Cedarville Stories

People Are the Priority Kari Flunker Hoffman ’05 is a Hall of Fame basketball player, holding first place in the Lady Jacket record books for three-point shots made, three-point field goal percentage and assists. She’s also the second all-time leading scorer in Cedarville women’s basketball history with 2,275 points during her four-year career. In 2004 and 2005, she led her team to the National As...

Law Enforcement Future Leader   For the Cedarville Stories 100th podcast, the guest is a future police chief, county sheriff, or FBI agent. At least, it’s easy to imagine that being the outcome for junior criminal justice major Will Geist.   Will is the son of Alan and Lynn Geist. Alan served as Cedarville athletic director until June 30, 2021.   At one point, Will thought he might enjoy becoming...

Same Orders, Different Uniform    When Captain Seth Johnson switched from pulpit ministry to chaplaincy in the Air National Guard, it would have been easy to see the shift as a significant change for someone serving 20 years in the pastorate. But for Seth, it was still the same call, just a change of uniform.     Seth graduated from Cedarville in 1996 with a pre-seminary degree. He joined the Conn...

Compassion Defines Greatness Mike Weller has had a phenomenal career. As associate professor of athletic training, he has instructed, mentored, and coached hundreds of Cedarville students into careers that span high school, college, and professional sports. He is helping lead Cedarville’s program to new heights with the start of the Master of Athletic Training degree in June 2022. Beyond Cedarvill...

“By All the Statistics, I Should be Dead”     It is a miracle that Dr. Michael McKay , Assistant Professor of Biblical Theology, is teaching at Cedarville this fall.     On June 19, 2021, Dr. McKay wasn’t feeling right, but figured he could walk off the odd aches and pains he was experiencing in his throat and back. But when his left leg went numb, the alarm bells went off. Knowing that leg numbne...

Finding Her Place to Inspire Millions When Mandy Young first came to Cedarville, she had no intention of becoming an on-air radio personality or a trailblazing leader in the communications industry. But even though she tried to run from God’s plans, He drew her in and set her in a place of blessing and thriving. Mandy, who graduated from Cedarville with a bachelor’s in broadcasting and digital med...

“I shall not die, but live” Hayes Wicker has served faithfully on the Cedarville board of trustees since 2005. He has served the church throughout his career, a calling he received almost immediately after he received Jesus as Savior on New Year’s Eve 1966. He has pastored churches in Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Florida.     Now retired from pulpit ministry, Hayes is still caring for...

Christ Is All He Needs For Paul Dixon, from the beginning of his relationship with God through all the decades of his leadership at Cedarville to his retirement years when he continues to impact the lives of many, Christ is all he needs. Dr. Dixon was first known on the campus of Cedarville College as a frequent speaker in chapel. He was often invited to preach by then-president Dr. James T. Jerem...

The First Dixon at Cedarville 50 Years Ago Back in 1971, the Dixon name became well known at a small Christian liberal arts college in Ohio. The imprint of that one person is still visible everywhere on campus today. But most noticeably, on the lives of countless students. Yes, Pat Dixon, wife of chancellor and former president Paul Dixon, has left her mark on Cedarville University. She was here s...

Strength Is More Than Muscle   Brett Faro is Cedarville’s men’s soccer coach and has led his team to more than 90 wins since 2013, three G-MAC conference titles, and two NCAA tournament bids. He’s also a husband to his wife, Shelley, and dad to 2-year-old Lincoln. But to 5-year-old Fritz Krieger, Brett is an inspiration.   Fritz has Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and his parents, Bryant and Sa...

Equipping Thousands Mark Klimek taught every nursing student at Cedarville University over his 38-year career before his retirement this summer. His NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) preparation courses have helped thousands of students at Cedarville, across the country, and around the world to pass the test to become registered nurses. This tremendous legacy began in Youngstown, Ohio...

Life is messy. Just ask Ken Erny.    Ken, a 1978 graduate, discovered how messy life could be as a student-athlete when he played in 70-mile-per-hour winds, snow, and rain as a member of the men’s tennis team. Or when he broke his wrist on the way to a tournament, wiping out his opportunity to play at the NAIA national tournament. Murray Murdoch, Distinguished Professor of History and Government,...

New Victories for Coach Very few individuals at Cedarville have a one-name designation, much like a famous performer or athlete. But for many on campus, when you talk about “Coach” there’s one person who comes to mind, and that’s Dr. Don Callan. Dr. Callan served as head men’s basketball coach for 35 years, leading the Yellow Jackets to 578 victories. He was also Cedarville’s athletic director fro...

Worldwide Worldview Today, as we draw from the Cedarville Stories podcast archives, we are reintroduced to the son of missionary parents and a former U.S. diplomat, who transformed Cedarville’s international studies program with a worldwide worldview. Dr. Frank Jenista, former professor of international studies, had attended 13 schools in 12 years before finishing his education at a large American...

There’s No Disguising Her Love for God and Students Is that Yoda? Or a pirate? Or a Picasso painting? No, that’s 2003 alumna Heidi Bruder!   As a middle school teacher at the beginning of COVID in March 2020, Bruder faced puzzling all educators: how to make online learning engaging. She dug deep for ideas — deep in her creative heart and deep in the bottom of an old costume bin! Before long, she s...

Olympic Dreams Grounded on True Hope When Daniel Michalski won an NCAA Division II national title in steeplechase in 2017, many would have considered that a fitting close to an outstanding college athletics career. But the Lord, and Dan, a 2018 Cedarville alumnus, had other challenges to jump, hurdle, and climb. Daniel took his last year of college eligibility with him to Indiana University as a g...

Joy in Suffering This week from the Cedarville Stories podcast archives, we revisit the powerful story of Dr. Angie Mickle, Dean of the Cedarville School of Nursing, who shared about a series of trials that rocked her world and deepened her faith in profound ways. In late 2018, doctors diagnosed Dr. Mickle with what they thought was a malignant brain tumor. On January 7, 2019, surgeons spent nine...

Politics With a Fresh Perspective This week from the archives of the Cedarville Stories podcast, we hear from a professor who has become a breath of fresh air in the confusing and complicated world of politics. Dr. Mark Caleb Smith brings a balanced and insightful perspective on what can be a strange landscape for Americans to navigate: modern-day politics. But because of his thoughtful, articulat...

Finding Joy When Life Steals Your Happiness   The old saying goes, “One step forward, two steps back.” For Olivia (Ancil) Arent, that saying has poignant and painful real-life application. Olivia graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Cedarville in 2019 and was working as a night shift float nurse at Holland Hospital in Holland, Michigan. On May 28, 2020, after finishing a rec...

Diana Perkey is on the run in her walk with God. Diana is a 1991 alumna of Cedarville and was recently named the Director of Alumni Engagement. She feels that all her experiences up to now have prepared her for this time. Diana compares her life with the Lord to a relay race, a continual process of releasing and receiving the baton, being faithful with each new calling the Lord has on her life. Fo...

Doorman to the Stars, Servant to All He’s served as a pastor, a midnight campus safety officer, an assistant director of church relations, and presently as an event manager handling everything from academic department gatherings to commencement celebrations. But in all the ways he serves at Cedarville University, Tim Abel follows this one constant: Ultimately, his servanthood is for the Lord. One...

Toolbox and Tool Bag Are His Altar Paul Mitchell knows more about water than most people. As the supervisor of water systems at Cedarville University, Paul kept the water flowing to residence halls, academic and administrative buildings, and everywhere else on campus for 19 years. But Paul’s heart ultimately is for streams of living water, seeing people touched by the Good News of Jesus. In fact,...

Biblical Integrity in Everything They Do Small-group leadership, disciple-making, missions, Christian education, athletics as a platform for the Gospel. Sean and Diane Hannay’s life together has mirrored the values and priorities they learned at Cedarville as undergrads. And this devotion to the Lord has now flowed into the next generation. A commitment to Christian higher education started with S...

Parkinson’s Surgery Transforms Their Future Debilitating tremors. Uncontrollable muscle spasms. Dr. Bill Ragle was trapped inside a body that had a mind of its own.   Since 1995, Ragle has served as professor of finance at Cedarville. He will be retiring at the end of this academic year. The fact that he has continued to work while suffering with Parkinson’s disease is a miracle all by itself. But...

Learning Well From Those Ahead of Him Jake Johnson is wise beyond his years. How so? Because he’s been blessed with the gift of knowing what he doesn’t know, then the foresight to seek out those who have the experience and wisdom he hopes to exercise in his life.  Jake, who is a senior political science major, has served as president for the Student Government Association this year at Cedarville U...