AU Alumni News, February 2020

For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven. Eccl. 3:1

Transition is a part of life. It is sometimes difficult, sometimes painful, sometimes exciting, sometimes necessary, but always requires some adjustment. In the office of Alumni Engagement, change is in the air. Scott Tilley will be transitioning out of his role at the end of February and into a ministry position at a church in northern Indiana.

As Scott transitions out of his role, the leadership baton will be passed to Trent Palmer. Scott says: “What a blessing it has been for me to serve alongside Trent for the past number of months in the Alumni Office. There are few people I know who are more loyal and who love AU more than Trent.” Trent has served at AU in a variety of capacities for 13 years, most recently as the director of young alumni engagement. He will continue to lead AU Alumni Engagement in great ways in the years ahead!

Congratulations to Scott and Trent as they transition into these new opportunities.

Beginning in the fall of 2020, Anderson University will offer three new scholarships for Madison County high school students, Christian high school students, and students attending Church of God congregations starting in the Fall of 2020.

Students who apply and attend either a Christian high school or Madison County high school could be awarded up to $22,000 per year! The Church of God scholarship is $3,000 per year and may be stacked on top of earned merit scholarships from $6,000 to $16,000.

For more information about these opportunities (for the Ravens you’ll be referring to AU), please visit the AU Financial Aid website.

Additionally, AU is adding two new majors the undergraduate course offerings, Public History and Public Health, and one new minor, Christian Spiritual Formation.

To celebrate Valentine's Day, we wanted to share a Q&A session with an AU alumni couple. Dan Courtney (BA '81), special assistant to President Pistole at AU, was very gracious to share about how he met his wife Jamie Courtney (BA '82) and their life together.

Q: How did you and Jamie meet?
A: I first met Jamie Hemmings at Waffle House on Scatterfield Road in Anderson in the fall of 1980. She was "studying" with Scott Swing (BA ’81) who was a friend of mine. I was in pursuit of fried eggs and a waffle with Ron Tate (BA ’82). I was a senior and Jamie was a junior. I asked her out for dinner on January 2, 1981. She accepted the invitation.

Q: Do you have a favorite memory as a couple while at AU?
A: Our best AU memory is a three-week Tri-S trip to Japan in May 1981. The trip was led by Dr. David and Margaret Lewis. Planes, trains, Yomiuri (Tokyo) Giants baseball game, tutoring conversational English in the all-female high school, playing softball with the girls in physical education class, Kabuki theatre, sumo wrestling, Japanese culture, what seemed to be exotic food, sleeping on the floor of the church, and no hot water were all great experiences. We thank the Kinleys (CHOG missionaries in Japan) and the Lewises for our Japanese experiences. This trip gave us a better perspective of the world. We have been travelers and seekers for the last 39 years.

Q: How long have you been married?
A: Jamie and I were married on September 24, 1983 at Jamie's home church, Dayspring Church of God in Cincinnati, Ohio. My father, Dr. Donald A. Courtney (MDiv '54) officiated our wedding with Dr. James Burchett, Jamie's pastor. My favorite professor, Dr. Stan Stephens (BA ’65) and his wife Christie (Smith BA ’65) attended our wedding. I will paraphrase the renowned rock star Bob Seger: "36 years now, where'd they go? I sit and I ponder sometimes. Life has been and is very good."

Q: Do you have children, if so, how many?
A: Being a parent is the best role in my life. We have three children, Lauren Addleman, MD (31 years old, married to Nick Addleman, MD, Indianapolis, IN), Matt Courtney (30 years old, married to Jill Rice, Chicago, IL) and Mary Courtney (21 years old, College Station, TX). They're a constant source of joy and great travel buddies. They continue to teach us valuable things.Pictured to the right, the Courtney family.

Q: What advice would you give young couples or singles?
A: Laugh, love, travel, read, forgive, accept yourself and do your best to include others.

Every year, AU produces high-quality graduates from both our undergraduate and graduate programs. Our Center for Career and Calling is looking for employers who want to visit campus to meet graduating seniors and potential future employees. Would your company be interested? To sign up for our upcoming career fairs on campus, here are the directions:

If you do not have a Handshake account, you'll need to sign up by visiting https://app.joinhandshake.com/employer_registrations/new. Then click the links below to connect with our school and register for the career fair.
If you do have a Handshake account but are not yet connected with Anderson University (IN), use this link to connect with us: Connect with Anderson (IN) on Handshake