Avondale College ResearchOnline@Avondale Reflections Avondale History Online Summer 2010 Summer 2009/2010 Brenton Stacey Avondale College Follow this and additional works at: https://research.avondale.edu.au/reflections Recommended Citation Stacey, Brenton, "Summer 2009/2010" (2010). Reflections. 17. https://research.avondale.edu.au/reflections/17 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Avondale History Online at ResearchOnline@Avondale. It has been accepted for inclusion in Reflections yb an authorized administrator of ResearchOnline@Avondale. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Magazine of the Avondale College Alumni Association for alumni and friends of Avondale Summer 2009/2010 Vol 21 No 2 INSIDE The creation stewardship challenge A call for Seventh-day Adventists to Reflections care more for the environment Record number graduate “for Him” New titles good for reputation and research In memory: Avondale alumni honour classmate Outstanding Alumni of the Year and Community Service Award winners profiled Alumnus introduces first Suzuki Organ program Editor Brenton Stacey Editorial assistants Kirsten Bolinger, Linden Chuang Designer Ann Stafford Publisher Avondale College Limited Avondale College Limited publishes Reflections bi-annually for alumni and friends of Avondale. This magazine is © 2010 by Avondale College Limited. Printer Signs Publishing Company Cover Image Shutterstock Avondale College Alumni Association Avondale College PO Box 19 Cooranbong NSW 2265 AUSTRALIA Email [email protected] Phone +61 2 4980 2252 Internet www.avondale.edu.au/alumni Keeping the circle close Pastor Desmond B Hills President, Avondale College Alumni Association “Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it is still a gift.” the Outstanding Alumni of the Year awards, and it sponsors and “Forgive everyone everything.” presents the annual Community “Don’t compare your life with others. You have no idea Service Award. It also promotes what their journey is all about.” and maintains the Alumni Heritage These sayings by Regina Brett are selected from “Regina Walk on Avondale’s Lake Macqua- Brett’s 45 life lessons and 5 to grow on.” Regina is a rie campus. columnist for The Plain Dealer, a newspaper in Cleveland The association membership (Ohio, USA). “To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the enables us to continue lifelong 45 lessons life taught me,” says Regina. “It is the most relationships with Avondale in requested column I’ve ever written.” several ways including: When Regina turned 50 years old in 2006 (not 90 years as • Access to the library on campus reported), she added the final five lessons. The updated • A complimentary subscription to Reflections emailed or list is on her website at www.reginabrett.com. mailed to you Past and present students of Avondale College have the • Information about and invitations to Homecoming opportunity to learn more than 50 significant and even life-changing lessons while on campus. As most of us will • Access to the Avondale alumni website at agree, college days are so special and provide so many www.avondale.edu.au/alumni opportunities to appreciate the gift of life, to discover the • Service opportunities—the association is now coordi- life giver, God, to develop relationships with others and to nating working bees to improve beautification on the be content in all circumstances. Lake Macquarie campus Yes, our Avondale features fourfold Christian education • Giving opportunities through bequests, donations, en- and continues to inspire students with a greater vision of dowments and gifts in kind—many alumni are buying a world needs. As we all know, the greatest need of human- black, granite paver engraved with their name to place ity is spiritual. People desperately need to learn of Jesus— on the Alumni Heritage Walk on the Lake Macquarie the way, the truth and the life. campus; profits from the pavers go into a trust fund for The Avondale College Alumni Association is primarily improvements on campus dedicated to helping past and present students learn life Avondale alumni are scattered over the world, but let us lessons, develop Christian character, engage in humani- all keep the spirit alive and maintain contact with the col- tarian and gospel service, and discover the assurance of lege and with each other. A Kiwi graduate of the 1950s, eternal life. Belle (Gillespie) Howard, who is now living in the United This vibrant association of students, formed in 1988, also States of America, closes her communications with the helps to maintain and encourage contact among mem- words, “Keep the circle close. The Avondale circle is very bers, to foster and encourage interest in Avondale and to close and supportive and it is a strong network.” work for the development and strengthening of Christian Please advise us of former students who may have lost education at the college. and are now seeking contact with Avondale. The association organises the annual (and popular) Let’s keep the circle close, and let’s also keep Avondale Homecoming and produces this magazine, Reflections. College Council, staff members and students in our It nominates recipients for and presents the Young and prayers. 2 News campus and staff Record number graduate “for Him” Linden Chuang God’s providence and service to others were the key val- tist Church fund to provide Bibles for newly baptised ues promoted by the class of 2009 at Avondale College’s students. The class will donate the other two-thirds to graduation. Barnados—a not-for-profit organisation helping and rais- On a weekend ing awareness of Australian children in desperate need. (December 4-6) Pastor Brendan Pratt, director of Sabbath School and that saw a re- Personal Ministries for the Adventist Church in Greater cord number of Sydney, reminded graduands during his worship service 310 graduands sermon on Saturday of the importance of reaching out to receive their others. Avondale College’s yearbook, Jacaranda, edited testamurs, what by graduand Kim Brown, also centred on the concept of stood out the “A better world.” most was the In his graduation ceremony speech, class co-president desire of class Andrew White encouraged his peers to continue to have members to look a service mindset. “It is my sincere hope that every gradu- beyond them- ate of Avondale College, irrespective of their field of learn- selves to God. ing, should embrace their future professions as a true They expressed Ann Stafford calling. With this attitude, our impact on the world around Nerliza Sales from Thailand shakes hands with this desire in the us can be profound and far-reaching.” Dr Cedric Grieve after graduating from Avondale theme of gradu- College with a Master of Education. She is the ation: “From Him The ceremony saw most of the record number of graduan- only student from Thailand to graduate through ds take to the stage to receive their testamurs. Some 310 Avondale’s partnership with Mission College this . through Him year. for Him.” students—nine more than last year—were eligible to march during the ceremony. In his presidential remarks, Dr Ray The acknowledgement of God’s providence came in a Roennfeldt noted the steady growth of Avondale, which variety of forms. Graduation class co-president Makushla has seen a 40 per cent increase in students since 2004. D’Costa expressed thanks in her speech during Sunday’s graduation ceremony, declaring God as “the author of our Professor Raymond Nobbs, senior research fellow at story, who loves us all so deeply and passionately that He Macquarie University and director at Newington College, sent His son to die on a cross that we might be saved.” presented the graduation ceremony address. He also Keynote speakers also emphasised God as the source of emphasised the importance of being God- and service- life and success in their addresses during the consecration focused. “I challenge you to consider the skills you’ve and valedictory services. acquired out of which you’re called, as your college motto says, to have For four graduands, the weekend provided the setting for ‘a greater vi- a public display of faith in God, with Tahlia D’Costa, Jodie sion of world Eckert, Samantha Knopper and Robert Stanton each join- needs,’ and ing the Seventh-day Adventist Church through baptism. to share the Graduands also recognised the importance of serving good news of others. The graduation class degree co-representative Sa- Jesus Christ.” mantha Wynne announced the students’ gift to the college He concluded during Friday’s consecration service on the Lake Macqua- with this chal- rie campus. One-third of the money the class raised from lenge: “Go Ann Stafford Nursing students begin graduation celebrations two events it organised in the weeks before graduation with God.” with a lamp lighting ceremony during their will go into an Avondale College Seventh-day Adven- valedictory service. 3 Awards recognise teaching excellence Linden Chuang/Lyn Daff Avondale College presented its 2009 Learning and Teach- Dr Keith Howson, ing Excellence Awards during the inaugural World Teach- dean of the Fac- ers’ Day breakfast in October. ulty of Business and Dr Peter Beamish, dean of the Faculty of Education, Information Technol- received an individual award, while Dr Kevin de Berg and ogy, and Tony Martin, Ken Chapman from the Faculty of Science and Mathemat- a lecturer in and the Ann Stafford ics received a team award. course coordinator for the Faculty of President Dr Ray Roennfeldt presents the Peter received his for innovative use of technology in the Avondale Learning and Teaching Excellence Arts, joined 59 other Award to Dr Kevin de Berg and Ken classroom—his students build websites, produce videos educators from the Chapman for developing equipment for the and edit wikis rather than write essays. Kevin and Ken region’s primary, sec- chemistry laboratory at Avondale College.