learning last spring and this fall, and Beth continues to practice Otolaryngology as a solo surgeon. COVID19 has created so many changes in our lives, but we trust God to see us through.  Stay safe, stay healthy, stay connected to the Lord as the only source of peace in an ever-changing world.

And go Lady Cardinals!

I chose to attend Andrews University because I wanted to attend a Seventh-day Adventist tertiary institution.  My only experience in an Adventist school had occurred when, as very small children, we were placed in a school started by a recent graduate of the Adventist college, hired to start an elementary school at the local Seventh-day Adventist church.  Since she became a friend of the family, I always felt that we were there as a favor to her, since we attended the Anglican church.

Just before I started high school, my sister and I were baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist church.  The government-aided high school we attended was affiliated with the Anglican church.  In the upper years I chose science subjects and got the evolutionary perspective in my “A” level zoology class.  I was anxious to know how the Bible perspective of creation stood up against what was presented so logically, so for personal reasons as well as to prepare me to teach in a Seventh-day Adventist institution, I wanted to attend an Adventist university rather than our university at home.  Andrews was my choice because I would need credibility upon my return home with an American degree; at that time, American education was not highly regarded in Jamaica where many high schools had “College” as part of their name.  I considered Andrews to have the strongest post-secondary academic program in Adventism, and with my sister already a student there, it was easy for me to make that decision.

I have great appreciation for the years I spent at Andrews.  I felt enriched by the international composition of the student and the faculty communities.  My year as a student missionary in Indonesia at our college on the island of  Sulawesi (Celebes) added to this enrichment and was an unforgettable, enjoyable and irreplaceable year of service. Foremost on campus are the spiritual experiences, starting with morning and evening dorm worships.  (Prayer before class was also a novel experience and served to reinforce the awareness of Christ at the center of our educational experience.)  Having to register my attendance in no way detracted from the privilege I felt worshiping with others after years of doing so on my own.  I continued church attendance and as the years went by, I sought out meaningful Sabbath experiences.  Among them were Seminary Sabbath School on Sabbath mornings and various presentations on Sabbath afternoon – the newly initiated Adventist Forum meetings, are especially memorable in establishing in my mind that it is OK to ask hard question in spiritual matters or regarding church issues.  I also joined the Master Guide club; in my small home church I had been on my own teaching “progressive classes” without the privilege of being invested at any of the levels.  Also memorable are Sabbath afternoons going with a roommate to pass out invitations for meetings to be held in Stevensville, precursor to the establishment of the church, and Friday night after-vespers fellowship sessions in the Student Lounge.

My academic experience was also satisfying.  Although a Chemistry major, I was also able to pursue my second love, French.  I was proficient in the language from my high school experience but lacked the fluency that I desired, and this was fulfilled during the year I spent at Séminaire Adventiste du Salève, Collonges-sous-Salève as an Adventist Colleges Abroad (ACA) participant.  I not only gained both Alliance Française diplomas that were offered through the program, but I enjoyed many close associations with people from a wide variety of cultures, and many of those friendships continued beyond those years.  By way of a tour before arriving at Collonges and trips during the school year we learned European art, history, culture and geography first-hand.

Only three unpleasant experiences stand out in my mind.  My first semester I was advised to take the course American Institutions to satisfy the American history requirement.  Try as I did, I could not make it come together in my mind, which was mystifying to me as I was not used to doing badly academically.  At mid term Professor Lief Tobiasson, who had worked at our college in Jamaica, invited me to his office.  He was baffled that I was not doing well.  During the session he opened the Cast and it all became clear to him:  he had mistaken me for my sister, as senior.  He appreciated that my prior experiences in no way prepared me for how American institutions functioned.  Whether I improved or whether he took that into consideration I never knew, but my final grade was much better.  The second experience, for which I take full responsibility, is nonetheless painful.  It was a semester in which I took an overload and also worked many hours in my department.  I chose Enjoyment of Music to fulfil my fine arts requirement.  Each week there was assigned listening.  It seemed I was never able to get to the Music Building to do the listening until after class, which meant guessing my way through the surprise quizzes.  Although Dr. Hamel never spoke to me about my performance the looks I saw on his face seem to me that he also wondered why, and although I did end up with a decent grade I still regret not getting the grade I know was within my capabilities.  The last experience has to do with a course in my department, a course I only took to complete a “concentration” in my major, and in the process “round out” my chemistry experience.  But I was determined to work hard at it, even though it involved a lot of memorization (which is why I was not a Biology major.)  At the end of the semester I was disappointed in my grade and approached the professor to understand why.  This was difficult for me, something I had never done before.  In addition, this professor was the only one in my department with whom ‘I had no personal relationship.  His explanation, without providing any evidence, was that there was a “natural break” above my marks.  I never knew whether that meant that my total marks fell into the lower grade or if it was an arbitrary decision on his part.

I was at Andrews during the tumultuous sixties.  It felt that we were in a protected cocoon.  However, we were not oblivious to the issues rocking the nation.  I give credit to the administration of the day for not standing in the way of students putting on the play “The Ugly American”.  There was no rioting on campus but we students were engaged in some constructive endeavors.  I felt proud that we participated in the first Earth Day; we gathered on campus and, after appropriate remarks, planted a tree near the then administration building.  I am extremely proud of the Student Association leadership that led us in “Operation Splash” which resulted in the first swimming pool in Johnson Gym.  We had our own “protest” march:  upon learning that our beloved V.P for Student Affairs, Dr. Frank Knittel, had accepted a call to become president of SMC (of all places!  And how could he leave us orphans?) we marched to his home one night and vociferously expressed our desire that he stay.  He and his wife graciously came out to accept our appreciation, but of course there was no turning back.  In Lamson Hall an invitation was extended to residents to gather one night after hours in one of the bedrooms for a talk session about race relations, led by a Black girl and a White girl.  I remember little of what was said, but as we sat on the floor, crowded in a circle, we were asked to take turns speaking to two questions:  Am I racist?  Are my parents racist?  I was fascinated at the variety of responses, especially the ones that said, “Yes, my parents are, no, I am not.”  Given today’s realities in the United States, I hope that those responses made some positive contributions to today’s America.  Another experience that also gave me hope was that the Friday night after-vespers gatherings were led by a Black female student and a White male student, both small in stature but who loomed large in my eyes for brooking the prevailing practice of separation for many activities.

How can I talk about an Andrews experience without bringing in the weather?  There was a saying that at Andrews there were two seasons, Winter and Summer School.  I experienced extremes in temperatures that I had never known in Jamaica.  And we were expected to deal with it.  Classes started at 7:30 am and I have vivid memories of trying not to be late for class.  Luckily for us, the sidewalks were always cleared and some were heated with underground hot water pipes, but that was not helpful if one felt the need to take a shortcut across a snow-covered lawn.  Many times, to navigate through snow blowing horizontally due to the biting winds, we would walk backwards, turning our heads forward periodically to avoid walking into snowbanks.  Then in the summers we hurried across campus, darting into as many buildings as possible, even ones we would not otherwise enter, to receive some respite from the air conditioning.

Ms. Friested deserves much credit in making my sojourn at Andrews a comfortable and welcoming experience.  Her ability to remember faces and attach the correct names stand out.  She correctly identified me or my sister even after we were no longer Andrews students.  I have not been back to campus very often, though I wish I lived close enough for it to be feasible, but through Focus I have learned of some of what has taken place.  I wish I had been able to be an Andrews Scholar.  I wish I had had opportunity for more undergraduate research.  I wish Howard Performing Art Center existed in my time, I wish….

O well, I am glad for the current Andrews students and pray that they are taking full advantage of all that Andrews has to offer, especially the strong spiritual emphasis.  I am regularly blessed by the services at Pioneer Memorial Church and I am so happy to see students being more central to the worship services than when I was a student.  I love the current logo and pray that Andrews students and alumni, under God, will always “Seek Knowledge, Affirm Faith and Change the World”.

Hello friends. I am delighted to greet all that graduated or attended AU. I wish them to be good representatives of that great institution of higher learning. Blessings to all.