This summer, more than 120 students, staff and faculty are leaving the comforts of home to serve and spread the Gospel in around 20 countries, showing that “OC is Mission,” too.

“We are motivated and encouraged by the pure hearts for service that so many OC students have,” deSteiguer said. “We commend them, as well as our many faculty and staff who exemplify OC’s Christian mission to spread the good news and serve others.”

OC summer missionaries will lead Bible studies, make new friends and work on service projects, all in the name of Jesus. Those traveling appreciate prayers for success and safety.

Last year, students serving in Tanzania, Africa, helped as a "bucket brigade" that put out a fire at a school dormitory. To read about updates on some of the current OC mission projects, visit OC’s Center for Global Mission’s Facebook page.

Below is a list of countries and the OC students, staff and faculty that are serving in each location.

Argentina: Madison Huntsman, Josh McCoy, Jenny Stewart

Australia: Adam Bowman, Kent and Nancy Hartman, Kyle Keesee

Austria and neighboring countries: Anna Berthold, Jillian Bryson, Kolby Calhoun, Bradford Eckhart, Daniel Griffin, Ryan Hinds, Elizabeth Maher, Payton Minzenmayer, Alexander McMannama, Candyce Moore, Afton Paris, Alex Powers, Brayden Reiter, Seth Reiter, Shelby Richards, Alissa Stephens, Hardeman Tucker, Hayley Waldo, Dylan White

Brazil: AnnaBeth Duncan, Kristine Pike, Mindi Powell, Jess Tucker

Burkina Faso: Quinn Fields, Chelsea Leigh, Jessica Parker, Caleb Smith

Canada: Zechariah McNeil

Chile: Abi Johnson, Caleb Johnson, Craig Johnson, Hannah Johnson, Kara Johnson, Sarah Johnson

Czech Republic: Clayton Brewer, Jeremy Lasso

Germany: Clyde and Gwen Antwine

Honduras: Eric Alberts, Erin Bailey, Hope Casey, Dudley Chancey, Kayla Cook, Meredith Corwin, Carli Covalt, Mariah Danley, Kelli Ewert, Miriam Flores, Linda Fly, Shawna Hood, Kym Langford, Bradley Litzkow, Peyton Moehlenbroch, Andrea Moore, Ivan Noffsker, Katie Pryor, Marion Rich, Kaitlyn Schemeissner, Liz Webb

Japan: Mitch Aufiero, Karley Davis, JoLin Nguyen

Peru: Kasey Aufiero, Kayla Frei

Russia: Branson Hartshorn

Rwanda: Bonaventure Bikorimana, Francois Birori, Ines Dushime, Becca Greenwood, Yves Iradukunda, Christelle Kwizera, Alyssa Lui, Yingui Lui, Hunter Marris, Jeanmarie Ndayisaba, Darian Russell, Ariette Sangwa, Paige Shaw, Marci Smith, Grace Umutesi, Diane Uwacu, Lauren Whitworth

Thailand and Cambodia: Jonna Bezner, Mahya Inoue

Tanzania: Bret Arnold, Eddie Brumley, Abbie Bryant, Bethany Dean, Molly Gettle, Mackenna Jones, Ben Langford, Jonathan Parker, Julianne Stinson, Stuart Woodfin

U.S.-based mission work: Kaler Campbell, Carley Cave, Amber Cox, Quinn Drake, Jamal George, Zeke Gustafson, Loryn Hammer, Sierra Harris, Kelsey Henson, Josh Jones, Dillon and Ariel Leu, Mike Lynn, Jessica Parker, Crystal Robinson

Do you know someone on a mission trip that is not on this list? Let us know! Please include their name and location.

“We are incredibly honored to add the combined wisdom, leadership and spiritual vision of these three accomplished executives to our Board of Trustees,” OC president John deSteiguer said. “Each of them has impressive experience leading organizations through growth while excelling in their service to clients and partners. They will help the board as it fulfills the mission of this excellent university.”

The OC Board of Trustees, led by chairman Don Millican, now has 38 active members and 14 life trustees.

Shumard, a 1985 OC graduate with a management degree, is vice president of Medical Doctor Associates in Norcross, Ga., a national physician staffing and recruiting company.

He also serves on the board of Predisan, an international Christian nonprofit organization that provides healthcare, community development and spiritual outreach to Honduras.

He and his wife Sandra, also an OC alum, have three sons: Luke, Travis and Jesse.

Dr. Walker is administrative director and a psychologist at the North Texas Pain Recovery Center in Arlington, Texas. He also is an adjunct professor of psychology at the University of North Texas, and he serves as the consulting psychologist for the Kennedale Fire Department.

Walker has been a member of OC’s National Alumni Council since 2011. After graduating from Oklahoma Christian in 1976, he earned five graduate degrees and accumulated more than 200 hours of graduate education.

He is a member of 11 professional associations and serves on the board of the Kennedale Public School District. He is an elder at Pleasant Ridge Church of Christ in Arlington.

Wilburn is co-founder and CEO of Just Between Friends Franchise Systems, Inc., the nation’s leading children’s and maternity consignment sales event.

In less than nine years, the company has established 132 franchises in 25 states, with several more under development. Its total sales were more than $23 million in 2012.

Wilburn and the company have been featured in “Entrepreneur” magazine and on “Good Morning America,” “The CBS Early Show,” “The Today Show,” CNN and FOX.

Oklahoma Christian, recognized as one of the best universities in the western United States by U.S. News and World Report and The Princeton Review, offers undergraduate programs in more than 60 fields of study, an undergraduate Honors Program and graduate programs in business, engineering, ministry and divinity.

For the last two years, the cost of attendance for OC undergraduate students has stayed the same, making Oklahoma Christian the only university in the state and the only reporting member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities that did not raise its total price. More information is available at www.oc.edu/value.

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KFOR recently featured Oklahoma Christian University professor Jeff Price in its "Is This a Great State or What?" series.

Price leads OC's gaming and animation program, which earned Oklahoma Christian national recognition from The Princeton Review. OC received honorable mention on The Review's list saluting the best undergraduate schools in the U.S. and Canada to study video game design.

Price also has vintage arcade games like Space Invaders, Pong, Defender and Centipede in his OC office. He uses them as teaching tools and, of course, to have some fun along the way.

Read more on KFOR.

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Oklahoma Christian officially unveiled the Lou Phillips Welcome Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by OC board members, faculty, staff, alumni and friends.

The new facility, located in the lobby of the Garvey Center, will serve as a beginning point for campus guests – including future students and parents touring the university. Made possible by a gift from Oklahoma City philanthropist Jose Freede, the venue also will house OC’s Office of Events and Campus Coordination.

During more than three decades at Oklahoma Christian, Lou Phillips was a longtime executive assistant and later served as coordinator of special projects.

She worked closely with five OC presidents – J. Terry Johnson, Kevin Jacobs, Alfred Branch, Mike O’Neal and John deSteiguer – and also served on the board of the Oklahoma Christian Women’s Association until her passing in January.

“Lou Phillips was such a dear friend to so many of us. She was known far and wide because she was hospitality ‘capitalized,’” deSteiguer said. “Lou had a way about her to make people feel welcomed, at home and special. I was especially blessed that she took me under her wing and helped me in lots of ways. She trained more presidents at Oklahoma Christian University than anybody else.”

In 1992, Phillips was the official hostess for President George H.W. Bush’s official campaign visit to Oklahoma Christian. She also helped coordinate George W. Bush’s 1990 visit to Oklahoma Christian on “University Day.” After Phillips’ passing, George W. Bush sent a personal letter of condolences to her family.

Just before she passed away, she told President deSteiguer to “take care of OC.” Those words are displayed in the Lou Phillips Welcome Center.

“My mom was really good at noticing people,” said Lori Walle, Phillips’ daughter. “She noticed students, staff, visitors, famous people, people nobody knew, workers, and people in her office. She noticed everyone – and everyone was important to her. I think that’s something we can all learn from. Wherever we are, we can notice people and make a difference in their lives.”

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Thursday evening, Charles Kaczorowski returned to a familiar and ultra-meaningful site.

Oklahoma Christian University is the only place in the world outside of New York City to have survivor trees from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and the World Trade Center growing side by side. For the eighth year in a row, guests from New York have come on April 18 to commemorate the Oklahoma City bombing.

For Kaczorowski, the pilgrimage to the sacred spot located just west of the Mabee Learning Center is on his annual must-do list. He comes feeling like a drained battery, he said. He leaves re-energized, refreshed and restored.

TOO MANY FATEFUL DAYS

Back in 1990, while he was working for Shearson Lehman Hutton's facilities department, Kaczorowski had an office on the 106th floor of 2 World Trade Center.

Three years later, at 12:17 p.m. on Feb. 26, 1993, the Vietnam veteran was working in 3 World Financial Center on his lunch break in the concourse going down the escalator to the path trains for their schedule when the whole place shook.

“When I felt the concussion, it took me back to Vietnam,” said Kaczorowski, a Navy Seabee from 1969-70.

Terrorists had detonated 1,500 pounds of explosives in a van parked in the underground public lot of the World Trade Center two levels below the southern wall of the North Tower. The attack killed six people, injured more than 1,000 and created a five-story crater beneath the towers.

Less than a month later, the WTC was open for business.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Kaczorowski was arriving at the World Trade Center in New York City.

At about 9 a.m., he was coming from the subway station at Vesey and Church streets, delayed by a subway delay, which made him late for a scheduled 8:30 a.m. breakfast meeting in the Trade Center Concourse.

He emerged less than 25 yards from the North Tower.

“I saw the towers burning,” he said.

When the South Tower began collapsing, Kaczorowski was a block away. He ran as fast as humanly possible away from the dust cloud.

“I never looked back,” he said. “I just kept on running.”

He made it to a nearby building and took cover. Efforts to connect by phone with his wife were hampered by system overloads. Then he heard the North Tower coming down.

When the second tower fell, 35 years of his life were literally wiped clean from his mind and heart like it never existed, he said.

At 8 a.m. on Sept. 25, 2001, Kaczorowski returned to Ground Zero where he supervised the operations for the midnight-8 a.m. shift for the City of New York Department of Design and Construction until July 1, 2002.

Pieces of his memories gradually came back as bodies were recovered from Ground Zero. Like many others who were there he suffers from health issues related to breathing the air; he also has various issues related to his service in Vietnam.

‘I FIND PEACE’

At OC, Kaczorowski wasn’t alone. He was joined by survivors and others from New York and from Oklahoma.

During a chilly evening which looked and felt more like January than April 18, members of 419 Outreach, founded by Oklahoma City bombing family members, survivors and responders, Ronald Vega, director of design and construction of the National September 11 Memorial and OC representatives came together for a quiet ceremony near the survivor trees.

Since 2005, Kaczorowski has been coming to Oklahoma for the Oklahoma City bombing anniversary.

“When I first came here I was so touched by the memorial,” Kaczorowski said as the guests were about to be treated to dinner at OC. “This the most peaceful memorial in the entire country. I come here, seriously, on the 19th of April, I go out by the chairs, I lay down in the grass on my back and I cleanse my body, my soul, my mind and my heart. It’s so peaceful here. I find peace, tranquility and serenity here.”

When he leaves, he feels reborn.

Risa Forrester, OC’s vice president for admissions and marketing, said the campus is blessed to have the survivor trees and granite from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and an iron cross from the World Trade Center at the site.

“For this group to choose our home to put these items at our place is really, really special for our family here,” she said.

When people come from across the world on campus tours, the spot is a must-see place, Forrester said. It helps them remember that peace is paramount and no matter what good always wins, she said.

Neil Arter, OC’s vice president for student life and dean of students, said every year the ceremony is special. Guests never want to forget and there is something more.

“We kind of have these living heroes,” Arter said of the New York and Oklahoma folks. “They come and they really just show you everything that’s great about human nature.”

Gabbi Cook's parents were missionaries in Peru and planned a quick visit to the U.S. in August. Unexpectedly, doctors found cancer in Gabbi's liver and her parents have had to give up their missionary calling. Luckily, Gabbi received a new liver right before Christmas, but her family has incurred numerous health expenses. 

Kid President mentioned Gabbi at the end of one of his most popular videos, OC students are doing good on Gabbi's behalf through the 30 Day 30k campaign aimed at inspiring 30,000 people do good works on Gabbi's behalf. Those good deeds include raising money, but giving encouragement and praise are sometimes just as important. 

Talented OC students and alumni Sandra Peck, Brett Vanderzee and Laura Vanderzee are performing. Students are also selling drinks, snacks and balloon animals. The event will conclude around 8:30 p.m.

To learn more about helping Gabbi, visit Facebook.com/30day30k, twitter.com/30day30k or the donation page at Give Forward. 

The "Murdered My Wisdom Teeth" video of her dental adventure (above) went viral on YouTube, and she's been interviewed by ABC's Good Morning America and Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Watch her interview with Jimmy Kimmel here:

Here's her appearance on GMA Live!:

Abbie is a sophomore family studies major from Coffeyville, Kansas. Her aunt, Shelley Kurt, writes about life as the parent of two OC students in her "Leaving the Nest" blog.

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This follows the American Marketing Association’s Oklahoma City chapter renaming its Lifetime Achievement Award after Smith, a professor of marketing and MBA advisor in Oklahoma Christian’s School of Business Administration. He received the organization’s only lifetime achievement award in 2008.

These awards reflect Smith’s servant leadership approach to his field and his commitment to helping his community. In 2011, Smith served as auctioneer (another of his many talents) to help raise more than $150,000 for injured Oklahoma City police officer Chad Peery, a father of four facing significant medical bills.

OC MBA alumna Dee Patty, a former student of Smith’s who works for the police department, organized the “Taking Care of Our Own” benefit event.

“I remember Dr. Burt being so enthusiastic and excited about his work at OC that I looked more into the work he did outside the school. It was there I discovered he was also an auctioneer and worked some of the benefit auctions put on by actor Mark Harmon. I knew we needed to have him for our auction,” Patty said.

Patty has since been asked to be a consultant by other officers wishing to put fundraising events together for Officer Peery and other first responders injured in the line of duty in the metro area. She also has taken the “Taking Care of Our Own” name further to make it a nonprofit organization to continue to raise funds for first responders injured in the line of duty.

According to Smith, when people meet Chad, they are impressed with what an upbeat spirit he has despite what has happened.

“His ability to inspire has not been exaggerated,” Smith said. “I only visited with him for a little while because he had tons of folks lined up who wanted to thank him. In the short time I spent with him, I was impressed with what a powerful human being he is.”

Smith said he was also very proud of how his former student used her leadership and organizational skills to help make the event such a success.

“People have no idea how much planning, detail and just plain hard work goes into an event like this,” Smith said. “Dee and her team can take great pride in the way they orchestrated this event. It really was something to behold.”

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OC has dedicated a week of Chapel services to foster care, adoption, and the fatherless.

“We believe that every child deserves a family,” said Holly Towers, executive director of Lilyfield. “Participation with the fatherless and the modern-day orphan is not optional when we are focused on Christ and living a Godly lifestyle.”

Lilyfield  lined up speakers and organizations from the community and other not-for-profit organizations to speak on the needs of the fatherless in our community.

“Many people can foster or adopt. But even those who cannot open their homes to a child can ensure that other Christian families are able to,” Towers said. “We also hope that a seed might be planted in the hearts of these students to one day foster or adopt.”

Towers kicked off the week by sharing Lilyfield’s dream of a family for every child in Oklahoma. The campus then heard from Tom Ward, CEO of SandRidge Energy and founder of White Fields. He shared his passion of supporting the fatherless as an act of obedience to the Gospel. 

Other speakers include: John Sowers, author of The Fatherless Generation and president of The Mentoring Project; Ben Nockels, director of the 111 Project; and Josh Kingcaid, adoptive father and a minister at Memorial Road Church of Christ.

OC students have the opportunity to donate a meal swipe to help fund the cause of providing families for children in Oklahoma through the adoption and foster care programs at Lilyfield. 

Other efforts include donating spare change in baby bottles located around campus and connecting with featured organizations through volunteer and internship opportunities.

“Students often wonder how they can be involved in making a difference in the lives of children. Through these efforts, students can help provide homes for children by donating their time and resources,” Towers said.

About Lilyfield Christian Adoption and Foster Care
Lilyfield Christian Adoption and Foster Care is an adoption agency providing comprehensive services to women in unplanned pregnancies and couples wishing to grow their families. Lilyfield provides women in crisis pregnancies a place to turn to for guidance. In 2008, the agency began serving infants and young children in state custody by matching them with loving, Christian foster families. Since its inception in 2000, Lilyfield has served more than 600 birth mothers and placed more than 120 children in loving Christian homes. For more information, go to www.lilyfield.org.

OC receives nod for video game studies
By Brian Brus
The Journal Record

Sometimes it can seem as though academic studies at Oklahoma Christian University are all fun and games, associate professor Jeff Price said.

That’s as it should be, actually. The university recently earned an honorable mention on The Princeton Review’s list of best undergraduate schools in North America to study video game design.

The annual list named 15 undergraduate schools and 15 runners-up. It was the only Oklahoma school and one of two in the Southwest to make the list.

“We’ve completely revamped the degree program for this area over the last four years, and it’s nice to see someone noticed,” said Price, who teaches animation and design. “When I came here four years ago, we held back 3-D modeling until senior year, which just isn’t enough time to master it well enough to make games. Now they’re modeling in 3-D their freshman year. It’s really enhanced the degree option and made it more valuable.”

The Princeton Review based its list on criteria such as curricula, faculty, facilities, financial aid and career services.

This year the review partnered with PC Gamer magazine, which will feature the rankings in its May issue to be published in early April.

The recognition is valuable marketing for the school, Price said. Potential students visiting the school still mention an earlier version of the list from 2010, in which OC was ranked in the top 50 of about 500 schools. Price said OC will probably ramp up its advertising for the program to attract students who might not otherwise consider a Christian university.

Price said the OC gaming and animation curriculum includes gaming and animation history, technical skills classes covering about 30 software programs and studio classes to develop their own games. However, the skills that students learn won’t pigeonhole them in the entertainment industry - although that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, given the wide range of media such as movies, smartphone applications and technology still evolving.

“This can take them into military simulation, scientific data visualization working with doctors, the education field, product designs, or even architecture and sales,” he said. “One of our students works with a homebuilder to do visualizations for the types of houses they can build.”

Price said he remembers being reprimanded in his first computer programming class in Mustang High School on the west side of the metro area in the 1980s.

“He got onto me because we were supposed to be writing a program to calculate the interest rate on a car lot, while I was making an interactive game like Dark Tower with branching storylines,” Price said. “I think we can see where the industry went with that.”

Just two days before heading to the Himalayas, the 1982 Oklahoma Christian graduate sat down with News9 to talk about her upcoming adventure.

Click here to watch News9's story.

To read more about Valari, click here for a story from Edmond Life & Leisure and click here for a story about her involvement in the on-campus Eagle Trail.

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Fellow Oklahoma Christian alumnus Jake Jones helped put together a "Beard for the Blanchards" initiative that raised more than $10,000 for the couple.

Click here to watch a couple of News9 stories featuring the fundraising effort.

Jase came to OC with his wife, Missy, and their three children. Prior to Chapel, he did a video shoot with Oklahoma Christian president John deSteiguer ... standing in the OC Pond. (Click here to watch the video.)

"The Bible is a weapon of mass instruction, and a love letter from God Almighty. And the message is clear - He is for you, not against you," Jase said during his Chapel talk. "The power is in the message. Share the message and let God water the seed."

Duck Dynasty is the most-watched program in the history of the A&E Network. The premiere of its third season on February 27 was the No. 1 cable show of the week.

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1st - Chi Lambda Phi - "Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh"
2nd - Gamma Rho - "Jessie from Toy Story"
3rd - Psi Epsilon - "Monsters, Inc."
4th - Freshmen - "Finding Nemo"

Faculty/Staff Favorite - Psi Epsilon
Student Favorite - Psi Epsilon
Most Original - Psi Epsilon
Best Banner - Psi Epsilon
Best Choreography - Chi Lambda Phi
Best Costume - Psi Epsilon
Best Lyrics - Kappa Sigma Tau
Best Video - Freshmen
Best Vocals -  Gamma Rho
Unity Award - Lambda Chi Zeta
Tealridge Golden Cane Award - Chi Lambda Phi

For more about OC Spring Sing, click here to read a preview of this year's show and click here to see past videos and results.