Parent's Perspective

Things to do in and around Watertown when dropping off your college student

Bob Wetzel — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:35:24 GMT

August has begun and with it is the final rush to get students ready to enroll for the fall semester. This year we have a situation with a “small” company up the road in a tiny burg” called Milwaukee. It seems like this small company with the name of Harley Davidson is celebrating their 105^th anniversary the same weekend that we begin school. Hence, all the motels between here and Milwaukee are fully booked! However, a number of Maranatha faculty and staff have opened their homes to families needing lodging. One of the college plumbing contractors runs a Bed and Breakfast in the town of Horicon which is 15 miles north of Watertown. It is a lovely spot, but can only accommodate couples. Nine rooms have been reserved for Maranatha at the Super 8 in Columbus which is 26 miles north.

Some parents have asked if there are any attractions that families may want to see as they drop off their students at Maranatha. Riverside Park in Watertown is a wonderful place to take little ones. It has a large play area that is even fun for young teenagers. Take along a bag of bread and feed the ducks and geese that make the Rock River their home and then wade in the creek that runs throughout the park. Don’t forget your ball gloves, bats, and balls so that you can play some baseball at one of the three diamonds. If your family enjoys swimming plan to cool off at the aquatic center that features a zero entry level pool, two waterslides, and a diving board.

Less than one hour away to the west is the capitol building in Madison. There is a huge Goodwill Store, our families’ favorite! Recently my wife and I spent over two hours there. She tried on clothes while I found a book on WW II, a chair, and some uninterrupted reading time.

½ hour north of Madison is the Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin’s number one tourist attraction. All that is available at the Dells can be seen at www.wisdells.com. If you are wondering what you can do with money left over from paying your child’s school bill, don’t worry it can easily be spent at the Dells.

Heading east a family can take in a Milwaukee Brewer baseball game; visit the Milwaukee Art Museum or Bradford Beach, a lovely spot just north of downtown Milwaukee along Lake Michigan. It is large enough to find a private place where your family can share a picnic lunch.

Within 30 minutes of Maranatha are 10 of the 60 plus churches our students attend. While you are here you may want to drive to some of those to see where your son or daughter may attend and minister.

If you still have questions about what to do while here stop at the Welcome Center or send an email about specific things to do.

That’s one parent’s perspective

An accredited college degree and your child

Bob Wetzel — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:21:01 GMT

“Accreditation.” It’s a word that creates a lot of confusion and trepidation. I would like to relate a conversation my wife and I had with a youth pastor and his wife two months ago. The four of us were eating lunch in the Dining Commons during their visit, and the conversation got around to accreditation. The wife sadly related that she cannot teach in the state in which they reside because she received her teaching degree from an unaccredited, four-year Bible college. After lunch I introduced the two of them to Dr. Bruce Jackson who is the Chairman of our Education Department. A few hours later I again saw the visiting couple them and asked if there was any hope after their meeting with Dr. Jackson. She smiled and said that she had a renewed confidence that she would be able to teach in her state. Of course, more classes will need to be taken and more tuition money will need to be spent, but in the end, she will be able to follow her desire to teach.

It is so important to investigate where your son or daughter attends college. Before settling on which college to attend, parents need to determine whether that institution will adequately prepare their son or daughter for their chosen vocation. How sad it would be to spend $60,000 for a four-year education only to find that before one could enter the work force more money would need to be spent on tuition, books, and lab fees.

In a nutshell accreditation is simply the opportunity for Maranatha to back up what we say we teach with supporting evidence. The accrediting agency looks at what we say we teach and then looks at what we do actually teach to make sure that our actions match our words. There is no dictation of curriculum, philosophy, or agenda; it is a tool to help keep us accountable. As you send your children and your money away to college, there should be comfort in knowing that both are going to a place that is actually producing the product that the institution claims.

That's one parent's perspective

Rain, rain go away...

Bob Wetzel — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:25:06 GMT

In case you haven't been paying attention to the past week's news, the Midwest was hit with record amounts of rain the past week-and-a-half. Although Watertown did not make the national headlines, many of you may have perhaps wondered if Maranatha received any rain. To answer that question one has only to look at the pictures included. The road in front of Kwik Trip across from Weeks Dorm was covered with four feet of water. Many city streets have been closed due to flooding. A number of Maranatha families have had water damage to their basements and personal property. This week is to be sunny and dry so we are hoping to dry out. (Visit the homepage of Maranatha's website for a link to the photo gallery.)

After 50 years of living, I had my first sandbag-filling-and-carrying experience. Last Sunday night the wife of our plant manager called to enlist help with sand bags. The tiny creek behind Weeks Dorm overflowed its banks and was within five feet of Day Dorm. At 11:00 p.m. about 35 men, boys, and girls gathered and began moving first floor furniture and filling and carrying sand bags. The task took little more than an hour, and Day was saved from water damage.

Please pray for the men in our maintenance department. With the record amounts of snow that fell in January and February and the record amounts of rain in June, they have already put in a year's worth of time and energy into the buildings and grounds at Maranatha.

That's one parent's perspective

Maranatha missionary trips

Bob Wetzel — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:24:28 GMT

Today is the final day of May. Summer school has been concluded for one week, and with that the sounds of laughter and conversation have concluded as well. Those sounds are such a vital part of the atmosphere at Maranatha. When those sounds are gone, it seems that the life is gone out of here. If you are a parent of a college student, I am sure that you are glad to have your son or daughter home for the summer months. Our youngest daughter is home for the summer, and although she only attends college two miles from our home it is still a joy to have her home. Now she is working and anticipating departing for China on July 4th with the mission group known as Team China.

Five missionary student groups have been, are, or will be on foreign soil this summer ministering in various ways. The first group went to Argentina and was involved in a typical missionary trip in preaching, singing, holding children’s meetings, etc. Two groups went to remote parts of Mexico and Uganda to practice medical missions. Another group is currently in Turkey, and, of course, the fifth group is heading to China. All told, over 90 of our students are involved in Maranatha-sponsored mission trips this summer. It will be a joy to hear all the stories from foreign lands as the students return in the fall.

Information about all the mission trips can be seen on the Maranatha website. Simply click on the word "blogs" on the right side of the main page.

Special Chapel Week

Bob Wetzel — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:44:10 GMT

Today was scholarship chapel. It is the day designated to give away money! Nearly $40,000 was given to 50 students. It is always a thrill to see the joy on the faces of the students as they come forward to receive the designated money. The great thing about the scholarships is that the people who gave the money are people just like you and me; none of them are millionaires. They are simply people who have a strong vision to assist the next generation in carrying out the Great Commission in their various vocations. You may read about today's chapel and the special chapels that were held all this week by clicking here. As you read consider what the Lord would have you do to assist the next generation.

That's one parent's perspective

Spring Play Pygmalion

Bob Wetzel — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:03:58 GMT

Next weekend is our Spring Play Pygmalion. This should be a delightful experience as it has the elements of romance, drama, and comedy. For those of you unfamiliar with the title, think of musical My Fair Lady, because that was the musical adaptation of Pygmalion. It is the story of a man who takes up a bet to turn a destitute London woman into a lovely lady of society. The play cast is anchored by Maranatha students and veterans of our stage, Mr. Fraser Armstrong from Oshkosh, WI and Miss Jenny Harley of Ferndale, WA. Through their years at Maranatha both students have been a tremendous benefit to our stage. Most exciting to each of them is that they plan to marry their college sweethearts this summer. If you live close to the college, why not take the time to come and enjoy the play. Tickets are still available for the performances which will be April 10-11 at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, the 12th at 2:00 and 7:00.

That's one parent's perspective

Fun stuff to do in the Spring at Marantha

Bob Wetzel — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:06:51 GMT

Spring Break is over, and all the students are back to school. Last week was extremely quiet and dull around the campus. After receiving a near record amount of snow this year, we were wondering if we would be able to see the grass before May. Except for the snow piles in parking lots, it is all gone. Now starts that final sprint to the finish line of graduation in six weeks and there is still plenty to keep a student occupied at Maranatha. Postponed papers, projects, and reports that seemed like cute little fur balls in January are quickly turning into 900 pound monsters, waiting to devour those students who left undone those things that should have been done during spring break. Many students are bemoaning the fact that they were not more diligent since January.

For Campus-sponsored fun the students can get involved in different activities. A chess tournament begins this week. Next Thursday begins the four week, eighteen-team bowling league. Next Friday night, March 28^th, will be the first Xbox 360 Madden ’08 Football tournament sponsored by the Army ROTC program. This will basically be a Big screen, video-game experience in the gym. The next night will be the 7^th annual volleyball tournament to be held on Saturday, March 29. Last year that tournament was on a Friday night with games beginning at 6:00 and finishing around 1:00 a.m. Of course the most highly anticipated activity will be next Tuesday’s semi-annual Red Cross blood drive. It is always a blessing to see many students give blood for the first time and then to watch their reaction during the “giving portion” and afterwards during the “Cookie-eating-and-juice-drinking portion”. For those who simply want to sit and watch there are other events to enjoy. The Fine Arts department will present various senior recitals, band and orchestra concerts, fine arts contests, and of course the spring play, Pygmalion. The college baseball and softball teams will have games both home and away to attend.

That is what is available in just the last six weeks of school. Rest assured that if your son or daughter should attend Maranatha, they will not have a chance to get bored. In fact, they may have to curb their plans for fun in order to study more.

That’s one parent’s perspective

Educational offerings at Maranatha

Bob Wetzel — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:55:18 GMT

This past week my wife and I had the opportunity to eat lunch with two sets of parents-one from Pennsylvania and the other from Colorado-and their children. What a joy it is to have lunch together and not only relate the "ins and outs" of Maranatha but to also share life experiences as well. One of the perspective students is interested in history while the other is interested in nursing. When I attended Maranatha in the late 1970's the only educational options Maranatha offered were for those either going into fulltime vocational ministry or Christian Education. How wonderful it is that today we are able to provide a much broader range of opportunities for our young people.

That's one parent's perspective

Church involvement at Maranatha

Bob Wetzel — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:07:06 GMT

An exciting event took place this past weekend for the Maranatha family; Ben Hoover won the NCAA Division III wrestling regional tournament and is now headed to the NCAA wrestling championships. Maranatha has never had a team or individual make it to an NCAA national tournament so we are excited for Ben. Do pray for him as he travels to Souix City, Iowa on March 7-9 for that tournament. Ben transferred to Maranatha this year and has shown a real heart for ministry. He is a youth leader at our church-working mainly with the junior high boys. My wife and I are thrilled since our son is in his care group.

One of the advantages of your son or daughter attending Maranatha is the opportunity to get involved in various local church ministries. There is no campus church that students attend or one church at which everyone must attend. However students are required to attend church on a regular basis for Sunday school, morning and evening services, and Wednesday night. This gives them the opportunity to be involved in real-life church ministry experiences. Maranatha students attend nearly 60 churches in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois and have the opportunity to minister in many different areas. Not only will your child receive a quality education while at Maranatha, but he or she will also be able to get actively involved in local church ministry. Whether your son or daughter is planning to be a pastor, home maker, banker, or landscape company owner, they will be a member of a church and what they can learn at their extension church now, will reap great dividends in the future.

That's one parent's perspective.

Athletic Tournaments at Maranatha

Bob Wetzel — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:26:20 GMT

Once again it is snowing, and so far we have received one inch of snow today; at least the temperature is a balmy 25 degrees. Anything over 10 degrees is truly a blessing.

A parent asked me if we host a College Days at Maranatha. The last time we hosted College Days was over seven years ago and then it only brought approximately thirty students to the campus. Although there are times when the dorms are closed to overnight guests, prospective students may visit the campus any time and attend classes, enjoy chapel, or meet with faculty and coaches.

There are different events offered to high school students throughout the year. These include various weekend athletic tournaments and fine arts events as well as summer camps. Information about these can be found by searching Maranatha's webpages.

If your son or daughter is not able to attend one of those events, please plan to bring him or her for a day or a day or night visit. Meetings with various faculty and coaches can be arranged as well as overnight stays in the dorms. Please fill out the online form on the visit page on Maranatha's website to set up a meeting. Freshmen surveys confirm that the determining factor for them to attend Maranatha was the campus visit. I look forward to meeting you.

That's one parent's perspective