Berry Magazine - Spring 2013 by Berry College

BERRY Spring 2013

a magazine for alumni and friends of Berry College

A prepared mind

Dr. William Nicholson (83C) and CDC team identify new virus in Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heartland

Olympic experience Katie Landry Branham (08C) delivers track and field news from London

My Italian adventure Student Dana Wenger shares her life-changing journey

VOL. 99, NO. 2

BERRY Features

My Italian adventure

Student Dana Wenger shares her life-changing journey

A prepared mind

Dr. William Nicholson (83C) and CDC team identify new virus in America’s heartland

Olympic experience

Katie Landry Branham (08C) delivers track and field news from London

Who are these people?

Alumni Council members are from all walks of life 15

Departments Noteworthy News

• Football plans, new facilities spark excitement • Oak Hill receives grant to restore Hillside Garden • Audrey Morgan provides funding for 10 more Gate of Opportunity Scholars • John Barge (88C) shares familiar vision • Awesome achievements: Old Mill in Southern Living, scholars and athletes earn acclaim

President’s Essay

• The purpose of Berry

Learn. Live. Give.

• Alumni trustees lead fundraising for athletic stadium, track and field facility • Scholarship honors late Berry police officer Jonathan Hardin (04C) • Harry Wise (57H) cements legacy with estate gift

Class Notes

• Mountain Day in photos

Memory and Honor Gifts

Photographer Zane Cochran captures Berry’s Kilpatrick Commons waterfall framed by a spectacular autumn sky.

Cover photo: Art major Dana Wenger (center) savors Italy with an international group of new study-abroad friends.

2012 Jim McIsaac / Getty Images

SPRING 2013

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

Touchdown!

student photographer Blake Childers

Football plans and new sports facilities spark excitement THE COUNTDOWN HAS STARTED FOR BERRY VIKINGS FOOTBALL,

and each passing month brings exciting developments about the related programs and facilities that will add vibrancy to life on Berry’s campus and benefit the entire college community. In October, Berry announced the name of the planned athletic stadium as well as the leadership gift for the overall project, which includes renovation of Roy Richards Memorial Gymnasium as a field house.

Alumnus trustee Steven J. Cage (74C) pledged a gift of $2.5 million and christened the future stadium “Valhalla” after the Great Hall of Viking warriors in Norse mythology. His vote in support of the project was seconded by fellow trustees Bert Clark (82C) and Roger Lusby (79C), who made gifts to Valhalla’s track that will be used to “match” – or double – the contributions of others for the track and field facility, which will be called Clark Track. (See

BERRY magazine

Published three times per year for alumni and friends of Berry College

BERRY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION President: Haron W. Wise (57H)

Editor Karilon L. Rogers

Past President: Barbara Pickle McCollum (79C)

Managing Editor Rick Woodall (93C)

Vice Presidents: Alumni Events, Ruth K. Martin (65C); Berry Heritage, Kimberly Terrell Melton (04C, 06G, FS); Financial Support, Tim Goodwin (03C); Young Alumni and Student Relations, Laura A. Sutton (09C); Alumni Awards, Rebecca Christopher (61C)

Contributing Writers Debbie Rasure Joni Kenyon Design and Production Shannon Biggers (81C) Chief Photographer Alan Storey

Parliamentarian: Giles M. Chapman Jr. (66C)

Class Notes and Gifts Listings Justin Karch (01C, 10G), Joni Kenyon and Rose Nix

Secretary: Nelda P. Ragsdale (64C)

Contact Information Class Notes and Change of Address: alumni@berry.edu; 706-236-2256; 800-782-0130; or Berry Alumni Office, P.O. Box 495018, Mount Berry, GA 30149.

Director of Alumni Relations Chris Watters (89C)

Editorial: rwoodall@berry.edu; 706-378-2870; or Berry magazine, P.O. Box 490069, Mount Berry, GA 30149.

Chaplain: The Rev. Scott McClure (89C)

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

Historian: Dr. David F. Slade (97C, FS)

Assistant Vice President for Public Relations and Marketing Jeanne Mathews Vice President for Advancement Bettyann O’Neill President Stephen R. Briggs

page 22 for more on the generous gifts of Cage, Clark and Lusby.) “We are overwhelmed by the financial support we’ve received from these board members,” said head football coach Tony Kunczewski, known on campus as Coach K. “It just goes to show the sincere love alumni have for this institution.” The addition of football, with track and field to follow, is part of a decade-long strategic move for Berry to Division III of the NCAA and into a conference of academically excellent residential liberal arts colleges. Division III is dedicated to the concept of the scholar-athlete and places highest priority on the quality of the student’s overall educational experience. In November, more than 270 students, faculty and staff members participated in a contest to design the Vikings’ inaugural football uniforms. The submissions were so strong the competition ended in a tie, with aspects of designs by senior Nicole Pearre and assistant women’s soccer coach Eric Gentilello merged to create the final look. “Participants used a Nike website to design the uniforms,” Coach K explained. “Within the first three hours, we had almost 100 entries.” December brought great news from Coach K about recruitment, which he said is focused on players who can perform in the

Coach Tony Kunczewski

classroom as well as on the field – students who will contribute to the head, heart and hands culture of Berry College. “That they are high character individuals is most important,” he emphasized, adding that Berry hosted almost 170 recruits on campus between June 1 and mid-December. “A lot of those recruits were shown around campus by some of our 11 current players and volunteer students who have taken time out of their busy schedules to help us. We could never do this without the student involvement. We still have a lot of work to do, but we’ve been working very closely with our admissions office to recruit the type of student-athletes who will succeed here.” December also brought the first glimpses of plans for Valhalla, which will feature a lighted, synthetic-turf field with a Viking-blue running track. (The Krannert Center food court

Valhalla Stadium

currently referred to as Valhalla will be renamed by students in the coming months.) Stadium bleachers, which can be expanded in the future, will seat 1,200 spectators; a grassy picnicstyle terraced area on the opposite sideline will increase overall seating capacity to more than 2,000. Restrooms, gameday locker rooms, meeting space, and concessions will be located beneath the bleachers. The stadium will share the Cage Center’s parking lot and be located in a wooded area between the footprint of the existing campus buildings and Martha Berry Highway. The original stadium site was shifted in a southerly direction last year after a pair of nesting bald eagles took up residence in the top of a pine tree not far from the main entrance to the college. Berry’s newest residents returned in late fall to expand their family; their location will be carefully buffered by new and existing trees as designated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service. (You can learn more about the eagles and their offspring in the next issue of Berry magazine. In the meantime, visit www.berry.edu/eaglecam.) The 75-year-old Richards Gymnasium will be renovated into a field house serving

students on the lacrosse, tennis and football teams, as well as those taking dance classes or participating in intramural sports. A strength and conditioning center and athletic training area at the site of the gym’s old swimming pool will be

used by all Berry athletes and other students interested in serious weight training. At press time, more than $4 million had been raised for the project. Construction timing will depend on fundraising status.

site Plan

Martha Berry Highway

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

•

OAK HILL AND THE MARTHA BERRY MUSEUM recently received a $3,000 matching grant from the Garden Club of Georgia to fund the restoration of the historic Hillside Garden. The project is part of a larger restoration effort that includes returning the grounds to their original state. The Hillside Garden was planted between 1927 and 1933 at the direction of Martha Berry, who wished to establish a Colonial revival garden landscape to mirror renovations being done on the Oak Hill home. Designed by Robert Cridland – the same Philadelphia landscape artist responsible for much of the landscaping on the main campus and at the House o’ Dreams – the site had become overgrown in recent years, obscuring the view of the surrounding area as well as the true topography of the plateau on which the house is built. “The hillside is integral to Oak Hill’s historic interpretation, because the house sits on a plateau overlooking the flat, fertile fields below,” explained Oak Hill Director Tim Brown. “Being able to oversee the landscape is important to the psychological and physical identity of the house as the nucleus of Thomas Berry’s plantation.” Initiated in late fall, the project called for the removal of mahonia, privet, wisteria and other tree-choking vines from the hillside and the reintroduction of dogwoods and azaleas – a nod to Cridland’s original, low-maintenance design. “The Hillside Garden was Cridland’s more natural complement to the carefully landscaped gardens on the plateau,” Brown noted. “Heather Miller, our head groundskeeper, has done an extraordinary job returning the formal gardens to their original splendor.” Contributions by student writer Katherine McDonald

NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP / Getty Images

Oak Hill receives grant to restore Hillside Garden

Rev. Luis León participates in presidential inauguration THE REV. LUIS LEÓN (67A) once again stood at the crossroads of history as he delivered the benediction at the Jan. 21 inauguration of President Barack Obama. This is the fourth time León has played a role in a presidential inauguration dating back to 2001 and the second time he has taken the inaugural stage. In 2005, he delivered the invocation at the inauguration of President George W. Bush. Addressing a crowd estimated in the hundreds of thousands gathered on the National Mall, the Cuban-born immigrant evoked the words of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the prophet Micah as he prayed blessings over President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and the American people. León, a star athlete during his Berry days, is today rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., known as the “Church of the Presidents.” Above, he is seen welcoming the president to St. John’s for a pre-inaugural worship service led by the Rev. Andy Stanley of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Ga.

Sustainablesuccess Making a difference – 12 ounces at a time STUDENTS, FACULTY AND STAFF ARE FINDING that preserving the environment can be as simple as clicking a button at water fill stations on campus. Each time users refill their own water bottle rather than popping the cap on a new one, they limit a major source of waste and pollution. The numbers quickly add up; at Berry alone, the refill button has been clicked more than 210,000 times since the first two stations (there are now more than 10) were installed in November 2010. Eddie Elsberry, director of environmental compliance and sustainability for the college, estimates that more than 20,000 bottles

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

have been diverted from landfills or recycling plants during that time. Funding for the fill stations has been provided by a number of sources, including individual departments and schools, the Student Government Association, and the student-led Green Team. Junior Emma Childs, Green Team coordinator, sees the stations as a very tangible way in which people can make a difference in the world, stating, “For students, faculty and staff to look at the bottle fill stations and understand that taking care of our planet can start right here – I think that is a hugely empowering realization.”

Internship offers uncommon perspective GLENN FUNK KNOWS FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE how

important it is for teachers to connect with their students, but this summer the Berry junior learned firsthand just how crucial that connection can be for some children. Funk (above) was one of five Berry students to participate in a pilot internship at The Children’s Neighborhood, a Fort Walton Beach, Fla., foster care facility that Franklin “Mack” Gay (59C) and the late Walter Maine (59C) were instrumental in founding.

While internship opportu nities are available at crisis centers closer to Berry, perhaps none offer a more intensive learning experience than The Children’s Neighborhood, which consists of a 24-hour emergency shelter, two long-term foster homes, and a transitional home for young adults who are too old for the foster care system but still in need of support. By affording the Berry students a rare, behind-the-scenes look at foster care, the internship helped them gain a new perspective on

their future careers and the children they will one day serve. “I was a little unsure about it until I realized that I would have foster care children in my classroom and would need to be able to work with them, to make connections and understand them,” said Funk, a middle grades education major. “I’m so happy I did it. I have had field experience at a local elementary school with children of diverse backgrounds, but that didn’t prepare me for working with foster care kids. I was blown

Fitting tribute BERRY’S SCIENCE BUILDING was officially

christened McAllister Hall during a special naming ceremony held at Mountain Day 2012. The event brought to a close a highly successful alumni-led campaign that generated nearly $6 million in memory of longtime faculty member Dr. Lawrence E. McAllister, the founder of

Alan Storey

Berry’s physics program. Those funds will be used to support science education and scholarships at Berry.

away when I first got there.” Working as a tutor and additional houseparent at the center, Funk was surprised by how little the children knew about performing such basic skills as brushing their hair, eating properly and talking to people – even how to hug appropriately. As she worked alongside foster parents, she gained valuable insight into the role they can play in the education process. “Foster parents know what makes the children tick, the pace at which they can learn, how they open up, and what works with them,” Funk explained. “Teachers need to listen to foster care parents as if they were regular parents, and foster parents need the teacher’s understanding. They’re doing all they can to fix a child’s problems, but they can’t take away the past. Foster parents need to be told they’re doing a good job.” Editor’s Note: Mack Gay’s and Walter Maine’s work in helping found The Children’s Neighborhood was featured in the Winter 2011-12 issue of Berry magazine. We regret to report that Maine died Dec. 27, 2012; our sympathies go out to his family and friends. BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

[Berry People]

teacher for approximately 275 second, third and fourth graders participating in last fall’s Math Trail event on the Berry campus. The children, representing 11 Floyd County elementary schools, took part in a variety of activities designed to help them apply their math skills to real-world situations. “We began planning the event last spring when the Floyd County Schools Kaleidoscope (gifted) program approached us about doing math-related activities at Berry for their end-of-year field trip,” said Assistant Professor of Mathematics Jill Cochran. “The Math Trail provided a wonderful opportunity for our educa tion and math majors to interact with elementary students and teach engaging math concepts through hands-on activities.” In some cases, those activities continued even after

BOB LOWE JOINED THE BERRY STAFF last fall as director of sports information and promotions. The new SID has nearly 15 years of experience in collegiate athletics, most recently serving as director of communications for the Liberty League. Previously, he held the title of SID and later assistant athletic director for communications at Greensboro College. While at Greensboro, Lowe was the driving force behind PrideNet/PrideTV, a venue offering live and archived broadcasts of college athletic events. The award-winning writer also served as Bob Lowe chairman of the College Sports Information Directors of America New Media/Technology Committee and as a member of the Board of Directors for the organization. Lowe is a native of Whittier, Calif., and holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from San Diego State University, where he is a member of the Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

the elementary students had gone home for the day. “One of the physics-based activities that we

Junior early childhood education major Gregg Starcevic demonstrates a 3D printer to elementary students visiting the physical computing lab.

organized involved the kids making a bridge out of paper,” explained junior education major Sarah Jones. “The following day, a mother told me that her son had used an enormous amount of paper continuing the project around his own house. Berry’s education program does an excellent job of preparing students to become teachers in the classroom.” Reporting by student writer Hayden Sloan Student Photographer Sarah Garrett

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

Alan Storey

EDUCATION AND MATHEMATICS MAJORS took on the role of

on a permanent basis after serving as interim chaplain for the last year. He holds graduate religion degrees from Wheaton College Graduate School and Reformed Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Stellenbosch University in South Africa. He is ordained in the Anglican Church in North America. “I am amazed and excited to be Berry’s chaplain,” said Huggins, who also serves as pastor of Mount Berry Church and teaches courses in religion and philosophy. “I have Jonathan Huggins greatly enjoyed working for this office the last two years. I hope to faithfully embody and continue the legacy of Martha Berry and the chaplains before me.” Huggins joined the religion-in-life office in 2010 as coordinator of student ministries. He assumed the duties of interim chaplain the following year when Dr. Dale McConkey opted to return to the faculty full time. Alan Storey

Jumping into math

Student Photographer Sarah Garrett

THE REV. DR. JONATHAN HUGGINS has been named Berry chaplain A volunteer measures the length of an elementary student’s long jump during a lesson on athletic statistics.

TUNITY SCHOLARS will enroll at

Berry College in the fall thanks to the tremendous generosity of Audrey Morgan, a longtime friend of the college and Board of Visitors member who helped launch the Gate of Opportunity Scholarship Program in 2009. Morgan’s most recent gift of $957,934 brings the total number of Gate Scholarships she has created to 27. And her $1 million estate commitment, which she recently increased by more than $200,000, will ultimately add even more Gate Scholarships. Morgan’s total lifetime giving to Berry now stands at more than $6.6 mil lion. Gate Scholarships are especially important today as heavy levels of student loan debt continue to make national headlines. In true Berry fashion, the Gate Program offers highly motivated students the chance to work their way through college with the opportunity to graduate debt free. It is a program Morgan wholeheartedly supports. “I have always believed that there is no better investment for

Georgia school superintendent shares familiar vision for education

our money than in the lives of our young people – to not only help them realize their dreams, but also to be compounded with the difference they make with their lives,” she said. Morgan knows personally the power of such a gift because she worked her way through college with donor assistance. She hopes her Gate Scholars will continue her legacy one day. “We are all so blessed,” she said. “There are so many in this world who do not have the advantages we have. We need to give them a helping hand to have a fair chance in life. After all, what’s life all about? To me, it is all about people.” Along with her gifts for Gate Scholarships, Morgan has also generously supported the Steven J. Cage Athletic and Recreation Center.

MARTHA BERRY was very much on the mind of Georgia

State School Superintendent John Barge (88C) during his remarks to educators, alumni and students attending Berry’s fall 2012 Charter Fellows professional development workshop. In his presentation, Barge discussed in detail his blueprint for reforming Georgia’s public schools, dividing the various initiatives into three distinct areas familiar to Berry alumni. “Honestly, Martha Berry understood education better than any human being I’ve ever known,” he said. “We talk about educating the whole child, and a lot of folks have a different definition of what that means. To me, educating the whole child means educating the head, the heart and the hands. “We have focused in public education for a very long time on educating the head,” added Barge, who was elected to statewide office in 2010. “But if we

Future photos of Audrey Morgan (below, center) and her students are going to require a wide angle lens. Her most recent gift creates 10 new Gate Scholarships, bringing the total number to 27.

don’t teach our children how to apply the knowledge that we’re giving them and develop in them the leadership and the character skills to apply those [lessons] with integrity within the workplace and society, we haven’t fully prepared our children to be successful.” Following his presentation, the former STAR Teacher, 2001 Georgia Assistant Principal of the Year, and 2005 recipient of Berry’s Distinguished Achievement Award for alumni was presented with a new honor – the Charter Fellows Award for Outstanding Service to the Profession of Teaching. Joining Barge as a fall 2012 recipient was Green Alan Storey

TEN MORE GATE OF OPPOR

Alan Storey

The gift of opportunity

Professor of Curriculum and Instruction Dara Wakefield. BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

Awesome Athletes making their mark! TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIPS in women’s volleyball and men’s soccer punctuated Berry’s first semester of competition in the new Southern Athletic Association. The titles marked a spectacular return to postseason play for Berry’s student-athletes, who were eligible to compete for conference championships for the first time since the college began its four-year transition to NCAA Division III in 2009. Mika Robinson’s Lady Vikings made the most of the opportunity, winning 13 of 14 conference matches during the regular season to claim the top seed for the inaugural SAA volleyball tournament, then sweeping three more opponents before the home fans at the Cage Center to cap their 27-5 season with a postseason crown. The same day Berry’s volleyball team clinched its

Music to our ears

SENIOR LECTURER AND DIRECTOR OF CHORAL ACTIVITIES HARRY MUSSELWHITE

is no stranger to success as a singer, voice

coach, screenwriter and filmmaker. Now, with the release of Martin the Guitar, he can add children’s author to his list of creative endeavors. Illustrated by Brian Barr and accompanied by a CD of string music (most played by Musselwhite), the book is based on a campfire story the longtime Berry faculty member once told about instruments in a music store that come to life at night. It has been featured in Georgia Music

Magazine and is available at www.amazon.com.

Traveling thespian

rapher

g t Photo tuden

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND DIRECTOR OF THEATRE JOHN COUNTRYMAN

took up

temporary residence on the Emerald Isle last fall as a Fulbright Scholar and visiting professor at the National University of Ireland, Galway. During his semester abroad, Countryman taught seminars, conducted research for a book-length history of the Galway-based Druid Theatre Co. (Ireland’s premier theater ensemble) and conducted interviews with Irish theater luminaries. He also traveled the for an extensive review on the state of theater on the island for the Irish Literary Supplement. 8

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

Alan Storey

countryside attending live performances in preparation

h e Smit

Kristin

tournament championship in the friendly confines of the Cage Center, the men’s soccer team accomplished the same feat on the campus of Alabama’s Birmingham-Southern College. Facing off against top-seeded Centre College – a team that defeated Berry 1-0 during the regular season – Richard Vardy’s No. 2 seeded Vikings battled into overtime tied 2-2 before winning a penalty-kick shootout, 5-4, to claim the title. Junior midfielder Matt Seib struck the game winner for Berry after freshman goal-keeper Logan Hill turned away Centre’s fifth and final shot. Berry is currently completing its final semester as a proba tionary member of NCAA Division III. Beginning in the fall, student-athletes in all sports will be eligible for national championships as well as conference crowns. Left, senior soccer players celebrate their conference championship. Below, fans storm the Cage Center floor after Berry’s win in the inaugural SAA volleyball tournament.

achievements Riding high

JUNIOR ANDREA SMITH was one of only

16 equestrian riders selected nationally for the American Quarter

NATIONAL ACCOLADES came

to Berry students last fall when original productions developed for Viking Fusion (the college’s student-run multimedia website) captured two first-place awards in contests sponsored by College Broadcasters Inc. and the College Media Association. Also in the fall, Viking Fusion earned its second consecutive nod as a finalist for Best College/University Journalism Website in Editor & Publisher’s international EPPY Awards competition. The Conference Room – an Emmy-winning comedy produced by Alex Middleton (12C, FS), Thomas Yungerberg (12C) and Steven Walker (12C) – was a finalist in two categories at CBI’s National Student Production Awards, winning Best TV Vodcast. Disconnected – an audio drama written, directed and produced by Yungerberg (who also provided vocal talent with senior Jennifer Allman and former student Devon Hales) – won Best Radio Entertainment/ Talk Program at the CMA’s inaugural Pinnacle Awards. Senior Bethany McDaniel was an EPPY Award finalist in the category of Best College/ University Investigative or

Documentary Report for “An Italian History: How one Jewish family survived Italy’s fascist persecution.” Her story was one of more than a dozen produced across multiple media by a group of seven communication students who accompanied three faculty members to Florence, Italy, last summer. Together, the students told the story of the “Jews of Florence,” a minority presence in the Renaissance Catholic city dating back to the mid-15th century. Last summer, another collaborative multimedia project, “War for Water,” placed fourth in a national contest conducted by the Association for Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication. Reporting by student writer Katherine McDonald

Horse Association’s inaugural Collegiate Horsemanship Challenge in Oklahoma City. The event featured eight riders from the International Horse Show Association and a

M. Harris Photography

And the winner is ...

corresponding number from the National Collegiate Equestrian Association. Smith, who helped her Berry team win western nationals in 2011, represented the IHSA in the competition, won by Carey Nowacek of Texas A&M University.

Leader in education LONGTIME BERRY FACULTY MEMBER Dr. Mary

C. Clement is the new president of Kappa Delta Pi, an international honor society with more than 600 chapters and 43,000 active members worldwide. Mary Clement

The professor of education and director

of Berry’s Center for Teaching Excellence assumed the title July 1 after previously serving as president-elect.

Old Mill makes media ‘rounds’ LESS THAN A YEAR after being voted “travel photo of the

day” on TODAY.com, the Old Mill was back in the spotlight last fall, lending a spectacular burst of color to a Southern Living feature about Rome. The Berry landmark also turned up in a Georgia Public Broadcasting production, The Water’s Edge, as well as Alan Storey

From left, Alex Middleton, Steven Walker and Thomas Yungerberg spoof a press conference in an episode of their national awardwinning comedy, The Conference Room.

a Country Extra magazine feature, “America’s Best Loved Mills.”

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

PRESIDENT’S ESSAY

head,

Dr. Stephen R. Briggs

BERRY The purpose of Berry

HE HEADLINES ARE RELENTLESS:

“College costs too much,” “How Liberal Arts Colleges Are Failing America,” “The Campus Tsunami,” “The future of online vs. residential education,” and “Come the Revolution.” Two articles landed on my desk recently. One was titled “The End of the University as We Know It.” Its central claim was that with major universities providing access to free online lectures, half of America’s universities will be closed in 50 years and “ten years from now Harvard will enroll ten million students.” The logic is that “the Internet is a great destroyer of any traditional business that relies on the sale of information.” The other article highlighted “whiz kids who were dropping out of college to pursue riches and experiences through their own entrepreneurial initiatives.” The point was that college is an unnecessary and timeconsuming expense. What are we to make of these assumptions? Is a college education really about the sale of information? If so, books should have put colleges out of business long ago. And is college primarily a means for increasing one’s personal wealth? Evidence demonstrates that a college degree is associated with many benefits including higher salaries, better health, more stable marriages and better opportunities for one’s children. Even so, a college degree that does not focus on what it means to live a worthwhile life – a life imbued with meaning and purpose – leaves one uneducated in the most profound way. SPARKLE IN THEIR EYES

When Martha Berry first established her residential school, she emphasized a model that “teaches by doing” with students

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

undertaking all manner of work necessary to sustain the institution, from growing crops, tending livestock and preparing food to constructing the buildings in which they lived, worked and studied. Martha intended to break the cycle of poverty in the hill country of Northwest Georgia by investing in educated and morally sound families who would become the foundation for strong rural communities. Martha sought out deserving and talented boys and girls who had “sparkle in their eyes,” but her goal was not simply or primarily to advance their eventual success and prosperity. Students were taught to honor work. As she explained to them, “The co-ordination of the hand and head will strengthen your earning ability and your character and will enable you to render a valued service to humanity.” And, for Martha, this valued service was normally rendered in one’s home community. AGENTS OF IMPROVEMENT

A century later, the world has changed dramatically, as have the communities that send students to Berry. Yet, the purpose of Berry endures: to prepare graduates with the knowledge, experience, integrity and passion to improve the places where they choose to live and work. And the means for achieving this purpose – an education of the head, heart and hands – remains effective, which is why Berry holds firmly to a residential model of education. As a residential campus, Berry is a living laboratory where students experience firsthand what it means to form, sustain and improve a community of learners. Each year anew, the community must organize and govern itself to create shared expectations, pursue goals, resolve conflicts and negotiate

differences. This practical learning occurs in the residence halls, on the playing fields, in work settings, with work teams, with study groups, and in the classroom. Learning how to improve Berry as a campus community provides a practical and principled lesson in how to improve any community. Berry is also part of an extended commu nity, the community of Rome and Floyd County. Berry’s health and continued prosperity are contingent on the well-being of this larger neighborhood. Thus, Berry has a vested interest in improving the community in which it resides by promoting economic development, encouraging educational attainment, and building a vibrant culture for the arts and recreation. Learning how Berry faculty, staff and students can partner with other agencies to improve Rome and Floyd County, including a specific commitment to early childhood education in South Rome, provides a practical and principled demonstration of service to an extended community. Every year, Berry students and faculty also travel to communities afar – in places like Costa Rica and Uganda – to invest time and resources in children and families in order to promote economic development, healthy families and educational attainment in our global communities. These students are deeply affected by the relationships they form and the resiliency and warmth of these developing and rural communities. Berry also occupies a large footprint. Although never wholly self-sustaining, the college has land resources and assets that allow it to serve as a model of stewardship in the production of food, water and timber resources. In particular, Berry’s land holdings provide an opportunity to define a healthy place – one that emphasizes environmental well-being and assesses the role of environ

heart, hands mental influences on human and animal health through epidemiologic and laboratory investigations. Berry’s opportunity in this area is substantial because it aligns with a national “One Health” initiative “dedicated to improving the lives of all species – human and animal – through the integration of human medicine, veterinary medicine and environmental science.” Learning how to improve and inhabit Berry as an ecosystem provides a practical and principled model of stewardship of place and creation. What makes Berry special, then, is how it purposefully prepares graduates through academic rigor and practical experience to be agents of improvement. Berry’s success can be evaluated in terms of whether its graduates employ the analytical, problemsolving and persuasive skills needed to make a place better. Does a teacher have the vision and insight to improve a whole school and not just one classroom? Does a real estate developer have the desire to improve a whole corridor and not just the parcels he or she owns? Does a medical doctor have an obligation to improve the local hospital? Asking graduates to think beyond their own immediate assignment is asking them to embrace a broader sense of “ownership.” If Berry asks its graduates to serve in this capacity – to be agents of improvement – then it should be clear about how it prepares them to this end. THE PRACTICAL AND REFLECTIVE VALUE OF THE LIBERAL ARTS

What enables people to be agents of improvement? Of course, they must be able to communicate ideas clearly and concisely – orally and visually as well as in writing. At the least, they also must be able to reason critically about complex problems. In other words, as part of their essential learning at Berry, they should be able to: • See a problem in context and from multiple perspectives • Gather and interpret evidence relevant to the problem

• Understand the use of empirical reasoning to test ideas and draw conclusions • Understand how complicated systems operate, whether those systems are social (economic, political, cultural) or natural (biochemical, ecological, organismic) • Recommend practical, principled and creative solutions to the problem. In the liberal arts tradition, analytical skills of this sort, which can be used to generate inspired solutions to the kind of thorny issues that confront society today, are learned in and across many disciplines. While no one discipline provides the perfect lens, each contributes in a distinctive and content-rich way when it purposefully helps students to reason critically about pressing problems. At the heart of this same tradition is an exploration of what it means to live a “good life.” Are we obligated to serve? If so, what is the basis of this obligation? For Martha Berry, the basis was compelling. Serving (“to minister,” as Berry’s motto puts it) pours directly and reflexively from a wellformed Christian faith, which is why the “heart” portion of Berry’s motto was critical in her mind. The message of Mark 10:45, from which our Biblical motto of service was drawn, was countercultural in Christ’s time, just as it is now. What is service from this context? Timothy Keller (see Every Good Endeavor) defines this kind of service as “putting the needs of others ahead of our own, or putting the needs of the community ahead of our individual needs.” Service of this kind teaches self-knowledge, promotes community and yields joy. Service offered in humility teaches us to understand our own aptitudes, draws us away from our consumer (meet my needs) mindset and into relationships, and allows us to see ourselves as part of a larger story. Paradoxically, if we serve primarily to bolster our identity, it isn’t really serving, and we miss the benefits. Absent a well-formed foundation for

service, why should our graduates embrace as an obligation that which is often not rewarded or valued by society? To my mind, the need to probe this question reinforces the position that a college education must focus on what it means to live a life of value to others and why we must do so; otherwise, it is instruction that leaves one uneducated in the most profound ways. In our moment of time, when technological advances are pervasive and communication immediate, it is easy to take our freedoms and relative affluence for granted – as if we were entitled to them. Our culture and our own impulses encourage us to seize this moment and live it to the fullest. What makes us most human, however, is our very ability to not take things for granted – to be self-aware about our moment in time and to wrestle with the deep and enduring questions of our own fragile and fleeting existence and what it means to live responsibly. In the end, critics are correct to assert that the residential model of education is time-consuming and expensive. (Although in terms of debt, for most students four-year college debt is less than the cost of a Ford F-150.) After all, the residential model endeavors to do more than sell information via digital lectures distributed through “massively open online courses.” I agree with columnist David Brooks that “people learn from the people they love” and that acquiring information more readily online (which is but the first and most trivial level of learning) allows liberal arts colleges to move “up the value chain – away from information transmission and up to higher things.” We should all care more about these higher things. The purpose of Berry – the Berry model – is to develop critical and creative problemsolvers who care enough to want to be agents of change in the communities in which they live and work – agents of improvement and peacemakers who are life ready. B

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

This is Dana.

Photos Courtesy of Dana Wenger

Dana Wenger has been known to get on a bus without a destination in mind because life for her is not about the endpoint; it’s about the journey. That spirit served her well in the fall of 2011 when she had the opportunity to take the journey of a lifetime – a journey in which the end of the ride was sometimes an Italian village nestled on the side of a mountain, other times one of the world’s largest churches just off a bustling street in Rome. It was a journey that would align her career goals with her unbridled enthusiasm for life and her passion for a country she’d been drawn to since childhood. It was also a journey she was never quite sure she’d actually be able to make. “People like me don’t do things like go to another country and live there,” explained the Berry art major from Charleston, S.C., and reigning Miss Berry. “People like me don’t even get a car. It was a really big deal because it was an impossible dream that I was trying to make happen.” The impossible became possible when Wenger received the Bert (82C) and Cathy Clark Endowed Study Abroad Scholarship and spent a life-altering four months reveling in the beauty of Florence, Italy. Her passion for all things Italian started when she was introduced to opera as a child. “I liked singing, I liked drama, I liked bombastic music,” she exclaimed. “Opera fit the bill!” It wasn’t long before she was fascinated by more than the music of Italy. The language drew her, and so did the art. About the same time, she also became interested in children’s books and their illustrations, often visiting the local library on Friday nights and bringing home as many books as she could carry to read with her mother. “I remember those books,” Wenger said. “They were childhood friends. Even now, sometimes when I’m going 12

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

through a situation, I am reminded of a picture in a book.” Wenger set her sights on becoming a children’s book illustrator, and when a Berry professor told her about the opportunity to study illustration at Studio Arts Centers International in the country of her dreams, she wanted to jump on it. “SACI offered a class in illustration that required partici pants to create a children’s book and read it to Italian children,” Wenger recalled. “It was like, ‘This is meant to be!’ I couldn’t get it out of my head. Once you realize something is possible, you really get your heart set on it.” But Wenger had difficulty getting her aspiration off the ground. There was a significant cost to participate, money she didn’t have until she received the Clarks’ need-based scholarship. “I wouldn’t have been able to go without it,” Wenger emphasized. “The scholarship allowed my life to be changed forever. All my words can’t come close to the appreciation I have for the gift they’ve given me!”

The following is a reprint of Wenger’s reflection paper on her Italian journey and the destinations that enchanted her along the way. Introduction by Alyssa Hollingsworth, student editorial supervisor

My Italian adventure by Dana Wenger

have wanted to go to Italy and learn Italian since I was 9, when I first heard Andrea Bocelli singing an aria. Italy kept calling me – louder than Paris and louder than Southern France (which is stunning). Even my four years of French language study couldn’t displace my desire for the Italian language, the language of music and art. The art specifically became my ultimate reason and means for answering the call to go to Italy and be enchanted. The Studio Arts Centers International program, with its illustration course, would help me gain a vital piece in my education, since I intend to become a children’s book illustrator. There also was a dazzling array of other classes I could choose. When I got settled into Florence, my home for the next four months, I began to feel the weight of history so heavily it almost hurt my heart – feeling the reality that standing there, my feet were covering the footprints of the Renaissance masters. I felt it all over Italy, especially in Rome. By the time I left – I don’t know if this is really possible – I felt as though I’d almost gotten used to being overwhelmed. I knew that every time I walked up the hill to my favorite view in the Boboli gardens I would be overwhelmed again by it. Cyprus trees, the gelato, the hot chocolate, the Christmas lights, summer festivals, the broad passionate familiarity of the people, the musical rhythms of their life and speech. Strains of a woman singing opera floating on the shimmering air, drifting down the narrow cobblestone streets that glow with the light reflecting off the golden walls of the threestory shops roofed with terra-cotta tiles. By October, Florence felt like home; I could have small conversations with Italians I met, a few shop owners knew my face and name. I loved learning how to make jewelry, the soldering, drilling, sawing – all these detailed tasks perfect for a person like me. I loved

being in the three-dimensional world of construction in addition to all my drawing and illustration projects. Then there were the Italian language and history of opera classes, which thrilled me: grammar, general linguistics, history, theater, music theory and performance? Yes, please! Add to that exciting new friends, a supportive and inspiring Florentine and international church, a grand old-fashioned apartment next to the Duomo, a good city bus system, and walking-friendly streets (free from my normal struggle of having no car). At times I felt like exploding with the joy, other times I just quietly beamed at the world as I felt my soul growing bigger. Away from my almost overwhelming amount of long-term responsibilities, I could breathe. My shoulders were gradually unstooping as I tasted the most freedom I have ever had: traveling alone to a place where no one knew me, to a place full of delights and not so many deadlines. Italians take time to cook good food well, eat good

food and talk over it, sit in piazzas and chat, enjoy festivals, dance, listen to music, dress well all the time, and sleep. I used my great freedom to do all these things and more. There were so many moments and experiences that bowled me over internally; you take a kid who has grown up in lowincome apartments and put her in front of a gleaming marble cathedral topped with a dome by Michelangelo, and rightfully, it is a mind-shattering moment. Climbing to a thrilling height on a medieval tower is wonderful, but even more so in Italy. Like a

After returning to the U.S., Dana Wenger wrote and illustrated a short children’s book drawing on her experiences in Italy. The work was part of her scholarship requirements and was presented at Berry’s Symposium on Student Scholarship.

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There were so many moments and experiences that bowled me over internally; you take a kid who has grown up in low-income apartments and put her in front of a gleaming marble cathedral topped with a dome by Michelangelo, and rightfully, it is a mind-shattering moment. sculptor coveting three-dimensionality, I wanted to become part of the air and flow over the undulating hills, fill the space, meet the horizon. Those dainty, meaningful Cyprus trees … the riveting Apennines … the olive vineyards all looking like an incredible picture in a children’s fairy-tale book. No wonder opera flourished in Italy; the country inspires such emotion in almost everyone who experiences it. I felt everything was heightened there. I was on the edge of tears standing in front of Bernini’s sculptures in the Borghese Gallery in Rome. In front of a small, early work, about a foot high, it hit me that Bernini’s hands had brought it to life. It seemed I could see him, bending over it in what would have been right next to me; if I had reached out to touch the marble, my hand would have seemed to touch his. Feeling this connection, this presence, did more than bring art history alive for me; it unhinged me a bit, so that as I stood in front of three of his masterpieces, the Rape of Europa, Apollo and Daphne, and David, my customary reserve dropped and I found myself close to tears. The Daphne’s fragile strands of hair turning to leaves, the softness

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of Europa’s skin and the tear on her cheek, the passion and power roiling out of David – all of marble! Michelangelo’s David is aesthetically elegant and rationally pleasing, but Bernini’s David has the soul of the ancient Jewish poet-king whose psalms I have grown up reading. These are the kind of things that, as an artist, will never leave me. They are the kind of things I suspected might happen, but still I had no idea how to contain them when they occurred. I still have no clue how to handle them, how to channel into my work how big and how old I now feel the world is. Hopefully, it is there somewhere, but even if it isn’t yet, I have been forever changed, and for that I would like to thank Berry College and the many people who helped me, especially Cathy and Bert Clark, for their kindness and generosity. All these and more are the images, experiences, emotions and thoughts that burst into my head and leave me looking blank and startled when someone asks the question, “So how was Italy?” I always manage to get something out, but my real answer is, “It’s so astounding, you can’t really know until you go!” B

A prepared mind

by Karilon L. Rogers

MISSOURI

When a never-before-seen virus infects people in America’s heartland, the medical community is going to take notice. And so it did last August when the New England Journal of Medicine published a study co-authored by Dr. William L. Nicholson Jr. (83C) about a virus unique to the world that sickened two

Courtesy of William Nicholson

farmers in Western Missouri.

Dr. William Nicholson poses with CDC microbiologist Aubree Kelly, who was working with him to isolate pure strains of the ehrlichiosis-causing bacterium when the Heartland virus was cultured for the first time in history.

The organism is the first in its viral group to infect humans in the Western Hemisphere, and news of the discovery circled the scientific globe. “We were surprised,” said Nicholson about the virus’ unexpected appearance as his team worked to identify what had led to the farmers’ 2009 hospitalization. Suffering from severe symptoms of fever, diarrhea, fatigue and low white blood cell counts, the men were hospitalized for about two weeks and required an additional six weeks for full recovery. Both reported having been bitten by ticks shortly before falling ill, and Dr. Scott Folk, an infectious disease specialist at Missouri’s Heartland Medical Center and co-author of the study, initially diagnosed them with ehrlichiosis, a tickborne bacterial disease. Folk sent samples of their blood to Nicholson, who heads pathogen biology and

disease ecology activity for the branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta focused on infectious diseases caused by tick-transmitted rickettsial bacteria, such as ehrlichiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Nicholson hoped to obtain new, pure strains of the ehrlichiosiscausing bacterium for his team’s research on the disease. “It was serendipity that we found the virus,” Nicholson said, “although I believe in Pasteur’s quote that ‘Chance favors a prepared mind.’ Usually when we are looking for something specific, we ask, ‘Is it there, yes or no?’ In this case, we found when we cultured the cells that there were visible changes suggesting infection, but it was not Ehrlichia chaffeensis. We could have thrown the samples away and not looked further.” Instead, Nicholson forwarded the samples BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

Courtesy of William Nicholson The National Pest Alert was developed by the North Central Integrated Pest Management Center with funding from USDA-NIFA. Reprinted with permission.

to another branch of the CDC where electron microscopes pinpointed the surprising presence of an organism in the phlebovirus genus. Next, the samples went to the CDC’s Viral Special Pathogens Branch, where highly sophisticated genetic analysis identified the virus as brand new. Heartland virus, as it was named by Nicholson and his colleagues, is most closely related genetically to a tick-borne phlebovirus discovered in China in 2010. That virus causes severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, a new and serious disease with a mortality rate of 13 to 30 percent. At present, laboratory studies are ongoing to discover more about the biology of the Heartland virus. Nicholson and his team are working in partnership with the CDC Arboviral Diseases Branch, local Missouri health departments and Missouri Western State University to collect ticks periodically from certain areas of the state, as well as blood and serum from raccoons, opossums, birds, horses and dogs – animals known to carry the Lone Star tick, the species now identified as the transmitter of the new disease. The scientists seek to understand the virus’ natural cycle and how it is transmitted among animals and to people. An epidemiological study to identify new patients with similar symptoms is also under way in the western part of Missouri by the

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CDC’s Arboviral Diseases Branch. While scientists don’t believe there is cause for great concern at this time, they suspect that other patients have been infected with Heartland and have gone undiagnosed. How many there have been, how sick they have become, and the breadth of their geographic distribution are important issues. Additional human specimens will help the CDC develop a standard method for evaluating the presence, activity and effect of the virus. PUBLIC HEALTH AROUND THE GLOBE

Nicholson has been engaged in public health efforts in more than a dozen countries over the course of his career – from Azjerbaijan to Bangladesh and from the Netherlands to China. He currently is working on a U.S. Department of Defensefunded project in Ukraine through the Defense Threat Reduction Agency with the goal of helping that nation safely contain and secure especially dangerous biological pathogens of the former Soviet Union. “We hope to serve as advisors and trainers in helping them modernize their labs for both peaceful public health activities and to ensure that dangerous biologicals don’t fall into the wrong hands,” Nicholson related. He also is involved in a national study of blood serum in Uganda to determine the prevalence of rickettsial diseases in that nation and is partnering here at home with

Above, Dr. William Nicholson collects ticks from a carbon dioxide trap underneath a house in Arizona for his research on Rocky Mountain spotted fever. He and others at the CDC have worked with the Indian Health Service since 2003 on an extensive outbreak of the disease on tribal lands.

the University of Georgia and the Georgia Health Department to identify the environmental factors associated with distribution of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the state. Nicholson points to work in Bosnia and an ongoing effort in Arizona as among his most gratifying projects. He spent a month in Bosnia in 2000, five years after the conclusion of that nation’s bloody civil war, working under the auspices of NATO’s stabilization forces on rampant outbreaks of Q fever and brucellosis, diseases that are easily transmitted to humans by animals. “It was a heavily war-torn country with craters in the highways and land mines everywhere,” he explained. “We were warned not to pull off the side of the road if we got a flat tire, but to stay in the middle of the road to fix it. And we were cautioned to walk where the farmers walked. I made absolutely sure I walked right in their steps!” Nicholson was based at Bosnia’s veterinary school for the month, having been

It began at Berry given an empty room with a cold-water sink for his studies. His team brought in all the equipment needed to test hundreds and hundreds of people and animals. Their greatest accomplishment, in Nicholson’s view, was convincing the Bosnian ministers of health and agriculture to sit down together for the first time to begin addressing the public health consequences of diseases transmitted between animals and humans. He was gratified to find Bosnian public health studies involving both physicians and veterinarians published in the years that followed. “I returned to Bosnia in 2007,” Nicholson added, “and found a country transformed. I found a people full of optimism for the future and felt we had made an impact.” In Arizona, he and others at the CDC have worked with the Indian Health Service since 2003 on an extensive outbreak of Rocky Mountain spotted fever on tribal lands. The project began when the CDC was called to investigate the death of a young child in a state not known for the disease. Nicholson found a “whopping positive result” for Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and this led to a massive education and prevention effort; he worked with Orkin exterminators and others to treat more than 350 homes in an attempt to stem incidence of the disease. In 2005, his team reported that the disease was being transmitted by a type of tick never before considered a carrier in this country. This “brown dog tick” so infests roaming dogs that the dogs have become known as “tick buses.” As a result, Rocky Mountain spotted fever continues to cause an inordinate amount of sickness and death; the annual incidence of the disease on tribal lands is 50 times greater than anywhere else in the nation. “We have a long way to go in solving the problem,” he said, “but I know we have helped.” B Editor’s Note: Nicholson’s fellow Berry alumnus and scientific colleague David O. Wood (68A, 72C), profiled in the Winter 2010-11 issue of Berry magazine, has spent his career researching another rickettsial disease, epidemic typhus.

WILLIAM NICHOLSON, A NATIVE OF HIAWASSEE, GA., always intended to get

his doctorate, but it was a project in which his Berry biology mentor involved him as an undergraduate that better solidified his career goals – and gave him entrée to his eventual employer. Dr. John McDowell, professor of biology and retired CDC parasitologist, needed a student to study blood-feeding insects on Berry’s campus, a research project funded through a small faculty development grant of $750. Nicholson was chosen and spent two years looking at insects that affect man and animals, such as mosquitos, ticks, horseflies and deerflies, using equipment loaned by the CDC – as well as some made by hand (photo below). “It was amazing how much work we got done for $750 a year,” Nicholson laughed. Nicholson was invited to present his research at the Georgia Academy of Sciences and won the organization’s Outstanding Undergraduate Scientific Presentation award. Four days after his Berry commencement, he began graduate studies in medical and veterinary entomology (the study of insects) and medical microbiology at North Carolina State University. When he completed his master’s degree, Nicholson wanted to work a year or two at N.C. State’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital before continuing his studies, a decision about which he now urges others:

“Don’t try this at home!” It was nine years later when he finally went back to school on a full scholarship to Johns Hopkins University, intending to research Lyme disease and ticks. In a complicated twist of fate involving connections between the CDC and Johns Hopkins, as well as those made at the CDC while a student at Berry, Nicholson ended up doing his doctoral research at the CDC on rickettsial pathogens and ticks. He received his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins in 1999, served as a fellow at the CDC and then was hired into a permanent position. The rest, as they say, is history. Nicholson’s experience at Berry was excellent. In fact, he declares his undergrad uate parasitology course superior to that at Johns Hopkins. Today, he tries to pay forward his strong experience at Berry – and his early good fortune to work with the CDC – by alerting Berry science faculty to unadvertised CDC summer fellowships and internships for undergraduates and supporting Berry students who apply. Nicholson knows he has his alma mater to thank for his family, as well. Although they didn’t date while in college, he met wife Fran Fletcher Nicholson (84C), now a veterinarian, when he served as her organic chemistry lab assistant one summer. They re-met 13 years later at Mountain Day (he has missed only one since his graduation) and have now been married 17 years. Their daughter, Hannah (11), plans to be a member of Berry College’s class of 2024. The family is pictured below.

2009

circa

1982 BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013 Photos Courtesy of Katie Landry Branham

lympic experience by Rick Woodall

Every athlete has a goal. For many runners, the ultimate destination is the finish line at the Olympic Games. Katie Landry Branham (08C) found herself at that coveted spot last summer, although her path to track and field’s greatest stage was different than that of the starstudded field of athletes who thrilled audiences worldwide during the 2012 Summer Olympics. Branham made the trip to London not as a competitor but as the com munications manager for USA Track & Field. Among her many duties, the Berry communication graduate and former inter collegiate runner was stationed not more than 60 feet from the finish line in an area referred to as the “mixed zone,” where media representatives, photographers and team officials witnessed the thrill of victory – and the agony of defeat – as they greeted athletes coming off the track after races. “It’s a complete roller-coaster,” Branham related, contrasting the disappointment of those who missed out on Clockwise from top: a medal with the joy of Katie Landry Branham those who finished in the wearing 3D glasses at top three. “To have the Opening Ceremony someone come down for the 2012 Summer right after they’ve won a Olympics; visiting the medal and give you a Cadbury factory in hug and share that Birmingham, England; excitement with you – donning the familiar hat those are some good of an English police memories. I had taken officer; attending the one of the hurdlers European premiere for Dr. Suess’ The Lorax; and (Michael Tinsley) to a community event two grabbing a quick weeks before. Being snapshot with Al Roker there to greet him after of The Today Show. he won his silver medal Center: U.S. track and was really special.” field team inside the Olympic Village. SOCIAL MEDIA STAR

Though she was thrilled by the perfor mances of Tinsley and others, Branham couldn’t

take long to celebrate with them. After all, there were 50,000 Twitter followers back in the States who were eager for real-time results, not willing to wait for the tapedelayed television coverage that would follow on NBC hours later. “We warned people not to look at our Facebook posts or tweets if they were trying to avoid the day’s results until the broadcast,” Branham noted. “With so many amazing performances from our team, it was very exciting to be in the role of delivering breaking news to people following back home.” The time difference (London is five hours ahead of the Eastern United States), coupled with the high-profile nature of track and field, helped Branham land a spot on Sports Illustrated’s online list of “50 Twitter feeds you need to follow during the London Olympics.” Others on the list included gold medalists Missy Franklin, Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps and Jordyn Wieber. “I got really excited at first because I thought the list was in order of importance [rather than alphabetical],” she recalled. “I had to do a double take to realize I was not the seventh-best tweeter at the Olympics.” BUSY SCHEDULE

Social media management was just one small part of Branham’s Olympic experience, which included two weeks at the USA Track & Field training camp in Birmingham, England (a city that shares its name with her Alabama hometown), and two more weeks in London for the Games.

One of her primary duties – whether at the Olympic Stadium in London’s Stratford district or back in her private room on the campus of the University of East London – was answering hundreds of media requests from reporters around the world. “With the time difference in London, it really made for a round-the-clock news cycle,” Branham explained. “Between the journalists in London and everyone back home, someone was always awake and emailing or calling me with questions.” Other responsibilities, especially during the pre-Olympic camp in Birmingham, included press conferences, media outings and various promotional events similar to the one she attended with Tinsley. Once the Games began, Branham assisted in other ways, at one point helping U.S. marathon runner Kara Goucher untie her shoes as she fought through cramps after completing her grueling 26.2-mile race. Along the way, Branham rubbed elbows not only with famous athletes but also with notable celebrities such as Matt Lauer and Al Roker of The Today Show and legendary NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw. “I was almost more excited to see some of those people than the athletes, because I’m around the athletes all the time,” she exclaimed. “Those were some neat experiences but very long days.” WHAT A NIGHT!

The Opening Ceremony is a showcase for the host city and arguably the grandest spectacle of any Olympic Games. Branham witnessed London’s extravaganza in person, but only after a quest worthy of an event she would later describe as “the best concert I’ve ever been to in my life,” complete with a grand finale by former Beatle Paul McCartney. Her journey began with a ticket request to

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the U.S. Olympic Committee, at which time she was told not to get her hopes up. It wasn’t until the afternoon of July 27 – the day the Games were to officially open – that she learned she had been approved. “I’d been running around London doing all these different work activities,” she recounted. “My boss checked her Blackberry and said, ‘Hey, I just got an email. If you can get to the office in an hour, they have a ticket for you.’” Branham set off immediately, eventually teaming up with a press officer for the U.S. water polo team in pursuit of the same goal. When they arrived at the office, they received their tickets with the following disclaimer: “We don’t know if these tickets will actually work with your credentials. See how close you can get.” With nothing to lose, Branham and her compatriot pressed forward, successfully navigating the security check points that stood before them. Eventually, they made their way into the stadium and took their seats for the star-studded show. They were not disappointed. “It was incredible,” Branham stated. “It was one of those times when you realize what an international gathering it is; everyone is speaking in a different language. It’s a refreshing feeling to see everyone come together.” MOMENTS TO SAVOR

Eight days later in the same venue, Branham had another experience of a lifetime, witnessing one of the Games’ truly unforgettable moments – the 10,000-meter final won by Mo Farah of Great Britain with U.S. training partner Galen Rupp following close behind in second. The roar of the 80,000 spectators swelled as the runners rounded the track, building to a crescendo as Farah and Rupp crossed the finish line to claim their medals. “That’s an event that Americans don’t medal in,” said Branham, referencing the traditional dominance of African nations such as Ethiopia and Kenya at that distance. “It’s also an event that Great Britain doesn’t medal in. The crowd in the stadium was so

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loud it caused the finish-line cameras to shake.” In the midst of a week of such spectacle, with flash bulbs firing and the crowd voicing its full-throated approval of the amazing performances it was witnessing, it’s no wonder that Branham often marveled, “Wow, I’m actually at the Olympics!” “I would post photos on Facebook, and people from back home were ecstatic that I was there,” she said. “It helped remind me that, yes, it’s hard work, but I’m doing something most people only dream about.” Another reminder came when her plane – filled with staff and athletes – touched down in Chicago to a special tribute after the Games. “Right before we landed, the pilot announced, ‘The plane is going to be showered with water cannons, so don’t be alarmed when you see fire trucks on the runway,’” Branham recalled. “It’s fun to be a part of that and realize that what you’ve been doing is appreciated back home.” It was the perfect ending to an absolutely unforgettable adventure. “To be there with the biggest team in the biggest sport of the Olympics and to have our athletes win the most medals – I couldn’t help but be so proud for them,” she said. “To be a part of that, even on the peripheral side of it, you just get caught up in the excitement.” STARTING BLOCKS

The opening strides of Branham’s Olympic journey can be traced to her freshman year at Berry and an email she received from faculty member Dr. Brian Carroll detailing a summer internship opportunity with USA Track & Field. At the time, she didn’t have the necessary experience to apply, so she sought out employment as a student writer in Berry’s sports information office. The experience she gained through the student work program helped Branham secure the competitive internship the following summer. It also put her in a unique position to help Berry when the sports information director (a full-time staff member) who originally hired her left to pursue another opportunity just before Branham returned to campus to begin her

junior year. Fresh off her internship, the only student worker returning from the previous staff accepted the responsibility of overseeing coverage of Berry’s fall sports (with support from athletic department personnel) until the new SID arrived. “I probably worked 30 hours that first week of school because there wasn’t an SID, but it taught me so much,” she said. “It gives you a lot of confidence when you just jump in and somehow survive.” Branham vividly remembers her first Saturday “in charge,” running a race with Berry’s cross country team in the morning before covering soccer and volleyball that afternoon. “I spent all day [at the Ford Complex],” she remarked. “I don’t even think I showered after I ran.” TAKING THE BATON

As it turned out, that experience served as ideal preparation for her first permanent position with USA Track & Field. Initially hired as Internet publishing coordinator in fall 2008, Branham instead found herself managing the organization’s website due to a staffing change that took place before she officially started. “I was the only person there for 18 months before they hired a webmaster,” she said. “It was definitely another experience that taught me a lot, even if it wasn’t easy.” Building on the foundation provided by her prior work experiences and Berry’s communication curriculum, Branham succeeded in her unexpected role and eventually made the transition to com munications manager. The new position afforded her opportunities to work on-site at meets across the U.S., as well as in France, South Korea and, ultimately, London for the Olympics. Though she is not ready to declare that sports communications is her ultimate career destination, Branham readily acknowledges that her current role is the perfect marriage of interest and skill set. “I’m working in track and field, using my degree and getting to travel,” she said. “This job is pretty close to perfect.” B

Who

are these people?

by Joni Kenyon

EVERYDAY PEOPLE

Like many alumni in her age bracket, Louvonia Johnson Boone (77C), Workforce

Paul O’Mara

hen Tim Goodwin (03C) opened a letter from a Berry Alumni Council representative telling him he had been nominated for the Alumni Association’s Outstanding Young Alumni award, he had two thoughts: “This is really cool!” and “Who exactly are these people?” Now Goodwin is on the Alumni Council himself and knows that “these people” are 56 strong and represent all age groups and segments of Berry’s 26,000 alumni worldwide. Voting members range in age from 23 years old to 91 years young and travel from as far away as Ocala, Fla., for three meetings annually. High school and academy alumni make up 15.5 percent of the council, college alumni 82.7 percent and graduate-program alumni 1.72 percent. Fiftyone percent are male, 49 percent female. All are elected volunteers. Led by Alumni Association President Haron W. Wise (57H) and other association officers, the Alumni Council members officially serve as advisors on advancing the college, as well as ambassadors for the school. They also partner with the alumni relations staff to create opportunities for Berry alumni around the globe to remain engaged with their alma mater and classmates. Equally important, they have fun. Goodwin, owner of Goodwin Investment Advisory, is now the Alumni Association’s vice president for financial support and oversees the Alumni Council’s Financial Support Committee. “It’s really fun for young alumni to be together with senior alumni. We have a great time coming up with very innovative ideas for Berry’s future,” he said. Goodwin is “always fueled and energized” during council meetings, knowing that younger alumni on the council have a special role. “As young alumni, we’re not trying to defend the status quo; we’re trying to reinvent the future,” he explained. “That’s what you need young alumni on the council to do.”

From left: Alumni Council representatives Glynn Tindall (56H, 60C), Tim Goodwin (03C) and Louvonia Johnson Boone (77C).

Investment Act career coordinator at Georgia Highlands College, is heavily involved in her career. So when approached by friends about becoming president of Berry’s AfricanAmerican Alumni Chapter, she hesitated, knowing that accepting the position also meant she would join the other chapter presi dents as a member of the Alumni Council. “From afar, I thought the Alumni Council wasn’t for me,” she said. “I thought it was for older people or people who had more money and more time.” Her attitude changed with her first meeting when she got to know her fellow members and learned that “everyday people” are just what the council needs. A COMMON BOND

Being on the Alumni Council means “you’re with the people who are really behind Berry,” according to retired school teacher Glynn Tindall (56H, 60C), who serves on the council’s Alumni Awards Committee. “There’s just a common bond.” Tindall is proud that he has nominated two alumni who ultimately were elected to the council, knowing these individuals would both enjoy their time on the council and be excited to help make a difference. “It’s a pleasant atmosphere,” he said. “Everybody is looking forward to doing what they can for Berry.”

ENGAGE!

No matter their age or background, the council members all agree on one thing: they want to use their two-year terms to engage as many alumni as possible. “Council members have many different backgrounds; however, the things that connect us don’t change,” Goodwin said. “We love Berry, we have great memories and we want to give back in a leadership capacity. All of those things bind us together.” Boone, like Goodwin, is glad that she took up the challenge. “I’m very happy with my decision, and I’m going to encourage others to serve as well,” she said. “To be on the Alumni Council is to be a part of where the college marches from here forward.” B Editor’s Note: Information on the Alumni Council is available at the “Alumni Association” link at www.berry.edu/alumni. If you know a Berry alumna/us with leadership potential who would be a good candidate for Alumni Council service, please submit a nomination to alumni@berry.edu. Include the nominee’s name, class year, why you believe he or she would be a strong council member, and whether the nominee is aware of your nomination. An online form is available at www.berry.edu/alumni within the “Get Involved” link.

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

for opportunity

From left, Bert Clark, Roger Lusby, Victor the Viking and Steve Cage

by Karilon L. Rogers

OR TRUSTEE STEVE CAGE (74C), the athletic stadium

project for adding football and track and field as intercollegiate sports at Berry is the college’s next big step in creating opportunities and experiences for Berry students. “Berry’s move to NCAA Division III, the new variety of sports in which our students can participate, and the schools we are now associated with as a member of the Southern Athletic Association are all pieces of a well thought out plan to advance the school and our students’ undergraduate experience, and I’m glad to be a part of it,” he said. Cage is more than just a part of it; he made a $2.5 million pledge to the stadium project, which includes renovation of Roy Richards Memorial Gymnasium as a field house for

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

Alan Storey

“First down” multiple sports teams (see page 2). He also named the stadium Valhalla after the Great Hall of Viking warriors in Norse mythology. “I wanted to do something a little different with the name,” Cage said. “I wanted to try to blend students, faculty, staff and alumni together by picking a name everyone could relate to. I thought ‘Valhalla’ would be a great single name that all at Berry would understand as a gathering place because that is what the stadium will be – a place to come together to cheer on our student-athletes. I look forward to the creation of a festive and spirited atmosphere surrounding football, lacrosse, track and field, and intramurals.” Cage also asked that the stadium be dedicated in honor of President Steve Briggs in recognition of his service and leadership to Berry. “He’s done so much for our school,” Cage emphasized. The announcement of Cage’s gift at the October meeting of the Berry Board of Trustees was followed by news of two other alumni trustees stepping forward to help fund the track and field facility within Valhalla. Bert Clark (82C) and Roger Lusby (79C) combined their gifts of

$200,000 and $100,000, respec tively, into a fund that will match the gifts of others to the Viking-blue Clark Track, effectively doubling the size of other donors’ gifts to the track facilities. “Berry has had a strong running program for many years,” Clark stated. “A first-class facility will welcome the new track and field teams when they begin competition, and a matching gift program is an excellent way to get alumni and friends engaged in a project that I think many people will be very excited about. We will be able to host incredible meets, and the track facility will be a great addition to Valhalla and the Cage Center.” Clark served on the committee that evaluated the benefits of adding football at Berry and has been a strong supporter ever since. “It will be an incredible addition to student life and the Berry community,” he asserted. “Every time I looked at it, I only saw reasons why we should do it. I believe it will be an unbelievable success story – and one not only measured in championships. The issue comes down to the sports and facilities being an amazing tool for student

recruitment, for creating a vibrant campus life, and for bringing alumni back to campus. The benefits are immeasurable.” Lusby agreed, emphasizing the momentum that has been building on campus. “Berry has done a lot of wonderful things over the last six years,” he said. “There is a lot of momentum right now, and these facilities are something to be enthusiastic about. People are very excited about Coach K (football coach Tony Kunczewski) and what he represents. Still, we have to be careful to do this right. I am personally very excited about the academic quality of the schools we are aligning ourselves with in the SAA.” B Editor’s Note: You can make a gift to the Clark Track or Valhalla at www.berry.edu/gift; select the project of your choice as your gift designation. You also can mail a check to: Berry College Advancement Office, P.O. Box 495018, Mount Berry, GA 30149. Please note your gift designation on your check. Gifts to the Clark Track will be matched with funds from Bert Clark and Roger Lusby, doubling the size of each donor’s contribution.

LEARN. LIVE. GIVE.

Making an impact T

HE PROJECT TO BUILD VALHALLA, Berry’s new

athletic stadium, and renovate Richards Gymnasium as a sports complex (see page 2) has emerged as a new focus for giving by Berry alumni and friends, joining such ongoing favorites as scholarships, the work program and the annual Firsthand Fund. Every gift, pledge, bequest and estate commitment to Berry has a positive impact on students’ lives and is greatly appreciated. It has been our pleasure to list new gifts and pledges of $10,000 or more in each issue of Berry magazine. With this issue, we begin to also list new estate commitments. The following gifts, pledges and bequests were received between July 1 and Nov. 30, 2012; the estate commit ments were received March 1 through Nov. 30, 2012. Anonymous, $159,527 estate commitment Anonymous, $500,000 estate commitment ARAMARK Corp., $31,670 to the general fund Nancy and Randy Berry, $1 million commitment to college priorities Stephen and Brenda Briggs, $100,000 to establish the Steve and Brenda Briggs Gate of Opportunity Endowed Scholarship Steven J. Cage (74C), $2.5 million combination estate and outright commitment to support Valhalla

Ernest and Nancy Clamp, $10,000 for the Sam W. and Lillie H. Gray Endowed Scholarship Bert (82C) and Cathy Clark, $200,000 for the Clark Track W. Glenn (62C) and Jena Cornell, $100,000 combination estate and outright commitment to support Berry’s highest priorities Joann Hunter Del Re (49H), $94,153 to support Valhalla John and Mary Franklin Foundation, $10,000 for the Student Enterprises Venture Capital Fund Francy Geiger (78C), $50,000 life insurance policy Barry (71C) and Michele (70C) Griswell, $1 million combination estate and outright commitment to support the general fund, the Barry and Michele Griswell Gate of Opportunity Scholarship, and the future center for ethical and moral leadership Debbie and Steve Heida, $15,000 for Valhalla and the future center for ethical and moral leadership Karen Holley Horrell (74C), $10,000 for a new piano in Ford Auditorium and a $500,000 estate commitment to support Berry’s highest need Hubert Judd Charitable Trust, $21,075 for the general fund H. Gwen Jones (56C), $500,000 estate commitment to help name the science building for the late Dr. Lawrence E. McAllister

The Thomas M. and Irene B. Kirbo Charitable Trust, $20,000 to fund two Kirbo Gate of Opportunity Expendable Scholarships Elizabeth Nesbitt Krupa (44C), $86,000 estate commitment to support the Michael and Elizabeth Nesbitt Krupa Gate of Opportunity Scholarship Roger W. Lusby III (79C) and Candy Caudill Lusby (82C), $100,000 for the Clark Track Martha Thomason Mallory (44C), $10,000 to fund the Martha Mallory Gate of Opportunity Expendable Scholarship Audrey Morgan, $1,207,934 combination estate and outright addition to the Audrey Morgan Gate of Opportunity Scholarship Fund Martha Sheats Perkins (67C), $10,000 estate commitment for the general fund Doris Annette Simpson, $25,000 to the Doris M. Sheram Simpson Endowed Scholarship The William B. Stokely Jr. Foundation, $40,000 to the William B. Stokely Jr. Scholarship and the William B. Stokely Jr. Scholarship in Honor of Pamela Collins Susan Denise Sumner (89C), $12,500 to build toward an endowed scholarship Dorothy Everett Sundy (59C), $25,000 to the Grady and Dorothy Everett Sundy Endowed Scholarship Roger J. (53H) and Neomia Sundy, $10,000 to the Class of 53H (Staley/Loveday) Endowed Scholarship

Joy Bernice Ogle Whaley (53H), $10,000 to the Class of 53H (Staley/Loveday) Endowed Scholarship Haron W. (57H) and Virginia Wise, $50,000 estate commitment that will support the Haron and Virginia Wise Firsthand4You Senior CoChair Endowed Work Position C.B. Wright III (73C) and Janice Bracken Wright, $1 million commitment to support the future center for ethical and moral leadership John Zellars Jr. and Randy Tibbals (79C), $115,000 commitment for the Tibbals/ Zellars Gate of Opportunity Scholarship BEQUESTS The estate of David C. Garrett Jr., $500,000 for the David C. Garrett Jr. Gate of Opportunity Endowed Scholarship, David C. Garrett Jr. Professor of Business, David C. Garrett Jr. Library Fund, Eleana M. Garrett Award for Meritorious Advising and Caring, and Dave and Lu Garrett Award for Meritorious Teaching The late Myrtle Joiner Lawhon, $10,000 for the Class of 43C Scholarship Fund The estate of Milton A. Morgan, $36,852 unrestricted bequest The estate of Pauline B. Pickens, $14,800 unrestricted bequest

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

Scholarship

honors memory of alumnus, police officer Jonathan Hardin

by Rick Woodall

ONATHAN HARDIN (04C) was

many things to many people. To Berry students, he was the fresh-faced campus police officer who could be counted on to use the college’s electronic entry system to open a residence hall door with the click of a mouse – even while serving on a mission trip half a world away. For his fellow officers in campus safety, he was the dependable support services manager with a knack for electronics and an encyclopedic knowledge of Berry. Faculty member Harry Musselwhite remembers the student with the “beautiful bassbaritone voice” who enjoyed performing American spirituals, while Campus Carrier alumni of the day recall the fellow staff member willing to risk a speeding ticket to deliver the paper to the printing plant on time. To parents Randy and Nita, Hardin was all these things and more, a loving son of tremendous faith and character who passed away all too soon in March 2012 – eight weeks shy of his 30th birthday – of natural causes related to diabetes. It’s impossible to separate Hardin’s life from his relation ship with Berry, which began at age 7 as a participant (and later counselor) at Camp WinShape. His involvement grew as a communication major and recipient of the WinShape College Program Scholarship. Early in his law enforcement career, he jumped at the chance

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

to return to the campus he loved. Along the way, he became “the walking Wikipedia,” in the words of Maj. Jonathan Baggett, possessing vast knowledge of Berry and its history. “He would have made a good tour guide,” father Randy noted. “You didn’t want to get into Trivial Pursuit about Berry with him. He forgot more about Berry than I’ll ever know.” As friends and family sought an appropriate way to honor Hardin’s memory, it seemed only natural that Berry be involved.

When a scholarship was suggested by a colleague, Randy and Nita knew it was the perfect thing. “We were all for it,” Nita said. “With all that was going on, it hadn’t occurred to us that we could do that. I knew that there were these kinds of things, but I thought it was only people with millions of dollars who gave.” To date, gifts and pledges totalling more than $17,000 have been received in support of the $25,000 Jonathan Randall Hardin Endowed Scholarship

Fund. When completed, the scholarship will be awarded annually to a work program participant with strong financial need. “We want someone else to be able to experience Berry,” his mother said. B Editor’s Note: Contributions to Jon Hardin’s scholarship can be made at www.berry.edu/gift or by mailing a check to P.O. Box 490069, Mount Berry, GA 30149. Designate your gift to the Jonathan Randall Hardin Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Legacy at work by Rick Woodall

ARRY WISE (57H) had a

strong belief in Berry’s student work program and a willingness to contribute to its success in the future. What he didn’t have – as a retiree living on a fixed income – was the flexibility to make a significant contribution right away. The solution was both simple and far-reaching – an estate gift that will help Berry students in the future while preserving financial security today. By listing Berry as a beneficiary in their will, Wise and wife Ginna

were able to designate support for the future establishment of the $50,000 Haron and Virginia Wise Firsthand4You Senior CoChair Endowed Work Position. When fulfilled, this commitment will help ensure that funding is always available for this supervisory-level work position in the college’s student philanthropy program. As president of the Berry Alumni Association, Wise is pleased to be able to build on the notable growth in Berry Heritage Society membership

Harry and Ginna Wise

(signifying those who have made an estate gift to Berry) that took place among Alumni Council representatives in 2011-12 under the leadership of his predecessor,

LEARN. LIVE. GIVE.

Barbara Pickle McCollum (79C), and Vice President for Financial Support Tim Goodwin (03C). Wise never imagined that he would one day find himself in a position of influence among his fellow alumni. Now that he holds the title of Alumni Association president – and the accompanying seat on the Berry College Board of Trustees – he takes seriously the responsibility of leading by example, especially when it comes to giving.

“You’ve got to walk the walk,” he said. From his office in the Berry Alumni Center, the retired corporate vice president and former mayor of Montgomery, Ohio, recalled the many stories of life-change he has heard from other graduates – high school and college – as well as his own experience working as a high school student to bottle, pasteurize and distribute milk from the campus creamery. He

their stories: Students’ lives shaped by scholarships

is proud that the work program of his youth remains a core component of the Berry student experience today and is excited to be able to contribute to its continued development. “The work program that’s provided at Berry is so unique,” Wise said. “It’s an integral part of the education that’s offered here. The fact that we’ve embarked on the (studentmanaged) enterprise program speaks to the level of confidence

that’s placed in the students and the autonomy they are given to perform the tasks that they are assigned. And the students step up when given that challenge and/or opportunity.” B Editor’s Note: You don’t have to be a member of the Alumni Council to make a planned gift to Berry. Contact Helen Lansing at 877-461-0039 (toll free) or hlansing@berry.edu to learn about the options available to you.

Erika

Making the grade(s) odds were against her. “Coming from a low-income, single-parent household, I was told a long time ago that the only way I would get to go to college would be if I found a way to do it myself,” she said. Growing up in the small North Georgia town of Blairsville, Bunpermkoon first heard about Berry in middle school. She researched a number of colleges and universities in the years that followed, but Berry stayed at the top of her list. Knowing that the only way she would be able to achieve her dream was by earning a scholarship, Erika devoted herself in middle school and high school to being the best student she could be. “It was a lot of pressure sometimes,” she recalled. “I was always pushing myself to be better, and the drive to succeed led me to become valedictorian.” The hard work also paid off in a full-tuition Presidential Scholarship, the highest academic scholarship available at Berry. “I remember when I got the letter, my mother and I both cried with joy and excitement,” she said. “I was thrilled that I was not only getting to go to college, but I also had the opportunity to go to a well-respected private college that I had dreamed about since I was 13 without having to go into debt to do it.”

Today, Bunpermkoon is an English literature major with a minor in music. Her goal after graduation is to pursue a master’s degree and become a high school language arts teacher. “Basically, this scholarship has been the most impactful element of my time at Berry,” she said. “It freed me to pursue my goals and dreams without being chained to financial anxiety.” And her hard work isn’t over. The scholarship she worked so hard to get now holds her to a Erika Bunpermkoon higher standard, for which she is very grateful. “The honor of receiving such a scholarship has set the tone for my performance at Berry,” she stated. “I always strive to be the best that I can be and to represent Berry College as I think a Presidential Scholar should.” Alyssa Hollingsworth

RIKA BUNPERMKOON’S DREAM was to go to college. But the

by Alyssa Hollingsworth student editorial supervisor

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

MOUNTAIN DAY OLYMPICS & 5K RACE

MARTHAPALOOZA, GRAND MARCH & PICNIC

Another picture perfect Mountain Day • October 2012

CONVOCATION & REUNIONS

GOLF TOURNAMENT & MEGA REUNION

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

WHERE? ALUMNI CLASS NOTES

CLASS YEARS are followed by an uppercase or lowercase letter

that indicates the following status: C College graduate G Graduate school alumna/us A Academy graduate H High school graduate c, g Anticipated year of graduation from Berry College a Anticipated year of graduation from academy h Anticipated year of graduation from high school FFS Former faculty and staff FS Current faculty and staff

[Legend]

2012 Jim McIsaac / Getty Images

are they now

SEND ALL CLASS NOTES TO: alumni@berry.edu or Alumni Office,

P.O. Box 495018, Mount Berry, GA 30149

Dynamite debut! Photos by Alan Storey, Paul O’Mara and Student Photographers Blake Childers and Mary Claire Stewart

COLLIN MCHUGH (09C) MADE HISTORY AUG. 23 as the first Berry baseball alumnus to reach the major leagues. With his family cheering him on at New York’s Citi Field and friends looking in from Berry, the right-handed pitcher sparkled in his Mets debut, striking out nine batters and allowing just two hits in seven scoreless innings against the Colorado Rockies. McHugh wound up pitching in eight games for the Mets before the season ended, including a Sept. 30 relief appearance at Atlanta’s Turner Field – the fulfillment of a childhood dream.

1960s Kenneth Gerald “Jerry” Allen (62C) has written and published a book, My Farm Boy Experiences. He has shared stories and signed copies of the book at the Pickens County Library and other locations in Jasper, Ga. Ariel A. Rodriguez (66A) has been assigned temporarily to the New Jersey Supreme Court. He became a trial judge in 1985 and was promoted by the chief justice to the Appellate Division in 1993. He became a chief judge of the Appellate Court in 2011. (See page 30.)

1970s Elaine Poole Ball Orrand (70C) was one of 24 U.S. teachers who participated in the 2012 Fulbright

Japan-U.S. Teacher Exchange Program for Education for Sustainable Development. She teaches intellectually gifted students in DeSoto County, Miss. Kathy Fraser (76C) completed a Master of Music in Performance degree with a specialization in choral conducting from the University of Delaware in August 2012. She has taught elementary music and chorus in the Colonial School District of New Castle County, Del., for 14 years and has lived in Newark, Del., for 22 years.

1980s Linda Smith Hamilton (81C) earned certification as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) from the Human Resources Certification Institute. She has worked for 20

All class notes are subject to editing due to space limitations. Class notes and death notices in this issue include those received July 1 – Nov. 30, 2012.

years at Halifax Health in Daytona Beach, Fla. Jim Owen (81C), director of men’s and women’s golf and senior associate athletic director at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, received the 2012 Dave Williams National Coach of the Year award after leading Oglethorpe’s men’s golf team to the 2012 NCAA Division III national championship. He was honored at the Golf Coaches Association of America banquet in Las Vegas in December. Owen has coached golf at Oglethorpe for 20 years. His team has finished in the top 12 nationally for 13 consecutive years and also won the NCAA title in 2009. Gregory Hanthorn (82C) was appointed in July 2012 to a second one-year term as co-chair of the Ethics and Professionalism Committee of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association. He is also serving a two-year term as president of the Lamar Inn of Court and will be included on the 2013 list of “Best Lawyers in America” in the area of commercial litigation. Hanthorn practices with the Atlanta office of the Jones Day law firm. Robert Jeff Andrews (84C) is an engineer at Corning Inc. in North Carolina. Wendy Davis (87C, FFS), a political strategist, represented

Georgia at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. She resides in Rome and produces telephone town hall events across North America.

1990s Raymond Rodrigues (92C), budget manager at Florida Gulf Coast University, is a newly elected member of the Florida House of Representatives. His wife, Ruth Lindsey Rodrigues (92C), is director of campus reservations at Florida Gulf Coast University. Jennifer White (93C) and husband Thomas welcomed daughter Selah Rain in December 2011. She joined brothers Jeremiah and Elijah in the family’s Carrollton, Ga., home. Kathy Ortwein Ingalsbe (96C) and husband Kraig Ingalsbe (96C) announce the Dec. 2, 2011, birth of son William Lewis, who was welcomed by big sister Anna at the family residence in Rome. Kraig is chief financial officer for Big Time Products in Rome. Bianca McKendry Giddens (96C) and husband Steve welcomed son Sawyer Walton on July 16, 2011. He joined big brother Shepard (3) in the family’s Atlanta area home. Owen Malcolm (97C) has been named partner and managing director of Sanders Financial BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

VVC Photo / Inga Heuser

Sheryle Bolton

named CEO of Sally Ride Science

WHEN THE SCIENCE EDUCATION COMPANY FOUNDED BY AMERICA’S FIRST WOMAN ASTRONAUT, Sally Ride, sought a new

CEO following Ride’s July 2012 death, the firm looked no further than Berry College Trustee Sheryle Bolton (68c). In Bolton, Sally Ride Science found an experienced corporate executive and businessstrategy consultant with an acute understanding of the education market. “Sally Ride Science has been a leader in the science, technology, engineering and math – or STEM – education movement,” Bolton said when her appointment was announced. “I am excited for the opportunity to further Dr. Ride’s vision of inspiration and leadership while also developing new opportunities for growth and innovation.” Launched in 2001, the company creates high-quality science programs and materials that educate, entertain, engage and inspire. Bolton previously served as CEO of Scientific Learning Corp., an educational technology company that develops scientifically validated reading programs based on neuroscience research. As CEO, she led the growth of the company from pre-product launch to a highly successful IPO (Initial Public Offering of stock). She also has extensive experience as a director of private and public corporations in technology and financial services. Directors & Boards magazine recently named her a “Director to Watch,” while Watermark, a Silicon Valley organization for technology executives, honored her as a “Woman Who Has Made Her Mark.” Stanford Business School published two cases about her career for use in its entrepreneurial studies program. After attending Berry, Bolton earned a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in linguistics from the University of Georgia and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. She served Berry as a member of the Board of Visitors from 2004 to 2006 and has served on the Board of Trustees since 2006.

Management, a division of United Capital Financial Advisers. Andrew “Drew” Arrington (98C), chaplain/captain with the U.S. Army, relocated to Fort Bragg, N.C., with wife Allison and daughters Anna Claire, Lizzy and Kate after a three-year assignment in Germany. Shannon Ingram Rush (99C) and husband John announce the June 2, 2012, birth of their first child, Isaac Fletcher.

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

Philip Mills Herrington (99C) earned a doctorate in history from the University of Virginia in August 2012. He works as a special collections research fellow at the University of Virginia School of Law.

2000s Kimberly Benefield (00C) and husband welcomed son Sawyer Rylan on Feb. 17, 2012. The couple has two other children, Kaylee (4) and Tate (3).

Jamie Crowe Schroer (00C) and husband John welcomed son John “Isaac” on May 24, 2012. Isaac joined siblings Lauren and Aaron at the family home in Kennesaw, Ga. Laura Heaven (00C) and Sally Heaven announce the Sept. 15, 2012, birth of daughter Bryn Gabrielle, who was welcomed by older siblings Lily and Henry to the family home in Takoma Park, Md. Autumn Ginn (01C) was selected as Teacher of the Year for Shiloh Elementary School in Gwinnett County (Ga.). Catherine Craig Takeuchi (01C) and husband Jim welcomed daughter Evelyn Elizabeth on July 31, 2012. The family lives in Woodstock, Ga. James Garner (02C) received a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Georgia in August 2012. Tannika King Wester (02C) married Adam Wester on Oct. 20, 2012, at Darlington School’s Morris Chapel in Rome. Lindsey Brackett (02C) and husband Joshua welcomed fourth child Augustus Harmon Deforrest on May 1, 2012. Gus joined sisters Madelynne, Annabelle and Amelia at the family home in Clarkesville, Ga. Joshua is chief financial officer for Access to Capital for Entrepre neurs, and Lindsey blogs regularly at www.brackettfamilyrandomacts. blogspot.com. Tommy Murphy (02C) is director of residence life at BirminghamSouthern College. He previously worked at Boston University and Dartmouth College. He earned a Master of Education degree from the University of Georgia in 2007. Russell Hunt (02C) and Dana Migliore Hunt (01C, 07G) announce the birth of their second child, Anthony Coy, who was born May 25, 2012, weighing 7 pounds, 3.9 ounces and measuring 20.5 inches long. Anthony joined big brother Andrew Thomas at the family home in Cartersville, Ga. Melissa Mackenzie Marks (02C) and Daniel Robert Marks (98C) welcomed son Harrison Robert on July 29, 2012. The family resides in Roswell, Ga.

Lori Jennifer Tipton (05C) and Robert Kenneth Lester were married July 17, 2012, at Our Lady of the Snows Chapel in Girdwood, Alaska. The couple resides in Anchorage, where Lori is news director for KTBY/KYUR and Bob is a morning radio show co-host for KWHL-FM. Gina Bastone (05C) received a master’s degree in information studies from the University of Texas at Austin in August 2011. She is a social sciences librarian at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. Lisa Ferrone (06C) of Atlanta graduated magna cum laude from Life University in 2011 with a degree in dietetics. She is a resource dietitian for Sodexo in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. Emily Stewart (06C) and husband Daniel announce the Sept. 22, 2012, birth of son Schuylar Grey, who was welcomed by older brother Ryder Wayne to the family home in Adairsville, Ga. Emily graduated with an Educational Specialist degree from Lincoln Memorial University in July 2012. Katie Latimer Knowles (07C) and husband Matt announce the July 7, 2012, birth of son Levi Andrew, who joined sister Addison (2) in the family’s Woodstock, Ga., home. Susan Cunningham Tatum (08C) and Matthew Alan Tatum were married June 3, 2012, at Lindsay Street Hall in Chattanooga. The wedding party included Amanda Adams Winstead (07C), Megan Geren (08C) and Ellen Dutro Hearn (09C). The couple lives in Chattanooga. Cade Strippelhoff (09C) and Lindsey Haines Strippelhoff (09C) announce the June 1, 2012, birth of son Caleb Levi.

2010s John Tatum (10C) graduated from recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Parris Island, S.C. Drew Highsmith (10C) and Jenny Mischler (10C) were married June 23, 2012.

AlumniAuthors Berry magazine has been notified about the following new alumni-authored books since our last listing. Congratulations! nL eah

(L.M.) Sherwin (10C), Night Bells, selfpublished, August 2012, and Silent Shades, self-published, November 2012, www.lmsherwin.com or www.amazon.com.

nT om

Spector (72A) and Rebecca Damron, How Architects Write, Routledge Press, August 2012, www.amazon.com.

If you have a newly published book (2012-2013) you’d like us to include, please send your name and class year, book title, publisher, publication date, and a Web address for a synopsis and/or order information to krogers@berry.edu with a subject line of “Berry Alumni Authors.”

✁

Servant

Leader

MICHELE GRISWELL (70C) HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED WITH THE UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL IOWA’S HIGHEST HONOR, the 2012

Tocqueville Society Award, in recognition of inspirational and sustained service to her community through the United Way. She was selected by a panel of past recipients of the award. Griswell, pictured above (center) at the awards ceremony, is a founder of the organization’s Women’s Leadership Connection, which has grown to more than 600 members over the last decade while raising in excess of $10 million to improve Central Iowa’s network of learning centers for young children in lower-income neighborhoods. Through service to the WLC Advisory and Advocacy committees, she has encouraged legislators to act on behalf of Iowa’s young children. In 2005, Michele and husband Barry (71C) – a Berry trustee – launched the Griswell Family Challenge, matching new and increased contributions to WLC. That same year, the couple helped lead United Way Worldwide’s launch of Born Learning, a national awareness campaign focused on the power of parents to be their children’s first and best teacher. Griswell has also worked passionately in support of United Way Worldwide’s National Women’s Leadership Council, inspiring growth in women’s philanthropy throughout the United Way network. “I’m humbled to be recognized by United Way and my friends in Tocqueville Society,” she said. “Nothing is more important than our work on behalf of the children in our community. I’m grateful for the many opportunities to serve. I feel like I’ve received so much more in return than I could ever give myself.”

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Name & Class Year______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Email Address___________________________________________________________Phone Number_________________________________________ News (marriage, birth, job, retirement, achievements, etc.) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ To have your news included in Berry magazine, mail to Berry College Alumni Office, P.O. Box 495018, Mount Berry, GA 30149 or submit via email to alumni@berry.edu.

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

From the editors of Berry magazine: Highlights about Berry alumni sometimes come to our attention via the news media – especially when a Berry affiliation is mentioned. When we can, we want to share what we’ve heard with you. See any names you know?

Ariel A. Rodriguez (66A) has been appointed to the New Jersey Supreme Court to serve as a justice in a temporary role until a permanent seat on the court – which has been open for more than two years – is filled. His appointment was announced by numerous legal and New Jersey news outlets. Rodriguez was serving as the presiding judge of the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, Part G, when tapped for Supreme Court service. He received his bachelor’s and Juris Doctor degrees from Rutgers University. Roger Lusby (79C), a Berry trustee, was featured in the October 2012 edition of Atlanta Magazine for being selected as a FIVE STAR: Best in Client Satisfaction Wealth Manager (Taxation) for 2011. It was Lusby’s fourth consecutive year for the honor. He is managing partner of Frazier & Deeter LLC’s Alpharetta, Ga., office. Frazier and Deeter is the 77th largest CPA firm in the U.S. and the 7th largest in Atlanta.

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

Charles Dempsey Strickland (50c) was the subject of a letter to the editor in the Newton Citizen headlined “Congratulations to a fine attorney and gentleman.” The letter, written by employee Teresa B. Thompson, congratu lated him on 50 years of honorable law practice in Covington, Ga., and for being known by all as a fine man who has helped many. Mark Banta (82C) was back in the news in Dallas, Texas, last fall when Klyde Warren Park, a 5.2acre green space created over an existing freeway, was officially opened by the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation. Banta is president of the park, which was created and will be maintained through a unique partnership between private donors and local government. The Rome News-Tribune reported that the Rev. Joe Dunagan (76C) has returned to Rome as rector of Transfiguration Episcopal Church. He previously served at Saint Christopher’s at the Crossroads Episcopal Church in Perry, Ga. A religion and philosophy major at Berry, Dunagan holds a theology degree from Emory University. The Rome News-Tribune also reported the Nov. 28 retirement of Lynn Plunkett (74C) as superintendent of Floyd County Schools after a 32-year career in education that started in Bradenton, Fla., and wound its way through Georgia’s Cobb County, Marietta and Bartow County before landing her in Floyd County.

Greg Mooney / AtlantaPhotographers.com

So we’ve heard

The Alliance Theatre’s fall 2012 production of Next to Normal received rave reviews in Atlanta, and so did Lindsay Ricketson (09C) for her portrayal of Natalie. According to an AtlantaTheaterFans.com review, Ricketson gave one of the strongest performances in the show, with her singing of “Superboy and the Invisible Girl” emerging as a production highlight. Ricketson’s Atlanta credits include Sweeney Todd (Johanna Barker) and Titanic: The Musical (Kate Murphy).

The Shelby County (Ala.) Reporter covered the selection of Sean Clemmensen (11G) as head volleyball coach at the University of Montevallo after serving Berry as assistant coach and graduate assistant. He is a graduate of Coastal Carolina University and earned an M.B.A. at Berry. Eric Brown (04C) was named Teacher of the Year for Parkview High School in Lilburn, Ga., where he has taught and coached swimming since 2004. According to Lilburn.patch.com, Brown earned his master’s degree from Walden University and Education Specialist degree from Piedmont College.

Melissa Wood (11G) has been appointed women’s softball coach at Georgia Highlands College. According to the Rome News-Tribune, Wood previously was assistant softball coach at North Idaho College after serving as a graduate assistant coach at Berry – most notably for the softball team’s inaugural 2010 season – while earning her Master of Education degree. Prior to attending Berry, the University of Georgia graduate played professional softball in Austria with her team winning gold in both the Austrian League and the European Cup.

MEMORY AND HONOR GIFTS

Deaths Berry College extends sincere condolences to family and friends of the following alumni, faculty and staff members, and retirees. This list includes notices received July 1 – Nov. 30, 2012.

1930s Mary Babb Hutton (37c) of Dalton, Ga., June 6, 2012. Leona Strickland East (38C) of Columbia, S.C., Aug. 3, 2012.

1940s Louise Russell Mulinix (40H, FFS) of Goldsboro, N.C., July 31, 2012. W. Howard Drake (41H) of Memphis, Tenn., April 25, 2011. E. Fox Yates (41H, 44c) of Melbourne, Fla., Jan. 16, 2011. Virginia Buntley Bodiford (42H, 46c) of Foley, Ala., Oct. 22, 2012. Wylline Christmas Williams (44c) of Dothan, Ala., Nov. 17, 2012. Robert E. Holt (45H) of Virginia Beach, Va., June 30, 2012. Curtis C. Lester (45H) of Dallas, Ga., May 21, 2011. John W. McKinney (45H, 49C) of Oakwood, Ga., March 1, 2012. Ralph W. McDonald (46H) of Moultrie, Ga., Nov. 2, 2012. Clara Patton Upshaw (46C) of Tulsa, Okla., Nov. 20, 2011. Olin D. McCarty (47H) of La Crosse, Wis., Aug. 27, 2012. George Franklin Pless (47H) of Glendale, Ariz., March 24, 2012. Frances Wallace Harris (48H, 51c) of Moulton, Ala., Oct. 26, 2012. Jean Dickey Roberts (48H, 52c) of Montezuma, Ga., Aug. 28, 2012.

Royce V. Jackson (49c) of Crawfordville, Fla., July 10, 2012. Naomi Smith Walker (49C) of Carrollton, Ga., May 1, 2012.

1950s Ray Abernathy (50C) of Winder, Ga., July 23, 2012. Edith Brooks Floyd (50C) of Brunswick, Ga., Aug. 5, 2012. Ray H. Batemon (51H) of Southside, Ala., Sept. 14, 2012. J. Hix Carithers (51C) of Commerce, Ga., Sept. 18, 2012. Turner Mozo (51C) of Jacksonville, Fla., Nov. 24, 2012. Clifford M. Smith Sr. (51C) of Canton, Ga., Nov. 9, 2012. William Leonard Walker (51H) of Marietta, Ga., Sept. 27, 2012. David E. “Pete” Gordon (52C) of LaGrange, Ga., July 13, 2012. Thomas T. Tarpley (53C) of Augusta, Ga., Oct. 11, 2012. Charles E. Fields (54c) of Roswell, Ga., Aug. 31, 2012. Freida M. Shurling (54C) of Greensboro, Ga., Sept. 30, 2012. Willie Ruth Alligood (55C) of Oxford, Ga., Nov. 20, 2011. James N. Barnes (58c) of Statesboro, Ga., Oct. 13, 2012. Harvel G. Chandler (55C) of Bascom, Fla., Sept. 3, 2012.

1960s B. Kenneth “Bobbie” McKenzie (60H) of Rome, Ga., July 3, 2012. Jerry N. Adams (63H) of Cottonwood, Ala., April 6, 2011. Bobby W. Nolen (63C) of Pensacola, Fla., June 29, 2012. Gene Spann Bagley (65C) of Dalton, Ga., Aug. 17, 2012. David W. Donalson (65C) of Columbus, Ga., July 31, 2011. David E. Ellis (65H, 69C) of Eatonville, Wash., July 17, 2012. Dwight Wesley Thomas (65C) of Wedowee, Ala., June 24, 2012. Carol Morehead Donalson (66C) of Columbus, Ga., July 29, 2012. Peggy M. Autry (67C) of Calhoun, Ga., July 4, 2012. Dewey Bowen (67C) of Lenoir, N.C., Oct. 5, 2012. Shirley Grace Cook (68C) of Talbotton, Ga., May 19, 2012.

1970s Samuel M. Grogan Jr. (70C) of McDonough, Ga., Sept. 29, 2012. Robert E. Holland Jr. (70C) of Phenix City, Ala., Sept. 9, 2012. David M. Love (72C) of Ocala, Fla., June 23, 2012. Stephen Douglas Lynch (73A) of Monroe, N.C., Oct. 4, 2011. Sue Wilson Reed (76C) of Florence, Ala., Aug. 2, 2012.

1980s Leslie Charles Magruder (82A) of Ridgeland, Miss., June 14, 2011.

1990s Carolyn A. James (96G) of Rockmart, Ga., June 14, 2012.

Former Faculty/Staff George H. Bedwell (retired golf coach, director of intramural pro grams) of Savannah, Ga., Sept. 2, 2012. Rosemary M. Gill (retired secretary, business and economics) of Rome, Oct. 9, 2012. Laquieda K. Joiner (retired secretary, Memorial Library) of Silver Creek, Ga., Aug 7, 2012. Daphne Peterson (housekeeping supervisor in the home of the late President John R. Bertrand) of LaFayette, Ga., Sept. 22, 2012. Kathy W. Wilson (retired secretary, math and natural sciences) of Rome, Nov. 1, 2012. Editor’s Note: The fall issue of Berry magazine mistakenly reported that Jacqueline Smith Ogle (57C) of Eatonton, Ga., passed away Jan. 18, 2012. The listing should have been for her husband, Harold Ogle (57C).

of an individual. Honor and memory gifts can be made by noting your intentions and the name of the person recognized at the time you make the gift. Note: Memory gifts have been designated to scholarship funds named for the honoree unless otherwise specified by the donor.

MEMORY GIFTS July 1 – Nov. 30, 2012 Mr. Ray Abernathy Mrs. Martha Bentley Abernathy Mr. Russell S. Ashton Mrs. Doris L. Ashton Mr. Thomas Batey Jr. Mrs. Rebecca Maddox Griffith Mrs. Rheba Woody Benoy Ms. Jean Benoy Lacey Miss Martha Berry Mrs. Elizabeth Nesbitt Krupa Mr. Dan U. Biggers Mrs. Jill Jackson Harris Mr. Timothy R. Howard Mrs. Bobbie Dixon Burks Mrs. Deleen Buffington Stevens

Mrs. Frances Black Cain Ms. Shirley Darlene Cartwright Mr. and Mrs. J. Hix Carithers Mrs. Thelma York Morris Dr. N. Gordon Carper Mr. and Mrs. Mark Henry Kozera Mr. Harvel G. Chandler Mr. A. Randall Cooper Mr. Jasper Davis Mr. Samuel Johnan Duenckel Mrs. Elizabeth Watts DeLorme Suwanee Creek Chapter DAR Mrs. Mattie Lee Dilbeck Mrs. Vera Lowery Pennington Mrs. Mildred Morton Durden Mrs. Vera Lowery Pennington Mrs. Edith Brooks Floyd Mrs. Gussie Whiddon Lumsden Southeast Georgia Alumni Chapter

Mrs. Joyce Paradise Fortson Mrs. Doris Gentry Collum Mr. David E. “Pete” Gordon Dr. Ouida W. Dickey Ms. Beatrice Ross Mrs. Leah Jarrett Herring Mrs. Joy Padgett Johnson Mr. Jimmy E. Hinton Mrs. Velma Mitchell Hinton Mr. Paul W. Horton Mrs. Jane M. Horton Mr. Douglas A. Jones Mrs. Jane Moore Jones Ms. Louise B. Keim Mrs. Deleen Buffington Stevens Mr. Kenneth L. Lewis Sr. Mrs. Charlotte Lewis Martin Mr. David M. Love The Rev. George H. Donigian Sr.

[Gifts]

MEMORY AND HONOR GIFTS: Special thanks go out for the following gifts to Berry, which were specifically designated in memory or honor

Mr. Percy T. Marchman Mr. Timothy R. Howard Dr. Lawrence E. McAllister Mr. Ralph H. Gordon Mr. B. Kenneth McKenzie Dr. Ouida W. Dickey Col. John W. McKinney Mrs. Thelma York Morris Mr. James O. Mintz East Tennessee Berry Alumni Chapter Mr. Milton A. Morgan Mr. Billy R. Blocker Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Nathan Smelley Mrs. Louise Russell Mulinix Mr. and Mrs. Lester E. Brookshire Jr. Mrs. Joy Padgett Johnson Mrs. Betty Pattillo Mr. and Mrs. Frank Barron Jr.

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

Mrs. Evelyn Hoge Pendley Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kerry Noles Mrs. Jean Dickey Roberts Mrs. Laura Johnson Edwards Dr. Gloria M. Shatto Mrs. Lois A. Miller Mr. Richard A. Steinheimer Mr. and Mrs. William M. Blankinship Mr. and Mrs. Earl W. Williams Mr. Jeffrey F. Hetsko Mrs. Kay Williams Mr. and Mrs. Michael David Williams

HONOR GIFTS July 1 – Nov. 30, 2012 Mr. Robert T. Aiken I Mr. Robert T. Aiken II Dr. D. Dean Cantrell Mrs. Maureen Munro Kurowsky Mrs. Jo Ann White Chambers Mrs. Quincy Bailey Nation Class of 2007 Mrs. Melissa Rorer Turco Dr. Ouida W. Dickey Mr. Timothy R. Howard Mr. and Mrs. James Larry Ellison Mr. and Mrs. Charlie J. Weatherford Mr. and Mrs. J. Mitchell Elrod Dr. Charles Carter Elrod Mrs. Megan Stone Fullgraf The Fullgraf Foundation Dr. Vincent M.L. Gregoire Mrs. Gabriela Elias Broome Mrs. Ruth T. Hale Ms. Evelynne C. Mashburn Dr. Lucia I. Llorente Mr. and Mrs. William L. Atkins Mr. Ross A. Magoulas Mr. and Mrs. William Andrew Fowler Mrs. Kathryn D. Nobles Mr. and Mrs. Andre J. Lovas Mrs. Evelyn Spradlin Standridge Mr. Donald E. Rhodes Dr. and Mrs. David Manning Stubbs Mrs. Lola Coleburn Stubbs Mrs. Lora Stubbs Tate Mrs. Lola Coleburn Stubbs Mr. Bill G. Thornton Mr. Jack L. Pigott Mr. Gary A. Waters Mr. Brett Everett Kennedy

GIFTS TO NAMED SCHOLARSHIPS AND WORK ENDOWMENTS July 1 – Nov. 30, 2012 Frank and Kathryn Adams Endowed Scholarship Dr. James H. Watkins Dr. Lara B. Whelan African American Alumni Chapter Expendable Scholarship Mr. Kendall Jerrell Gadie Mrs. Melissa Ransby Hunt Agriculture Alumni Endowed Scholarship Ms. Eugenia Lynn Aycock Mr. and Mrs. Mark A. Cole Mrs. Cynthia Carr Haygood Mr. Rodney H. Hilley Ms. Julia Lynnette Lanning Pat Alderman Scholarship Mrs. Pat Alderman Clinton G. Ames Jr. Scholarship Mr. and Mrs. Clinton G. Ames Jr. Leo W. Anglin Memorial Scholarship Dr. and Mrs. Wade A. Carpenter Dr. Karen A. Kurz

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

Perry Anthony Memorial Scholarship Mrs. Elsie Joy Anthony Morrow Mrs. Emily Anthony Mullis Atlanta Gate of Opportunity Scholarship Mr. Bart A. Cox Mr. Mark Wallace Maguire Ms. Sarah G. Newsome Ms. Marilyn P. Rutledge Barton Mathematics Award Mr. Rayford W. Barton Baxter Family Expendable Scholarship Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wayne Baxter Sr. John R. and Annabel Hodges Bertrand Endowed Scholarship Mrs. J’May B. Rivara Dan Biggers Distinguished Actor Award Mr. and Mrs. Reed Biggers The Rev. George H. Donigian Sr. Mr. Jeffrey Douglas Horn Joshua Bradshaw-Whittemore Memorial Endowed Scholarship Mr. Richard N. Bass Steve and Brenda Briggs Endowed Gate of Opportunity Scholarship Dr. and Mrs. Stephen R. Briggs Horace Brown Chemistry Scholarship Dr. Horace D. Brown Merck Company Foundation Louise Paul Brown Work Scholarship Dr. Horace D. Brown Wanda Lou Bumpus Endowed Scholarship Ms. Julie A. Bumpus Dr. David R. Burnette Agriculture Leadership Endowed Scholarship Maj. and Mrs. Richard Allen Terry N. Gordon Carper Award Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy L. Davis N. Gordon Carper Endowed History Scholarship Mr. Todd Warren Carper Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy L. Davis Ms. Rachel Amanda Tidwell Drs. Colin and Jennifer Marston William Microsoft Corp. A. Milton and Jo Ann Chambers Endowed Scholarship Ms. Allyson Gayle Chambers Mr. and Mrs. William M. Chambers Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kerry Noles Mr. and Mrs. Charlie J. Weatherford Percy N. Clark and Family Scholarship Mr. and Mrs. K.D. Austin Ms. Laura A. Carson Mr. John D. Coombs Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Hedrick Ms. Eleanor Moffitt Mr. and Mrs. Andrew J. Paine Jr. Mr. and Mrs. John T. Rougeou Mr. and Mrs. Frederick G. Storar Mrs. Marcella Ward Mr. and Mrs. John Edward Yates Moore and Van Allen PLLC Class of 1943C Scholarship The late Myrtle Joiner Lawhon Class of 1951C Memorial Endowed Scholarship Mrs. Linnie Lane Gibson Mr. and Mrs. Robert Nathan Smelley Lt. Col. and Mrs. Reginald E. Strickland Ms. Betty L. White Class of 1953C Scholarship Dr. James K. Miller Class of 1953H in Memory of StaleyLoveday Col. Franklin D. Carroll Mr. Ralph F. Daugherty Mr. C.F. Green Mrs. Nadine Parsons Hilderbrand Dr. Bernard M. Spooner Mr. James Harold Stamey Mrs. Constance Phillips Stewart Mrs. Joy Bernice Ogle Whaley

Class of 1954C Endowed Scholarship Mr. A. Randall Cooper Mr. Charles E. Houston Mrs. Dacy Jackson Shealy Mr. and Mrs. Bill G. Waters Mrs. Lois Eason Woodcock Class of 1956C Endowed Scholarship Mr. and Mrs. John R. Brown Mr. Wallace G. McDowell Mrs. Tillie Marlowe Parker Mr. and Mrs. Gleason L. Pool Dr. and Mrs. Luther R. Rogers Class of 1957C Scholarship Dr. and Mrs. Harlan L. Chapman Dr. and Mrs. Ronald Gray Midkiff Mrs. Sharlene Kinser Stephens Mr. and Mrs. Charlie J. Weatherford Berry College Class of 1958 Endowed Scholarship Dr. and Mrs. Harlan L. Chapman Mrs. Frances Busha Hart Mr. and Mrs. Charlie J. Weatherford Class of 1960C Gate of Opportunity Scholarship Dr. and Mrs. Jimmy T. Bell Mrs. Blondean Bullington Cargile Mr. Lewis R. Copeland Mr. and Mrs. Max E. Cordle Mr. Tolbert A. Fowler Mr. Joel Ellis Futch Mr. Loyd C. Gass Mr. and Mrs. Peter H. Hoffmann Mr. and Mrs. J. Lowell Loadholtz Ms. Eleen Rowell Mitchell Mr. Roy C. Parker Mr. Earnest Rabon Rodgers Mr. and Mrs. W. Cleveland Rowland Mr. and Mrs. Milton Sowell Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Stanley Mr. H. Wayne Stevenson Mr. Michael A. Sutton Mr. and Mrs. Glynn Tindall Mr. and Mrs. James Perry Vincent Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Macon Sidney Wheeler GE Fund The Coca-Cola Co. Class of 1961C Gate of Opportunity Scholarship Mr. Aaron Ellis Mr. Loyd C. Gass Mr. and Mrs. Peter H. Hoffmann Mrs. Mildred Campbell Tietjen Class of 1963C Gate of Opportunity Scholarship Ms. Virginia Akers Mr. and Mrs. Emil B. Askew Mrs. Hazl Paige Brumby Mr. Walter K. Gill Mrs. Miriam Floyd Hamill Mr. and Mrs. Robert Donald Henry Mr. and Mrs. George H. Holland Mrs. Lynn Lawson King Mrs. Bettie Hester McClain Mrs. Wanda Hardiman Nance Mrs. Dorothy Stinson Nolen Mr. Leach Delano Richards Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Sumner Mr. Bruce A. Taylor Mrs. Carlee McCarter Wilson Mrs. Mary Crawford Wynn Class of 1965C Gate of Opportunity Scholarship Ms. Peggy Brodnax Mrs. Barbara Dawson Clinedinst Mr. and Mrs. Phillip DeMott Mr. Randall N. Martin Mrs. Jeanette Ballard Thomas Class of 1972C Work Scholarship Fund Mr. Michael Lewis Alston Sr. Mrs. Faye Jenkins Darby Ms. Portia V. Ellis Ms. Anna S. Hollaran Mr. and Mrs. James M. Mros

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kerry Noles Miss Sandra Swinford Mr. and Mrs. Terry Wayne Williamson Sr. Rembert and Virginia Cornelison Endowed Scholarship Mrs. Virginia Allen Cornelison Deberdt-Naidenko Award The Rev. George H. Donigian Sr. Edward Gray and Doris Cook Dickey Endowed Scholarship Mrs. Anne Cook Neal Garland Dickey Endowed Scholarship Dr. and Mrs. Robert W. Pearson Dr. Ouida W. Dickey Endowed Scholarship Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kerry Noles Leona Strickland East Endowed Scholarship Ms. Martha B. Allison Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy E. Bates Ms. G. Ashley Bates Ms. Elizabeth T. Cox Mrs. Joanne Snare LaCourse Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Pruitt Jr. Mr. Earnest Rabon Rodgers Mr. and Mrs. John C. Strickland Lt. Col. and Mrs. Reginald E. Strickland B. Leon Elder Endowed Scholarship Mr. B. Leon Elder J. Mitchell and Cleone Elrod Expendable Scholarship Mr. and Mrs. J. Mitchell Elrod Jr. James Noble Finley Endowed Scholarship Mrs. Emily Ann Finley Maxwell First Baptist Church of Rome Scholarship First Baptist Church of Rome Ruby and Clifton Fite Endowed Scholarship Mr. and Mrs. Bobby L. Whitmire Jimmy R. Fletcher Memorial Endowed Scholarship Dr. and Mrs. Larry J. Bearden Dr. James E. Hairston Mr. Roark Summerford George Gaddie Expendable Scholarship Mrs. Cherrie D. Shaw Robert W. Gardner Endowed Scholarship Dr. Lucia I. Llorente David C. Garrett Jr. Gate of Opportunity Endowed Scholarship The estate of David C. Garrett Jr. Gate of Opportunity Scholarships Mrs. Frances Denney Barnett Mr. and Mrs. Cecil M. Carney Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Martin McElyea Mrs. Teresa Smith Puckett Ms. Brenda Sanford Raymond GICA/UPS Scholarship Georgia Independent College Association Ed and Gayle Graviett Gmyrek Scholarship Mrs. Gayle Graviett Gmyrek Ms. Betty L. White Jorge and Ondina Gonzalez Endowed Scholarship Mrs. Ondina Santos Gonzalez Mrs. Susan Lee Hauser Sam W. and Lillie H. Gray Endowed Scholarship Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Wendell Clamp Larry A. Green Memorial Scholarship Mrs. Susan Lee Hauser Dr. Janna S. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Steve T. Jones Mrs. Melanie Green Jones

Mariella Griffiths Berry Loyalty Scholarship Dr. Kristen A. Diliberto-Macaluso Dr. Gerald D. Jennings Hamrick Family/Aunt Martha Freeman Scholarship Mr. Kenneth Arthur Dr. Karen A. Kurz Jonathan Randall Hardin Endowed Scholarship Fund Mr. and Mrs. Bobby L. Abrams Mr. Jeb-Stuart Bennett Arp Mr. Jonathan C. Baggett Ms. Gina Maria Bastone Mr. and Mrs. Bryce Christian Baumann Ms. Michaela Jean Beasley Mr. Mark Alan Becker Mr. and Mrs. Daniel H. Boyd Mrs. Bethany Prestridge Butler Mr. James B. and Mrs. Laurie Hattaway Chandler Mr. Ryan Matthew Chesley Mr. William Ferrell Childres Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Blake Winton Cone Mrs. Elizabeth Plage Covington Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth L. Crump Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Ronald D. Dempsey Ms. Sherry Dotson Mrs. Sandra L. Earwood Mr. Enrique Escobar Jr. Mrs. Penny Evans-Plants Ms. Lindsay Erin Fincher Ms. Erin Elizabeth Fisher Ms. Lindsay Nicole Futterman Mrs. Allielee Klein Garner Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Jason Garner Mrs. Cindy Y. Gillespie Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Paul Greear Mr. and Mrs. Lester M. Hall Ms. Ellen Hardin Mr. and Mrs. T. Randy Hardin Ms. Rita Fraser Hopper Mr. and Mrs. Michael Joseph Howell Mrs. Amy Smith Jensen Mr. Jesse L. Kier Mr. and Mrs. Hulyn E. Kight Mrs. Diane M. Land Mr. Jimmie W. Langley Mr. Matthew M. McCord Mrs. Kimberly Terrell Melton Mr. Robert Evan Nix Mrs. Laura L. Phillips Mr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Phillips Mr. James R. Pruitt Jr. Mrs. Kathleen Robinson Ray Mr. and Mrs. Gary Anthony Robinson Jr. Mr. John Michael Server Mr. H. Gene Shaw Mr. Jeffery R. Smith Ms. Pamela R. Smith Ms. Kinsey Nicole Stout Mr. and Mrs. Mark David Thornsberry Mrs. Caren Bobbitt Trammell Mrs. Patricia Velasco Ms. Christie Leigh Welch Mr. William V. Wigley Mrs. Monica Morgan Willingham Mrs. Sarah Young Chick-fil-A Inc. Heneisen Service Award Mr. James B. and Mrs. Laurie Hattaway Chandler Cathleen Ann Henriksen Memorial Scholarship Mr. Peter N. Henriksen Edna F. Hetsko Scholarship Mr. Jeffrey F. Hetsko SunTrust Banks Inc. – Atlanta Lewis A. Hopkins Endowed Scholarship Mr. and Mrs. Stephen P. Hawkins

Ruby Hopkins Outstanding Student Teacher Award Mr. and Mrs. Stephen P. Hawkins Becky Musser Hosea Scholarship Dr. and Mrs. Paul M. Musser H.I. “Ish” Jones Endowed Agriculture Scholarship Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kerry Noles Kappa Delta Pi Endowed Award Dr. Mary C. Clement Clay Kenemer Memorial Scholarship Mrs. Pamela Millwood Pettyjohn Mrs. Rethia Camp Spence Kirbo Gate of Opportunity Expendable Scholarship The Thomas M. and Irene B. Kirbo Charitable Trust Michael and Elizabeth Nesbitt Krupa Scholarship Mrs. Elizabeth Nesbitt Krupa Peter A. Lawler Endowed Scholarship Mr. Matthew Armstrong Barrett The Hon. Jody Wade Bishop Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Crowe Ms. Alison Suzanne Karch Mr. and Mrs. David K. Kenemer Jr. Mr. Scott Thomas Poole Mr. David Paul Ramsey Mr. Alan Matthew Ratliff Mr. David Anthony Rowland Mr. Michael Anthony Schulte Mrs. Rebecca Moore White Ray M. and Mary Elizabeth Lee Scholarship The Ray M. and Mary Elizabeth Lee Foundation Clifford A. and Amelia M. Lipscomb Endowed Scholarship Dr. and Mrs. Clifford Allen Lipscomb Fred H. Loveday Endowed Scholarship Mr. Richard H. Barley Mr. William C. Bradford Mr. Garland A. Earnest Mr. Ronald Hess Mrs. Vera Lowery Pennington Mr. Cecil R. Spooner Ross Magoulas Endowed Scholarship Mr. Richard O. Coley Mrs. Susan Lee Hauser Dr. and Mrs. Robert J. Puckett Martha Mallory Expendable Gate of Opportunity Scholarship Mrs. Martha Thomason Mallory Martha! Centennial Scholarship Lt. Col. and Mrs. Reginald E. Strickland Dr. L. Doyle Mathis Endowed Scholarship Dr. and Mrs. Harlan L. Chapman Dr. and Mrs. L. Doyle Mathis Lawrence E. McAllister Endowed Scholarship Ms. Carol McAllister Ward Frank Miller Memorial Scholarship Mrs. Melanie Prater Miller Audrey B. Morgan Gate of Opportunity Scholarship Mrs. Audrey B. Morgan Music Scholarship Dr. John E. Davis Mary and Al Nadassy English Scholarship Dr. Sandra L. Meek Dr. Mark N. Taylor Dr. James H. Watkins Dr. Lara B. Whelan NSDAR Expendable Gate of Opportunity Scholarship NSDAR NSDAR Scholarship Georgia State Society DAR

Illinois State Organization DAR NSDAR Ohio Society DAR Bobby Patrick Endowed Scholarship Mrs. Mary Camp Patrick Mr. and Mrs. John G. Wheeler Jr. Dr. Bob Pearson Scholarship Mr. and Mrs. W. Scott Neal Sara Powell Expendable Scholarship Mr. John W. Powell Sr. Amber T. Prince Memorial Scholarship Dr. Steven H. Bell Ms. Debbie E. Heida Mrs. Bridgette Milner Holder Dr. Janna S. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. James R. Lindner Jr. Bernard and Doris Rowland Expendable Scholarship Mrs. Doris Rowland Ann Russell Memorial Scholarship Mrs. Kathleen Robinson Ray Vesta Salmon Service Scholarship Mrs. Rose T. Nix Dr. Mary Elizabeth Outlaw Mrs. Angela P. Reynolds Mr. and Mrs. Charlie J. Weatherford Jerry Shelton Endowed Scholarship Mrs. Jean Patterson Altman Dr. and Mrs. Harlan L. Chapman Mrs. Jane Underwood Crawford Mrs. Frances Busha Hart Mr. and Mrs. Gene T. Warren Mr. and Mrs. Charlie J. Weatherford Joyce Shelton Endowed Scholarship Mr. Jerry W. Shelton Doris M. Sheram Simpson Endowed Scholarship Ms. Doris Annette Simpson Michele Norman Sims Endowed Scholarship Mr. and Mrs. Robert Miller Bergman Mrs. Stacy Lambert Esterman Hamilton/Smith Scholarship Ms. Kay B. Drennon Mrs. Terri Colson Earls Mr. Dennis C. Freeman Ms. Evelyn L. Hamilton Ms. Phyllis D. Henderson Mrs. Barbara Ballanger Hughes Mrs. Darcel Kemp Ivey Ms. Peggy Kornegay Mrs. Minnie Ruth Willis Marsh Dr. Kerry Scott McClure Ms. Phyllis Michelle Roberts Dr. Beverly Ann Smith Dr. Tasha Chantey Toy Willis Funeral Home Ann Saywell Spears Expendable Scholarship Dr. Ann Saywell Spears Dr. Sam Spector Endowed Scholarship Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kerry Noles Stephens-Riley Scholarship Mrs. Lori R. Day Mrs. Martha W. Gorman Mr. and Mrs. Owen L. Riley Sr. William B. Stokely Jr. Scholarship The William B. Stokely Jr. Foundation William B. Stokely Jr. Scholarship in Honor of Pamela Collins The William B. Stokely Jr. Foundation Reginald E. Strickland Endowed Gate of Opportunity Scholarship Lt. Col. and Mrs. Reginald E. Strickland Student Scholarships Dr. Sarah Lee Allred Mr. Michael Eugene Berry Mrs. Kelly Hough Billings Ms. Cynthia Anne Bonnet Mr. Dennis M. Buchanan Mr. Samuel David Bulow Mr. and Mrs. Francis John Cioffi

Ms. Sarah Elizabeth Cline Mrs. Barbara Dawson Clinedinst Mrs. Susan Maynor Coley Mrs. Teresa B. Cruce Mr. and Mrs. Bill G. Davis The Rev. Robert Jonathan Davis Mrs. Elizabeth Brown Dean Mr. and Mrs. Gordon A. Dunn Ms. Sara Catherine Evans Mr. James Thomas Garner Mrs. Jean Nicholson Hansard Ms. Laura Nicole Heaven Mrs. Patricia B. Holland Mrs. Peggy Sanford Hurst Mr. Russell R. Jennings Dr. Erin Baldwin Kaminsky Mr. and Mrs. Merle S. King Ms. Christina Catherine Lynn Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Stewart Martin Mrs. Wanda Hunt Meeks Ms. Meagan Elizabeth Michener Mrs. Barbara Ruby Miles Cmdr. John C. Moore Mrs. Kathryn D. Nobles Mrs. Lisa Koetzle Oelke Mr. and Mrs. J.M. Patterson Mrs. Sheila K. Perun Mr. Aaron Duane Pickering Ms. Edith G. Purcell Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan D. Purser Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Eastwood Ragan Mrs. Lisa Marschke Rhudy Ms. Stephanie Anne Shook Dr. and Mrs. David F. Slade Mr. William T. Stumpf Ms. Laura Amberly Sutton Ms. Juanita Ensley Tipton Dr. Dante Lewis Tomaselli Jr. Mrs. Kimberly Comer Tymchuk Mr. Randall G. Woodhead Mrs. Genevieve Spanjer Wright Mrs. Laura McMichen Yancey British Motor Car Club Grady and Dorothy Everett Sundy Endowed Scholarship Mrs. Dorothy Everett Sundy Grady and Dorothy Everett Sundy Expendable Scholarship Mrs. Dorothy Everett Sundy Tibbals/Zellars Gate of Opportunity Endowed Scholarship John Zellars Jr. and Randy Tibbals Troy/Gardner Endowed Art History Award Dr. Virginia G. Troy James E. and Dorris Waters Endowed Scholarship Dr. and Mrs. Gary A. Waters Alexander Whyte Whitaker III Endowed Scholarship Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Whyte Whitaker IV Lettie Pate Whitehead Scholarship Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation Inc. Ron Williamson Scholarship Fund Dr. and Mrs. Daniel J. McBrayer Jeff Wingo Memorial Scholarship Dr. Janna S. Johnson Mrs. Kathryn M. Wingo Craig Allyn Wofford Scholarship Mr. Ron W. Dean Mrs. Elaine Sexton Foster Richard Wood Scholarship Dr. and Mrs. David O. Wood Janice Bracken Wright Endowed Scholarship Dr. Elizabeth Kirby Pridgen Wyatt-Lipscomb Scholarship Mrs. Rose T. Nix Yoda Scholarship Dr. Kyoko Leann Yoda

BERRY MAGAZINE • SPRING 2013

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Taking the plunge Meredith Lewallen Roberts (07C) made headlines (and appeared on Good Morning America) after donning her wedding dress and rappelling off a building in Chattanooga – twice – in the name of charity. © 2012 John Bamber Photography