Jonah Langelotz – CMU Media Archive

Canadian Mennonite University is pleased to announce that Jonah Langelotz has been awarded the first Dr. Robert Janzen Memorial Scholarship.

Dr. Robert Janzen was particularly interested in the environmental aspects and impacts of agriculture. Janzen pursued his interests through studies at Canadian Mennonite Bible College, University of Manitoba, and University of Alberta, where he received his doctorate in soil science. A hard working farmer and steward of the land, Janzen supported agricultural communities around the world by sharing his expertise with farmers.

Students qualifying for this $1,000 scholarship demonstrate inter-disciplinary interest in courses in Geography, Environmental Studies, International Development, Biology, Biblical/Theological Studies and are involved with CMU’s market garden/farm and in connecting this experience with their studies.

The annual scholarship is awarded to a student entering their 3^rd or 4^th year of studies and who is exploring some combination of: land use and ethics, rural-urban land issues, agricultural capacity building, soil biodiversity and nutrient cycles, environmental sustainability, and urban agriculture.

Jonah Langelotz, the first recipient of the Dr. Robert Janzen Memorial Scholarship

Recipient Jonah Langelotz is entering the 4th year of his International Development Studies (IDS) degree and completed his practicum this summer by working at a small-scale organic farm in southern Manitoba. He says he’s “very interested in exploring the hands-on aspects of farming” and how the topics of agriculture and the environment connect with international development.

Kenton Lobe, a member of the selection committee and an instructor of International Development at CMU, says that Langelotz wrestles with the broad questions of food justice, and at the same time, reflects on the application of those questions in the local context.

“Jonah reflects a kind of student who is wrestling with the ‘out there-ness’ of IDS,” says Lobe. “It’s not simply ‘out there’ that we ask questions of justice but also in our own lives.”

Lobe says Langelotz’s practicum choice was one way for him to reflect on the question of “how agriculture and food systems connect into questions of sustainability.”

Langelotz is interested in learning more about the impacts of agricultural policy for small-scale farmers, a topic which he explored in his scholarship application essay. In Seeking Justice on the Land and in Local Markets, Langelotz asks questions about the food system, agricultural policies and structures, and connects his interest in these areas to his faith, which he says includes caring for creation.

About CMU
A Christian university in the Anabaptist tradition, CMU’s Shaftesbury campus offers undergraduate degrees in arts, business, humanities, music, sciences and social sciences, and graduate degrees in Theology and Ministry. CMU has over 1,600 students, including those enrolled in degree programs at the Shaftesbury Campus and in its Menno Simons College and Outtatown programs.

For information about CMU, visit: www.cmu.ca.

For additional information, please contact:

Kevin Kilbrei, Director of Communications & Marketing
kkilbrei@cmu.ca; 204.487.3300 Ext. 621
Canadian Mennonite University
500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 2N2

August 31, 2012 – Langelotz and Zimmerly Team Up with Soccer Club in Puerto Lopez – In his final address as president at Canadian Mennonite University in 2012, now retired CMU President Gerald Gerbrandt reflected on CMU’s mission to be “a university of the church for the world.” This past summer, Jordon Zimmerly and Jonah Langelotz of the CMU men’s soccer team answered that calling when they travelled to South America as part of the Manitoba to Ecuador project.

The project, founded by Steinbach Regional Secondary’s Mark Reimer, seeks to bring Manitoban soccer players to Puerto Lopez, Ecuador each summer to work with the Los Canarios soccer club. Freddy Soto, the club’s manager, has established the club on the motto, “Honesty. Integrity. Respect.” – character traits that are valued in a community plagued by poverty, hopelessness, and substance abuse.

“The whole purpose of his program is to provide young boys, some of whom come from pretty rough homes, with role models for life,” explains Reimer.

Langelotz echoes Reimer’s analysis: “The club expects to not only produce good footballers, but more importantly, good people. It is a way to plant some healthy lifestyle seeds in the community.”

When asked about needs in Ecuador and how Canadians can help the families involved with Los Canarios, Langelotz, a student studying International Development Studies (IDS) at CMU, was quick to view the situation through an IDS lens. “Food and healthcare are huge issues in communities like Puerto López. Many of the people are in dire economic situations which have in turn led to an obvious presence of malnutrition,” Langelotz says. “Working towards generating funds to help local people buy land to grow healthy crops seems very practical. This way, we can meet those in need half-way and provide them with the tools to move forward. It would ultimately empower them with the opportunity to be healthy – to sow and in turn reap.”

Another way the program has assisted the young men is with the opportunity to learn and converse in the English Language. “English as a second language can provide new opportunities,” says Reimer. “Tourism is booming in Puerto López, and if you speak English you have opportunities in employment and in a whole range of educational opportunities that you wouldn’t otherwise have.”

Each day, the two CMU athletes spent their mornings in Spanish-language classes, volunteered at a day-care over the lunch-break, and spent afternoons working with the football club. “Practices were usually divided into the two separate age groups. Jonah and I worked with the younger ones while the more experienced coaches ran training with the older group,” shared Zimmerly.

Langelotz and Zimmerly also took part in a friendly match when Los Canarios hosted a local club. The two Blazers played alongside an Ecuadorian professional and a few semi-professional players in the match. The cherry-on-top came early in the match for Langelotz when he netted the game’s first goal for his adopted club – a real highlight for the second-year midfielder.

For more information about this project, visit the Manitoba to Ecuador blog at www.manitobatoecuador.wordpress.com

Written by Athletics Director Russell Willms for CMU