Inspire, Fall 1997

On June 1, 1997, John Wambold '95 returned to Cedarville College as the new director of community ministries. John joined the Division of Christian Ministries, having had extensive experience in the division while a student at Cedarville College. John brings much ministry experience from his college years, an understanding of the mission of the Division of Christian Ministries, and a big heart for serving the Lord. John and his wife, Dawn (Allen '96), have made their home in Cedarville, having moved from Bel!brook, Ohio where John served as an income tax account analyst for the City of West Carrollton. John and Dawn are active members of Grace Baptist Church in Cedarville. Alumni response to the "Alumni In P int" Inspire has been outstanding! Leslie Leyland Fields'79 mailed two of her works for our alumni library, The Water Under Fish, a book of her poetry, and The Entangling Net, a creative nonfiction work which looks at the lives of women in the commercial fishing business. Leslie shares,"The writing life is a life of pain and privilege. Above all, it is the process of bringing every thought captive to Christ." Leslie is currently at work on two more books as well as keeping up with four children. Duncan '79 and Leslie Fields make their home in Kodiak, Alaska. In May 1997,Sue Edwards Helmick'86 became the secretary for the Elmer W. Engstrom Department of Engineering at Cedarville College. With a gift for organization, Sue thrives on handling details for special events and student competitions, as well as assisting 11 faculty members."The faculty I work with are great," Sue comments. Keeping track of engineering alumni keeps her busy, too. She eagerly anticipates interacting with students as they return for the 1997-98 school year. Sue, her husband, John '88, and their daughter, Erin (3), have made their home in Cedarville. Cedarville College welcomes visiting professor Dr. Richard Chewning,the Chavanne Professor of Christian Ethics in Business at Baylor University. Dr. Chewning will be on campus fall quarter to interact with Cedarville faculty and students on the topic of faith and learning. His goal is to have faculty bring an increasingly deeper, richer approach to biblical integration to the classroom. Dr. Chewning is the author of more than 70 books and articles demonstrating the relationship between a Spirit-nurtured, biblically-guided faith and a person's learning. His four-volume series, Christians In The Marketplace, is considered the most significant body of literature on the subject of biblical integration in business and economics. 4FALL'97 Engineering Her Future C herish Clark Lesko'96 credits her engineering courses in materials at Cedarville with sparking an interest that has led her into a doctoral program in material science at the University of Delaware College of Engineering. While at Cedarville, Cherish was an active member ofseveral engineering competition teams.She was a four-year member of the aerodesign team, the competition chief on the Saturn REV team one year and battery chief the next, and led the SAE science outreach to a local elementary school. Her student internship was at the General Motors/Delphi plant in Vandalia, Ohio. She also held the presidency of the SAE student chapter,the Society ofWomen Engineers,and the engineering honor society Tau Beta Alpha. Cherish's senior design project combined her interest in material science with her college-long participation in the aerodesign competition. Her project focused on using a composite material for aircraft landing gear,and she won first place in the Aerospace Atlantic Competition for college and university design projects. Her work also attracted the attention ofthe department chair of material science at the University of Delaware and led to her appointment in the graduate program.She held a teaching assistantship her first year and is now a research assistant.A portion of her research, which focuses on Raman spectroscopy for use in determining crystal orientation in polymer fibers,is conducted jointly at the University and at DuPont. Cedarville's engineering program was also where Cherish met Joseph Lesko,and they were married in December 1996. Joseph completed his electrical engineering degree at Cedarville in 1995 and is employed as an engineer at AstroPower,Inc., working in solar cell technology research and development. Cherish was active in Christian ministries while at Cedarville, serving on an MIS team to Hungary and in AWANA in her local church all four years. She currently leads the AWANA Cubbies program at her local church,and she and Joseph are active in the church orchestra and other ministries. Fringe Benefits H aving spent his elementary and high school years in the rural community of Cedarville, Andrew Shearer'94 wanted to attend a Christian college somewhere other than five miles from home.But as he visited several other institutions, Andy shares,"I could not find one that satisfied my criteria academically,as well as one that maintained the same spiritual atmosphere I recognized at Cedarville." So,the fall of 1990found Andy as a freshman at none other than Cedarville College. An excellent student and role model, he earned the first Nehemiah Scholarship, which recognizes outstanding achievement among engineering students. And in 1994,Andy earned a degree in mechanical engineering with Cedarville's first graduating class from the Department of Engineering. The summer of 1992 was a pivotal time as the Lord orchestrated Andy's future. Between his sophomore andjunior years,Andy toured the western United States with a Swordbearers ministry team.A member ofa church in California befriended Andy and offered,"If you ever need ajob,call me."Two years later, Andy did just that and was put in contact with a Christian manager at Hughes Space and Communications Corporation in California. As a mechanical engineer for Hughes,Andy designs space blankets for communications satellites. Because of direct sun exposure and the lack of atmosphere,a satellite may be Andy and Sarah wed June 14, 1997. Building A Radio n his freshman year at Cedarville College,Allan McGuire'95 already knew what his senior engineering design project would be. Allan's dad,a chief engineer with Trans World Radio(TWR)in Swaziland,Africa,challenged Allan to build a desperately-needed part for a transmitter. So Allan did! Along with his senior design project partner,Chris Handel'95,Allan developed and built the modulation monitor filters used by TWR at one oftheir 12 major transmitting sites in Albania. Even though Allan had his father's challenge and he grew up with a knowledge of TWR's work around the world,Allan did not know he would use his engineering career on the mission field. Allan credits Cedarville College with providing key spiritual development opportunities, Bible study, ministry opportunities, management skills, and people skills which God used to lead Allan into full-time missionary service. After graduation,Allan married his wife, Joyce,on August 12, 1995.Less than a year later, the McGuires embarked on a six-month mission trip with TWR to Bratislava in the Slovak Republic. The goal was to install a satellite uplink system which enables TWR to reach more than 22 million households across the European continent. TheTWR team started with an empty building, set up machinery,connected wiring,and developed an uninterruptable power supply system. Via the satellite's uplink in Monte Carlo and Cypress, TWR has tracked 500,000 to 750,000 listeners during one 15-minute daily radio broadcast in North Africa alone. Allan and Joyce now look forward to a four- year missions term in Swaziland where Allan grew up. In Africa alone, TWR broadcasts in more than 33 languages,holds a potential listening audience of700 million people,and provides local churches with access to distribute programming on local FM stations in their city. TWR also works with mission agencies to reach areas starving to hear more about Jesus.TWR cites that two new churches a day result from new believers listening to broadcasts. Allan and Joyce are excited about the Swaziland opportunity. Appointed May 31, 1997,they have already raised more than eight percent of needed support. Allan quotes this challenge that keeps him focused as they prepare to go to Africa,"I can use engineering to save physical lives, but God can use engineering to save souls." subjected to temperatures ranging from -250°F to +250°F within an area as small as two inches.The space blankets which Andy designs provide thermal stability for the satellites, as well as electrical isolation for the different materials used in manufacturing. But finding employment was not the only blessing God had in store during Andy's Swordbearers experience. Andy also became acquainted with a young Christian woman named Sarah, who is now his wife! The Shearers have settled in El Segundo,California. Reflecting on that summer with Swordbearers,Andy says,"I have learned that God blesses us as a result of ministry, notjust with spiritual fruits, but sometimes with fringe benefits as well!"