Expanding horizons
Spending fall 2009 in Northern Ireland was an “amazing” cross-cultural trip for Megan Yoder. “I loved the whole experience,” says the junior from Kalona, Iowa. “It helped me become more independent. It very much opened my world view. Leaving the country, you gain a whole new view of what else is out there.”
Newfound respect
The trip also reinforced a change that Bluffton has engendered for Yoder. “Bluffton has helped me open up to being more respectful of anybody, no matter what they believe or who they are,” she says, noting that her time in Northern Ireland had the same effect. “In coming to Bluffton, you see all different kinds of people and know we all have to live together. You learn to respect everybody.”
A heart for art
Yoder, who attended a Mennonite high school, was looking for a similar college with a good art program. “I really liked the community here,” she says about Bluffton. “It reminded me of home.” And the offer of an art scholarship helped seal the deal, she adds, praising the university’s art faculty and the individual attention they give students. “I get a lot of all-around experience in every medium,” she says, and while Yoder also enjoys painting and other two-dimensional art, her preference is still drawing realistic portraits in pencil. “I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pencil,” she recalls. “I’ve always gravitated toward drawing people.” At Bluffton, she has added a minor in graphic design, explaining that it is a good minor for an art major “because everything’s done on computers.”
‘Get involved’
Yoder recommends that prospective Bluffton students become active students after they arrive on campus. That includes going on a trip rather than taking a foreign language to meet the cross-cultural requirement. “Anywhere you go is a very eye-opening experience,” she says. “You can’t just sit in your room, because college has so much to offer.”
