• " with Christ Whether students were enjoying the outdoors or improving their sprituallives, the Student Association (SA) wanted everyone to take the opportunity to go out and explore. The SA kicked off the year on Sept. l by introducing their theme "Explore" at a campus-wide event called Kickstart for Christ in the Rhodes Fieldhouse. Orchestrated by SA president senior Bruce McMullen, the event included a performance by Theatron, two motivational speakers, Good News Singers and a slideshow byJohn Yoder informing new students about opportunities at Harding. SpeakersJosh Ross, of Memphis, Tenn., and Harding's own Taylor Payne brought home the theme by incorporating "exploring" into their speeches. Ross spoke about his experiences as a youth minister in Texas, performing random acts of kindness with his youth group. Ross shared their adventures with the intent of showing students that every person could make an impact on others, no matter how small. The SA hoped that by hearing these inspirational stories of groups doing good, students would want to be even more active in service projects. "We want students to have the eyes of Jesus," SA vice president senior Amanda Herren said. "We want to do everything that we can see needs to be done by exploring." Payne's speech also incorporated the theme of exploring through three points. First, he encouraged everyone to explore God and to strive to learn more about him. Next, he stressed investing the Bible by exploring Scripture. Finally, he emphasized the importance of taking time to explore one another through friendships, both old and new. Nearly 300 students attended the Kickstart for Christ event, showing a promising interest in the SA's theme for the upcoming year. Many of the attending students were freshmen, who found the slideshow about campus activities and opportunities to be exceptionally helpful. "Coming to Harding from Missouri, I didn't really know a lot about the events on campus," freshman Kylee Coble said. "After watching the slideshow and seeing what the SA and clubs do, I have a better understanding of what to look forward to attending throughout the year." Following Kickstart for Christ, McMullen felt he had gotten the message across and that students were excited to begin participating. "It was a successful event and something we will look to make bigger and better each year," McMullen said. "The idea and concept is one we need to embrace and look forward to at the beginning of each fall." McMullen, Herren and the rest of the SA focused the rest of the year on working to help children by beginning a project with the Harding alumni-founded organization MANA, sponsored by alumnus Brett Biggs in conjunction with other Christian colleges nationwide. The SA's plans for exploring ways to reach out to others in need certainly seemed to have great things in store for people in the U.S. as well as far away. Kasey Coble ff8 SA, CAB, Class Officers
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