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LynchburgC o l l e g e M a g a z i n e

Spring 2015

Many people helped make the new Drysdale Student Center a reality, but two people led the charge.

John Eccles, vice president and dean for student development, was both the public face of the campaign and the conductor on the ground, spending countless hours overseeing the physical construction of the building.

Denise McDonald, vice present for ad-vancement, crisscrossed the country to lead fundraising efforts for the facility. The Student Center was named for Douglas ’45 and Elaine Hadden Drysdale for their $3 million pledge.

John’s involvement began with student meetings to form a wish list for the expanded

Student Center. He visited other colleges and universities to find out what worked and what didn’t at their facilities. “For decades students will benefit from what John did by going on the road,” President Kenneth Garren said.

John was more often in a hard hat than not during the 17 months of construction. He lent his building expertise — having worked in construction during his college days — and his personality — doing weekly video construc-tion updates to keep the campus community, alumni and donors aware of progress. His campus updates gave comedic insight into the process, especially as the project came to a close.

“The Drysdale Student Center is a wonderful place because it’s the creation of many, many people who’ve come together to make it hap-pen,” John said.

Denise spent a lot of time on the phone and in the car, often accompanied by Dr. Garren, to solicit donations for the project. “The cam-paign occurred during a difficult fundraising climate, but Denise never wavered in her ef-forts,” Dr. Garren said. “She always remained positive when many people would have been discouraged.”

“Lynchburg College has a new front door and it has been years in the making,” Denise said. “I think back to 2001 when our brand new President Garren received an SGA plan for the ‘Hornet’s Nest,’ their concept for a new Stu-dent Center. It has required thousands of miles of travel and hundreds of visits and meetings with our wonderful alumni, parents and friends all across the country. I am so thankful to all our generous donors.”

Making the dream come true

PHOTO BY JOHN MCCORMICK

D I S C O V E R

C O N N E C T

A C H I E V E


www.lynchburg.edu/spring2015

D E P A R T M E N T S

2 President’s Message

3 Around the Dell

19 Hornet Highlights

34 Class Notes

Spring 2015Vol. 22, No. 2

W E B E X C L U S I V E S

S L I D E S H O W

Experience the moments before and after the championship game.

V I D E O

Watch a recap of Drysdale Student Center construction.

R E A D M O R E

See a list of other impressive works by The 1717 Design Group.

P H O T O G A L L E R I E S

See the fun at Parents and Family Weekend and Homecoming.

S C A N M E with your smartphone to

check out this issue online!

F E A T U R E S

14 One word led to a national championship

“Ubuntu” sums up women’s soccer ethos.

20 Does the Student Center rock or what?

Drysdale is a showcase for the College.

26 Saving a river in Costa Rica

Dr. Tom Shahady and students lend expertise.

28 Hits to the head Dr. Tom Bowman and students study

impacts.

30 A little piece of LC in the tropics

Off-site program is underway in St. Lucia.

32 Creative connection forged at LC

Meet ’79 graduates John and Laura Crank.

Katie DeLorenzo ’05, keeper for the women’s soccer team from 2001-05, shared this Instagram on the night of LC’s big win. She wrote: “Today, @lynchburg_wsoccer plays for the National Championship … And every girl who has ever done loops or green monsters, felt the magic of Shellenberger, fought for every inch, every one of us goes to battle — past, present and future … Today, our hearts beat as one. Today, we get it done. 90 minutes. Ring the bell!”

Afghan student thankful for LC education

It Is a mIracle that I am grad-uating from Lynchburg College; most of my Afghan peers are not even alive today, or if they are, perhaps they are completely illit-erate. I spent a significant part of my life in exile in Iran. My parents were fortunate to take our family, including my cousins who already lost their father as a result of war, and leave Afghanistan to seek asy-lum in Iran.

I was living in destitution in Iran, but I was strong in my am-bitions. The one dream growing in me day by day was to have a school uniform and a school bag. My dream remained a dream due to political deficiency during the era of my childhood. For example, it was illegal for Afghan immigrant children to attend school in Iran, and the Taliban had completely banned education for women in my native country. My ambi-tions challenged the laws in both countries, so I became my own teacher; I was a self-taught kid. I even taught myself English. Today as I reflect on my childhood, I want my hopes to become a reality for children in my situation.

Even though my childhood was life-threatening and extreme, which no child should go through, it also taught me very important lessons. Growing up, I found myself to be a pillar of support for others. At a young age right after high school, I started to work for a human rights orga-nization that protected women from violence, which by far is one of the most dangerous jobs in Afghanistan. Through writing cases for women, referring them to court and arranging lawyers for them, I realized that I wanted to be an advocate in order to better

protect the innocents. Six years of working gave me enough ex-perience to analyze the violence against women. The root of these problems is that women in Af-ghanistan are severely dependent on men. Most of my clients had zero financial security. I want to help. I want to become a business leader, someone who creates jobs and distributes security and brings women to the workforce. A par-ticular way to eliminate violence is economic stability and growth through entrepreneurship. Power and wealth are not going to be distributed unless women learn to take them. My background taught me to be aggressive, persistent and to be a workaholic to defeat the ef-fects of war, poverty and violence. I am a survivor, the example for my peers to not give up.

My constraints made me take opportunities more seriously. As a result, I was able to finish my un-dergraduate degree at Lynchburg College in three years. The College embraced me closely through this journey, believed in me and pro-moted my leadership potential. I thank Lynchburg College for help-ing me be among the six percent of women with a college degree in Afghanistan. Achieving my goals will not only have a positive in-fluence on me, or Afghan women, but will have a huge impact on the world to be free from oppression. Educated and secure women will not raise suicide bombers who die to feed themselves.

Simina Quorishi ’15LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA

Ron Martin’s legacy

I really enjoyed your out-standing piece on Ron Martin (Fall 2014). He was my favorite and most

memorable pro-fessor at LC.

Ron’s lectures were always interest-ing and thought-provoking. He always brought a high level of en-ergy to the classroom. I was lucky to have Ron for two classes, intro-duction to philosophy and ethics. Ron not only taught with great passion but he challenged all of us to think and question the world around us, skills which proved invaluable to me later as a profes-sional journalist both on the local and national stage. I am thrilled to hear he is still teaching at age 83. Thank you, Ron, for having such a profound effect on me.

I also want to compliment the unbelievable job you do on the magazine. The writing, design and photography are superb. Your magazine really brings LC alive. It’s been a long time since I have returned to campus but after reading the last several issues of the magazine, I have placed an LC visit on my goals’ list. Keep up the great work!

Rob Paine ’84FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA

Top-notch magazine

HavIng been away from lc for almost 10 years I really enjoy the magazine. All issues are top-notch, but Fall 2014 was excep-tional in every way — pictures, stories, everything. Thank you so much to you and your “crew” for all the work you did.

Tom MurraySUTHERLAND, VIRGINIA

Spring 2015 LC MAGAZINE 32 LC MAGAZINE Spring 2015

MAGAZINE STAFF

Shannon BrennanEDITOR

Deborah P. Blanchard DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

Michael Jones DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE SERVICES

Betty McKinney DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING

Katharine McCann Christopher Peterson DESIGNERS

John McCormick PHOTOGRAPHER

Pamela Carder Tracy Chase David Woody ’00 WEB TEAM

Mike Carpenter Cody Clifton CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Betty Howell CLASS NOTES

Tom Cassidy ’73 Katie DeLorenzo ’05 Keith Lucas Gracie Withers ’14 Warren Wright CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHY

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS

Kenneth R. Garren PRESIDENT

Julius Sigler ’62 VICE PRESIDENT AND DEAN, ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Stephen Bright VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS AND FINANCE

Rita Detwiler VICE PRESIDENT, ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT

Denise A. McDonald VICE PRESIDENT, ADVANCEMENT

John Eccles VICE PRESIDENT AND DEAN, STUDENT DEVELOPMENT

Lynchburg College Magazine is published semi-annually for alumni, parents, and friends by College Communications and Marketing, 434.544.8325 or 800.621.1669.

Send change of address to: Lynchburg College Magazine Lynchburg College1501 Lakeside DriveLynchburg, VA [email protected]

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Lynchburg College does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin and complies with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.


PHOTO BY JOHN MCCORMICKPHOTO BY WARREN WRIGHT

President’s Message

During the fall of 2014, the Lynchburg College community achieved the pinnacle of success, setting records in in-stitutional excellence, athletics and facility improvement.

Thanks to the benevolence of Douglas and Elaine Hadden Drysdale, the College completed the

renovation and expansion of our Student Center. The Drysdales’ $3 million pledge, the largest in the history of this beloved institution, put us closer to our $12 million goal. And then the bequest from the Walter Ridgway Jr. ’48 estate of $6.75 million completed the task, bringing the endowment to an all-time high in excess of $100 million. The Drysdale Student Center is a marvel to behold and provides much-needed space for our students to increase our focus on leadership, wellness, diversity and service. I urge you to see it for yourselves.

The women’s soccer team under the leadership of Dr. (Coach) Todd Olsen captured the Division III National Championship in Kansas City, Missouri, the first team national championship in the College’s history. This team tied a national record with a win/loss result of 27–0–1. It included 23 shutouts with a total of 122 goals scored by LC and five scored by our opponents. The 122 could have been 200; how-ever, Coach Olsen would never allow his team to score more than five goals in any given half. He had some cannons on that team: Dessi Dupuy ’15 from E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg scored more than 100 goals during her four years at LC. With the teams frequently doubling up on her, she passed to other teammates more often than she shot. One of those other teammates, Angela Bosco ’14, was named the National Division III Women’s Soccer Player of the Year. Freshman Emily Maxwell was named most outstanding defensive player of the

NCAA Tournament, while Coach Olsen was named the National Coach of the Year. But it was a com-plete team championship season. Many contributed: the webcast announcer commented that “no one ran up and down the field more than senior Dana Nelsen.” With more than 130,000 “hits” on the final game, we are assured that everyone has heard of this tremendous LC victory.

I was fortunate to be in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools when we received the wonderful news that the Col-lege’s 10-year accreditation had been reaffirmed, and that the substantive change created by the College’s programs in St. Lucia had likewise been approved. In fact, for the past three visits by the SACS evaluators, the College has received zero recommendations — that is we received perfect scores on these critical evaluations, surely a record in our southern region.

Like a successful climb to the top of Mt. Everest, these three victories all had base camps that were established months, years and for some, even decades prior to the final climb to the victory:

• In fundraising, the base camps had been estab-lished through decades of relationship building.

• The College’s reaffirmation of accreditation began with excellence in the classroom and par-ticipation of faculty and staff in major roles in the regional accreditation organization.

• In the athletic arena, the first base camps were established by Coach Bill Shellenberger in the 1970s and the men’s soccer victory over the University of Virginia.

Achieving these three major victories in 2014 came from dedication to excellence by decades of individu-als in the Lynchburg College community. Congratu-lations to the students, faculty, staff, trustees, parents and special friends of Lynchburg College!

Victories for the LC community

Kenneth R. Garren, PhDPresident

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Fall 2014

Redefining the Lynchburg College experience

Opportunitiesfor life

4 LC MAGAZINE Spring 2015

College Lake’s future in questionMOST OF THE ATTENTION on College Lake in recent

years has been on sedimentation; however, it is now

the dam that puts the lake under new scrutiny.

A study conducted for the City of Lynchburg iden-

tified deficiencies with the spillway at College Lake

Dam, located on Lakeside Drive near the entrance to

Lynchburg College.

The analysis by the engineering consulting firm

URS has determined that the spillway is not large

enough to handle the flow of water that could be ex-

pected during severe weather conditions.

The state is requiring action with choices ranging

from strengthening the dam to removing it and restor-

ing the stream bed of Blackwater Creek.

Since July, the City and Lynchburg College have

been investigating potential solutions, all of which

come with a hefty price tag of at least $8 million.

College Lake Dam was built in 1934 by the Virginia

Department of Highways (now VDOT). The dam is

35.4 feet high and about 300 feet long with a 60-foot

spillway. College Lake drains 22 square miles, mostly

in Lynchburg with a small portion in Campbell County.

The spillway can handle only about six percent of

the probable maximum precipitation (PMP) — defined

as the largest amount of rainfall that is meteorologi-

cally possible. During a PMP event, the lack of spill-

way capacity would cause the lake level to rise to 14

feet above Lakeside Drive. This overflow would most

likely erode the embankment to the point of complete

failure.

A dam failure during a PMP event would increase

already high flood levels downstream by an additional

5.4 feet at Old Forest Road and 1.3 feet below Point of

Honor near the James River.

The city and College held a public information

session in December to receive input, and the city

has been given another year to decide on the best

alternative.

LANCE SECRETAN PHOTO, SPEAKERMEDIA.COM; MUSIC PHOTO BY JOHN MCCORMICKPHOTOS BY JOHN MCCORMICK

Leaders should inspire, not “motivate”

lance secretan says we essentially have leadership backwards. From relationships to parenting to teaching to leading, we “moti-vate” by instilling fear. Think divorce, time-out, bad grades, poor performance reviews.

“You name it, it’s broken,” Secretan said as he gave the 2014 Gifford Lecture on Business Leadership and Ethics, titled “Inspiration: What Sets Great Leaders and Organizations Apart.”

According to Secretan, polls show that 75 percent of people say their boss is the worst part of their job. In fact, 65 percent would prefer a new boss to a pay raise. Bad bosses fail to inspire, accept mediocrity and lack clear vision and direction, Secretan said.

The author of The Spark, the Flame, and the Torch, Secretan is widely acknowledged as one of the most insightful and provocative leadership teachers. His clients include 30 of Fortune’s Most Admired Companies and 15 of Fortune’s Best Companies to Work for in America.

Dr. Joe Turek, dean of the School of Busi-ness and Economics, heard Secretan speak and knew he wanted to share the message at LC. “His message is compelling, his presenta-tion is powerful, and his impact is profound,” Dr. Turek said.

During his talk, Secretan said people crave inspiration. He believes leaders must create a dream, not a mission statement, noting that

a dream could be to make aging and wellness care the central philosophy of a hospital. He teaches that leaders should know what they want to do to serve the world. The Boys and Girls Club in Milwaukee, Minnesota, for example, wanted “to generate contagious hope-fulness” and “to inspire confidence and excellence.” Leaders must also build inspiring relationships that make people feel better.

Secretan has created a six-point model, CASTLE, to inspire. It requires courage, authenticity, service, truthfulness, love and effectiveness.

He asked the audience to imagine, for example, a hospital that will own up to its mistakes and pay for them. Secre-tan’s client, the University of Michigan Health System, did just that. In July,

2001 they had more than 260 pre-suit claims and lawsuits pending and are now down to about 100.

Secretan encourages leaders to be inspir-ing in all their interactions — from emails to conversations. He dislikes performance reviews and says they can be reformatted to inspire. “Inspiration is the oxygen of the soul,” he said.

A prolific writer, Secretan is an award-win-ning columnist and author of 15 books on leadership. He founded The Secretan Center, ranked the No. 1 Leadership Consulting firm in the world by Leadership Excellence. Secretan himself is ranked 17th by Leadership Gurus and ranked one of the Top Five Lead-ership Speakers by Speakers in America.

Secretan was chairman of the Advisory Board of the 1997 Special Olympics World Winter Games and former ambassador to the United Nations Environment Program. His work has been recognized by many insti-tutions, and he was awarded the prestigious International Caring Award, also received by Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter and Jane Goodall.

Prior to his current work, Secretan was an actor, worked on the floor of the Toronto Stock Exchange, served as CEO of Man-power Limited, and taught strategy, entre-preneurship and leadership at McMaster University and at York University.

Around the Dell

LC earns music accreditationTHE COLLEGE HAS EARNED accreditation

from the National Association of Schools of

Music (NASM), one of only 14 Virginia colleges

and universities to receive the designation.

LC Music Department Chair Dr. Cynthia

Ramsey, who spearheaded the accreditation

process, said, “Earning this national accredita-

tion is a huge feather in Lynchburg College’s

cap. We are excited about the recruitment

possibilities and the prestige this brings to the

College.”

The accreditation process began in the fall

of 2010 and involved an extensive self-study,

accreditation on-site review, curriculum up-

dates and revisions to the major emphases of

study. Dr. Ramsey believes the accreditation

will increase the value of a music degree

from LC.

“Not many schools in Virginia have this ac-

creditation, particularly schools our size,” Dr.

Ramsey explained, adding that Shenandoah

University is the only other private college in

Virginia to be accredited by NASM. “The goal

of this accreditation is to align our curriculum

with everyone else in the nation. As a result,

a music degree from LC will mean something

on the national stage.”

Lynchburg College offers the B.A. degree

in music, which prepares students to become

professional performers or music teachers,

and the M.A. in music, which provides ad-

vanced training in choral and instrumental

conducting.

Other Virginia institutions with NASM ac-

creditation are Christopher Newport, George

Mason, Hampton, James Madison, Long-

wood, Norfolk State, Old Dominion, Radford,

Virginia Commonwealth and Virginia State

universities, the University of Mary Washing-

ton and Virginia Tech.

LC offers free physical therapy clinic

tHe doctor of pHysIcal therapy (DPT) program has established the LC Community Health Clinic for uninsured and underinsured residents of Central Virginia. A grand opening was held in October.

Several local organizations awarded Lynchburg College grant funding for start-up equipment dedicated to evalua-tive and therapeutic services at the clinic. The Centra Foundation awarded LC a $27,530 grant, the Greater Lynchburg Community Trust awarded $10,500 and the Bedford Community Health Foun-dation awarded a $3,000 grant.

LC’s DPT program began in fall 2010 to meet the critical need for the edu-cation of physical therapists in Central Virginia and beyond. The College soon recognized that physical therapy services were not reaching uninsured and under-insured patients.

“It became clear that LC’s DPT pro-gram could help fill a need in our com-munity by providing physical therapy to those who cannot afford it,” said Rusty Smith, director of the DPT program. “The Free Clinic of Central Virginia, The Centra Foundation, the Greater Lynchburg Community Trust, Rehabili-tation Associates of Central Virginia, the Lynchburg Academy of Medicine, and the Bedford Community Health Foun-dation have all been great partners in

this effort. LC’s DPT students will also benefit from a real-world clinic at their back door.”

The clinic provides DPT students the opportunity to gain experience through supervised patient care. About 24 stu-dents handle the day-to-day operations of the clinic. All of the students in the program have the opportunity to work in the clinic.

At the LC Community Health Clinic, Jason Grandeo and several other DPT faculty members provide expertise in pediatric, neurologic, musculoskeletal and cardiovascular rehabilitation, as well as management of pain. The students are also looking for local physical therapists to volunteer at the clinic.

Kathleen Hetrick, student co-chair of the clinic, expressed appreciation for her professors. “We couldn’t have done it without the support of our amazing faculty,” she said.

Grandeo emphasized that the students chose a name that can reflect increased types of care as LC moves toward starting a physician assistant medicine program. He also plans to involve undergraduates in nursing, athletic training and exercise physiology.

“The ultimate vision is that we operate together as health care professionals do in the real world,” he said.

Spring 2015 LC MAGAZINE 5

Spring 2015 LC MAGAZINE 76 LC MAGAZINE Spring 2015 PHOTOS BY JOHN MCCORMICK

Nursing major named Sommerville ScholarsaraH ellgass ’15 bubbles over with enthusiasm for every-thing from Senior Symposium to the Central Virginia Center for Simulation and Virtual Learning.

Her joy of learning was one of the reasons she was named the 2014 Sommerville Scholar, the top academic award given by the College.

A native of Big Island, Virginia, Sarah will graduate in May with honors in nursing, described by Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Julius Sigler as “one of our most rigorous and challenging majors.”

The first in her family to attend college, Sarah agrees it’s not an easy major. “When it comes to time management, unless you’re completely focused, nursing is not doable as an undergrad de-gree,” she said.

Sarah says she has always wanted to be a caregiver or teach and that as a sophomore in high school, she decided to become a nurse. LC was the perfect place for her to pursue that passion, she said.

“I’m really spirited when it comes to Lynchburg College,”

Sarah said. “I could be the cheer-leader for Lynchburg College.”

She has served as president of the Nursing Class of 2015, as secretary of the Student Nurses Association, and in a variety of leadership roles in the Kappa Delta Sorority. She is a member of the National Student Nurses Association, and she has been recognized through membership in the freshman honor society of Phi Eta Sigma, the Greek Honor Society Order of Omega and the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society.

“Sarah is driven to learn and to teach others. She makes the most of every opportunity that presents itself,” said Kim Ayscue, assistant professor of nursing. “It has been

a pleasure to watch Sarah grow as a student and as a lovely, caring person. “

She was chosen as a PASS (Peer Assisted Study Session) leader for chemistry and for statistics following her freshman year and for the past two years has served as the head coordina-tor of PASS. “The PASS program is one of the most important things we do to help students become successful scholars — and the coordinator of the many PASS tutors bears genuine re-sponsibility,” Dr. Sigler said in his remarks about Sarah during Parents & Family Weekend.

Dr. Priscilla Gannicott, profes-sor of chemistry, wrote “In the 20 years I’ve been teaching this

“I’m really spirited when it comes to Lynchburg College. I could be the cheerleader for Lynchburg College.” — Sarah Ellgass ’15

This new section of the magazine features stories about students, faculty and alumni that illustrate our tagline “Opportunities for life” through our brand promise to provide experiences that enable our students to discover, connect and achieve.

STORIES BY SHANNON BRENNAN

DiscoverConnectAchieve

class, I’ve only chosen a freshman as PASS leader a handful of times and [Sarah] was one of those students. Attributes that I specifically look for … are a positive attitude toward chemistry, dedication to serving others, intellectual maturity, unwav-ering integrity, and the ability to teach. Based on solicited and unso-licited feedback, I made an excellent decision.”

This past summer, Sarah won a highly competitive 12-week extern-ship position in acute care oncology at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. She continues to work as a care partner for the VCU Medical Center, pro-viding bedside care including star-ing IVs and drawing blood.

Sarah said the experience makes her think she might like to spe-cialize in nursing cancer patients, whom she also worked with in Lynchburg. “I fell in love with on-cology patients here,” she said.

Throughout her experience, Sarah said she has enjoyed the lib-eral arts. “Senior Symposium made me fall in love with writing all over again,” she said, adding that Dr. Edith Simms was a phenomenal instructor for the course.

Six other seniors interviewed for the Sommerville Scholar: Emily Bergman, Berkley Ellis, Andrea Muransky, Conner Murphy, Brooke Niblett and Qianyue Zhang.

Lab resultsSTOFFERS COMPLETES INTERNSHIP AT A HARVARD HOSPITAL

KatarIna “KatIe” stoffers ’15 spent 12 weeks last summer at Beth Israel Deacon-ess Medical Center in Boston, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.

She worked in the Division of Hemostasis and Thrombosis under the direction of Dr. Price Blair’s mentor at Harvard, Rob Flau-menhaft. Dr. Blair teaches in the College’s Doctor of Physical Therapy Program.

“Dr. Blair helped prepare me for this internship,” said Katie, a biomedical science major and international relations minor who graduated in January.

Katie was working on a project to im-prove an FDA-approved drug that limits arterial clotting, but doesn’t have the side effect of causing brain bleeding.

“I had a great time,” she said. “I didn’t find the lab work hard at all.”

The internship further convinced her of her interest in cardiology, hematology and possibly becoming a heart surgeon. Katie has applied to several medical schools for next fall.

A Westover Honors student, Katie fin-ished her LC degree in three and a half years. She even took more courses than she needed last semester, including a gradu-

ate-level neuroscience class in the College’s DPT Program and biochemistry at Sweet Briar College.

“Katie is a wonderful student to teach,” he said. “She’s genuinely excited to learn and she asks great questions. Those are two attributes you need to be a good research scientist.”

In addition to her full course load, Katie did two study abroad trips through the Col-lege to France her freshman year and South Africa in the summer of 2013. The South Africa trip confirmed her desire to practice medicine in developing countries and she spent her last winter break in at a hospital in Tanzania through a program called Gap Medics.

In her little free time, Katie likes to read and do hot yoga, but mostly she loves to prepare for her future career.

She doesn’t plan to take a break before medical school but hopes to take classes like economics and psychology for fun back home in Long Island, New York. She thinks it would be great to take an EMT course, go back to work in the Harvard lab or maybe head back to Tanzania for the summer.

8 LC MAGAZINE Spring 2015 Spring 2015 LC MAGAZINE 9PHOTO BY JOHN MCCORMICK

Student may have spotted rare asteroidsTARA STEINER ’15 HAD been peering at 8,000 computer images taken by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey when she noticed a cou-ple of objects that appeared to be asteroids but were spewing gas.

She showed them to Dr. Mike Solontoi, assistant professor of physics, and he was immediately intrigued. “There’s only about a dozen of these known,” he said. “I’m really excited about these objects.”

First some basic definitions: asteroids are rocks orbiting the sun, mostly in a belt between Mars and Jupiter, while comets are rocks with ice that spew plumes or off-gas vapor as they orbit the sun.

Dr. Solontoi, director of LC’s Belk Astro-nomical Observatory, said the objects are likely asteroids that are behaving like com-ets for one of two reasons: either they have some ice (but only off-gas as they near the sun), or they get hit by another object, ex-posing ice trapped in the rock.

Active asteroids like these were only identified for the first time in 2006, and it may be that Tara has discovered one or two more, Dr. Solontoi said.

He and Tara had hoped to get verification

in September, when they secured online time (remotely from Lynchburg) on the 3.5 meter telescope at Apache Point Observa-tory (APO) in New Mexico. Unfortunately, Hurricane Odile picked that time to blanket the western part of the US with clouds.

“I’ve never lost observations to a hurri-cane before,” Dr. Solontoi said.

Tara was disappointed but kept her per-spective. “It seems more likely a raid of scor-pions would come by,” she said.

Her comets will now be hiding behind the sun until spring when she hopes to have an-other chance on the APO telescope.

An environmental science major, Tara said she was drawn to science through sci-ence fiction, but doubted she could do the physics to study astronomy. Instead, she decided to do research with Dr. Solontoi. She found nine comets and believes that at least one is an asteroid masquerading as a comet.

Tara’s research project is a mini-version of the work Dr. Solontoi did for his dissertation. “I looked through 200,000 of these images. They gave me a PhD for finding 36,” he joked.

Comet in disguise


PHOTO BY JOHN MCCORMICK Spring 2015 LC MAGAZINE 11ILLUSTRATION, ISTOCKPHOTO


What was the best surprise of your career? How perfectly matched Lynchburg

College and I have been. LC encour-

aged me to run with every interest

I developed. I wrote 1,486 weekly

columns in The News & Advance

over a 28-year span and hosted a

family call-in radio show for WLVA.

At one point our graduate students

were teaching parent education

classes alongside school counselors

in 17 elementary schools each se-

mester. Later we opened the Center

for Family Studies and Educational

Advancement that has hosted work-

shops and classes for almost two

decades. LC supported me as I wrote

five books — two were translated

into other languages. In addition, I

locally published two books of col-

umns to help nonprofit organizations.

Most importantly, my wife Patty and I

forged close friendships with faculty

and staff that we will savor for the

rest of our lives.

What’s the best marital or parental advice you ever gave? Ever received?Long ago our parents advised Patty

and me to focus on our marriage,

because the children will be pass-

ing through “faster than you can

ever imagine.” Both of our fathers

were avid gardeners, and Patty

and I learned from them the similar,

constant care the marital garden

deserves. This remains the best

advice I can offer to young couples

with children.

What’s the best advice you ever ignored? I have always told people not to retire

from something until they know what

they are retiring to. But I love my

work and I’ve found myself being so

constantly busy that I now realize I

will only develop new interests after I

create the time to become as actively

curious as our grandchildren.

If you could have one do-over, what would it be?Although this is not a true do-over, I

wish I were more extroverted. But I

realize if I had been, it is unlikely that I

would have been able to hit so many

deadlines or could have pushed my-

self never to return a term paper or

test later than the next class. Never-

theless, I imagine that I missed out on

many interesting experiences.

How did cancer change your world view? For one week the doctors at Johns

Hopkins thought the cancer had

spread through my body. Maybe it

took that scare for me to internalize

the truth that the end can come any-

time. Today, not “someday,” I need to

experience new things that I hope I’ll

initially be really lousy at doing.

What do you think you will miss most/least about teaching/writing your column?I won’t miss deadlines or writing end-

less comments on papers. But I will

miss my students and readers.

What recognition meant the most to you and why?I received the first Shirley Rosser

Teaching Award at LC. That meant so

much to me because of the student

nominations and because of my

admiration for Shirley Rosser and his

family. Lynchburg College gave me a

most wonderful professional life. I am

a Hornet.

Nigerian students finding their wayeluanatIen ogbara Is serIous about his first year at Lynchburg College.

“I’m not here for fun and games,” he said. “I’m here to study. That is what is in my heart.”

Eluanatien is one of 25 Nigerian students who enrolled in LC last fall, thanks to schol-arships from the Nigerian government. It is the largest group of international students from one country in recent memory.

The Nigerian government chose about 140 students for international study, based on their high school records and financial need. They have agreed to return to Nigeria after their studies.

The students began their journey together more than a year ago when they attended classes in their capital of Lagos, studying such subjects as American government, calculus, business and chemistry.

They spent seven months together in Lagos before traveling to Boston in late May for three months of study at Northeastern University, a Kaplan International College. LC is an affiliate of the program, which also brought several Chinese students to campus during the last two years.

After nearly three months in Boston, LC’s Nigerian students headed south in August to begin adjusting to their new home. Eluana-tien said he loved learning about American music and culture, as well as macroeconomics and college writing, while in Boston. The tall buildings and availability of Nigerian food are two things he liked the most. Eluanatien and several other Nigerian students quickly discovered LC’s Bike Shack and were thrilled

to get their own bikes.The students are noticing other major differences between the

US educational system and that of Nigeria, which is based on the British model. Apart from the difficulty of understanding accents, time management is also a bit

tricky.

“They joke that they’re on African time,” said Linda Rodriguez, who is teaching most of the Nigerian students in her “American Education Context and Culture” class. The textbook for the class is What Foreigners Want to Know about America from A to Z.

Rodriguez is also learning a lot. The stu-dents told her that sports are only for fun in Nigerian universities, more like intramurals here. There is no competition among univer-sities.

Sylvanus Umahi is from a city in southeast-ern Nigeria. Though they studied American culture at home, Sylvanus said he was not pre-pared for what he found. The food, dress and culture all surprised him, and the best surprise was Americans themselves.

“People in the United States are friendly,” he said. “You can easily go to them for help.”

Sylvanus plans to major in accounting, but admits to some apprehension about keeping his grades high enough. “I have to try,” he said.

A communication studies major, Eluana-tien says he might like to be a journalist or a police officer when he returns home. He comes from southern Nigerian, along the coast, where generations of his family have made their living fishing. Now, due to oil ex-ploration and pollution, the fisheries have all but disappeared, he said.

“I have a long journey ahead so I can go find life,” Eluanatien said.

Both Eluanatien and Sylvanus say they love soccer and gospel music, and both ac-knowledge that it’s difficult to be so far from home. “I am missing my grandmother,” said Sylvanus, whose mother died four years ago. Thanks to ubiquitous cellphones, they call home regularly.

Josephine Weekse also admits to being homesick, but she is determined to become a doctor. “In Nigeria, we always admired this country,” she said. “We looked forward to coming to a very good place.”

Q&A with Dr. Ken WestKen is retiring this spring after 39 years at LC.


12 LC MAGAZINE Spring 2015 PHOTOS, NATIONAL BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION Spring 2015 LC MAGAZINE 13


Developing “hearts for service”BY BETTY MCKINNEY

gIllIe martIn ’14 and sHemeKa far-rell ’14 are the first LC graduates to par-ticipate in the XPLOR Project, a 10-month faith-based service residency program for young adults that encourages them to de-velop “hearts for service.”

Now in its first year, the national XPLOR is an outgrowth of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and is admin-istered by the DoC’s National Benevolent Association, which initiated the project. XPLOR begins in August and runs through June. At present there are three XPLOR houses with seven scheduled to open in Au-gust throughout the country.

Gillie lives in the St. Louis, Missouri, house and works with a nonprofit af-ter-school program that is free to all stu-dents in the St. Louis public school region. She teaches academics and life skills such as cooking, math, literature, music and fitness to fifth- and sixth-graders. “These are often underprivileged children who need a help-ing hand,” she said.

Shemeka is in Hiram, Ohio where she works for Townhall II, a nonprofit that offers prevention and education services to Portage County Mental Health Illnesses Services, a free medical clinic and 24-hour helpline that serves all of Ohio. She assists with services for the Prevention and Educa-tion Department, which works with drug, alcohol, child and substance abuse, as well as planned parenting.

XPLOR participants range in age from 21 to 30 and come from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities. They live together in simple community, engaging in hands-on service and justice work, developing leadership skills and discerning their vocational call-ings. They are partnered with Disciples

congregations and ministries in an effort to effect real change in the communities where they live.

Residents work four days a week with nonprofit or community agencies and

spend at least six hours a week in church congregational work. There is also dedi-cated time for spiritual discovery and en-richment.

Ben Bohren ’68 (see alumni profile page 39) is a consultant with the National Be-nevolent Association, visiting college cam-puses to get the word out about XPLOR and to encourage college seniors to apply for the program.

“XPLOR is a bold risk that will open doors for young adults and definitely impact their lives in ways they never imag-ined,” he said. “Residents are modern-day explorers of life and the world, and they have the opportunity to change their lives and change the world.

“The ultimate goal for XPLOR is to de-velop hearts for service and missions and to care for others. It becomes a lifestyle, and we need this in the church, our communi-ties and the world.”

Ben was on campus for two days in No-vember, participating in the “Change Your

World, Change Your Life” Fair and talking to students about XPLOR. As a result, one student has decided to apply and others are considering options.

As for Gillie and Shemeka, they are liv-ing out a dream. “I am very excited to have this opportunity,” Gillie said. “My lifelong dream is to change someone else’s life and allow someone to change mine. My hope is to receive a graduate degree in counseling, which I plan to pursue once I complete the XPLOR program. I am interested in community service and helping those who cannot help themselves.”

“One thing that excites me about partic-ipating in the XPLOR project is that I am experiencing a new culture and a new envi-ronment,” Shemeka said. “I am especially interested in spiritual discernment on voca-tion because I have always wanted to know the purpose for which my soul was made. One of my goals is to be open to new ideas and to maintain a positive attitude and out-look for the entirety of the program. I am making a conscious effort to step outside of my comfort zone and welcome new experi-ences and people into my life.”

The XPLOR program gives preference to young adults of the Christian Church (Dis-ciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ, but applicants from other Christian backgrounds are welcomed. More infor-mation about XPLOR is available at www.nbacares.org/xplor.

“The ultimate goal for XPLOR is to develop hearts for service and missions and to care for others. It becomes a lifestyle, and we need this in the church, our communities and the world.” — Ben Bohren ’68

Gillie Martin

Shemeka Farrell

PHOTOS BY JOHN MCCORMICK

by Cody Clifton

Ubuntu. It’s interesting how such a small word

can mean so much, but it does. The small things always mean the most. It’s no different in this case. The small gestures, and small words like Ubuntu, inspired Lynchburg’s first national championship.

It was August, the first practice of the year, when Dr. Todd Olsen told the team a story about a cultural anthropologist who had trav-eled to Africa to conduct a research study.

The anthropologist placed a bowl of fruit underneath a tree a few hundred yards away and told a group of children that the first one to reach the tree would get to keep all the fruit. However, when he told the children to run they automatically took each other’s hands and began to run together. When they reached the tree, they sat in a circle and shared and enjoyed the fruit together. When the shocked anthropologist asked the chil-dren why they did not race one another and attempt to keep the fruit for themselves, one child spoke up and said, “Ubuntu! How can one be happy when the rest are sad?”

The South African concept of Ubuntu, translated roughly, “I am because we are,” has become the mantra and driving force of the team. Each athlete is a national champion because the team is family. The team always came first.

Dr. Olsen carries Africa in his heart, as surely as he carries his team. An epidemiol-

UbuntuOne word led to a national championship


16 LC MAGAZINE Spring 2015 GAME PHOTOS BY JOHN MCCORMICK AND GRACIE WITHERS ’14; HEADSHOTS BY KEITH LUCAS

ogist, he has worked in Uganda for several years to improve the health care and lives of the young people scarred by decades of war. He brings that communal philosophy to all he does.

It didn’t take long for Ubuntu to be put to the test. Lynchburg started the preseason by defeating Division I University of Richmond, but the injuries soon followed.

A season-ending injury can crush the mo-rale of a team, let alone the individual who sustains it. First the Hornets lost freshman goalkeeper Jenna Hall. Then junior Nicole Kopsidas fell to the turf, her season crashing down with her as an ACL tear took away what was supposed to be her breakthrough season.

“I was upset because I finally found my spot on this team and was going to have a great season with my best friends,” Nicole said. “‘I am because we are’ could not have been a more inspiring theme for this year for me personally because my injury gave me a chance to realize my importance to the team. I never stopped cheering my teammates on because I knew they weren’t playing just for themselves, but for me, too.”

Two of those teammates took it especially hard when the season ended for the junior midfielder. Seniors Jenn Snyder and Dana Nelsen knew they would not play alongside their friend again as a fellow Hornet. This

drove them forward. They were playing for the “we.” Ubuntu.

Dana struggled with an injury herself as the season started, but did not complain as shin splints sent needles of pain up her legs mak-ing it difficult to walk, let alone play soccer. Coach Olsen told her to take a few days off and heal. After all, the team was in the mid-dle of loops, the most strenuous runs of the preseason. Players would run on the ragged ground toward the ropes course and back, one long loop and two short ones. Dana’s response was, “I have to do them.”

Coach gathered the team together after loops were completed, women with hands on knees trying to catch breaths in the late sum-mer heat and humidity. Nelsen struggled to stand as pain coursed through her legs. It was at this point that Coach Olsen set the tone that carried Lynchburg to the championship … he introduced the theme of Ubuntu.

“Dana is dealing with shin splints and that pain shoots through your knees, through your spine and explodes in your brain,” Dr. Olsen said. “That brings us to this year’s theme of Ubuntu — I am because we are. What Dana is doing exemplifies that. My pain is great, I’m hurting badly and don’t want to do this, but WE ARE. If I don’t do it, we don’t be-come what we can possibly be. This thing is all about reaching our potential.”

SOCCER PHENOMS

ANGELA BOSCO

National, Regional and ODAC Player of the Year, 1st Team NSCAA All-American

DESSI DUPUY

2nd Team NSCAA All-American

Dessi and Angela finish their careers No. 1 and 2 respectively in ODAC history in goals and points


PHOTOS BY JOHNMCCORMICK; JOSH HINKLE PHOTO BY KEITH LUCASTEAM PHOTO BY JOHN MCCORMICK; HEADSHOTS BY KEITH LUCAS

Coach Olsen always knows just what to say. Each athlete characterizes him as a father fig-ure — goofy, motivating, inspiring, caring and passionate — all the traits of a great leader.

Twenty-five games in and the Hornets were still undefeated. They survived the early inju-ries and were at full strength, leading 2-0 over Montclair State University with a matchup against Messiah College set for the next day. It was at this point that the leader on the field, Angela Bosco ’14, who returned for a final season after graduating in May, went down with a knee injury. The team was morose postgame at the thought of losing her.

Ubuntu was about to course through the Lynchburg blood stream again. The Hornets did not want their teammate, the conference player of the year, to end her career that way. They decided they would defeat the No. 2-ranked team in the nation on their home pitch, and they did. The power of “we” is in-credibly strong. They got Angela another game.

“I couldn’t even put weight on my knee and as the days went by, I knew I had to do everything to get on the field for my team,” Angela said. “I knew I had to work as hard as I could no matter what pain I was feeling. They got that game for me and I had to get that title for them.”

She fought through rehab. She struggled and battled the doubts that her knee might

not hold up, all for the team that was her family. Angela saw her team fall behind early in the national semifinal, but she was the one, bulky knee brace and all, to tie up the match. The Hornets ultimately scored in the second half to make it to their first NCAA champi-onship game.

“It was incredible, and something I will re-member my entire life,” Angela said.

The Hornets had one final speech to hear and one final game to play. Coach sat down on the floor of the cramped Kansas City locker room. With his legs crossed and the team around him, he began to speak. He spoke of Angela fighting back from injury to be there for her team, of Dessi Dupuy ’15 and her energy on offense to always give her team everything she has. He spoke of Jenn’s sacrifices to come back for a final year of eli-gibility, and of Dana’s preseason battle with shin splints. Tears fell from the eyes of those in the room.

The team took the field and played amazing soccer that night, holding Williams College scoreless before winning in penalty kicks to claim the title. With everything that occurred over the course of the season, Williams never had a chance. They might have defeated most teams, but not a team with Ubuntu in their hearts. “I am because we are.”

Two more ODAC champions and a near miss BY MIKE CARPENTER

It was a historic fall season for the Hornets. In addition to

the women’s soccer team win-ning the national championship, field hockey and men’s soccer won Old Dominion Athletic Conference crowns.

The Hornet field hockey team won its ninth-straight confer-ence title in 2014 and earned the program’s 10th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. Lynchburg was again unbeaten in the regular and post-season by conference opponents, a streak dating back to the 2008 cam-paign and spanning 67 games.

Courtney Gillette and Kelsey Link earned first-team all-state honors and Bianca Merritt re-ceived second-team accolades. Gillette and Link were also recently named the All-South Region second-team and All-ODAC first team.

Gillette, a junior defender, scored seven goals, including the game-winner in overtime during the regular season victory over ODAC runner-up Bridgewater. She had three assists and made seven defensive saves on the year. Link, a senior attack, led the

team in goals (15), game-winning goals (six), and points (35). She assisted on five scores, which was good for third on the team. Mer-ritt earned first-team All-South Region and All-ODAC honors after the season. The senior was a key to one of the top defenses in the nation, allowing only 34 goals in 21 games.

Lynchburg’s men’s soccer team also captured the ODAC crown, the program’s 14th all-time and the first since 2010. The Hornets defeated Randolph College in the quarterfinals 3-0 and advanced on penalty kicks in the semifinals against Virginia Wesleyan College. Senior Josh Hinkle scored the game’s only goal at Roanoke College in the finals to secure the conference title. Lynchburg ended the season 13-7-1 while going 8-3 in league play.

Hinkle finished his outstand-ing season with all-conference, all-region and all-state first team honors. The senior had four goals and three assists on the season as Lynchburg’s starting center back, and made a huge impact on both offense and defense.

Fellow senior Luke Moore earned first-team All-ODAC and third-team all-region honors. The senior led the Hornets with seven goals while adding three assists.

The LC volleyball team advanced to the finals of the ODAC Tournament, but fell just short of the program’s first-ever conference title. The fourth-seeded Hornets defeated Roanoke College in the quarterfinals and upset #1 Randolph-Macon in four sets in the semifinals. It is the second time in three years that LC has knocked the top-seeded Yellow Jackets out of the tournament and the third-straight trip to the conference finals.

Standout senior Aricquel Payne ended her fine career with first-team All-ODAC and second-team all-state honors. She was also named to the University of Mary Washington and Berry College All-Tournament teams during the 2014 season. Payne earned all-conference honors in each of her four seasons at Lynchburg, the first Hornet vol-leyball player to do so.

Aricquel Payne

Josh Hinkle

Allan breaks scoring recordSenior forward Shannon Allan

broke the women’s basketball

career scoring record on Jan. 27

for a total of 1,557 points, one point

ahead of previous holder Kelly

Fackler, who set the record her

senior year in 1997.

New athletic director off to great start

A new era began in

early August as Jon

Waters officially took

the reins as the di-

rector of athletics. He

had served as senior

associate athletic

director and interim

director at Christo-

pher Newport University.

Waters’ first fall season was

extremely successful, with the wom-

en’s soccer team capturing the first

national team title in school history.

The field hockey, men’s soccer

and women’s soccer teams earned

ODAC titles, and the volleyball

squad advanced to the conference

finals.

Waters has brought great energy

to campus and has been active in

upgrading the facilities, including a

fall project to renovate Wake Field

House, WakeOver2014.


Watch the Hornets' home games LIVE! athletics.lynchburg.edu

SAMANTHA BAGHERPOUR

First NCAA ELITE 89 Award in school history

TEAMWIZARDRY

27 wins, ties a Division III record for the most in a season

0.175 goals against average and .919 save percentage were the 2nd best total in the nation

23 shutouts were the most by a Division III ever in a single season

18 consecutive shutouts sets an ODAC record

Set the ODAC record for points, goals and assists

SOCCER PHENOMS

DR. TODD OLSEN

National, Regional and ODAC Coach of the Year


WEB EXCLUSIVE Watch a slideshow of the moments before and after the championship game. www.lynchburg.edu/spring2015


Vice President and Dean for Student Development John Eccles celebrates at an opening ceremony for students. He spent countless hours planning the expansion and overseeing construction.

Photos by John McCormick

WEB EXCLUSIVE Watch a time-lapse video of the construction compiled by photographer John McCormick. www.lynchburg.edu/spring2015

the

StudentCenter

what?orrock

Does


Ask any students what they think about the Drysdale Student Center and you’re likely to get big smiles.

“I love it,” said Sean Austin ’16, an economics major and second vice president of the Student Government Association. “It’s definitely something that just attracts attention with its size, the lights and the design.

“… It definitely allows student organizations to have their own presence and gives us our own, ample state-of-the-art office space. Every time I’ve been in there, whether it’s 9 in the morning or 10 at night, there are students utilizing it.”

Words fall short in describing the grand

staircase, lighting, open space, vistas

and hominess of Drysdale so we will

give you a visual tour in the next few

pages and encourage you to come see

it for yourselves.


tHe center was named for Douglas Drysdale, a member of the LC Board of Trustees, and his wife Elaine Hadden Drysdale, who pledged $3 million toward the building, but as the Donor Wall attests, it took a lot of support to make the center a reality.

The $12 million expansion brings the Student Center to a total of 72,000 square feet and includes a welcome center, a fitness center, meeting rooms, multicultural center, a Commons space with fireplace, veterans’ lounge, dance and aerobics room, game room and additional venues for dining.

During the planning and construction of Drysdale Student Center, efforts were made to lessen environmental impact

in a number of ways. Virtually all the demolition material – 825 tons — was salvaged and recycled.

Thirteen percent of building materials were sourced within 500 miles and the furniture was largely made of recycled content and low-emitting materials.

The building is equipped with efficient heating and cooling systems and fully half the lights are LED, which use less energy and last longer. Lights are also motion-activated throughout the build-ing. Insulation on the roof and in the walls exceeded minimum requirements.

We tried to make it as green as pos-sible,” said Blair Smith of Dominion 7 Architects.

“I absolutely love it,” said Caroline Moore ’15, a business administration and philosophy double major. “It’s nice to have a new place that was built specifically for students.”

Construction also helped reduce the overall impact of runoff from the campus. A quarter of the Dell drains downhill by the Student Center and several storm water filter systems, including a rain garden, were installed to slow down and filter runoff.

Spring 2015 LC MAGAZINE 2726 LC MAGAZINE Spring 2015 VERACRUZ RIVER PHOTO, DR. TOM SHAHADY; COSTA RICA ILLUSTRAITON, ISTOCKPHOTODR. TOM SHAHADY AND VERONICA SHEEHAN PHOTO BYJOHN MCCORMICK

a river inSheehan was responsible for the town’s drinking water.

The area is under threat because agribusiness has been shifting to the Pacific slope due to demand from Asia for Costa Rican produce and cheap land, Dr. Shahady said.

Sheehan, who has dual U.S. and Mexican citizenship, met with Dr. Shahady and convinced him to do water studies and provide a report for the legal counsel working pro bono for her environmental group. Dr. Shahady, who was on sabbatical in 2013-14, made several trips to Costa Rica to take water flow measurements and record the insect life in the Ve-racruz River. He was able to show that the proposed project, which under existing law could use up to 90 percent of the river’s flow in the dry season, would have detrimental effects on both the flow of the water and insect life.

Sheehan said that the agricultural group wanted to water crops and produce chicken by withdrawing huge amounts of water from the Veracruz River.

“Dr. Shahady was there at every step and without his work, his willingness, his belief that people working together can still make a difference, and that science needs to be used to make this world a better place, we would not have had any data testifying to the high water quality of this river,” Sheehan said. “The developers stated there would be no effect on the flora or fauna on this ecosystem, as if nothing lived there.

“The Supreme Court ruled ‘partially’ in favor of the river and stated it was evident to anyone that leaving only 16 percent of the river’s flow would have an impact on the ecosystem, and there needed to be environmental studies before taking more than 200,000 liters per day out of a river. The ruling was ‘partial’ because the Court indi-cated the developers could take 74 l/s (not the 163 l/s they wanted), but only if they did all the appropriate environ-mental studies.

“… This ruling sets a very important precedent as most of the rivers in Costa Rica are at risk either from irrigation projects or from hydroelectric plants.

“The work that Dr. Shahady has begun needs to continue as water extractions and diversions are not the only problems. There are severe threats to water quality due to con-tamination by a large pig farm and by untreated water from the tourists who flock to Monteverde every year; therefore, the bioindicator index Tom is working on that reflects the realities of the streams in Costa Rica will become an important tool in the defense of other rivers,” noted Sheehan.

Dr. Shahady plans to use aquatic insects to create a water quality indica-tor specific to this part of Costa Rica.

“Dr. Shahady is the kind of person that makes one believe that human-kind can turn things around,” Shee-han said. “Our town feels blessed to have him on the side of our Mother Earth.”

For his part, Dr. Shahady was glad to be working on a project where he felt he could make a difference. “You can use your expertise and it worked,” he said. “Wow, it can work.”

As luck would have it, Sheehan went to a nearby town to hear a talk on water given by then-Lynchburg College student Marley Connor ’12. There, Sheehan realized she needed the help of Marley’s LC professor.

Dr. Tom Shahady, professor of environmental science, was intrigued and decided to work with Sheehan and her fellow activists to show that the project would have devastating effects on both the flow of the river and quality of life for all those who depend on it.

“After many trips to Costa Rica for me … and analysis of river flow, wildlife and water quality, Veronica and a core group of environmentalists were able to get the case to the supreme court (Corte Suprema de Justicia de Costa Rica), and we prevailed,” Dr. Shahady said.

“She was told she could never beat this group of corporations and that

her work would ostracize her family from the community. She ignored all of this and persevered. It is quite a story of dedication to environmental activism and Costa Rica. They believe this will set a good precedent for river protection in the future.”

The College brought Sheehan to Lynchburg in September so she could tell her story in person.

The LC connection started when Marley did an internship at a Uni-versity of Georgia research station in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Monteverde, a popular ecotourism destination, is a protected cloud rainforest with pristine rivers.

Marley, a Spanish major with an environmental science minor, had done research on water quality and presented talks in Spanish at both Monteverde and Guacimal, a small town about half way between Mon-teverde and the Pacific Coast, where

As a giant agricultural project was threatening her Costa Rican town’s drinking water, Veronica Sheehan knew the odds of stopping it were not in her favor.

Costa RicaProtecting

“Dr. Shahady was there at every step and without his work, his willingness, his belief that people working together can still make a difference, and that science needs to be used to make this world a better place, we would not have had any data testifying to the high water quality of this river.”

Kelli Williams ’14, Marley Connor ’12 and Veronica Sheehan take measurements in the Veracruz River.

Dr. Shahady and Veronica Sheehan

Veracruz River

Monteverde

Guacimal

PANAMA

NICARAGUA

COSTA RICA

by Shannon Brennan


by Shannon Brennan

Dr. Bowman admits he has some personal reservations about children’s exposures. “I played football for eight years growing up, but it will be a tough decision if my son wants to play,” he said.

After collecting data on men’s lacrosse last spring, athletic training majors Lydia Vollavanh ’15, Eliz-abeth Koehling ’15 and Kathleen O’Day ’15 analyzed the data, which included watching video of every practice and game to see how athletes were hit.

The students are preparing several abstracts on the results of the men’s lacrosse survey to submit to the Na-tional Athletic Trainers’ Association with hopes of presenting their research at the national meeting in June.

Athletes who agree to be part of the program have a sensor called an xPa-tch by X2 Biosystems hooked behind their ear. The xPatch contains a gy-roscope that measures the “g” forces every time the head is hit. The hit can be head to head, head to body, head to stick or ball, or head to ground.

Lydia has been studying what is termed the impact of mechanism on the head, that is, what caused the hit to an athlete’s head. In the men’s lacrosse study, she found — not surprisingly — that the softest blow was when someone’s head hit a body as opposed to a stick, helmet or the ground.

A club soccer player, Lydia said the study has not changed her mind about participating in sports, nor would she discourage others, but she said knowl-edge is important. “People need to be aware of the dangers they’re putting themselves in,” she said.

Lydia, who aspires to work with professional soccer teams in England, said having the chance to do this level of research at the undergraduate level is amazing and that the LC athletic training program is top notch. “Peo-ple don’t understand the impact our faculty have on the athletic training community as a whole,” she said.

Lacrosse player Austin Stewart ’16 says he doesn’t think he has had any severe blows to the head. “It is tough to describe the experience because it happens so fast and you get back up and keep playing so you don’t really have time to let that feeling soak in,” he said. “I have experienced a hazy green vision in the past when experi-encing contact to the head that goes away almost instantly.

“My biggest fear is that the amount of contact in the sport of lacrosse is underestimated, and the helmets are not protective enough, and not nearly as protective as football helmets.”

He said the study makes him more aware of the dangers of head injuries within the sport, but he is hopeful that helmets become “more about safety and less about style in the future.”

HITS TO THE

Getting hit in the head during practices and games is part of being an athlete. It is common knowledge that really hard hits can cause concussions and other serious brain injuries.

Dr. Tom Bowman, associate profes-sor of athletic training, and a group of students are researching the frequency and severity of impacts in men’s lacrosse and men’s and women’s soccer.

Dr. Bowman said one of the impacts they measured in men’s lacrosse team members last spring was “like driving your car into a tree at 40 miles per hour.”

Eleven male lacrosse players vol-unteered for the testing. The student researchers found that the men suffered 651 impacts per 1,000 exposures (prac-

tice or game). In other words, men can expect to get hit in the head 3.5 times for every five times they play.

More disturbing, the research showed that of 108 head impacts in games that should have drawn a pen-alty, only two were called, Dr. Bowman said. He hopes that findings like these may encourage referees to become stricter when enforcing rules.

Dr. Bowman said very little research has been done on head impacts outside of football, and to date, no research has been published on soccer. With the help of his students, he hopes to change that.

“Division III has the highest rate of participation and the least research,” said Dr. Bowman, whose efforts to change that have been recognized by the Virginia Athletic Trainers’ Association (VATA), which named him the 2015 Athletic Trainer of the Year for Research. “Our intention is to make sports safer. It’s what our careers are all about.”

Steve Koudelka, head coach for men’s lacrosse, said he is grateful for the research and also thinks improving men’s lacrosse helmets would be the most effective way to reduce head injuries.

Soccer players, however, have no such option. “Concussion rates are higher for women than men in soc-cer,” Dr. Bowman noted, adding that he guesses that they probably get hit more often and report more often than men.

All-American soccer player Angela Bosco ’14 said the study has made her more aware of the trauma she has experienced.

“Two years ago, I got a concussion in our game against Virginia Wes-leyan,” she said. “All I remember was I was going up to head the ball and the next thing I knew I was on the floor. I was definitely not myself after I got hit; they had scored shortly after that and I had no idea where I was. I asked my coach to take me out because I was so confused and, sure enough, I had a concussion.

“I would say yeah, I am definitely a little concerned about blows to the head affecting me long term, even minor ones. It is pretty scary seeing the results of some of the hits that you experience during soccer.”

HEADDivision III has the highest rate of participation [in athletics] and the least research.

Left: An xPatch measures “g” forces to the head. Center: Lydia Vollavanh ’15 places an xPatch on Sarah Schrader ’16 as Dr. Tom Bowman looks on. Right: The xPatch in place.

Spring 2015 LC MAGAZINE 3130 LC MAGAZINE Spring 2015 FRANCISCA HARRY AND SUSAN THOMPSON PHOTO, DR. GLENN BUCKST. LUCIA PHOTOS, ISTOCKPHOTO

“We are building on our past successes both on the island and at our main campus,” he said. “We are committed to providing high quality programs that will meet the individual needs of students and the broader needs of the nation of St. Lucia and the Eastern Caribbean.”

The St. Lucia program also provides a unique study abroad opportunity for LC students, particularly for clinical placements in physical therapy and nursing and other service learning opportunities in the health sciences.

Housed in the Hasache Building on Morne Fortune in the central portion of St. Lucia, the LC facility is just out-side the capital of Castries. Large and small classrooms are available along with office and administrative space.

Lynchburg College received a $95,000 grant award from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund to establish the program in St. Lucia. The grant funds support personnel expenses, computer equipment, classroom/office furnishings and recruiting efforts.

Classes began on the island in May 2014, with 18 undergraduate students and nine graduate students. Enrollment is estimated to reach 40 students by 2015.

“The students are clearly excited to be there,” said Dr. Julius Sigler ’62, vice president and dean of academic affairs, who was in St. Lucia for the

SACSCOC review. “All of the students are working teachers, so it takes some effort to teach all day, leave school, get to our campus by 4 p.m. and participate actively in a four-hour class four nights a week — but they do.”

Undergraduate students Shernel Justin and Adrianna Flavius agree. “Being a student here is quite a wonderful ex-perience,” Shernel said. “Our lecturers are always so excited to meet with us and share everything we need to know about special education in St. Lucia and in other parts of the world. They encourage me to produce work at lev-els that I did not know I was capable of producing.”

“My experience at Lynchburg College has been life-changing,” Adrianna said. “It has opened my eyes to a whole new world of knowledge and under-standing. The lectures are interactive, contemporary and helpful, and I am already applying what I am learning in my own classroom. Lynchburg College is a place where knowledge unfolds, embraces and changes you.”

The St. Lucia campus offers a BS in interdisciplinary studies teacher educa-tion with a special education emphasis and an MEd in special education.

Jenevie (Wendy) Bailey ’08 BS, ’08 MEd ’14 EdD serves as director of LC in St. Lucia and does everything from managing day-to-day operations, to recruiting, teaching and advising. Having earned three degrees at Lynchburg College, Dr. Bailey is excited about being a part of the St. Lucia program. “Lynchburg College affords St. Lucians a wonderful opportunity for further educational advancement without having to leave the comfort of this beautiful island,” she said.

The St. Lucia courses are built around a hybrid model of instruction that pairs intensive face-to-face teach-ing with supportive online learning activities. On-site classes are taught daily over a two-week period that is preceded and followed by supplemental online instruction. “We know that St. Lucian professionals have competing priorities,” Dr. Bailey explained. “As a result, the hybrid model is the perfect solution.”

“We have been talking about global education for at least 30 years,” said Dr. Sigler, “and now we have the opportu-nity to embrace it. St. Lucia is a small country, so our educational efforts there can and will have significant impact.”

by Betty McKinney

A little piece ofLC in the tropics

lyncHburg college recently establIsHed a program in St. Lucia as an outgrowth of more than 10 years of educational collaboration. The College received an impressive “no recommendations” for the off-site program on the island from a five-person panel of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges that conducted a site visit in September 2014.

“We are extremely pleased that the SACSCOC review went well,” said Dr. Edward Polloway, dean of graduate studies and vice president for community advancement. “The team did a thorough review of our LC in St. Lucia program, and their finding of no recommendations confirms our commitment to quality in this off-site program.”

Dr. Polloway oversees the St. Lucia program and has been the driving force in establishing the LC-St. Lucia partnership.

“We have been talking about global education for at least 30 years, and now we have the opportunity to embrace it.”

Francisca Harry, a kindergarten teacher in St. Lucia, with LC education professor Susan Thompson (above)

Carmen Johnson ’11 helps with screenings of St. Lucia students (left)


wHat do lyncHburg college, our national champion women’s soccer team, the NCAA Hall of Champions and the donor wall in the new Drysdale Student Center all have in common?

Fine Arts graduates John Crank and Laura Miller Crank from the class of 1979.

Think of it as six degrees of separation.John and Laura’s Richmond design

firm, The 1717 Design Group, is the creative force behind the Student Center’s unique donor wall as well as the NCAA’s Hall of Champions in Indianapolis – among countless other environmental graphic design projects around the region and across the country.

John is founder and president of 1717 Design. Laura, his wife of 31 years, pro-vides the business acumen. Classmates in the art department at LC in the ’70s, the couple reconnected and began a personal, creative and business partner-ship that flourishes today.

According to the 1717 website, John Crank & Associates started in Arlington in 1984 to serve the museum commu-nity of Washington, D.C. In 1988, John was invited to be a partner in a recently established design firm and relocated to Richmond where, “with a growing reputation and client base,” the firm leased new offices and became known as Franklin Street. In 1994, the Cranks purchased an office building in the historic warehouse district, Shockoe Bottom, and renamed the company 1717 Design for its address at 1717 East Cary Street.

“My first dream was to be a fine artist,” John says of his undergraduate experience, “but then I decided I’d like to eat and decided to pursue graphic design at Indiana University. My dad (also an LC graduate) thought it was a good idea, too.”

After earning a master of fine arts (MFA) degree in graphic design from Indiana, John moved to Washington, D.C. “When I first graduated, I was sure I wanted to design corporate publications, annual reports … and then I ran across an ad looking for someone to work on environmental graphic design projects,” he said. “I was wowed at the interview and left thinking ‘why didn’t someone tell me people did this for a living?’”

Again from the 1717 website: “Environmental Graphic Design is an unusual discipline that relies on the ability to seamlessly integrate a wide range of architectural, interior, graphic, industrial, lighting and media design skills.”

Over the years, 1717 has applied its skills to projects ranging from perma-nent and traveling exhibitions such as the Colonial Williamsburg Regional Visitor Center and the Virginia War Memorial to mural graphics for Virginia Commonwealth University’s parking decks and curriculum graphics for the terrazzo floors in a new gifted high school being built in Virginia Beach.

All in all, John has been involved with more than 100 major exhibition and signage projects around the country. He has art directed countless publica-tion and identity packages. John has been recognized by the Type Directors Club, Print magazine, the American Association of Museums and Print Case Books. His work is featured in a permanent collection of the Library of Congress.

One of their more notable efforts included three different versions of the traveling exhibit Remember the Children: Daniel’s Story for three different clients — Washington Children’s Museum, the Smithsonian Institution and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council used the exhibit as a primary fundraiser for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. and dedicated in 1993.

In 2000, a memorable, and perhaps 1717’s most challenging commission, presented itself with the opening of the NCAA Hall of Champions in Indianapolis. A plaster casting for the famous Flying Wedge sculpture in the Hall’s atrium still occupies a corner space in the 1717 studio.

This was a two-year project that should have taken four or five years to develop and implement. Unlike most

projects, this one began with a blank slate. “They did not have a curator, a collection or a storyline,” he remembers with a laugh. “Just make it interesting was their only directive.” So, he assem-bled a team that took on not only the design, but also the research and cura-torial aspects of the project.

At the other end of the spectrum is the donor wall in the Drysdale Student Center, another effort that succeeds in part because of his liberal arts background. “It was a very democratic approach to recognizing the mix of big and small donors,” John says of the effort that involved a large committee of College stakeholders. What might have become “design by committee” – every designer’s worst fear – has been a rousing success.

“They [committee members] were very good about articulating their vision and defining the problem rather than offering their own solutions.”

The wall, with its native wood name-plates and complex but balanced ma-trix of contributors, welcomed several hundred donors and friends to the

Drysdale Dedication Gala in October and served as the backdrop for dozens of photos.

1717’s creative approach to business extends to Laura’s part of the operation as well. After graduation, she knew that she would not likely make a career in fine art and said she quickly realized,

“I had a really good accounting and bookkeeping sense. I’m constantly challenged by the puzzle of the busi-ness, understanding how the workflow and cash flow affect each other and how we proceed with business decisions.”

“She runs the business,” says John of Laura’s mastery of the books, payroll, human resources and the occasional IT project. “We do ask her design opinion every once in a while – when we need a tiebreaker.”

“It works really well for us,” says Laura of their partnership. “We work well together on totally different things. He directs the creative process, and yes, I do get to be the tiebreaker sometimes. By not being caught up in the details of the problem they are trying to solve, I can sometimes see things they don’t see.”

So, what’s next for John, Laura and 1717? They’ve just begun a project for the regional visitor center at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and recently won the competition to design a women’s monument for the grounds of Virginia’s Capitol Square in Richmond — beating out 34 other submissions from around the world. The granite and bronze monument will recognize women’s achievements over 400 years in the commonwealth.

“We’ve never designed a monument before. The state is in the fundraising phase now. This will be the most per-manent thing we’ve done — a nice last piece,” he says, smiling as he contem-plates retirement and artistic pursuits without budgets, deadlines and clients.

Back to those six degrees and LC’s first-ever national champions – the women’s soccer team. Each year, the NCAA displays banners of its national championship teams across three divisions and 23 sports – in the Hall of Champions. The Hornets will soon be among them.

by Michael JonesFORGED AT LC

CREATIVE CONNECTION

John Crank designed the donor wall for the Drysdale Student Center.

Classmates in the art department at LC in the ’70s, the couple reconnected and began a personal, creative and business partnership that flourishes today.

WEB EXCLUSIVE See a list and images of other impressive works by The 1717 Design Group. www.lynchburg.edu/spring2015

A plaster casting of the famous NCAA Flying Wedge sculpture occupies a corner space in the studio of John ’79 and Laura Miller Crank ’79.


OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS

434.544.8293 • 800.621.1669www.lynchburg.edu/alumni

APRIL 24–26, 2015

Westover Alumni Society

Weekend

Join us for

50sClass of ’55 in Reunion April 24-26, 2015

Kenneth “Bugs” Burnett ’60 was honored when the Falls Church (Virginia) Community Center was named the Kenneth R. Burnett Building. Bugs and his wife, Nancy Chiles Burnett ’59, are now living full time on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, in a retirement community.

60sClasses of ’60 and ’65 in Reunion April 24-26, 2015

Davy Crockett ’57 and his wife Martha Jennings ’60 celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary on June 14, 2014 with a Crockett family reunion at Mountain Lake, Virginia.

Jean Carwile Masteller ’67 received the 2014 Pete and Hedda Reid Service Award at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. She was honored for her work on behalf of cancer patients and their families in the Walla Walla area, where she lives. Jean is a professor of English emerita at Whitman College.

70sClass of ’70 in Reunion April 24-26 2015

Class of ’75 in Reunion October 16-18, 2015

Gary Dolgins ’70 was inducted on Sept. 27, 2014 into the Walter E. Soderstrom Society of the National Association of Print Leadership (NAPL,) which honors individuals who have significantly contributed to the development of the graphic arts industry. Gary is director of sales and marketing for Blanchard Systems, Inc. in New York, New York, where he also lives.

Michele Kozonasky Evans ’70 retired last year as Alexandria (Virginia) deputy city manager after three decades of service. She oversaw the city’s public safety agencies, the Office of Human Rights and the General Services Department. During her tenure, she held many other positions and served on a number of regional, state and local boards and commissions. Michele lives in Alexandria.

Robert Munro ’70 has been appointed director general and professor of law of the Center on Financial Crimes at the University of Paris (France) after retiring from the University of Florida’s Law College and Senior Research Fellowship at Jesus

College, Cambridge University, United Kingdom, after 35 years of service. He was awarded UF’s Presidential Award for Excellence for creating two research centers, securing $5 million in research grants, authoring 39 published books and chairing more than 20 global conferences on money laun-dering, financial crimes, terrorism and human rights. He holds master’s degrees from the University of Iowa and Louisiana State University, a juris doctor from Iowa and a PhD from UF. Robert lives in Clemson, South Carolina.

Janet Armstrong ’71 has retired from New-ton-Wellesley Hospital and lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where she grew up.

Eugene “Gene” Frantz ’71, ’76 MEd retired on July 31, 2014 as vice president for planned giving in the Advancement Office at Lynchburg College. He and his wife Susan Little ’75 live in Lynchburg. (See story on Gene on page 45)

Linda Freed ’71 was elected secretary to the Council on Undergraduate Research Board, whose mission is to support and promote high-quality undergrad-uate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship. Linda lives in Fort Worth, Texas.

William “Bill” Pappas ’71 received the T. Gibson Hobbs Memorial Award at Homecoming 2014, named for a member of the Col-lege’s first graduating class (1904). This is the highest honor given by the Alumni Association for an

exemplary record of service to church, community and alma mater. At LC, Bill majored in political sci-ence and economics. He served in the U.S. Navy and was assigned to the defense team with the U.S. Marines to defend Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Bill has been active in community service in the Richmond, Virginia, area, volunteering with the Midlothian YMCA, the Virginia Adult Literacy Coalition, Stop Child Abuse Now and the Richmond Metro YMCA. He is active with the Virginia Association of Fund-raising Executives and is a member of the Masonic Order. Bill is a member of the Greek Orthodox Church, serving many years as a board member, and is involved with the Needles Eye Ministries. Professionally, Bill has earned many national awards recognizing his service in the property/casualty insurance industry and is a five-time recipient of the Prestige Award for Top Account Executive. He has been an active volunteer for LC, assisting with golf tournaments, alumni club events and reunion plan-ning. He lives in Midlothian.

Gary Phillips ’71, Edgar H. Evans professor of religion at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, gave a public lecture titled “More Than the Jews … His Blood be Upon All the Children: Biblical Violence, Genocide and Responsive Reading” at LC in October. This was the second year in a row that Gary returned to his alma mater to speak. He and his wife Alice Reintzel ’71 live in Crawfordsville.

Alumni NewsAlumni AssociationBoard of Directors

PRESIDENT

Wendy Bradley ’91, Woodstock Valley, Conn.

VICE PRESIDENT

David A. Rosser ’90, Waxhaw, N.C.

ALUMNI OUTREACH COMMITTEE CHAIR (INTERIM)

Paul E. Goldenbaum ’66, San Antonio, Texas

ADVANCEMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR

Christopher D. “Chris” Barclay ’89, North Wales, Penn.

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR

Lesley Day Villarose ’02, Eden, N.C.

COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING COMMITTEE CHAIR

Emily G. Brown ’02, Washington, D.C.

TRADITIONS COMMITTEE CHAIR

Laura Miller Crank ’79

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE

John M. “Johnny” Black ’08, Towson, Md.

David J. Capps ’77, Lynchburg, Va.

R. Michael Dates ’92, Baltimore, Md.

Christopher “Hunter” Fairchild ’10, Richmond, Va.

Mark B. Flynn Sr. ’77, ’82 MEd, New Church, Va.

Gilbert C. Hanke ’72, Antioch, Tenn.

C. Randall “Randy” Harlow ’73, Lynchburg, Va.

Lauren McCloskey Hopple ’99, Catonsville, Md.

Phebe Phelps Long ’84, Mechanicsville, Va.

Ira D. Marshall ’00, Suitland, Md.

Kathryn E. McDaniel ’10, Orange, Va.

Mari K. Normyle ’97 MEd, Lynchburg, Va.

Lynda Touzeau Parker ’85, Basking Ridge, N.J.

Veronica Millner Soles ’98, Cary, N.C.

Helen Hebb Stidham ’66, Manassas, Va.

Jan Colleary Timmer ’77, South Riding, Va.

Lee C. Verrone ’90, Mount Vernon, N.Y.

Sherwood N. Zimmerman ’64, Forest, Va.

LC Alumni on the InternetReconnect with classmates, teammates, roommates, and friends

Facebook Lynchburg College Alumni Association

LinkedIn Lynchburg College Alumni & Friends (group)

Twitter @LburgAlumni

As I started the New Year with the opportunity to serve as LC’s Alumni Asso-ciation Board of Directors president, it was a good time to take a moment to reflect back as well as look forward

to exciting changes ahead. I view these changes with great enthusiasm and opti-mism. Having been part of the Alumni Association for several years, I have had the privilege of working alongside creative, engaging and dedicated alumni. It is in their collective spirit that I give back in my new role.

Of course, big changes are coming for the class of 2015. The seniors are now well into their final semester, readying themselves for graduation. They will become the newest members of the LC Alumni Association. This is an exciting time, but one that can be filled with some apprehension, too.

I want to share with them and remind us all, that an LC education will continue to reward you with opportunities, allow

you to discover new challenges, connect globally with like-minded lifelong learners and achieve extraordinary success. Our time and efforts spent at LC continue to give back to us all. Together we can sup-port each other as we go forward.

As alumni of Lynchburg College, we can always turn to the College and each other, taking advantages of opportunities such as Hornet-2-Hornet and Hire-a-Hornet. Personally, I have had the chance to par-ticipate in these programs and have been witness to great connections, networking opportunities and the chance to get to know students and faculty and connect with alumni.

Our alumni are a diverse group, rich in experience, and willing to give back on so many levels. I am excited to be part of this process and look forward to a terrific 2015.

Wendy Bradley ’91President, LC Alumni Association

The classes of 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005

and 2010 will celebrate their

class reunions.

October16-18, 2015

www.lynchburg.edu/alumni

SAVE the

DATE

Looking forward to leading

Homecoming 2015


Martin “Marty” Jakovics ’99 was inducted into LC’s Sports Hall of Fame at Homecoming 2014 for his contributions to the men’s lacrosse team. Marty was a force to be reck-oned with in the goal. He holds six of the top 10 record saves-for-a-

game positions at LC. His highest tally for saves in a game was 31, and he led the team to its first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

00sClasses of ’00 and ’05 in Reunion October 16-18, 2015

Robert “Bob” Weiseman Jr. ’00 was promoted in July 2014 to assistant athletic director/athletic facilities, game operations and championships at Duke Uni-versity in Durham, North Carolina, where he lives.

Allison Overstreet Wingfield ’00, ’03 MBA is the new executive director for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Central Virginia. The role of CASA is to recruit, train and support volunteers who advocate on behalf of children who have been abused and neglected. She was featured in the cover story of Lynchburg Business Magazine in August/September 2014, where she noted that Lynchburg College has a “fantastic MBA program.” She lives in Bedford.

Mark Sprague ’01 was inducted into LC’s Sports Hall of Fame at Homecoming 2014 for his contribu-tions to the indoor and outdoor track teams. He earned All-Ameri-can honors for indoor track and field and holds the second best

indoor long jump record at the College. Mark is general manager of Carlo’s Bakery of the Cake Boss in Morristown, New Jersey and lives in Newfoundland, New Jersey.

Noble Ackerson-Bonsu ’02 received the M. Carey Brewer Alumni Award at Homecoming 2014. This award was established to honor Dr. Carey Brewer ’49 for his distinguished career as seventh president of the College

(1964-1983). The award recognizes young alumni who have made contributions to society and have brought distinction to themselves and their alma mater. Noble is co-founder and CEO at Byte an Atom Research. He created GlassFit, the world’s first virtual fitness companion for Google Glass. A true pioneer in the field of technology, Noble has been featured on a Stanford Medicine X discussion about emerging technologies in medicine, in the

Class Notes

Harold Massie Jr. ’73 was inducted into the 2014 Amherst County (Virginia) Sports Hall of Fame. He lives in Madison Heights.

Cherie Navarre Carl ’79 recently became the Rappahannock (Virginia) Community College Edu-cational Foundation’s dean of college advance-ment. She previously served as dean of learning resources. Cherie lives in Wicomico Church.


Susan Rosser Jones ’81 was recognized by the Lynchburg College Beard Center on Aging for her advocacy for the aging community in the Central Virginia area. She is family services supervisor with the Campbell County Department of Social Services and lives in Rustburg.

John “Eric” Killinger ’83 earned a PhD in depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute (Califor-nia) in 2006, and worked as a consulting editor for a publishing firm before starting his own publishing company in 2011. The Intermundia Press, LLC is in its third year as a niche print-on-demand company, with 29 books so far. Eric lives in Warrenton, Virginia.

Richard “Rick” Marks Jr. ’83 received the 2014 Forestry Award from the Virginia Natural Bridge Soil & Water Conservation District on Oct. 15, 2014 for conservation and management activities under a Virginia Department of Forestry-approved man-agement plan on a 32-acre farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Rockbridge County (Virginia). Rick splits his time between Reston and Vesuvius, Virginia.

Bruce Northam ’84, award-winning author and independent travel journalist, has published his latest book, The Directions to Happiness: A 135-Country Quest for Life Lessons, available in paperback and Kindle. He lives in New York, New York.


Sarah-Kate Hawkins ’91 MEd was awarded Walden University’s (Minneapolis, Minnesota) 2014 School of Public Policy and Administration Dissertation Award for the scientific and intellectual merits of her dissertation, “Impact of HIV and AIDS on Elderly Caregivers in Chiang Mai,” Thailand. Sarah-Kate and her husband, Jeffrey Lynn ’95 MEd, live in China.

Nicola Soares ’91 was promoted to vice president and managing director of Kelly Services Product

Centers of Excellence. In this new position, she is responsible for managing operations and driving strategic growth. Nicola lives in Birmingham, Michigan.

Monica Saigal Bhide ’92 MAd is an author known for her exotic cookbooks and beguiling essays about food and life. She recently published a collection of short stories, The Devil in Us. Monica lives in Dunn Loring, Virginia.

Barbara Woundy Bunch ’92 opened an upscale consignment boutique, Sweet Repeats ll04, llc, in her hometown of Camden, South Carolina, in April 2013. Opening her shop was a lifelong dream and Barbara credits LC for the leadership skills and con-fidence to launch a business. She lives in Camden.

Laura Janis Zaferakis ’92 graduated from Syracuse University (New York) in May 2014 with a certificate of advanced study in educational leadership. She is director of special education at Liberty POST, a private agency for children with disabilities ages five and younger. She has also accepted a position as an adjunct professor at Syracuse University in the School of Education. Laura lives in Liverpool, New York.

Robert “Bob” Duff ’93 was elected by his Connecticut State Senate colleagues in 2015 to serve as their new majority leader. He is also chair of the Executive and Legisla-tive Nominations Committee and vice chair of the Legislative Manage-

ment Committee. Bob serves the 25th Senatorial District, which includes Norwalk and Darien. He lives in Norwalk.

Melissa Beaver ’99 was inducted into LC’s Sports Hall of Fame at Homecoming 2014 for her contri-butions to the cross country and track and field teams. Melissa still holds the College’s record for the 1,500- and the 3,000 meter, achieved

in 1999 and 1997 respectively. She also holds LC’s all-time record for the 5K. Melissa received All-American recognition in 1998 for her achievements in outdoor track. She is director of User Experience for NewCity, an interactive design agency in Blacksburg, Virginia, where she lives.

Amy Edwards ’99 was inducted into LC’s Sports Hall of Fame at Home-coming 2014 for her contributions to indoor and outdoor track and field. After competing for only a year, Amy set school records, received All-American recognition and was

an Old Dominion Athletic Conference champion in three events. Amy’s long jump distance ranked her as an NCAA qualifier. She still holds the LC record for outdoor long jump and triple jump and for indoor triple jump. She lives in Goldsboro, North Carolina.

Seiko Takano ’96 with LC friends who met in Japan for karaoke in September 2014.

Honorary Alumni Award Winners

In 1985 the Alumni Association established the Honorary Alumni Award. This distinction is given to non-alumni for exceptional interest, dedication and service to the College.

Stephen “Steve” Koudelka received the Honorary Alumni Award at Home-coming 2014. Steve began his career at Lynchburg College in 1997 coaching the men’s lacrosse team. He has

led the team to national rankings and has developed players into All-American compet-itors and professional athletes. Steve inspires his players to achieve in athletics and in academics; the men’s lacrosse team has earned the best team grade point average on campus for the past six years. Steve and his wife, Amy Goss ’98 MEd, have three children: Holly, Billy and Mary, and the family lives in Lynchburg.

Joseph H. Turek, professor of economics and dean of the School of Business and Economics since 2007, received the Honorary Alumni Award at Home-coming 2014. Joe began teaching at Lynchburg

College in 1986. He has served as director for the Walter G. Mason Center for Business and Economic Research and of the Westover Honors Program. Joe frequently appears on local media to discuss economic issues, bringing credit and recognition to LC. He lives in Lynchburg.

1973 Men’s Soccer TeamThis team won the Dixie Conference Champi-onship, was National Association of Intercol-legiate Athletics District (NAIA) 19 Champion and appeared in the NAIA Area V Tournament. The team set the record for most wins in a season and still holds the record for third most wins in a season with a record of 16-3. Over the course of those 19 games, the team scored 69 goals. Only 14 goals were allowed, with nine shut-out games. Individuals who contributed to the team’s success are Fred Behnke ’75, Rob Brewer ’77, Larry Chason ’77, Marc Columbus ’76, James “Jim” Combs ’76, Robert “Bob” Coote ’76, Richard “Rich” Fain ’74, Matthew “Matt” Foster ’77, ’81 MEd, Douglas “Holly” Hollender ’75, Terry Hoover ’77, Ross Klein ’77, Marty Koehler ’76, Knit Kounavudhi ’75, ’76 MEd, Edward “Ed” Major ’70, Edward “Eddie” McMichael ’75, Robert “Bob” McMichael ’77, Craig Osmer ’77, Richard “Rick” Osmer ’77, Jon Roark ’76, Edward Voigt ’77, Peter Widmer ’74, Lloyd Young ’75, George Grzenda ’71, ’73 MEd (assistant coach) and the late Coach William Shellenberger.

Sports Hall of Fame Team Awards

Teams are recognized as “teams of distinc-tion” based on athletic performance and achievement in sports competition as evi-denced by exceptional accomplishments at or above the conference level including advancement to NCAA regional or national competition, regional or national titles, school records and undefeated seasons.

2008 and 2009 Women’s Soccer TeamsThe 2008 team finished 21-1-3 and 9-0-2 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The women scored 102 goals and allowed just 11. Ranked third on the all-time wins record for Lynchburg College, fifth in most shutouts and fifth in the total number of goals scored, the 2008 team left its mark on the program’s history. From the foundation built in 2008, the 2009 team advanced to the Final Four of the National Collegiate Athletic Associa-tion (NCAA) Tournament. This team earned four wins in the NCAA Tournament and was eliminated after a tie score and a penalty-kick shootout. The team finished 17-3-5. Individuals who contributed to the teams’ successes are Jackie Bader ’12, Kelsey Bergen ’14, Danielle Crotty ’12, Abigail “Abby” Doyle ’12, Christina Tran Elliott ’13, Colleen Frickie ’10, Katherine “Katie” Gebhard ’12, Lindsay Gengras ’11, Jessica “Jessie” Gonzalez ’13, Samantha “Sam” Halbach ’13, Lauren Ham-mond ’11, ’13 MEd, Lesley “Erin” Hankins ’12, Devon Harp ’11, Ashley Hoath ’10, ’13 DPT, Shelley Hoath ’13, Beverly Hoath ’11, Shawn Jackson ’11, Brittany Johnson ’11, Brittany Klippstein ’12, Elizabeth “Betsy” Kwiatkowski ’11, Alicia LaPorta ’13, Katelyn LeRiche ’10, Jessica “Jess” Mader ’12, Kristen Melchiori ’13, Audrey Moore ’13, Cecilia Moore ’11, Fallon Page ’10, Gwen “Nikki” Rhodes ’13, Katherine “Katie” Santos ’12, Joan Snyder ’12, Julia Watson ’11, Amy Krause Wolk ’10, Anna Wright ’11, Katie Zimmerman ’09, ’11 MEd (team member; assistant coach), Catherine Adams ’07, ’09 MEd (assistant coach), Mike Shenigo ’08, ’11 MBA (assistant coach), and Dr. Todd Olsen (head coach).

see more of the weekend atwww.lynchburg.edu/spring2015

Homecoming2014 n photo gallery

38 LC MAGAZINE Spring 2015 PHOTO BYJOHN MCCORMICK Spring 2015 LC MAGAZINE 39

Washington Business Journal and in USA Today. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife and fellow Hornet, Amanda Colette ’04. The couple welcomed a daughter, Sparrow, on July 5, 2014.

Johnathan “Johnny” Harris ’02 is founder and executive director of Lynnhaven Academy in Rich-mond, Virginia, which last year opened its doors to students who are traditionally homeschooled. While technically a tutoring company, it operates much like a typical school. It has licensed and certified teachers, and the learning environment encourages students to think critically and collab-orate with others while preparing for college. The academy currently has 14 students and serves Grades 3-12. Johnny lives in Richmond.

Jason Williams ’02 has published a children’s book, The Adventures of Frankie Fitness: Like Mother, Like Son, which explores the important role parents play in influ-encing their children’s lives, especially in mak-ing healthy choices and learning about exercises they can do at home. The

book also illustrates the way children can motivate parents to practice healthy living. Jason is a personal trainer and group and Pilates instructor with Charm City PT in Baltimore, Maryland, where he lives.

Brian Barbour ’03 was the recipient of the 2014 Rotarian of the Year award by the Rotary Club of Linden, Virginia. Brian is the club’s president and chair of the 2015 annual gala committee. He teaches and is chair of the social studies department at Ran-dolph-Macon Academy in Front Royal, Virginia, and heads its exchange program with a British private school. Brian lives in Front Royal.

Timothy “Tim” Grant ’03 received the M. Carey Brewer Award at Homecoming 2014. This award was established to honor Dr. Carey Brewer ’49 for his distinguished career as seventh president of the College (1964-1983). The award

recognizes young alumni who have made contribu-tions to society and have brought distinction to themselves and their alma mater. While at LC, Tim majored in communication studies. He is set to graduate with his master of arts in Christian ministry at Liberty University (Lynchburg, Virginia) in May 2015. After graduating from LC, Tim supervised a male group home for teenagers. Now an elder, Tim is an active and integral member of the New Life Open Bible Church in Springfield, Virginia, where he serves as a marriage counselor, youth pastor, vice president of the Men’s Department, a leader in the Communications Department for the church and a minstrel. Tim works at Deloitte Consulting as a pro-gram analyst and lives in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Abby Pyzik Smith ’04 was inducted into LC’s Sports Hall of Fame at Homecoming 2014 for her contributions to the women’s bas-ketball team. Abby ranks in the top five of eight statistical categories and holds the record for assists

and three-point shooting percentage. She finished her career with 1,122 points, ranking her fifth for all-time scorers at LC. In her fifth season at Lynchburg College as head women’s basketball coach, Abby has transformed the team into a contender in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. She was married in August 2014 to Ben Smith, and the couple lives in Lynchburg.

Sterling Wilder ’08 MEd received the Distinguished Alumni Award at Homecoming 2014 in recognition of his outstanding personal and professional contributions and achievements. Sterling serves as the executive director of the Jubilee

Family Development Center in Lynchburg, Virginia. The center opened in 1999 and provides educational, athletic and social programs to children and their families. Jubilee has received more than 30 awards, including recognition by Oprah’s Angel Network, the Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce and USA Weekend Make a Difference Day – in Virginia and nationally. He was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Network for being recognized as an “Every Day Hero” by Dollar General. Sterling has coordinated several mentoring programs, including a Young Champions Mentoring Program at Lynchburg Col-lege. He has served on the Lynchburg City School Board for nine years, is past president of the Gamma Nu Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and has been involved with the Free Clinic of Central Virginia, Virginia Center for Inclusive

Communities, Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline and the Workforce Investment Board Region VII. He lives in Lynchburg.

Kathryn Crowder Yarzebinski ’08 MBA has accepted a position as development specialist with Centra Foundation in Lynchburg, Virginia. She was the former director of the annual fund and special gifts in the Advancement Office at Lynchburg College. Her husband, Ryan ’10 MEd, is a student in the EdD program at Lynchburg College. The couple lives in Lynchburg.

Gerin Becker Martin ’09 MEd was named Lynchburg (Virginia) Region 5 Teacher of the Year. Gerin has worked in early childhood education for nearly 20 years and is an early childhood special education teacher for the Hutcherson Early Learning Program. She lives in Lynchburg.

Michael Mayhew ’09 was recognized by his Danville, Virginia-based accounting firm with a name change to Snead, Williams and Mayhew, P.L.L.C. A native of Gretna, Virginia, Michael serves as a client service director to small-to- medium-size businesses, employee benefit plans, not-for-profit organizations, local governmental units, individuals and partnerships in the areas of audit, accountancy and taxation. Michael and his wife, Shelley Osborne ’08 live in Chatham.

A life of serviceby Betty McKinney

Alumni Profile

Emily Gannon ’07 and Morgan Crandall ’07 ran the Philadelphia Broad Street 10-mile run in May 2014. Both were athletes at LC.

Michelle Houde ’08 with Taylor Swift at Sirius XM Studios in New York City on October 29, 2014. Michelle has a friend at the radio station and got to meet Taylor, who was promoting her newest album, “1989.”

Although Ben describes himself as “just a

minister,” he has been a driving force for the Disciples of Christ for

four decades.

Class Notes

For Ben Bohren ’68, retirement is just not an option right now. He has too much to do.

“Ministry is in my DNA,” he said. “It gives me joy and fulfillment, and I have years of ex-perience and training I don’t want to waste.” Ben officially retired from full-time ministry in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in November of 2012, but it didn’t last.

Two months later, he signed on as a part-time consultant with the Disciples’ National Benevolent Association (NBA) to work with the XPLOR program, a new residency program for young adults that encourages community service. Ben was on campus in November participating in the “Change Your World, Change Your Life” fair, spreading the word about XPLOR (See story page 13).

“Cultivating for this program is so important,” Ben said, “not only for the young people, but also for the communities they will serve.”

“Ben has come full circle,” said Rev. Stephanie McLemore, LC chaplain and director of church relations. “He studied here, was a leader in the church, and now has returned to LC to help our current students find meaningful work.”

Although Ben describes himself as “just a minister,” he has been a driving force for the Disciples of Christ for four decades. In addition to serving pastorates in Kentucky and California, Ben is former regional min-ister of the Northern California and Nevada region and a member of the Disciples Higher Education and Leadership Ministries board.

When called to First Christian Church in Orange, California, Ben faced his biggest challenge. His voice started to weaken, and not even the Mayo Clinic could diagnose his problem, so Ben had to resign as senior minis-ter to the 700-member congregation, which was primarily composed of faculty, staff, students and alumni of Chapman University.

“I love to preach,” he said, “and it was dev-astating not to be able to do it.” When Ben reached the point that he could only whisper,

he sought out a famous Los Angeles vocal doctor who worked with movie and music stars who were experiencing vocal challenges.

He diagnosed Ben in five minutes as hav-ing spasmodic dysphonia, a disease that de-stroys the voice, and while there was no good treatment for the condition, Ben had hope. He began working with a speech therapist and slowly started to regain his voice.

“I was blessed,” Ben said of this difficult time. His congregation was supportive, especially the president of Chapman University, who told Ben that when he was ready to go back to work, there would be a position for him at Chapman.

Eleven months later, Ben started work at Chapman and stayed for 10 years. “It was such a joy and a challenge interacting with students,” Ben recalled. “Chapman was a liberal arts campus, and there were so many great opportunities. One of my greatest joys was creating the Disciples on Campus orga-nization that grew from eight students to 100 students who were recruited from all over the U.S. We were developing leaders for the church and the community.”

From Chapman, Ben went to St. Louis, Missouri, as director of church relations for the NBA where he worked for seven years. He established Miracle Day, a day when local churches and the NBA worked together to repair and renovate a selected local church that was in bad condition. Eventually, there were more than 50 Miracle Days held in those seven years throughout the U.S; some regions still hold them. “I got the idea from the Amish barn-raising,” Ben said.

Ben was next called to work in northern California and Nevada where he spent eight years mentoring churches and pastors, assist-ing with crises, creating new ministries and new Hispanic, Chinese, Korean, Mongolian and Samoan congregations. “What a joy,” he said. “The world was right at our doorstep.”

Ben now lives in Palm Springs, California, near his sister and Chapman University, where he still has close ties. He travels extensively cultivating for XPLOR.

40 LC MAGAZINE Spring 2015 Spring 2015 LC MAGAZINE 41

Julieanne Fischer ’87 has produced visual effects on award-winning films, documentaries, television shows, commercials and multimedia presentations, including 2 Guns, starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg.

But she says her favorite — “hands down” — was producing the visual effects and post production for the children’s TV show, Lazy-Town, in Reykjavik, Iceland.

“It is very theatrical with a mix of human characters, puppets and visual effects elements and very catchy tunes,” Julie said. “I’d be having a serious conversation with the show’s villain, Robbie Rotten, in his full makeup then catch myself and think ‘Wow, never in a million years would I have conjured this scene right now.’ I also had a view of a glacier out of my loft window. Can’t beat that.”

Julie has been active in the visual effects industry since 1996, having worked with leading visual effects companies based in Iceland, London, Beijing and across the U.S. Now at Pixeldust Studios in Washington, D.C., she is senior visual effects producer.

After graduating from LC with an art degree, Julie was living in Los Angeles in the ’90s working in galleries and museums.

“Most of my friends were making lots of dough in the film industry,” she said. “I thought I should get in on that to save money for a master’s degree in art. But before I knew it, a few jobs here and there ended up being a 20-year career. Since I was single, no kids, no pets, I was always the one who could take on assignments in different countries and I sort of found my niche.

“Beijing was a valuable experience as it showed me in so many different ways what I took for granted as an American. I had to have an interpreter to communicate with my crew. It was amusing and frustrating every day. My journal is bursting with stories that I know I’ll never experience anywhere else.

“Reykjavik was my favorite. It was like living in a snow globe. The country is visually stunning. There’s a certain can-do attitude the Icelanders have that probably comes from hundreds of years of learning to survive the elements. The film industry was really just taking off there at the time, so it was exciting to see all of that develop and work closely with the filmmakers and digital effects crews. Plus, I was the first visual effects producer in Iceland, so that’s pretty cool! The joke around Iceland is that because there are so few people there —300,000 — everyone is famous for something.”

Julie said what she found valuable in her class work at LC was the process of decon-structing a work to understand its compo-nents, patterns and balance. “This is true of the visual arts, fashion, film and literature, heck, even cooking,” she said. “It took many years before I made the connection, but what gets me through projects and daily challenges is the same approach as we took in class: Let’s take a step back — what is it I’m trying to achieve, what are my resources to produce an effective outcome?”

In her limited spare time, Julie likes to cook and explore “cheffy” restaurants. Rachel Ray cooked dinner for her once.

“She made Moroccan-style couscous and I’m sure it was under 30 minutes,” Julie said. She also loves to hike, ski and get lost in the outdoors and is addicted to reading Nordic crime fiction.

Art degree leads to global job by Shannon Brennan

10sClass of ’10 in Reunion October 16-18, 2015

Zoe Eisenberg ’10 has co-authored a book, The Lusty Vegan: A Cookbook and Relationship Manifesto for Vegans and Those Who Love Them. Zoe writes about living, loving and eating on her blog, SexyTofu.com, and is managing editor of iEat-Grass.com. She lives in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Christopher “Chris” Hinchcliff ’10 won the Golf Channel Amateur Tour national championship in September. Chris lives in Westport, Connecticut.

Danielle Miller ’10 runs the blog MillyMaker.com and last year launched a t-shirt campaign to rede-fine what it means to be a female athlete. Danielle played basketball for four years while at LC and lives in Ashburn, Virginia.

Michael Abbonizio Jr. ’11 received his MBA from Philadelphia University in May 2014. Michael is a strategic analyst for Ascensus in Dresher, Pennsyl-vania, and continues to play soccer every chance he gets. He lives in Maple Glen.

Caroline Hess ’11 was named Teacher of the Year at the Laurel Regional School in Lynchburg, Virginia. The Laurel program provides classroom instruction for regional students, ages 2-21, who are severely and profoundly mentally or physically handicapped or autistic. She lives in Lynchburg.

Carmen Johnson ’11, ’13 MEd was named First Class Teacher of the Year for Stafford Elementary School and is eligible to be chosen as First Class Teacher of Stafford County (Virginia). Carmen is an early childhood special education autism teacher and lives in Stafford.

William “Will” Stafford ’11 is the weekend weather anchor for WSET-TV, Channel 13 in Lynchburg, Virginia. He lives in Bedford.

Pamela “Pam” Robertson Hall ’12 retired July 31, 2014 after 24 years of dedicated service to Lynch-burg College, where she still works part-time. Pam lives in Hurt, Virginia.

Erin Eagen ’13 is a registered nurse at Centra Health-Lynchburg General Hospital on the Progres-sive Cardiac Unit. She earned her Advanced Car-diac Life Support (ACLS) certification and became an RN ll. Erin lives in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Laura Berrier ’14 MEd is a special education teacher at Staunton River High School in Moneta, Virginia. She lives in Lynchburg.

Jonathan “John” Geldmaker ’14 MEd is an alternative education teacher at the secondary level for Appomattox (Virginia) County Schools. He lives in Concord.

Matthew “Matt” Tiller ’14 MEd is a special educa-tion teacher at Heritage High School in Lynchburg, Virginia. He lives in Evington.

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Elizabeth “Liz” Childress ’12, pictured with U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine-D, Va., is working as a government consultant for Spotts Fain Consulting (lobbying) and was recently appointed to the Governor’s Advisory Board for Volunteerism and National Service. Liz recently completed the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. She lives in Richmond, Virginia.

“Reykjavik was my favorite. It was like living in a snow globe.”

Alumni Profile


Amy Boyles ’05 to Brian Wellborn

Jenna Olsen ’09 to Patrick Byrne ’09Allison Brooks ’98 to Jeffrey Helgeson

Katherine Chappell ’12 to Christopher Matthews

Katherine “Katie” Koehling ’11 to Louis Prezzi

Chelsea Morehead ’13 to Travis Jones Jaclyn “Jackie” Gardner ’11 to Daniel Wynne ’11

Marriages

Gerald “Jerry” Daniello ’93 to Scott Arsenault on Aug. 1, 2014 at Liberty Warehouse, an event space in Brooklyn, New York. Jerry is a senior vice presi-dent for marketing at the ABC Television Network in New York and he serves on the LC Alumni Board of Directors. Jerry and Scott are the founders and directors of Lili’s Lift, an organization in New York that assists children with disabilities and their families. The couple lives in South Orange, New Jersey.

Allison Brooks ’98 to Jeffrey Helgeson on Aug. 9, 2014 at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. The reception was held at The Trivium in Forest, Virginia. Included in the wedding party was Kelly Bush Mays ’98. The couple lives in Lynchburg where Allison is a nurse practitioner with the Stroobants Cardiovascular Center and Jeff is the owner of Executive Financial Services and a member of Lynchburg City Council.

Bridget Wayne ’99 to Jermaine Austin on Aug. 2, 2014 at Lynchburg College in Snidow Chapel. The wedding party included maid of honor Tracy Epps ’01. The couple honeymooned in Jamaica and lives in Madison Heights, Virginia.

Amy Boyles ’05 to Brian Wellborn on Nov. 5, 2014 in Dillon, Montana, where the couple lives. Amy was a student assistant in the Office of Alumni Relations while at Lynchburg College.

Andrea Roth ’05 MBA to Rose Flaugher ’05 MEd on June 27, 2014 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The ceremony was officiated by the Honorable Judge Bruce Roth. The couple spent the first day of their honeymoon with Ben Siegel ’12 and family in Princeton, New Jersey, then toured the New England Coast for two weeks. They live in Lynchburg.

Ryan Grafton ’07 to Tiffany Lipari on Aug. 30, 2014 in the Continental Ballroom at the Hilton Cincinnati

Netherland Plaza Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio. They spent their honeymoon exploring the coast of southern California, and reside in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Lauren Coombs ’08 to Kevin Cook on May 31, 2014 at the Catholic Community of St. Francis Xavier in Hunt Valley, Maryland. They celebrated their marriage at the Mansion at Valley Country Club in Lutherville, Maryland. Joy Loving ’08 and Mallory Mahoney ’08 were included in the wedding party. Lauren is a marketing analyst for T. Rowe Price and Kevin is a full-time student at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. The couple resides in Cockeysville, Maryland.

Sarah Beltran ’09 to Benjamin Gordon on Sept. 27, 2014. Included in the bridal party were Jessica Slater Banks ’09, Rachel Chubb Markham ’10 and Megan Hodges ’07. The couple honeymooned in Riviera Maya, Mexico, and lives in Richmond, Virginia.

Jenna Olsen ’09 to Patrick Byrne ’09 on October 25, 2014 in Annapolis, Maryland, where they live. The couple honeymooned in Aruba.

Danielle Netsch ’10 to John Michael Pavia ’11 on April 5, 2014 in Snidow Chapel at Lynchburg College. The wedding party included Randa Netsch ’09, Ellen Bower ’10, Anthony Pavia ’08 and Greg Viscome ’10. The couple honeymooned in the Florida Keys and resides in Forest, Virginia, where Danielle is a fifth-grade teacher at Thomas Jef-ferson Elementary and John Michael is a Lynchburg police officer.

Kaitlin Dwyer ’11 to Bryson Cochran ’12 on April 26, 2014 at West Manor Estate in Forest, Virginia. They met at LC and have been together since 2009. Included in the wedding party were Shayna Cochran ’13, Elizabeth Webb ’11, Hannah Dangler ’12, Matthew “Gib” Lewis ’11, Matthew “Scott” Shifflet ’11, Trenton Morris ’12 and Tucker Hoskins ’11. They honeymooned in La Romana, Dominican

Republic. A health promotion major at LC, Kaitlin graduated from Liberty University in 2013 with her master’s in public health. She works for a nonprofit as a public health educator under a five-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control. Bryson, a criminology major, works for an audio visual company with hopes to attend the Virginia State Police Academy in 2015. The couple resides in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Jaclyn “Jackie” Gardner ’11 to Daniel Wynne ’11 on June 15, 2013. In the wedding party were Shannon Lynch ’11, Brian O’Connor ’08, Paul Michel ’11 and Andrew Stevens ’10. The couple honeymooned in Cancun and resides in Westminster, Maryland.

Kelsey Johnson ’11 to Kevin Bianca on June 28, 2014 in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Included in the wedding party was Julie Will ’13. The couple honeymooned in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Kelsey recently graduated from Washington College with a master’s degree in psychology and Kevin is a community services coordinator for the Harford County Sheriff’s Office. The couple lives in Notting-ham, Maryland.

Katherine “Katie” Koehling ’11 to Louis Prezzi on Sept. 27, 2014 in Ijamsville, Maryland. Katie is the office manager/event coordinator for National Gridiron 265. The couple resides in Glen Burnie, Maryland.

Katherine Chappell ’12 to Christopher Matthews on October 24, 2014 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Norfolk, Virginia, with the reception celebration at Norfolk Yacht & Country Club. Katherine is a first-grade teacher at St. Matthews Catholic School in Virginia Beach and Chris is a police officer in Chesa-peake, Virginia, where the couple resides.

Chelsea Morehead ’13 to Travis Jones on Sept. 14, 2013 at Dwelland Hill Farm in Lynchburg, Virginia, surrounded by the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Cara Haskins ’14 served as maid of honor. The couple honeymooned in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Chelsea recently started working for Parker Hannifin Corporation in marketing. Travis is employed by Moore’s Electrical and Mechanical and recently graduated from Virginia Technical Institute as a journeyman plumber. The couple resides in Big Island, Virginia, with their black Lab, Coalley, and German Shorthair, Shooter.

New Arrivals

To Lauren McCloskey Hopple ’99 and husband Todd, a daughter, Reese Claire, born July 16, 2014. She joins brother Rowan Edward, 5. The family lives in Catonsville, Maryland.

To Robyn Keefer Balassone ’01 and husband Paul, a son, Colton Knox, born July 11, 2014. He joins sister Savannah and brother Reid. The family resides in York, Pennsylvania.

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015LONDON DOWNS GOLF COURSEFOREST, Va • 1 P.M. SHOTGUN START

ATTENTION LC GOLFERS!

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Class Notes

For more information • 434.544.8497 or [email protected]

44 LC MAGAZINE Spring 2015 PHOTO BYJOHN MCCORMICK Spring 2015 LC MAGAZINE 45

Kaitlin Dwyer ’11 to Bryson Cochran ’12

Bridget Wayne ’99 to Jermaine Austin

Ryan Grafton ’07 to Tiffany Lipari Sarah Beltran ’09 to Benjamin Gordon Kelsey Johnson ’11 to Kevin Bianca

Lauren Coombs ’08 to Kevin Cook

Danielle Netsch ’10 to John Michael Pavia ’11

Editor’s note: Eugene G. (Gene) Frantz, vice president for planned giving, retired in May, bringing to a close a 43-year career at Lynchburg College.

“Where did 43 years go?” Gene Frantz ’71, ’76 MEd mused. “Looking back, I see sequences unfold that gave me so many opportunities. Lynchburg College changed my life. I found a home here, had a wonderful career, met my wife and raised my family. I loved being a representative for LC and serving in volunteer capacities in the community and for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). I met many interesting people and traveled to places I would never have seen otherwise.”

Gene planned to become an elementary school teacher, but his direction changed when he was asked to join the admissions team at LC. “I wanted to give back to the College by telling prospective students what the College had to offer and sharing all of the wonderful experiences I had as a student,” he said.

“I thought I would work at LC for a few years, get a master’s degree and then teach, but work at LC was always so interesting and challenging that I never applied for another position. When the College had a need, and I was asked to take on a new role, I did it to the best of my ability.”

Pam Hall ’12, coordinator of stewardship and leadership gifts in the Office of Advance-ment, worked with Gene for 24 years and is one of his biggest fans. “Gene was so much more to me than a supervisor,” she said. “He was my greatest cheerleader and supporter and my dearest friend during some of life’s most trying times. Gene’s honesty and integ-rity go beyond question, and he truly lives by the Golden Rule, treating everyone with the utmost respect, kindness and compassion.”

Gene began his freshman year at LC in 1967, a time of great growth and social change.

“I experienced traditions of the past as well as new beginnings,” he said. “It was a time characterized by a growing student body and faculty, new programs, new buildings and the relaxation of social rules.”

By experiencing both worlds, Gene said he could relate to older and younger alumni

throughout his career. In particular, Gene loved Pioneer Weekends (now Westover Alumni Society Weekend) when the older alumni would gather. “I met alumni who graduated in the teens, ’20s and ’30s and they told the greatest stories,” he recalled. “Some of the guys had played football at LC. Their memories were a wonderful testament to the kind of lasting relationships that are de-veloped at our College. I am very fortunate to have met these alumni, because I learned much from them about LC’s early days.”

Gene began his career in 1971 as an admis-sions counselor, a job he loved. He traveled a great deal, visiting high schools and present-ing information at college nights and fairs, primarily in his home state of New Jersey and the Northeast since he could “talk the language there.”

“Our admission team was terrific,” he said. “We had no turnover for several years because we all worked so well together.” During this time, Gene met Susan Little ’75, “a very attractive young lady who conducted campus tours.” They were married in August 1976 and became the parents of a daughter Jennifer

and a son Scott. “I am so grateful to my family,” Gene said. “Because of my extensive travel, they had to make many sacrifices through the years, and I have always appreciated their support.”

In the late ’70s, Gene was tapped for a newly created position in college relations, which included planning events for the 75th anniversary of the College, alumni events, foundation research and proposal writing. In the early ’80s, he served for five years as director of alumni affairs, and in 1986, he became the director of development. In 1994, he was named vice president for external affairs and in 2003 became vice president for planned giving. He received the 1999 Outstanding Fund Raising Executive Service Award from the Virginia Piedmont Chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives, the 1990 Distinguished Alumni Award and the 2006 T. Gibson Hobbs Memorial Award from the Lynchburg College Alumni Association.

Now, Gene is enjoying time with his family, especially his grandchildren who live in Fort Worth, Texas, and Columbus, Georgia. “Family is very important to me,” he said, “and so is helping others.” Gene will continue his volun-teer work while also finding time to play golf and travel. “Who knows, I just might do some elementary substitute teaching, too!”

The Gene Frantz Scholarship has been es-tablished to honor Gene and his achievements at LC. Contributions may be made by mailing a check to: Advancement Office, Lynchburg College, 1501 Lakeside Drive, Lynchburg, VA 24501, or online at: www.lynchburg.edu/give.

For love of LC by Betty McKinney

“Gene’s honesty and integrity go beyond question, and he truly lives by the Golden Rule, treating everyone with the utmost respect, kindness and compassion.”

Alumni Profile


To Chris Carpenter Jr. ’01 and wife Sarah, a daughter, Brielle Caroline, born May 1, 2014. The family lives in Chesapeake, Virginia.

To Erin Baldwin Childs ’01 and husband Raymond, a son, Lucas Jepson, born June 2, 2014. He joins sisters Morgan, 6 and Riley, 3. The family resides in Hingham, Massachusetts.

To Noble Ackerson-Bonsu ’02 and wife Amanda Carter ’04 a daughter, Sparrow Rose Amerley, born July 5, 2014. The family lives in Alexandria, Virginia.

To Terri Carter Eaves ’02 and husband Joseph ’02, a son, Wyatt Jeffrey, born August 15, 2014. He joins sister Sadie. The family lives in Springfield, Virginia.

To Jaime Clougher Guenard ’03 and husband Hayward, a son, Hamilton Brett, born June 18, 2014. Hayward is director of housing and residence life and Jaime is coordinator of the honors program and an academic advisor for business majors at Nicholls State University. The family resides in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

To John Gallagher III ’04 and wife Erica, a son, Jack Adrian, born February 22, 2014. The family lives in Titusville, New Jersey.

To Lauren Krayeski Gibbs ’04 and husband Matthew, a daughter, Marin Margaret, born June 19, 2014. She joins brother Bennett, 4 and sister Arden, 2. The family lives outside Philadelphia in Warminster, Pennsylvania.

To Amy Hague Key ’05 and husband James “J.P.” ’05, a daughter, Julia Grace, born May 17, 2014. She joins brother Noah Grayson, 4. The family lives in Mechanicsville, Virginia.

To Melanie Chidester Askey ’07 and husband Chris, a son, Brooks Lyam, born July 9, 2014. He joins brother Landon, 2. Melanie is a marketing manager at BGE HOME. The family resides in Bel Air, Maryland.

To Shauna Manias Saunders ’10 and husband Stuart, a daughter, Addalynn Grace, born July 7, 2014. The family lives in Bedford, Virginia.

To Lauren Radzville Watkins ’12 and husband Garrett, a daughter, Letty AnnMarie, born April 4, 2014. The family resides in Scottsville, Virginia.

To Shana Martin Page ’13 and husband SrA Brian S. Page, a son, Easton Wyatt, born October 7, 2014. The family lives in Spring Lake, North Carolina.

To Kevin Field ’14, a son, Justin Ryan, born Septem-ber 27, 2014. Kevin is a transportation and logistics analyst for Battlefield Farms, Inc. in Orange, Virginia. He lives in Stanardsville.

In Memoriam

Eleanor Witten Brubeck ’37, Nov. 20, 2014Gwendolyn Hardy Meeks ’41, Nov. 30, 2014

W. Harrison Daniel ’44, Dec. 30, 2013Dorothy Wingard ’46, Nov. 23, 2014Richard “Dick” Wingard ’46, Nov. 20, 2014Hannon Burford ’47, Oct. 25, 2014Mary “Virginia” Jeter Graziani ’47, Sept. 14, 2014Frederica Stone Paul ’47, March 9, 2014Raymond Oliver ’48, Sept. 18, 2014Marcus “Mark” Bryant ’49, Dec. 6, 2014James “Jim” Carter ’49, July 25, 2014Gracie Reburn Mabry ’49, Sept. 27, 2014Wilda Foster Stone ’49, Aug. 19, 2014Jean “Harold” Montague Gordon ’50, Aug. 9, 2014Dabney Loving Sr. ’50, Oct. 23, 2014Edgar “Ed” Wright ’50, Aug. 31, 2014William “Bill” Blackwell ’51, Aug. 5, 2014Eunice Burnett Bolling ’51, July 19, 2014Benjamin Smith ’51, Nov. 2, 2014Mollie Cardwell Wilkins ’51, Dec. 6, 2014John “Jack” Kauffman ’52, Aug. 18, 2014Jean McLaughlin Ellison ’53, Nov. 6, 2014Norma Penny Kline ’53, Oct. 13, 2014Joan Sale Lea ’53, Aug. 25, 2014Nancy Cleveland White ’53, Nov. 4, 2014Alan Pearson ’54, Nov. 23, 2014Sarah Spain Britt ’55, Aug. 18, 2014David “Dave” Derby ’55, June 23, 2014Ned Johnson ’55, Sept. 6, 2014Phyllis Waugh Elliott ’56, July 4, 2014Warren Pope ’56, July 15, 2014Cecil Taylor ’56, Nov. 13, 2014Wayne Dodson ’57, Feb. 10, 2014Harold Evans ’57, ’80 MEd, July 28, 2014Robert Driskill ’59, Feb. 5, 2014Dorothy Bowman Petty ’59, ’77 MEd, Sept. 10, 2014Wallace Campbell ’60, Nov. 20, 2014Caroline Bargamin Clark ’60, Sept. 2, 2014Brice Corder ’60, Dec. 3, 2014James “Jimmy” Parr ’60, Oct. 28, 2014E. “Conrad” Compton ’62, Dec. 17, 2014Margaret “Peggy” Rollins Fletcher ’62, June 25, 2014Walter “Terry” Holt ’62, Aug. 12, 2014Ruby Wildman Laughon ’62, ’75 MEd, July 19, 2014Nancy Overstreet Byerle ’63, Aug. 1, 2014William “Kirk” Dance ’63, Dec. 7, 2014R. “Ted” Younger ’63, Sept. 4, 2014Barney “Bucky” Cawthorne ’64, July 8, 2014Juanita Hutton Roberson ’64, Oct. 25, 2014Peggy Johnson Moore ’66, Nov. 20, 2014Judith Gilchrist ’67, July 16, 2014Herman “H.L.” Morris Jr. ’67, Sept. 16, 2014John Conner ’68, Sept. 28, 2014Gale Grimsley Burrell ’69, Sept. 18, 2014Ronald “Wayne” Creasy ’69, April 22, 2014Lee Ann Hoffarth Oxendine ’70, July 31, 2014Anne Stephens DeJarnette ’71, ’77 MEd, Sept. 1, 2014Melvin Jacob ’71, June 2, 2014Barbara Wooldridge Moon ’71 MEd, Nov. 16, 2014Isaac “Ike” Jackson ’72 MEd, Dec. 11, 2014

Phyllis Epps Mickens-Smith ’72, Dec. 15, 2014Clifford “Cliff” Russell ’72 MS, July 9, 2014J. Walter “Walt” Berger ’74 MBA, April 18, 2014Robert “Bob” Flickinger ’74 MBA, Oct. 19, 2014Janet Young Gadient ’76, Oct. 5, 2014Lynn Jones Daue ’77, Feb. 19, 2014Marian Beckner Riggins ’77 MEd, Aug. 2, 2014Giles “Pete” Slade ’77 MBA, Nov. 13, 2014Roy Sweeney ’77, July, 26, 2014Archer Haskins Jr. ’78, Sept. 15, 2014Lloyd Tyndall ’78, Oct. 9, 2014M. Elizabeth “Beth” Jamerson Israel ’79, Dec. 2, 2014Helen Martin Bryant ’80, July 11, 2014 Samuel “Hardy” Duerson ’80 MBA, June 24, 2014Melvin Lyon ’80, Sept. 8, 2014Melissa “Missy” MacGregor Centanni ’81, Sept. 4, 2014Charles “Chuck” Alberto ’82 MAd, Nov. 18, 2014Cynthia Chapman Willis ’84, March 3, 2014Mindy Pendleton Franceschini ’85, Feb. 18, 2013Catherine Fielder Hanson ’85, Sept. 19, 2014Michael “Mike” Markham ’85, Nov. 11, 2014Harriett “Dena” Reaves Stevens ’85, Sept. 17, 2014Lisa Reilly ’86, Oct. 19, 2014Ursula Foster ’92, Dec. 1, 2014Carol Cantrell Hopchak ’93, Nov. 26, 2014Robert “Rob” Carobrese ’94, Aug. 10, 2014Mary Komoroski ’95 MEd, June 28, 2014David Ratliff Sr. ’95, Oct. 25, 2013Donald Teasley ’98, Nov. 2, 2014Brogan Franklin ’13, Oct. 30, 2014Chelsea Meager ’14, Nov. 2, 2014

In Sympathy

George Loving Jr. ’45, brother, Oct. 23, 2014John Newton Gordon Jr. ’50, wife, Aug. 9, 2014Mary Helen Simpson Blackwell ’51, husband, Aug. 5, 2014Carlyle Daniel ’51, brother, Dec. 30, 2013Nae “Hugh” Pearson Jr. ’51, brother, Nov. 23, 2014Richard “Dick” Wright Sr. ’51, brother, Aug. 31, 2014Linton “Lin” Beasley ’52, brother, July 5, 2014Stephen Caldwell ’53, wife, Sept. 15, 2013Nancy Loving Rice ’53, ’71 MEd, brother, Oct. 23, 2014Joan Pettyjohn Smith ’53, husband, Nov. 2, 2014Annette Judd Evans ’56, husband, July 28, 2014Georgenia “G G” Draper Compton ’57, husband, Sept. 14, 2014Julie McVicar Compton ’59, husband, Dec. 17, 2014S. Woodell “Woody” Elliott ’59, ’74 MEd, wife, July 4, 2014Max Guthrie ’61, brother, July 26, 2014Grace Loving Mahanes ’61, brother, Oct. 23, 2014Carol Meade Cawthorne ’63, husband, July 8, 2014Lera Smith Millner ’63, husband, July 6, 2014Billie McClung Younger ’64, husband, Sept. 4, 2014Donald Burrell ’67, wife, Sept. 18, 2014Fred Fauber ’67, ’70 MEd, brother, Oct. 31, 2014

Class Notes

SONGSCIVIL WAR

OF THE

THE LYNCHBURG COLLEGE CHORAL UNION

Including dramatizations by two local actresses and a display of Civil War artifacts

An Official Appomattox Sesquicentennial Celebration Event

April

184 p.m.

Old City Cemetery401 Taylor Street, LynchburgRain location: Snidow Chapel, Lynchburg College

April

194 p.m.

Appomattox County High School Auditorium Appomattox

Partially supported by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts

Free tickets requiredCall 544 . 434 . 8344


We Remember

Cabell Brand Sr. of Salem,

Virginia, died Jan. 13, 2015.

He was 91. LC awarded him the

Doctor of Humane Letters in 2013.

A successful businessman and

distinguished member of the

armed forces, he devoted decades of his life to

public service. As founder and chairman of the

Cabell Brand Center for Global Poverty and

Resource Sustainability Studies, he led the

research and action center in working with gov-

ernments and organizations to promote sustain-

able economic and environmental development

while providing college students with opportuni-

ties to study poverty and environmental issues.

With proceeds from his book, If Not Me, Then

Who? How you can help with Poverty, Eco-

nomic Opportunity, Education, Healthcare,

Environment, Racial Justice, and Peace Issues

in America, the Center initiated a college scholar-

ship program to encourage young people to

accept the challenges of reducing poverty,

promoting the environment and advancing

peace and justice. Cabell also served on the

Alumni-Advisory Committee of Shepard Poverty

Program at Washington & Lee University, as

director for the Foundation for Alternative and

Integrative Medicine, and advisor to the presi-

dent of Lynchburg College on matters of natural

resource use, economics and public service.

Melissa A. “Missy” Centanni ’81,

a former member of the LC Alumni

Board, died Sept. 4, 2014. She was

55. A native of New Jersey, Missy

spent the last 14 years in Glen

Ridge, New Jersey. She served

Lynchburg College as a two-time Alumni Board

member, a member of the Parents Council and

co-chair of her Class Reunion Giving Committee.

Missy worked as a senior project manager for

PTS Consulting in New York City. She was a

class parent at the Linden Avenue School and a

member of the Girl Scouts of the USA for eight

years. She was active in other school and com-

munity groups, including local theatre. She was

the wife of Thomas F. Centanni, mother of Carly

and mother to T.J., Jamie ’09 and Jessica. The

family asks that donations in her honor may be

made to Lynchburg College.

Robert “Bob” Fredrickson ’67, wife, July 19, 2014Merrie Shackelford Creasy ’68, husband, April 22, 2014Howard Butler ’70, mother, Oct. 27, 2014Melanie “Mel” Biermann ’71, mother, Nov. 11, 2014John Bryant Jr. ’71, ’82 MBA, mother, July 11, 2014Harold Massie Jr. ’73, father, Dec. 27, 2014Everett “Sonny” Roberts ’73, sister, Aug. 23, 2014 Barbara “B.J.” Thomas ’73, ’78 MEd, mother, Jan. 23. 2015Linda Cangiano Wood ’73, mother, May 23, 2014Larry Younger ’73, mother, Nov. 14, 2014Howard Delk ’74, mother, Nov. 12, 2014Thomas “Tom” Mignogna ’74 MBA, son, Nov. 25, 2014Nita Huston Woodruff ’74, step-brother, Dec. 6, 2014Lynne Burnham ’75, mother, May 10, 2014Elizabeth Ford ’75, father, Dec. 24, 2014Bonnie Schaefer-Balthaser ’75, husband, Aug. 26, 2014Jon Roark ’76, father, Aug. 12, 2014Elizabeth McCann Webb ’76, ’91 MEd, father, Nov. 27, 2014Walter “Evan” Black III ’77, father, Sept. 29, 2014George Riley ’77, mother, July 21, 2014Elizabeth Bippus Exum ’78, brother, Dec. 6, 2014William “Bill” Oliver ’78, father, Sept. 18, 2014Cynthia “Cindie” Roark Allen ’80, ’85 MEd, father, Aug. 12, 2014Jane Ellett Gordon ’80, mother, Dec. 18, 2014W. Gregory “Greg” Franklin ’81, son, Oct. 30, 2014Robert Goode ’81, father, Aug. 14, 2014Annette Evans Pleszkoch ’81, father, July 28, 2014P. Arthur “Art” Huprich Sr. ’82, son, Oct. 26, 2014Elane Smith Huprich ’82, son, Oct. 26, 2014Susan Elliott Lees ’82, mother, July 4, 2014Jennifer Toon Olsen ’83, son, Sept. 26, 2014Philip Roark ’83, father, Aug. 12, 2014A. Conrad “Buz” Frey III ’84, mother, July 30, 2014Irene Evans Williford ’84, father, July 28, 2014

Donald “Don” Franceschini Jr. ’85, wife, Feb. 18, 2013Amy Terrell Pugh ’85, ’90 MEd, father, Oct. 15, 2014Tracy Roark ’85, father, Aug. 12, 2014Gary Mignogna ’86 MBA, brother, Nov. 25, 2014Deidre “Dede” Jones Eischens ’87, father, Sept. 10, 2014David Graham Jr. ’87, mother, Aug. 2, 2014Thomas Hahn ’87, father, Oct. 22, 2014Laura Best Hill ’87, father, Aug. 17, 2014Teena Younger Nunn ’87, mother, Aug. 20, 2014Kimberly “Kim” Arthur Taylor ’87, father, Sept. 10, 2014Susanne “Sue” Reilly Antolini ’88, sister, Oct. 19, 2014Christina Koun McCoy ’88, father, March 29, 2014Lee Pat Bowen Kelleher ’89, father, Oct. 16, 2014Sondra Ratliff ’89 MEd, husband, Oct. 25, 2013Yvonne Eisenhauer Bailey ’90, mother, Sept. 17, 2014Britta Bridgett Boyle ’90, ’97 MEd, mother, June 23, 2014Jennifer Ricketts ’93, father, Nov. 2, 2014Lawrence Moses Jr. ’95, mother, Aug. 15, 2014Walter Alpaugh ’96, mother, Sept. 2, 2014Alice Kline Sereno ’96, mother, Oct. 13, 2014Quakeela Miles Teasley ’99, husband, Nov. 2, 2014Carolyn Sue Driskill ’04, mother, Nov. 25, 2014Brian Biggio ’07, father, Oct. 13, 2014Amanda Darling ’07, father, Nov. 13, 2014Adam Stanley ’07, mother, Aug. 18, 2014Kevin Watson ’07, father, July 3, 2014Jamie Centanni ’09, mother, Sept. 4, 2014Jane Thomas ’09, mother, July 11, 2014Heather Turpin ’10, father, July 31, 2014William “Will” Perrow ’11, ’13 MBA, father, July 31, 2014Steven Perrow ’13, father, July 31, 2014Angela Bosco ’14, brother, Jan. 6, 2015Erika Williams ’14, daughter, Sept. 24, 2014Ishola “Ish” Obi ’16, father, Sept. 1, 2014

Class Notes

TELL US WHAT’S NEW!Do you have a new job,

adventure, marriage, addition to the family?

Photographs should be at least 300 dpi and 4x5 inches.Deadline for the fall 2015 issue is June 1, 2015.

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the community and around the world. Give today.

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