Tim Shangle ’07 is proud to call himself a second-generation Aquinas alumnus. Influenced by his father’s stories from his days at Aquinas, Shangle enrolled as a transfer student after spending two years at Western Michigan University, one year at Grand Rapids Community College, and another year off from school.

“At my prior schools, I kept my head down and stayed to myself,” Shangle said. “At Aquinas, I decided things would be different, and I immersed myself in a variety of groups and organizations. Though I only lived on campus for one year, it was a great experience.”

While earning his Bachelor of Science in computer information systems, Shangle also took part in student clubs and organizations including AQ Senate, Aquinas Republicans, and the Residence Halls Association. “Aquinas helped provide a foundation through solid academics and a vibrant spiritual life demonstrated through a number of key faculty,” Shangle said, which prepared him for graduate school at Asbury Theological Seminary.

Shangle graduated from Asbury in May with a Master of Arts in Theological Studies. While there, Shangle also found time to not only work as Asbury’s Interactive Media Developer, but also write and publish two ebooks. The books, 5 Easy Steps to a Church Website and Surviving the Hunger Games: A Conversation Guide, were published on Seedbed, Asbury’s Methodist teaching resources website.

“5 Easy Steps to a Church Website began as a blog post…[but] it grew in length until we finally settled on changing the format from blog post to ebook,” Shangle said. “[Surviving the Hunger Games] was a concept that I thought would be great for someone to do, but in the end I ended up writing it myself, which became a great joy to complete.”

Surviving the Hunger Games, which is available for free on Seedbed, is the most downloaded resource for the website, and Shangle has been recognized by newspapers and TV news programs for his work. The book takes a more philosophical approach to the bestselling books through addressing questions like “Have you ever suffered from hunger?”, “How many must die to save a thousand?”, and “How much death is justified if it gives others life?”. The book is broken down into five chapters, each of which addresses a particular theme, and offers an overview, questions, activities, related biblical passages, and a prayer.

Although Shangle is now taking time to concentrate on his family with wife, Jesi, and 18-month old son, Michael, he does have more books in the planning stages. Along with the books, Shangle is also hoping to return someday to contribute to Aquinas’ alumni relations department.

“Through my work at Asbury Seminary, I have worked hand-in-hand with our Alumni department,” Shangle said. “During this work, I have begun to see how vital the alumni are to an academic institution. Aquinas is close to my heart, and I am ready to give back as an alumni in whatever capacity I am able.”