Locking Arms to Serve Our Community

Dr. Debra A. Schwinn
5 Jan 2022
no comments
serve

On January 17 when the alarm clock sounds, some Americans will sit up grudgingly to face Monday morning, then plop back onto the pillow in relief when they remember it’s a federal holiday. But at Palm Beach Atlantic University, students will hop out of bed anyhow, not wanting to be late for Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. We expect about 300 students to climb onto buses heading out to various volunteer service sites organized by the University’s office of “Workship.” That’s PBA’s award-winning community service program, so named by combining the words work and worship. From the founding […]

-Read More

Recovery Church Movement Brings Freedom

Dr. Debra A. Schwinn
15 Dec 2021
no comments

As we light the candles of Advent I must tell you about a wonderful way the light of Christ powerfully pierces the darkness of drug and alcohol addiction. Meet Recovery Church (www.recovery.church), a ministry for people in recovery by people in recovery. Founded and led by Palm Beach Atlantic University alumnus Phil Dvorak, this ministry has become a movement, spreading across the country as God brings freedom and purpose to those in addiction – people like Chris Phillips. Chris had come all the way from Washington State to enter a Palm Beach County treatment center. But he was more than […]

-Read More

Classical Ed. Builds Skill of Answering Questions

Dr. Debra A. Schwinn
16 Nov 2021
no comments
classical

Megan Donley, now a lawyer working to defend religious liberty, will never forget visiting Palm Beach Atlantic University when she was a high school senior. She sat in on a class of the Supper Honors Program and became enthralled by the vibrant discussion among the students and their professor.  “It was just such a fertile atmosphere for discovery of ideas,” she said. That did it. Megan was hooked. She applied to PBA, was accepted into the Honors Program, and in 2004 she dived into the unique Honors curriculum made possible by a generous gift from Frederick M. Supper, a prominent […]

-Read More

College Ministry Reaching “Hundreds and Hundreds” with Help from PBA Grad

Dr. Debra A. Schwinn
14 Oct 2021
no comments

How exciting it is to see young people find God’s calling for their lives! Palm Beach Atlantic University faculty and staff consider it a sacred privilege to help in this discernment. Consider Daniel Judge, whose story illustrates how important it is in all our organizations and personal lives to be a part of this process. Daniel Judge, PBA Grad “Leaders step up when others step back. That was Daniel at PBA,” said Campus Pastor Dr. Bernie Cueto. “I do not remember a conversation we ever had where Daniel was not proactively thinking about ministry and leadership and how to apply […]

-Read More

PBA

Night School Classmates Found Encouragement, Confidence and Friendship

Dr. Debra A. Schwinn
9 Sep 2021
no comments
classmates

The next time something unpleasant pops up to interrupt your plans, take heart from Jessica Clasby. She’s come to believe “God has reasons for His timing.” About 10 years ago, while running a membership program for the Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce, Jessica learned about Palm Beach Atlantic University’s evening classes for non-traditional students. As she heard PBA’s Dr. Jim Laub describe the Christian atmosphere and the leadership program, “something inside me just totally changed,” she recalled. Prior to that time, she’d been content with the associate’s degree she earned at a community college. But after hearing Laub’s […]

-Read More

Kindred Spirits Help Others

Dr. Debra A. Schwinn
12 Aug 2021
no comments

In 1 Corinthians 16 we learn the Apostle Paul saw a great door of opportunity for his upcoming work, but he also saw significant obstacles in the way. I want to tell you about two hard-working business students whose stories explain much about overcoming obstacles, taking advantage of opportunities and extending opportunity to others.  A pair of kindred spirits These two students never met, for they were generations apart, but I see them as kindred spirits. The first was Theodore R. “Ted” Johnson, who was born into a middle-class family in 1901. He worked his way through college and joined […]

-Read More

kindred spirits

How to Be the Best Couple Minutes of Someone’s Day

Dr. Debra A. Schwinn
8 Jul 2021
no comments
minutes

Imagine you’re working behind the counter of a retail pharmacy. In front of you, elderly Mrs. Jones looks on with furrowed brow while you scan the computer screen for her prescription. Behind her, two more customers wait in line, as the phones ring non-stop. “Oh, I see,” you tell Mrs. Jones. “It’s an authorization problem.” She looks up at you in confusion, while the bell sounds to tell you a drive-up customer awaits. Welcome to the busy world of retail pharmacy. Amir Rahemi, a district manager for Walgreens, has felt the stress and problems of working that pharmacy counter. Minutes […]

-Read More

Spared from COVID? Offer Streams of Mercy

Dr. Debra A. Schwinn
8 Jun 2021
no comments

Walking out of our lovely, in-person commencement ceremonies last month, I found myself humming a classic hymn of the faith, thanks to Stewart Foster, talented organist from the Royal Poinciana Chapel in Palm Beach. The soft strains of Stewart’s music filled the spaces between the names called out as graduates received their diplomas. One particular hymn kept replaying in my mind, until I concluded: We should set up an Ebenezer after ending a year under COVID-19. I bet many of you know exactly the hymn I mean, and in your mind you’re singing along with me, “Here I raise my […]

-Read More

covid

Cancer Survivor Shares Message of Hope and Service

Dr. Debra A. Schwinn
13 May 2021
no comments
cancer

Nursing professor Dr. Kathy McKinnon serves students and patients as an ambassador of hope. She communicates not with empty platitudes, but with the voice of experience, as one who truly has known hopelessness. Students at Palm Beach Atlantic University listened in rapt attention recently as Kathy shared her story in a special chapel service brought by the university’s Student Wellness Committee. They came for the topic “Hope in the Midst of Uncertainty,” their own uncertainties ranging from exam grades to relatives facing cancer. “I wanted to give you a little insight into my story with cancer,” Kathy told them, “so […]

-Read More

Life Lessons Learned Through The Magic of Music

Dr. Debra A. Schwinn
6 Apr 2021
no comments

How do you give a child the gift of music? I thought about that recently, when after a busy, challenging day, I reached for my violin and once again enjoyed the relaxing outlet it provides. I thought about my high school orchestra conductor: one of my favorite and most influential teachers. I realized he cultivated in me much more than a refreshing habit. He nudged me to always be my best, and that positively rippled throughout my life. A generation later, I saw a similar influence from music teachers of my own children. So as I pondered how Good News […]

-Read More

music