Cedarville Stories

Bringing Light to Broadway

When Dani Lee Hutch crossed the commencement stage at Cedarville University in 2016 with a degree in music, Broadway seemed a long way from southwest Ohio, but God had already begun writing a story that would carry her from classrooms and chapel services to some of the most celebrated productions in American musical theatre.

Today, Dani serves as a musical director in the demanding world of Broadway and national touring productions. Her résumé includes bringing each performance of acclaimed productions like Wicked and Suffs to life from the conductor's po...

Beauty From Ashes

Some stories begin with joy; others with sorrow. Yet the most remarkable stories reveal how God faithfully weaves both together, bringing beauty from ashes in ways no one could have imagined.

Dean and Merav Maxwell know the deep ache of loss. On January 29, 2025, they lost their daughter, Grace, a beloved Cedarville University student, in the tragic plane crash over the Potomac River. Every parent hopes for more days, more conversations, and more memories. The Maxwells suddenly found themselves grieving what might have been.

Less than three months later...

Bound Together by Grace

No one chooses the road of suffering, but sometimes God allows fellow travelers to ease the way.

That was true for the Maxwell and White families. When their stories were marked by separate tragedies in 2025, they found themselves walking similar paths of loss, recovery, faith, and hope. Along the way, they discovered the strength of Christian community and the comfort that comes when God's people carry one another's burdens.

On January 29, 2025, Dean and Merav Maxwell lost their daughter, Grace, a Cedarville University student, in the American Airlines...

Entrepreneurship With a Kingdom Purpose

Josh Hochstedler has watched God use both hardship and opportunity to shape his definition of success. Along the way, his interest in entrepreneurship has become closely connected to a desire to impact lives, build Christian community, and help others pursue their God-given calling with confidence and purpose.

A junior cyber operations major at Cedarville University, Josh recently shared his story on the Cedarville Stories podcast, reflecting on the experiences that have shaped both his faith and his vision for the future.

Some of those lessons began...

Designing Solutions That Serve People

Gabriel Payne thought he knew what his future should look like. After an aptitude test in high school pointed him toward engineering, the path seemed straightforward: attend a large, nationally recognized university and earn the kind of degree serious engineers were expected to pursue. Schools like Purdue, Northwestern, Harvard, and MIT stood at the top of his list. In Gabriel’s mind, Christian universities simply could not offer the same level of engineering education.

That mindset made his eventual decision even more surprising.

As a homeschooled student, Gabriel al...

A Win-Win Faith

Carlos Hidalgo was alone in the fitness center at his church on December 1, 2025, working through his normal exercise routine, when pain hit with terrifying force. He would later describe it as feeling like a bomb had exploded inside his head.

At first, the 1993 Cedarville University graduate tried to shake it off. He got in his car and started driving home. But then he saw something that stopped him cold: an oncoming truck appeared only halfway in his field of vision.

That was when Carlos knew this was no...

Finding Hope in Invisible Grief

Drew Hensley has a way of stepping into people’s troubles with the steady kindness of a pastor who knows Jesus meets us there. A 2007 graduate of Cedarville University, he now serves as a pastor in Charleston, South Carolina, with a heart for local church ministry and a deep compassion for people in pain.

His compassion is rooted in the heart of Jesus, who sees people, welcomes them, and cares for them with steady mercy. Drew has tried to mirror that same kind of care in his own mi...

Sheep, Stage Lights, and Scripture

Long before Abigail King set foot on the stage at Cedarville University, she was already dreaming of a life that would combine her greatest loves: animals and theatre. Even as a little girl growing up in sunny Florida, she imagined a future where the joy of performance could meet the companionship of creatures great and small.

That dream stayed with her, and when it came time to choose a college, Cedarville was the right place.

Abigail stepped onto campus with a dream in her heart, but...

A Calling Shaped by Providence

Shannon Yarosz’s story bears the marks of God’s providence. Often, that providence feels ordinary in the moment and only later reveals how lovingly the story has been arranged. On the Cedarville Stories podcast, Shannon reflected on a journey shaped by science, compassion, and a deep desire to serve others well.

That calling began to take shape during her years at The Ohio State University, where she studied microbiology. She loved science and the discovery that came with it, yet she also wanted her work to touch people’s lives...

A Steady Rhythm of Hope

Dr. Lou Lilite learned hope in the hard soil of Haiti. He grew up in a ministry family surrounded by the daily realities of poverty, where need was easy to see and impossible to ignore. Yet even there, God planted gifts and purpose in his life.

Through his parents’ example, Lou learned that faith looks beyond what is missing and trusts God’s provision even before it comes into view. Over time, that steady confidence became part of who he was. Music also became one of the ways God...

Held by God Through Every Trial

Brandon Stover’s story is marked by God’s faithful presence through both unexpected joy and deep hardship. As he prepares to graduate from Cedarville University with a degree in special education, he does so with a heart shaped by struggle, strengthened by grace, and anchored in the steady leadership of the Lord.

When Brandon came to Cedarville, he found much more than a place to earn a degree. He found a Christ-centered community that welcomed him, cared for him, and showed him the love of God in e...

A Song of Worship in the Midst of Motherhood 

In the quiet, faithful work of motherhood, Renee (O’Neal) Sallee ’10 has learned a truth strong enough to carry both a family and a song: God is enough. That conviction now rests at the heart of her music, ministry, and home. 

A 2010 graduate of Cedarville University with a degree in early childhood education, Renee records music as Renee Leanne, creating songs that rise out of worship and gently invite others to do the same. Her album, Lift Your Eyes, carries that invitation with warmth and hope, urging...

Behind the Music

Behind the scenes at K-LOVE and Air1, ministry feels deeply personal.

What listeners hear as a song, a familiar voice, or a timely word starts long before the microphone turns on. It begins with a team that believes what people listen to really matters because what fills the mind often shapes the heart.

That belief fuels the work of Cedarville University graduates Jim Houser ’91, Chief Radio Officer; Mandy Young ’99, Vice President of Radio; and Steve Shore ’02, Music Platform Program Manager.

Together, they help lead a ministry that reaches far be...

From Cedarville to K-LOVE

Three Cedarville broadcasting alumni now serve in senior leadership at K-LOVE and Air1 Media Networks — and their shared story is as meaningful as it is remarkable.

Jim Houser ’91, Chief Radio Officer; Mandy Young ’99, Vice President of Radio; and Steve Shore ’02, Music Platform Program Manager, are each helping lead the largest contemporary Christian music radio network in the country.

When the three joined the Cedarville Stories podcast, they shared memories, laughed about their college days, and reflected on the people and moments at Cedarville that helped shape them long bef...

Celebrating $205.8 Million and Future Cedarville Sphere

The future of Cedarville University seems to rise right out of the waters of Cedar Lake on the latest Cedarville Stories podcast.

The conversation opens with the kind of news that gives Cedarville plenty to celebrate. Dr. Will Smallwood, Cedarville’s Vice President for Advancement, reflects on the strong finish of the 1000 Days Transformed Campaign, which raised a record-setting $205.8 million. He describes a campus humming with momentum — scholarships are transforming students’ lives, new facilities reshaping daily routines, and generous gifts strengthening Cedarville’s mission for years to come.

Helping Foster Teens Find Their Place

Fifteen years ago, Eric ’03 and Kara (Howe) ’04 Gilmore began noticing a pattern that would not let them rest. Teenagers in Arkansas entered foster care or aged out with little consistent support. In fact, many reached legal adulthood without housing, reliable work, or someone to call family.

Their Cedarville University years had planted a conviction in them to care for the vulnerable and pursue those who are forgotten. That conviction took on a new urgency as Eric and Kara opened their home to teens as foster parents and watc...

Walking With Lyme, Walking With God

Sam Sofio carried a simple dream of attending Christian university where faith wasn’t an accessory but the air everyone breathed. He pictured chapel worship and professors who prayed before class. He also sensed a calling to tell stories that point people to God.

Then his health took a hard turn, and money worries crept in.

He woke up bone-tired no matter how long he slept. Headaches throbbed behind his eyes, his joints ached, and his mind stayed foggy. Ordinary days started to feel like hills with no...

A Story Bigger Than Football

Redemption opens like a familiar football story — with helmets, stadium lights, and the pressure to win — but quickly clarifies its real focus: Jesus changing lives inside The Ohio State Buckeyes’ program.

Available through The Wonder Project on Amazon Prime, this docuseries follows an ongoing spiritual revival that can’t be measured on a scoreboard. Behind it are two unlikely executive producers: Marlee and Matt Benson, a husband-and-wife duo who stepped into filmmaking because they believed the message mattered.

When Marlee shared how Redemption became a reality on the C...

Stocking Classrooms, Building Futures

A first-year teacher stands in an empty classroom with a key in her hand and a knot in her stomach. Twenty-six desks. Bare walls. One loud thought: School starts soon, and the room has almost nothing.

Dr. Megan Brown, an associate professor of education at Cedarville University, knows that moment well. Coursework can cover research and best practices. Training can shape strong habits. Still, the first year in a real classroom brings a different kind of weight — especially when the space begins as a blank slate.

Megan te...

Secret Service and the Zero-Fail Mission

The U.S. Secret Service lives by a simple standard: zero fail. Every route, every rooftop, and every split-second decision demands excellence because the mission leaves no room for mistakes.

Jeff Rinehart has built his career around that expectation. The 1993 Cedarville University graduate has spent nearly three decades with the Secret Service, rising into senior leadership and carrying the weight of protecting the nation and serving its government with quiet professionalism.

To most people, the Secret Service looks like dark suits, earpieces, and sunglasses. Rinehart...

Big League Hopes

Payton Eeles and Tanner Gillis are living their baseball dreams. Both former Yellow Jacket baseball players are moving closer to the major leagues and learning that the climb is rarely clean and never entirely predictable.

Baseball is a sport of failure that teaches a person to live between what’s hoped for and what’s in hand. There’s always another series, another chance, and another day to get better. Payton has carried his dream since childhood, the sort of long-held desire that feels as natural as a glove on his left hand...

Dr. Jared Pincin: Fantasy Sports and Real Convictions

Some of the most lasting lessons in life don’t come from classrooms or textbooks but from watching the people closest to you do hard things without complaint. For Dr. Jared Pincin, those lessons were learned early by watching his college-educated father take whatever work was necessary to provide for his family, even when that meant working as a janitor at McDonald’s during a tough recession.

Pincin, associate professor of economics at Cedarville University since 2023, isn’t just an expert in market theory. He’s a man...

From Czech Courts to a Global Calling

Ondrej Plasil grew up in the Czech Republic with a basketball in his hands and a competitive spirit in his heart. The game gave him direction, discipline, and drive. But underneath it all, he was quietly searching for something more.

In a country where faith is often absent or minimized, Ondrej didn’t grow up in a strong Christian environment. He knew about God, but the idea of following Jesus personally felt distant. That began to change when he encountered believers who lived differently — people whose live...

Desert Roots and Gospel Goals

Matthew and Daniel Leo grew up in the Middle East, where sunbaked streets doubled as soccer fields and neighbors quickly became family. Their childhood was filled with the rhythms of daily life, including shared meals, local traditions, and long afternoons chasing a ball through the dust. With parents devoted to humanitarian work, the brothers were immersed in a life of service and shaped by a deep love for people, culture, and faith that would stay with them wherever they went.

Now students at Cedarville University, the brothers lace...

Aiming True, Living Fully

Gracen Fletcher grew up under Indiana skies, where the wind danced across hayfields and horses ran free. A farm girl through and through, she learned to saddle up almost as early as she could walk. Her days were filled with muck boots, fiddle strings, and the steady hum of country life. Whether she was training one of her family’s Arabian horses, casting a fishing line at the pond, or hitting bullseyes with her bow, Gracen lived wide awake to the world around her.

Her brother got into archery fi...

Lucy Malmberg: Cradled in a Box, Carried by Faith

Lucy Malmberg’s life began in the shadow of World War II. Born in a refugee camp and carried onto a plane bound for America inside a handmade box, she traveled hidden beneath a blanket with nothing but a handwritten birth certificate and her father’s whispered prayer. Her parents had fled the devastation of Ukraine with no home, no country, and little more than their steadfast faith in Jesus. That improbable journey — marked by desperation, courage, and divine protection — became the opening chapter of a life def...

Bill Bolthouse: More Than Vegetables

Bill Bolthouse’s story began in the rich black soil of Grant, Michigan, where long rows of onions shaped both his childhood and his character. Working alongside his family on their muck farm, Bill learned early what honest labor demanded — often on his knees, pulling weeds under the summer sun. Each season, his dad entrusted him with three-quarters of an acre to manage himself. The deal was simple: He could keep whatever profit he earned.

Bill tried to take shortcuts, tidying the edges while letting weeds take over the...

From Walks to Wisdom: Hembo’s Journey From Cedarville to ESPN

In the world of sports, stats tell stories — and for Paul “Hembo” Hembekides, they’ve written a full chapter of his life.

Hembo graduated from Cedarville University in 2012 after four seasons of college baseball, where he started 170 games and set the program’s all-time record with 128 walks. That patience and discipline at the plate hinted at the steady, focused approach he would later bring to a much bigger stage.

After finishing grad school in Philadelphia, Hembo met an ESPN recruiter at a seminar...

Bench Press and Biblical Truth: The Strength of Dr. Trent Rogers

Dr. Trent Rogers doesn’t fit the stereotype of a Bible professor and college dean. Sure, he’s got the credentials — a doctorate in New Testament, years of pastoral experience, and a deep love for Scripture. But he also once bench-pressed 670 pounds, setting a world record. That same drive to be the best shapes everything he does, from the classroom to his leadership at Cedarville University.

Trent’s path to academic ministry wasn’t direct. He started with a degree in ancient and classi...

A Game Plan for Sports Health

Sports have always played an important role in Hayden Lee’s life. Now a Doctor of Pharmacy/MBA student at Cedarville University, Hayden’s journey from high school athlete to aspiring sports pharmacist shows how passion and purpose can collide in powerful ways.

Growing up, Hayden was all in — on the field, in the weight room, and in the classroom. His love for biology and fascination with how the body works fueled his curiosity. He noticed how athletes managed pain, sometimes relying heavily on medications like ibuprofen before...

Press Box Perspectives: Jeff Gilbert

Sports are Jeff Gilbert’s passion. What started as a hobby of cutting out sports stories from newspapers and magazines and crafting his own narrative for each story has blossomed into a thrilling career as the beat reporter for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and assistant professor of journalism at Cedarville University.

In this week’s Cedarville Stories Podcast, Jeff steps up to the plate to share his journey of painting word pictures to tell stories from the gridiron, basketball court, baseball fields — and much more.

His...

Hope in Hard Places: Greg and Erica Smith

Erica Smith woke up in a hospital bed, confused and restrained, believing she’d been abandoned and tortured. She had just survived a weeklong medically induced coma caused by a sudden, life-threatening allergic reaction — one that nearly stole her life. At the same time, her mother was dying of cancer. And just a few months earlier, her husband Greg had lost his 10-year coaching job.

They were staring down career uncertainty, financial strain, and a medical crisis — all at once.But that wasn't the end of the...

Coach Rob Jones: Leading Cedarville Hoops With Purpose and Passion

Basketball season is back in full swing at Cedarville, and the Yellow Jackets are charging into year two under Head Coach Rob Jones. With a season of experience already under his belt, Coach Jones is building more than just a competitive team — he's shaping a culture rooted in faith, grit, and brotherhood.

In this episode of the Cedarville Stories podcast, Coach Jones reflects on the journey that brought him here — from street ball in Missouri to coaching stints at Richmond and Liberty. His coac...

Aaron Welty: The Heroics of Weakness

Aaron Welty grew up with his eyes on the stars — not just the ones overhead, but the ones in stories. Galaxies far, far away, rings of power, and caped crusaders filled his imagination. But while most kids left those adventures behind when the movie ended, Aaron carried them with him. For him, those tales weren’t just entertainment — they were roadmaps pointing the way toward courage, sacrifice, and a bigger purpose.

From the very start, Aaron’s life has looked a bit like a hero’s journey — not with bla...

From a Curious Teen to a Confident Voice in Creation Science

Born a Buckeye near Columbus, Ohio, Dr. Georgia Purdom grew up in public school where she got a solid education — but something was missing. The classroom instruction didn’t point to the Bible, and the lessons never once started with Scripture. Even as a teenager, Georgia knew she wanted more than just academics — she wanted truth grounded in God’s Word.

That desire led her to Cedarville University, a Christian college nestled in the heart of Ohio, where she graduated in 1994 with a degree...

Beyond the Stars: Lauryn Leslie’s Journey From Cedarville to NASA

For Lauryn Leslie, the stars were never just distant lights in the sky — they were a destination. As a child, she’d look up and wonder what it might be like to explore the universe God had spoken into being. Today, that childhood dream is blazing into reality.

A 2024 Cedarville University graduate, Lauryn now works at NASA, helping design communication systems that will connect astronauts on future missions to the moon and beyond. Her work is part of Lunar 3GPP — a groundbreaking project...

Saying Yes to Water and the Gospel: Dr. Pete Savard’s Journey

Dr. Pete Savard, a 1990 graduate of Cedarville University, never imagined his life would be defined by clean water and the Gospel. A nurse educator and medical innovator, Pete once designed mobile hospitals for the U.S. government. But when that chapter closed, God began to stir something deeper in his heart. What started as a broad vision to improve healthcare around the world soon narrowed into a single, life-sustaining mission: providing clean water to those in desperate need.

Years ago, Pete fa...

From Tragedy to Triumph: Ellie Wyse’s Journey of Hope and Healing 

When Ellie Wyse arrived at Cedarville University as a freshman, she carried more than just the typical college nerves. She brought with her the deep wounds of trauma — wounds inflicted on May 7, 2019, when her high school in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, was attacked by an active shooter. That day changed everything. A classmate lost his life, others were injured, and Ellie, just a freshman at the time, was left to navigate the emotional and spiritual aftermath of surviving something unimaginable. 

On the Cedarville Stories podcas...

The Unseen Sibling: Rebecca Robinson’s Journey Through Love, Loss, and Hope

Rebecca Robinson grew up in a home marked by both deep love and quiet sacrifice. Her older sister, Kara, was born with severe Cerebral Palsy. From the beginning, Kara required round-the-clock care, medical equipment, and endless patience — needs her parents met with unwavering devotion and compassion. Their home was filled with the tenderness of a family bound together by something far stronger than circumstance: love.

But amid the visible weight her parents carried, Rebecca faced an invisible burden of her own. As t...

Serving the Score and the Savior: Sean Kisch’s Hollywood Calling

When Sean Kisch moved to Los Angeles, he wasn’t chasing the spotlight — he was answering a call to serve.

Sean works as a music copyist at JoAnn Kane Music Service, one of the top music preparation firms in the film industry. If you’ve seen a big-budget film in the last decade, there’s a good chance JoAnn Kane had a hand in it — and Sean might have too.

So, what exactly does a music copyist do? “I get asked that a l...