This is an interview with Anna Rebmann. She won first place in the 2012 Southern Literary Festival for her one-act play.  Her play, Opening the Past, was produced for and premiered at the 6th Annual One Act Play Festival this past fall at Belhaven’s Center for Arts.

Rebmann is a senior from Gettysburg, PA and is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre.

What is your play about?

“The story is about two strangers who don’t know about each other.  The setting takes place in a college library. The story is about them realizing  they have a deep connection at this moment they can’t explore.”

What it the overall theme of the play you wrote?

“The importance of listening.”

How did you feel when you heard you won the award?

“I honestly felt kind of scared, but it didn’t really sink in till later because I was in the middle of working on two other plays.  When I started to realize what it meant, I got very excited and really didn’t expect such a great award.”

What was the writing process like for you as you were writing your play?

“The writing process involved feedback from both the creative writing and theatre departments.  I am so thankful to the professors in both departments who went to the extra trouble to be available to me and other students who work on projects like this one and give feedback.”

Will you be attending the Southern Literary Festival and what are you looking forward to the most?

“Yes and I get to meet my personal favorite playwright Tina Howe.”

What do you plan on doing after you graduate from Belhaven?

“I want to work for a theatre company because I am primarily an actor so I want to be a resident actor in an acting company.  I am open to going any place that would be an awesome opportunity to go exploring. I am continually more open to the world around us. “

How has Belhaven University prepared you for life after college?

“BU has really prepared me to go out into the world and as a Christian, think through the application of my faith and how it applies to me as a professional.  The Christian atmosphere and the community are amazing. The resources for learning and growing are definitely here, but with any art, what you put into it, is what you get out of it.  It’s like here are the opportunities for you to learn if you commit to doing it.  Belhaven helps guide us in our progression toward being artists.”

Do you hear that noise? It sounds like the grumbling stomachs of hungry and thirsty college students.

The Shoe Bird Café has reopened its doors this semester to the joy of all students.  Good food and drink are now readily available for anyone from morning ‘till night. The best part is that it’s now affordable! The prices have been slashed to allow all students coffee, tea and snacks all day.

Come on over and have a muffin, cup of coffee or tea, latte or a specialty drink, all under five dollars. Every week the Shoe Bird Café is putting out a variety of items at cheaper prices. Last week they added pizza to their menu for a dollar a slice. Scones and crumb cakes showed up recently at $.75, while bagels are only $.50. The assorted hot teas, coffee, cold juices and frappes range from $.50 to $2.75.  Specialty drinks like the caramel macchiato or white chocolate mocha are always available for those with a taste for something different.

The Shoe Bird’s reopening was a joyful event, but now that the prices are more than reasonable and the little café should not have to worry about the flow of customers any longer.

Hours:

Monday – Thursday  7:30 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.

Friday – 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Closed Saturday and Sunday

By Anna Howard, Belhaven Communications Workstudy

(From left to right) Ryan Brister, Kookie Kim, Sarah Lowman, Joy Dear, Sydney Cunningham and Daniel M. Allen.

Love in the air at Belhaven University and wedding bells will be ringing soon.  A total of six staff members from Belhaven’s Traditional, Online and International Admission programs are engaged to be married.

As far as we know this is the most Belhaven staffers to be engaged at once and coincidentally, being from the same department.  Read more about how they met their sweethearts and how they proposed or were proposed to. Feel free to leave a comment of congratulations to all of the happy couples.

Ryan Brister is the Assistant Director of Online Admission and is engaged to Lene’ Bailey.  They met through a mutual friend and have been dating for two years.  They are getting married on August 18, 2012 at McLaurin Heights United Methodist Church.

How did you propose to Lene’?

“I proposed by taking her to a gazebo which was decorated with rose petals and candles. I had our favorite song playing when we arrived at the gazebo overlooking the lake.  After proposing to her I played the guitar and sang her a song.”

Kook “Kookie” Kim is an International Admission Counselor from Wonju, South Korea and she is engaged to Young Shin. Kookie and Young met in Birmingham, AL and plan to get married this summer.  Young proposed to Kookie in South Korea.

How did you both meet?

“I started to date him January 2011. I visited Birmingham, AL for Thanksgiving break in 2010 after I completed my MPA program at Belhaven. I met his parents first and they introduced us to each other. He called me after and we started talking on the phone for a month and we decided to meet for the first time. This is how our relationship started. He is my first boyfriend and the man that I’ve been praying for the last five years. Thanks to the Lord for this relationship.”

Sarah Lowman is an Admission Counselor from Birmingham, AL and is engaged to Asa Reynolds.  Asa is in his residency for general surgery in Memphis.  They have been dating long distance for almost two years. Sarah and Asa are still working on finding a date for their wedding in September of this year.

Where did you meet?

“We met through mutual friends at a karaoke night.”

How did Asa propose to you?

“Asa was in town for one of his rare weeks off. One night he handed me a rose and said that we were driving to dinner separately, and that I needed to go to Cups first. When I got there, the barista handed me another rose and a note saying that he was going to walk me through the major steps in our relationship. I followed clues to notes that led me to where we first met.  The last note was at Redeemer Church and he proposed to me in the sanctuary. Afterwards we went to dinner with both sets of parents who had driven from Memphis and Birmingham for the occasion.”

Joy Dear is an Admission Counselor from Brandon, MS and she is engaged to T.J. Bradford. They are getting married on March 16, 2013.

Where did you meet?

“Our dads were hunting buddies. They lost contact and years later bumped into each other again. When they met back up, they picked up where they left off, and are now best buds once again. They started talking about their kids and updating one another after being out of touch for about 20 years or so. One Saturday morning I was at my parent’s house and his dad was there visiting. My dad explained who I was, and I was introduced to his dad. When I left my dad later told me that his dad said, ‘Yeah, I have a son about her age at MSU pursing a degree in agronomy.’ My dad (who will always think his girls are his babies), just nodded and said ‘oh yea man that’s great.’

T.J. told me that after that day his dad met me, his dad went on and on about him needing to find me on Facebook or contact me. T.J. blew him off for a while, and then finally looked me up. He sent me an Facebook message saying ‘Hey, my dad knows your dad, I think, but I was just saying hi.’ From then on we began messaging back and forth for several days. We then exchanged numbers and started hanging out on weekends when he was home. I attended his college graduation on December 10th at Mississippi State, and that night he asked me to be his girlfriend.”

How did T.J. propose to you?

“My friend, Kenosha Robinson, is in seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I went to visit her there over the Labor Day holiday.  After my trip, my ‘prince charming’ came and picked me up from the airport that evening. As I was walking down the main hallway in the Jackson International Airport, I saw him in the distance standing, awaiting my arrival. As I came closer, he dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him. It was the sweetest thing you could have ever seen. He later told me the reason he picked that location is because he knows that I travel often being an admission counselor. He wanted me to remember that day every time I entered or exited the airport, which is quite often.”

Sydney Cunningham is the Data Coordinator for Online Admission and is engaged to Joseph Charlton from Little Rock, MS.  Sydney and Joseph are getting married on June 2, 2012 in Utica, MS.

How did you meet?

“We met while serving as intern-missionaries with WeWillGo Ministries in downtown Jackson.  Joseph is an Elementary teacher in Rankin County and I am in my second semester of seminary.”

Daniel M. Allen is an Admission Counselor for Online Programs and he is engaged to Laura Kirst.  They met at college in Chicago and plan to get married on July 21, 2012.

How did you propose to Laura?

“I proposed to Laura by setting up a surprise scavenger hunt on our old college campus with places in which we shared a lot of memories while we were dating. I asked her to marry me at the place we had our first date, two years ago.”

Belhaven was honored with a visit from Dr. Harold Smith, President & CEO of Christianity Today International (CTI) at Belhaven’s weekly chapel service on January 17.  Smith spoke on the topic of “Christians Engaged in the Public Square.” Being head of a national and international publication, Smith knows about being in the public square.

His introduction to the chapel service was a complementary observation of Belhaven’s creative spirit. He then spoke about the importance of giving all to God. He believes that just like Christianity Today tries to make meaningful connections with their readers, that in the same way students should reach into other’s lives.  Smith added that Belhaven students should be men and women ready and waiting to be used by the Lord.

During the chapel, Smith discussed CTI’s new project called This Is Our City and talked about the importance of becoming a creative counter-culture wherever God has placed us. He also discussed the importance of bringing restoration to one individual at a time, and then letting God do the multiplying.

In his conclusion, Smith gave three keys to engaging the public square:  a hungry faith, a deepening trust and a confidence that God, who began a good work in you, will complete it.

Smith is a resident of Carol Stream, Illinois, is a native of Detroit, Michigan. He holds a BA in history from the University of Michigan and studied and taught journalism at Michigan State University. Smith and his wife, Judy, have two adult sons. Smith’s resume includes service with the National Association of Evangelicals prior to joining CTI.

Smith joined the staff of Christianity Today magazine as special projects editor in 1984, and was promoted through various positions. Most recently he served six years as executive vice president. With this appointment, he becomes only the fourth top executive in the company’s 50-year history.

Christianity Today magazine was founded by evangelist Billy Graham in 1956 in an effort to give the fledgling evangelical movement coverage of faith news and the changing Christian culture.

Today CTI publishes 13 print magazines including Today’s Christian Woman, Leadership Journal, and Ignite Your Faith (formerly Campus Life), operates award-winning websites with more than 30 channels for men, women, teens, and church leaders reaching more than 2-million unique visitors monthly, and produces more than 40 electronic newsletters reaching 1.4 million subscribers.