2019 LYCOMING COLLEGE LC MAGAZINE SPRING

“In 2011, I took a semester off at Lycoming and went on a three-and-a-half-month mission trip to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, with a group of 22 college students from across the country. During those three months, I saw people struggling to survive at the city garbage dump, children not in school because they had to work, elderly who felt alone and forgotten and whose physical needs were not being met, and people young and old dying from preventable diseases. I saw so much hopelessness. I knew I couldn’t go home and continue my life as it was. I knew I needed to do something, even if that was something small. After graduating from Lycoming in May of 2014, I moved to Guatemala and was there until October 2015 forming what is now Pure Joy Missions. My degree in biology helped prepare me for some of the health issues and nutritional deficiencies that I saw in Guatemala. More so, however, the people and faculty whom I met at Lycoming helped me the most. Dr. Edward Gabriel was my advisor and always encouraged me to pursue what I felt God was calling me to do in my life. Annie, my roommate at Lycoming, has played a crucial role in making Pure Joy Missions what it is today. Other friends and faculty have supported the organization financially and several have even gone to Guatemala on short- term trips with me. I always felt supported at Lycoming, and I am so grateful for that.” “Kathy and I have hearts to serve others, and Lycoming provided the opportunity for both of us during our time there. With the support and advice from friends, fellow peers, and professors at the College, I was blessed to serve in various leadership positions such as Habitat for Humanity and CRU. Just as Lycoming feels like family and is relationship-focused, Pure Joy Missions’ goal is to form deep relationships with those we meet in Guatemala. God used Lycoming to form my friendship with Kathy, which led to the start of this ministry. The College also helped develop my understanding and love for traveling, international relations, leadership roles, interacting with others, and for experiencing different cultures.” “I created Koding Kurriculum three years ago at the conclusion of my M.B.A. from a love of teaching people to code. It has since expanded quickly beyond this simple idea into a community-driven organization that is dedicated to bringing technology and education together through unique and digestible content across a diverse set of educational technology topics. The organization runs monthly speaking events, technology trainings, and contracts curriculum building. And in the next year, we hope to expand into two more cities, host an educational technology conference, and create a multi-platform classroom software product. My computer science education from Lycoming College taught me to appreciate the importance of technology on society. It helped me recognize a need to support the growing population of people who are ill-equipped to handle the exponential changes occurring in technology, and to provide support and opportunities to educators and students.” INNOVATO Kathy Jacobs (R) and Annie Wegman (L) visit with Dona Antonia and her sons, Emerson and Daniel, who benefited from a home provided by Pure Joy Missions, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation whose mission is to bring healing and hope to communities by sharing the love and joy found in Jesus Christ. The ministry primarily works in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, and supports four full-time Guatemalan missionaries. Learn more at www.purejoymissions.org . Karl Haviland ’06 Major: computer science www.kodingkurriculum.com Kathy Jacobs ’14 Major: biology (anatomy and physiology) Annie Wegman ’14 Majors: art (photography/digital media), archaeology/culture of the ancient Near East Founder & CEO, Koding Kurriculum Founder & Director, Pure Joy Missions Vice President, Pure Joy Missions l 22 LYCOMING COLLEGE 2019 SPRING MAGAZINE