A very brief summer
Five events students missed over the summer break
Psychology, Social Work departments counsel sex trafficking victims
Students from Liberty University’s Department of Psychology and Department of Social Work traveled for the second time to Athens, Greece July 10-19 to provide relief and support for local sex trafficking victims.
The team stayed at The Greek Bible College in Pikermi, outside of Athens, and worked with a group called Nea Zoi, which reaches out and offers counseling and spiritual support to those in brothels.
The students also teamed up with the A21 Campaign, a non-profit that fights against human trafficking around the world.
The trip gave students a chance to use their counseling training in real life situations, and junior Psychology student Hannah Weiland said she was shocked by the prominence of human trafficking in Greece.
“It’s allowed me to want to take this on and create awareness, let people know and help in any way I can,” Weiland said. “It’s allowed me to also view the clients and people that partake in the trade with a patience, a love, a grace that I never had before.”
Disc golf team builds course in Africa
Two members of the Liberty University disc golf team, Lance Brown and Hunter Thomas, traveled to Macha, Zambia, from May 17-19 to build a disc golf course.
The students worked with Push the Rock, a global sports ministry located in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Using machetes, they cleared and designed a path for the nine-hole course, and crafted the baskets from wash basins and poles with chains welded on, according to the Liberty University News Service.
“It was cool just to see the joy of learning how to throw a Frisbee for the first time come over (the locals’) faces,” Brown said in an interview with the Liberty University News Service.
Liberty hosts the Virginia Commonwealth Games
SPRINT— Runners pass DeMoss Hall during their race in the 2016 Virginia Commonwealth Games. Photo Credit: Kevin Manguiob
Thousands of competitors filled Liberty’s state-of-the-art fields, courts and stadiums as the Virginia Commonwealth Games commenced this past July.
This was the first of five years that Liberty has agreed to host the games.
Dick Fosbury, a 1968 Olympic gold medalist and inventor of the high jump technique called the Fosbury Flop, delivered a keynote address during the opening ceremony of the games, which included a parade of the athletes and a torch lighting.
Liberty also provided housing for over 400 participants, creating its own Olympic Village.
Peter Lampman, president of Virginia Amateur Sports, which is the administrative organization for the Commonwealth Games, is pleased about the partnership with Liberty, saying that not only were the facilities very useful, but “the people were very professional and knowledgeable.”
Dean of Students hosts field day for disabled adults
Staff from the Liberty University Dean of Students Office teamed up with the Central Virginia Training Center (CVTC) July 12 to create a field day for disabled local residents where more than 30 volunteers participated to care for handicapped attendees, host games and activities and tend a music station.
Mary Harris and Brittany Dalton, counselors at the Dean of Students office, helped coordinate the event.
“We really enjoyed being there,” Dalton said, adding that the event was a good experience for the Dean of student’s team too.
Looking to the future, the office is planning another Halloween themed event this fall, according to Harris.
Students receive Adobe Academic Achievement Awards
Seven Liberty University students were awarded semifinalist status by the Adobe Academic Achievement Awards, a digital media competition, in July.
The submissions are judged in a variety of categories such as photography, illustrations and animation. The awards are a global competition which received thousands of entries this year. From the seven students, 11 projects have been recognized.
The students recognized were Bri O’Neal for four projects, Annie Shelmerdine for two and Ben Nicholes, Garrett Shue, and Noelia Alvarado, Sydney Lane, and Audra Rygh.
“We’re very proud of our students and the excellence their work exhibits in the industry,” Todd Smith, chairman for Liberty’s Department of Studio & Digital Arts, told the Liberty University News Service.
Panyard is a news reporter