Alumni Awards

Meet Our Alumni

• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2569-ryan-hasty"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,960,960/6063_profile_1.rev.1552564875.webp 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,960,960/6063_profile_1.rev.1552564875.jpg 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,960,960/6063_profile_1.rev.1552564875.jpg" alt="Ryan Hasty E&H Class of 2010" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,960,960/6063_profile_1.rev.1552564875.jpg 2x" data-max-w="960" data-max-h="960" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2569-ryan-hasty"><p> Ryan Hasty is in research and development at Makani Power, a spinoff of Google X. And while he values his science education, he especially appreciates the ethical discussions behind science that punctuated his education at Emory & Henry.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Ryan Hasty works at Makani Power, a wind energy R&D project that was spun off from Google’s <a href="https://www.ehc.edu/live/image/gid/68/width/650/6062_ryan_hasty.png" class="lw_preview_image"><picture class="lw_image lw_image6062 lw_align_left lw_column_width_half"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/500/height/333/6062_ryan_hasty.rev.1552504772.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/500/height/333/6062_ryan_hasty.rev.1552504772.webp 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/png" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/500/height/333/6062_ryan_hasty.rev.1552504772.png 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/500/height/333/6062_ryan_hasty.rev.1552504772.png 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><img width="500" height="333" alt="A photo of Ryan Hasty's flight project at Makani Power." src="/live/image/gid/68/width/500/height/333/6062_ryan_hasty.rev.1552504772.png" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/500/height/333/6062_ryan_hasty.rev.1552504772.png 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/500/height/333/6062_ryan_hasty.rev.1552504772.png 3x" data-max-w="2000" data-max-h="1333" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture><span class="lw_image_caption lw_column_width_half lw_align_left" style="width: 500px">A photo of Ryan Hasty's flight project at Makani Power.</span></a>secretive research division known as X. “We are developing an airborne energy kite technology that integrates advances in aerospace engineering, materials science, and autonomous controls. As a prototype engineer on a small team, my objectives range from flight hardware integration to prototype design and flight testing.”<br/><br/> He says what he loves most about the work is “the amalgamation of advanced aerospace concepts with experimental clean energy. The evidence of anthropogenic climate change is clear and unequivocal. Our decisions from here forward with respect to energy production will have a significant impact on future life on earth. This project is one of many new energy technologies aimed at pushing the limits of what we know to be possible.”<br/><br/> He says research and development work is challenging by definition – the whole idea is to try something that has never been done before. But therein also lies R&D’s greatest excitement.  “Exploration and creativity speak to something innate and instinctive within us as humans, and the highest expression of these instincts are the things or ideas we bring into the world.”<br/><br/> Ryan studied Chemistry and Environmental Studies at Emory & Henry. He says he is, of course, benefiting from the technical aspects he learned from his major study areas, but he especially values the opportunities Emory & Henry gave him to ask the ethical questions behind science and technological development. “It’s not enough to ask ourselves whether we <em>can</em> build something, we must seriously ask whether or not we <em>should</em>. These questions are critical to our future with the rapid progression of aerospace technologies, robotics and artificial intelligence.”<br/><br/> When he’s not creating and molding new ideas, he can be found serving as a mentor to several local high school F.I.R.S.T Robotics Teams and can be found building combat robots for ABC’s ‘Battlebots.” He is also a dedicated practitioner of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and supports homeless rights efforts in the Bay Area.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2569-ryan-hasty" 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/792-bronie-reynolds"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,499,543/565_bronie.rev.1505403379.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,499,543/565_bronie.rev.1505403379.jpg 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,499,543/565_bronie.rev.1505403379.jpg" alt="Bronie Reynolds (E&H '84) poses with Mike Young (E&H '86)" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="499" data-max-h="543" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/792-bronie-reynolds"><p> Did you ever wonder who picks the best referees in the country? Turns our Bronie Reynolds (right, E&H ’84) is one of those people.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><blockquote><p> She picks the refs who make the big calls. </p></blockquote><p> Bronie Reynolds (E&H ’84, E&H Hall of Fame basketball point guard) laughs with glee as she recalls how Dave Thomas used a dust spray around the edges of the E&H basketball court. “He took such good care of the King Center…and we all knew if you got much beyond the court lines during a game, you’d slide all over the place because he had dusted over there!”</p><p> These days Bronie is looking at basketball from a different vantage point. She is one of a handful of people who evaluate basketball referees. She works for Charlene Curtis – former basketball standout and Hall Of Famer from Radford University who selects and assigns the Women’s Basketball Officials for the ACC, Big South, Southern and Colonial Conferences.  Bronie has known Ms. Curtis for a long time. “Coach Curtis, as I refer to her since I worked under her as her Graduate Assistant Coach at Radford University in 1984, is also responsible for the evaluation of the officials for those conferences.  She has to hire Neutral Observers, like me, to help her fulfill the expectations of each conference to have the best officials on the floor for every game. “</p><p> During the summer, she attends a camp where new officials try to break into conferences like the ACC and current officials try to vie for a better spot on the referee totem pole. Bronie says it’s very competitive. “Every year they’re all evaluated – so they have to be on their best game. They have to stay in shape physically, they must know the rules, and they need to appear invisible on the court. There is always someone trying to get their spot.”</p><p> She has a “day job,” too. She is Business Manager for Blue Spiral Consulting and an Insurance Consultant for Blue Ridge Insurance Services. However, throughout the year she watches tapes of games and attends games, and she gets to watch a lot of her favorite sport. “I get paid to watch basketball! Who can complain about that!?”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/792-bronie-reynolds" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/812-beth-hudak"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,824,662/575_Beth_Hudak_EH_10.rev.1505495071.webp 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,824,662/575_Beth_Hudak_EH_10.rev.1505495071.jpg 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,824,662/575_Beth_Hudak_EH_10.rev.1505495071.jpg" alt="Beth Hudak's work has been recognized by the National Science Foundation." width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,824,662/575_Beth_Hudak_EH_10.rev.1505495071.jpg 2x" data-max-w="824" data-max-h="662" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/812-beth-hudak"><p> Beth Hudak’s work caught the attention of the National Science Foundation.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> A press release from the University of Kentucky tries to explain the science in terms we can all understand: haven’t we all held a cell phone in our hands and noticed it getting a bit too hot? The research and discovery done by Beth Hudak just might make that sensation obsolete.</p><p> Beth earned a B.S. degree in Chemistry from Emory & Henry in 2010, and finished her Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky in 2017. While working with a team of researchers she has just made an exciting breakthrough in polymorphs of the inorganic compound hafnium dioxide – used commonly in optical coatings.</p><p> The results have implications for more efficient microchip technology.</p><p> The paper on the work was recently published by Nature Communications, and the work was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the U.S. Department of Energy, and NASA Kentucky. The research is getting national attention, and is currently featured as a banner headline on the website for the National Science Foundation.</p><p><a href="https://uknow.uky.edu/research/hafnia-dons-new-face">Read the press release</a> from UK explaining the work here.</p><p> Beth is now working at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.</p><p><picture class="lw_image lw_image576 lw_align_left lw_column_width_full"><source media="(max-width: 500px)" type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/500/height/282/576_Screen_Shot_of_NSF_webpage.rev.1505495071.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/500/height/282/576_Screen_Shot_of_NSF_webpage.rev.1505495071.webp 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><source media="(max-width: 500px)" type="image/png" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/500/height/282/576_Screen_Shot_of_NSF_webpage.rev.1505495071.png 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/500/height/282/576_Screen_Shot_of_NSF_webpage.rev.1505495071.png 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><source media="(max-width: 800px)" type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/800/height/450/576_Screen_Shot_of_NSF_webpage.rev.1505495071.webp 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><source media="(max-width: 800px)" type="image/png" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/800/height/450/576_Screen_Shot_of_NSF_webpage.rev.1505495071.png 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><source media="(min-width: 801px)" type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/1000/height/563/576_Screen_Shot_of_NSF_webpage.rev.1505495071.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source media="(min-width: 801px)" type="image/png" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/1000/height/563/576_Screen_Shot_of_NSF_webpage.rev.1505495071.png 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img width="1000" height="563" alt="This screen shot shows Beth's work featured on the NSF webpage." src="/live/image/gid/68/width/1000/height/563/576_Screen_Shot_of_NSF_webpage.rev.1505495071.png" data-max-w="1920" data-max-h="1080" data-optimized="true"/></picture></p></div><a href="/live/profiles/812-beth-hudak" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2451-david-bledsoe"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1024,1365/5644_David_Bledsoe.rev.1541708682.webp 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1024,1365/5644_David_Bledsoe.rev.1541708682.jpg 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1024,1365/5644_David_Bledsoe.rev.1541708682.jpg" alt="David Bledsoe, Emory & Henry Class of 2014." width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1024,1365/5644_David_Bledsoe.rev.1541708682.jpg 2x" data-max-w="1024" data-max-h="1365" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2451-david-bledsoe"><p> David Bledsoe started making headlines before he ever graduated from law school.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> David Bledsoe is an associate attorney for Breeding Henry Baysan PC that dedicates his practice to a variety of legal fields including criminal defense, business litigation, personal injury, and general civil litigation.</p><p> Mr. Bledsoe is originally from Big Stone Gap Virginia and subsequently received his undergraduate degree from Emory & Henry College located in Emory, Virginia, where he majored in Business Management and subsequently graduated Magna Cum Laude.</p><p> After obtaining his undergraduate degree, Mr. Bledsoe attended law school at Lincoln Memorial University where he graduated 6^th in his class with the honorable distinction of Cum Laude. Mr. Bledsoe was awarded the Justice Gary R. Wade Award in his second year in law school, which is given every year to one law student who demonstrates outstanding academic performance and an unwavering dedication to the community. Mr. Bledsoe was also awarded the Lincoln Memorial University Lincoln Lawyer Award, a faculty-voted award given to three students annually who demonstrate strength in legal writing, oral argument, and leadership. Mr. Bledsoe was also a member of the Duncan School of Law Mock Trial Team, where he competed as both a witness and as an attorney in both civil and criminal cases. Mr. Bledsoe received a CALI award in his Federal Income Taxation class, an award given to the student with the highest overall grade in a class for that semester.</p><p> David has worked in a variety of areas and has achieved a variety of notable accomplishments since he began working in the legal field. One of which was clerking for his father, where he successfully assisted in writing an appellate brief to the Virginia Court of Appeals, which subsequently received a favorable reversal on an underlying felony conviction. He has interned for the Washington County Commonwealth Attorney’s office in Virginia, clerked for the Honorable Judge Tim Irwin of Knox County Juvenile Court, worked as a research assistant to various law professors in academic writing, and clerked for other esteemed criminal defense attorneys in Knoxville.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2451-david-bledsoe" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2955-kyle-sensabaugh"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,601,601/6892_Kyle_Sensabaugh_Photo.rev.1568396666.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/png" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,601,601/6892_Kyle_Sensabaugh_Photo.rev.1568396666.png 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,601,601/6892_Kyle_Sensabaugh_Photo.rev.1568396666.png" alt="Kyle Sensabaugh, E&H Class of 2014" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="601" data-max-h="601" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2955-kyle-sensabaugh"><p> Kyle Sensabaugh is a Director for People, Inc. – and says he’s forever grateful to Emory & HEnry.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Kyle is a native of Columbus, Ohio and now resides in Glade Spring, Virginia. He came to E&H in 2009 as a first-year student and athlete, and eventually made Southwest Virginia his home.</p><p> Upon graduation, he accepted his first job as the Head Assistant Basketball Coach at Emory & Henry. He was then offered a position as an Assistant Store Manager at Lowe’s (home improvement) – a job he held for four years.</p><p> He is currently employed with People Incorporated of Virginia as the Director of Housing Services. He started this job in 2017, and says he owes much of his success to his E&H degree, and he loves that his career allows him to make a difference for people. “My position consists of finding affordable homes for clients, giving aid to current homeless individuals, helping to prevent individuals from becoming homeless, weatherization services for under income individuals, under income home ownership programs, and voucher programs for section 8.”</p><p>                 Kyle is proud of the fact that he was a Bonner Scholar at Emory & Henry. “Bonner gave me a true appreciation and respect for community service. I enjoyed all the sites I worked with and loved the rewarding feeling of helping others. That same experience drove me towards my passion for my job now. I had great relationships with several of my professors and peers, that allowed me to network within this community. Those networking opportunities, took me down numerous paths from finding employment, building stronger community relationships, and finding a place that I call home. I was never a strong student before coming to Emory & Henry College, and the atmosphere and resources there changed that for me. I never had an issue getting the help I needed, the encouragement, or someone to take the time to see my situation through. Without E&H and the Bonner Scholars program, I can honestly say I would not be working with People, Inc. today.  I am forever grateful and forever an advocate for the college.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2955-kyle-sensabaugh" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2494-cortney-halsey"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/43,37,595,589/5791_IMG_1051_1.rev.1546634866.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/43,37,595,589/5791_IMG_1051_1.rev.1546634866.JPG 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/43,37,595,589/5791_IMG_1051_1.rev.1546634866.JPG" alt="Cortney Halsey ('15) and Jeremiah Jessee ('15) in full academic regalia." width="345" height="225" data-max-w="552" data-max-h="552" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2494-cortney-halsey"><p> Dr. Cortney Halsey is an occupational therapist who is serving her alma mater as a devoted career mentor.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Cortney Halsey finished at E&H with a B.S. in Biology in 2014. In 2017 she completed a doctorate of Occupational Therapy in the charter class of Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences (MDCHS) at Mary Baldwin University.</p><p> She is currently working full time as an occupational therapist embedded into the Pre-employment Readiness and Education Program (PREP) at Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center (WWRC). The position is the first of its kind. Cortney feels blessed to be in this recently created position. “ In collaboration with the OT department, we submitted a position proposal to the Department of Aging and Rehabilitation Services (DRS). The position was approved soon after I completed my doctoral experience at the center.”</p><p> Her responsibilities in the position include serving young adults with disabilities as they pursue independent living and vocational opportunities. Her special interests include sensory integration, assistive technology, and community integration. Cortney also represents WWRC in the DRS sponsored Autism Project and is a core member of the Autism Advocacy Partnership at the center. She supports academic institutions, as a project mentor for MDCHS’s Community Practicum course and precepts Level I OT Students from MDCHS and James Madison University.</p><p> She also works per diem at UVA-Encompass Health, an inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Charlottesville, as an occupational therapist for adults with acute neurological and orthopedic impairments.</p><p> Cortney doesn’t let being busy get in the way of supporting her alma mater. She was the Lyceum Keynote Speaker at E&H’s cognitive community team’s annual Autism event last year. In the summer of 2018, she collaborated with a current E&H student on a summer internship project at WWRC. Cortney says she loved getting to know Sarah Ingram, and the experience was also important for her as a new professional. “It is evident that servant leadership remains an Emory & Henry core value. Sarah, like most E&H students I can imagine, provide tangible and contextual resources through the understanding of place, thus she was able to provide current and future clients with tangible resources and education. Accessibility to resources, experiences, and opportunities will support potential and resiliency for all abilities. Sarah’s presence at our center and E&H’s commitment to service will provide this access to so many.”</p><p> Cortney used her E&H undergrad years to the fullest extent, not only excelling as an accomplished academic student, but also as a well-rounded athlete (she played softball) and campus leader (student director of orientation, member Delta Omicron Pi, Hope Award winner 2014, Homecoming Queen 2012). She says her E&H experience prepared her for the world of work she finds herself in now by “instilling a love for innovation, desire for life-long learning and  joy in trials or barriers. Emory & Henry challenged me to be a spark and not someone’s flame. The greatest reward may be the moments someone chose to change their life with one of your tools and their unique self, rather than your gifts alone attributing to that change. I am humbled by this principle every moment as an Occupational Therapist,” says Cortney.</p><p> In 2018, Cortney married college sweetheart Dr. Jeremiah Jessee (E&H re’15, ETSU Pharmacy School ’18). Jeremiah is a pharmacy resident at Sentara Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg, VA and will be taking a second year Oncology residency later this year.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2494-cortney-halsey" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2082-nathan-grinstead"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/138,51,766,679/4183_IMG_2845.rev.1527692777.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/138,51,766,679/4183_IMG_2845.rev.1527692777.jpg 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/138,51,766,679/4183_IMG_2845.rev.1527692777.jpg" alt="Nathan Grinstead, E&H Class of 2011." width="345" height="225" data-max-w="628" data-max-h="628" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2082-nathan-grinstead"><p> Nathan Grinstead (E&H ’11) is an inspector for the Department of Environmental Quality.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Nathan Grinstead is an inspector with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). He conducts above ground and underground storage tank inspections to ensure compliance with federal and state laws and regulations. </p><p><br/> It is a job that requires more than a casual acceptance of a little dirt and tight spaces. He also has to have great people skills. He spends a great deal of his time interacting with other environmental agencies and cooperating with local government officials.</p><p><br/> He says his coursework at Emory & Henry gave him a solid foundation for upholding the laws and regulations of the DEQ, as well as an appreciation for the importance of his work regarding environmental impacts. “I gained a wealth of knowledge pertaining to water quality and the importance of biological diversity. My work experience at the DEQ has given me a full understanding of how important it is to have clear and concise regulations that protect our environment. My current position allows me to enforce those regulations to ensure facilities and stakeholders remain in compliance, helping to prevent future pollution incidents from occurring. I continue to expand my knowledge every day and strive to be a committed public servant to protect citizens of the Commonwealth and the environment.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2082-nathan-grinstead" 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/1924-major-warner"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/43,48,449,456/3461_mwarner.rev.1520382856.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/43,48,449,456/3461_mwarner.rev.1520382856.JPG 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/43,48,449,456/3461_mwarner.rev.1520382856.JPG" alt="Major Warner, E&H 1991" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="406" data-max-h="408" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1924-major-warner"><p> Major Warner, a 1991 Emory & Henry graduate, is Associate Superintendent for Instruction with Fauquier County Schools.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Major Warner, a 1991 Emory & Henry graduate, is Associate Superintendent for Instruction with Fauquier County Schools.<br/><br/> He  is a 1987 graduate of Fauquier High School. He was a standout basketball player at Emory & Henry, and is a member of the E&H Sports Hall of Fame. He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Management.<br/><br/> His work with students began when he worked as an admissions counselor for two years after graduation.  His post graduate work in counseling began with a  two-year program at  Tennessee Tech University, where  he finished ahead of schedule in 1.5 years.   <br/><br/> In 1996, Warner returned to Fauquier County where he worked at Liberty High School as a guidance counselor for four years.   During this time Major began his postgraduate work in Educational Leadership with the University of Virginia,  that would eventually allow him to serve as assistant principal at both Parkview High School in Loudoun County and Battlefield High School in Prince William County.   <br/><br/> He was selected as principal of Kettle Run High School in 2007 serving for 10 years in this capacity.  He currently serves as the Associate Superintendent for Instruction with Fauquier County Schools. <br/><br/> In 2015, Warner won the The Washington’s Post Distinguished Educational Leader from Fauquier County.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/1924-major-warner" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1914-erin-griffin"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/46,207,430,591/3448_Erin_Griffin.rev.1520282800.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/46,207,430,591/3448_Erin_Griffin.rev.1520282800.jpg 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/46,207,430,591/3448_Erin_Griffin.rev.1520282800.jpg" alt="Veterinary medical student, Erin Griffin, E&H '13, with a puppy in a dinosaur costume." width="345" height="225" data-max-w="384" data-max-h="384" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1914-erin-griffin"><p> Erin Griffin, E&H ’13, is completing her veterinary medicine degree. </p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Erin Griffin, a native of Saltville, Virginia, is in her last year of veterinary school at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. This is one of only 28 veterinary medicine colleges in the United States and is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Council on Education and the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International. The school is considered a constituent college of both Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland<a title="University of Maryland, College Park" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Maryland,_College_Park">,</a> with a main campus located on Virginia Tech’s campus in Blacksburg, and a branch on the University of Maryland’s campus in College Park. </p><p> She has passed the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination and looks forward to graduating in May of 2018. She hopes to eventually establish her own practice in Southwest Virginia.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/1914-erin-griffin" 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/793-joe-shortt"><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-joe-shortt"><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-joe-shortt" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/790-richard-groover"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2133/564_2887April2917_005.rev.1505402809.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2133/564_2887April2917_005.rev.1505402809.webp 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2133/564_2887April2917_005.rev.1505402809.JPG 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2133/564_2887April2917_005.rev.1505402809.JPG 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2133/564_2887April2917_005.rev.1505402809.JPG" alt="Richard Groover's hand holding a dragonfly." width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2133/564_2887April2917_005.rev.1505402809.JPG 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2133/564_2887April2917_005.rev.1505402809.JPG 3x" data-max-w="3200" data-max-h="2133" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/790-richard-groover"><p> Catching dragonflies for the National Park Service is only the latest of Richard Groover’s cool projects.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> It’s probably easier to ask Richard Groover what he HASN’T done. After being a scientist, a teacher, a field researcher, a government employee, a reserve deputy sheriff, hostage negotiator for 9 years, a documentary filmmaker, a National Park docent, a former member of the Governor’s Climate Change Commission for Virginia, a current member of the Board of Trustees for the Virginia Science Museum and now an author – you’d think there wouldn’t be much new territory left to explore.</p><p><a href="http://www.ehc.edu/live/image/gid/68/width/650/569_groover.jpg" class="lw_preview_image"><picture><img width="500" height="414" alt="Richard Groover poses with his wife, Patti Jackson." src="http://www.ehc.edu/live/image/gid/68/width/500/height/414/569_groover.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image569 lw_align_left lw_column_width_half" data-max-w="629" data-max-h="521" loading="lazy"/></picture></a>But he has plans.</p><p> “I figure I’ve got about 10 years left in me before my brain goes, so I’ve got a lot to do.”</p><p> Richard graduated from E&H in 1971, and at the age of 68 he just this year completed his Ph.D. in Environmental  Science and Public Policy at George Mason University. “Well, you know, the dog died, the children grew up, the skies parted – I realized I had time to do my Ph.D.”</p><p> He speaks excitedly about his graduate work: he focused on Ecology and Policy. He says he studied with the best and brightest in public policy (including Lee Talbott who authored the Endangered Species Act), but his real passion is education and research in the field. He is a Biology and Environmental Studies teacher at Reynolds Community College in Richmond, and he is currently doing a project for the National Park Service studying dragonflies on National Battlefields. (For the record, he has nothing against damselflies he just thinks they’re “wimpy.” We couldn’t reach a damselfly for comment.)</p><p> He is just about to publish an ambitious reference book: <em>Second Edition of the Environmental Almanac of Virginia</em>. Richard approached the author of first edition to encourage him to write a second part – but the author, Frits van der Leeden (real name) said Richard ought to write it. The book will be out in October of 2017.</p><p> Richard says he doesn’t mind staying busy. “I’m worried about being bored. If I die tomorrow, I’ve had a really fun life!”</p><p> You can reach Richard speak of many things, including his upcoming book: <a href="mailto:rgroover@reynolds.edu"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">rgroover@reynolds.edu</span></a></p></div><a href="/live/profiles/790-richard-groover" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2313-nicole-osborne"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/219,37,614,432/4595_Bambi.rev.1536937336.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/219,37,614,432/4595_Bambi.rev.1536937336.jpg 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/219,37,614,432/4595_Bambi.rev.1536937336.jpg" alt="Nicole Osborne is a 2003 E&H grad with the Waller law firm." width="345" height="225" data-max-w="395" data-max-h="395" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2313-nicole-osborne"><p> Nicole Osborne has created a reputation for excellence in law and government affairs.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Nicole (Bambi) Osborne (E&H ’03) is an attorney in the Government Relations segment in the Chattanooga office of the Nashville-based Waller law firm. Waller is a provider of legal services to the healthcare, financial services, retail and hospitality industries. Nicole has had years of experience  as an attorney and lobbyist, representing client interests with elected officials in the Tennessee General Assembly, the United States Congress and government officials in local, state and federal agencies.</p><p> Representing corporate clients, industry groups, professional associations and not-for-profit organizations, Nicole’s experience includes drafting and negotiating legislation, assisting with regulatory and rulemaking compliance strategy and traditional lobbying to the state legislature, the state executive branch, congressional representatives, state and federal agencies, city councils, county officials and community leaders. Additionally, she monitors legislative developments and educates clients on legislative processes, procedures and progress. She also manages political action committees (PACs) and fundraising programs for clients and provides guidance on grassroots advocacy efforts and the development of coalitions.</p><p> Prior to joining Waller, Osborne led government relations, public policy and economic development initiatives for a Chattanooga-based law firm. Earlier in her career, she gained valuable government and regulatory affairs experience with the Tennessee American Water Company and the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council. While earning her J.D. from Regent University Law School, Osborne served as a Federal Government Affairs Summer Associate for the National Rifle Association and a Government Relations Intern for a leading bipartisan government relations firm in Washington, D.C. Before attending law school, she served as a congressional intern on Capitol Hill for United States Senators George Allen (R-Va.) and John Warner (R-Va.).</p><p> Active in civic and community organizations in Chattanooga and Hamilton County, Osborne currently serves as president of the Junior League of Chattanooga. She is a graduate of the Women Mentoring Women program at the Chattanooga Women’s Leadership Institute. Additionally, she is a member of the Board of Directors of the Cherokee Area Council of Boy Scouts of America. Osborne is a member of the Chattanooga Rotary Club and an appointed member of Hamilton County Read 20, a public-private partnership that promotes the importance of reading with children.</p><p> She double-majored in Mass Communications and Political Science at Emory & Henry, and continues to be active with her alma mater as an alumni association event volunteer.</p><p> When asked which of her E&H experiences best prepared her for the work she’s doing now she says: ”From honing my research and writing skills in my political science and mass communications classes (looking at you, Dr. Samir Saliba and Dr. Teresa Keller) to landing an internship on Capitol Hill in D.C. with the help of former E&H President, Dr. Tom Morris, my time at E&H not only prepared me for my current career, but life in general. When I arrived at law school I was equipped with the skills I needed to succeed because of E&H. When I entered the workforce I was equipped with the skill sets needed because of E&H. AND, I have some of my best, lifelong friends because of E&H. Simply put: I loved my time at E&H and it helped prepare me in all aspects of life.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2313-nicole-osborne" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>