2017 Alumni Awards

The King’s College is pleased to announce the 2017 honorees of The King’s College Alumni Association. Every year at Homecoming, the Alumni Association confers awards on alumni of The King’s College or of Northeastern Bible College for various areas of vocational distinction. This year’s award winners, along with the awards they received, are profiled below.

2017 Alumnus of the Year: Joel Westa ’79

The Alumnus of the Year Award is granted annually to an alumnus or alumna of The King’s College who has distinguished himself or herself in his or her chosen field, and who exemplifies the Christian philosophy of the College through a life dedicated to the Lord. The candidate must have attended either The King’s College or Northeastern Bible College for one full semester, but the preference will be for a graduate of either institution.

The son of a pastor, Joel Westa spent his formative years in Brooklyn and in Northeastern New Jersey. He earned a B.A. in Music Education at The King’s College in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. in 1979, and then earned his Master of Music in Vocal Performance at Penn State in 1983. While in Pennsylvania, he served as a youth and music pastor.

Fulfilling a lifelong dream, Joel trained to become a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, eventually commanding one of only two B-52 Wings in the Air Force as Commander of the 5th Bomb Wing at the Minot Air Force Base in Minot, N.D. In under 18 months of Joel’s leadership, Minot went from being an embarrassment after the unauthorized transfer of nuclear weapons to being the benchmark for nuclear operations.

Having earned master’s degrees from the U.S. Army Command and Staff College, the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies, and the Naval War College, Joel became a professor at the Naval War College, where he provided graduate level education to over 500 United States and international officers and senior civilians each year.

After serving in the U.S. Air Force for 25 years, Joel retired from the USAF as a Colonel in 2010. That year, Joel became the director of academic support at the Marine Corps University, where he ensured educational processes and procedures were in compliance with the standards of higher education, met regional accreditation requirements, and provided school leadership with data for informed decisions.

In 2013, Joel brought his extensive experience in leadership and education to the role of superintendent of NorthPointe Christian School in Grand Rapids, Mich. NorthPointe is a member of Christian Schools International, an organization founded in 1920 to support Christian schools and advance Christian education. Since 2015, Joel has served as CEO of Christian Schools International. Joel and his wife, Deborah, have four adult children, including one who attended NorthPointe for high school, and several grandchildren.¹

2017 Charles W. Anderson Award: Steve Beirn ’75

The Charles W. Anderson Award is granted annually to an alumnus or alumna of either The King’s College or Northeastern Bible College in full-time vocational ministry. He or she should embrace NBC’s vision—Christ for a Lost World—through a life of faithfulness, sacrifice, and pioneering spirit. The award is named after Northeastern Bible College’s founding president, Charles W. Anderson, to perpetuate his vision for NBC and to demonstrate NBC’s shared vision with King’s to influence the world.

Steve Beirn has served in local church ministry for over 40 years, and his passion for advancing world missions has taken him to over 39 countries. Steve grew up in Piscataway, N.J., and he was drawn to Christ through the example of his mother and the ministry of the men in his church who led athletics and Christian Service Brigade. Steve grew to love the local church and committed himself to disciple and encourage others in following Christ.

Steve received his B.A. in Biblical Literature at Northeastern Bible College in Essex Fells, N.J. in 1975 and then earned an M.A. in Ministry from Moody Graduate School. His master’s project centered on a philosophy of missions ministry for the church. In 1976 Steve joined the staff of Calvary Church in Lancaster, Pa., where he served in several roles, first as a youth pastor and eventually as Minister of Evangelism and Discipleship.

In 1992, Steve became Pastor of Care and Outreach Ministries at Immanuel Baptist Church in Holland, Mich., and provided leadership for all local and world-wide outreach, congregational care and counseling, mobilization, and long-range planning. He was also deeply involved in reorganizing Immanuel’s missions program and philosophy. Steve returned to Calvary Church in Lancaster to be Global Ministries Pastor in 2005.

As Global Ministries Pastor, Steve provides leadership to mobilize the local church to recruit, prepare, send, and sustain their members in cross-cultural ministry. He has prepared and led short-term teams for ministries in Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Ireland, and Ukraine as well as cross-cultural ministries in the United States. Equipping and training national leaders has taken him to Russia, Ukraine, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. He has provided ministry assessment and pastoral care to missionaries in religiously repressive countries and has given pastoral care to Calvary’s missionaries who are ministering in over 27 languages.

Steve enjoys consulting church leaders on global engagement, and to that end has written numerous articles for missions agency publications and has contributed to various missions seminars. He has also developed resources to equip laity in missions, and has served for over 15 years on the board of directors of The Evangelical Alliance Mission in Wheaton, Ill.

Steve’s desire is to permeate the local church with a clear understanding of the Great Commission while building a passionate motivation for completing the task through the widespread use of all its resources. Steve is most thankful when his wife, Lorraine, can accompany him in his travels. They are the parents of three grown children, Amy, Katie, and David, and are very happy to be grandparents as well.²

2017 J. Stanley Oakes Award: Jerron Herman ’13

The mission of The King’s College is accomplished through its alumni. Transforming society through shaping, then leading strategic national institutions is no easy feat and requires courage, integrity, vision, and tenacity. Together, these are the key components of a pioneering spirit and are exemplified by J. Stanley Oakes, the fourth president of The King’s College. President Oakes took on the daunting challenge of reestablishing King’s in New York City, driven by a vision to educate Christians to influence culture at its core ideas, rather than react to secular society. This award is in honor of President Oakes and seeks to recognize those alumni who both embody the mission of The King’s College and demonstrate a pioneering spirit by using his or her career to influence strategic national institutions.

Jerron Herman is a Bay Area native who first came to New York to pursue writing for theater. While studying at King’s, Jerron did an internship at The New Victory Theater in Times Square. At New Victory—never having danced before—he worked on a studio intensive with choreographer Sean Curran. “Sean took a liking to me and said I had good movement,” Jerron says. “Ultimately, he introduced me to his friend, Heidi Latsky, who is the Artistic Director of her own dance company.” Jerron joined Heidi Latsky Dance Company in the summer of 2011. Now, he tells story through his body.

As a culmination of his studies at King’s, Jerron produced a full-length musical and a one-man show. He graduated in 2013 with a B.A in Media, Culture, and the Arts. He has continued at Heidi Latsky and is a company associate, working to broaden exposure to disability and dance. He is also the resident dance teaching artist with Heidi Latsky Dance and supports the company by serving as a grant writer.

Jerron was the subject of two specials: On the Scene with John Bathke and Open Studio with Jared Bowen on PBS. He has served as a panelist for Dance/NYC, La Mama ETC, and a Queensborough Community College Symposium. For his performance in the world premiere of Triptych, The New York Times called him “the inexhaustible Mr. Herman.”

In July 2017, Jerron was selected to serve on the board of trustees for Dance/USA, the largest membership organization for dancers in the United States, with a heavy emphasis on service and inclusion, representing dancers of all abilities. Additionally, he was the newest (and youngest) member of the 2016-2017 selection committee for the Bessie Awards, New York City’s premier dance awards honoring creative work, the dance equivalent of the Tony Awards.

Jerron has become a nationally recognized leader in the world of modern dance. With grace, humor, and inexhaustible joy, he challenges notions about how the human form is viewed and about who can participate at the highest levels of fine arts.

¹Adapted from “Introducing our new CEO/President, Joel Westa,” Christian Schools International, http://www.csionline.org/background-information

²Adapted from Steve Beirn, Well-Sent: Reimagining the Church’s Missionary-Sending Process (Fort Washington, PA: CLC Publications, 2015).