Caps, Gowns & Coffee Grounds is a chance for seniors to hang out, grab some coffee and celebrate finishing their time at Bethel. It’s a simple send-off into alumni life and a way to welcome them into the Bethel alumni community.
Bethel Students Will Volunteer to Serve Campus Neighbors April 18
On Saturday April 18, from 1-4 p.m., Bethel students will assemble to serve the neighbors in Lowell Woods, just south of campus, in an event called Labor 4 Your Neighbor.
This longstanding spring tradition, now in its 18th year, is a service project that allows Bethel students to serve the community by helping the neighbors near campus. Students will volunteer their help with yardwork, spring cleaning, and any other project that neighbors request.
“Labor 4 Your Neighbor helps Bethel cultivate good relationships within our surrounding community. I always enjoy seeing students open their eyes to the need for service right where they are – and step up to be a good neighbor to the people in their community, even if they have never met before,” says Allison Stout, associate director of student activities & engagement.
Bethel will serve 14 houses this year.
Helping students develop a heart for service is part of the mission of Bethel University. In fact, Bethel also hosts a campus-wide fall service day, where faculty, staff and students serve organizations around the community. In the fall of 2025, more than 20 organizations were served.
New Student Registration
New Student Registration is part of Launch Days and gives incoming Bethel students the opportunity to finalize their class schedules and prepare for the start of the semester.
Alfonso Flores – From Venezuela to Mishawaka
Written By Rick Becker, MA, MS, RN
Alfonso Flores had a lot going for him when he graduated from high school in his native Venezuela. Academically at the top of his class, he’d also been a standout on his school’s swim team. But his homeland was reeling from economic collapse and political instability, and his future looked bleak.
“My country was falling apart,” Flores recalls, and his dream of becoming an engineer appeared out of reach.
Even so, he was determined to try. So were his parents. His mother prayed up a storm, and his father, himself an engineer, refused to let his son give up.
After a flurry of applications to U.S. schools with swimming scholarships, Flores accepted an offer from a two-year community college in Iowa. When his application for a student visa was denied, his dad stepped in.
“He made me go back,” Flores says. “And the Embassy interviewer the second time was a swimmer herself!” It seemed providential, for Flores got his visa and was on a plane to the U.S. within days.
Flores thrived in Iowa, both in the classroom and the pool, but he still hoped to complete a four-year engineering degree. That’s when his Iowa coach rallied to his cause, exploring options and making calls.
“One day, he came into practice yelling about some place called Bethel University that’s starting a swim team,” says Flores. “Then I got a text from their new coach, Deb Thompson.”
It was providence at work again, and Flores eagerly accepted the invitation to come to Bethel – to continue his studies and to help launch the new swim program. Moreover, Bethel became a place for Flores to grow spiritually as well, and his time here has helped him recover a life of faith.
“Once I came to Bethel, everything changed,” he says.