Two students from Abbotsford who are currently studying at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa have recently made the news.
Jaelyn Dragt, a junior social work and community development major, received a one-year $10,000 scholarship through the Lambertus Verberg Prize, offered through the Barnabas Foundation and the estate gift of Rimmer and Ruth de Vries.
Dragt’s winning essay was titled A Christian Response to the Restrictions on Girls’ Education in Afghanistan under the Taliban Regime: How Kuyperian Insight Requires Theological and Embodied Engagement.
Dragt said she chose that topic for her essay as she “sought to understand and wrestle with the reality that millions of girls in Afghanistan have recently had the opportunity of education taken away from them.”
“(This) is a grave humanitarian crisis that has increased the oppression women and girls are already facing under the Taliban regime,” she said.
“I was heartbroken and angry for this injustice that disregards the dignity and rights of Afghan women. I felt a sense of responsibility in my own limited capacity to ‘do something,’ which led me to take the opportunity to write this essay as a way to learn and lament as I recognize the great privilege it is for myself to study.”
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Dragt is one of three individuals to receive scholarships through the Verberg Prize this year.
Another Abbotsford student, senior art major Annabelle Vanderkooi, recently had her artwork installed in the Campus Center.
The Mosaic Masterpiece is a wooden mosaic of the world. Vanderkooi designed a geometric map template in Adobe Illustrator that was then sent to woodworker John Doornenbal, who used a woodcarving machine to cut out the triangular pieces and continent shapes.
Vanderkooi chose to work with wood because it allowed for precision and flexibility while also achieving durability.
“The most difficult part of this process was putting the puzzle together, as we were given all the triangles but had no clue where on the map they belonged,” she said.
“Once we located the pieces, I labelled the edge of each triangle so that we had a system that made this puzzle easier to complete. It was a long process considering the installation is made up of almost 200 pieces, but every detail and part of the process matters and was worth it in the end.”
After graduation, Vanderkooi plans to move back to Abbotsford and start a position as a marketing coordinator and junior designer with a local company. She will also intern for a large design agency.
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