Five on Friday

Featuring Travis Powers, linebacker for the ONU Tigers from Marysville, Ohio

1. Your first home game is this Saturday. Are you more nervous or excited?

I am a lot more excited about our first home game than nervous. We have put a lot of work in and have been pushed to our limits for this opening game. I am excited to see what we're made of.

2. What's the strangest pregame ritual you've witnessed by a teammate in your three years playing for ONU?

This is a funny question because from the outside looking in, most pregame rituals players do are half way strange and a little wild.

But hands down the strangest thing I've ever seen was a teammate who went through everything he did twice. That includes getting dressed, then undressed, then dressed again. Reading his Bible twice, saying two separate prayers with the same words and every time he took a drink, it had to be in sets of two.

3. What has new head coach Don Lee brought to the table?

It feels like Coach Lee has given us a new start to Olivet football. He has brought new techniques and coaching styles that have pushed us to become better each and every day. Also he has more passion inside of him than I've seen anyone have in a long time. If you are around Coach for more than five minutes, you will contagiously become passionate about what you are doing.

4. Your major, economics/finance, is not exactly known for being a fluff area of study. How do you balance being an athlete and a student?

Econ/Finance is at times a very busy major, but I have been taught never to limit myself. The key to being a student athlete is motivation. There is always a way to get things done. Never limit yourself.

Yes, it is easy to get burnt out and tired when you are involved in a lot of different things, but one thing I have learned is to enjoy the moment you are in at that time. When I am in class I need to enjoy the aspects of being around people that have common interests with me. When I am at practice, I need to make it the time of my life. If you look for enjoyment in what you do, it's always there!

5. Besides Tiger football, the whole campus is buzzing about Ollies Follies this weekend. How will you be participating?

Ollies Follies is amazing. Being an athlete, they don't let us participate in the games, but I go ahead and buy a shirt and yell as loud as I can for my class.

On a side note, I'm proud to be a junior this year. We swept the sports games. This weekend is the variety show, which is my personal favorite. I'll be right there in the midst of the juniors doing our thing. I'll make a bold prediction and say we'll come out on top!

Throwback Thursday: 1991

There are some things you just learn to depend on happening every year: the ball dropping on New Year's Eve, flowers blooming in the spring and Olivetians participating in wacky games and relays all in the name of competition. Members of the sophomore class work closely together during a marshmallow relay as part of the University's annual Ollies Follies. But, as is the case more often than not, the senior class became the overall weekened victors.

Have a favorite Ollies Follies memory? Share it in the comments section.

(Photo from the 1992 Aurora)

Guest feature: Stairway to Heavenly Communication

By Dale Goodman

In any relationship, it's very easy to misunderstand each other.

We bring poor paradigms for communication, lack skill and often have very clogged filters for decoding truth. Often what's shared gets lost in our toxic perceptions. We declare our perceptions as absolute truth, and truth without any appropriate cross-examination can be catastrophic.

A formula for disaster: Perceptions +Assumptions = Distortion

A formula for success: Perceptions + Confirmation = Validation

So how can you achieve clearer, truth-filled communication and avoid misunderstandings in your relationships?

There are three important steps on the stairway to heavenly communication.

Step 1: Suspend judgment

It's easy to jump to conclusions. However, we must not be too quick to judge another person’s heart or motives. "O, I know what they mean." "I know what they are implying." It is incredible how distorted communication can become when a person incorrectly reads into something another person has said.

I’ve seen this far too often marital counseling. I will ask a spouse to repeat exactly what they heard their partner say. The spouse often hears what they thought the other was implying or meaning. Then I ask the other spouse if this is what they said. Many times, the partner did not speak any such thing.

Step 2: Stay logical

It is easy to lose objectivity when you feel personally attacked. The challenge is to not believe you are being attacked. Keep your emotions in check, and don’t give in to the initial knee jerk reaction.

When emotions kick in, logic and objectivity normally take a hike for the hills. We go off on those closest to us, as if they were our worst enemy. We declare them guilty, immediately go on the attack and began to rip them apart. Sound familiar?

So, my friends, as much as it depends on you, in situations involving tough communication, keep it in your head, not your heart. Avoid the trickle-down effect.

To help you maintain control of your emotions, make sure you are keeping yourself healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually.

* Get your sleep
* Exercise
* Eat well
* Spend time in the Scriptures

Step 3: Pre-Qualify your assumptions

Your goal as a good communicator is to seek what is true. Your perceptions, though they may seem true, could be false.

How many times have you reacted to what you thought you heard your friend or loved one say, only to discover after a big fight, you were wrong? All this wasted emotion, hurt and damage comes from misunderstandings and/or false interpretations.

To avoid this, you must verify, confirm or clarify your assumptions.

Discover what is true! If in any doubt, you must challenge what you think, feel or assume you heard.

"You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." John 8:32

Dale Goodman is the director of the alumni network for Olivet’s School of Graduate and Continuing Studies. He holds a master’s in counseling and a doctorate in marriage and family studies, and has more than 25 years of education and experience in the counseling field.

Word of the Week Wednesday: Spear-carrier

Spear-carrier (noun)

Pronounced:
SPEER-kair-ee-er

Definitions:
1: a. a member of an opera chorus b: a bit actor in a play
2: a person whose actions are of little significance or value in an event or organization

Example Sentence:

Bethany initially dismissed basketball star Devin as a spear-carrier for the group project, but then quickly realized her miscalculation when he turned out to be the hardest worker on the team.

***

“Spear-carrier” originates from the 1950s as a term for a non-speaking or unimportant character in a theatrical production. Most likely, it refers to the often spear-carrying soldiers who appear in the background of plays about ancient Rome or Greece. It’s easy to see, then, how this word came to be used for people whose “role” is perceived as minimal in the overall scheme of things.

Do you see yourself as a spear-carrier? Caught up in the daily grind, a person could easily become disillusioned, wondering if the mundane tasks they accomplish in everyday life will matter in the end.

But as the old saying goes, “There are no small parts, only small actors.”

And Scripture reminds us time and again that we all serve significant roles under the orchestration of the Great Director. (For example, read 1 Corinthians 10:31, 1 Corinthians 12 or 1 Timothy 4:12)

So strut your stuff and make the most of every role you play — big or small. What you do and who you are matters. There are no spear-carriers in the kingdom of God.

***

Definition and pronunciation taken from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.

Trivia Tuesday: Can you hear me now?

The human ear is a fascinating and complicated organ that significantly enhances our daily encounters with the world around us.

Whether in biology class or your family physician’s exam room, chances are good you’ve stared at a diagram of the inner, middle and inner sections of these unique appendages at least a time or two.

Often times, though, the name for a less glamorous part doesn’t quite make the cut on these charts.

What’s the little lump of flesh just forward of your ear canal, right next to your temple, called?

Not-so-very-helpful hint: If you happen to know Greek (don’t we all?), the name for this part comes from the Greek word for “goat” because of the generally hairy covering on its under surface, resembling a goat’s beard.

Take a guess in the “Comments” section and we’ll post the correct answer next week.

Answer to last week’s question: According to the Princeton Review, the most popular major selected by college students is “business administration and management.” Olivet Nazarene University offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees in business administration.

Editor's Choice: August 2009

In the last week-and-a-half, the campus of Olivet has taken on a completely different energy. I have to say, I love it!

People often ask me if things slow down for the Office of Marketing Communications during the summer break. The honest answer is “no,” we keep just as busy while the students are gone — sometimes we're even busier.

That said, it’s completely different when the students are not here. It feels like something is missing, like we are in a holding pattern until their cars start pulling back on to campus, packed to overflowing with dorm room decorations and school supplies. Now that the school year is officially underway, it feels like everything is as it should be. We can all get back to our most wonderful business as usual.

Welcome back, students! I’ve missed you.

Here are a few of my favorite online features from the month of August:

Five on Friday: Sandy Begley

As featured on Tiger Bytes

I have the distinct pleasure of getting to know so many incredible men and women who work behind the scenes at ONU. Sandy Begley is one of the coolest among them, and we were thrilled to feature her in our weekly “Five on Friday.”

Being a proud grandmother to three doesn’t stop Sandy from trying out the latest gadgets and gizmos. She is an inspiration to us all, defining what it means to be a godly woman who sees every day as an opportunity for adventure.

Three ways to safeguard your marriage
As featured on Tiger Bytes

What does it take for a marriage to survive in the midst of a divorce-plagued society? Dr. Kent Olney proposes three keys: devotion, practice and avoidance.

Written by one of my all-time favorite professors, this article is a must-read for husbands and wives seeking practical tips for enriching and preserving marital bliss.

What’s ONU?
The new admissions site found at http://www.seewhatsonu.com/

ROTC cadets living in a boot? Dr. Bowling popping up and waving out of the top of Burke? Chap Daddy cruising down University Ave. on his motorcycle? This new site produced by the Office of Admissions cracks me up just looking at it.

Beyond the silliness, though, this new site designed for prospective students is a wealth of information for future Olivetians and their parents.

How many baseballs?
As featured on http://www.olivet.edu/w.olivet.edu/ and in the August edition of Alumni & Friends E-news

I suppose my draw to this story is partly due to my own personal experience with collector mania. It’s nice to know there are other wives out there who have given up an entire room of the house to sports memorabilia (thanks, honey!).

But besides that, I found this tale of Byron Buker and his love for all things baseball to be particularly endearing. To him, the massive collection of baseballs, cards and other items is more than just a mass of items collecting dust on the shelf. Each piece carries with it a memory and a story.

Pictures of First Chapel
As featured on Flickr

It was an amazing feeling to be a part of opening chapel on the first day of classes.

With an undergraduate student body of approximately 2,500, we have surpassed the point where the students, faculty and staff can gather together as one community in Chalfant Hall. So for the past few years, the first two chapels of the year have been held in McHie Arena. Then, for the remainder of the year, the students are split up on a rotating schedule to attend two of the three weekly services held in Chalfant.

On that day, I arrived about 10 minutes before the service began, and the arena was filling in quickly. As 9:35 rolled around, students were still pouring in, trying to find seats. When all was said and done, there were several of them who had to stand without seats in the track above, because there was simply no room.

What an incredible thing to observe such a sea of potential gathered in one place! What incredible emotion was evoked as thousands of voices raised together in united praise to our Maker!

Yes, it was an awesome experience. And it made me that much more excited about the not-so-far-off day when we will be able to gather together on a weekly basis, under one roof, with enough seats for EVERY student, because of the construction of Centennial Chapel.

Heather (Quimby) Day '02 is the director of marketing communications for Olivet Nazarene University and serves as the editor for The Olivetian, www.olivet.edu, Alumni & Friends E-news and Tiger Bytes.

This week at Olivet

Events on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University for Monday, August 31 through Sunday, September 6:

Tiger Football
Saturday, September 5
6 p.m.
Ward Field

Come out and cheer on new head coach Don Lee and the ONU Tigers as they battle the McKendree University Bearcats during the first home game of the 2009-2010 season.


Planetarium showings: STARS
Saturday, September 5
$3 admission
6 and 7:30 p.m.
Strickler Planetarium

Narrated by Star Wars' Mark Hamill and with a soundtrack performed by the Nashville Orchestra, “STARS” explores the dynamic life and death of stars, the powerhouses of the universe.

This show is suitable for general audiences and educationally geared toward middle school level and above.

STARS explores star birth, giant stars, pulsars, and black holes as well as a providing a brief history of astronomy and an introduction to our solar system, the galaxy and the nature of light.

Running time is approximately 25 minutes.

Please note that the new seating capacity of the planetarium is 50 individuals. No reservations are accepted, and tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis. Doors will open 15 minutes prior to show.

For more information, visit the Strickler Planetarium web site.