Travis Pollock and Markus Hess

Connecting flights

by Rachel Schlegel There are at least two key elements for climbing the professional ladder: connections and experience. At Hesston College, these simple lessons are ones the Aviation Department begins instilling in students from day one. Hesston College aviation graduates, friends and former roommates Markus Hess ’07 and Travis Pollock ’07 paid attention to the […]

Hesston College sophomore Kush Lengacher prepares a plane for flight.

Student Profile – Kush Lengacher ’12

Hometown: New Providence, Pa. Parents: Glen & Jean Lengacher Major: Aviation How did you choose Hesston? I grew up in a Mennonite home and my parents encouraged me to attend a Mennonite college. I knew I wanted to fly, and since Hesston is the only Mennonite college with an aviation program, it was a natural […]

Alumni Profile – Dr. Loren Groff ’91

Senior Safety Analyst for the National Transportation Board, Washington, D.C. Education after Hesston: B.A. in psychology and Ph.D. in human factors psychology from Wichita (Kan.) State University Tell us about your career. After graduating from Hesston, I was hired as a flight instructor for the college. In 1995 I left to fly for Air Midwest, […]

Former President Laban Peachey (1968 to 1980) and President Howard Keim pose with the Hesston College airplane with the radio call numbers in honor of President Peachey. Each of the college’s five planes’ call numbers includes the inauguration year of one of the presidents.

Homecoming 2011 photo gallery

Homecoming 2011 was Sept. 23 to 25 with a focus on Aviation. The premier event for the weekend was a symposium featuring professional aviation alumni presenting on various aspects of the aviation industry. Keynote speakers were Ben Savanick ’97, captain for Atlantic Southeast Airlines, and Roger Yoder ’79, captain for American Airlines. Other events included […]

Jason was a pilot with Executive Aircraft, a company started by Hesston graduate Stan Roth ’68 (deceased).

Flight safety training honors pilot

by Rachel Schlegel Jason Miller ’92 always wanted to fly. His wife, Monica (Diener) ’93 Miller, has a photo of him sitting in a cockpit when he was about six years old. She has another photo of him piloting a plane at the age of 28, his childhood dream realized. It wasn’t long after that […]

Flying from the ground

by Rachel Schlegel Dorine (Smith) ’91 Fahnestock had a goal in mind when she first arrived on the Hesston College campus. She wanted to fly, and Hesston could teach her how. Little did she know, Hesston would also be the place she would discover a career path she hadn’t planned. Dorine didn’t visit campus before […]

Cris Rodriguez and his wife, Cynthia, are members of Hesston College’s Partner Program. Pictured with them is their daughter, Alana.

Partners Ponder: Why I am a Hesston College Partner

by Cris Rodriguez ’71 A Hesston College education is founded on Christian teachings and values. Over four decades ago, a person with the same vision thought that I would benefit from the Hesston Experience and education. A former junior high school teacher, who is still an active Partner, made it possible for me to go […]

Greg Bontrager tees off.

Alumnus part of back-to-back holes-in-one

by Rachel Schlegel One seemingly typical June evening of golf turned into something extraordinary for Greg Bontrager ’86 (Newton, Kan.), when he scored a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Bontrager and his men’s league partner were golfing against Justin Presnall and his partner at the Hesston Golf Park. Bontrager and Presnall were neck and neck as they approached […]

Family and faith connect generations of runners

by Andrew Sharp Kenny Graber ’12 (Stryker, Ohio) and Jacob Landis ’13 (Sterling, Ill.) are two of the top men’s cross country runners at Hesston College. A generation ago, their fathers also ran on the Hesston campus. Collectively, their competiveness, ties to family and faith, and support of Hesston College have led to four similar […]

Freshmen roommates David Rudy (Manheim, Pa.) and Michel Anderson (Wichita, Kan.) pose for Rudy’s mother, Carolyn, as they moved in to Kauffman Court at the beginning of the year.

News briefs

Due to ongoing generous support of Hesston College, college officials announced in July that the Annual Fund goal was met. About 750 households from 36 states and three countries are members of the Partner program and are a primary reason for the success as 80 percent of the $1.24 million goal came from Partner gifts. […]

Amy Birdsell (right) talks with (from left) Dr. Sandra Zerger, vice president of Academics; Sandy Toews, Aviation staff; and former President Laban Peachey during Homecoming 2011.

Sharing the joy of flight – faculty perspective

by Amy (Bachman) ’01, faculty, Birdsell Homecoming this year was extremely special to me. I graduated from the Hesston College Aviation program 10 years ago, so not only did I reconnect with my former classmates, I also had the opportunity to help showcase the program that developed me as a person, an aviator and now […]

Being number two – President’s Perspective

In August 2010, Hesston College was ranked the number 2 two-year college in the nation by Washington Monthly magazine. This recognition is an honor and a tribute to our faculty and the college as a whole. The primary criteria for this recognition are graduation rates and student engagement, as measured by the Community College Survey […]

Erika Dorsch ’13 tutors a classmate in Microbiology.

Support for learners: A place for discovery

by Rachel Schlegel They come to Hesston College from across the country and around the world. They come from different backgrounds and religions, bringing a mosaic of ideas. They come to study nursing, business and social work, to play soccer or sing in the choir. Regardless of how or why they end up on campus, […]

Alumni Profile – Rachel Swartzendruber ’00 Miller: Hesston College vice president of Admissions and Financial Aid

Education after Hesston: B.A. in communication from Goshen (Ind.) College, M.A. in communication from Wichita (Kan.) State University, Ph.D. candidate in leadership with emphasis in higher education administration through Andrews University (Berrien Springs, Mich.) Tell us about your career. My life’s theme since I was at Hesston is encompassed in the college’s 2010-11 theme verse […]

Student Profile – Larry Catlett ’11

Hometown: Hutchinson, Kan., now living in Hesston Family: Wife, Carlota Ponds and daughter, Gail Area of study: Pastoral Ministries How did you choose Hesston? In 1998, after 35 years of drug use, I checked into a VA hospital for post-traumatic stress disorder from the Vietnam War. I wanted to change who I was. I got […]