Posts Tagged ‘Avondale Alumni Association’

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Prizewinning potential

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Avondale honours its top students

Brenton Stacey
Public relations officer
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

Jared Benard, Kristen Hankins and 24 of their classmates are Avondale College of Higher Education’s top students after receiving academic prizes during Forum this past Wednesday (October 26).

Pr Pablo Lillo from Adventist Media Network presents the Journalism Prize to Sonja Larsen. Credit: Ben Turner.

Jared, president of the Avondale Students’ Association, and Kristen each received $1500 for winning Avondale’s most prestigious prize, the Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Prize for Excellence.

Jared is the third consecutive management major to win the prize—after Hannah Rowe this past year and Charles Muirhead in 2009. He also won a second prize—sharing the Bachelor of Business Excellence Prize with Faye Saville ($500 each). His advice for those in earlier stages of their study: seek leadership roles because they help you discover what you enjoy doing. Jared will coordinate a new business course and teach physical education at Noosa Christian College next year.

Kristen, a Bachelor of Education (Primary) student, did not know the Prize for Excellence existed until receiving it. The recognition for personal initiative, leadership qualities and academic, social and spiritual balance is an “honour,” she says. Kristen thanks her lecturers for “helping me reach my goals”—they helped her complete a four-year course in three. Her advice: what appears irrelevant in class is relevant in the workplace—Kristen will teach Year 1 at Northpine Christian College next year.

Communication and international development studies major Sonja Larsen joined Jared as a multiple prizewinner. She received the Adventist Media Network Journalism Prize ($1000) and the W A Townend Christian Journalism Prize ($500), recognising in part her work as an editorial assistant for Connections.

A piano solo at the beginning of Forum confirmed Ben Milis as a worthy recipient of the Alan and Yvonne Thrift Perpetual Shield for Musical Excellence Prize ($1000). The performance of “We Shall Behold Him” impressed not only staff members and students but also one of the presenters, who concurred with president Dr Ray Roennfeldt in thanking Ben.

Bachelor of Ministry and Theology (Honours) student Abel Iorgulescu added the Clifford Anderson Prize ($1000), which he shared with James London, to the Arthur Ferch Prize for Hebrew Studies he received this past year. The prize recognises ministerial potential.

The Edna Ferris Heise Prize for female theology students recognises excellence in communication. The winner: the new faith columnist for Connections, Bethany Turner.

Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching (Honours) student Rebekah Bamford won the first Australian Indigenous Student Teaching Prize ($1000).

Avondale will announce other prize recipients, including the third recipient of the Prize for Excellence, during the consecration service on the Sydney campus.

Academic Prizes

Faculty of Arts and Theology
School of Humanities and Creative Arts

Adventist Media Network Digital Media Prize
Adventist Media Network
Josh Bolst ($1000)

Adventist Media Network Journalism Prize
Adventist Media Network
Sonja Larsen ($1000)

Alan and Yvonne Thrift Perpetual Shield for Musical Excellence Prize
School of Humanities and Creative Arts, Avondale College of Higher Education
Ben Milis ($1000)

Bachelor of Arts Excellence Prize
Willobee Floor Service
Rhianon Bougaardt ($1000)

Huguenot History Prize
Dr Allen and Andrea Steele
Hayley Blagden ($1000)

W A Townend Christian Journalism Prize
Townend family
Sonja Larsen ($500)

School of Ministry and Theology

Arthur Ferch Prize for Hebrew Studies
Ferch-Johnson family
Martin Thomson ($1000)

Clifford Anderson Prize
Clifford Anderson bequest
Abel Iorgulescu and James London ($1000 each)

Edna Ferris Heise Prize for Excellence in Communication
Heise family
Bethany Turner ($1000)

Elwin Currow Prize for New Testament Apocalyptic
Dr Elwin Currow
Brendan Hayes ($100)

Graham Miller Memorial Prize for Excellence in Youth Ministry
Graham Miller Memorial Fund
Alina Coccetti ($1000)

Faculty of Business

Bachelor of Business Excellence Prize
Williams Premium Wholesale
Jared Benard and Faye Saville ($500 each)

Bachelor of Business (Accounting) Excellence Prize
Williamson and Chaseling
Carl Thompson ($500)

Faculty of Education and Science
School of Education

Australian Indigenous Student Teaching Prize
AusCoaching
Rebekah Bamford ($1000)

Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) Prize for Excellence
Adventist Education Department, Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific
Theresa Yeates ($1000)

Bachelor of Education (Primary) Prize for Excellence
Seventh-day Adventist Church in New Zealand and the Pacific islands
Kate Mahony ($1000)

Bachelor of Education (Secondary) Prize for Excellence
Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia
Amy-Lyn Marks ($1000)

Diploma of Outdoor Recreation Leadership Prize
Adventure 195
Luke Metz ($500 Adventure 195 gift voucher)

Health and Physical Education Prize
Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation
Alese Bottrill (Certificate plus 12-month membership to Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation)

Primary Teacher’s Literacy Prize
School of Education, Avondale College of Higher Education
Michelle Pratt (Certificate plus 12-month membership to e:lit)

School of Science and Mathematics

Bachelor of Science Excellence Prize
School of Science and Mathematics, Avondale College of Higher Education
Keaton Humphries ($600)

Faculty of Nursing and Health

Academic Excellence Award*
Sydney Adventist Hospital
Ingrid Kruger ($250 plus gold medallion)

Clinical Excellence Award*
Sydney Adventist Hospital
Erin McDonald ($250 plus gold medallion)

Medical Nursing Award*
Sydney Adventist Hospital
Hartono Sutanto ($100)

Mental Health Nursing Excellence Award*
Sydney Adventist Hospital
Lucy Galeano ($100)

Prize for Consistent Effort and Accomplishment*
Faculty of Nursing and Health
David Wrennall ($100)

Surgical Nursing Award*
Sydney Adventist Hospital
Emily Walsh ($100)

Other

Avondale Alumni Association Community Service Prize
Avondale Alumni Association
Ketannah Hope (Lake Macquarie campus) and Shirley Fatnowna (Sydney campus*) ($500 each)

Overseas Volunteer Service Prize*
Anonymous
Matt Barbosa ($500)

Prize for Excellence

Prize for Excellence, Lake Macquarie campus
Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing
Jared Benard ($1500)

Prize for Excellence, Lake Macquarie campus
Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing
Kristen Hankins ($1500)

Prize for Excellence, Sydney campus*
Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing
Lisa Mason ($1500)

* Awarded during the consecration service on the Sydney campus over the graduation weekend

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Thrift returns to Avondale an award winner

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Conductor, educator and mentor now Alumnus of the Year

Brenton Stacey
Public relations officer
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

One of Avondale College of Higher Education’s longest-serving staff members is now its Alumnus of the Year.

Honoured: Avondale Alumni Association president Pr Desmond B Hills and vice-president Jenny Laredo Hilder with Alumnus of the Year Alan Thrift. Credit: Ann Stafford.

Alan Thrift received a standing ovation as he accepted the Avondale Alumni Association’s highest award during the worship service at Homecoming on Saturday (August 27).

President Pr Desmond B Hills presented the award in recognition of Alan’s dedication to musical excellence, particularly at Avondale, his gift as an educator and his contribution as a mentor. He acknowledged Alan’s 41 years as head of the then Music Department and noted his achievements as including: conducting the Avondale Symphonic Choir in the first television broadcast of a choral program in Sydney; organising tours throughout Australia and to New Zealand and the United States; and serving for 20 years as musical director of the Sydney Male Choir.

Citations

Eight other alumni, one from each honour year, joined Alan as award recipients. Receiving citations from their classmates were: minister’s wife and retired cooking demonstrator and teacher Geneva Smith (1941); artist Melvin Duffy (1951); Dr Lloyd Willis (1961), a Professor of Religion at Southwestern Adventist University (Keene, Texas, USA) who also preached the Sabbath sermon; retired chaplain Dr Roger Henley (1971); minister Pr Michael Brownhill (1981); Seventh-day Adventist Church youth leader Pr Nick Kross (1986); nurse Marilyn Lewis (1991); and minister Leighton Heise (2001).

Alumni Lecture

Classmates connect: Iris Landa and Pr Eric White at the 1961 honour year reunion. Credit: Ann Stafford.

Dr Marion Shields described Jesus as a “shiftless Nazarene” during the presentation of her “Outliers, misfits or something else?” paper at the Alumni Lecture on Friday. The senior lecturer in the School of Education at Avondale based her description on Jesus’ lack of education and employment and His nomadic lifestyle, while also noting His relationships with women and tax collectors and His praise of a Samaritan. His message? Not to restore our broken relationship with God but to heal broken relationships among people. Marion noted the difference between the Pharisees’ definition of holiness—based on exclusivity—and Jesus’—based on inclusivity. Putting the latter into practice, particularly in the church, can be challenging, she said. “A healthy church often attracts unhealthy people, but a healthy church should be one of the few places where those people find love and acceptance.”

The Avondale Alumni Association dedicated the lecture to retired Seventh-day Adventist educator Dr John Hammond.

Annual general meeting

Reminisce, relax: Homecoming is for alumni who last studied at Avondale 10, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 years ago. Credit: Ann Stafford.

During the annual general meeting following the lecture, members of the association reelected Desmond and Jenny Laredo Hilder as their president and vice-president.

Hymns and Songs of Praise

Avondale vocal ensemble The Promise and seven of its former members featured in a reunion performance at Hymns and Songs of Praise on Saturday evening. Tenor Dell Lawrence and mezzo-soprano Vivienne Calwell’s duet—the two sang “The Prayer”—moved the audience as did producer Dr Lyell Heise’s dedication of the final hymn, “Because He Lives,” to the 11 family members who died in the Slacks Creek house fire. The concert, produced by the church in the South Pacific’s Institute of Worship, almost filled Avondale College Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Golf Classic

Forty competitors entered the golf classic at the Toronto Country Club on Sunday morning. Alumnus Mark Lamplough and Sean Fitzpatrick won the open division of the Ambrose format tournament with a six under par 65. Chef Josh Radford, one of the sponsors, and Steve Plahn won on handicap. Wendi Herman, a lecturer in the School of Education, and Shona Mitchell won the women’s division.

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Reluctant alumnus now an Avondale award winner

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Challenges students to “make the most of every opportunity”

Sonja Larsen
Editorial assistant, Connections
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

Colin Chuang never wanted to study at Avondale, but now he is the face of the college of higher education’s alumni association.

Fresh face: Colin Chuang of Advancement Marketing Services is Avondale College Alumni Association’s Young Alumnus of the Year for 2011. Credit: Ben Moyes.

Encouraged by his father to “give it a go,” Colin enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts majoring in communication and visual arts. He graduated in 2005 and now reflects on his experience as one that helped him grow in confidence and in maturity.

Avondale College Alumni Association president Pr Des Hills announced Colin as the recipient of the Young Alumnus of the Year during the Alumni and Graduation Forum on Avondale’s Lake Macquarie campus this past Wednesday (May 18). The award is presented to a member of the association aged 30 and under on the sixth anniversary of their graduation. It recognises commitment to Christian service and dedication to achieving personal goals.

Now a marketing officer at Avondale, Colin spoke during Forum of the opportunities people gave him to grow. During his first weekend on campus, the then chaplain, Pr Ian Howie, asked Colin to operate the presentation software for the worship service. Colin did the same for the Friday evening worship service the following week. A friend then asked Colin to help promote an Easter musical, for which he wrote a song. “From that moment, I felt this was where God wanted me.”

Colin would go on to reestablish the basketball competition, which led to the formation of the now Avondale Basketball Association. He also served as part of Student Associated Ministries and of the STORM Co ministry and, since graduating, has marketed the student club One Mission. Colin described his association with an entity that values service as a blessing because “service helps us redefine what really matters in our lives.”

Colin encouraged students to “stop wishing for stuff” we cannot have and cannot change and to “start dreaming so you can see the potential of what could be. . . . It makes it so much easier to wake up in the morning knowing you are doing something you love.”

Colin closed with this text from the Bible: “Make the most of every opportunity” (Colossians 4:5b, NIV). “Every moment matters,” he said, “and I believe you are placed where you are at those moments for a purpose.”

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Alumni’s OT book wins PT award

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Funding from Avondale helps, too

Brenton Stacey
Public relations officer
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

A book co-edited by two alumni with research funding from Avondale College of Higher Education has won one of PreachingToday.com’s annual book awards.

Grenville Kent

“It preaches like a dream:” Dr Grenville Kent on reclaiming the Old Testament.

Editors of PreachingToday.com, a nonprofit ministry of Christianity Today International, divided nominated books into two categories—Enhancing the Preacher’s Skill and Feeding the Preacher’s Soul. Reclaiming the Old Testament for Christian Preaching, edited by Drs Grenville Kent and Laurence Turner, with Dr Paul Kissling, won the award in the skill category.

Readable

The book’s practical focus appealed to judge Pr Mark Mitchell, minister of Central Peninsula Church in California, USA. Chapters cover narrative, plot, characters, genre and preaching from difficult texts. Each includes a sermon as an example. The book concludes with a chapter on preaching Christ from the Old Testament. Mitchell describes Reclaiming the Old Testament for Christian Preaching as “scholarly but readable” and notes how the writers “come from a variety of theological positions within evangelicalism.”

“Rock stars”

The writers include Daniel Block, David Firth, Alison Lo, Tremper Longman, Ernest Lucas, Frederico Villanueva, Gordon Wenham and Christopher Wright. These are some of the “rock stars of evangelical scholarship,” says Grenville, a lecturer in Old Testament and arts in the School of Theology at Wesley Institute. He and his colleagues—Laurence is head of the Department of Theological Studies at Newbold College in England and Paul a former professor of Old Testament and biblical languages and director of research at the TCM International Institute in Austria—invited them to contribute because of concerns ministers were too timid to preach the Old Testament and their congregations too timid to hear it preached. The criticism: the Old Testament is morally complex and culturally remote and lacks cohesion and literary sparkle.

“In loosing the unity and the literary beauty of the Old Testament, we may even have lost its role as Christian Scripture,” says Grenville. “Liberals chucked it away and conservatives saw it as secondary Scripture but evangelicals said, ‘You can read it like a scholar.’”

Reclamation

Grenville used the funding from Avondale to help organise a theological conference at Tynalde House, a Cambridge, England-based residential centre for biblical research. The book is based on papers presented at the conference.

“The Old Testament is theologically challenging,” says Grenville, “but there’s unity with the New Testament. It reads like a book, even though some of the literary genres are unfamiliar and some of the narrative devices are daunting. Best of all, it preaches like a dream because people rarely hear it.”

Reclaiming the Old Testament for Christian Preaching is published by IVP Academic.

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Prize pupils

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Avondale honours top students

Kirsten Bolinger
Public relations editorial assistant
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

Hannah Rowe, Chris Starrett and 29 of their classmates are Avondale College’s top students after receiving academic prizes during forum this past Wednesday (November 10).

Chris Starrett and Hannah Rowe with Dale Williams of Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing. Credit: Ann Stafford.

Hannah and Chris each received $1500 for winning Avondale’s most prestigious prize, the Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Prize of Excellence. The two won other awards, too—Chris the Avondale College Alumni Association Community Service Prize ($1000) and Hannah the Bachelor of Business Prize ($1000).

Hannah, a management major, describes the timing of the presentation of the award as “perfect”—she is marrying her fiancé in February. “With a wedding coming up, I appreciate the money, but the affirmation means more to me,” she says.

Chris, who is completing a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching, plans to use some of his money to place a deposit on a mountain bike—he regularly rides with Crankt, a ministry of Avondale College Seventh-day Adventist Church. His advice to students entering their final year in 2011: “Don’t wait for the Avondale experience to come to you; go and make it happen.”

Ashlie Biega also won multiple prizes—the Bachelor of Education (Secondary) Prize ($1000) and the Health and Physical Education Prize.

Bachelor of Theology/Bachelor of Ministry student Stephen Ward won the Clifford Anderson Prize for a second consecutive year. He shares it again, this year with Bachelor of Theology (Honours) student Kelly Fry, although both receive $1000. The prize recognises ministerial potential. So does the Seventh-day Adventist Church in southern Queensland, which will employ Stephen as a minister next year.

Avondale will announce the third recipient of the Prize for Excellence during the consecration service on the Sydney campus over the graduation weekend.

Academic Prizes: Winners

The names of the winners of the academic prizes appear after the name of the prize. The monetary value of the prize appears in brackets after the winner’s name.

Faculty of Arts

Alan and Yvonne Thrift Perpetual Shield for Musical Excellence Prize
Sponsor: Faculty of Arts, Avondale College
Jackie Ward ($500)

Bachelor of Arts Prize
Sponsor: Willobee Floor Service
Shelley Poole ($1000)

Digital Media Prize
Sponsor: Adventist Media Network
Reuben Ennor ($1000)

Huguenot History Prize
Sponsor: Dr Allen and Andrea Steele
Hannah Bennett ($1000)

Journalism Prize
Sponsor: Adventist Media Network
Kimberley Ellison and Monique Long ($500 each)

Radio Production and Public Relations Prize
Sponsor: Adventist World Radio
Kirsten Bolinger and Tammy Zyderveld ($500 each)

Faculty of Business and Information Technology

Bachelor of Business Prize
Sponsor: R & B Business Equipment
Hannah Rowe ($1000)

Bachelor of Business (Accounting) Prize
Sponsor: Williamson and Chaseling
Cristi Cantrill and Joshua Hill ($250 each)

Bachelor of Business (Information Technology) Prize
Sponsor: Professional Advantage
Mitchell Eldridge ($500)

Gail Valentine Memorial Prize for Human Resource Management
Sponsor: Avondale College and Valentine family
Michael Brown ($500)

Faculty of Education

Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) Prize
Sponsor: Adventist Education Department, Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific
Michelle Hawke ($1000)

Bachelor of Education (Primary) Prize
Sponsor: Seventh-day Adventist Church in New Zealand and the Pacific islands
Justin Fraser ($1000)

Bachelor of Education (Secondary) Prize
Sponsor: Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia
Ashlie Biega ($1000)

Certificate III in Outdoor Recreation Prize
Sponsor: Mountain Designs
Braeden Hyland ($250 Mountain Designs gift voucher)

Diploma of Outdoor Recreation Leadership Prize
Sponsor: Mountain Designs
Andrew Thompson ($250 Mountain Designs gift voucher)

Health and Physical Education Prize
Sponsor: Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation
Ashlie Biega (Certificate plus 12-month membership to Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation)

Primary Teacher’s Literacy Prize
Sponsor: Faculty of Education, Avondale College
Hajdi Soldat (Certificate plus 12-month membership to e:lit)

Faculty of Nursing and Health

Academic Excellence Award*
Sponsor: Sydney Adventist Hospital
($250 plus gold medallion)

Clinical Excellence Award*
Sponsor: Sydney Adventist Hospital
($250 plus gold medallion)

Mental Health Excellence Award*
Sponsor: Sydney Adventist Hospital
($100)

Medical Nursing Excellence Award
Sponsor: Sydney Adventist Hospital
Linda Mackie ($100)

Prize for Consistent Effort and Accomplishment*
Sponsor: Faculty of Nursing and Health
($100)

Surgical Nursing Excellence Award
Sponsor: Sydney Adventist Hospital
Lauren Demol ($100)

Faculty of Science and Mathematics

Bachelor of Science Prize
Sponsor: Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Avondale College
Amanda Kemp ($600)

Faculty of Theology

Arthur Ferch Prize for Hebrew Studies
Sponsor: Ferch-Johnson family
Abel Iorgulescu and Daniel Matteo ($500 each)

Bill Marr Institute of Public Evangelism Prize
Sponsor: Institute of Evangelism, Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific
Paul Kleinmeulman ($1000)

Clifford Anderson Prize
Sponsor: Clifford Anderson bequest
Kelly Fry and Stephen Ward ($1000 each)

Edna Heise Prize in Communication
Sponsor: Heise family
Lyndelle Knight ($1000)

Elwin Currow Prize for New Testament Apocalyptic
Sponsor: Dr Elwin Currow
Tapiwa Mutseriwa ($100)

Graham Miller Memorial Prize for Youth Ministry
Sponsor: Graham Miller Memorial Fund
Ray Moaga ($1000)

Other

Community Service Prize
Sponsor: Avondale College Alumni Association
Chris Starrett and Sydney campus student* ($500)

Prize for Excellence

Prize for Excellence, Lake Macquarie campus
Sponsor: Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing
Hannah Rowe ($1500)

Prize for Excellence, Lake Macquarie campus
Sponsor: Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing
Chris Starrett ($1500)

Prize for Excellence, Sydney campus*
Sponsor: Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing
Sydney campus student ($1500)

* Awarded during the consecration service on the Sydney campus over the graduation weekend

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