By Karissa Ryan

Your Alumni Editor

 

 

A

n emphasis

on moral

training

in the classroom

becomes a huge

benefit when confronted

by those

who don’t share

the same belief.

This is why Emmanuel

Botchwey (MS ’05) said

he values the curriculum

at Cornerstone.

Botchwey is currently spending

two years volunteering in

Kenya, helping and assisting

in business development, with

a goal of developing sustainability

in farming. The goal of

the project is to help them see

that it is a business entity.

“I really enjoyed… the

emphasis the university places

on morality, integrity and the

value system, and the application

of these in an attempt to

tackle business issues,” Botchwey

said. “I have found this to

be very significant in Kenya

where in some instances I have

had to tackle corruption and

cheating at different levels in

the institutions I deal with.”

Kenya Eco Energy is one

of the organizations working

with Botchwey. They produce

bio-diesel from the extraction

of oils out of canola, sunflower

and safflower seed, and the

cape chestnut. They use these

edible oils in combination

with essential oils and crude

oil to produce the bio-diesel.

Kenya Eco Energy is a

non-governmental agency,

and Botchwey is helping them

establish a sustainable market

base and proactive marketing

scheme for the company. As a

volunteer for CUSO-VSO, he

is also working on two other

projects near Mount Kenya.

CUSO-VSO is the result of

the merger of the Canadian

University Service Overseas and

the Voluntary Service Overseas,

both founded over 50 years

ago to connect students with

overseas volunteer projects.

CUSO-VSO connects volunteers

from the U S with people

and projects in other countries,

while different branches

also help volunteers from

other countries be involved.

CUSO-VSO works primarily

with developing countries to

help them as they are attempting

to improve their current

systems as well as expand into

new ones. It is not religiously

affiliated but seeks to fight

poverty and improve the quality

of living for the disadvantaged

through re-education

and job training, especially.

Botchwey, who will return

home November 2011 after

serving two years, encourages

Cornerstone students

and graduates to become

a part of the ministry.

“Graduates from Cornerstone

have a chance to exhibit

their compassion as regards the

disadvantaged and the poor

throughout the world by applying

to www.CUSO-VSO.org that

is currently operating in Africa,

the Caribbean, South America

and the Far East in an attempt

to aid in development and livelihood

sustainability,” he said.

Botchwey also said the

difference between the curriculum

at Cornerstone and

other schools is that it trains

you not only in a technical

aspect but also in a practical,

applicable way. Using the skills

he’s learned has also been good

for Cornerstone’s reputation.

“The course at Cornerstone

in management not only prepared

me extensively towards

the three projects I am undertaking

but also made it possible

to showcase and promote the

good name and image of the

university,” Botchwey said.

While teaching farmers

about the business aspect of

farming, he is also able to model

for them an effective, godly

business model that is full of

integrity and honesty. This helps

build honesty and integrity

into their style of doing business

and has earned Botchwey

the respect of customers and

trainees alike. Having a Christian

perspective in an environment

that is not necessarily

Christian is a way he shows the

effectiveness of the gospel.

“I advise students to appreciate

the lecture format and

the significance Cornerstone

places on morality, integrity and

fairness, and I further advise

them to encourage potential

students to attend Cornerstone

in the promotion of Christianity,”

Botchwey said. “Students

also have to uphold and let their

moral compasses play significant

roles in their lives- both

within their professional and

domestic lives. For this is the

only way they will be seen as

better Christians and be true

ambassadors of Christ.”

A

lumni

 

lumni

lumni

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Y

 

our

Page 7

Did you Know…?

Students used to celebrate the end of the year with an all-school picnic, a tradition that began in 1948.

Alumni Career STory

bY Elizabeth wolbrink

Staff Writer

“I attribute much of who

I am today to the friends

made and lessons learned

at Cornerstone,” Jay Kroll

(BS, ‘06), marketing and

relationships coordinator

for thecommon.org, said.

Kroll graduated with a

degree in youth ministry

and a minor in music.

Thecommon.org is “a web

tool that helps bridge the gap

in communication between

people needing help and

those able to help in their

community,” Kroll said.

Kroll works with churches,

universities, the YMCA, nonprofit

organizations, radio

stations, and whole towns.

“I am thrilled with

the people and stories I

encounter, and how community

is being developed

in so many places through

service,” Kroll said.

Kroll said there were

many ways that Cornerstone

prepared him for his career.

“Living in VO was like

being a part of a brotherhood,”

Kroll said. “My

personal development was

shaped by my interaction

with guys like Chuck

Swanson and Tom Emigh,

Matt Bonzo and Doc Stewart.

But those are just a

few, and to recount them

all would take too long.”

Kroll said he received

the opportunity to lead,

to follow, to grow and to

explore at Cornerstone.

“I remember Chuck telling

me sophomore year, as I

was on a track to be a youth

pastor, that everyone going

into ministry would be well

served working construction

jobs through college; a

total change of environment

and a raw connection with

‘real people’,” Kroll said. “I

was pushed to gain a healthy

amount of perspective

before jumping into ministry,

and to get my hands

dirty myself before asking

others to do the same.”

Kroll said there are many

things he remembers and references

to from his years at

Cornerstone: “737 café with

Shane and Shane, chorale

trips to Italy, incredible, godly

examples in professors and

staff that I still keep in touch

with and my lovely wife.”

Kroll said God is

working in his life in

many different ways

“I look back and see that

in most ways, college was

the time to be idealistic,”

Kroll said. “Through some

trauma in my early to mid-

20’s, my idealism died and

was replaced with a malaise

of sorts. Through nothing

but the grace of God, I have

realized that though perfection

isn’t promised—we

are called to be faithful. I

am convicted daily by the

importance of our constant

effort to live and breathe

the Gospel, and to allow it

to shape our interactions

and drive our goals.”