Education, Art, and Function Come Together in Table Built by Students
(Left) Zach Egeland gets the process underway by gluing and clamping 12-foot 2×4’s together. (Right) A team of students plane the sections of glued wood.
Many students learn best through hands-on experience, and NC works to give students that opportunity as much as possible. Last fall, some of our industrial arts classes had the unique opportunity to build a conference table that now sees regular use.
NC’s industrial arts teacher, David Wamberg, remembers his first day on the job last fall. “Mr. Hekrdle came to me with the idea of building a conference table [for the newly-renovated superintendent’s office]. As the new guy, I could not say ‘no.’”
The class explored design options, even taking a field trip to check out a table that became the inspiration for Mr. Hekrdle’s table. It was built entirely of 2×4 pieces of lumber that were glued together. The class designed their table specifically to fit the space – 144 inches long by 40 inches wide – using twenty 2×4’s to complete the tabletop.
They had to make the tabletop in stages as the planer could not handle the entire table width at one time. After a lot of planing, the tabletop’s sections were glued together and then the same steps were used to make the table legs. A gallon and a half of glue was used throughout the process.
(Left) Ethan Carlson and Kaleb Morton begin to stain the tabletop. (Right) Members of Manufacturing I including Grace Musgrave, Faith Springer, Justin Maberry, Christopher Medlock, Vincent Nguyen, Christian Strobel, and Malachi Wheeler were just some of the students who worked on the table. The finished product is a beautiful table that reflects the beauty of God’s creation in the wood and the lessons the students learned as they completed the project.
The students sanded, and sanded, and sanded some more to achieve the tabletop’s smooth surface. This was followed by staining and varnish. The students provided Mr. Hekrdle with different samples of stain on various pieces of scrap lumber so he could select the finished color he wanted.
It took a lot of muscle to move the massive, single-piece tabletop up into Mr. Hekrdle’s office in the Administration Building. Once there, the students affixed the legs to the table, and it has been used regularly ever since.
Even with the beautifully finished product, the students continued to learn about meeting the needs of their “customers” as Mr. Hekrdle has requested about 2 inches be taken off of the height of the table. Mr. Wamberg will oversee the adjustment to the table legs in the 2021-22 school year.
Mr. Hekrdle gives his hearty thanks to Mr. Wamberg and the students who worked on this unique and awesome table for his office!
Chelsey Schwarz Joins NC’s Front Office Team
A new smile will greet you when you next visit NC’s campus. Chelsey Schwarz has joined the front office team as the Office Administrator. Chelsey and her husband Daniel live near Palmer, have two children (Maesyn, 3 and Levi, 1), and are expecting a third child this fall.
Chelsey graduated from Central City High School and then attended Central Community College in Columbus where she earned her Associates Degree in Agribusiness. She may be familiar to some of our NC families as she has worked as a clerk in the Merrick County Treasurer’s Office for the last 6 years.
As natives of the Central City area, Chelsey and Daniel were familiar with Nebraska Christian and had been considering it for their children in the future. “I’d started watching the school’s Facebook page,” Chelsey explained, “and when I saw the job opening there, I checked out the description on the website and decided to apply.”
Chelsey is stationed at the temporary reception desk in the high school building for now as renovations continue in the Administration Building. But the temporary office setup and many new things to learn don’t intimidate her. “I’m just looking forward to meeting everyone when school starts,” she said.
Summer Camps Keep Students Moving Throughout June
A great group of 5th-8th graders turned out for Junior Eagles Basketball Camp.
These K-4th grade Junior Eagles loved their time at Basketball Camp.
School may be out, but the campus is still bustling with activity. It recently welcomed elementary students back for three different athletic summer camps.
First, in early June, NC’s Coaches Erin and Clay Mankin led high school basketball team members in putting on a record breaking Junior Eagles Basketball Camp for over 100 kindergarten – 8th grade students! Many students had attended in previous years, which is part of what made the camp so much fun, especially for the coaches.
Coach Erin Mankin explains, “One of our favorite things is being able to see kids from one year to the next and their growth. Things that they were unable to do one year and can easily do the next.” The morning camp lasted just over an hour for participants and included not only drills but also a chance for four senior basketball players to share encouragement in Christ.
Despite the heat of the mid-June evenings, twelve 1st-6th grade students came to the Junior Eagles Football Camp led by Coach Andy Falk. Students learned football basics, practiced drills, and enjoyed ice pops to re-hydrate at the end of the evening. Third grader Carl McHargue who attended the camp shared, “I learned about football stance and tackling, and my favorite part was the t-shirt I got!” The high school football helpers encouraged the younger boys in their efforts and set a great example of hard work and dedication.
The Junior Eagles Volleyball Camp finished out the month in late June. Twenty-one players in grades 3-6 and ten players in grades 7-8 came together for the morning sessions. “This was more than just learning and practicing the skills needed to be successful in playing volleyball,” Coach Amy Schreiber explained. “We looked into God’s Word, to what God has called us to do as followers of Christ on and off the court.”
The girls covered a lot in just 3 days of camp. Fifth grader Kaity Berck was grateful to learn how to do better overhand serves, and her older 
sister Abby who will be in 7th grade learned a lot about the different positions and rotations in the game. High school helpers were a great resource of knowledge and support to the younger players as well. Coach Schreiber recalls a highlight for her, “Over the three days, I can remember the smiles of girls as they overcame their struggles in passing, serving, or hitting, and became successful.”
NC Offers New Opportunities for Homeschooling Junior High Students
Throughout its history, Nebraska Christian has offered various supports to homeschooling families looking for opportunities to augment their homeschool. This school year, NC has increased its offerings specifically for students in grades 7-8.
The new Part-Time Enrollment opportunity will welcome homeschooling junior high students to participate with full-time students in athletics and other extracurricular activities such as band, art, keyboarding, and quiz bowl. The school’s class schedule was adjusted slightly so that most of these classes are now offered at the end of the school day, allowing homeschooling students to maintain their daily schedule of coursework before joining in the extracurriculars.
This new opportunity is another way the school continues fulfilling its mission to “assist the family and church by providing a Christ-centered education and encouraging a love relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.”
If you or someone you know might be interested in Part-Time Enrollment, complete details including activities, classes, and cost may be found here.
Thursday, October 7
- Volleyball triangular at NC
Friday, October 8
- Conference cross country at Burwell
- Football vs. Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family
- Senior grill out fundraiser
Saturday, October 9
- Renewed Strength 5K
- Campus tours available upon request (email nc@nebraskachristian.org)
Alumni Spotlight: Tim Hoffman, Class of 2018
Tim Hoffman’s love of sports and communications came together as he pursued his dreams after he graduated from NC in 2018. While an undergraduate at UNL, he worked as the Sports Information Director for the men’s golf team. That role led to further opportunity after graduating from college, and he moved to New Mexico where he now works as a Media Relations Intern for New Mexico State. We caught up with him recently to see what it has been like living his dream…
NC: Can you tell us about your experiences at Nebraska Christian?
TH: I loved my time at NC. You can’t put a price on Christian education and being able to be taught the Word of God day in and day out. I made some lifelong friends there with my peers and some teachers and coaches. NC helped develop me into who I am today. The staff helped me pursue my dreams and made sure that I was set up for success in whatever I did.
NC: When did your interest in Sports Journalism start?
TH: I have always loved sports ever since I was a little kid. I had always dreamed of becoming a sports broadcaster but knew getting a career in broadcasting is extremely difficult, and I didn’t feel like that was something that best suited my skills. English class my freshman year was when I knew I had something special in my writing. Mrs. Hoff had really pushed me to pursue writing and pointed out to me that I had something special going on. I hadn’t really put much thought into being a writer but when it was time to pick a major and a career, I figured I could use those skills to my passion for sports, and now, here I am.
NC: You were employed by the Huskers Athletic Department, can you tell us a little bit about it?
TH: Not many people get to work at their dream job at the age of 20, but that’s the position I found myself in. I had just finished working for the Republican-Nonpareil in Central City and was job searching. My buddy had worked in the communications office in the athletic department at Nebraska for a year and encouraged me to apply. I got the job and worked there until I left for New Mexico in January.
My main role was as Sports Information Director (SID) for the men’s golf team. A SID is a middle man between the team and the media. I was the one feeding the media information and lining up interviews with athletes and coaches. I also ran social media for the golf team which is a lot of work in itself. I wrote a lot of press releases that we send out to the media and eventually get posted onto huskers.com. I also got the opportunity to work a lot of football, basketball, and volleyball games. This was just a lot of running stats to media and transcribing post-game press conferences. I loved my time at Nebraska, because I was constantly around players and coaches and the people that work there were terrific. I hope to get back there one day, but at this moment there wasn’t a path for me to move up the ladder so I had to move on.
NC: What are you up to in your current internship with the New Mexico State Athletics Department?
TH: My current title at New Mexico State is Media Relations Intern. I do a lot of the same things I did at Nebraska, just on a bigger level. Instead of being directly in charge of men’s golf, I’m now in charge of softball, soccer, track, and cross country. Obviously, NM State is a smaller athletic department so there are just more things we each have to do. Some of the changes from a work standpoint are that I am fully in charge of the social media for all of these teams. I’m usually out at practice once or twice a week for each sport taking photos for social media. During a home game for either softball or soccer, I’m lining up people to input stats for us while I’m running around taking photos and posting things for social media. After the game, I make sure both teams get access to their stats. If I’m on-site, I’ll usually do a postgame interview with the coach. Then I still have to write my postgame story. On non-game days, I’m still doing social media stuff while making game notes for the media guide.
NC: What are your longer-term goals?
TH: My long-term goals are to become the Director of Communications at a high-level college athletic department. I don’t really know what God has planned for me, but this type of job can really suck you in and make you lose track of what’s important sometimes, so we’ll see how it all works out in the future.
NC: What advice would you give younger NC students about pursuing their dream career?
TH: Figure out what you love and go pursue it, because I can guarantee there is a major and a job for it somewhere. If you find something you love, a lot of the other things are going to handle themselves.
The last thing is the most important part about getting a job is networking and work experience. Take every opportunity you get to do something that is somewhat related to your field. You may not like the job, but I guarantee it will be a good experience and you will meet good people.
NC Flashback
As renovations continue on the Administration Building, here is a look back at how it used to look inside various areas.
Jonathan Root (’93) talks with Mr. Marlow Pedersen in the hallway.
Justin Denning (’99) and Chad Kuhns check out the selections of periodicals in the library.
Mrs. Lois Ludden fields questions at the front office counter.
Chaplain Tim Norris teaches Bible class in the classroom directly across from the office.
Can you identify this NC student who has just gotten her mail? If you can, email her name to nc@nebraskachristian.org with the subject line “NC Flashback.”
Micole Neely finishes up the last of her home ec. assignment before class ends.
Memorials
For: John Billington
From: Donald & Kayleen Riley
For: Berniece Cash
From: Dave & Ruth Ferris
For: Mary Christensen
From: Elton & Connie Flodman
Leona & Rebecca Sharman
For: Lee Dessel
From: Donald & Kayleen Riley
For: Ed Erickson
From: Dorothy Glad
For: Anne Marie Moore
From: Mary Seisinger
For: Rich Myers
From: Ed & Marilynn Ritta
NC Alumni, Supporters, & Friends: do you have a story idea or news you would like to share with us?
For: Dorothy Ritta
From: Gordon & Jewell Deichmann
Dale & Anne Palser
Ed & Marilynn Ritta
Delton & Cheryl Wegner
For: Larry Schreiber
From: Annonymous
Anton Forsberg
Ed & Marilynn Ritta
Leona Sharman
For: Vince Stranberg
From: Dorothy Glad
For: Tom Urban
From: Ed & Marilynn Ritta
For: Parma Werner
From: Richard & Carla Mundt
In Honor of All Veterans
From: Donald & Kayleen Riley