AGSC ADMISSIONS NEWSLETTER SPRING/SUMMER 2014

It's hard to believe that we've reached the midway point of the calendar year and can now look forward to welcoming summer! A part of our Admissions summer excitement will be preparing for the start of a new academic year. As with any season in life, changes are coming. We hope this season will be filled with rejuvenation, contemplation, adoration and good conversations! Stop and smell the flowers. Reconnect with your AGSC friends and join together with singing!

"For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land." Song of Solomon 2:11-12

If you have ideas for future newsletters, please e-mail us at Nichole.Knott-Craig@nyack.edu.

CONGRATULATIONS TO AGSC FACULTY AND STAFF!

Nyack College recently held its annual end-of-the-year luncheon for full-time faculty and staff. Service awards were presented to:


Dr. Michael Gillern Assistant Professor of Pastoral Counseling Commitment to Missions Award	Dr. Lisa Steiner Assistant Professor of Mental Health Counseling Junior Professor of the Year Award	Dr. Ben Schepens Assistant Provost & Dean of AGSC Support of Information Literacy and Critical Thinking Award

INSPIRATION: NELSON MANDELA

Dr. Marcia Lucas participated in a thought-provoking panel discussion on the life and influence of Nelson Mandela. Many AGSC students cheered her on as she dedicated a word to Nyack College quoting Nelson Mandela: "Education is the most powerful weapon for you to use to change the world" (2003).

Dr. Lucas went on to talk about our responsibility to be the future generation that Nelson Mandela poured his heart into. She proclaimed that if we are God's healers for the hurting for future generations, we have to start helping each other here and now. "No one is born hating. People must learn to hate and they can be taught to love." Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom.

Dr. Lucas honored the two students from Africa--Sharlane Scheepers and Elsie Andriamanantena (pictured below).

CALLING ALL ALUMNI

Are you interested in sharing your experiences with future students? We would love to have you join us for one of our Open Houses this year! Please contact Nichole.Knott-Craig@nyack.edu at the New York City campus or Luanne.McGann@nyack.edu at the Rockland campus.

TRIP TO PARIS & VIENNA

Keep in prayer: Pictured below are Dr. Elaine Eng and a team of AGSC students gearing up for the European Extravaganza--Counseling in the Global Context course.

INTERESTED IN TRAVELING TO

THAILAND IN 2015?

Join Dr. Elaine Eng and a team of AGSC students on a trip to Chiangmai, Thailand for the Counseling for Global Engagement course from February 23 to March 5, 2015! For more information, please contact Dr. Eng at Elaine.Eng@nyack.edu.

GIVE A GIFT TO YOUR CLINICAL BOSS?

Nyack Alliance Graduate School of Counseling NYC is offering a promotion (while supplies last)... Give a gift to your clinical boss, and you'll get a gift in return! Interested? Call 646-378-6113 or email Admissions.ATS.NYC@nyack.edu.

SPIRITUALLY UNPLUGGED: GOD IS GOOD

By Dr. Antoinette Gines-Rivera

Coming from a childhood with no religion or mention of God, it amazes me how awesome my life has turned out to be. But doesn't Jesus tell us "in this world we will have trouble?" Have I not been afflicted by suffering and hardship? Of course I have! So the challenging question becomes, how do I really make sense of serving a "good God" that allows trouble into my life?

Tim Keller says that, "Suffering is actually at the heart of the Christian story." Understanding the term "good" in a God context is very important. When we declare, "God is good!" what do we really mean? Well? We can perceive this meaning from three viewpoints: 1) God is good because it is beneficial to serve him, as in serving Him gives us incentives or advantages, 2) Good can also mean valid and genuine, as in God is worthy of our trust because He is good as gold, solid and trustworthy, and 3) God is good as in serving Him results in a happy, gratifying life. Still, how do we make sense of the unanswerable questions, mysteries, and injustices allowed by God into our life through suffering? How can we correlate God's goodness and our suffering?

Tim Keller says, "You don't really know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have." Suffering has a way of getting us to this realization. I know this all too well. Upon being separated by death from my youngest son one year ago from a rare blood disorder (1.2 per million) that took him from us in twenty-eight days, I too asked these questions. Left with no medical answers, I simply decided to accept that God is sovereign! Romans 11:33 states, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inexplicable his ways." This scripture taught me that I can never comprehend His ways for they are unsearchable! God planned my situation even before creation, and though He knew His plan would bring me great pain, He also knew that it would bring me closer to Him. So, here is how I now understand my suffering today...

That God IS good, simply because of his Holy nature. Everything He does is good because it comes from His heart of love.
Suffering is meant to perfect my character and develop in me new compassion towards the pain of others so that I may comfort them with the comfort I have received from God.
Sorrow has provoked me to divine discontent with my present existence. I now understand that this world is not my home for I am a sojourner longing for a better country. I am now HEAVEN BOUND!
Jesus has overcome my troubles through his sacrifice and one day I will know His answers to all my questions, but only when I reach His kingdom.

How do you make sense of your suffering?

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?? ALUMNI OF AGSC

	Elizabeth Tennen, LPCi AGSC Class of 2013 Mental Health Counselor Exchanged Life Ministries and Hope Revolution Liz is currently working as a counselor for Exchanged Life Ministries. She has also opened up her own DBA called Hope Revolution and will be helping to run a grace-based recovery program for Grace Point Community Church. In addition, she will also be working as a volunteer chaplain at the state jail for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
	Stacey Chen AGSC Class of 2009 Counselor The King's College Stacey joined The King's College Student Development team in 2009 and currently serves as a counselor, attending to the emotional and mental health needs of students. Her background includes working with young adults at Redeemer Counseling Services, as well as youth at Calvary Baptist Church.
	Norman Robinson AGSC Class of 2004 Norman is the Program Director/Clinical Coordinator at The Bowery Mission, which is a faith-based organization that offers long-term counseling, educational & vocational training, and practical solutions to the underlying problems related to chronic homelessness.
	Ugochi Ezeadi Babajide AGSC Class of 2009 AGSC offers our CONGRATULATIONS!!! Ugochi's 400 page fiction drama/family saga was recently published and is available now on paperback, hardcover, and e-book! Please visit the book's FB page to join in the great conversation. Or on twitter @DriftingFines or visit the website at www.DriftingFines.com.

SUMMER FACULTY READS

Dr. Carol Robles recommends...

The Anatomy of Hope

by Dr. Jerome Groopman

Can hope contribute to recovery by changing physical well-being? An inspiring and profoundly enlightening exploration of one doctor's discovery of how hope can change the course of illness. "We are just beginning to appreciate hope's reach," Groopman writes, "and have not defined its limits. I see hope as the very heart of healing."

UPCOMING EVENTS: GO TELL OTHERS!

June 11 at 5:30 PM: Meet The President for WHY GRADUATE SCHOOL (NYC)

June 13 at 11:00 AM: AGSC Open House (Rockland)

June 18 at 6:00 PM: AGSC Open House (NYC)

June 24 at 6:00 PM: AGSC Open House (Rockland)

July 15 at 6:00 PM: AGSC Open House (Rockland)

July 16 at 6:00 PM: AGSC Open House (NYC)

July 25 at 11:00 AM: AGSC Open House (Rockland)

August 13 at 6:00 PM: AGSC Open House (NYC)

September 3: Fall Semester Begins!

Please visit www.nyack.edu/AGSCVisit for more information and to sign up.

STAY CONNECTED WITH AGSC!

No matter where you are or what you're doing, we want to keep in touch with you. You can send us your updated contact information or submit engagement, wedding, birth, adoption, career, and ministry announcements on our website at www.nyack.edu/alumni or by emailing alumni@nyack.edu.