Author: CMU

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CMU announces winners of annual essay contest

Two students from Brandon, Man. and one student from Winnipeg, Man. are the winners of Canadian Mennonite University’s (CMU) annual essay contest for Manitoba high school students interested in the humanities.

The contest, judged by CMU faculty members from a number of disciplines within the Humanities, invited students to engage with questions about art, ethics, and theology.

Emma Ball, a Grade 11 student at Ecole Secondaire Neelin High School in Brandon, came in first place with her essay, “Poetry and the Working Class.” Second place went to Jaiann Nagtegaal, a Grade 12 student at Kildonan East Collegiate in Winnipeg for an essay that tackled the question, “Do Truth, Love, and Good Need Lies, Hate, and Evil to Be Meaningful?” Third place went to Rebecca Storey, a Grade 11 student also from Neelin High School, for her essay, “A Meaningless Mary Sue.”

IMG_00000257 - Version 2Ball won $500, Nagtegaal won $300, and Storey took home $200.

Students were invited to write a 950- to 1,100-word formal essay engaging one of three topics:

  1. Do truth, love and good need lies, hate, and evil to be meaningful?
  2. George Orwell said that language “ought to be the joint creation of poets and manual workers.” Discuss.
  3. Can public tax money legitimately be used to fund faith-based initiatives (e.g. social agencies, educational institutions, youth programs).

Ball says that she did not expect to win the contest.

“It was exciting,” she says, adding that she chose to write an essay in response to the George Orwell quotation because it was something she hadn’t thought about before.

“I thought I’d form my opinion as I wrote the paper,” she says. Her conclusion? “Language needs to be both efficient, clear and have a purpose, but it also needs to be beautiful. We need to find a balance between practicality and beauty when we use it.”

For Storey, winning $200 wasn’t the only highlight of entering the contest.

“I really like that the judges gave us feedback on our essays,” she says. “It was really helpful.”

Paul Dyck, Dean of Humanities & Sciences and Associate Professor of English at CMU, says judges were looking for essays that combined “good form and solid thinking along with some kind of creative reach.”

“At CMU, we believe in the importance of writing, and the importance of thinking through things clearly and imaginatively,” he says. “We’re really interested in cultivating that kind of work among our students, and recognizing and rewarding that kind of work among high school students.”

In an age of instant results, he adds, writing essays is still valuable. It allows people to take the time and energy to carefully think through important topics.

“That kind of activity is at the heart of the university,” he says.

 

 

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General News

CMU students travel to Latin American to research microfinance

Students from CMU’s Redekop School of Business (RSB) have just returned home from the first RSB study tour to Latin America.

From April 29 to May 13, six students and a supervising professor traveled to Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic to explore how microfinance—providing small loans and financial services to the economically poor—is being used to fight poverty.

“It’s exciting to see the students experience first-hand how their business skills can be used overseas in non-traditional ways,” says Jeff Huebner, Associate Professor of International Business who led the tour.

RSB business students Lauren Cassie and Joni Sawatzky with a MiCredito loan client

Before leaving Winnipeg, the students spent four months studying microfinance and writing research consulting reports for two partner organizations operating in Latin America, MEDA/MiCredito and HOPE International.

 They presented their research to the staff of these organizations, visited microenterprise clients and loan group meetings, and learned about the challenges and opportunities of doing business and development abroad.

“Textbooks just don’t convey stories as well as standing face-to-face with actual people in the story,” says Lauren Cassie, a fourth-year business major from Lorette, Manitoba.

For Cassie, a highlight of the study tour was making the connection between her classroom learning and the outside world.

“Visiting with individual clients and hearing how they had been personally impacted by the microfinance loans was awesome.”

Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) is one of the organizations RSB has partnered with, through their affiliate MiCredito in Nicaragua.

“We’re delighted to see some of today’s best and brightest young people get a firsthand exposure to a microfinance institution in action,” says Bob Kroeker, MEDA regional director of resource development.

“This gives us a chance to introduce a new generation to the impact of creating business solutions to poverty.”

RSB offers study tours annually that are open to students, CMU alumni and supporters. Next year’s study tour will be to Europe in May 2014, with the theme of Business in the European Union.

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Janessa Klassen, Jeff Huebner, MiCredito loan client with his family, Rony Doerksen, and Ethan Heidebrecht in Nicaragua
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Articles Student Projects

Voices of the Voiceless: Newcomer struck by Canadians’ materialism

VoV - Newcomer struck
Canada is known as a land of plenty but, through the eyes of a newcomer, it’s not necessarily the land of happiness. CMU student Paulin Bossou and his family moved to Winnipeg from Africa two years ago, and he has seen beyond Canada’s relative affluence.

voices

By Bethany Penner

 

Canada is known as a land of plenty but, through the eyes of a newcomer, it’s not necessarily the land of happiness.

Paulin Bossou and his family moved to Winnipeg from Africa two years ago, and he has seen beyond Canada’s relative affluence and materialism.

“People are not living very well here,” the Canadian Mennonite University student said in an interview. “They have money and infrastructure, but people are not happy here. There is a lack

 of something. Money and the other things that we strive after does not bring happiness.”

Bossou had worked for a home for disadvantaged children, La Casa Grande Benin, in Benin, West Africa, for the past 10 years. He, his wife and their two children felt it was time to try something new and they were drawn to Manitoba by a Mennonite connection. In Benin, he was associated with a Mennonite church, and Bossou was fascinated and curious about Mennonites. He had heard that Canada—Manitoba in particular—had an abundance of Mennonites and this brought the family to Winnipeg.

One big difference between Benin and Canada is how people choose to use their time, Bossou said.

“In Benin, I had enough time to share my time with other people and help other people. But here, this time doesn’t exist. People are rushing and looking for money and they are not living.”

Bossou also expressed concern that many people in Canada appear to live their faith on a shallow level.

“The environment here does not help to make a good Christian. For me, to be a Christian does not mean to just go to church, but is to participate in the life of the community. Here it is an option to go to church or be part of the community. But not for me.”

To him, being a Christian means spending time with people, enjoying life and sharing experiences with others. It also means taking the necessary time to worship God and grow in faith, which means giving God more than one hour on Sunday mornings.

God has had a huge impact on the Bossou family and their immersion in the radically different culture of Canada. Bossou says he has learned the importance of trusting God to the fullest. 

“I discovered that people don’t want to depend on God because they have many opportunities to do things themselves. If you can do something by yourself, you do not expect another person to do it. They try to be rational, instead of using faith.”

As Bossou studies at CMU, his wife studies at St. Boniface University in Winnipeg. The family plans to return to Benin next year, where Bossou will continue being the director of La Casa Grande Benin, a home for children, including those who have lost parents due to AIDS. The ministrybegan in 2000 as a partnership between the Burgos Mennonite Church and Mennonite Board of Missions, a predecessor agency of Mennonite Mission Network.

Bossou said he will return to Africa with many positive experiences in Canada.

“Here is good, but not the place for me. For us, it is a privilege to be here and learn more about this country and share what we have learned with other people. It is a dream or something special to come and live in this country and now we will share it with our friends.”

Bethany Penner is a student at Canadian Mennonite University. She wrote this article as part of her work in the course Journalism—Principles and Practices. “Voices of the Voiceless” is a class project that aims to chronicle the humanity of often-ignored people on the margins of our community.

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CMU student athletes achieve academic excellence

When Danielle Klassen has a moment of free time to study, she uses every minute of it.

Klassen is one of 14 CMU students who achieved a 4.0 GPA in a full-time course load while also competing on a CMU athletics team.

“Balancing school and sports can definitely be a challenge,” says Klassen, a first-year student from Calgary who attends Foothills Mennonite Church.

“(This past semester) I had to make sure I was using my time efficiently. I also made an effort to try to get assignments done ahead of time instead of leaving them to the night before.”DanielleKlassen1

The time commitment needed for things like practices, games, and traveling for tournaments can be substantial.

But the time and dedication needed to excel at both academic and athletic pursuits points to more than just an ability to work hard.

According to Russell Willms, CMU’s Director of Athletics, such abilities tend to translate well outside the CMU world, pointing to strength of character and ability to succeed after a student has long since graduated.

“The time, energy and attention that we have witnessed this year is a testament to the dedication of these students,” says Willms.

Nick Czehryn just completed his first year at CMU with a 4.0 GPA, while playing for the CMU Blazers soccer team.

Although achieving the athletic-academic balance is challenging for Czehryn, the rewards outweigh the costs.

“There’s a high level of play, and good competition. Everyone’s excited to be there, and achieving a good balance isn’t as hard as I thought it might be. I enjoy being together with my team.”

Klassen also appreciates the time spent with her teammates.

“It is a priceless gift to be able to pay with girls who can be focused on the accomplishments of others as well as their own achievements,” she says.

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Events General News News Releases

Local graduates receive award from CMU President

Nicole Richard and David Thiessen take home President’s Medals for scholarship, leadership, and service

Winnipeg, May 3, 2012 – Nicole Richard and David Thiessen are the 2013 recipients of Canadian Mennonite University’s (CMU) President’s Medals.

CMU President Cheryl Pauls with Nicole Richard and David Thiessen
CMU President Cheryl Pauls with Nicole Richard and David Thiessen

CMU President Cheryl Pauls awarded the medals during CMU’s 2013 Graduation Exercises this past Sunday, April 28. Richard, who graduated with a Bachelor of Music Therapy degree, and Thiessen, who graduated with a four-year Honours BA in Biblical and Theological Studies, received the award in recognition of their qualities of scholarship, leadership, and service.

“I was very honoured to receive it,” Richard says. “I was a little surprised … because I know there are a lot of students that really deserved it.”

Richard, 23, and Thiessen, 21, were chosen from a group of 93 graduates.

“Nicole and David are incredibly fine people,” Pauls says. “For those of us who teach and work at CMU, they humble us and exemplify the best ideals of the mission and vision of CMU, which is to inspire and equip women and men for lives of service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society. Students like Nicole and David don’t merely live out the CMU mission; they extend it beyond what we’ve already seen and imagined. In turn, they are the ones who inspire and equip faculty and staff.”

The selection process focuses especially on students whose academic achievements are matched by their growth as well as potential in the practical application of their education.

While at CMU, Richard—who has a broad musical background that includes playing violin for 19 years, as well as the piano and guitar—led a Fellowship Group and worked as a tutor. She is also involved with leading music at her church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and volunteers with Faith and Light, a L’Arche outreach for people with intellectual disabilities and their families.

Thiessen was also involved with music during his time at CMU, playing guitar in a number of worship bands. His involvement in his home congregation, McIvor Avenue Mennonite Brethren, includes volunteering as a youth group leader as well as working to establish a young adults group. He has also participated two short-term missions trips to Peru with MB Mission, a Mennonite Brethren organization that supports international and local missionaries worldwide.

He is currently speaking with MB Mission leaders about the possibility of doing an apprenticeship with the organization.

Richard, meanwhile, will move to Kitchener, Ont. in September for an eight-month internship with kidsLink, an organization that offers multi-disciplinary services for children who have mental health issues.

Both describe their time at CMU as transformative.

“Being in class reminded me of how particular my own perspective is,” Thiessen says, adding that engaging with faculty and fellow students challenged that perspective. “It really broadened out the way I see the world and the way I see my own tradition within it.”

Richard also describes the conversations she had with fellow students as a highlight of her time at the university.

“Being a Roman Catholic at a Mennonite university has been really neat,” she says. “I’ve enjoyed such excellent conversations with people where we’ve been able to share our own faith experiences … [and] the different ways God has led us from different backgrounds. That’s been really inspiring for me.”

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Faculty - Gordon Matties

Announcing the 2014 Tour! April 28 to May 19.

The itinerary for the 2014 tour is almost ready to be posted. We’ll be visiting more sites in the West Bank/Palestine, including biblical Shechem (modern Nablus), Sebaste (capital city of ancient kings Omri and Ahab), Jacob’s well, among others. Click on the link on the right side of the page to go to the tour website or to view last year’s itinerary. Faith Today magazine did an interview with me about the tour. It turns out to be a fine advocacy piece for why people should consider taking an “academic” study tour led by a professor rather than a generic tour. One good reason: someone I know is leaving today for a tour to Israel, and is not visiting the Palestinian territories at all. Not even Bethlehem. I find it odd that a Christian group would not visit Bethlehem or any other sites in Palestine. To read the article click here: Faith Today.

Photo: Gordon Matties. A window in the staircase at the Church of the Annunciation, Nazareth.

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Alumni Profiles Articles

Alumni Profile – Matt Sawatzky (CMU ’06)

Matt Sawatzky [2] - Corey Aronec
CMU alumnus Matt Sawatzky. Photo by Corey Aronec.
May 2, 2013 – Matt Sawatzky likes photography because photos tell stories in ways that words cannot.

“Learning to do that well—to be able to capture a story visually—is interesting to me,” says Sawatzky, who participated in CMU’s Outtatown Discipleship School 2001-2002 and graduated from CMU with a three-year B.A. in International Development Studies (IDS) in 2006.

Sawatzky’s latest project combines his love for photography with his interest in international development. “A Sad Sort of Clean: Hydropower in Northern Manitoba” is an exhibit opening this Friday, May 3 at Winnipeg’s Flatlanders Studio that features photography and video Sawatzky created along with Cree elder Ellen Cook.

The photos and videos feature people and waterways that have been affected by hydro development in Northern Manitoba. Sawatzky and Cook spent 11 days last spring visiting Grand Rapids, Split Lake, and South Indian Lake, three communities that are between five and 11 hours north of Winnipeg.

Commissioned by the Interfaith Task Force on Northern Hydro Development, a coalition of leaders from Mennonite, United, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic churches and The Thunderbird Lodge who aim to promote thoughtful debate on hydro issues, “A Sad Sort of Clean” asks three questions: Is hydropower clean? Are new dams a good idea? Does Manitoba need new dams or a new approach to hydro?

IMG_5455
This image from “A Sad Sort of Clean” depicts fisherman Robert Spence of the Tataskweyak Cree Nation. Photo by Matt Sawatzky.

“The purpose of the project is to show the human cost of our ‘green’ energy,” Sawatzky says. “It’s not to disparage or demonize Manitoba Hydro, but rather, to counter the clean image they present themselves with by showing the people and waterways at the end of the transmission line.”

“The goal was to show that our great hydro-electricity comes at a cost,” he adds.

It was during his time in Guatemala on Outtatown that Sawatzky first fell in love with photography. When he returned home to Winnipeg, he enjoyed getting the prints back that he had shot with a small point-and-shoot camera.

Sawatzky says he enjoys photography in part because it’s a way for him to record his experiences.

“Some people have a journal that they write in, but I’ve started to assemble photo albums for every year of my life,” he says. “It’s a way for me to document memories visually.”

090912MS662
Elder Herb Cook of the Misipawistik Cree Nation (Grand Rapids) surveys wood debris littering Cedar Lake in this image from “A Sad Sort of Clean.” Photo by Matt Sawatzky.

Sawatzky’s Outtatown experience also led him to study IDS. The poverty he witnessed in Guatemala was eye-opening.

“Seeing the poverty, being out of my comfort zone, and seeing how the world actually operates made a big impact on me,” Sawatzky says.

In the years since, he has combined his love for photography and interest in IDS by working with non-governmental organizations in Egypt, Nepal, South Africa, and Zambia. He’s also travelled through India and New Zealand.

Sawatzky is currently working for a landscaping company and in September will start a pre-Master’s program in Landscape Architecture at the University of Manitoba.

“My time at CMU definitely shaped how I try and direct my life,” Sawatzky says. “Ultimately, I want to do work, whether it’s photographic or otherwise, that’s going to address inequalities in the world and work toward justice.”

“A Sad Sort of Clean” opens at Winnipeg’s Flatlanders Studio (782 Main St.) on Friday, May 3 from 7-10 PM. The exhibit will be up until the end of June. Regular hours are 1-4 PM on Saturdays and Sundays (closed May 25-26). For more information, visit the exhibit’s Facebook page at www.tinyurl.com/SadClean.

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CMU spring concert celebrates wonder and mystery in music

Winnipeg, May 1, 2013 – Four choirs from Canadian Mennonite University’s School of Music presented a concert celebrating the mystery and wonder of music Saturday night.

“We often use words like wonder and mystery to describe our experiences of music,” said CMU President Dr. Cheryl Pauls. “But we also connect a sense of wonder and mystery with those places where we experience the spirit of the Lord.”

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The phrase Where the Spirit of the Lord Is provided the overall theme for the evening, and was also the theme for all CMU chapel services this year.

The theme was highlighted by the performance of Psalm 46 by the CMU Singers, composed by CMU faculty member Timothy Corlis.

Commissioned for CMU’s Worship + Imagination conference in February, the piece features a variety of percussion instruments, including handbells and a gong.

_DSC0035 copyDr. Janet Brenneman is Dean of the School of Music at CMU and conducts the CMU Women’s Chorus and the CMU Chamber Choir.

“We are proud of the way our students continue to carry on CMU’s rich tradition of choral music,” she said.

“It’s exciting to see so many students engaging with choral music at such a high level. This year’s spring concert was an exceptional performance and a wonderful inclusion to the weekend’s graduation ceremonies.”

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Library, learning commons, and bridge building project continues to move forward

Variance-2$9.3-million raised, variance approved, and tendering begun

Winnipeg, May 2, 2013 – Following the celebrations of the 2013 Graduation Exercises at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) comes more exciting news—the university’s newest building project is a few steps closer to becoming a reality.

Construction of the CMU Library & Learning Commons and Bridge is slated to begin early this summer after the university’s variance application was approved on Wednesday, April 24 at a Board of Adjustment hearing at City Hall. CMU needed permission to build the library closer to Grant Avenue than is permitted under City regulations, and the City approved its request.

With this approval, CMU entered a two-week period during which immediately adjacent neighbours can contest the variance, though no concerns about this project have come forward.

Paula Havixbeck, City Councillor for Charleswood-Tuxedo, spoke at the hearing and offered strong affirmation of CMU’s presence within the community and of how the new Library and Bridge will further strengthen this capacity.

“I am excited about this project and what it brings to the community,” Havixbeck said at the hearing. “This is an opportunity to bring the community together and to have more places to meet.”

The design process is nearing completion, and Concord Projects Ltd.—the project’s contractor—will issue tender documents this week. The tendering process will last approximately three weeks.

CMU Vice President External Terry Schellenberg says one of the reasons he is excited about the project is that the Library & Learning Commons will include both a café and a ‘conversation corner’ in which events such as book launches, readings, stand-up receptions, and opportunities for engaged conversation of significant issues to CMU and the broader community will be hosted.

“The café and Commons will foster interaction, story-telling, and conversation, all with the technical capacity to capture and communicate these stories in multiple formats, including audio, video, and on the web,” Schellenberg says. “We want to invite the surrounding community into conversation and make CMU a meeting place.”

The project is being funded by gifts raised by the CONNECT fundraising campaign. Under the leadership of Campaign Chair Elmer Hildebrand, who is CEO of Golden West Broadcasting, the campaign has raised $9.3-million of its $12.6-million goal. Approximately 300 donors have contributed to the campaign.

“We feel deeply humbled and grateful for the leadership from Elmer and other Campaign Cabinet members, as well as for the engagement of the donors who are supporting the campaign and making this dream for CMU a reality,” says CMU President Cheryl Pauls.

In addition to the café, the project integrates CMU’s Bookstore with Mennonite Church Canada’s Resource Centre, and includes a pedestrian bridge to span Grant Avenue, connecting the new library to CMU’s south side campus and providing safe passage for the CMU University community.

Planned for the heart of CMU’s Shaftesbury campus in south Winnipeg, the Library & Learning Commons will generate vital resources and services, study and collaborative spaces, and welcome the constituency and broader community into the life of the University.

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Luncheon showcases CMU’s Redekop School of Business

CMU MEDA luncheon presentation
CMU Associate Professor of International Business Jeff Huebner showcases the university’s new business space and the video-conferencing technology.

Winnipeg, April 30, 2013 – More than 40 businesspeople, students, and teachers gathered at CMU on April 9 as the university’s Redekop School of Business (RSB) partnered with the Winnipeg chapter of Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) for a luncheon.

The luncheon allowed CMU Associate Professor of International Business Jeff Huebner to showcase the university’s new business space, and the video-conferencing technology now available to RSB faculty and students.

The luncheon also included a 30-minute live videoconference with Veronica Herrera, the CEO of MiCredito in Managua, Nicaragua. MiCredito is a microfinance organization funded in part by MEDA.

“It was a great event,” Huebner says, noting that while CMU has had a business program for five years, it was only in the last year-and-a-half that it became known as the Redekop School of Business and started offering the Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

CMU MEDA luncheon video conference 2
The luncheon included a 30-minute live videoconference with Veronica Herrera, the CEO of MiCredito, a microfinance organization in Nicaragua funded in part by MEDA.

“The luncheon was a spotlight event where we could profile the school to the business community,” Huebner says.

MiCredito creates business solutions that include both social and financial support to micro and small entrepreneurs in Nicaragua, providing for a more prosperous future. It employs 54 people in seven branches, with a portfolio worth more than $4 million USD.

Six business students from CMU will visit the organization during an international study tour April 29-May 13.

Huebner says he organizes travel study programs so that students see and experience first-hand how their business knowledge and skills can be applied in other countries.

Huebner says he organizes travel study programs “so that students see and experience first-hand how their business knowledge and skills can be applied in other countries and among those who are less fortunate or who have different needs.”

At the luncheon, Huebner also introduced a new RSB scholarship. Worth approximately $6,500 in tuition savings, the scholarship has been established for a student endorsed by MEDA.

Established in 2011, the Redekop School of Business is developing the potential of future business leaders to bring together sound business practice with commitments of faith, generosity, and service.