{"id":2413,"date":"2018-09-25T15:34:22","date_gmt":"2018-09-25T19:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emsdev.digpants.com\/?p=2413"},"modified":"2019-09-19T14:53:42","modified_gmt":"2019-09-19T18:53:42","slug":"steps-out-of-comfort-zone-lead-nathan-hershberger-to-young-alum-award-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/2018\/09\/steps-out-of-comfort-zone-lead-nathan-hershberger-to-young-alum-award-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Steps Out of \u2018Comfort Zone\u2019 lead Nathan Hershberger to Young Alum Award 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jim Bishop with Andrea Schrock Wenger<\/p>\n

Pushing himself to study, serve, learn and work outside his comfort zone \u2013 something Eastern Mennonite School (EMS) encourages of students \u2013 is a key reason that Nathan J. Hershberger \u201908 has been named EMS Young Alumnus of the Year 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cNathan embodies what we hope our students and alumni do,\u201d notes Diana Suter \u201970 Berkshire, of the awards committee. \u201cHe embraces the \u2018other,\u2019 different ways of living and new experiences, making himself vulnerable while offering his unique gifts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Traveling internationally, living in Iraq, and studying various cultures and religions all feels natural to Hershberger, thanks to a lifelong exposure to the broader world.<\/p>\n

Nathan, 28, was born in Managua, Nicaragua, to Jim and Ann Graber Hershberger, who spent a combined total of 17 years in mission-service work in Central America. The family moved to Harrisonburg, Virginia, in 1990. Sisters Sara \u201803 and Rachel \u201804 are school alumni.<\/p>\n

After attending EMS grade six through 12, Nathan earned a degree in history, philosophy and theology from Eastern Mennonite University in 2012. A semester in the Middle East, led by long-time cross-cultural leaders, Linford and Janet Stutzman, helped stir interests in that region longer-term.<\/p>\n

While in college, Nathan married Kaitlin Heatwole from Christiansburg, Va. After graduating from EMU, he earned a master\u2019s degree in religious studies in 2014 at University of Virginia. From there, the couple was off to Ankawa, Iraq, for a three-year assignment with Mennonite Central Committee. Son Leo, now 2, was born there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we could have asked for a more incredible cross-cultural experience, living among people who spoke three different languages \u2013 Arabic, Kurdish and Aramaic \u2013 in this northern Iraqi setting,\u201d Nathan noted.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kaitlin, Leo, and Nathan along with the seminarians he taught at St. Peter\u2019s Seminary in Ankawa, Iraq, 2017. Courtesy photo.<\/p><\/div>\n

Nathan spent much of his time working with two church-related organizations \u2013 St. Peter\u2019s, a K-12 school, teaching English and at Mar Qar Dakh School, where he taught 11th and 12th grade history. Kaitlin was program coordinator with a local pastors\u2019 organization that planned projects for people displaced by violence caused by the militant group ISIS.<\/p>\n

The food, geography and customs of the region \u201cwere amazing,\u201d notes Hershberger. The couple appreciated worshipping and experiencing the liturgy, history and music of a large Chaldean Catholic Church. Professionally, it was also a growing time. \u201cThis was my first real teaching experience, but I quickly felt a strong connection with my students,\u201d Nathan stated.<\/p>\n

At the same time, he said, he and Kaitlin sometimes struggled with their role in Iraq. \u201cWas I useful?\u201d he wondered. \u201cLiving and working in the midst of people facing major problems made it difficult to connect and build relationships, though eventually we definitely made many friends,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Now Nathan is in a doctoral program in theology at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, and Kaitlin is working on a master\u2019s degree in city and regional planning at University of North Carolina. Long term, Nathan sees himself \u201cteaching on any level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEMHS\u2019 emphasis on international service helped push me in the direction of living overseas and helping people,\u201d he says. That exposure, along with school\u2019s \u201cAnabaptist emphasis on being \u2018the people of God,\u2019 and trying to live at peace with each other, locally and beyond,\u201d had a significant impact, Nathan says.<\/p>\n

As part of Homecoming Weekend activities, Nathan will be recognized with the Young Alumnus award and speak in chapel at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 19. The public is welcome. In addition, Nathan will speak in classes and catch up with former teachers who were mentors and key in his journey.<\/p>\n

His counsel to current students: \u201cTake it easy, focus on exploring areas of interest and where they might take you. Push out of your comfort zone.\u201d Nathan definitely practices what he preaches.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jim Bishop with Andrea Schrock Wenger Pushing himself to study, serve, learn and work outside his comfort zone \u2013 something Eastern Mennonite School (EMS) encourages of students \u2013 is a key reason that Nathan J. Hershberger \u201908 has been named EMS Young Alumnus of the Year 2018. \u201cNathan embodies what we hope our students\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[303,45],"class_list":["post-2413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-faith-formation","tag-service"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2413"}],"curies":[{"name":"gracias","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}