Official student newspaper since 1944 Thanksgiving 2015 TrevEchoesOnline.

com

Gospel choir takes the stage Trevecca

partners with
at CMAs for the second year Chinese college
NEWS

PAGE 3

BY OliVia Kelley

ONLINE EDITOR

The Trevecca Gospel

Choir will make its second appearance on the
CMA Country Christmas
special on Dec. 3 at 8 p.m.
on ABC.
The 12-member choir
spent most of the day on
Saturday, Nov. 7 at the
Grand Ol Opry recording
Celebrate Me Home and
Joy with country artists
LeAnn Rimes and Jeniffer Nettles.
This is the second time
the choir was asked to
sing for this event after

continued ON PAGE 4

FEATURES

SGA column:
self-awareness
is key

PAGE 6

SPORTS

G-MAC
expanding in
2016

PAGE 7

Trevecca Gospel Choir rehearses with LeAnn Rimes for the CMAs Country Christmas to air at 8
p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3 on ABC. Photo by Olivia Kelley.

Sports

/TrevEchoesOnline

Basketball brings player from Nairobi to Nashville

BY bROOKlyN DaNCe

CONTRIBUTOR

Dominique Obunaka, power forward.

Photo courtesy of Trevecca Trojans.

Follow Us

One Sunday afternoon

in 2008 as Dominique Obunaka was talking to God on
his walk home from church
in Nairobi, Kenya, a complete
stranger pulled over and told
Dominique that his height
would take him somewhere
in life.
Seven years later, 6 ft 9 in.
Obunaka plays as the power
forward and center on the
TNU basketball team.
Obunaka, a transfer sophomore student studying social

justice, is one of the 23 international students at Trevecca.

Though he is currently the
only Kenyan enrolled, he is
the seventh Kenyan to play on
the basketball team.
Obunaka grew up with a
passion for soccer, but soon
learned to love basketball just
as much.
Kennedy Ondiek, the Kenyan who pulled him over that
one Sunday, bought him his
rst pair of basketball shoes
shortly after- size 16.

NEWS

Change of tune: New School

of Music and Worship Arts

I still remember the

brand, Obunaka said, Reebok Iversons.
Kenya doesnt have the
typical American gym, so
Ondiek took Dominique to the
outdoor courts daily and put
hours into training him.
He progressed, and Ondiek
invited Obunaka to play on
his team in a basketball tournament. Obunakas skills
were so impressive, that a
senior Kenyan basketball

continued ON PAGE 8

Restructuring of the music department at Trevecca has resulted in the

formation of the School of Music
and Worship Arts.
This new school will include
Treveccas current Department of
Music, Center of Worship Arts and
the National Praise and Worship Institute (NPWI).
The decision to create an ofcial
school of music at Trevecca came

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INDEX
NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

FEATURES

Abby Burke: Catching

souls at Trevecca
BY haNNah POllOK

BY bailey basham

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

@TrevEchoes

CONTRIBUTOR
after recommendations from University President Dan Boone to restructure the academic music program. This recommendation was
approved at the plenary session of
the Board of Trustees on Friday, Nov.
6.
Fifteen percent of Treveccas student population is enrolled as music
majors. NPWI and worship arts majors account for another 4 percent of

continued ON PAGE 3

Adjunct instructor Abby Burke.

Photo by Grifn Dunn.

In 1976, Abby Burke sang God Bless

America 753 times in one year.
At age 18, she traveled and sang the
patriotic tune as the bicentennial singer
for New England. It is her proudest accomplishment in regards to her singing
career.
I sang it in Washington D.C. I sang it
in Pennsylvania. Everywhere. God Bless
America in my red, white, and blue, little polyester outfit. Its those little things
that I remember best, Burke says.

continued ON PAGE 8

TREVECHOES THANKSGIVING2015

NE WS

Growth in employment
opportunities for students
by

T. JOsiah hayNes

STAFF WRITER

Students are now able to visit

a centralized office to look for
jobs on campus.
The Office of Student Employment was created this fall in an
effort to help make jobs for students easier to find on campus.
Before the establishment of the
office, students would have to go
to individual offices and departments on campus in search for
job openings.
Students would go to different
departments. If theres not a job
there, they might say, Go to the
library. You go to the library. All
the jobs are filled, said Tom Middendorf, associate vice president

Trevecca is putting

$18,000
in students pockets

every week.
-Office of Student Employment
for academic services. There
was no streamlined avenue, by
which we would be able to collect

information.
Nearly all of the 256 jobs available to students on campus are
filled. Students with on-campus
jobs work an average of 10 hours
a week at $7.25 an hour. Through
student employment, Trevecca is
putting $18,000 back in students
pockets every week.
The budget for employing
students on campus is more
$500,000 every school year. Some
of that money comes Work Study
or iWork. Work Study is a federal
program that provides the university with funds to pay eligible
students who work on campus.
Student eligibility is determined
by the federal government based
on the FAFSA.
For every dollar the university pays [a student in the work
study program], the university
receives back about 75 percent,
said Ryan Jolley, director of the
office of student employment.
.Its an incentive program
put forth by the federal government for the university to employ
those students [they decide are
financially eligible].
In addition to jobs on campus
and being a part of the workstudy program, The Office of
Student Employment has created
the iWork program.
The iWork informational sheet

Logo provided by the Ofce of Student Employment.

states, iWorks goal is to enhance

the employability of Trevecca
students through honest communication, mentorship, evaluation,
and skill development.
Upperclassmen, most of whom
received a housing grant last
year, are currently working oncampus jobs through iWork.
Sophomore Sabrina Phillips is
currently involved in the iWork
program. She works at the Hardy
Alumni Building, keeping in contact with alumni and friends of
the university.
Its a nice program to be in,
said Phillips. We had the opportunity to obtain jobs before others on campus.
Before her freshman year,
she received a 1-year housing
grant because she couldnt afford Trevecca otherwise. Her
sophomore year, she was put on
iWork to continue receiving that
amount of money, but through
work.
[Those who received the
housing grant] were the first students invited to join iWork this

fall, Phillips said.

Students in the iWork program earn up to $217.50 every
two-week pay cycle to go toward
their tuition, but they arent limited to working only 15 hours a
week. Students can put any extra
money they make toward tuition
expenses or keep it for personal
use.
Middendorf said he hopes to
help students in iWork by using
this debt-cutting program doubly
as a professional development
tool.
There are several workshops
every semester that students
must attend, said Middendorf.
These workshops are aimed at
making Trevecca students better
employees.
There currently 46 upperclassmen working jobs through iWork.
Fifty-six freshmen are attending
the workshops this year to prepare for next years on-campus
assignments.
The Office of Student Employment is located in CLCS.

Trevecca junior a finalist for Nashville business award

Josh Durham. Photo provided

by Weighting Comforts.
by

T. JOsiah hayNes

STAFF WRITER

Trevecca
business
management major Josh
Durham is a nalist for
the 2015 Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Durham was nominated for his involvement in
the founding of Weighting Comforts. Weighting
Comforts is a business
Durham and his mother,
Donna Durham, a former Trevecca counseling
center intern, began in
February 2015.

Weighting
Comforts
sells weighted blankets of
various sizes and designs.
These blankets have been
shown to help autistic
children sleep better and
help with general anxiety.
Durham took the idea
and ran with it. The company was later recognized
in a Forbes article about
the benets of weighted
blankets.
The Nashville Entrepreneur Center noticed.
The Nashville Entrepreneur Center awards
businesses and individuals in the greater Nashville area contributing to
local economy through
entrepreneurship. Award
categories span from Digital Media & Entertainment to Healthcare to individual entrepreneurs.
This award is given to
the best young entrepreneurs in Nashville, from
ages 18 to 23, Durham

said. Its an honor to be

named a nominee for the
award out of everyone
that applied, and to be
competing next to some
awesome entrepreneurs
from the area.
Studying with the faculty of the Trevecca Business Department has
been key to his success,
Durham said.
Dean Diehls Intro to
Entrepreneurship class
was really helpful. It really helped me understand the supply chain
of a business, Durham
said. It helped me look at
where my business could
be most protable.
Diehl is excited about
students getting involved
off-campus, even before
graduation.
I absolutely love when
students take what they
learn in the entrepreneurship class, and are
able to apply it to a real-

world situation, Diehl

said. Josh is a great example that you dont have
to wait till you graduate to
follow your dream. I just
encourage other students
if they have a dream, if
they have a business idea
they dont have to wait
to graduate to jump in

there and start.

The winner of the
Young Entrepreneur of
the Year award will be
announced at the NEXT
Awards on Thursday, Nov.
19. The ceremony will
be held at Renaissance
Nashville Hotel.

See and order products and read about the mission at

www.WeightingComforts.com Photo provided by Weighting
Comforts.

TREVECHOES Thanksgiving2015

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SCHOOL OF MUSIC REstructure continued from page 1

TCC president Qian Weirong and TNU

President Dan Boone sign contract.

Photo provided by TNU Marketing.

Trevecca
partners with
Chinese college
by

maNON laNe

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

An estimated group of 50
Chinese students will make
Trevecca their home in the fall
of 2018.
As part of a new partnership on campus, students
from Tianjin College of Commerce (TCC) in Tianjin, the
port city of Beijing, will finish
their last year or two of college at Trevecca, studying either information technology
or accounting.
I think the educational experience on Treveccas campus is richer if we can provide
some global diversity for our
students, said President Dan
Boone.
Trevecca
administrators
met with TCC president and
representatives to finalize the
partnership on Oct. 22.
The idea for the new partnership came from Rick Mann,
professor of leadership and
strategy and special assistant
to the president for international partnerships.
Mann, who speaks Mandarin, has traveled to China for
five consecutive years teaching in an educational program. Mann says he has seen
this kind of program succeed.
When I came here, there
was a discussion about having more international students at Trevecca, said Mann.
I reached out to some of my
contacts there and we got
connected to this college in
Tianjin.

continued on PAGE 4

the undergraduate population.

Current chair of the Department
of Music David Diehl will serve as
the dean of the School of Music
and Worship Arts.
I am condent that Dr. Diehl will
provide outstanding leadership
to the school through a focus on
collaboration while maintaining
the distinctiveness of each of its
units, said University Provost Steve Pusey in an email to Trevecca
faculty, staff, and administrators.
Diehl has been a member of
Treveccas faculty in the music department for nearly 20 years. This
year marks his 10th year as chair
of the music department.
Im excited about the transition
because a degree from a school
of music is a much more highly
respected degree than one from
a department, said senior music
education major Tyler Umpleby.
I think Diehl has done a lot to
improve the department over his
time as the chair, so I think that
success and the drive to make the
school a better place to get a more
respected and qualied degree can
only improve from here.
The purpose of the restructure is
to create a more cohesive program
for music students and the faculty
in charge of curriculum. At this
point, there are no plans for additional degrees.
The main benet for students
will be that there is potential for
greater interaction between the
programs which will expose them

Blueprint provided by Executive Vice President of Finance, David Caldwell.

to some different ideas and approaches, said Diehl. I think it

will help us identify more clearly
and place students in their correct
programs based on their career
path and making sure that were
all collaborating.
Pusey said the restructuring of
the music department and creation of the school of music will aid
Trevecca students in their educational experiences and the university in drawing more revenue via
donations, more students and additional faculty.
The creation of the School

Blueprint provided by David Caldwell, executive vice president of nance.

of Music and Worship Arts [will

bring] together a great group of
music educators and musicians
who can more easily collaborate
with each other across our majors
and program concentrations, said
Pusey. [It also] provides an opportunity for students to take courses
in other music programs and helps
the university brand its music programs in such a way to draw donors for scholarships and equipment; individuals from the music
industry in Nashville as speakers,
guest lecturers and adjunct faculty; and additional students.
Students who are enrolled in
the changing department will be
able to graduate under either their
junior or senior academic catalog,
said Diehl.
The jobs currently held by the
staff in the music department will
remain the same. Plans to alleviate
transitional issues for the school
of music have yet to be formed, but
will be organized during the spring
semester. Renovations for the new
worship arts building for music
majors and NPWI students are set
to be completed by next year.
I am very excited about it because I have such good people to
work with, said Diehl. I think its
going to be a team of people with
a lot of diverse interests and skills
and abilities, but we all have one
common vision, so I am excited
about what the future holds.
The decision of the Board will
become effective Jan. 1, 2016.

What do you think about

the new School of Music?
Tweet us @TrevEchoes

TREVECHOES THANKSGIVING2015

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gospel choir continued from page 1

Gospel choir members Lauren Cagle and Dana

Hood with Pentatonix. Photo by Olivia Kelley.

performing Go Tell it on the Mountain with Sarah

Evans at last years show.
This year was a totally different experience because it was at the Opry, said sophomore music
major, Taylor Cardiff.
Cardiff said it was a big change from last year
when the group sang at Bridgestone arena.
I think one of the reasons they asked us back
is because when we were in the green room, the
stylists made the statement that our group was the
most well-behaved and cordial and friendly group
they ever worked with, and they hoped we could do
it again, said Marvin Jones, gospel choir director.
Jones said the all-day recording was a good experience for the students.
If we mess up, they just stop and re-record until
we get it right, so sometimes it can take awhile to
get through everyone, said Jones.
While the students spent most of their time in
a make-shift room with black curtains called the
artist lounge, they still got the chance to meet several artists including, Rimes, Nettles and the group

Pentatonix.
The event provides great national publicity for
Trevecca.
The marketing and admissions teams are always looking for ways to reinforce the benefits of
studying in Nashville, said Matt Toy, associate vice
president of marketing and communication. This
opportunity is another great example that gives
Trevecca an edge over other schools throughout
the country.
Toy said his team is thrilled the Gospel choir
was asked to sing again and knows this provides
incredible experiences for the Trevecca students.
I will never be grateful enough for the experience to sing behind such talented people, said
Cardiff.

Catch a sneek peak of the Gospel

Choirs performance with

LeAnn Rimes at
TrevEchoesOnline.com

Chinese Partnership story continued from page 3

in China well that a Christian university in America invested in these
students, said Boone.
The Chinese Delegation Partnership
students will live on campus. Trevecca
administration is planning on implementing ways to help ease expected
culture shock.

Students will do most of their education at TCC and then come to Trevecca for
their final year.
They will be taking three years there
in China and then [come] here to complete a fourth year for a business or accounting-type degree, said Boone. If
they want to be ready to sit for the CPA
[certified public accountant], theyll have
to take on another year.
Trevecca will transfer in the students
credits from TCC so they can continue
studying here for another year or two and
graduate with a Trevecca degree. Then
the credits earned from TNU will transfer back to TCC, and they will have earned
a degree from that school as well, said
Mann.
The students time at Trevecca is
already paid for on their end and wont
require any assistance from Treveccas
financial aid office.
The TCC students have been studying to become proficient in English by
the time they arrive. They will follow
the same curriculum as all Trevecca
students once on campus including
attending chapel.
TCC administration has requested
for religion and English professors
from Trevecca to go to China and teach
classes to help the programs students
better prepare for the Trevecca environment.
I think it serves the cause of Christ

Photo provided by TNU Marketing.

we would simply begin

to know one another,
and be able to speak
and eat together, play,
and study together

-President Dan Boone

[There are] plans to have a studentled program to help [all international

students] adjust to campus [by] taking
the peer mentor idea and changing it
around, said Rebecca Merrick, international student advisor and assistant
coordinator of disability services.

Among other ideas in the planning

stages are pre-arrival orientations via
online video so students will know
more of what to expect, followed by a
post-arrival orientation.
There are also two to three ChineseAmericans from the Nashville community, including ophthalmologist
Ming Wang, who have volunteered to
help mentor the students once they are
here.
Wang received an honorary doctorate from Trevecca during last years
commencement.
Boone hopes that the Chinese Delegation Partnership will do more than
educate academically.
Id love for it to crumble prejudices
that Americans have about Chinese,
and Chinese have about Americans.
That we would simply begin to know
one another, and be able to speak and
eat together, play, and study together,
said Boone. I think that can be a great
advantage.

Ofcials from Tianjin College of Commerce met on Oct. 22 with Trevecca administration to sign contract
for academic partnership. Photo provided by TNU Marketing.

TREVECHOES Thanksgiving2015

NE WS

Trevecca sending missionaries for refugee crisis

Senior Christina Corzine, alumna Dorothee Arnold Morris and her family, senior Curtis Rich, alumna Megan Trees, senior Tori Stone and senior Isaac Petty will
serve in Central Europe over the course of the next year. Photo provided by Trevecca Nazarene University.
Bailey Basham

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Six Trevecca alumni and

soon-to-be graduates will travel to Central Europe over the
course of the next year to aid
in the Syrian refugee crisis.
The mission team will serve
in Europe for a year or more,
working on the front lines of
the crisis and ministering and
offering assistance to those
who are in need. The group will
be sent through the Church of
the Nazarene and will partner
with missionaries Jay and Teanna Sunberg, the Church of
the Nazarenes field strategy
coordinator team for Central
Europe.
Tori Stone, Christina Corzine, Curtis Rich, Megan Trees
and Dorothee Arnold Morris,
along with her husband Jacob
and their two children, will
begin their work in Serbia in
shifts some starting as early
as this winter.
Isaac Petty, who will graduate in December, will be focusing on developing a church in
Poland.

began
God
tugging at

our hearts
to do
something.

-Megan Trees

When the crisis hit in Central Europe, we felt like it was

ours, said Kathy Mowry, associate professor of mission and
Christian education. in a university news release. We have
been committed to a partnership with the Central Europe
field of the Church of the Nazarene. We have, over the last
five years, sent 116 volunteers
to aid in that part of the world,
from two weeks to two years.
For some, the decision to

join the relief efforts came from

news coverage of the events.
[Seeing] the picture is of
[the 3-year-old Syrian refugee
Aylan Kurdi lying facedown in
the sand with a T-shirt, shorts,
and Velcro shoes onthe same
kind of shoes that our 3-yearold son would wear, I realized
that being fortunate enough to
be born where I was born and
the privilege that I was born
into was not any reason for me
to just sit back while other people are literally fleeing for their
lives, said Jacob Morris in a
university news release.
For others, the decision
came from a desire and willingness to serve wherever
there was a need.
[Curtis and I] began having conversations about what
our plans were looking like
and felt that God was asking
us to revisit those plans and
open ourselves up to truly anything, said Megan Trees, class
of 2014. We didnt expect this
to be what happened when we
decided to do that, but over the
course of a few months we saw
what was happening with the
refugees, and God began tugging at our hearts to do something.
Rich said that it will be difficult for the two of them to
leave, but that the call to the
mission field was greater than

the desire to remain where

they were comfortable.
God has provided us with
a loving family and Church
home that have supported us
in this journey, and it will be
tough leaving what has become so familiar in Nashville,
but we trust that God is before
us and will be with us as we

I hear their
stories, and
I cannot
help but
want to
help them.

by

-Tori Stone

follow him to a new place in

life, said senior intercultural
studies major Curtis Rich.
Petty, who will be helping to
develop a Nazarene church in
Poland, will be working alongside Bob and Colleen Skinner.
longtime global missionaries
for the Church of the Nazarene.
I will be overseeing work
and witness teams, leading
youth camps, and working in
our Nazarene coffee shops,

said Petty. I am going through

Treveccas Submerge program
in partnership with Nazarene
Mobilization.
Senior religion major Tori
Stone will be graduating in
May 2016 and will make the
move to Europe in June following graduation. Stone said she
was motivated to join the relief
team from watching news coverage of the crisis.
I have kept up with the
news and the pictures that I
have been posted of what is
going on, and I see the faces
of the refugees I hear their
stories, and I cannot help but
want to help them. Every time
someone [would ask] me what I
was doing after college I would
say, I have no idea, I just want
to help people, said Stone. As
hard as it might be for me to
pack up and leave everything
I have and know, I can at least
have peace knowing that I have
a home, friends and family to
come back to. They dont have
that, and that breaks my heart.
Rich and Trees will move
in June after their wedding in
April and Richs graduation in
May 2016.
Corzine will also move in
June, following graduation.
Petty will begin his work in
Poland in January 2016 and return to the United States in August 2016.

Poland
Serbia
5

TREVECHOES THANKSGIVING2015

OP INION

SGA Column: self-awareness is key

JOsh D URham
ASB VICE PRESIDENT
by

There is a term that has

become increasingly popular in our culture that I
have personally been exploring for myself over
the past semester. This is
a term that if learned and
applied properly to our
lives, our chances of success will be much better.
The term that I am referring to is self-awareness. Self-awareness is

the conscious knowledge

of ones own characteristics, feelings, movies,
and desires. What Id like
to suggest is that by becoming self-aware, you
will have a much better
chance of success than
through traditional ways
of thinking.
Like many other business students, last semester I became aware of
something that I wasnt
good at accounting. I am
a very future-oriented,
big picture kind of guy, so
things that are so detailoriented as accounting
are not exactly my strong
suit.
I discovered this again
in the summer when I was
hired for an internship
with a dental practice. Although I was promised to

be a part of the business

development sector, I was
placed in a position where
my weaknesses lie: small
details and organization.
I quickly found that my
internship duties were
copying, ling, organizing
and highlighting patients
les all things that I hated.
My enthusiasm for the
internship disappeared
on the very rst day, and
my demeanor was no
longer warm or friendly.
Upon the fourth day of
my internship, I was red.
Yep, thats right. I was
red after four days on
the job for not being enthusiastic while making
copies.
As comedic and harsh
as this story may sound,
it was completely neces-

sary, and Im grateful that

it happened. Since then, I
have become self-aware
of my weaknesses and I
have honest feedback instead of lying to myself.
You see, Im afraid many
of my peers have been
lying to themselves for
some time about what
theyre actually good at.
There are plenty of things
that I wish I was good at,
but holding onto those
things and pretending
like Im actually good at
them might help me in
the short-term but will
hold me back in the long
run.
Academia
preaches
that we continue to work
on our weaknesses. I
argue that instead, we
should go all in on our
strengths because they

are there to take us from

good to great.
So why not go all in?
Why not accept your
weaknesses for what they
are and come to grips
with yourself. This all
goes hand-in-hand with
Treveccas Motto, Esse
Quam Videri: To be rather
than to seem.
I encourage you to be
honest with yourself and
with others about your
true characteristics, motives and desires. Create
a safe environment of
vulnerability and honesty
because thats when you
get the truth. Once we become self-aware, we are
able to become intentional with our actions as our
true selves and truly live
out what we are called to
do.

Professionalism series
by

NiCOle hUbbs

CONTRIBUTOR

What does it mean to be professional? If you ask 10 different people, you will probably get 10 different
answers. You might get responses
related to dressing up, speaking a
certain way on the phone or having
a rm handshake. While all of these
things are correct answers, on their
own they do not complete the denition of professionalism.
Basically, professionalism refers
to certain behaviors people have
centered around a work environment. But what about when you
are not at work? That brings us to
etiquette. Etiquette can be as simple
as manners (like, saying please and
thank you) or as complex as navigating relationships.
Our culture today can be confusing to understand. We are now a
culture that wears jeans to church,
shares opinions of strangers lives
on social media and stares at lit up
screens while sitting at a table with
other people. We have gotten very
casual as a society, but there are still
personal and professional situations that require a little more effort.
With that, I am excited to introduce a new column to the TrevEchoes. In this column, I will be sharing
advice, tips and suggestions on all
things related to social and professional etiquette that commonly occur for college students. I will cover
areas like interviewing dos and
donts, how to turn down a job offer
when to say no, how to ask someone
out on a real date and when to turn

down the offer of being a bridesmaid

(yes, you can say no).
If you need advice about something or there is a topic you know
other students needs to see, let me
know. My goal is to help you prevent
some awkward blunders and help
you get through the complexities of
life with grace.
Life is complicated; Im here to
help.

(l-r) Design Editor Cydney-Nichole Marsh, Online Editor Olivia Kelley,

Editor-in-Chief Bailey Basham and Copy Editor Jessy Anne Walters.
Not pictured: Photographer Grifn Dunn.

EDITORIAL STAFF
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
bailey basham

NICOLE HUBBS

Cordintor for Junior & Senior Programs

Contact Nicole Hubbs with questions or comments for this column

series at:

 (615) - 248 - 7725

 NHubbs@trevecca.edu

 Located in the CLCS

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TREVECHOES Thanksgiving2015

Sp o r ts

Photo provided by Trevecca Trojans.

Cross country
finishes with
national qualifier
by

RebeKah WaRReN

STAFF WRITER

Treveccas cross country team nished second at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championship for the
fourth consecutive year.
Among the standouts were sophomore Caroline Hampton, who placed
rst in the womens 6-kilometer run,
and Logan Rodgers, who placed second
in the mens 8-kilometer run.
Everyone did get faster, there were
PRs [personal records] all over the
place, said Austin Selby, head coach.
So that means were getting to where
we need to be.
The teams faced their fair share of
challenges, including multiple injuries,

said Selby. Even so, nine runners placed

in the top 20 at the conference championship.
Hampton earned a shot at regionals where she nished 15th overall and
secured a spot in Nationals. Hampton
will be the rst Trojan to compete in an
NCAA Division II Championship.
Hampton said she is motivated by
much more than the races when she
runs.
I believe this is a gift from God and
I cherish it because its bringing me
to new opportunities, says Hampton.
Every run I do. I believe that somehow
Im glorifying him because it is my gift.
In addition to her motivation, Selby
attributes Hamptons success to her determination on and off the track.
She eats, sleeps and breathes the
sport, whatever it takes to be better,
said Selby.
For next year, Selby hopes to take
home the championship. He anticipates that the team has the potential to
be even more successful than its been
in the past.
Were bringing in a bunch of new
runners, we only lose one runner on the
mens and on the womens team and I
think were bringing in really strong
runners to replace them, said Selby.
We have runners that will be healthy
next yearso we want to do better than
we did last year. We want to get faster.
The cross-country team traveled to
Evansville, Indiana to participate in the
NCAA II Midwest regional competition
on Saturday, Nov. 9.
Hampton will travel to Joplin, Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 21 to compete in
the Division II Championships.

G-MAC expanding in 2016-2017

by

aNTONiO GUeRReRO

STAFF WRITER

The Great Midwest Athletic Conference will be growing over the next two
years.
Malone University in Canton, Ohio
has recently announced that they will
be joining Trevecca and other southeastern universities in the conference
in 2016. Malone University will take
the place of Salem International University. Five more universities will be
added to the conference in 2017.
G-MAC is expanding in order to
legitimize their position in the NCAA
Division II, said Mark Elliot, Trevecca
athletic director.
While the expansion of the conference is benecial, it come with some
concern.
The only problem I see with this is
the cost its going to take us to travel
and the amount of time students will
spend outside of class, said Elliot.
The decision to include these
schools is complicated by the fact that
the conference is trying to maintain a
balance between northern and south-

ern universities. Currently, there are

more northern schools joining G-MAC
in comparison to the southern universities, due to their already being members of different conferences.
I would suspect that most people
would say that G-MAC right now is
the weakest conference in the country,
just because its new. Theres no tradition, no history behind it, said Elliot.
G-MAC is a new Division II conference
and stands as a new opportunity for
rising schools looking to enter a Division II conference.
More schools means more competition, which is benecial to Trevecca
in improving the athletic program by
allowing the teams to compete against
higher tier schools.
Elliot said though there could be
complications with travel, Trevecca
will stay with G-MAC because of the
conference being made up of other private, mostly faith-based institutions.
I think the biggest thing is having
an athletic program that ts the mission and purpose of the school, said
Steve Harris, associate provost and
dean of student development.

GREAT MIDWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MAP

Eight member institutions from Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and

Tennessee (2016 - 2017)

Information provided by G-MAC.

For more updates follow @TNUsports and @GreatMidwestAc on Twitter

Medicine
team vital
to athletes

Photos provided by Trevecca

Trojans.
by TOm lOhRmaNN
STAFF WRITER

As Treveccas basketball
teams begin play, the sports medicine team is already in the midst
of the busiest part of their yearround commitment.
Theyre a team just like baseball, soccer, golf; theyre vital.
Trying to get an athlete who has
been injured or whos having a repetitive motion stiffness or soreness to get them back to where
they can function better or more
appropriately, thats huge for a
coach. Thats huge for a team,
said Mark Elliott, Trevecca athletic director.
The sports medicine team is

available to student-athletes 365

days a year. At least one of the
four-member staff attends every
Trevecca sporting event, including away games that require
traveling.
Head Athletic Trainer Jared
White has been with Trevecca for
eight years. He works with Assistant Trainers Stephanie Scott and
Austin Krause and Graduate Assistant Trainer Martin Ramiz to
assist athletes and provide quality healthcare for athletic injuries
and related illnesses.
Our goal is to provide a highlevel healthcare to student-athletes even though were a small
school. We may not have the
budget or facilities of an NFL
team or top SEC school, but there
is no reason we cant give our
athletes an extremely high level
of care, just like professional athletes receive, said White.
Each staff member is certied
by the National Association of
Sports Medicine and has professional experience, in addition to
Division I collegiate experience.
Staff members work with specic
teams depending on respective
areas of expertise.
When the NCAA came in and
were evaluating us [for] what
our strengths and our weaknesses were, they gave us four specic
strengths. They said that theyve
never given this in a transitional
university going from NAIA to Di-

vision II, but one was student-athlete well-being done through our
athletic training ofce. That tells
me [the sports medicine team is]
unique; theyre special theyre
excellent, said Elliott.
Elliott said Whites willingness to take new steps to get
players ready for a season was
appreciated by the entire athletic
department.
Before he got here, I would supervise preseason conditioning
and everything else; once he got
here, I just turned it over to him,
said mens basketball coach Sam
Harris.
Athletes are only allowed a
certain number of hours with
their coaches each off season.
During this time, athletes rely
even more on the sports medicine staff.
Coaches lean on the staff
to create programs specic to
their players. The staff has been
overseeing the mens basketball
teams work on strength training
over the last few months.
Last year we focused a lot
on endurance, and I thought our
endurance was great; we were
playing Vanderbilt, we played
Belmont, and we hung with
those guys all game, but some of
those teams were a little stronger
than we were, said White. Our
guys have really bought into the
strength aspect. A lot of them
have gained good, solid, lean

muscle tissuewe look a lot more

like a basketball team that takes
themselves seriously this year,
said White.
White and his staff are able to
spend more individual time with
athletes because there are only
200 student-athletes at Trevecca.
New equipment purchases have
also made it easier for the staff
to achieve their goal of providing
professional-level care to athletes
at Trevecca.
Elliott said he was most proud
that White and his staff are able
to offer high-level care in an environment that allows the athletes
to develop physically, mentally
and spiritually.
These are dedicated Christian people. Our athletes who
are in the training room, who are
they spending time with? Who
are they emoting to? Who are
they sharing conversations with?
Those people, to be quite honest,
know whats going on in the lives
of our student athletes way more
than the coaches or [I do], said Elliot.
Elliott said White especially is
able to use his position and experiences to talk with male athletes
about life after college.
Jared White is a committed
Christian, father and athlete, so
he understands their mentality. Hes been in their shoes, he
understands what theyre going
through, said Elliot.

Treveccas training staff works

in conjunction with physician
and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Damon Petty of Petty Orthopedics.
Petty completed his fellowship
and trained under Dr. James Andrews, who is well-known for performing orthopedic surgeries on
high-prole professional athletes.
Every Wednesday, Petty assesses injuries of athletes on campus. Treveccas training staff must
organize and prepare information
and documentation for Petty and
his assistant, nurse practitioner
and athletic trainer Erik Dygulski,
to make the best decisions for the
athletes.
To have people that get athletics, that are passionate about
letting these kids be successful
and playing at a high level, its a
great team to be a part of. We work
together really well, and I think
thats the key to being a successful staff-- having everyone on the
same page, said White.

(l-r) Stephanie Scott, Austin

Krause, Jared White and Martin Ramiz.

TREVECHOES THANKSGIVING2015

F eatu r e

continued from page 1

Since then, Burke, an adjunct voice
instructor at Trevecca, has found other
little things to add to her list of musical
accomplishments.
She was the first vocalist from Nashville to sing at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. She has performed with
many big-name artists from the music
world, including Patti Labelle, Tim Curry,
Winona Judd and Donna Summer. She is
in a band with her husband, called Abby
Burke and the Soul Catchers. They have
recorded an album and continue to perform around Nashville.
Burke, known as Dr. Abby, by her
students teaches 25 private vocal students and teaches the Concentrated
Studies of the Psalms course for the National Praise and Worship Institute program.
Burke was a new addition to Treveccas music department faculty in 2014.
She got the job soon after talking with
Vocal Edge director and vocal coordinator Rachel Nyetam.
Burke started singing as a young
child. At 5-years-old, she mimicked the
sound of a fire truck and then started to
sing. She now sings a variety of styles,
though she prefers blues.
Blues is what I love best. A lot of
people say Blues makes people sad, but
when you sing the blues, its to make
yourself feel better, says Burke.
Burke grew up in Cambridge, MA.
There, she sang in choirs, including St.
Pauls Choir in Cambridge, until she was
18. She was accepted into some of the
nations finest conservatories including

Julliard, Manhattan, and Boston Conservatory. She attended Boston, where

she studied musical theater privately,
went to All-State all four years, and participated in several operas and musicals.
After living in Nashville once, and
then Connecticut, Burke, and her husband moved back to Nashville so that
he could complete his masters degree at
Belmont.
It was the best thing I could have
ever done, Burke says.
Here she is an instructor at the Nashville Jazz Workshop and has had a private studio since 2000, where she teaches voice and performance technique

I am , a c er ti f i ed,
dyed - i n -t h e w o o l ,
b o r n agai n ,
s o u l c atc h er .

Abby Burke

-Abby burke

classes.
Her band, Abby Burke and the Soul
Catchers, is active in Nashville performing at missions, bars, and fundraisers in
and around Nashville. The band is composed of local musicians. Burke sings,
and her husband Glenn plays the saxophone.
Burke is an ordained minister but
does not currently preach at a church.
She calls herself a soul catcher.
I am a soul catcher because the
Lord called me into ministry, and the
whole purpose of pastors, ministers, and
worshippers is to catch a soul for the
Kingdom; so I am, a certified, dyed-inthe-wool, born again, soul catcher, said
Burke.
Her bands purpose is to go into un-

Dominique obunaka
continued from page 1

Obunaka in practice at Trevecca. Photo Courtesy of

Trevecca Trojans.

Basketball Let me go to
high school.

-DominIque Obunaka
coach, Ronnie Owino, stopped him to talk for a bit
about his situation. He offered to coach Obunaka
even more, provided he studied and remained disciplined. Coach Owino got Obunaka in touch with
Peter Orero, the principal of the local high school.
It was uncommon for kids in Obunakas position
to ever go to high school. Obunaka explained how
he grew up in a slum, where elementary and middle
school education was inexpensive, but the only high

likely places, play some music and catch

souls.
Burke recalls another proud accomplishment and emotional moment from
her past.
I was working at Opryland USA
in 1982, and singing Dixie almost 800
times on stage. And the irony is: Im African-American, said Burke. Every time
I did it, and every time I saw a tear, I got
my job done. I caught a soul.
Miranda Stooksbury, an engineering major, has been taking vocal lessons
from Burke for three semesters.
Dr. Abby is a professor that pushes
you and helps you grow. She is very open
to creative interpretation. She makes
sure that I study the technique and artistry of a piece, so that when I do perform
that piece, it is a better performance than
if I would have just learned the notes
and the rhythms and just got up there
and sang it. She helps me to become the
character in any musical theater piece,
said Stooksbury.
David Diehl, chair of the Department
of Music at Trevecca calls Burke consistent, full of energy, and a deeply spiritual
person.
Not only is she incredibly competent, knowledgeable, and talented, but
she is a great institutional fit because of
her spiritual insight, her desire to mentor students, and the way that she interacts with faculty members and other
programs, said Diehl.
Diehl says that she tailors her teaching to the needs of each student.
She understands their interest and
their voice. She cares for them as individuals and musicians. She she tailors
the curriculum and literature around
their abilities, said Diehl.

school was designed for wealthier families.

A majority of kids stopped education after eighth
grade, but Obunaka received an unlikely scholarship to play basketball in high school.
Basketball let me go to high school, Obunaka
said.
Obunaka said he was so grateful for his experiences on the high school team. He became a hometown celebrity, and was invited to surrounding
school to tell his story and inspire kids, yet he never
asked for anything in return.
As his high school basketball career came to a
close, Obunaka said he felt content and blessed with
the opportunities he had already received.
One year after high school graduation, a French
man named Daniel Piers-Hogan who ran a basketball academy in Kenya, Dankind Academy, promised to feed and shelter Obunaka if he continued
playing basketball. Obunakas new team under
Coach John Cofno, employed by Piers-Hogan,
posted a 25-game winning streak.
Meanwhile, Tony Mauldin, a former basketball
coach from Texas who ran a childrens home in
Kenya which he visited often, encouraged Obunaka
and his new team to mentor the kids of the shelter.
Mauldin and Obunaka had a growing bond. The
season came to a close and Mauldin presented the
team with three scholarships to go play basketball
at Clarendon, a junior college in Texas. There were
18 players on the team, all hoping to make it big receiving the life changing scholarship, Obunaka said.
Obunaka was selected along with two of his friends.
Both of his friends had visa issues and ultimately he
was the only one who made the 8,669 mile journey
to Clarendon, Texas.
It was hard to be happy for myself, knowing my
friends couldnt come with me, Obunaka said.
Obunaka enjoyed playing for Clarendon. He was

D R . A B BY B U R K E

Vocal Coach and Adjunct Professor

Inuenced Artistically by:

Mahalia Jackson, The Crabb Family,
Leontyne Price, Phoebe Snow, Harry
Connick, Jr., Barbara Streisand

Most played on iTunes:

Carol King and Redemption Worships
(Live Album)

Burke is currently working on an EP.

She is also writing a book called You
Aint Got No Cup, based on the Samaritan woman at the well. Burke will be
going back to the British Virgin Islands
soon to lead worship and workshops.
Im busy. Its a lot better than being at
home trying to find my teeth, she jokes.
Even with a full schedule, she works
to make space to get to know and mentor
her students.
I live to edify, I dont tear down, she
whispers. What good does that do?

doing well, and loved his new basketball family.

They treated me very well despite my ethnicity,
he said.
Sam Harris, Treveccas mens basketball coach
discovered Obunaka with the help of an assistant
coach, JP Nyadoro, a Kenyan who played basketball
at Trevecca from 2009-2013.
Harris reached out to Obunaka with a scholarship to play on Treveccas team, but Obunaka turned
it down.
Nyadoro also tried to sway Obunaka, but Obunaka still politely refused.
It wasnt until Obunakas head coach at Clarendon stepped down that he nally agreed to play for
Trevecca.
So, Obunaka travelled 900 more miles to Nashville in July of 2015.
My former head coach loved me so much he
drove me all the way here, just to make sure I am in
safe hands, Obunaka said.
Despite the beds being too short and the shower
heads being too low, Obunaka said he is blessed to
be here-- though he misses his family who he has
not seen since he left for Texas. He calls them as
often as possible, updating him on games and how
hes doing. Obunaka is currently saving up to go
visit them.
He is a really good guy, Harris said. Which is
partly why we wanted to bring him in.
Obunaka credits God for his journey.
If you dont know God, you dont know my story,
he said.
Obunaka hopes to take his social justice education back to Kenya where tribalism is a prevalent issue that he is very passionate about.
Its nice to know his story, Harris said. Its a perfect t for him here.