by Myckelle Williams | Apr 17, 2017 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
On Monday, April 17, 2017 at 7:00 p.m., a premier screening of “Hacer Discipulos” will be shown in Ezell Chapel. The film is the result of a collaborative partnership between Lipscomb Track Missions and Manna Global Ministries. The film’s producer is Katie Bianchini, who graduated in December of 2016 from both the Journalism New Media and Spanish programs. Bianchini is now in the Graduate Instructional Practice Program, working towards her goal of becoming a High School Spanish teacher. “Creating this documentary was a pairing of both of my majors in Spanish and Journalism,” she said. “It just made sense.” Bianchini grew up in Snohomish, Washington, and said that she always had an interest in learning Spanish. She came to Lipscomb as part of Track and Cross Country program, where she excelled and obtained numerous awards, including second and third place all-team conference awards, the ASUN Indoor Runner of the Week award and the mile at the Don DeNoon Invite with a time of 4:57.43. She also finished first in the 5000m at the Bellarmine Invite and the 1500m at the Joey Haines Invite in 2016. During her undergraduate years at Lipscomb, Bianchini participated in several missions programs, and traveled to the Dominican Republic with the track team four times. The film “Hacer Discipulos” was an idea born during an internship that was required to complete the Journalism program. Bianchini said that what started an idea for a short film about a mission trip ended up being extended into a full-length feature.“Originally, I just did it to fulfill the three-credit Journalism requirement, but now it has taken on a life of...
by Myckelle Williams | Apr 4, 2017 | News Slider
As part of Welcome to Our Worlds (WOW) week, Dr. Gatluak Thach, President and CEO of the Nashville International Center for Empowerment, was a featured guest speaker in Swang 110 on Tuesday. The event was sponsored by the Office of Intercultural Development, SGA and the African Student Association. Thach spent his presentation discussing “South Sudan Today” and worked to answer the question “Where are the lost boys of Sudan?” “Education is important,” he said. “I was a child who fought war at age six. What we do today will change tomorrow. “Education opens doors. Save yourself and your community; save the country and the world. If I didn’t have the education I have today, I would not be able to do what I am doing.” South Sudenese by nationality, Thach came to America as a refugee over twenty years ago. As a child, he was kidnapped from a camp by a rebel army and forced to be a child soldier for several years. Eventually he escaped camp, along with his younger brother, and fled the region while becoming members of the “Lost Boys of Sudan.” “At one point I almost lost my life,” Thach said. The Lost Boys of Sudan was over 20,000 boys of the Nuer and Dinka ethnic groups who were displaced or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005). Over two million were killed and millions were displaced. The name “Lost Boys of Sudan” was colloquially used by aid workers in the refugee camps where the boys resided in Africa. The term was revived, as children fled the post-independence violence of South Sudan during 2011–2013....
by Myckelle Williams | Mar 30, 2017 | News Slider
In an effort to raise cultural awareness on Lipscomb’s Campus, the Intercultural Department is sponsoring a week-long festival with events showcasing food, fashion and speakers from around the globe. This is the fourth year in a row Lipscomb’s Intercultural Department has hosted the WOW (Welcome to Our World) event, and the program directors stressed to students that it is crucial to encourage open intercultural communication and diversity on campus, while continuing to appreciate the differences and similarities that exist between cultures. “We are celebrating the many cultures represented on our campus,” Assistant Dean and Director of Intercultural Development Lisa Steele said. “Our intercultural students are sharing their traditions, cultures and ethnicity through food, fashion and fun. We are 22% diverse at Lipscomb, and we want to show what that number represents.” Upcoming events for the week include the International Fashion Show on March 30 at 7 p.m. in Shamblin. For this event, student models wear traditional clothing from their countries, giving intercultural students a venue to share their clothing and traditions, as well as allowing others to share in the cultures. Students can also come by Bennett Student Center and pick up a free international dessert at “Sweet Treats from Around the World” beginning at 11 a.m. “When we experience a piece of someone’s culture, we have a clearer insight into who they are,” Steele said. “The more we understand each other, the more we can respect our differences. “ The Food Truck Fest, featuring 11 trucks serving a variety of international foods, will be on March 31 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Allen Arena circle. This year student entertainers...
by Myckelle Williams | Feb 22, 2017 | News Slider
Lipscomb hosted “Conversations of Significance,” featuring guest speaker Captain Ronald S. Johnson, to discuss what communities and individuals can do during crisis situations. The event was put on in an effort to ease tensions between the Nashville law enforcement and community members and facilitate conversation following the Nashville shooting death of Jocques Clemmons, a 31-year old African American man. Johnson was a captain with the Missouri Highway Patrol and was named commander of Ferguson operations on August 14, 2014, after the shooting of unarmed Michael Brown in Ferguson. Missouri. He was named as one of CNN’s Extraordinary people of 2014. At times, Johnson said he felt he could not do the job required of him, yet he consistently relied on his belief in God to stay strong. “Leadership is not about luck, it’s about faith,” Johnson said. The shooting of Brown occurred on August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, a northern suburb of St. Louis. Brown, an 18-year-old African-American man, was fatally shot after robbing a convenience store by Darren Wilson, 28, a Caucasian Ferguson police officer. On the first day of Johnson’s command, he marched with protesters down West Florissant Avenue — an effort that eased tensions among protestors, and what many hoped indicated an improving relationship between law enforcement and the Ferguson community. Johnson said that he was unaware at first that he would be placed in such a position, but he was both humbled and overwhelmed to the point where he would often be brought to tears when watching his city erupt in chaos and violence. In a November interview with Esquire, Johnson admitted that his days as commander were intense and stressful. “I’m...
by Myckelle Williams | Feb 1, 2017 | News Slider
After serving as the Coordinator of International Student Services for the last decade, Sylvia Bearden Braden has retired from her position within the Intercultural Development Department in order to focus on her family full-time. After working several years in social services, Braden joined Lipscomb as an international recruiter in 2007. She later transitioned into a position with the Office of Student Life as the Coordinator of International Student Services in 2011. According to Lisa Steele, Assistant Dean of Intercultural Services, the departure is bittersweet. While saddened to lose Braden, she feels that this is an opportunity to make needed changes within the department in an effort that she feels will grow and enhance the group. The mission of the Intercultural Development Department is to assist students by serving as their advocate and mentor, to equip students with positive coping skills and to provide a safe-haven of belonging for students. The department is committed to fostering an inclusive environment for students by striving to ensure the participation of Lipscomb’s under-represented students in university life. “Exciting changes are coming soon,” Steele said. “We decided that it would be a good time to revamp the position. We also changed the name of the position, so it’s now called Program Coordinator of Intercultural Development.” Lipscomb senior admissions counselor Dolly DeLong will assume the position of Program Coordinator in the fall of 2017. “The difference is that it will be a much less technical job now,” Steele said. “Rather than more focus on paperwork and visas, it will focus more on student life and activities now.” Steele also said that this does not mean that the individual club...
