The Rev. Dr. Stan Van Den Berg, senior pastor of Eastminster Presbyterian Church, will be the speaker for the 2019 Sterling College Commencement ceremony. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 11, at 9:45 a.m. on East Cooper Lawn on the Sterling College campus. The event is open to the public.

Recognized for their outstanding academic achievement, seven students from the Sterling College Athletic Training Program were awarded honors from the Kansas Athletic Trainers’ Society. Across the state, 87 students from 11 colleges and universities were named to the list based on their academic standing and 3.40 grade point average.

The Sterling College debate and forensics team recently traveled to Hempstead, N.Y., for the Pi Kappa Delta National Tournament at Hofstra University. They competed among 71 schools March 21-24.

“Considering our very limited competition schedule this year, I felt our students performed well. With such a diverse field, we certainly held our own against teams that in some cases have as many coaches as we have competitors,” said Ken Troyer, forensics coach.

Sterling College senior Micah Watney of Sterling, Kansas, has been accepted into the 2019 BisonBison Film Festival on April 5-6 in Ponca City, Okla. Watney’s film, “Not Alone in This” will be shown along with works by students from 14 colleges and six states.

It’s a perennially popular movie, was recently remade as a made-for-television movie and has had countless stage productions, including two in Sterling. It’s described as “the hilarious and heartwarming story of six Southern women who gather and gossip at the local beauty parlor. With wit, warmth, and intelligence, they rise to meet whatever challenges life sends their way.” It’s Steel Magnolias and it will be staged by Sterling College Theatre this Wednesday and Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. and finish with two performances Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

The Sterling College Music Department has announced a special vocal ensemble music concert will be held on Monday, March 25, at 5:30 p.m., at the Sterling United Presbyterian Church. The concert will feature three ensembles: Highland Singers, select mixed vocal ensemble; Lasses, women’s ensemble; Lads, men’s ensemble. The public is invited to attend this event.

Featuring a variety of music, including contemporary Christian, sacred and popular, the concert will be directed by Music faculty Marisa Callan and Tiffiney Harms. There is no admission charge for this event.