Defender Days is the biggest event on campus as students, alumni, and parents celebrate Dordt College and reunite on campus for home sporting events, concerts, the fall theatre production, and much more. Defender Days will be held on October 19 and 20, 2018.
Schedule
Thursday, October 18
- 3–5 p.m.—Early-bird registration, Campus Center lobby
- 5 p.m.—Engineering Society dinner, West Commons
- More information and registration details to follow. Please email Justin Vander Werff with questions.
- 7:30 p.m.—Fall theatre production – My Fair Lady, Te Paske Theatre
- 10 p.m.—Praise and Worship, Science and Technology Center atrium
Friday, October 19
- 6:45 a.m.—Business Connections Breakfast, De Yager Student Activity Center
- Lewis Visscher is the CFO of Catalyst Repository Systems, a software technology company. When he is not busy with Catalyst, he spends time working on Lew's List, a Colorado-based networking email database consisting of nearly 11,000 finance and accounting professionals.
8 a.m.–7 p.m.—Registration, Campus Center lobby
- Come early to pick up your nametag (free pass into many events), an updated schedule of events, and to get your questions answered.
- 8 a.m.–3p.m.—Visit classes. Professors are expecting you, so just walk in.
- 9:30 a.m.—Campus tour (meet at Campus Center registration table)
- 11 a.m.—Chapel, B.J. Haan Auditorium
- 1:30 p.m.—Alumni hockey game, All Seasons Center
- 2 p.m.—Campus tour (meet at Campus Center registration table)
- 3 p.m.—Small Music Festival, B.J. Haan Auditorium
- Concert includes Jazz Band, Kantorei, and Bella Voce.
- 3:15 p.m.—Alumni hockey game, All Seasons Center
- 4:30 p.m.—Goheen Gallup 5k Cross Country Race and 1.5 Mile Jog/Walk
- Meet at the east end of the soccer fields. Participants recieve a race t-shirt. Prizes awared to top overall male and female 5k finisher as well as to the youngest male and female participants. Entrance fee is $20. Register online.
5:15 p.m.—Defender Nation Dinner, De Yager Student Activity Center
- Join us to celebrate how alumni are working for Christ-centered renewal around the world. The featured speakers are our 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award winner Chuck DeGroat ('89) and 2018 Horizon Award winner Elizabeth Blankespoor ('03). Alumni, students, faculty, parents, grandparents, and friends are encouraged to attend. Dress is business casual. Tickets are $15.
- 7 p.m.—Fall Music Festival, B.J. Haan Auditorium
- Concert includes Campus-Community Band, Concert Band, Chamber Orchestra, Chorale, and Concert Choir. A freewill offering will be received.
- 7 p.m.—Men's volleyball vs. Briar Cliff, De Witt Gymanisum
- 8 p.m.—Hockey vs. Wisconsin Platteville, All Seasons Center.
- Tickets can be purchased at the Blades table in the Campus Center or at the door.
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9:15 p.m.—Dordt University logo reveal, Campus Center
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10 p.m.—Late Night with Defenders, De Witt Gymnasium
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Take in an inter-squad women's and men's basketball scrimmage, player introductions, contests, and a dance team performance. The women's team will begin at 10 p.m. with the men to follow. Admittance is $1, with proceeds going to men's basketball outreach opportunities.
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Saturday, October 20
- 8 a.m.–noon—Registration, Campus Center lobby
- 9 a.m.—Alumni golf, Ridge Golf Course
- 8:45 a.m.—President's Brunch, Recreation Center
- This sit-down meal is for alumni, parents, grandparents, and adult friends/relatives of our current students. It's a great place to meet other parents and friends and includes a welcome and campus update from President Erik Hoekstra and Dr. Barb Hoekstra.
- 8:45–10:15 a.m.—Siblings Brunch, Game Room
- This activity is designed for preschool to high school weekend guests. Meet promptly at 8:30 a.m. in the lower level of the Campus Center. The group will walk together for a complimentary breakfast in the Commons and then participate in age-appropraite activities (crafts and game room.) Please pick up younger children by 10:30 in lower level of the Campus Center. Reservations are appreciated.
9:30 a.m.—Alumni baseball game, baseball field- 10 a.m.—Alumni lacrosse match, soccer complex
- 10 a.m.—Alumni men's soccer game, soccer complex
- 10:30 a.m.—Agriculture Stewardship Center dedication and tours, ASC
- 11 a.m.—Organ showcase, B.J. Haan Auditorium
- 11 a.m.—Alumni women's basketball game, De Witt Gymnasium
- 11:15 a.m.—Campus tour (meet at Campus Center registration table)
- Noon–1 p.m.—PLIA Tailgate, football field.
- Donations support PLIA.
- 12:55 p.m.—Alumni hockey game, All Seasons Center
1 p.m.—Football vs. Jamestown, football field- 1 p.m.—Alumni women's volleyball game, De Witt Gymnasium
- 1 p.m.—Women's soccer vs. Hastings, soccer complex
- 2 p.m.—Fall theatre production – My Fair Lady, Te Paske Theatre
- 2:30 p.m.—Alumni hockey game, All Seasons Center
- 3:15 p.m.—Men's soccer vs. Hastings, soccer complex
- 3:30 p.m.—Women's JV volleyball vs. Mount Marty, De Witt Gymnasium
- 4:30 p.m.—Hockey vs. Wisconsin Platteville, All Seasons Center
- 4:30–6 p.m.—25th Class Reunion, Founder's Room
- Alumni from the classes of 1993 to 1996 are invited to the 25th class reuinion to reminisce with old friends and take in the ever-changing campus community. President Erik Hoekstra will host a reception for class members and a guest. RSVP is requested via online registration.
- 5 p.m.—Women's volleyball vs. Mount Marty, De Witt Gymnasium
- 6 p.m.—Alumni football game, football field
- 7 p.m.—Alumni men's basketball game, De Witt Gymnasium
- 7:30 p.m.—Fall theatre production – My Fair Lady, Te Paske Theatre
- 9–10:30 p.m.—Ice Cream Social, Commons
- Here's a final opportunity to visit with parents, grandparents, alumni, and friends.
Speakers
Business Connections Breakfast Speaker
Lewis Visscher is a Dordt alumnus of the class of 1984. He is the CFO of Catalyst Repository Systems. Essentially “Google for lawyers,” Catalyst is a software technology company with nearly $40 million in revenue and approximately 200 employees. When he is not busy with Catalyst, Visscher spends his time working on Lew’s List, a Colorado-based networking email database consisting of nearly 11,000 finance and accounting professionals. Visscher is also the co-founder of the Denver chapter of the New Canaan Society, a national Christian men’s organization, which is focused on providing a venue, speakers, and opportunities for local businessmen to encourage one another on becoming better men, husbands, and fathers. He and his wife Beth reside in Denver, Colorado, and have four daughters.
2018 Horizon Award REcipient
Elizabeth Blankespoor (’03) from Seattle, Washington, is the recipient of Dordt’s Horizon Award. This award identifi es alumni who are communityminded and entrepreneurial – those who are using their knowledge, gifts, and talents to participate in God’s redemptive work in the world. Blankespoor has been making an impact on accounting and business students for most of her career at the University of Utah, University of Michigan, Stanford University, and University of Washington. As a recipient of the Stanford MSx Teaching Excellence Award in 2015 and the Stanford MBA Distinguished Teaching Award in 2016, she was praised for genuinely loving what she was doing and for being adored by her students. Blankespoor currently serves at University of Washington, Foster School of Business as an associate professor of accounting.
2018 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient
Chuck DeGroat (’92) has enjoyed many years of pastoral ministry, theological education, counseling, consulting, and writing. DeGroat has served in Orlando, Florida, where he started a church-based counseling center, in San Francisco, California, where he co-founded Newbigin House of Studies and a churchbased counseling center, and now in Holland, Michigan, where he serves as Professor of Pastoral Care and Christian Spirituality and continues as a Senior Fellow at Newbigin House. He and his wife Sara met at Dordt and have been married for 24 years, with two teenage daughters, Emma and Maggie.
Event Location: Campus Center