School of Arts & Sciences

Meet Our Alumni

• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1946-"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,28,347,376/3466_BrooklynSawyersBelk.rev.1520453426.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,28,347,376/3466_BrooklynSawyersBelk.rev.1520453426.jpg 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,28,347,376/3466_BrooklynSawyersBelk.rev.1520453426.jpg" alt="Brooklyn Sawyers Belk E&H 2002." width="345" height="225" data-max-w="347" data-max-h="348" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1946-"><p> Brooklyn Sawyers Belk is an Assistant United States Attorney for the Department of Justice, United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Brooklyn Sawyers Belk is an attorney with Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn and Dial in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a Partner of Counsel, & Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer.</p><p> She was formerly an Assistant United States Attorney for the Department of Justice, United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.  Sawyers Belk was admitted to the United States Supreme Court bar in November 2015. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee (UT) College of Law, where she teaches trial practice and interviewing and counseling. Additionally, she teaches a host of undergraduate history and pre-law courses. </p><p><br/> Sawyers Belk graduated from Emory & Henry College in 2002 and serves on the College’s Board of Trustees. She obtained a Master of Arts degree in history in 2004 from East Tennessee State University and is a 2006 graduate of the UT College of Law. </p></div><a href="/live/profiles/1946-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/704-"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,690,390/354_25f3d785419f0eb611f94ba17fd1703d_f1833.rev.1500386495.webp 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,690,390/354_25f3d785419f0eb611f94ba17fd1703d_f1833.rev.1500386495.jpg 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,690,390/354_25f3d785419f0eb611f94ba17fd1703d_f1833.rev.1500386495.jpg" alt="" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="690" data-max-h="390" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/704-"><p> Rachel Dunne Finds Unlikely Path in Alaska </p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> When Rachel Dunne (’04) was a student at E&H, she pretty much set the woods on fire. Lately, she’s been busy putting out fires. This is truly a young woman who knows how to fire up a Liberal Arts degree. </p><p> This is all a corny way of saying that Rachel has been fighting wildland fires in Alaska.</p><p> A double major in Public Policy & Community Service and Psychology, Rachel was a top notch student with a heart intent on making a difference. And it comes as no surprise that she is finding such a creative means of making her way in the world.  She wanted to pursue work in the area of disaster relief response after graduate school, but needed job experience.  She spent 10 months in the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps doing a lot of work in the Gulf region of the U.S. working on Katrina recovery efforts.  She also got sent to a very small town in Arizona where her team was assigned to assistance with brush clearing to prevent wildfires.  Her superiors suggested she come back after AmeriCorps for a job.</p><p> While she only intended to do the job for a year, she stayed for two and a half years honing her skills not only in firefighting and prevention but also in coordinating fire response, GIS, HAZMAT, EMT, and learned how to drive a water tender (please Google this to see how impressive this feat is).</p><p> After Arizona she found an opportunity to continue this good work and to see some of the country’s most beautiful land. She considered Big Sky country, but ended up in Alaska because of their unique challenges in fire logistics. She served as a fire logistics dispatcher for the Alaska Fire Service, which is part of the Bureau of Land Management. In this role, she helped get the people, supplies, and aircraft out to remote areas of Alaska for wildland fires.</p><p> As is wont to happen, while in Alaska, Rachel ran smack into another Emory & Henry person! Daniel Griggs (’07) was there doing similar work and putting his geography background to good use. Giving Dr. John Morgan all the credit for getting him the right start, Daniel says he finds working for the fire service very “real” in the sense that there is “immediate need for accurate geospatial information.”  He ended up in Alaska because he had always wanted to visit the state, so when he got a job offer in Anchorage he jumped at the chance.</p><p> Rachel says folks in her position work seasonally—putting in 6 months of work and then filling the other half of the year with school, other work, travel, or personal projects and hobbies.  While the job sounds pretty cushy, it turns out those six months are pretty demanding.  On a fire assignment, dispatchers and firefighters alike usually work 14 straight days of up to 16 hour shifts.  In many ways, it’s more of a lifestyle than a job.</p><p> So what happens during those long days? This season, Daniel got sent out to the field as a GIS specialist, providing custom real-time maps of fires for the incident decision-makers.  Rachel moved to another dispatch center as an aircraft dispatcher, where she finds the helicopters and planes that support both fires and scientists in interior Alaska and the lower 48.  “It’s not every day you get to say, ‘Yeah, I ordered a jumbo jet at work today’,” says Rachel.  “The best part of the job is the constant challenge—you never know who is going to call or what they are going to need, and it’s great to be able to say, ‘Sure, I can make that happen,’ even when it means getting people or supplies into parts of Alaska your average tourist will never even think about visiting.”</p><p> With these new job demands, Rachel is less “fire fighter” and more “travel agent” – booking flights into all corners of the state.  Whether they are VIPs touring Alaska before making recommendations on energy or land management policy, scientists researching animal habitats and archeological sites, or firefighters protecting Alaska’s assets, everybody knows they’ll have to fly to get to their Alaskan destination.  “I may miss the smell of smoke and getting to do things with my own hands, but what I can do with a phone and a radio allows those professionals to make the difference, and I’m proud to be part of their support network.”</p><p> While Daniel will stay on with Alaska Fire Service in Fairbanks for the near future, Rachel plans to move on after this season ends.  “What’s next? I don’t know, but if you’d told me I was going to be a firefighter or live in Alaska while I was at Emory, I’d have laughed.  I just keep believing in the hope that people can do amazing things when we are willing to take on a challenge, even if it means leaving our comfort zones behind.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/704-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/708-"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,300,200/358_MaryBethTignor.rev.1500388800.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,300,200/358_MaryBethTignor.rev.1500388800.jpg 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,300,200/358_MaryBethTignor.rev.1500388800.jpg" alt="" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="300" data-max-h="200" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/708-"><p> Love for the region keeps Mary Beth Tignor’s future local. </p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Her love of this region and her passion for education are the fuel to her daily work. </p><p> Mary Beth was a part of the first Emory & Henry Honors Program cohort that graduated in Spring 2013. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Community Service. Currently, she is working as an AmeriCorps with Appalachian Sustainable Development and pursuing a Master’s degree in Education with a focus area of Middle School Science. </p><p> Serving the community of this region has always been one of Mary Beth’s passion and love. As a student at Emory & Henry, she served as a volunteer of an on-campus after school program called Highlands Project. She said, “Through this program and some of my courses, I developed a passion for education and the children in this area.” Since then, she has created and is the current coordinator of a after school program at a local elementary school. Her most memorable experience in the Honors Program is going to New York City as an upperclassman leader with First-Year Honors Scholars. After her first trip to New York City, Mary Beth had learned a lot from her experiences and really enjoyed sharing them with the First-Year Honors Scholars. </p></div><a href="/live/profiles/708-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/3-"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/8_alumni-kates-taekuan.rev.1490105709.webp 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/8_alumni-kates-taekuan.rev.1490105709.jpg 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/8_alumni-kates-taekuan.rev.1490105709.jpg" alt="" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/8_alumni-kates-taekuan.rev.1490105709.jpg 2x" data-max-w="1000" data-max-h="666" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/3-"><p> Taequan Kates (’16) Learns Legal Lessons While Interning With Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Summer breaks are meant to be exactly that: a break from the stress and hard work of the academic year. However, rising Emory & Henry College senior Taequan Kates has a tough time slowing down.</p><p> Kates who grew up in Dewitt, Va. spent much of the summer in Richmond completing an internship at the Office of Attorney General Mark Herring.</p><p> Kates was tasked with editing <em>Virginia Rules</em>, a book containing state laws to ensure it lined up with the current code statutes. His daily responsibilities found him working closely with attorneys in the office reviewing laws relevant to current cases.</p><h2> Work on Campus</h2><p> When not in the courtroom, Kates was making plans for his next big job – student body president. Kates along with fellow rising senior and student body vice-president Katie Beth Bordwine (who was also in Richmond, Va. for an internship) has been focused on a list of goals for the academic year.</p><p> Their first consideration: the feasibility of building an outdoor basketball court on campus.</p><p> “I’ve spoken with several colleges asking them about their program and trying to figure out a way to incorporate an outdoor court into our campus, and I hope this is something we can bring to Emory & Henry,” Kates said.</p><p> In his remaining free time, Kates spent time working as a counselor for at-risk children in his community. It’s a cause close to his heart, and he said he wants these children to become better citizens so they can grow up with the opportunities to chase their dreams.</p><p> “I’ve done a lot this summer, but I know all the hard work was worth it.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/3-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/12-"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/20_50e7f6e024ddf954897b5c198cf66106_f51611.rev.1490707161.webp 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/20_50e7f6e024ddf954897b5c198cf66106_f51611.rev.1490707161.jpg 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/20_50e7f6e024ddf954897b5c198cf66106_f51611.rev.1490707161.jpg" alt="" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/20_50e7f6e024ddf954897b5c198cf66106_f51611.rev.1490707161.jpg 2x" data-max-w="1000" data-max-h="666" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/12-"><p> Jason Jones (’12) Giving Hope to At-Risk Children</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> In a school district where the failure rate is very high and the pass rate is very low, Jason Jones is making a difference.</p><p> The 2012 Emory & Henry graduate is giving hope every day to at-risk children in San Antonio, Texas, hundreds of miles from his hometown in Greeneville, Tenn., where he teaches K-5 music during the day and, after school, directs the choir and orchestra, teaches music memory, and advises the yearbook staff.</p><p> And, he’s doing it one note at a time.</p><p> Two years ago, Jones introduced orchestra music to students at Highlands Hills Elementary School, the only one among 54 schools in the district that has an orchestra program.</p><p> The results have been astounding.</p><p> “I’ve seen students who were not motivated to be in school. I’ve seen students who were making low grades and poor choices,” said Jones.</p><p> “After a fifth-grade student joined the orchestra, she got involved in school. She became a school patrol; she went on to middle school where she continued to take music. She’s taken all honor classes—just because she was in the orchestra. It changed her life, and it’s changing the lives of other students.”</p><p> Following college graduation, Jones completed a two-year position with Teach for America at Highland Hills Elementary School. When his two-year position was completed, he was asked to stay.</p><p> Jones said he was among 54,000 applicants when he applied for the Teach for America position in 2012. The organization only accepted 5,000 teachers that year and only 100 of them were placed in San Antonio.</p><p> No doubt about it, he’s making his mark on education.</p><p> Jones witnessed more affluent schools in the district enjoying generous budgets while his school did not have the money for extra music programs.</p><p> “I didn’t think it was fair that students in the richer part of the city got to learn these instruments and my students on the south side of San Antonio in a poor neighborhood didn’t have those same opportunities,” Jones said. “Nearly 100 percent of the children eat free and reduced lunches. They can’t afford instruments or music lessons. Some of their parents work as many as four jobs.”</p><p> He couldn’t help but think back to the conversations that took place in Dr. Julia Wilson’s sociology classroom when he was a student. “Fighting for the less fortunate people who don’t know how to help themselves really stuck with me.”</p><p> So, instead of complaining, he and a middle school orchestra teacher applied for a grant to receive help. Their school was awarded a $10,000 grant from San Antonio Independent School District Foundation (SAISD), which paid for 20 instruments for the students in 2012. Two years later, the school received another $500 for upkeep costs to the instruments.</p><p> “I will be applying for another grant this coming school year because I should have 35 to 40 students in orchestra,” he said.</p><p> Before Jones received the grant money, he was paying for music supplies out of his own pocket. “There’s no extra pay or stipends for running the orchestra program. I just call it a love for teaching,” said Jones, who learned Spanish on his own so that he could teach six Spanish classes at the school.</p><p> When his co-worker became ill, Jones took over the program. “I’d never taken a strings course; I don’t play violin, cello or bass. “I concentrated in voice and piano at Emory & Henry, but, I was given the music education skills at Emory & Henry to be able to teach strings.”</p><p>  Jones also has organized a student choir at the school. “The first year I had 12 students in choir class, now I have 85 or more. I’m also adding a hand bells choir next year.”</p><p> Perhaps the most exciting news is that all of Jones’ orchestra students passed standardized tests this year, and 90 percent of his fifth-grade choir students passed the tests.</p><p> His work at the school seems never-ending.</p><p> Jones started after-school clubs at the school, one of which is a music memory academic club that meets once a week for third-through-fifth-grade students. “We study scores of classical pieces. They have to memorize and learn every piece, who wrote it, when they wrote it, and the names of large and small works,” he explained. His students entered a regional competition this year and nearly all of the students placed.</p><p> In addition, he received a grant to organize a year book club, allowing the school to publish its first year book in 30 years.</p><p> Jones is earning a second master’s degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio where he received the Presidential Scholarship from the College of Liberal and Fine Arts. He also received the Dashnell Endowment Scholarship for which he was the first elementary focus to receive.</p><p> He is being mentored by the nation’s leading expert on a Dalcroze Eurythmics at UTSA, a developmental approach to enhance musical expression and understanding for students of all ages.</p><p> He is an active member of the San Antonio Teachers’ Alliance (campus representative), the Texas State Teachers’ Association (regional and state delegate), the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, and the Texas Music Educators’ Association.  For two years, he has been a 2012 corps member for the San Antonio Region of Teach for America. </p><p> One of his best pieces of advice to future teachers:</p><blockquote> I teach my students how to be thinkers. I learned at Emory & Henry to be a thinker, not a follower or just a doer, but instead a thinker and a leader. And that’s what I want my students to learn.</blockquote></div><a href="/live/profiles/12-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/155-"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,450,490/27_abe1975e59116cf763b1821b22668003_f74661.rev.1491319536.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,450,490/27_abe1975e59116cf763b1821b22668003_f74661.rev.1491319536.jpg 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,450,490/27_abe1975e59116cf763b1821b22668003_f74661.rev.1491319536.jpg" alt="Dr. Ken Noe poses with one of his Auburn grad students, Peter Thomas (E&H, '08). In addition to the flag of his home state in the bac..." width="345" height="225" data-max-w="450" data-max-h="490" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/155-"><p> Dr. Ken Noe ’79 Writing Book on the Weather’s Impact on the American Civil War</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> When Dr. Ken Noe (’79) was growing up in Elliston he remembers that weather played a huge role in the work done on his grandfather’s farm. “If rain was coming, we dropped everything else to put up hay.” He thinks this experience planted a seed in the back of his mind about the impactful influence of weather. Later, his interest in weather grew when he took a geography course at Emory & Henry with Dr. Ed Bingham.</p><p> But even he could never have predicted that he would now be writing a two-volume book on weather’s impact on the American Civil War.</p><p> Ken is the Draughon Professor of Southern History at Auburn University. He is the author or editor of seven books, and he has published scads of articles, essays and chapters about the Civil War. He is a decorated history professor serving at West Georgia College before heading to Auburn. He was a Pulitzer Prize entrant and won the 2003 Kentucky Governor’s award, the 2002 Peter Seaborg Book Award for Civil War Non-fiction, and the 1997 Tennessee History Book Award. He has won several teaching awards, has served as president of the Alabama Historical Association, and is serving on the Advisory Board of the Society of Civil War Historians. He has even been a consultant for the NBC series <em>Who Do You Think You Are? </em></p><p> But in all his prolific writing and research and publishing even he is surprised that his biggest and most industrious work to-date will be about weather.  “Meteorologists are still trying to work out why the weather during the Civil War was so unusual. They dealt with incredibly snowy and rainy winters and droughts in the summer that affected Southern food supplies. There were dust storms, flooded rivers, and only two hurricanes. It had a profound effect on many campaigns.”</p><p> His research on weather has already taken several years, and he still has a few years left before he publishes. And even he was amazed to realize just how much information he had accumulated. “Very little has been written about Civil War environmental history. It is only now becoming part of the conversation about Civil War history.”  </p><p> Ken says that even in a field of study like Civil War history where so many things have been written, there is still new area for research and a lot of topics that haven’t been covered.  He has grad students asking new questions about the role of religion, the prison industries during the war, the role of friendship, and one young man, who is an E&H grad, is looking into camp life.</p><p> Even though we have just passed the 150^th anniversary of the American Civil War, Ken points out that this conflict still has implications for current events; and he marvels that most conversations over the past 18 months have quickly moved from history to current topics like the Confederate flag, U.S. prisons, and race relations. He says his field has gotten so tangled with politics that there is a declining interest in Civil War history among the public. “But this event still has much to teach us. It was a great turning point in American History and opened up questions that are still being answered about equality of humankind, the status of women, states’ rights. I don’t know how we can answer all these questions unless we go back to the beginning.” He consistently stresses to his students the importance of going back to primary source information rather than depending on how the stories have been told and passed down.</p><p> Ken actually majored in education at Emory & Henry and still remembers panicking when he realized he didn’t want to be a junior high school teacher. “I had a lot of electives leftover and started taking history classes late in my college experience. I realized what I wanted to be was a historian and teach at a higher level.” A conversation with Patsi Trollinger (’72) reassured him that most alumni do not stick to work within their major. And a conversation with Dr. Gene Rasor in the history department led to a phone call which ended with Dr. Rasor telling Ken he had an interview with the history department at Virginia Tech.</p><p> The rest, as they say, is history.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/155-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1893-"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,33,512,545/3399_771885.rev.1519915305.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,33,512,545/3399_771885.rev.1519915305.jpg 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,33,512,545/3399_771885.rev.1519915305.jpg" alt="Bobbie Frentz Larkins, E&H Class of 2003" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="512" data-max-h="512" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1893-"><p> Bobbie Frentz Larkins is a great advocate for connecting E&H students to career possibilities at Eastman Chemical Company.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Bobbie Frentz Larkins received her Bachelors of Science degrees in Chemistry and Biology from Emory & Henry college in May, 2003.  Bobbie taught high school Chemistry and Biology in Washington County, Virginia, from 2003 to 2007.  In 2007, Bobbie joined Eastman Chemical Company as a part of the Specialty Plastics organization.  Currently, Bobbie is a Portfolio Specialist focused on managing the growth portfolio for the Plastics business.<br/><br/> Bobbie joined the E&H Alumni board in 2012 with a passion to ensure that future generations have the opportunity to benefit from an Emory & Henry education.  Bobbie has worked to develop an E&H Alumni network within Eastman Chemical Company as well as provide opportunities for E&H’s science students to interact with Eastman (networking opportunities, plant visits/tours, career mentoring, etc.).<br/><br/> Bobbie also has a focus on service within her community – a value instilled by E&H.  Bobbie was a member of the Kingsport Junior League from 2011 to 2016, a member of the Tri-Cities ALS Association Board of Directors from 2012 to 2015 and is currently an active member of the Tennessee Doberman Rescue and Calvary Church in Johnson City, TN.  Bobbie and her husband, David, are passionate about supporting animal rescues and providing for school-aged children in need.<br/><br/> In her spare time, Bobbie enjoys organic gardening and cooking as well as spending time with her husband, David, their two children, Katie (17) and Andrew (14), and their three dogs Matilda, Brodie and Shadow.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/1893-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2055-"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,24,1139,1161/4101_Nicole.rev.1525361616.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,24,1139,1161/4101_Nicole.rev.1525361616.webp 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/png" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,24,1139,1161/4101_Nicole.rev.1525361616.png 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,24,1139,1161/4101_Nicole.rev.1525361616.png 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,24,1139,1161/4101_Nicole.rev.1525361616.png" alt="Nicole Powell, E&H Class of 2016, in a photo taken during her zoo internship in St. Louis." width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,24,1139,1161/4101_Nicole.rev.1525361616.png 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,24,1139,1161/4101_Nicole.rev.1525361616.png 3x" data-max-w="1139" data-max-h="1137" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2055-"><p> Nicole Powell’s life is a like a zoo …and she loves it that way!</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Nicole Powell has a nose for career success; but when it comes to stinky barns, she can’t smell a thing.</p><p> Nicole is currently a “Swing Keeper” at the Memphis Zoo – which means she gets to move around from one area to another depending on where she’s needed. One day she might be bottle-feeding baby goats, and another day she’s helping  African Red River Hogs take a dip in the swimming pool. Nicole says they have young visitors who won’t go into some of the places where she works because they say it smells so bad; “but honestly, I smell nothing!”</p><p> Nicole was a Biology major (Chemistry minor), and she’s known for a long time this is the kind of work she wanted to do. At the end of her junior year at Emory & Henry she did an unpaid internship at the St. Louis Zoo in Missouri.  But zoo work doesn’t come easily.</p><p> She has sent out 130 job applications. After graduation, she completed additional unpaid internships in Columbus, Ohio, and New Orleans. Nicole says most descriptions for job openings ask for several years of paid experience but sometimes they’ll accept unpaid work because they expect up-and-comers to do that. “Three internships is average, but some do five.”</p><p> She’s happy to have this job in Memphis, even if it is only a part-time position. She understands that this is how it works: you get in the system and then you have the chance to move around to the best zoos and bigger jobs. When the chance arises, “I have to take the opportunity.”</p><p> Nicole admits to wishing she could get back a bit closer to her home state of North Carolina, but she is willing to do what she needs to do in order to get closer to a fulltime, fulfilling career in zoo work, especially if it’s a chance to work with giraffes. “I’d move anywhere for that job!”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2055-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/793-"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/213,0,1089,877/563_Joe_Shortt.rev.1505400886.webp 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/213,0,1089,877/563_Joe_Shortt.rev.1505400886.jpg 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/213,0,1089,877/563_Joe_Shortt.rev.1505400886.jpg" alt="Joe Shortt at the American Saddlebred Horse Association of Virginia's Hall of Fame" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/213,0,1089,877/563_Joe_Shortt.rev.1505400886.jpg 2x" data-max-w="876" data-max-h="877" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/793-"><p> Joe Shortt has been inducted into the American Saddlebred Horse Association of Virginia’s Hall of Fame.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><blockquote><p> Joe Shortt is a 2017 inductee into the Hall of Fame of the American Saddlebred Horse Association. </p></blockquote><p> Joe Shortt was a STEM guy before STEM was cool. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in chemistry with minors in math and physics. And while his career utilized his science background, it was his sideline that has recently garnered him recognition.</p><p> A well-known horse-trainer, Joe was inducted into the American Saddlebred Horse Association of Virginia’s Hall of Fame in 2017.</p><p> Through the 1970s he trained a host of champion horses with names like Prince Magic, Drum Chant, Bourbon’s Curiosity, Katy Vanguard and Boomerang. He told the Smyth County News and Messenger that his love of horses took shape while he was still in high school. “As a sophomore in high school I began working during the summer at Nancy Brown’s training stable in Seven Mile Ford. This is what encouraged me to begin a professional training career.”</p><p> But he started riding much earlier. “I began riding at about eight years old on my Shetland pony named Nubbins, and showed him for the first time at the Rich Valley Fair the following year.”</p><p> Joe worked with horses in Virginia until he moved to Sevierville, Tennessee, with his company, Blue Circle Cement.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/793-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1434-"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,280,279/2269_Gary_Reedy.rev.1516131489.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,280,279/2269_Gary_Reedy.rev.1516131489.jpg 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,280,279/2269_Gary_Reedy.rev.1516131489.jpg" alt="Gary Reedy, E&H '78" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="280" data-max-h="279" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1434-"><p> Gary Reedy is CEO for American Cancer Society.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Gary M. Reedy is the Chief Executive Officer for the American Cancer Society. He took the position in April 2015, but he served as a volunteer for many years before that.</p><p>  </p><p> As a volunteer leader, Reedy is credited with transforming the organization into one able to better deliver on its lifesaving mission. He is a past chair of the Society’s volunteer Board of Directors and past chair of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network^SM (ACS CAN) Board. He also led the ACS Board’s advisory committee on transformation, a pivotal role for the organization’s recent restructuring work. He first joined the Society in 2000 as a member of the Board of Trustees of the former American Cancer Society Foundation. In recognition of his service, Reedy was elected as an Honorary Life Member of the Society in 2014.</p><p> Prior to taking the helm of the Society, Reedy had a distinguished 37-year career as a health care business and advocacy leader, most recently as the worldwide vice president of government affairs and policy, at Johnson & Johnson, where he spearheaded initiatives to influence global health policy. He previously devoted more than 25 years of his career to the business side of the industry, including senior leadership positions with SmithKline Beecham, Centocor, and Johnson & Johnson. During his tenure at Johnson & Johnson, Reedy served as president of Ortho Biotech, a Johnson & Johnson company with annual revenues of more than $3 billion.</p><p> Reedy’s nonprofit experience includes current board appointments for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund, the National Health Council, Research America, and Emory & Henry College. He is an active member of the Atlanta Rotary Club, previously served on the C-Change board of directors, and was a charter member of the CEO Roundtable on Cancer.</p><p> As the Society’s top staff executive, Reedy leads the strategic direction and overall management of the organization, with 2  million volunteers, 6,000 staff, and 5 geographic regions. He works with the Society’s Board of Directors to establish the organization’s vision and drive revenue and impact to achieve its lifesaving mission.</p><p> Reedy also holds an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Arcadia University. He and his wife, Cindy (E&H ’80), live in Atlanta, Georgia, and are the proud parents of two adult daughters, Katie and Stephanie. </p></div><a href="/live/profiles/1434-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1449-"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,305,361/2422_Peggy_Callison.rev.1516637873.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,305,361/2422_Peggy_Callison.rev.1516637873.jpg 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,305,361/2422_Peggy_Callison.rev.1516637873.jpg" alt="Peggy Ireson Callison E&H '77" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="305" data-max-h="361" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1449-"><p> Peggy Callison didn’t start college until she was in her 30s…so it is no surprise that she has authored a great book in her retirement. </p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Peggy has a great sense of humor about being a more mature author. In 2017, she stated, “Without doubt, I belong to the ‘Grandma Moses’ group of authors.  I am nearing seventy-nine, and I published my first novel in 2015.”</p><p>  </p><p> Peggy has raised her children and had a stellar, 25-year career as a secondary school educator, teaching speech and drama, debate, and creative writing. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Speech from Emory & Henry College, and a Master’s Degree in English from Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English, Vermont.  Her final semester was spent at Lincoln College, Oxford, England.  </p><p>  </p><p> Her book, Sock Monkey Doll, reflects her love for the region where she grew up:  in the Appalachian Mountains of Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee.  “My novel reflects the beauty of those majestic mountains and the harshness of cultural expectations.” She is mindful of the fact that she came of age at a time when education and career weren’t always on the list of expectations for young women. “The true stories of the lives of  mountain women need to be written.  My own life could have been very different.  I graduated at the top of my high school class in 1958, and instead of sending me to college, I was told to go find a good man to marry. Not until I had been married  twelve years did I go to college.”</p><p>  </p><p> Peggy’s book is available through Amazon and Books-A-Million.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/1449-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/16-"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/25_3352ba2f2869555aca164cdd562e5444_f47341.rev.1490710878.webp 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/25_3352ba2f2869555aca164cdd562e5444_f47341.rev.1490710878.jpg 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/25_3352ba2f2869555aca164cdd562e5444_f47341.rev.1490710878.jpg" alt="" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/25_3352ba2f2869555aca164cdd562e5444_f47341.rev.1490710878.jpg 2x" data-max-w="1000" data-max-h="666" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/16-"><p> Hannah Taylor (’15) Exploring Gender Stereotypes</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Hannah Taylor, a member of the E&H Class of 2015 from Atkins, Va. majors in psychology. Using her pet rabbit in an animal therapy program she seeks to help mentally challenged individuals and residents of nursing homes.</p><p> “They love getting to see him (the rabbit), and it warms my heart to see their reactions and how much they enjoy visiting with him. This is one of my passions, because it amazes me how people can connect with animals, and he is always able to put a smile on their face, even if they are having a bad day.”</p><p> Hannah Taylor, a member of the E&H Class of 2015 from Atkins, Va. majors in psychology. Using her pet rabbit in an animal therapy program she seeks to help mentally challenged individuals and residents of nursing homes. “They love getting to see him (the rabbit), and it warms my heart to see their reactions and how much they enjoy visiting with him. This is one of my passions, because it amazes me how people can connect with animals, and he is always able to put a smile on their face, even if they are having a bad day.”</p><p> Taylor says about Emory & Henry: “Emory & Henry is known for its quality education, which is ranked nationally, and when you attend Emory, you know you are getting a great education that you will always take with you. The professors at Emory are also ranked nationally; they do not hand you anything, you really have to earn it. With that being said, even though the professors are tough, they are always there for you and to help you in anyway they can. When you graduate from Emory & Henry College, it is something you can be proud of because you know you have worked very hard for your degree and your achievements. “</p><p> As a student at Emory & Henry, Taylor is currently completing her second internship through Abingdon Health and Rehabilitation in occupational therapy. Her first internship was completed last fall with Highlands Community Services at the Stepping Stones location where she worked primarily with bipolar and schizophrenic individuals. Last spring, Taylor and fellow classmate, Amy Wilson, completed a research project involving gender stereotypes and careers. Although the research did not bear significant findings, Taylor plans to expand her sample group and explore a wider range of demographics.</p><blockquote> Emory & Henry inspired me to become a psychology major, and I am very thankful for that. I love it, and couldn’t imagine majoring in anything else. Emory & Henry also has helped me gain professional contacts through internships. Being able to go out and intern at a future place of work is amazing; you are able to gain valuable experience while getting class credit. It has been an amazing experience for me, and I will always be thankful for it.</blockquote></div><a href="/live/profiles/16-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/770-ashley-anderson"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/16/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,51,640,691/541_14429489_10104176658464845_379036427_n.rev.1505248978.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/16/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,51,640,691/541_14429489_10104176658464845_379036427_n.rev.1505248978.jpg 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/16/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,51,640,691/541_14429489_10104176658464845_379036427_n.rev.1505248978.jpg" alt="Ashley Anderson" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="640" data-max-h="640" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/770-ashley-anderson"><p> Ashley Anderson, ’05: Higher Education Professional and Diversity Advocate</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Ashley Anderson - Regional Admissions Representative, University of Alabama</p><p> Graduate Degree:  Master of Arts in Teaching, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis; Graduate Certificate in Higher Education and Student Affairs, Indiana University</p><p> “I learned how to make a difference in the world because of my time spent at Emory & Henry College…I carry the teachings of E&H with me everyday, especially in the workplace where I pride myself on being a change-maker. In my current position, I work with entering college students, and I have a strong passion for working with undocumented and LGBTQ+ students and helping them find the right college fit. I was able to cultivate this passion during my time E&H where I learned to be an advocate for justice and equality.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/770-ashley-anderson" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/13-"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/22_fbd04c901271156159e4e275a5bf845f_f50561.rev.1490707796.webp 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/22_fbd04c901271156159e4e275a5bf845f_f50561.rev.1490707796.jpg 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/22_fbd04c901271156159e4e275a5bf845f_f50561.rev.1490707796.jpg" alt="" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/22_fbd04c901271156159e4e275a5bf845f_f50561.rev.1490707796.jpg 2x" data-max-w="1000" data-max-h="666" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/13-"><p> Sydney England (’14) Receives Prestigious Fellowship Opportunity </p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> She received the Armbrister Memorial Scholarship for freshmen honors and the Outstanding Senior Award from the Sociology Department. She was on the dean’s list all eight semesters while a student at Emory & Henry, and she graduated summa cum laude with college honors. She also was inducted into several national honor societies.</p><p> Is it any wonder that Sydney England is one of only two students throughout the country selected to receive the Jessie Ball duPont Fund Fellowship, providing a two-year period of work and study in philanthropy and charitable work?</p><p> England, a 2014 graduate of Emory & Henry College, was nominated by the college, which is among many liberal arts colleges and universities eligible for support from the Jessie DuPont Fund. England was selected from a large field of applicants.</p><blockquote> Dr. Joe Lane brought the fellowship opportunity to my attention. I don’t know if I ever fully set my sights on the fellowship because it always seemed like a long shot.Sydney EnglandClass of 2014</blockquote><p> The Jessie Ball duPont Fund Fellowship program, headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., is designed to provide practical experience for students interested in careers with nonprofit, faith-based, or philanthropic organizations. As a fellow, England is exposed to foundation governance, grant making, governmental oversight, and industry events.</p><p> “Responsibilities shift daily, but primarily it’s a lot of research and grant management. The fellows are really there to support senior staffers with some of their project management and report preparation,” explained England.</p><p> “This fellowship will afford me an acute insight into the full life-cycle of a grant, from initial proposal to grant management and re-evaluation. It’s very rare to have the opportunity to see this grant maturation within a wide array of nonprofit organizations at my age and experience level,” she said.</p><p> “I’m really just hoping to develop a strong grant writing and nonprofit management portfolio and to engage in meaningful personal research during my two years at the Fund.”</p><p> England is among the fifth class of fellows at the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. Some of their predecessors work with the Peace Corps, religious organizations, and community-based nonprofits.</p><p> Her accomplishments at Emory & Henry are equally impressive.</p><p> The alumna doubled majored in sociology and history with a minor in women’s studies. “When I entered Emory & Henry, I was the conventional high-performing student who was primarily concerned with grades. If nothing else, E&H taught me that if you aren’t imagining beyond your goals, you aren’t giving yourself enough latitude to grow.”</p><p> While a student at Emory & Henry, England was a research assistant, and she also gained experience working for Terry McAuliffe’s campaign for governor in Virginia.</p><p> Her honors thesis was entitled “Check Here: A Critique of Normative Discursive Categorization within Survey Construction.” The premise of her research was to address some of the General Social Survey’s methodological limitations.</p><p> “I found that nominal and mutually-exclusive language, as it pertains to the General Social Survey categorization of sex, creates a false sense of normativeness within American society and harshly limits the accuracy of data when causal inferences link these two categories to various other demographic features within the data set. Ultimately, I created an alternative survey proposal that I hope will be adopted more frequently on campus.”</p><p> England said her experiences at Emory & Henry have enabled her to be a successful person, employee, and citizen.</p><p> “I feel the impact of my liberal arts education daily and in several dimensions. First, I often find myself willing to engage in critical, solutions-oriented dialogue, and I think that’s a direct result of the type of Socratic courses that you regularly find at Emory.</p><p> “Second, I’m acutely aware of the impact that place has on people, and this is really imperative when you’re in a workspace. I’m really aware of workplace dynamics and organizational core values. Those are really important to understand when you’re trying to figure out how you, the individual, fit into the structure. At Emory, we were constantly reminded of how people and place are inextricably connected.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/13-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/718-"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,975,975/437_unnamed.rev.1502370732.webp 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,975,975/437_unnamed.rev.1502370732.jpg 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,975,975/437_unnamed.rev.1502370732.jpg" alt="" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,975,975/437_unnamed.rev.1502370732.jpg 2x" data-max-w="975" data-max-h="975" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/718-"><p> Fallon Walker Grindstead, ’13 leads in Chilhowie </p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Fallon Walker Grinstead is a 2013 graduate of Emory & Henry from Chilhowie, Virginia.  Fallon majored in our teacher preparation program in Health & Physical Education.  She is entering her 5^thyear of teaching and her 9^th year of coaching volleyball at Chilhowie Middle School.  In 2014-2015, she helped create the Health and Physical Education curriculum for Smyth County Schools and last year she was honored as Teacher of the Year for her school.  In  addition, the past two years, the Chilhowie JV Volleyball team has won the Mountain West Conference Championship.  Fallon says  her overall goal is to “help each student  find something active they enjoy.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/718-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>