Summer 2009 - Northwestern College

COVER STORYRed ZoneDan Ross Dan RossThe Rev. Troy Van Beek, senior pastor of Bethel ReformedChurch in Sheldon, Iowa, worked in business for 10 years beforecompleting his undergrad degree and seminary. “I wake upevery morning—even when in the midst of difficult things—andI can’t believe I get paid for doing this,” he says.A former kindergarten teacher and NWC alumni director, KarenWoudstra is now a real estate agent. “I love the challenge ofmatching a family with the right house,” she says. “I get greatjoy hearing a family loves their new home.”“I understood at a deeper level God is in control, and I learned thingsI probably wouldn’t have learned if I had completed school the firsttime,” he says.Karen (De Boer ’79) Woudstra, an agent with Northwest Realtyin Orange City, looks back on the last eight years with amazementand confidence in God’s sovereignty. She sees how her experiences intwo previous careers—20 years as a kindergarten teacher and five asNorthwestern’s director of alumni relations—benefit her and her clientstoday.Her teaching skills come in handy as she helps first-time home buyersnavigate pre-approvals, offers and closings. She uses the computerproficiency she developed at NWC to complete paperwork and postlistings online. And the contacts from both positions have brought hermany clients.“I could do this for a long time,” she says, “but I’ve learned to be opento what God puts in front of me.”Costs of ChangeKaren (Goettsch ’84) Fenedick and her husband spent a year livingoff of his income so she could take computer courses. After 21 years as ananny in the Washington, D.C., area, she knew she needed technologicalskills to pursue an office job. When she landed a position sellinginsurance, she was so motivated she became one of the fastest-certifiedagents in State Farm’s history.Leon Fikse saved diligently to fund his education at WesternSeminary. But when his California house didn’t sell, their nest egg wassoon gone—as were borrowed funds from relatives. Unsure if he couldcontinue, he told God he didn’t know where to turn. “After we humbledourselves before God, our house sold quickly. God has always taken careof us,” he says.Reed Friese is learning trust after the first year of his coffee business.“My biggest surprise was how many lattes it takes to pay a light bill. I gotway more business than I expected. I also made way less,” he says.But he subleased some of his retail space to a flower shop, and he’sseen his roasting business perk up through the Sioux Falls farmer’smarket. Ultimately he savors the positives this change has brought hisfamily.Michael Swanson, the biochemist-turned-archivist, followed financialadvisers’ advice and had money saved in case he lost his job. He alsobenefited from a nontraditional-student fellowship that paid for a year ofgrad school.John Liesveld knows he could be making more money if he hadn’t leftlaw for the lure of the microphone. But he doesn’t have any regrets.“I love my job. That’s worth so much more.”Jordan Langer finished fifthin the 200-meter dash at theRed Raider Open in April.Scholar-AthletesSmart PlayTwenty-three Raiders earnedNAIA Scholar-Athlete honors thisspring, including 11 in track. Recognizedfor the second year eachwere Ingrid Carlson and JamesonGuthmiller in track, Trevor Kuiperin baseball, and golfers AnneEberline, Jamie Jeltema, JustinPannkuk, Kelsey Shiflett and LisaWiersma.BaseballClose GamesFour extra-inning lossesin the Great Plains AthleticConference—and another sixleague games in which the Raiderslost by one run—contributed toa 19-23 season. The squad was10th in the conference with an8-16 record. Brad Payne earnedfirst team all-conference honors,with Austin Malone and DrewNonnemacher named to thesecond team.SoftballComebackNWC lost 14 of its first 16games but went above .500 forthe rest of the season to finish at13-24. The Raiders were 10-14 inthe GPAC for 10th place. RachelHarris received second team allconferencerecognition.Outdoor TrackTwo at NationalsLogan Ogden finished 11thin the discus and 23rd in theshot put at the NAIA nationalmeet. Kyle Sauter was 14th in the110-meter hurdles. Sauter andCharity Miles were named GPACtrack athletes of the week aftertheir performances at the DakotaState Trojan Relays. Sauter wonthe 110- and 400-meter hurdles;Miles captured the 3000-meterrun. Fourteen Raiders were namedall-conference.Men’s GolfAll-Conference AgainLuke Vermeer earned allconferencehonors for the thirdyear in a row. He finished seventhindividually in the four-roundGPAC championship; the teamplaced seventh.Women’s GolfThird in GPACThe Raiders finished thirdin the four-round GPACchampionship, with Carrie Spreeand Maggie Achterhof earning allconferencehonors. Achterhof wasmedalist at the Briar Cliff Open,leading NWC to the team title.Women’s TennisBack on the CourtIn the first varsity tennis seasonat NWC since 2003, the Raiderswent 4-9 overall. They placedseventh in the conference with a3-6 mark. Nessa Summers (No. 6singles) and Kate Mannenbachand Jessica Pomerenke (No. 3doubles) earned all-conferencehonors.SoccerNew CoachesBlake Wieking ’08, a two-timeNAIA All-American honorablemention selection, has been namedthe new head coach for women’ssoccer. Sara (Kernes ’06) Nessa,the program’s all-time scoring andassist leader, will assist.For more on Raider sports, visitwww.nwcraiders.com24 SUMMER 2009Northwestern Classic 25Dan Ross