Community at Bluffton draws people back to campus

Community is regularly credited as the thing that draws students to attend Bluffton University. However, it is this same unique spirit of community that continues to draw alumni back to work for the university. It’s hard to go anywhere on campus without finding an alumna/us teaching, coaching or working in one of the various offices on campus. So what is is that brings people back to Bluffton University?

For Sean Elvert ’17, it was the opportunity to fulfill one of his goals of becoming a head soccer coach at the collegiate level after being a graduate assistant at Bluffton University for two years.

“Everyone always talks about the communities when it comes to every college and university, but at Bluffton, community truly means something different,” said Elvert. “Having the opportunity to return to a place like this where the community plays such a huge role within the university, the academics, the athletics, the student life. It was something I was looking forward to and it made the decision pretty easy to make.”

After working in Lima for a year, Leah Schroeder ’13 returned to her role as Campus Visit

Coordinator in the Admissions Office because of the community at Bluffton.

“I think what students don’t always see is the Community of Respect translates to not just students but to the faculty and staff, so we have that community together as well, and I missed working in that community with everyone and being a part of a really great team,” said Schroeder.

Schroeder also said she remembers how much she loved her visit to campus as a prospective student, so she really loves being able to help other prospective students get excited about Bluffton.

Lawrence Matthews ’78 shared his story of returning to work for Bluffton University. After graduating, Matthews said he came back to campus for homecoming and was informed President Neufeld was looking for him. President Neufeld then asked Matthews to

return as serve as the Director of Marbeck Center. He held that role for about 13 years before switching to a position with the Financial Aid Office. Matthews served as the Director of Financial Aid for roughly 21 years before taking a job with Mennonite Disaster Service. 

Matthews eventually returned to work for Bluffton, and recently moved from his role in the Development Office to his prior position as the director of Financial Aid.

When asked what he likes about working for Bluffton University, Matthews said he loves everything about working here. He shared how he and his wife, Louise Matthews, love seeing Bluffton graduates go on to do great things in the world.  

For Josh Runda ’13 and ’15, working at Bluffton is about being able to come back to a place where he had a great experience and share that experience with a new generation of student athletes.

Runda received his bachelor’s degree from Bluffton University, then soon came back for a graduate assistant position and received his master’s degree. This past August, he returned as an assistant football coach and defensive coordinator. Like many others, the community and people really stood out to him.

“I think at a lot of small colleges people always reiterate how great the people are, but I think one of the unique things about Bluffton is the people are so nice that it almost gets you out of your comfort zone. It’s really hard to walk on the sidewalk at Bluffton, because someone will inevitably say hi to you whether they are a stranger or not,” said Runda.

As for recent graduate Alyssa Eby ’18, she will begin her new role as an admissions counselor at Bluffton University in less than a week. Eby shared how excited she is to return to work at her alma mater in order to help new students find their place.

“The community I found at Bluffton was something I missed the moment I left,” said Eby. “The friends and connections I made are ones that will last a lifetime, and now I will be working alongside the people who helped shape who I am.”