News Briefs for August 25, 2022
News reports from Paradise, California; Andrews University; Australia; New Zealand; Oakwood University; and Southern Adventist University
Off-Road Connection
According to the Northern California Conference’s Northern Lights publication, Steve Hamilton, senior pastor of the Paradise Adventist Church, is leading a group of students, parents, and community members on the campus of Paradise Adventist Academy that love working on off-road vehicles.
The group gets together to design, weld, grind, wrench, paint, and otherwise work on all kinds of off-road vehicles.
“Of course,” said Hamilton to Northern Lights, “once you build the rigs, you must take them out!”
On weekends members of the group spend time off-roading over rocks and on forest tracks.
“Through the shop program and off-roading we’re creating experiences with intention,” said Hamilton.
He added, “Intentional witnessing to a group of people that you have a common interest with is a perfect venue to share your faith. It is a path to a church without walls. What could be more inviting?”
Starting Strong at Andrews
According to an Andrews University news release, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded Andrews University a $10,000 grant to back Andrews University Adult Basic Education programs. This local grant comes from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation’s recent award of $10.5 million to support summer, family, and adult literacy programs, part of the organization’s largest-ever one-day grant donation. The Andrews adult literacy program will be taught in three cohorts. It starts September 2022 and goes to the summer of 2023.
Abuse of Power
Adsafe in collaboration with Adventist Media has created a video to increase awareness about abuse and its impact within the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s organisational context.
The video will be circulated to all churches and schools in Australia and New Zealand in readiness for enditnow, a global Adventist Church initiative to raise awareness and advocate for the end of violence around the world. This year’s focus is on “abuse of power,” with an emphasis day scheduled for this Sabbath (August 27).
Oakwood Alum Selected as CureAccelerator Finalist
From an Oakwood University Facebook update:
Oakwood alum Dr. Sheldon Holder has been selected as a finalist in the CureAccelerator program, where researchers present their clinical repurposing trials to receive a grant that supports a $70,000 clinical trial. His presentation at the virtual event on October 6, 2022, will be on ‘repurposing the prostate cancer drug degarelix to treat bladder cancer.’
Holder, a physician-scientist in the Cancer Center at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, is among four finalists at CureAccelerator Live! – a virtual event where researchers present their clinical trials. Researchers and clinicians from four institutions across the US will present their clinical repurposing research trials to community members representing industry, research, medicine, philanthropy, and patient groups. The winning trial will be selected by attendees to receive a grant that supports a $70,000 clinical trial.
Dr. Holder is an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Brown University, and an attending physician in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the Lifespan Cancer Institute.
Outstanding Skills
Allen and Brandon Gustrowsky — two brothers — brought home gold medals from the SkillsUSA national championships held in Atlanta, Georgia, this summer. The computer science majors took part in the competition’s collegiate division for Web Design and Development.
“The annual SkillsUSA conference is a showcase of career and technical education where this year more than 5,200 outstanding career and technical education students—all state contest winners—competed hands-on in 108 different trade, technical, and leadership fields,” explains a Southern Adventist University (SAU) Facebook update.
“We finished with no time to spare; I remember rushing for the last 10 minutes to add a few small features to hopefully give our website a fighting chance for second place,” Brandon Gustrowsky said. “Receiving the gold medal on stage in front of an audience of 10,000 people is an experience I will not forget.”
