Terry Fox Humanitarian Award Pesented to Bethany Student

The Terry Fox Humanitarian Award recognizes those who reflect the ideals of courage, humanitarianism, service and compassion. Lisa Braun sat down for a visit with Saskatchewan’s 2010 winner, Erin Bader, a 1st year student, from Saskatoon.

Erin, how did you decide to attend Bethany College?
The question of “should I go to Bible College?” was in my mind, and I had thought of Bethany because of friends. I had applied for nursing already, but one evening checked out the Bethany website, decided that I wanted to go, and applied the next week. I have a number of friends who attended here including Joeline Magill (BA, 2009), Jaylin Braun (2009-2010), Katie Pauls (2009-2010) and Steph Neufeld (Diploma, 2008).

How did you first hear about the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award Program?
I was checking out scholarships through my high school’s student services website, found the Terry Fox award, and applied. The application covered three parts of an individual’s life: athletic involvement, community participation, and overcoming obstacles.

Why do you think your application stood out among all the applicants from across Canada?
My experience in high school could be described as a lot of everything, a wide variety of involvements. After the initial application, the process was narrowed down through an interview. I talked about my experiences in going to Nicaragua on my own, paid for myself, even when my family didn’t want me to go initially. I had been to the country before on Project Serve 2009 with Youth for Christ Saskatoon, and I wanted to go back. I needed to get out of my comfort zone completely, and do something that would be a clean break from high school, something different, something to challenge me. So I went back as an intern with Open Hearts, an organization that I found on the internet. My parents were concerned about safety and were reluctant about me going on my own as a 17-year old. But they knew I had my mind made up when I said, “I’m going.”

So Erin, what is the value of this award?
The award is up to $7000 per year for 4 years. I qualified for the maximum.

Wow! How many were awarded this year?
I received the only one for Saskatchewan, and there were 19 given out across Canada.

Erin, what are you enjoying most about your education at Bethany?
The community here. Being surrounded by a larger group of Christians is a new experience for me. I am glad to be taking classes and learning things that I really want to learn.



Erica Ray, Associate Dean of Women, describes Erin as “intelligent, caring, loyal…there is more of her yet to discover and grow. She’s going somewhere, and she has the courage to make things happen.” We are very excited to have Erin as part of the Bethany College community. If you would like more information on Bethany College visit our website at: www.bethany.sk.ca.

To find out more about this awards program, check out the website at: http://www.terryfoxawards.ca/.

~Lisa Braun, Dean of Student Development

Falling Asleep On Life

I was in the middle of the Ad, on one of those black couches by the “fireplace”, earnestly trying to stay awake and focus on the book of Ephesians in front of me. It was Day of Prayer and we had all been given an hour and a half to be silent and spend time with God in the middle of a busy week in the middle of our busy lives. I had been looking forward to this set aside time in which I planned to read Scripture and reflect on life together with God without distractions. However, while I was free of a pressing need to check emails and didn’t have people coming to me with requests or good conversations, I still couldn’t focus on what I was reading, or Who I was trying to hear. Lethargy and apathy are sneaky and ugly enemies! I ended up falling asleep for something like half an hour and awoke to the embarrassing realization of a wet cheek. Frustrated, I decided I needed to be moving in order to stay awake and went for a walk. Along the short journey from the Ad to the dorm to get a coat I passed three girls wrapped up in blankets, lying on the grass with their Bibles, in various stages of consciousness. This triggered in me an intense frustration with our constant state of tiredness, bordering on exhaustion, here at Bethany. Just a quick clarification: I am not saying it’s always a bad thing that we fall asleep while trying to spend time with God. I am sure He is happy to sometimes give us the gift of rest in those situations. But I am also sure that He sometimes hates that we fall asleep on Him, as well as the fact that we don’t take care of ourselves well enough to live life as fully as He intended. I will be the first to admit that I am not a regular advocate for going to bed at a reasonable hour, or giving up a good time for the sometimes wiser choice of sleep. I get so frustrated when an adult, upon hearing about a fun late night adventure advises me of the benefits of regular sleeping hours or implies the foolishness of “young people”. It’s just the way it is in college, right? But honestly, I wonder how much is too much. Admittedly, the good talks and most fun/crazy times happen after midnight. But at what cost? I can attest to the fact that stress is not handled well when tired. This only multiplies when reading textbooks lulls us into much needed sleep and homework doesn’t get done until an impending deadline gives as enough adrenaline to accomplish it. Misunderstanding and annoyances in relationships also seem a lot larger when sleep deprived, which makes for a fun time when living in dorm. I’m not saying lack of sleep is the only thing to blame for our lack of energy. Our culture as a whole doesn’t know what it means to truly rest, and Christians don’t seem to have a great handle on it either. I don’t mean to paint a terribly negative picture, but am asking the question, (while trying to figure out for myself), whether we should accept this tiredness as a part of life and learn to live with it, or whether a bit more sleep isn’t an unreasonable (or elderly) thing to aim for.
~Elya Penner