College Newspaper Article 2

The other day, I was looking through some of my things from college when I came across a few articles I wrote during my sophomore year while I worked for the school newspaper, the Lakeholm Viewer. I had almost entirely forgotten about them, and it was fun reading back through them. I figured since this is my collection of things I have written, I would add them on here. Sorry if they aren’t amazing. I was only a sophomore!

Men’s basketball preview: Cougars prep for important season

By Zach Zeltman

Staff Writer

October 29, 2010

Senior Adam Grimm slams the ball before practice. Photo by Zach Zeltman

 The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men’s basketball team is expecting to have a much-improved season from last year. The Cougars, who had a 13-17 record last year, lost five seniors to graduation but are reloaded with talent and ready to get back in the game.

Five new varsity players and 11 new reserve team players will be taking the court this season. Each of these players brings improvements to the team, including that the majority of them are taller and more versatile than last year’s team.

“I am definitely looking forward to the games,” said freshman forward and education major Austin Semple.

“I’m excited to see how we will match up to other teams this year. The best part of being on this team is that we all get along well. We all have each other’s backs. It has been a really good experience so far.”

The first game for the junior varsity team was Oct. 26 against Cedarville University, and the first game for the varsity is Nov. 6 at the University of Northwestern Ohio.

“I am excited for the chance to see the maturation of our returning players along with the additions of my first recruiting class,” said second-year head coach Matt Moore. “I have had a vision of what I want my teams to look like, and it has been a joy this fall watching this year’s team become ‘my’ first team. We have a great deal of opportunity ahead of us!”

Even though the new players may be stealing some of the attention right now, the Cougars still have a talented veteran group. Seniors Brandon Short, Adam Grimm and Brady Swanson bring leadership and athleticism to the court.

“I think the leaders and returning players are hungry this season,” said senior captain Swanson, a Spanish education and a health and physical education double major.

“We believe we have the talent to have a great season, so we are trying to push everyone to do their best,” he said.

Although the preseason can become drawn out for players who want to start games, the team has been able to have some fun in the meantime. During conditioning, the team went through the Columbus SWAT team’s obstacle course, which proved to be entertaining. Also, the team went on a retreat, where they went paintballing and spent a day at a lake in Michigan.

“The highlight of the team retreat was definitely the campfire night,” said sophomore Ben Severns, a middle childhood education major.

“It was an unreal experience to see everyone gathered around some of the guys praying and crying. God was definitely there in that moment and will continue to be there throughout the season. It was an un­real team experience.”

The Cougars are anticipating the beginning of the game schedule.

“Being a part of a team is more than just the five players on the court or the teammates on the bench,” Moore added. “Our sixth man is truly our Cougar Crazies. You make the games fun for us. Please come and be a part of this year’s team!”

College Newspaper Article 1

The other day, I was looking through some of my things from college when I came across a few articles I wrote during my sophomore year while I worked for the school newspaper, the Lakeholm Viewer. I had almost entirely forgotten about them, and it was fun reading back through them. I figured since this is my collection of things I have written, I would add them on here. Sorry if they aren’t amazing. I was only a sophomore!

Pros and cons of marriage while in college weighed by students

By Zach Zeltman

Staff Writer

September 24, 2010

The majority of students at Mount Vernon Nazarene University seem to want to get married . . . soon! Many people joke about getting a ring by spring, but quite a few students have already taken the plunge.

According to research assistant Carla Parsons, MVNU has more than 80 traditional students who are married. So despite what many people think, only about four percent of students at MVNU are married.

Out of 34 students polled, nearly 40 percent said they either plan to get married while in college or at least meet their future spouse during that time.

Broken down by gender, the numbers are closer than one might have thought. Forty-one percent of females compared to 33 percent of males thought they would get married or find their future spouse while in college.

Multiple students responded by saying that finding a spouse was not on the top of their priority list of things to accomplish while at MVNU, but they were still open to the prospect of finding a potential husband or wife.

This summer, junior business management major Scott Hilbert married his high school sweetheart, Haley Dunham, a junior nursing major. He says getting married was an easy decision for him. Scott and Haley Hilbert had been dating for almost five years before tying the knot. Both of their parents were married at a young age so they were fully supportive in Scott’s and Haley’s wanting to get married while they were still in college.

Haley Hilbert says being a married student at MVNU is “super convenient.” She can always be with her best friend and can escape from campus life when needed. She adds that she gets homesick much less now because she feels that she is now in her own home.

“I love being married in college. It was the best decision I’ve ever made,” she said.

One can imagine that being married in college can be challenging for many reasons. The most obvious reason is the time commitment of being a student, participating in extracurricular activities and just wanting to spend time with friends on campus.

There are benefits to being married while in college as well. The state and federal governments help married students quite a bit, and the MVNU family discount is nice too.

Scott and Haley Hilbert both talked about how they enjoy the married housing provided by MVNU because it is close enough that they are still around their friends and can be at events if they want, but they aren’t stuck on campus all the time.

“I think that students can find their spouse here because of the Christian atmosphere,” student body president Jameson Seymour said.

“Most of the students want to have a healthy, Christ-following relationship, and since MVNU is a Christian campus, it is easier to find a life-long companion.”

Seymour also says that he thinks sometimes students think they need to find a relationship at the University, but this should not be the norm for college-age students.

The End of an Era

Being a recent college graduate and still looking for a job has given me some free time to reflect on the recent happenings of my life. I find it hard to even grasp, at times, that college has already flown by and is now just a memory. Those four short years were the most transformative years of my life. One of the biggest aspects in this transformative process was being on the basketball team at the Naz.

There are times now, when the fact that being part of a part of the team I was on is over. Honestly, this is a hard pill to swallow. Sports has been a major part of my life for as long as I can remember. I have been in a team setting for almost 20 years. I’ve known for a while that I would be done playing on a real team after college. (If I ever had any chance at playing anywhere professionally, that chance went out the window when I had my health issues. I never became the player I should have been mainly because of that.)

Just because I knew in my mind that the days of playing basketball were going to end doesn’t mean the rest of me had the same understanding. It’s almost like part of me didn’t believe that it would really end. While still there, I found myself realizing this phase of life was coming to a close. Keeping this in mind, I tried to take hold of every moment late in my college career because I didn’t want to take this journey for granted.

The thing about team sports is that there is so much more to it than just the sport itself. Do I miss playing basketball on a regular basis? Absolutely, I love playing, but it’s more than just the game itself. I miss competing with other teams with players that are on a similar or higher level. I miss the mental aspect of the game. I miss practicing and working out. I miss being pushed more than I would normally push myself and finding out I have more in me than I thought. But more than anything, I miss being a part of a family of other guys that I go to battle against in practice and go to battle with everywhere else.

Being a part of the basketball team at the Naz developed me so much on and off the court and made me a better person in nearly every aspect of life. I will cherish the times I had there for the rest of my life. I love that team and I will always remember the time and work put in with those guys. At times, it’s depressing thinking that it is all over. But then I realize that it’s not really over. Because anything these guys do next year or the year after and so on, I know that I was a part of the process and a small part of their success.