Incredible Interviews: Heritage Scholar Competition

One hundred and forty-three of the best and brightest high school seniors from 30 states and four countries recently visited LeTourneau’s campus to compete for the prestigious Heritage Scholarship.

It’s not something to be taken lightly – the Heritage Scholarship covers four years of tuition and is worth over $100,000. To be eligible, students must have at least a 3.6 GPA and score of 28 on the ACT or 1260 on the SAT. The competition takes into account their GPA and test scores, but depends primarily on an interview by faculty from the student’s area of interest.

One Heritage Scholar traveled all the way from Kandern, Germany to compete. Keith Gallagher is currently awaiting the Heritage Scholar awards announcement back in Europe. He has several reasons why he’s set his sights on attending LeTourneau.

“I love both the maths and sciences and would like to continue my exploration in them through mechanical engineering, and LeTourneau is such a renowned engineering school. I also desire to attend a Christian university. It was hard to find one with a statement of faith I agree with, until I read that of LeTourneau.”

While the competition was paramount, the weekend was also a fun time of meeting other students and getting to know LeTourneau.

“It was a very enjoyable event. I was quite impressed with the campus, the staff I met and the school as a whole,” Gallagher said. “I enjoyed the entire event, but I would say my favorite part was meeting a lot of cool people, including staff, current students and my fellow competitors.”

Longview, Texas a long way from Germany. Keith isn’t worried, though. He strongly feels LeTourneau is the university for him: “As a missionary kid, I have always thought of ‘home’ as the place where I am currently located, and I will quickly come to think of LeTourneau as such. ‘Home’ is the location of the people I love; this transition will not be leaving home for me, but making home bigger.”

Incredible Careers: 50th Annual Missions Emphasis Week

LETU is currently wrapping up its 50^th annual Missions Emphasis Week, and has been honored to have dozens of missionaries on campus, seeking to recruit students for their respective organizations.

Missionaries tell some of their most memorable stories.

It’s easy to have the conventional view that being a missionary is mutually exclusive with having a technical career.  After hearing from the missionaries on campus this week, it’s clear there’s a broader range of opportunities in missions for the LETU student’s career of choice than many may have realized.

Tim Mason, LETU Computer Science Engineering Graduate, ’02, is a prime example. He now works as a computer development engineer with mission organization HCJB Global. He’s been with the organization since he graduated, and said it’s been a fulfilling career in more ways than one: “Through my involvement with mission work, the Lord has given me some fairly large and intense projects, which has been an incredible growing experience technically and also personally.”

Scott McConnell, also of HCJB global, spoke about career opportunities they offer: “We sponsor a spring break trip – students go to our technology center in Indiana. We have internships for people who want to come two or three months to work with us. We have great civil engineering opportunities in Ecuador, electrical and mechanical engineering and digital media opportunities also in Indiana. For someone who wants to become a missionary engineer in the field, we have an apprenticeship program that helps transition them from college graduate to missionary.”

Just a few of the 3,000 unreached people groups

In fact, many of the organizations operate with a more hands-on, practical focus. For instance, Friends in Action International’s work consists mainly of building airstrips, radio stations, housing, riverboats, and roads, so they have a need for engineers.

Caryl Mallory, Director of IT Engagement with JAARS, said they have over 200 positions in their IT department. It’s an exciting time – the mission field is expanding to include careers that are highly relevant to LETU students.

Whether in full-time missions or not, Tye Parks of Pioneer Bible Translators pointed why it’s vital for all believers to be involved somehow.

“Jesus said it was important. Jesus said go and make disciples – that’s our mandate," Parks said. “Whether we go to the workforce and make disciples or we go across the world and make disciples.”

Incredible Alumni: Dr. Shannon Toews Potter

From Kansas to the Congo, this is the story of one LeTourneau alumna who’s making a difference. Shannon Toews Potter was recently featured in the St. Louis Business Journal for her work in Africa.

Potter, a Kansas native, graduated from LETU in 2006 with a B.S. in biology. While a student, she traveled to Kenya with LEGS (now Limbs International) and was introduced by a professor to a rural obstetrics clinic in Ethiopia.

Dr. Shannon Potter, LETU alumna.
Photo used with permission and courtesy of the
 St. Louis Business Journal.

On that trip, Potter learned how common it was for women to suffer from urogynecological issues, which, if left untreated, severely disturbed their lives. Although correctable, many women were unable to access medical care, causing them to be shunned or even commit suicide.

“I saw the plight of these women and thought, this is something I really want to do…They go from being ostracized and unable to function in a society, to being a normal woman – able to get married and maybe have children again. For me, working with them is a way of communicating to them that they are valuable in the sight of God.”

While currently wrapping up her residency at St. Louis University School of Medicine, Potter has already accepted a post-residency program in the Congo with World Medical Mission, a branch of Samaritan’s Purse. It’s a purpose she’s worked toward since her days at LeTourneau.

Potter said, it was on that first trip to Africa, she thought: “I could do this for the rest of my life. And that’s what I’ve been trying to do ever since. The last eight years I’ve been in medical school and residency just trying to move toward that goal.”

After her residency is finished in June, Potter and her husband, Ryan, a biomedical engineer, along with their infant daughter, Sydney, will move to the Congo for a two-year commitment to work in a hospital with World Medical Mission.

“It changes their life for the better. When you can help with that, it’s just a beautiful thing.”

Are you an alumnus? Share what's going on in your life with LETU by emailing jennapace@letu.edu.

Incredible Journeys: Christmas Break Missions

LeTourneau students have impressive work ethic – they recently closed a challenging semester, then many packed their bags and traveled to far-off locales to fulfill their part of the Great Commission.

Sophomore biology major Emily Tutt traveled to Ecuador and described her trip as “very beautiful and very fast,” having spent three days in three cities with her church, International Full Gospel Fellowship (IFGF).

Although quick, the time was well spent. Emily was part of a group conducting training sessions for leaders of Ecuador’s IFGF church.

Emily Tutt in Quito, Ecuador

“We each had a topic to present concerning an aspect of the identity of an IFGF church and – really – of any of God’s churches,” she said. “I spoke on the importance of the Great Commission and how to act it out in practical ways, largely following the discipleship model presented by Timothy and Paul.”

Emily said others spoke on compassion, being a cutting-edge church, and being more than conquerors in Christ – all for the purpose of creating a healthier, more encouraged international body of Christ.

Sophomore Sam Hodges, a civil engineering major, decided to go with his church on a mission trip to Mexico, even though it meant he wasn’t able to go home to his family in New York.

“Our pastor challenged us to pray and ask God why you can’t go. So I did, and from there decided to go. I didn’t even have a passport. It was really time-sensitive but God worked it out.”

Sam worked to hold VBS for local kids in Piedras Negras, where kids who only had a vague idea of Jesus learned about the gospel through a translator. Despite the language barrier, he got to know the kids by simply spending time with them and playing quite a bit of soccer as a way to connect.

“Even just loving on them – that shows a lot. Our actions speak louder than words, and in that way we can be Christ to them."

He also shared the gospel with local people in their homes. He witnessed a family place their faith in Christ and was able to connect them with a local church to ensure their spiritual growth.

Allie Erkelens in Sentani, Indonesia

Junior Allie Erkelens traveled to Indonesia through LETU’s School of Aviation. The trip has been a long time coming for Allie, who has been interested in aviation and missions since she was young. Since coming to LeTourneau, she’s combined her two loves – and they took her to the other side of the world.

A mission aviation major, Allie worked with JAARS at their aviation base in Sentani, Indonesia - her first experience working in a hangar outside of class.

“I helped take the wings and tail off a heliocourier, and then I got to work on a pt6 turbine engine. It was a lot of fun and amazing to have that work experience in a real, live hangar, working on real, live aircraft.”

Many don’t realize the detailed processes these missions require, but Allie was in the thick of it, working on aircraft that would provide transportation that provides missionaries transportation to the homes of unreached people groups. 

Aiding missionaries, sharing the gospel with children, and helping to grow the church - these are several of the reasons why we think LeTourneau students are incredible. 

Incredible Legacy: Founder's Day 2013

From dropping out of school at age 14, to becoming one of the most important inventors and industrialists of the 20^th Century and manufacturing more than 70 percent of the earth-moving equipment used in WWII – R.G. LeTourneau was truly a “Mover of Men and Mountains.”

On Monday, December 2, LeTourneau University celebrated a special Founder’s Day that doubled as a celebration of the 125^th anniversary of LeTourneau’s birthday.

Honored guests on Founder's Day included the 

LeTourneau's son, Ben and his wife Betty.

The day was commemorated with a Founder’s Day chapel service led by University President Dr. Dale Lunsford, who spoke on Mr. LeTourneau’s work, accomplishments and faith in God.

“Look at his life and you’ll see that one man can make a difference. He was a very talented man. He had a strong work ethic. He had a strong faith in a God who blessed him in many different ways,” Lunsford said. “And that one man made a great difference.”

In 1929, R.G. LeTourneau founded LeTourneau Industries. The Longview, Texas, plant spent most of its life under the name LeTourneau Technologies and is now owned by Joy Global.

“He created thousands of jobs in a time when this country really needed those jobs. It was a time of great economic challenge,” Lunsford said. “His equipment helped to win a world war and revolutionized two different industries; the earthmoving industry and offshore oil drilling. He completely changed both industries.”

LeTourneau Technologies employee Dale Hardy spoke via video, on LeTourneau’s accomplishments in the earth moving industry, citing his inventions of the Tournapull, electric wheel, and the use of welding and rubber tires for earthmoving equipment.

“Even though he died in 1969 at the age of 80, the legacy in the earth moving industry that R.G. LeTourneau left behind continues in a very real and tangible way,” Hardy said.

LETU’s Center for Faith and Work Director Bill Peel spoke on the spiritual nature of LeTourneau’s work and his belief that our everyday work matters to God.

“Each of us has an important work to do, and when you put that in God’s hands, amazing things can happen.”

Bob Walker, LETU alumnus and president of Walker Manufacturing Company, also spoke via video, demonstrating a palpable example of LeTourneau’s legacy. Walker expressed the virtues of operating a business under Biblical principles, as he learned from LeTourneau’s testimony.

The chapel service speakers were followed by chapel attendees congregating at the gravesites of LeTourneau and his wife, Evelyn, for prayer and a wreath placed at their graves to honor the occasion.

Founder's Day also unveiled the R.G. LeTourneau Digital Museum and Archives, where users can access original images and historical documents from the founder's life.

While he held over 300 patents, invented numerous earthmoving machines and transformed entire industries, Lunsford expressed what R.G. LeTourneau may have considered his finest accomplishment: “His faith in God has inspired thousands of people to go out and love God through their business and their lives. And to this day, that continues.”