Messiah College, well into a year-long celebration of its centennial, just released a great piece on its heritage of nurturing a multicultural community. Perhaps surprisingly, given the racial and ethnic homogeneity of the Brethren in Christ Church for much of the twentieth century, a number of the individuals and families profiled have connections to the institution’s founding denomination.
M.P. Krikorian, for instance, was an Armenian immigrant who studied at the College in its early years, eventually becoming an ordained Brethren in Christ minister.
The Sakimura family moved to Messiah College at the invitation of then-President C.N. Hostetter, Jr.; father Harvey served on staff as caretaker of the lawns, and his children Clarence, Ivan, and Alice all studied at the school.
Read brief profiles of Krikorian, the Sakimura family, and other Messiah College figures here.
Very interesting.
In terms of Messiah College being multicultural, check out the students from Palestine, David & Jonathan Kuttab from the early seventies.
During the Iranian Revolution of 1979 & Hostage Crisis, Jonathan was interviewed by the CBC as an human rights spokesman or official of some kind.