Dordt College Alumni E-News

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Six new elementary education scholarships are established

Dr. Douglas Ribbens and Henrietta (Miedema) Ribbens concluded careers at Dordt College in 1992, but their support for the mission of Dordt College and Christian education continues.

The Sioux Center couple has established a $100,000 scholarship fund to assist elementary education majors at Dordt College in financing their education. For the next five years, six Dordt College elementary education majors will be presented with Ribbens Scholarship Awards. Three juniors and three seniors will be selected to receive a total of $20,000 annually in scholarship funding, awarded primarily on need-based criteria. Juniors receiving Ribbens Scholarships will be eligible to apply for a second year of scholarship funding.

For more on this story click here.

Also in this issue . . .

Blades Hockey Coach Honored

TV Producer Alumnus on Campus

Psychology Student takes First Place

New Men's Basketball Coach

Alumni Help with Mock Interviews

Nursing Visit Day Coming Up

Van Niejenhuis named ACHA national coach of the year

Dordt College Blades hockey coach Nate van Niejenhuis has been named the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division III Coach of the Year. His team finished fifth in the ACHA Division III National Tournament held in Rochester, New York, the first week of March.

Van Niejenhuis, has led the Blades to the ACHA Division III National Tournament two years in a row and coached the Blades to the #2 ranking in the final poll released by the Pacific Region. That #2 ranking allowed the Blades an automatic berth in the 16-team field. Van Niejenhuis coached the Blades to two consecutive 20-plus win seasons and has been instrumental in bringing Showcase and Regional tournaments to the Vernon Arena in Sioux Center, Iowa. He was named the Pacific Region Coach of the Year, which put him in the running for the national award. Last year, the team finished 13th at the National Tournament in Rochester, Minnesota with a 2-2 record at the event.

For more information click here.

NBC TV writer and producer to speak at Dordt College

With another season of "Law & Order" under his belt, Luke Schelhaas is taking a short break from Hollywood to visit his hometown and speak at his alma mater, Dordt College in Sioux Center. Schelhaas will show video excerpts, discuss his work, and answer questions about writing for television at Dordt College on Wednesday, April 1, at 7:30 p.m. in the B.J. Haan Auditorium.

The 1996 Dordt College graduate and Sioux Center native is a supervising producer for "Law & Order" and co-wrote three original episodes with Ed Zuckerman this season. He previously wrote and served as a production assistant for the television series "Touched by an Angel" and for the CW network series "Smallville." He has also been a writer/producer for short films, was a supervising producer for the TV series "Runaway," and wrote two original pilot series that have not been produced.

For more on this story click here.

Dordt student takes first place for psychology research

A senior psychology major at Dordt College claimed first place for her research presentation at the Midwest Institute for Students and Teachers of Psychology on February 27-28 in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Lynn (Edwards) Price presented, "Influence of Sociocultural Eating Norms and Age on Food Selection in Girls." Price's research was conducted in Experimental Psychology 366, an independent study practicum that provides students with practical experience in what a teaching career as a professor entails. Her advisor, Dr. Sherri Lantinga, encouraged Price to both attend the conference to learn more about teaching psychology and present her research project as a poster presentation.

For more information click here.

Douma named men's basketball coach

Ross Douma will be the new men's basketball coach and work in the Dordt College Health, Physical Education and Recreation department.

Douma, currently the head boy's basketball coach at Waukee High School, is in his tenth year of coaching high school basketball. Douma had a 128-94 record in his previous nine seasons at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn, Chicago Christian, and Waukee. Douma's 2008 Waukee team qualified for the Class 4A Iowa High School State Tournament.

For more on this story click here.

Dordt alumni help students prepare for job interviews

Dordt students in the two-year Administrative Assistant degree program got some helpful employment tips from Dordt alumni and other area business people at a mock interview night conducted recently in the Vermeer Business and Conference Center.

Instructor of Business Education, Tim Klein, invited eight alumni and five other area employers to conduct 30-minute mock interviews with students, followed by 15 minutes of individual feedback, and a group discussion time to conclude the evening exercise.

"This evening helps students to become more relaxed when they find themselves in a true interview situation," said Klein. Other things students gleaned from the interview night were the importance of a first impression; the need to show the connection between one's own qualifications and what the company is looking for; and demonstrating confidence in your ability to fill the position for which you are interviewing.

For more on this story click here.

Hands-on nursing visit day

The Dordt College Nursing Department invites high school students to a special campus visit day for prospective nursing students on Friday, April 3, from 8:15 a.m.-5 p.m.
Registration and a complimentary continental breakfast begin at 8:15 a.m. in the Campus Center Eckardt Lounge, followed by a campus tour at 8:45. Hands-on nursing activities will be held from 10 a.m. until noon, when attendees join the nursing faculty for a complementary luncheon. Students will then tour St. Luke's College and Regional Medical Center in Sioux City in the afternoon.

For more information about the nursing visit day or to sign up, contact Janna Hulstein, at 1-800-34-DORDT or 712-722-6085.

Discovery Days registration now open

Register your junior-high child today for Dordt Discovery Days, our summer camp for students who have completed 6th, 7th or 8th grade, which will be held June 22 - 26, 2009. Online registration opened at midnight on March 25 and logged over 100 registrants within the first eight hours, so don't delay! Residential and commuter living options are available.

To register your child or to learn more click here or contact

Dianne De Wit .

Alumni and friends events

Biology Presentations

IdeaFest 2009

Give us your Opinion

Alumni Notes

Sioux Falls Business Connections Breakfast

Sioux Falls area alumni are invited to attend a Dordt College Business Connections Breakfast seminar on Friday morning, April 24, at 6:45 a.m.at US Bank, 141 North Main in Sioux Falls. The seminar will be held in the lower level training room.

Presenting will be Dale Zevenbergen, Dordt College Instructor of Business. Zevenbergen teaches Marketing and Operations Management and has eighteen years of experience in accounting, cost management, manufacturing, sales, and distribution management, primarily at Pella Corporation.

Zevenbergen's presentation, titled "Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement," will draw heavily on principles learned and cases managed in one of the top 100 companies in America to work for.

Please RSVP by contacting Wes Fopma, Director of Alumni Relations, or Melissa Prins. Remember, it's a free breakfast and a chance to network with other Dordt College alumni.

Travelogue

America's Natural Wonders will be featured in a travelogue at Dordt College Friday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m. in the B.J. Haan Auditorium. Tickets can be purchased at the door: $4.50 for adults and $3.50 for students. Following the travelogue, guests are invited to Dordt's rooftop observatory to view the night sky (see announcement below).

See the stars

Dordt College's Physics and Astronomy Department invites the public to its rooftop observatory as part of a 100-hour astronomy marathon Thursday through Saturday, April 2, 3, and 4. Evening observation hours at the Science and Technology Center will be 8:30-10 p.m., and a daytime solar viewing will be Saturday from 1 -3 p.m. For more information contact Dr. Douglas Allen.

Easter hymn festival

An Easter Hymn Festival will be held Sunday, April 19, 3 p.m., at First Christian Reformed Church in Sioux Center. Dordt College's Artist-in-Residence Dr. Robert Horton will be featured on the organ.

Choir concert

Dordt College's choral ensembles—the Chorale, Concert Choir, Kantorei, and Women's Chorus—will present a concert Tuesday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m. in the B.J. Haan Auditorium. Admission is free, with a free-will offering received to benefit music scholarships at Dordt College.

Instrumental concert

The Dordt College Concert Band, Chamber Orchestra, and Campus-Community Band will present a concert Friday, May 1, 7:30 p.m., at Dordt's B.J. Haan Auditorium. Admission is free, with a free-will offering received to benefit music scholarships at Dordt College. Following the concert a Jazz Band Soirée will be held at the Campus Center at 9:30 p.m.

Biology presentations

The Dordt College biology department is hosting a Senior Research Presentation Night on Wednesday, April 29, in the Science and Technology Building Lecture Hall S108, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

IdeaFest to be held

IdeaFest 2009 will take place at the Dordt College Campus Center Thursday, April 30, from 3-5:30 p.m. Students in a wide variety of majors will present their research on a vast array of topics. A schedule of presentations will be posted here.

Survey Available

We want to hear what you have to say. The most recent spring issue of the Voice included a short survey about the Voice and other Dordt College alumni publications. Please take a few minutes to give us your input by either completing the paper survey and returning it in the postage-paid envelope or complete it online here. Thanks for your input!

Alumni Notes

Please remember to include information about yourself when sending in birth announcements for the Voice. Your classmates like to hear what you've been doing. Send us an e-mail at alumni@dordt.edu.

The most recent Voice

Connect with other alumni

This is the place to connect and network with other Dordt College alumni. The directory is available only to Dordt College alumni, who must register to gain access to contact information for other Dordt alumni. Those who register can update their own profiles and hide any information they do not want listed. The directory has a simple search function and an advanced search function, allowing you to search for other alumni, based on various criteria. For more information contact the alumni office at 712-722-6022 or email: alumni@dordt.edu.