Cedarville Stories

Every Gift Matters When Cedarville University publicly launched its $125 million, One Thousand Days Transformed campaign in 2019, the University said that every gift would be important — whether large or small.  Throughout the ongoing campaign, Cedarville received gifts ranging from $10 to $10 million, and all were happily accepted because they reflected the stewardship of the donor. But one 8-yea...

Faithfully Serving Jeff Haymond can be easily spotted on campus as he drives up in his vintage Cutlass convertible. But his love for vintage cars is just one small thing that makes his life interesting.  Jeff served in the United States Air Force for 29 years, reaching the rank of Colonel before retiring in 2010.  During those 29 years, Jeff collected numerous stories. But one he will never forget...

A Life Changing Impact It was 1964, and Tom was minding his own business in a store in Xenia, Ohio. He was then approached by Cedarville College student, Larry Montgomery '66, who was working at the store and needed a ride back to campus. Their casual conversation quickly turned spiritual. Larry asked Tom if he was saved, which caught Tom’s attention.  Once the two arrived on campus, Larry pulled...

The Father of Getting Started Dick Walker served at Cedarville for 42 years, arriving at the University in 1970. His first job at Cedarville? Assistant food service manager. But he is best known for his 40 years in student life and campus activities, serving as a resident director, Dean of Men, Director of Campus Activities, and finally in the Office of Alumni Relations.  He had a huge impact on t...

Creating a Space to Receive Grace Bubbly. Energetic. Positive. Visionary. Kim Ahlgrim is a dynamo. As director of The Cove, the University’s academic enrichment center, she and her staff have created an environment where students can be themselves and share the challenges they are facing academically, personally, and spiritually. Kim was named Member of the Year by the National Tutoring Associatio...

Deep Calls for Life Good health is not something to take for granted. Just ask Dr. Chuck Elliott, Senior Professor of Communication at Cedarville University.  Throughout his life, he’s been a model of good health. That was until he began experiencing severe headaches and uncontrollable high blood pressure while teaching in Hong Kong. Ultimately, the high blood pressure left significant damage to C...

From Healthcare to Business How does a student epidemiologist end up teaching international business at Cedarville University? For Dan Sterkenburg, God mapped out an entirely different course than what he had planned.    Dan grew up as a missionary kid in Brazil, where he saw medical missions in action. This was for him. Or so he thought. He began pursuing epidemiology as a path to medical school,...

Reluctant and Faithful   2004 alumnus Philip Miller never wanted to serve as a pastor, and now, he’s serving in one of the most high-profile pulpits in America.   Philip began serving as senior pastor at The Moody Church in downtown Chicago in July 2020. He follows in the footsteps of 16 legendary men of God, including long-time Cedarville friend and guest chapel speaker Dr. Warren Wiersbe, whose...

Thankful for a Bonus Round of Life In this season when we pause to give thanks to God for all of his many, many blessings, our podcast guest, Dr. Michael McKay, Assistant Professor of Biblical Theology, understands full well that the Lord is his sustainer, provider, and a worker of miracles. During a laidback and relaxed Saturday morning in June, Michael knew he wasn’t feeling exactly right but wr...

Love for Others For Nancy Voorhies, it has always been about people. No matter where she was or what she was doing, people were her priority, although she could have never foreseen how exactly this love of people would play out in her life.  College-aged Nancy had one goal — pursuing the arts. She auditioned at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for its piano performance program. To her surprise, sh...

Man’s Best Friend Even at a young age, Jim Mellick was artistically gifted. His Middle School teachers would often ask him to complete drawings to help illustrates lessons during school. It was clear early on that Jim would become a successful artist, though he never could have predicted what that would look like.  Raised in Wellington, Ohio, as a pastor’s kid, Jim set off for college to pursue hi...

God’s Continued Faithfulness  Success was in sight for a young Will Smallwood, fresh out of the University of Florida with a degree in public relations. How he would use this degree was a little vague for him at the time, so he took a position with a small public relations firm. His focus, at least initially, was to learn the ropes in public relations and enjoy a successful career. One of his earl...

Faith and Politics Dr. Mark Caleb Smith is well known and loved around Cedarville’s campus. He serves as the Chair for the Department of History and Government.  In all that he does, Mark emphasizes the importance of integrating faith and politics. He started and directs the Center for Political Studies, which functions as a bridge between Cedarville and the broader world. This includes bringing e...

Unexpected Victory Rachel (Sweeney) Bredeson never expected to end her Cedarville athletic career as an NCAA All-American. But through the encouragement of her cross-country teammates, her parents, and her husband, Rachel ran an outstanding finish for her Cedarville team.  Rachel Bredeson grew up in a Christian home and gave her life to Christ at the young age of 6. With two parents practicing pha...

From Radio to TV Production   Mike Davis grew up Sau Paulo, Brazil. While attending an American school, he heard about Cedarville University through a high school friend. As an athlete, Mike had the opportunity to interact with recruiters from Cedarville at a local college fair. After he moved to the United States, Mike experienced culture shock, which he was not prepared for. He grew up speaking...

Heart Attacks and Tennis Matches   It was just like any other day when Abe Awabdy and John Vitaliti headed for the varsity tennis courts at Cedarville University on July 8, 2022. The two have been playing tennis together for 15 years, so this is a rather common occurrence for them. But on this particular day, Abe and John were in the middle of their tennis match when John turned around to see his...

Traveling Nurses   Hannah Nocella ‘20, Abbie Nilius ‘19, and Bekah Colon ’19 didn’t know they would end up traveling the country together when they started nursing school at Cedarville University. Hannah and Bekah met during their first nursing class freshman year, and the three of them have been inseparable ever since their sophomore years.  The three nurses started their careers in Dayton, Ohio,...

Unwavering Faithfulness    Daniel Kinniburgh’s faith journey began early and carried him from a small town in the west to Cedarville, Ohio, to Vietnam and back. Dan was in grade school when a missionary from Pennsylvania started pastoring a church in the small Montana town where Dan was from. Dan and his family began attending Pastor Warner’s church, and they came to know the Lord. Pastor Warner’s...

Sandstone and Dinosaur Bones   It was his eighth grade earth science class that sparked John Whitmore’s love of science and fossils. He decided at a young age that he wanted to be a paleontologist.   During his freshman year at Kent State University, John’s worlds of science and Scripture began to collide. As a scientist and a believer, he tried to weave together evolutionary theory and Scripture...

As a 16-year-old, Jeff Bates worked in a small grocery store in Gladwin, Michigan, his hometown. This store had a small drug store called the Prescription Shop, and Jeff was inspired by its pharmacist’s service to the community. This pharmacist offered himself to the community, and that greatly inspired Jeff to pursue pharmacy in the same way. Jeff loved science and chemistry, and he wanted to use...

Sports as Ministry   Whether it was basketball, baseball, or golf, athletics were always an important part of Chris Cross’ life. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Chris made sports a very central part of his life, starting in middle school and continuing all the way through college.   In 2014, Chris began serving as Assistant Director of Athletics for Compliance at Cedarville University, a...

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...

Bonnie Rutledge didn’t know where she saw herself professionally, but staying in her small town of 800 people to run a local newspaper was the furthest idea from her mind. Bonnie grew up in the small town of Jewett, Ohio, went to a private Christian high school, and accepted Christ at a young age. She was eager to begin her college years at Cedarville University when she enrolled in 2016.  While a...

Miracles and Compassionate Hearts   It was a Wednesday night church service that changed the trajectory of 8-year-old Echo Vanderwal’s life. After hearing missionaries share about the healthcare they provided for the underprivileged in the Congo, Echo knew she was called to medical missions overseas. Echo and her husband, Harry, graduated from Cedarville University in 1996. Echo is a physician ass...

When Stuart Li enrolled at Cedarville University, he had his career path laid out in his mind. He was going to be a leader in the financial sector, helping others effectively manage their money and build a nice nest egg for himself. After all, this is the "American Way." Little did he know that the life lessons instilled in him from his college professors would be instrumental in Stuart having a c...