If these walls could talk: The stories behind HC building names

By Leah Huyard – Horizon News & Features Editor

Fundraising to renovate the Yost Center and add to Charles Hall is in full swing, with construction optimistically scheduled for January of 2019. A highlight of the renovation: A nearly 10,000 square foot addition, “The Bonnie Sowers Nursing Center,” named for longtime faculty member and director of the Hesston College nursing program.

But what’s behind these names? In spirit of those additions to the Hesston College, click below for some facts you may not have known about the buildings you visit every week on campus.

The Bonnie Sowers Nursing Center is being planned as an extension to Charles Hall. Fundraising continues through this upcoming year, and the campaign hopes to build onto the current nursing facilities, with a simulation lab, a student lounge, study spaces, and a whole lot more. Sowers started in 1970 as the nursing direction at Hesston, and it has grown so much under her direction. Mark Landes, Vice President of Finance and Auxiliary Services calls Sowers a true servant leader.

“If she wanted to be president, she could.”

Many thanks to John Sharp and his book, “A School on the Prairie,” for providing the historical facts for this article.