Berry Magazine - Summer 2021 by Berry College

BERRY Summer 2021

A Berry College Publication

Rescue! Robert W. Aiken (17C) saves lives at sea

Berry’s newest academic building features 23,000 square feet of state-of-the-art learning and research space for animal science and one very distinctive (and altogether appropriate) weather vane. Watch for more coverage of this incredible facility in our next issue.

BERRY Published since 2003 for alumni and friends of Berry College and its historic schools. Winner of 17 CASE Awards, including two for Best in Class. Editor Rick Woodall (93C) Contributing Writer and Editor Karilon L. Rogers (FFS) Staff Writer Debbie Rasure Graphic Design and Production Craig Hall Student Graphic Designer Eric Crum (21C)

Chief Photographer Brant Sanderlin

Berry Alumni Association President: Patricia Tutterow Jackson (82C, FFS)

Gifts Listings and Death Notices Jeff Palmer (09C, 11G) and Justin Karch (01C, 10G)

President-Elect: Aaron Chastain (15C)

Contact Information News From You: submit at alwaysberry.com/ classnotes or email classnotes@berry.edu

Vice Presidents: Alumni Engagement, Chris Hayes (04C); Berry Heritage, Jason Sweatt (88C); Financial Support, Meredith Lewallen Roberts (07C); Alumni Awards, Jeffrey Ramos (15C)

Change of Address: update online at alwaysberry.com/classnotes, email alumni@berry.edu or call 706-236-2256

Chaplain: The Rev. Tac Coley (98C)

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

Secretary: Larry Arrington (93C, FFS)

Director of Alumni Engagement and Philanthropic Marketing Jennifer Schaknowski Vice President of Marketing and Communications Nancy Rewis Vice President of Advancement Cyndi Court President Stephen R. Briggs

Parliamentarian: Tim Howard (82C) Photo Credits Above: Student Matthew McConnell Cover: Brant Sanderlin

BERRY

Vol 107, No. 2 Summer 2021

F E A T U R E S

RESCUE!

EXPERIENCING HISTORY

UP FOR A CHALLENGE

Robert W. Aiken (17C) commended for arduous Coast Guard heavy-seas rescue of three.

History major Anna Tucker (08C) has rare opportunity to curate a new museum in New Orleans: The Museum of Southern Jewish History.

Attorney and adjunct law professor Gerald L. “Jerry” Blanchard (75C) ice climbs for the interest and exhilaration of it.

I N

T H I S

I S S U E

Inside the Gate

Reflections on Berry

News From You

Notable news from Berry

Reprinted column by Shannon Rohrabaugh Casas (05C)

Points of Pride

Class Notes – The original social media

Students, faculty, staff and Berry: The best of the best!

Impart wisdom, share gifts, improve lives

Opportunity

Condolences

President’s Pen

Class of 2020

A culture of belonging

Delayed but undaunted

Remembering those we have lost

In the end

It’s about the students: Sara Myers

INSIDE THE GATE

BACK IN ACTION! VIKINGS SHINE IN RETURN TO COMPETITION

perfect game by baseball pitcher Patrick O’Rourke, a sudden-death championshipwinning goal in men’s soccer, a do-ordie two-point conversion in football and a men’s basketball title won in the friendly confines of the Cage Center were among the high points of a semester like no other in the history of Berry athletics. Nearly a year after COVID-19 brought competition worldwide to a screeching halt in March 2020, intercollegiate athletics returned to Berry with a flourish. Shaking off the

uncertainty of fall, when Berry paused along with the rest of the Southern Athletic Association, action resumed across all sports. This resulted in a program first, as all 23 teams were “in season” during the same semester. “This year, more than ever, our rallying cry of ‘We all row!’ rang true,” said Director of Athletics Dr. Angel Mason, pointing to the efforts of support personnel in areas such as sports medicine who worked overtime to provide necessary care for competitors while also overseeing weekly COVID testing.

Testing protocols, along with limits on attendance and preventive measures such as masks and social distancing, helped preserve the health of participants. And while the venues looked a little different as a result, nothing could diminish the enthusiasm of student-athletes who were thrilled to be pursuing their championship dreams once again. Berry football coach Tony Kunczewski gave voice to that spirit in a tweet shared after his team opened its much-delayed “2020” season with a come-from-behind

victory over Birmingham-Southern on Feb. 13. “Saturday was our first game in 447 days,” he remarked. “We showed a lot of physical, mental and emotional toughness! Thankful to our players, coaches, athletic trainers and staff. It was a monumental task just to be able to take the field let alone to leave it 1-0.” The football team swept its four-game mini season – winning three by a combined five points – to claim their fifth straight SAA championship. On the same day they

HIGHLIGHTS SAA Postseason Championships Men’s basketball, football, men’s soccer

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Top 25 National Rankings

NCAA Division III Player

During ’20-21 Academic Year

of the Week Recognition

Baseball, football, men’s basketball, softball, volleyball, women’s golf, women’s track and field, men’s soccer

Volleyball, women’s tennis, football, softball, baseball

Undefeated

Equestrian team in Intercollegiate Horse Show Association format competitions

VISIT OM BERRYVIKINGS.C FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE

lifted their trophy in Little Rock, Ark., the men’s basketball team did the same back home, putting the wraps on a sparkling 13-1 season. “To win the regular season and SAA Conference Tournament is a testament to the hard work and determination of our studentathletes,” said head coach Mitch Cole, who joined Kunczewski, Paul Flinchbaugh (men’s swimming and diving) and David Beasley (baseball) as 2021 SAA Coach of the Year honorees. “This was a complete group effort not only

from our current team, but also from the players who laid a winning foundation over the last three years.” That same type of effort was seen in sports such as volleyball and baseball, both of which claimed SAA regular-season championships, and men’s soccer, which won the SAA postseason crown thanks to Nathan Carlson’s double-overtime strike in the tournament final. All-SAA honors, personal bests and other individual accomplishments too numerous to mention highlighted competition in all sports, fueling a

tremendous sense of pride – and gratitude – for Mason and the Berry coaches. “Not only did we do our part to stay together for the semester, stay active as a team and give ourselves the opportunity to compete – we excelled!” Mason exclaimed. “That is how we ‘Battle Berry.’” Photography by Brant Sanderlin and students Matthew McConnell and Rette Solomon.

HIGHLIGHTS SAA Coach of the Year Honors Men’s swimming and diving, men’s basketball, football, baseball

Top-Four SAA

Regular-Season Finishes

Postseason Performances

Men’s basketball (first), women’s basketball (fourth), football (first), women’s soccer (third), men’s soccer (second), volleyball (first), baseball (first), softball (second), men’s lacrosse (fourth), women’s tennis (third)

Men’s and women’s cross country (both third), men’s and women’s swimming and diving (second and fourth, respectively), men’s basketball (first), football (first), women’s soccer (second), men’s soccer (first), volleyball (second), baseball (second), softball (second), women’s golf (second), men’s golf (fourth), men’s and women’s track and field (both third), men’s lacrosse (fourth)

INSIDE THE GATE

“It’s in how one deals with unexpected misfortunes that separates those who fail from those who attain the top levels of success.” — Barry Griswell

Brant Sanderlin

Barry Griswell (71C) understood the teaching power of adversity because he experienced it himself. Now, more students who have displayed the same grit and determination he once did will receive the opportunity of a Berry education through gifts to a scholarship program established in his memory. Modeled after other “guided” scholarships at Berry including Gate of Opportunity, Lettie Pate Whitehead and Bonner, the Griswell Scholarship Program will provide generous financial assistance and a high level of wrap-around support to students of great need who have demonstrated a “spark” that motivates them to rise above challenging life circumstances. Such was the case for Griswell, whose strong work ethic, thirst for

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Brant Sanderlin

Fitting tribute: New scholarship program honors late board chair

Barry Griswell

learning and early discernment that the best path to success was to do everything asked of him “and then some” fueled his journey from a difficult childhood to Fortune 500 success, including service as chair, president and CEO of Principal Financial Group. Forever mindful of his roots, Griswell gave generously of his time and resources in support of causes he cared about, Berry among them. His unexpected death in June 2020 ended 17 years of distinguished service on the Board of Trustees, the last four as chair. “Barry had eyes for overlooked individuals who needed a kind hand to help them to their feet,” recalled President Steve Briggs. “This scholarship extends his legacy by providing others with the

opportunity to invest in the lives of students from difficult backgrounds who can benefit greatly from the education Berry provides.” Alumni and friends already have stepped forward with gifts honoring Berry’s late board chair that will provide immediate support for the first group of 11 Griswell Scholarship recipients this fall. Long-term, the college will seek to raise $8.5 million to fund scholarships and programmatic support for a permanent cohort of 30 students. Contact Scott Breithaupt (91C, 96G) at sbreithaupt@berry.edu or 706-238-5897 to learn more about giving opportunities associated with the Griswell Scholarship Program. Gifts in support of the scholarship can be made at alwaysberry.com/gift.

Wright Lecture Series features noted scholar, author More than 1,200 students, faculty and staff, alumni, and community members gathered virtually Feb. 22 to hear insights from Dr. Ibram X. Kendi as part of the Berry Center for Integrity in Leadership’s Cecil B. Wright III Lecture Series. Kendi, author of the highly acclaimed How to Be an Antiracist and founding director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, addressed a number of challenging topics, including the importance of acknowledging differences in race, ethnicity and culture. “Please see me. See my color. See my way of life, but just don’t think it’s worse than yours, or even better, just that we’re equal,” he stated. “What makes the U.S., in particular, beautiful is all the difference. For a person to not want to see that, they’re not seeing the most beautiful aspect of humanity.” Speaking via Zoom due to COVID-19 precautions, Kendi addressed audience members watching

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

individually and in small, socially distanced on-campus groups of students, faculty and staff. The presentation was structured as a Q&A, with questions delivered by junior political science major Noah Miller and Provost Mary Boyd, the event moderators. Kendi, who in 2020 was listed among the world’s most influential people by Time magazine, touched on the importance of engaging in unsettling conversations (likening them to a doctor’s visit), the responsibility of leaders to model courage and vulnerability when combating racism, the need to stand against all forms of discrimination, and the steps necessary to establish a culture of belonging, among other subjects. “This isn’t something that’s a destination, it’s a journey,” he explained at one point, noting that it’s possible to be racist in one moment and antiracist the next, depending on one’s thoughts and actions. “To be antiracist is to admit or to say an idea was racist, and I’m going to change. I’m going to be better.”

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $294,000 EAGER grant to Dr. Thema Monroe-White supporting research into the challenges faced by women of color in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) entrepreneurship. This is the second NSF-funded project for the assistant professor of management and information systems. In 2019, she joined scholars from Vanderbilt University, the University of Michigan and Rutgers University on a $3.4 million national initiative to develop diversity and inclusion infrastructure for STEM innovation. The new two-year grant has White working with Dr. Ebony O. McGee, Vanderbilt University associate professor of diversity and STEM education, and a team of Berry students. The study involves interviewing women of color about their experiences as STEM entrepreneurs with the goal of leveraging their insights for STEM education and entrepreneurship training Dr. Thema Monroe-White (left) talks with then-student researcher Rosa Brenes Rodriguez (20C). programs nationwide.

Student Matthew McConnell

NSF grant supports study of STEM entrepreneurship barriers “Black and Latinx women are highly entrepreneurial, but we are seeing underrepresentation in technology and STEM fields.” White said. “We want to discover why. What is the challenge? What is deflating the numbers? We’re trying to unpack what these women are experiencing on their journey. Their insights are critical.” White hopes her research will raise the visibility of the work that women of color are doing in tech entrepreneurship, highlight the unique opportunities and challenges they face, and inspire additional research that ultimately leads to new opportunities in STEM and related disciplines like data science and analytics. “Entrepreneurs create jobs, and the future of work will be shaped by individuals in these roles,” White stated. “Without a diverse entrepreneurial workforce, we risk perpetuating resource and wealth disparities that have plagued communities of color for generations.”

INSIDE THE GATE

BERRY PEOPLE

Board of Visitors names new leaders, member Brian Brodrick (97C) has succeeded Wanda Riggs Mack as chair of Berry’s Board of Visitors. Karen Houghton (01C) is now vice chair and Lawrence Montgomery a new member. Brodrick has served on the board since 2010, most recently as vice chair. He is a partner at Jackson Spalding, an award-winning Atlantabased marketing communications agency, providing agency leadership as well as guidance for regional and national clients. He also was recently selected as acting mayor of the city of Watkinsville, where he had served as a city councilman for more than 17 years. The All-American distance runner at Berry has been chair of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, a trustee of Leadership Georgia and a board member for Georgia Humanities, among numerous civic activities. In 2007, Brodrick made Georgia Trend’s “40 under 40” list of Georgia’s best and brightest and in 2008 was named Berry’s Outstanding Young Alumni. He and wife Susan Wells Brodrick (97C) have three children.

Brian Brodrick

Houghton is founder and CEO of Infinite Giving, a new startup firm that assists nonprofits in automating their investment strategy and increasing giving. She spent more than eight years building Atlanta Tech Village, the fourth largest tech hub in the nation, and still serves in an advisory role. She also was a venture partner with Atlanta Ventures, a venture capital firm separate from but in partnership with ATV that supports early-stage software startup companies in the Southeast.

Karen Houghton

Lawrence Montgomery

Early in her career, Houghton opened Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee, eventually expanding to three Atlanta-area locations. The social enterprise raised money for coffeeproducing communities in Rwanda and Haiti. In 2019, she was named Woman of the Year by Women in Technology Atlanta, and in 2020 she received Berry’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Award. Montgomery spent his professional career in engineering, research and development, manufacturing, and

major capital project management with Kimberly-Clark Corp. Today, he is president of the Montgomery Family Foundation – a leadership supporter of Berry’s new animal science building – and serves on Georgia Tech’s Mechanical Engineering Advisory Board. He is a past member of the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Foundation Board. Montgomery and wife Mary live on a farm in Carrollton, Ga., and manage the Double U Ranch in Texas.

Scott Cook Photography

Barreneche tapped as Evans dean Dr. Gabriel Barreneche has been named dean of the Evans School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, effective July 1. Chosen after a national search, Barreneche comes to Berry from Rollins College in Florida, where he has served since 2003, most recently as associate dean for advising and professor of Spanish. He has taught courses in Spanish language and Latin American and Spanish literature and culture, integrating service-learning and study abroad into his teaching. He also has served Rollins as director and faculty-in-residence for the Living Learning Communities program, among many involvements. After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and international studies from Boston College, Barreneche worked in a housing program for migrant farm workers in San Diego through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. He went on to receive his master’s degree and doctorate in Hispanic languages and literatures from the University of California, Los Angeles. Well published in peer-reviewed journals and co-editor of a book, Barreneche was the 2014 winner in the Education/Academic category of the US Best Book Awards for Educational Technology for the Global Village. He succeeds Dr. Thomas Kennedy, who will remain at Berry teaching courses in philosophical and Christian ethics and completing a companion volume to his new book, Performing a Christian Life: God and the Good Life. Dr. Gabriel Barreneche

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Promotions and tenure The Board of Trustees has approved promotion and/or tenure for the following faculty members:

Frost Chapel is among the historic treasures in his portfolio, which includes the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Hay House in Macon and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Rome. Loose removes a few windows at a time, installs temporary glass and transports the historic panels to his studio for disassembly, cleaning and replacement of the old lead. He expects to be done by year’s end. “It’s really satisfying to know we’re helping ensure the windows will be around for the Berry community to enjoy for years to come,” he said. In addition to the window restoration, a new climate control system also is planned, enhancing the chapel’s ability to host events throughout the year. Fundraising for the $500,000 project stood at $161,000 as of late May. Visit alwaysberry.com/gift to support the Frost restoration online. Contact Scott Breithaupt (91C, 96G) at 706-238-5897 or sbreithaupt@berry.edu to learn about naming opportunities.

Sanderlin

Faculty and staff members honored with Berry’s most notable awards this spring include the following: n Dr. Will Donnelly, associate professor of English and creative writing, Vulcan Teaching Excellence Award n Dr. Curt W. Hersey (93C), assistant professor of communication, Eleana M. Garrett Award for Meritorious Advising and Caring n Dr. Julee Tate, professor of Spanish, Dave and Lu Garrett Award for Meritorious Teaching n Dr. Mark Turlington, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, Mary S. and Samuel Poe Carden Award honoring the highest standards of teaching, scholarship, helpfulness to students and other contributions to the college community n Dr. Thema Monroe-White, assistant professor of management and information systems, SGA Faculty Member of the Year n Chon’tel Washington, director of student diversity initiatives, SGA Staff Member of the Year Winners of the Martindale Awards of Distinction will be highlighted in the next issue.

to families in n cooking fuel ea cl e id ov pr to rned the into biogas ea in’s (21C) plan te as w ic n ga Darryl Delso – including ing or ti by convert funded prizes ai rH no e do iv in at n 0 0 his 20,0 orts during istry major $ support his eff to 0 d 0 senior biochem ,0 10 $ on. Alumni an time award of CH competiti IT P t le ty en a special one-s ud nk st 21 rk Ta at Berry’s 20 00 in the Sha ,0 0 4 $ of l COVID-19 – ta a to erprises and dges awarded r Student Ent community ju fo r te presented en C ’s ght winners re by Berry ei ed e st th , ho ly t ab en ot ev ent. N ic schools. hip Developm Berry’s academ of ur Entrepreneurs fo l al ss t majors acro eight differen

PITCH photos by Bra nt

Spotlight on the best

Frost Memorial Chapel’s clear leaded-glass windows are getting some TLC as part of a larger donor-funded renovation and restoration of the beloved landmark, a favorite place to worship and exchange wedding vows for generations of Berry alumni. Glass artist and conservationist Jeff Loose, owner of Studio Glass Co., Buford, Ga., was called in after bowing was discovered in some of the sanctuary’s 25 diamondshaped leaded-glass windows. While glass can last indefinitely, the lead framework holding the individual quarrels (pieces) together becomes brittle over time, requiring replacement. Conservationists like Loose, who in 2017 restored the three stained-glass windows at the front of the chapel with funds donated by the Georgia Daughters of the American Revolution, reuse as much original material as possible, even repairing or consolidating damaged pieces. Fortunately, most of the chapel’s 4,000 geometrically cut quarrels are in good condition, allowing Loose to preserve the vintage look of the glass panels. “Conservation work gives me the chance to really focus on high-end technique,” he said. “It’s all about the craftsmanship.” Loose fell in love with stained glass after graduating from the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in sculpture design. Apprenticing with Atlanta glass artists, he honed his craft with projects for antique dealers. Then, as his skills and interest in conservation grew, he moved on to architectural projects.

Marcy Wielfaert

Preservation effort underway at Frost Chapel

Promoted to professor Dr. Kris Carlisle, music (piano) Dr. Adam Hayes, chair of fine arts, music (trumpet) Awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor Dr. Brian Meehan, economics

Above: Darryl Delsoin at the PITCH competition. Left: Biomethanation plant in Haiti.

POINTS OF PRIDE

Architecture masters from around the globe have acknowledged historic, majestic Ford Auditorium and the project to update and acoustically enhance it as a match extraordinaire. And they should know fabulous when they see it. Project architects at CEVIAN Design Lab of Rome submitted the auditorium and its magnificently restored centerpiece – the newly christened Betty Anne Rouse Bell Recital Hall – in the Restoration and Renovation category of the international Architecture MasterPrize competition, and the grand old dame was named a winner. A jury of highly acknowledged architects couldn’t resist the structure’s physical beauty any more than nearly 100 years of students and alumni have been able to – or the exceptional job done in preserving a “historically precious space” while simultaneously achieving acoustical excellence. Projects from such far-flung locales as Singapore, Switzerland, Paris and Prague joined Ford among the winners. Well done!

Brant Sanderlin

CEVIAN Design Lab

Beauty for the eyes and ears

Precious metal

Soaring Spires

Show-stopper

Check your portfolio, because the value of silver just went up for the Berry community. That’s because your alumni magazine, Berry, brought home the shimmering metal in the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District III annual awards competition. This year, Berry competed against Southeast colleges and universities of ALL sizes that publish two issues of their alumni magazines each year. We were proud to earn silver along with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, while Rollins College and Western Kentucky won gold. One of the big boys, Florida State, scored Grand Gold. This was the 17th honor bestowed on Berry magazine by CASE.

The Spires at Berry College, a retirement community located adjacent to main campus on property leased from Berry, was quickly proclaimed a blue-ribbon winner by residents and student workers alike. Now, The Spires has topped the list of continuing care retirement communities earning acclaim in the CCRC/ Life Plan Community category of the Senior Housing News’ 2020 Architecture and Design Awards. Second place went to Rawhiti Estate in Auckland, New Zealand. The Spires is a separate entity from the college that offers lifetime care in a gorgeous setting for its senior residents, including many alumni, as well as intergenerational work and mentoring opportunities for Berry students. Learn more at retireatberry.com.

We don’t serve “high tea” much on campus, but Conde Nast Traveler seems to think we could pull it off quite realistically. So it alluded when celebrating Berry on its list of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America – one of its “show-stoppers.” Noting that Ford Dining Hall is Berry’s most memorable feature, Conde Nast suggested: “Uproot the building and its neighboring English gothic dorms to the British countryside, and they’d be right at home.” Some tea while we watch the telly?

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Zoe Robinson/ Viking Fusion

Viking Fusion strikes the right chord. Again. Since it seems it has won in just about every other category, Viking Fusion had to branch out. This time, the student-run multimedia website brought home its first accolade in the social media arena: third for Best Social Media Presence in the College Broadcasters, Inc., 2020 National Student Production Awards. Viking Fusion also won second for Best Website. Anyone want to guess what’s next?

Professionalism in service Sergeant Jeff Smith, a Berry campus police standout for 25 years who passed away early in 2021, was honored with the 2020 Oris W. Bryant Officer of the Year award from the Georgia Association of Campus Law Enforcement for his significant contributions to campus safety and his commitment to professionalism in law enforcement. Always choosing “not to be ministered unto, but to minister,” Smith previously served in the U.S. Army and with the Rockmart Police and Floyd County Sheriff’s departments.

Salespeople extraordinaire

Associate Professor of Geology Dr. Tamie Jovanelly (above) and Mallory Paulk Stone (18C), a middle-school Earth science teacher in North Carolina, are rocking out for middle-school students thanks to a grant from the International Ocean Drilling Program’s educational arm, the School of Rock. (Jack Black is not involved!) The one-time mentoring duo is developing age-appropriate educational materials exploring the Earth’s internal and external processes, geological past, water, weather and climate, as well as environmental changes resulting from human actions. In addition, the busy Jovanelly recently presented “Geological Wonders of Iceland” to a virtual audience of more than 500 as part of the Smithsonian Associates’ Inside Science program. She has studied the geological complexities of the Icelandic landscape for more than a decade, often providing opportunities for Berry students to study abroad there. As if that wasn’t enough, she also served as the 2020-21 president of the Georgia Chapter of the Fulbright Association. And, at presstime, she earned the prestigious title of Geological Society of America Fellow, a distinction typically reserved for faculty members at larger institutions. In other words, she rocks!

Brant Sanderlin

ROCK ON!

Three members of Berry’s student marketing and sales team finished in the top 10% of nearly 2,200 competitors Bryce Nethery Loren Kim nationally in the 2020 Carson Gilliam virtual RNMKRS (rainmakers) competition: Carson Gilliam (21C), Bryce Nethery (21C) and Loren Kim (21C), who was Berry’s top performer and the top student in the Southeast. In addition, Assistant Professor of Marketing Dr. Melissa Clark won a Coaches Best in Class award for on-boarding – engagement.

Dr. Kris Carlisle

Piano precious metal The Silence Between, Dr. Kris Carlisle’s album of contemporary compositions for piano, made some very pleasant noise at the Global Music Awards for independent musicians, winning a Silver Medal for the newly promoted professor of music. The album, which features “programmatic” pieces that tell a story or invoke a feeling or memory, has received air play on stations throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. 9

PRESIDENT’S PEN

A culture of belonging to share personal stories around the theme of “My Berry Family.” Of course – at Berry – this spawned a commemorative t-shirt. While it may be just another t-shirt, it carries a discerning message: Family: a group of people who genuinely love, trust, care about and look out for each other. Dr. Stephen Briggs

n April 27, hundreds of Berry students spread across Valhalla’s Williams Field to celebrate the last day of classes with a grand fireworks display. Frisbees flew, groups chatted and music filled the air in advance of the show. It was a fitting tribute to a challenging year when all manner of forces seemed to conspire against our ability to be together normally. The sense of community was palpable. For many students, Berry becomes a second home, a place of belonging, at a formative time in their lives. This spring, our website for alumni, AlwaysBerry.com, has focused on lifelong connections and enduring relational bonds formed at Berry, inviting people

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This definition pushes past bloodlines and ancestry, getting to the heart of what binds people together. Whether we talk in terms of family or community, this mindset is integral to Berry’s aspiration to create a culture of belonging. The benefits and obligations of community Life was rudimentary in Berry’s early days, and the fledgling community endured the myriad of crises (major and minor) that plague any start-up enterprise. One of the earliest came after a spell of hard work. The boys had an appreciable need for clean clothes, and there were no laundry services. The students willingly prepared large tubs of hot, soapy water, but when Martha Berry instructed them on how to proceed, they solemnly refused.

By rights, they asserted, menfolk did not wash clothes. Martha insisted the clothes needed washing, and the boys maintained, “by somebody else, ma’am.” Ending the stalemate, Martha picked up the first pile of soiled clothes and set to work. It was not long before the boys decided they could help after all. For Martha, this lesson in character was as important as grammar or mathematics, and she later emphasized it in the motto of the school: “Not to be ministered unto, but to minister.” She taught that it was more important to meet other’s needs well (by serving) than to insist on one’s own rights (to be served). Her message was as difficult and countercultural then as it is now. In that moment, Martha was patient with her pupils, tutoring with humility and a generosity of spirit. She wanted the boys to grasp the foundational value of belonging to a community that cares for one another in practical ways. She was introducing a mindset she believed would set them apart for good as parents, spouses, workers and citizens. A second home Even today, the transition to Berry

is not always easy for students. Most are uprooted from a welldeveloped web of friendships, and it takes time in a new place to develop the same level of trust and commitment. Relationships seem superficial for a while, despite the potential for new friends all around. Building new friendships may be especially challenging for students who are reticent, international or from a predominantly minority community. While it is normal to seek out friends similar to us, one of the best features of a college like Berry is the opportunity to become friends with people who are distinctly different. Such friendships prepare us personally and professionally to live in communities that are rich in complexity. We come to understand ourselves more profoundly as we confront our similarities and differences in trusting relationships. We become more cognizant of our unexamined assumptions and preferences. Some of the most interesting friendships at Berry emerge naturally in the context of shared pursuits. Choir members and theatre participants spend hours rehearsing together. Varsity athletes become friends

during practices and bus rides. Students in the same classes form study groups. And, distinctive to Berry, friendships form through collaborative student work roles. All these contexts involve teams that offer a deep sense of belonging as students work side by side on common projects or to achieve mutual goals. Friendships emerge, sometimes despite initial misgivings, that transcend demographic, political and cultural differences. That is the promise and potential of a residential college. Embracing tension This past year proved a hard test for the college’s culture of belonging. The very features that sustain and invigorate a residential college came under assault during the pandemic. It is hard to create community when faces are covered by masks, people are distanced by six feet, and gatherings are limited to a dozen people. Mealtimes are frustrating when you are separated by plexiglass. Individual responses to the risks of COVID-19 differed significantly, often as a function of personality. Some of us were acutely unsettled by the risks and unwavering in our efforts to avoid exposure to the virus. Others judged the probability

of serious infection to be relatively low and were easygoing in our approach. In my interactions with various groups – including campus leaders, faculty, other college presidents, my own family – I was struck by the range and intensity of responses. The pandemic elicited strong emotions. Even now, the hope provided by the vaccines is controversial. Berry’s success this past year can be attributed in part to its willingness to embrace tension, a practice that has been established over the years as evidenced in its founding decision to be nondenominational. In this regard, Berry encourages faith and champions values – such as patience, humility and a generosity of spirit – that are grounded in a Christian perspective. At the same time, the college requires no faith commitments and is willing to engage and benefit from other viewpoints. Although some would prefer the college to be definitively secular or Christian, Berry chooses its own distinctive path. This year, the college also has grappled with a different aspect of diversity and inclusiveness, one brought to the forefront by the wrongful killing of George Floyd by a police officer and the resulting racial protests. Racial unrest became a major issue in the presidential election, with demands for structural reform in American society. Student activists across the nation pointed to problem areas at colleges and universities,

and Berry was no exception. The rhetoric and tactics of the election season aggravated racial tension and provoked a sense of urgency. Berry’s student activists pressed for the college to issue a “no tolerance” statement regarding racist behavior and establish policies to ensure a campus climate that is proactively antiracist and safe for students of color. Others were concerned that such statements and policies would assume and impose a particular political narrative and stifle honest questions and dialogue. As we engaged this controversy at Berry, I convened a presidential advisory committee and six subcommittees to consider thoughtfully how the college could improve its diversity and inclusion efforts. Consistent with its commitments as a residential college, Berry has affirmed that it intentionally holds certain principles and commitments in tension. It embraces equally a respect for difference and a respect for dialogue. Berry values the essential dignity of all individuals and rejects actions or statements that are hostile toward individuals based on attributes that define their personhood. The college also values freedom of expression and inquiry as defining attributes of an academic community and views caring and candid dialogue as essential for personal and professional development. It is averse to censuring ideas. In addition, this year was marked by dissension related to COVID-19. Berry’s decisions pertaining to the pandemic were made based on two principles: one, to nurture the

health and wellness of the campus community, and the other, to provide as normal an educational experience as possible, emphasizing educational quality and the integrity of the residential experience. One principle did not take precedence over the other, which meant that decisions often were contingent and adjusted every few weeks based on updated metrics and information. It required the campus community to remain flexible, agile and trusting. Advancing through this tension was possible only because of the daily goodwill of students, faculty and staff, as well as parents, alumni and friends who had to forgo cherished on-campus experiences. It was a challenging path, but one that concluded with a sky full of fireworks at the end of April and a commencement ceremony 10 days later for more than 400 undergraduates who were launching from Berry in remarkable ways. We live in a complicated world, and Berry benefits from a diversity of people and a diversity of viewpoints. Although the coming school year seems full of promise, we should expect more crises in the years ahead. We should prepare. And we would do well to heed the words of Judge Learned Hand in an influential speech near the end of World War II: The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interests alongside its own without bias. 11

RESC By Karilon L. Rogers

Portraits by Brant Sanderlin Stock imagery courtesy of the United States Coast Guard

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The wind howled and 6-to-8-foot waves crashed offshore of U.S. Coast Guard Station Provincetown where then-Seaman Robert W. Aiken (17C) ate lunch with his buddies. A whopper of a Nor’easter had set in that March 2020 day, and a fishing vessel’s emergency call served as the “Coasties’” dessert. Four set out to rescue the “dead-in-the-water” boat that was drifting relentlessly toward disaster on shoals off the Massachusetts coast. The crew, smaller than usual due to COVID-19 regulations, planned and prepared quickly before departing from their heavy-weather search-and-rescue post on Cape Cod. “It was pretty squirrely out there,” Aiken said, describing the conditions into which they launched their 47-foot motor lifeboat, with the officer-incharge doubling as coxswain (COXN), the person who steers the boat and is responsible for its safe operation as well as the safety and conduct of the crew and completion of the mission. “Provincetown is sheltered by the ‘hook’ of the Cape. When we came around the hook, it became super-gnarly with 8-to12-foot seas and occasional 14-to-16-footers.” It took their lifeboat more than two hours in punishing conditions to reach the disabled vessel with three souls on board. The wind raged at a sustained 35 knots (40 mph); the sea temperature was less than 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Every crew member was sick – and tired. “It is super draining on your muscles to even keep your feet in such seas,” Aiken explained, “and we had just eaten lunch before we set out. Although in those seas, we’d have all been sick anyway.”

One of the crew members, however, was sicker. He couldn’t feel his hands, couldn’t stand and was extremely disoriented. He couldn’t do anything, leaving just three to accomplish their arduous rescue and care for him as well. As the officer-in-charge steered the boat, Aiken and his remaining shipmate took control of the rescue, passing the two required heaving lines to the distressed vessel in one throw each – an amazing feat in such wind and seas. They then passed a pump weighing more than 150 pounds to dewater the swamped vessel and got a tow line in place. “It was mad rough out there!” Aiken exclaimed. “But we set up a 600-foot tow and started bringing the vessel in.” Their sickened crewmember continued to get worse, so the COXN contacted medical personnel aboard the cutter USCG Campbell. He was told to radio the flight surgeon, who advised them a chopper could not be sent in the high winds; they would have to bring the Coastie to shore to be taken by EMS to a hospital. The USCG Campbell then approached as quickly as possible to take over the rescue tow. By the time this was accomplished several hours later, Aiken’s partner in the rescue had become too ill to help further, leaving Aiken alone to drag onto the deck of their lifeboat 600 feet of exceptionally heavy, wet line thick enough to tow a large vessel in rough seas – all after hours of back-breaking work and buckets of seasickness. Still not done, he maneuvered a litter from a lower compartment up a tiny ladder to his original fallen shipmate and loaded the man’s 200-plus pounds of dead weight onto it, preparing him for expedited EMS transfer to Cape Cod Hospital once they came into port. (The crewmember recovered fully from mild hypothermia and severe sea sickness.)

Aiken said these were not the worst conditions he has ever experienced, but they certainly were the worst he has been exposed to for such a long period of time. And while he didn’t get to meet the people rescued since his lifeboat didn’t tow their vessel all the way to shore, he shared with a hint of well-earned pride that one of the fishermen did report over his ship’s radio: “That guy who pulled in all the tow line is a bad ass!” The officer-in-charge that day, Chief Boatswain’s Mate Jason Macomber, recommended both Aiken and his hardworking shipmate for the Commandant’s Letter of Commendation Ribbon Bar with the silver “O” Operational Distinguishing Device, and the honor was granted. Aiken’s commendation letter, which tells the tale of the rescue in detail, is reprinted above. “It is a true honor,” Aiken said humbly, adding with a laugh about the Operational Distinguishing Device, “and it is so much cooler with the ‘O’!”

If something is hard, try harder

Aiken was a sophomore at Berry when he first became interested in the military. He wanted to join as an officer and talked to recruiters, discovering it is difficult to become an officer when joining up as a civilian. So, he sat on the thought and enjoyed his time at Berry, where his father, Robert T. Aiken II (82A), two uncles and an aunt had all attended high school at Berry Academy.

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“ … You are commended for your outstanding performance of duty. By your meritorious service you have upheld the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard. … ”

He majored in environmental science and particularly liked the work program because, as he put it: “I love to work hard.” Aiken got a great job right out of Berry working as an environmental consultant but quickly discovered it wasn’t for him. “I wanted to focus on something bigger than myself, to serve something other than myself,” he explained. “And I found I like rigidity in my schedule, to leave my work at work, and I like for some things to be black and white.” Aiken started talking to recruiters again and found his place in the Coast Guard, where he ultimately hopes to use his environmental science major in the environmental regulations area. “I love what I do,” he stated emphatically, adding that his goal is to become one of the “Mustangs,” officers who started out as enlisted personnel. Now a navigation boatswain’s mate on the 175-foot cutter Frank Drew based out of Portsmouth, Va., Aiken works – and loves – what is often considered one of the hardest, if least known or heralded, jobs in the Coast Guard: maintaining navigational aids, including buoys that can weigh up to 18,000 pounds. His cutter services 348 such aids in the Chesapeake Bay and its surrounding areas and tributaries, work that includes bringing the massive buoys on deck for inspection. It is dirty and dangerous work that assures safe navigation for both public and cargo vessels.

Aiken earned this position after leaving his search-and-rescue post to attend 14 weeks of intense training at the Boatswain’s Mate “A” School at the Coast Guard Training Center in Yorktown, Va. There, he was trained to become a master of seamanship in the position often considered the most versatile of the Coast Guard’s operational team. Still, Aiken is resolved to move further toward his goal quickly. In April, he turned in his “packet” of recommendation letters, resume and the like as the first step in the approval process to attend officer candidate school for enlisted Coasties. If accepted, he hopes most for the school option based on college major so that his educational interests and career goals can come together completely. He would finish the school as an OE1 or “prior enlisted officer” – and earn the coveted unofficial rank of Mustang.

Semper Paratus – Always prepared

Three lucky fishermen, a fellow shipmate and who knows how many others over time have benefitted because determination, education, old-fashioned hard work and more than a dash of heroism came together in Boatswain’s Mate Robert W. Aiken. Not only has he upheld the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard, but he also makes the Berry motto of “Not to be ministered unto, but to minister” shine.

exp erie n c in g

. h istor y

hen Anna Tucker (08C) decided as a high school senior The making of a museum to leave behind her love of music and anticipated life as a With 9,000 square feet of exhibit space, the Museum of the Southern classical pianist, she wasn’t running away from anything. Jewish Experience, which just opened May 27, occupies a beautifully Quite the opposite. While studying in Israel that year on restored historic structure in the heart of New Orleans’ busy Arts District. a Birthright Scholarship, she felt something calling more urgently to her – The highly regarded museum-planning-and-design firm of Gallagher & something that shifted her focus and shaped her future. Associates, which created the exhibits at such eminent institutions as the Tucker had spent many of her early years in Maine, Rhode Island and National World War II Museum and the National College Football Hall of Georgia coaxing Bach, Beethoven, Ravel and Rachmaninoff from her Fame, was charged with designing the MSJE’s exhibits, which span more piano’s ivory keys. Music was her world. But while visiting important sites than 300 years of Jewish history in 13 Southern states. in Israel with her classmates, she was fascinated watching people of all Multimedia displays illustrate how Jewish immigrants and succeeding ages and backgrounds connecting with the history of the ancient land. generations adapted to life in the South, forming bonds of deep friendship “I became interested and community with then in how people their non-Jewish engage with history and neighbors. Exhibits also The opportunity to plan and open an important museum would signify how it influences their address issues of race view of their own lives and antisemitism and the height of success and realization of a dream for most curators. and the world around the many ways Southern them,” she said. Jews have navigated For Anna Tucker, charter curator for the brand-new Museum of the It was an interest them at different times. she couldn’t shake, “Southern Jews have Southern Jewish Experience in New Orleans, it is all that and more. and from that point more often been a part on, everything was, of their communities quite literally, history for Tucker. Helping others engage with the past than apart from them,” said Kenneth Hoffman, the MSJE’s executive became her life’s work, culminating in the 2019 opportunity to curate a new director and Tucker’s supervisor. “This contrasts with America’s urban museum focused on an intriguing meld of her academic and professional immigration centers where Jews formed more insular enclaves.” interests: How Jews in the American South influenced and were influenced The museum’s collection began with the artifacts in the collection of the by history. original Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience established in 1986 at

By Karilon L. Rogers Photography by Brant Sanderlin 16

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URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp and later relocated to the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, both in Mississippi. Moving those artifacts to New Orleans was Tucker’s first duty. “The very first thing our museum director did was put me in a truck and send me to Jackson (Miss.) to pack and move what was then our entire collection,” Tucker remembered with a smile. It took her from April until June to finish the task, but it was well worth the effort because she was able to carefully examine and inventory every item, including family photos, important documents, two organs from closed synagogues, an 8-foot store sign, a well-known Jewish merchant’s prosthetic leg and a silk wedding dress from 1885. Since then, many other pieces have been donated to the more than 4,000-artifact collection. Working with Hoffman and Gallagher & Associates, Tucker first selected potential images and items for display and then drafted a “script” for museum flow – a manuscript to which literally thousands of changes and edits were made as museum content was fine-tuned. Eventually, display panels were printed. “While I am always nervous when it is time to print the panels, I take heart that a museum is a living thing,” Tucker said. “Nothing is ever ‘final’ in a museum. It is our responsibility to continue to update and change as new information and perspectives come to light.” The museum offers three main galleries. The first, focusing on Jews becoming Southern and building Jewish identities in the Bible Belt, covers such topics as immigration and internal migration, slavery and the Civil War, peddling and merchant life, and antisemitism. The second concentrates on the foundations of Judaism, while the third is all about the 1900s, including Zionism; Holocaust survivors settling in the South; Southern Jewish soldiers serving in Europe and the Pacific during World War II; and civil rights, including the surprisingly wide-ranging responses of rabbis. Also included are areas on the roles of Southern Jews in popular culture and in the transformation of the American South; summer camps and their role in developing Jewish identity; and the vibrancy of Jewish life.

“Our museum is a conversation,” Tucker said, “focused on the importance of diversity of experiences and perspectives. Like everyone, Southern Jews all had unique experiences and histories. Our museum encourages visitors to explore their own history.” Tucker added that the museum demonstrates that the Jews who immigrated to the South and the generations who followed serve as examples of how people from a different religious group could live among people not like them, exploring and maintaining their own background while also becoming and being “Southern.” “It was not always smooth sailing, and there are numerous instances of antisemitism throughout the years,” Tucker said, “but Southern Jews showed that communities are vibrant and strong because of, not in spite of, their diversity.”

From Berry to the Big Easy

When Tucker returned to Georgia after finishing high school in Israel, she envisioned herself studying history at Emory. Someone suggested she look at Berry, citing its beauty. So, she took a trip to Rome. A chance hallway meeting with Associate Professor of History Dr. Amy Johnson sealed the deal. “She spoke to me in the hall and invited me to sit down,” Tucker remembered. “We ended up talking for 45 minutes. I was blown away that a professor would take so much time with me and by how passionate she was about her subject. I applied to Berry that day. I knew I’d never get that kind of one-onone elsewhere. “Then, Dr. Johnson was in a car accident and passed away at the end of my first semester. I was crushed and thought about transferring schools. I

three years she was promoted to communications manager of the expanded Department of Museums, Archives and Rare Books. In 2017, she was named special projects curator, the position she held when the New Orleans job became available. Tucker is grateful she didn’t have to move on to different museums to advance, this time crediting the head of her department, Dr. Catherine Lewis, who taught her the ropes, encouraged her to learn all aspects of museum work, and “kept” her at KSU.

There really are unicorns

While working, Tucker earned a Master of Arts degree in history from Georgia State University. Since she had strong experience at KSU in “community curation” – telling the history of a town or other group – and

“ Finding an opportunity to combine your academic research with the chance to open a new museum rarely, if ever, happens.” visited Dr. Larry Marvin [professor of history], who reminded me I still wasn’t going to get the kind of one-on-one that I got at Berry. He became my mentor. So, Dr. Johnson was the reason I came to Berry, and Dr. Marvin is why I stayed. “Berry also helped me heal. After I left music behind, I missed it, even though I knew history was the field I preferred. I spent a lot of time walking around Berry’s campus. Its beauty helped me get past the loss of something I loved.” Dr. Marvin remains a mentor today, along with Dr. Anne Lewinson, professor of anthropology, who taught Tucker “the importance of different perspectives and ‘seeing’ through others’ eyes,” and Dr. Christine Anton, professor of German, who deeply engaged her in a language so helpful in her work with Holocaust materials. “When I graduated in 2008, it was not a good time to be a history major,” Tucker said. “But I found an incredible opportunity in the history field right out of Berry. My mentors knew me. Their references and guidance helped immeasurably.” Her first position was that of assistant museum manager for the Museum of History and Holocaust Education at Kennesaw State University. After 18

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— Anna Tucker

her master’s thesis focused a great deal on Southern Jewish history, the position in New Orleans telling the stories of Southern Jews seemed almost too good to be true. She didn’t hesitate to accept when it was offered to her. “Finding an opportunity to combine your academic research with the chance to open a new museum rarely, if ever, happens,” she declared. “This was truly a unicorn job position.” Unicorns normally appear only in fairytales, yet Tucker found one in real life. The woman initially intrigued in high school by how people engage with history and how it influences their view of their lives and the world around them had her own life and world changed by it. All these years later, the changes seem to be working out quite well, making her departure from music worth the sacrifice. Tucker couldn’t be happier both working in her “unicorn” position and living in New Orleans, and her supervisor seems more than pleased. “I’ve been in the museum field for 25 years now,” Hoffman declared, “and rarely have I worked with someone as dedicated, knowledgeable, hardworking and creative as Anna. She’s not just a rising star in the Jewish museum world, but in the museum world in general. I daily count my lucky Jewish stars that I get to work with Anna.”

REPRINTED FROM THE TIMES, GAINESVILLE, GA - DECEMBER 2020

Strong foundation: Reflections on Berry

graduated from Berry College 15 years ago this week. If you’ve ever been to Berry, you’re now thinking something along the lines of, “Oh, that’s a beautiful campus.” It is, and I don’t think a year has gone by since December 2005 that I haven’t thought about how much I value the experiences I had there. Seeing deer graze in the field along the road that led to what’s referred to as mountain campus. Worshiping in Frost Chapel, its stone, wood and metal architecture still one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Spreading a blanket out on the grass to do some homework, with the daintiest little white flowers covering the lawn. As a high schooler, I considered a few other colleges, but I applied just to Berry. I’m sure I didn’t fully understand the financial implications at the time of private vs. public school, but I also got a good bit of financial aid thanks to my being the goody two-shoes kid who earned mostly straight-As. In any case, it was worth every penny. As a rising freshman, I was so excited that I remember searching the internet for anything I could learn about Berry. There was no Reddit in those days, and I don’t think I was able to learn much. Now, you can get an immersive experience on the Berry College website to learn all about the dorms and every other aspect of life at Berry. As a freshman, I moved into the Morton Lemley dorm, my parents and I lugging a big tube TV and awkward, bulky computer monitor and computer – because those were two different things in those days – up two flights of stairs. I will always remember the deep purple shade of the carpet in that dorm and the learning curve of living with someone new. My roommate and I eventually became the best of friends, living together at the campus townhomes and later Thomas Berry suites. Berry now has dorms that look more like posh ski resort accommodations than dorms. There are outdoor fireplaces built into the stone walls, Adirondack chairs and glass panes reaching toward the sky. The immersive experience on the website assured me, though, that some of the dorms still look like dorms, with their twin bed, desk and drawers. What drew me to Berry wasn’t the dorms, of course. And the beauty of the campus was only part of it. More important to me was the feel of the institution – a focus on academics and faith.

I don’t know how many times I heard the phrase “head, heart and hands” while at Berry. The mission of education in those three areas is integral to the Berry experience. As a student, it felt like a cliche pulled out by every administrator at every event, but the mission seeped into every part of Berry. My professors challenged me. I recall sitting in a rhetoric and writing class wondering if it was possible for my brain to physically hurt from thinking too hard. That professor, who I only had for the one class, pushed us to think through our arguments, prewriting persuasive essays by jotting down question upon question upon question and then determining how to answer those questions. There are quite a few times I’ve wished I could enroll someone in the class. No matter your argument, you should make it well. I’d take the class again, too.

Berry also puts its students to work. It’s certainly got its share of required book learning, but work experience matters. I worked in the dining hall my freshman year. I recall showing up to class smelling like French fries after a shift frying up sandwiches. I also worked in the child development center on campus. Later I spent evenings once a week in a windowless tower of the castle-like Ford Complex putting together the weekly student newspaper. It was hard work, and I’m better for it. I learned much in my first few years at The Times – including some of the ins and outs of planning and commission board meetings and how that affected what headline to write – but my experiences at the campus paper and in my communication classes laid a strong foundation. Berry College laid a strong foundation, helping me learn not what to think but how to think and

Something seems to tie Berry students together, too, though. When I learn now that someone went to Berry, it usually makes perfect sense to me based on what I know about his or her character. Shannon Rohrabaugh Casas (05C), editor-in-chief of The Times, Gainesville, Ga.

Berry is a caring place, too. It’s not closely tied with any religious denomination, but faith is important to many of the students. I learned a lot about how to relate to others. Some of that was the byproduct of living with people of different backgrounds and personalities. Something seems to tie Berry students together, too, though. When I learn now that someone went to Berry, it usually makes perfect sense to me based on what I know about his or her character.

providing a space for me to grow into a better version of myself. I wish everyone could be so lucky as to have the opportunity of a Berry education.

Editor’s Note: This column came to our attention soon after it was printed in December, just as we were celebrating our 2020 graduates. With the author’s permission and that of The Times, Gainesville, Ga., we are pleased to share it with you. 19

Story by Rick Woodall Climbing photography by Patrick Delaney of Yamnuska Mountain Adventures

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erald L. “Jerry” Blanchard (75C) was perched on a sheet of near vertical ice, hundreds of feet in the air, when it happened. Only 60 feet from the top of Canada’s frozen Cascade Falls, the experienced climber kicked the razor-sharp crampon on his boot into the ice, only to feel his foot slip free and see his boot go flying. A loose shoelace hidden by his pant leg was the culprit. “We’re a thousand feet up in the air, and there goes the boot,” he recalled ruefully. A decorated banking attorney who now teaches at Emory University School of Law, Blanchard has always enjoyed a good intellectual challenge, and this was a doozy – how to complete the climb with a boot on one foot and a sock on the other, all in temperatures bottoming out at an absolutely bone-chilling minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit. After sizing up his situation – fast – Blanchard devised a plan with longtime guide Pat Delaney, who was above him on the ice. The two climbers were connected by a safety rope, which Delaney would pull tight as Blanchard slowly made his way up the falls, using the ice axes in his hands and the crampon on his remaining boot. “He’s up there, he’s got the rope tight, and I’m throwing the ice axes above my head, clunk, and then I’m hopping with my right foot,” Blanchard described. “I’m literally hopping – kicking it in – and then I yell, ‘Pull!’ He pulls up the one or two feet of rope to make it tighter, and then I throw the ice axes in again.” And so it went, all the way to the top, but Blanchard wasn’t out of the woods yet. By now, hypothermia and frostbite were setting in, and there was no way to climb down with only one boot.

FOR A CHALLENGE Enter the Alpine Helicopter Co., which carried rangers from Banff National Park to the stranded climber. Harnessed to one of his rescuers, Blanchard was ferried to an open field below and then to a local hospital where he was left with “nasty” blisters all over his exposed foot, one the size of a silver dollar, but otherwise no worse for wear. “Everybody says, ‘Did they pull you up into the helicopter?’” Blanchard laughed. “No, no, they didn’t pull me into the helicopter. They just pluck you off the mountain, and you go flying at the end of this long line.” And then he added with a smile, “One thing I will tell people, if you pay your admission to the park, they will rescue you for free.”

Finding his footing

Blanchard was already out of law school when he discovered climbing, but he has always loved the outdoors, dating back to his childhood growing up on seven acres of land adjoined by forests in Howard County, Md., located between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. After high school, the competitive runner found his way to Berry – enduring a winding, 21-hour Greyhound bus ride for his initial campus visit – which turned out to be the perfect destination for someone looking to challenge both his body and his mind. “One of the highlights was being able to go out the back door of the dorm and go for a 10-mile run, just running through the campus,” he related. “On the weekends, if I just wanted to go for a run, I would run back to the Academy, back through the woods, basically.” When he wasn’t running for pleasure or training with his cross-country teammates, Blanchard was pursuing his dream of a career in law. As an interdisciplinary major focused on history and political science, he blossomed under the demanding yet supportive tutelage of the late Dr. Gordon Carper, among others. The aspiring lawyer learned right away that he had better be ready to “stand and deliver” when called upon by Carper, a skill that would serve him well as a law student at Emory University and during his long legal career that followed. “Many of my classes would only have five or six people in them, and we would actually go to the professors’ houses and sit there around the living room and chat about the subject,” he noted of his time at Berry. “I just wouldn’t have been able to get that same level of attention anywhere else, I don’t think.”

Starting his ascent

Blanchard was working as an in-house attorney for what is today Bank of America when he caught the climbing bug, signing up for a rock-climbing course while attending a bankruptcy seminar near Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. Recounting the experience, Blanchard described, “This guy comes out, and he’s got a full head of gray hair and a gray beard, kind of like a little gnome. He teaches us how to tie the ropes around ourselves, how to wear the harnesses, the knots, all this kind of stuff, and then he goes to this rock face, and he just starts scampering up like a cat. He gets up to a cliff and looks down and says, ‘OK, now it’s your turn.’ And one at a time, we have to climb this rock face to the cliff that he’s on.” It wasn’t easy, but Blanchard was hooked. When he returned to Atlanta, he immediately began taking rock-climbing courses. Many years later, he remains enthralled. “It’s not always straight forward,” he related. “Let’s say you’re looking up and you see a ledge. There might be three ways of getting to that ledge. Which is the least risky way? Which way am I going to have to expend the least amount of energy? Because you’re trying to conserve energy. So it’s an intellectual challenge as well as the physical challenge.” The rewards of overcoming such challenges can be considerable. During an early climbing adventure, Blanchard found himself alone with his guide atop Grand Teton, at 13,775 feet the highest point in the park of the same name. They had been the first out of the tents that morning, wearing headlamps in the darkness as they set out to complete the final ascent of the two-day climb. Behind them, pinpricks of light represented other climbers. Ahead, there was nothing but an incredible view. “That was just the most exhilarating thing to be on top of this mountain,” Blanchard said. “It was a gorgeous day. You could see the shadow of the Grand Teton going into Idaho, and you were at the top of it.”

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Taking up his axe

Over the years, Blanchard has tried many different types of climbing – in Colorado Springs, he donned rubber-soled shoes for “friction” climbing on smooth sandstone; back in Grand Teton, he worked his way up “Guide’s Wall” as part of a “crack” climb, which requires you to insert your hands and feet in a crack in the rock and work your way up – but ice climbing rises above them all. “It’s similar to rock climbing but different from the standpoint that rock climbing you look up and you can see where the next handhold is,” Blanchard explained. “In ice climbing, you’re making your own trail, so to speak.” The focus is intense, as is the preparation, taking into account temperature fluctuations, ice quality and avalanche risk, among many factors – ideal for someone who has always gotten a thrill out of coming up with solutions to difficult questions, whether it’s on a frozen waterfall or in his law office working with a client. “It’s energizing and refreshing,” he said of climbing. “It clears the mind of whatever else you’re worried about, because you can’t worry about anything else.” Since getting his first taste of ice climbing in Iceland in the early 2000s, he’s gone almost every year, mostly in Canada. His family, including wife Teresa Hargrove Blanchard (75C), who owns her own CPA firm, understands it’s his way of “howling at the moon.” But you won’t find her or their adult children, son Jonathan and daughter Melanie (05C), with him on the ice. “They accept the fact that I find it interesting,” he said, “but they don’t have any interest in going up there to do it.” Blanchard, who will be 68 in August, just keeps “howling.” His last climb was in early 2020, just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Opportunities have been limited in the year since, but when you hear him describe the sensation of taking that first swing of the axe at the base of a frozen waterfall, with snow all around and nothing but a blue wall of ice in front of him, it’s easy to imagine him taking up the challenge once again. “It’s all those kinds of things that you have to learn about climbing and visualize as you’re looking at something that I get a big kick out of,” he said. “It’s not like climbing a ladder, I guess you would say. If it was a ladder, everybody could do it.”

“When you’re ice climbing, nothing else intrudes in your mind. I don’t care what is going on in your life, you’re not thinking about it when you are swinging that ice axe.” — Jerry Blanchard

BERRY FAMILY

From right, Jerry Blanchard, daughter Melanie, wife Teresa and son Jonathan.

When Jerry Blanchard (75C) arrived at Berry in 1971, he had no idea he was starting a family tradition. Two years after that first long bus ride from Maryland, brother and future doctor Michael (77C) joined him. Both found love on campus, with Jerry marrying Teresa Hargrove Blanchard (75C) and Michael meeting wife Anneliese Rogers Blanchard (79C). In 2001, a new generation arrived when Melanie Blanchard (05C), daughter of Jerry and Teresa, chose Berry as her undergraduate destination. Now a collections management specialist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., she thrived under the direction of the same academic advisor as her father, Dr. Gordon Carper. “To be honest, I never would have imagined that it would have been possible,” Jerry said. “It was just a lot of fun to watch her develop her intellectual skills and her people skills at Berry and have the relationship with Gordon and his wife that Teresa and I had back when we were there.” 23

lumni and friends continue to inspire us with their generous support of Berry students. At right, we call attention to some notable giving milestones that caught our eye in recent months. Below, we are pleased to recognize gifts, pledges and realized planned gifts of $25,000 or more received between Feb. 1, 2020, and Feb. 28, 2021. These leadership supporters have our sincere thanks, as do all who make a

Happy 55th (and 56th!) Joe Ragsdale (65C) has been giving to Berry annually since 1966, and he’s not even the most consistent giver in his own house. That title belongs to wife Nelda Parrish Ragsdale (64C), who finished school the year before he did, giving her a lead that continues to this day – 56 years later! Almost as impressive is the road they’ve traveled as consecutive givers, moving from Maine to Oklahoma to Alabama before coming home to Georgia, never having missed a year. “Berry became part of us while we were students, so we wanted to become part of Berry,” Joe said. They most certainly are.

gift of any size on behalf of Berry students.

Anonymous, $40,000, with $24,000 for

the Gate of Opportunity Scholarship and $16,000 for the Save a Student Scholarship

ARAMARK Corp., $40,118 for the general fund

John D. Beck (70C), $25,000 for the Class

of 1970C Endowed Scholarship

Randy and Nancy Berry, $140,000, with $100,000 for the Griswell Scholarship Program, $28,000 for the Randy Berry and Thomas Berry Gate of Opportunity Memorial Scholarship, and $12,000 for the Berry Information Technology Students (BITS) Program

OPPORTUNITY

Mary Alice Ivey Blanton (58C), $25,000

for the James W. and Ruth T. Ivey Endowed Scholarship

Impart wisdom, share gifts, improve lives 24

I BERRY

Alton H. (61c) and Rebecca Browning (61C) Christopher, $40,000, with $10,000

for the Selma Hall Browning Memorial Gate of Opportunity Scholarship, $25,000 for the Save a Student Scholarship, and $5,000 for the Al and Becky Christopher Gate of Opportunity Scholarship Photo by Brant Sanderlin

Jeff Field (81C), $25,000 for the Class of 1981C Scholarship Fund

Rachel Firstman, $40,000 in-kind gift of a Holsteiner mare

Fullgraf Foundation, $50,000 for the animal science building

Georgia Community Foundation, $250,000 to establish the Georgia Community Foundation Nursing Scholarship

Georgia Independent College Association, $32,358, with $29,887 for the general fund and $2,471 for student scholarships

Judy Lane Gilbert Memorial Foundation,

$30,000 for the Save a Student Scholarship

Walter K. Gill (63C), $30,000 for the Lyn

Gresham Gate of Opportunity Scholarship

Vincent Griffith (81C) and Angela Hartley, $25,000, with $20,000 for the

Class of 1981C Scholarship and $5,000 for the Land Management Scholarship

Generosity has no age limit

Legacy of support

Answering the call

Berry’s newest alumni got a head start on giving this spring by supporting a new Save a Student Scholarship named for the Class of 2021. Senior Class President Bryce Nethery (21C), above right, helped to lead the effort, motivated by thoughts of his own Berry community and “how devastated I would be if I had to leave them.”

Clayton Henson Farnham never attended Berry, but as the grandson of the school’s first graduate, Wylie Clayton Henson (1904H), he saw himself as a beneficiary of Martha Berry’s gift of opportunity. During a 2012 visit to campus with wife Kitty (pictured above), he reflected on how Martha Berry’s vision helped broaden the horizons of an entire family, noting, “the rest of us got started with this kind of platform behind us of standards and knowledge to be able to do well. You could certainly call it a starting point in a very real sense.”

When COVID-19 was wreaking havoc in the lives of Berry students, alumni and friends stepped up with gifts to the Save a Student Scholarship:

On the other end of the spectrum, Hildred Bell Cammon (36H), above left, continues to give regularly at 103! Asked why, she explained, “My father was a farmer in rural Heard County, Ga., and he and my mother wanted me to have a better education than they felt the rural schools could offer in the early 1930s. The well-rounded education I received at Berry allowed this ‘country girl’ and her husband to own and operate a successful business for 35-plus years.”

A successful attorney like his grandfather, Farnham died last fall at 82, but his family’s unique Berry legacy endures thanks to a $20,000 estate gift that will support opportunities for future students.

Matthew (02C) and Kelly Daly (03C) Grisham, $25,000 for the Grisham

Phil (68C) and Charlotte Lee (71C) Malone, $25,000 for the animal science

Guanacaste Ventures, $350,000 for the

Bowen H. and Barbara Mote (61C) McCoy, $250,000, with $50,000 for the

Endowed Scholarship

Pattillo Scholarship Fund

Greg (82C) and Judy Cash (85C) Hanthorn, $25,000 for an interactive cyber theatre project

Henry (55H, 59c) and Jan Deen (60C) Howell, $25,000 for the Henry and Jan Howell Endowed Save a Student Scholarship

Lee Jones Lance (53C), $49,887 charitable gift annuity that ultimately will support the Griswell Scholarship Program

Roger W. Lusby III (79C) and Candy Caudill Lusby (82c), $70,000, with

$44,000 for the Hank Aaron Scholarship, $16,000 for the Mr. and Mrs. Roger W. Lusby III Scholarship, $5,000 for the Save a Student Scholarship, and $5,000 for the annual fund

building

Berry Center for Integrity in Leadership and $200,000 for campus priorities to be identified

$606,000 in gifts between

April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021

3,103 supporters (including

Many gave in response to an appeal by the late Barry Griswell (71C) in one of his final public acts as Board of Trustees chair before his unexpected death in June 2020. One alumna, reduced to tears by memories of her own Berry experience, wrote: “This check is not much. But maybe a lot of little checks will help those students with present needs.” That’s exactly what happened, and Save a Student recipients like Lucy Miranda (21C), pictured above, couldn’t be more grateful. Thanks to everyone in the Berry family who extended a helping hand!

SunTrust Trusteed Foundations: Florence C. and Harry L. English Memorial Fund, $75,000 for renovation of the Bell Recital Hall at Ford

SunTrust Trusteed Foundations: Thomas Guy Woolford Charitable Trust, $75,000 for renovation of the Bell Recital Hall at Ford

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, $21,000 for the

Richard Allen Terry (63C), $50,000 for the

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Junior Membership Committee, $24,000, with $14,000 for

J. Ronald (61C) and Bernice Thornton,

NSDAR Gate of Opportunity Scholarship

the NSDAR Juniors Gate of Opportunity Scholarship and $10,000 for the Save a Student Scholarship

Brent Dwayne Ragsdale (88C), $25,000 for the animal science building

Daniel M. Smith, $25,000 for the Glenda Harper Orloff Endowed Scholarship

outright gifts, merchandise purchases and event registrations)

Harriet Sarah Keckley Terry Endowed RN Scholarship in Nursing $25,000 for the Thornton Endowed Entrepreneurial Scholars Fund 2

Truist Foundation, $250,000 for the animal

C.B. Wright III (73C), $25,000 for the Save a Student Scholarship

REALIZED PLANNED GIFTS Estate of Ouida Word Dickey (50C), $204,853 unrestricted

Estate of Ondina Santos González,

$70,000 for The González Family Fund

Estate of Margaret Jean Thomas,

$155,105 for the Emily Cox Memorial Fund supporting preservation of the Berry College Chapel

Estate of Boyd A. Wells (44c), $2 million

science building

for the Boyd A. Wells Endowed Gate of Opportunity Scholarship

WinShape Foundation, $561,680, with

Estate of Estelle Smith Wright (42c),

$511,680 for the WinShape Scholarship, $40,000 for the WinShape Appeals Fund, and $10,000 for the Truett and Jeannette Cathy Scholarship

$440,333 unrestricted

DELAYED BUT UNDAUNTED

miles may have been obscured by masks, but nothing could

prematurely,” said President Steve Briggs. “And it hurt that the

diminish the sense of pride and accomplishment felt by

tight-knit and caring community you created and enjoyed so much

graduates and family members at Berry’s long-delayed

was forced to disperse abruptly and unceremoniously. So today we

2020 commencement ceremony. To ensure appropriate distancing, the December event was held at

have the opportunity to celebrate a combination of commencement and homecoming.

Berry’s home of champions – Valhalla. Although never before used

“Class of 2020, it’s a special privilege to have you here on campus

for commencement, the stadium was the perfect place to cheer the

on this occasion. We are proud of you, your accomplishments, your

ultimate triumph of graduates denied so much by a pandemic that cut

resiliency and the way you embraced the challenges of this last year.”

short their final year on campus. “At commencement, I normally remind students that the legendary Berry Bubble is about to pop, but this year, that bubble burst

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While not all graduates were able to make it back, many did, traveling from as far away as Scotland, Paris and an impressive number of graduate schools and career stops stateside.

Photo by students Matthew McConnell and Rette Solomon

Ben Majors (20C), now in medical school at the University of

“This crisis will not last forever,” he encouraged. “Countries will

Arkansas for Medical Sciences, spoke for the graduates, praising

reopen their borders. Businesses will return to work. The jobs will

Berry as a place that cares deeply after relating the story of how Dr.

come back. We’ll be able to congregate together and sing together and

Michael Morgan came to campus in full commencement garb to see

laugh together again. And when that time comes, don’t be hampered

him off in the spring.

by the hangover of this year. Throw yourself back into the world with a

John Coleman (04C), himself a former student speaker, delivered

recklessness that will truly signal an end to this pandemic.”

the commencement address. Now a Berry trustee, he offered insights

Coleman added that the commencement gathering itself was a

gleaned from his own experiences managing life’s interruptions. He

hopeful act, stating, “Our goal should be to live fully as people bent

stressed the importance of being flexible, leaning on others, seeking

but unbroken by a time that sought to assault our spirits but couldn’t

joy and gratitude in difficult times, and fighting back to our feet when

permanently dampen the essential enthusiasm that we have for

knocked down.

this world.”

NEWS FROM YOU CLASS KEY Names are followed by a number and letter indicating Berry status. Uppercase letters denote graduates; lowercase letters denote attended/ attending and anticipated year of graduation: C, c College G, g Graduate school A, a Academy H, h High school FS Faculty/Staff FFS Former Faculty/Staff

1950s

schoolers at a private Christian school. She also enjoys tennis and gardening.

Since I Graduated from College – I can’t believe it’s been that long!”

Kenn Baker (77C) is retired

Charlotte London Wade (83C) completed a master’s

Grace Mitchell Stinson (54C) cherishes her time at Berry, where she learned to teach school and met husband Donald L. Stinson (54C), who passed away in 2020. They had two daughters, Gina and Sharon, who gave them four grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren.

1960s

after 43 years of service as a teacher, coach, athletic director, assistant principal and principal working in several school systems throughout Georgia.

Reid Poole (78C) is retired and living in Toccoa, Ga., with wife Jean after 40 years in education, including service as a teacher, coach and school administrator. He worked in all levels of education, serving in three school districts across two states.

degree in higher education administration at Georgia Southern University in May 2019 and has earned promotion to director of compliance oversight in the Office of University Compliance at the University of North Georgia, her professional home for 15 years. She and husband Tommy live in Cleveland.

one-fourth of the world’s pigs in the last two years. This work may help prevent infection should the virus reach North America. Charlie is president and CEO of Natural Biologics, a product development and innovation company focused on helping to solve animal health challenges. He also serves as adjunct assistant professor in the animal science department at Cornell University.

Connie Crotts Sowa (79C) has Rhonda Witherow McDaniel (89C) retired in 2019 after

moved from Lynchburg, Va., to Lacey, Wash., to be close to family.

Jerry C. Davis (61H) was

SEND YOUR NEWS Send your news to us online at alwaysberry.com/classnotes or email classnotes@berry.edu. Submissions are subject to editing. Photos of sufficient quality will be used at the discretion of the magazine staff. News in this issue was received Sept. 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.

appointed to the President’s Advisory 1776 Commission after overseeing more than a decade of focused patriotic education as president of College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo. Accomplishments there include creation of the Patriotic Education Travel Program, which has engaged more than 155 veterans and 361 students since 2009, and development of the William S. Knight Center for Patriotic Education.

1970s Jane Puckett (75C) is a 37-year classroom veteran teaching science and math while encouraging a positive Biblical worldview among middle

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Dr. Valerie Waits Holt (85C)

1980s

has completed a doctorate in curriculum and instruction at Liberty University. She is a work-based learning coordinator and department chair for the Bartow County (Ga.) Schools.

Leeanne Beasley Berry (81C) has published an article on Medium.com reflecting on the 40th anniversary of her Berry graduation, sharing memories of a late-night drive to the reservoir, exploration of the famed “catacombs” and other unforgettable experiences. For more, visit medium.com/ crows-feet and look for the following story from author Ruby Lee: “It’s Been 40 Years

Dr. Charlie Elrod (86C) and colleagues recently published the first report on a natural feed ingredient that inactivates the African Swine Fever Virus, which has killed approximately

30 happy years teaching third, fourth and first grades in Georgia’s Whitfield and Walker counties. She is now part-time adjunct faculty at Georgia Northwestern Technical College. She and husband Bryan, also retired, plan to travel and enjoy life near Chattanooga, Tenn., Amelia Island, Fla., and Mississippi State University, where son Carson is a freshman.

1990s

patients on the front lines of the pandemic. He enjoys collecting rare, antiquarian books and motorcycling through the backroads of Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia with sons Jonathan (24) and Caleb (21).

president of global media for American Express in New York, will be relocating to Atlanta and is excited to reconnect with the Berry community.

Landgaard in Peachtree City, Ga. He and wife Melissa live in Newnan. The couple has two children, Merideth and Will.

Mike Welsh (91C) was sworn in

Jeff Dean (90C) is a master certified information technology architect selected by IBM to serve as chief architect for one of the largest public safety net hospitals in the U.S. Jeff, who also owns Jeff Dean Consulting, works with senior executives to solve business challenges, driving success for clients, hospital staff and clinicians as they support

Wilson “Wally” Wallace (91C), Frank Harper (91C) has Joe Bihlmier (91C) has joined The Coca-Cola Co. as director of end to end connections planning and media for the North American Hydration division (water, teas and coffee). Joe, who recently served as vice

received the Silver Antelope Award for outstanding service to young people in the Boy Scouts of America, the highest honor presented to volunteers at the regional level. Frank is a trial and family law attorney with Slepian, Schwartz and

wife Robin and daughter Lily have spent the last three years living and serving on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Wally and Robin teach at St. John Christian Academy. Wally is also co-pastor of Freshwater Church.

as superintendent of education for the Cherokee County (Ala.) Schools on Jan. 4, 2021, after 22½ years as principal of Spring Garden High School. The former Berry basketball player is now a husband and father who has worked with students and teachers in all grade levels and subject areas during his 29 years in education, including service as a teacher, assistant football coach, head basketball coach, club sponsor and assistant

CHERISHED MEMORIES Eloise Cooper Crowder (43C) can claim a rather special bragging right among Berry alumni: She knew Martha Berry personally. Crowder – who celebrated her 100th birthday in November with help from a special recording by the Berry Singers – has a lot of life to look back on, including 72 years of marriage to the late Dr. Loy Crowder (42C); three children; 14 total grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and teaching school in New York, South America and Indonesia. But the time she spent with Miss Berry still shines brightly in her memory.

“I loved Miss Berry very much,” she recalled in a tone rich with adoration even now. Crowder came to Berry at 17, working in the girls school dining room before earning a place in the kitchen at Oak Hill, Martha Berry’s home. Being in such close proximity afforded her the opportunity to talk with Miss Berry every morning. “She had a beautiful spirit and was a very loving, gracious person,” Crowder recalled. “She would talk with me about all kinds of things. I remember how she

always wore a little bouquet of purple violets on her black velvet cape, and she had the most beautiful gray hair.” Perhaps the memory that stands out most in Crowder’s mind is the morning Miss Berry left Oak Hill bound for a doctor’s visit in Atlanta. “I remember hearing the hum of the elevator and her walking out of the house. We watched from the kitchen windows as she spent a few moments enjoying her garden before getting into the car. Little did we know it was the last time we would see her alive. I’ll never forget that.”

But Crowder has many happier memories too. Like the time Miss Berry was entertaining a special dinner guest and was so excited that she kept nervously patting the bell used to call the kitchen staff. And how much the Berry founder loved fresh churned butter. There is, indeed, more than enough room in Crowder’s 100-year archive for memories of a woman she highly respected and loved. And she made clear: “I was privileged to know her.”

NEWS FROM YOU

principal. He is also vice president on the Central Board of the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

two years. In 2019, he authored a book for his newspaper, the Florence Morning News, titled Southern 500: 70 Years of Thrills and Chills, Drama and Dents at Darlington Raceway.

Brenda Smith Colella (96C) is now leading the regulatory practice group for the law firm Barclay Damon, LLP in Syracuse, N.Y., where she is a partner. Her group includes environmental, energy, regulatory, project development, land use and zoning, and real property tax practice areas.

Nickey Mancin Langford (96C)

Jennifer Kobb (92C) is in her 23rd year at RICOH USA, Inc., and her 17th living in Sugar Hill, Ga. She has reached out to more than 50 distant friends during the pandemic and would love to hear from some of her Berry classmates.

Denise Riedlinger Iglesias (95C) is now vice president of engineering for Dealerware in Austin, Texas, bringing 20-plus years of leadership experience to a department of 50 tasked with reimagining how connected vehicle fleets are managed. She fosters a culture of organizational excellence and a commitment to inclusion in her work, building on community involvement with GirlStart, FIRST Robotics and Ceresa.

reports that she has stage 4 breast cancer and has faced significant challenges since her initial diagnosis in 2019, including multiple surgeries, radiation and chemotherapy. Although she feels better of late, she says she will never have a clean bill of health. Nickey lives in Huntsville, Ala., with husband Sean Langford (95C).

Freddie Villacci Jr. (94C) is Justin McBrayer (98C) is a

Dr. Sue Turnquist (95C) is the 2021 Floyd County Schools

Scott Chancey (95C) recently won four South Carolina Press Association Awards and another in the Associated Press Sports Editors contest for column writing. Scott has won 11 combined state and national sports-writing awards in the last

I BERRY

Teacher of the Year. She has been an educator in the system for 26 years, the last 20 at Model Elementary School, where she teaches fifth-grade science and social studies. She attributes her success to the foundation she received at Berry as well as her commitment to building relationships with students, hands-on teaching and bringing history lessons to life. She is the proud mother of two.

at Baylor University and lives in Woodway, Texas, with husband Rick Petter (00C).

2000s

Cyndy Hill (00C) married

Dr. Stacie Clark Petter (99C) has been awarded a National Science Foundation grant of $249,998 to create a multidisciplinary research team of academics and professionals tasked with examining the role of information technology in the fight against sex trafficking. Stacie is the Ben H. Williams professor of information systems and business analytics

Katy Appleby on Feb. 27, 2021, at the Ritz Carlton at Lake Oconee. Cyndy attended law school at the University of Miami and is now a corporate counsel for Starbucks. Katy is a corporate counsel for Amazon Pharmacy. The couple is relocating from Atlanta to Seattle this summer.

Casey T. Smith (00C) has been appointed to the WellStar Foundation Board of Directors, supporting Georgia’s largest health system. He is owner and president of Wiser® Wealth

philosopher working at Fort Lewis College in Colorado. His latest book, Beyond Fake News, was published with Routledge in fall 2020. It explores the technological, economic and psychological roots of the fake news crisis and offers insight on finding the truth in a world of misinformation.

Josh Lavallee/Pittsburgh Pirates

excited to announce the release of his debut novel, Black Ghost, a fast-paced thriller. Visit freddievillacci.com for more details.

development for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He previously served as a pitching coach at Dallas Baptist University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Berry, where he helped develop future Major Leaguer Colin McHugh (09c). Josh was a three-time AllConference selection for Berry who later spent two seasons in the New York Mets’ minorleague system.

Josh Hopper (99C) is the new coordinator of pitching

TOGETHER AGAIN Reid Professor of Biology Emeritus Dr. John H. Graham (FFS) is surrounded by Berry alumni during a November 2020 camping trip to Cumberland Island on the Georgia coast. Pictured from left are Dr. Mark Janowski (93C), Jim Casey (91C), Stacey Kitchens Casey (93C), Graham, Eve Funderburk Brantley (93C) and Kimberly Woody Roberson (93C).

Management, an awardwinning, fee-only fiduciary financial planning firm, and a member of the Berry College Board of Visitors.

Molly Bugosh Smiley (00C) have two sons, Aiden (15) and Holden (11).

for Entrepreneurs (ACE), a nonprofit community lender supporting low/moderateincome business owners, women and minorities. He also has held leadership roles with the Opportunity Finance Network and Association for Enterprise Opportunity. He is married to Lindsey Payne Brackett (02C), an avid writer and novelist. They have four children.

Kristen Haas Curtis (00C) is pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Bern in Switzerland, where she is working on a team investigating “Canonicity, Obscenity, and the Making of Modern Chaucer from 1700 to the Present Day.” Her master’s thesis at the University of Fribourg also focused on Chaucer, particularly his status as an adapter of older works and an author who is frequently adapted. As part of this project, she created a graphic novel adaption of The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, highlighting the additions and alterations Chaucer made to his source materials.

Jon Albert West (01C) and Ali Meder Herring (01C) has been promoted to literary agent at Spencerhill Associates following the sale of THEM CLACKITY (Atheneum, Simon & Schuster), a middle-grade horror project by debut author Lora Senf. Representing authors in kid-lit and adult fiction, Ali has secured placements with the Big 5, Harlequin and independent publishers. THEM CLACKITY will be published in the summer of 2022. Another middlegrade project written by one of Ali’s clients, The Absence of Sparrows, is available now through Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

wife Sara Hicks-West announce the birth of daughter Aura Grace on Oct. 4, 2020. The family lives in East Atlanta Village.

Pam Franks Hastings (02C)

Travis Armes (02C) and Adrienne Thompson Armes (01C) moved to San Diego in

CHASING CHAUCER

Above right: Self-portrait of Curtis and the subject of her research.

and husband Kevin welcomed first child Eva Jillian on Sept. 26, 2020. Pam is director of internal audits and compliance for the Floyd County (Ga.) School District.

July 2020. Travis, pictured, is a Navy chaplain on the U.S.S. Bunker Hill; Adrienne is associate minister at Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Carlsbad.

lessons for how we can emerge from such difficulties not just surviving but thriving.

Katie Eady Owens (04C) was

Chris Addis (04C) and wife Hannah welcomed baby girl Clementine Rebecca on Oct. 8, 2020.

Michael Webb (02C) is excited

Andrew Smiley (01C) has been named executive director of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, joint nonprofits based at the University of Missouri. He spent 19 years in network sports broadcasting with ESPN and Golf Channel/ NBC Sports. Andrew and wife

Joshua Brackett (02C) was honored in the Community Service category of the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 2020 CFO of the Year Awards, presented in partnership with the Association for Corporate Growth Atlanta. He is CFO of Access to Capital

Shadow Knight, a fantasy novel. Michael has spent the last 19 years working with Ferguson Enterprises, currently managing a shared purchasing center where he annually oversees the purchase of nearly $1 billion in commercial waterworks material nationwide. He and wife Julia Brown Webb (03C) have a 13-year-old son who already has his sights set on Berry.

Meaghan Marr

to announce publication of his first book, The Last

one of two finalists for Georgia Fisheries Conservationist of the Year. She earned this recognition from the Georgia Chapter of the American Fisheries Society for contributions across Northwest Georgia, focusing on land protection and restoration work in the lower Etowah Watershed and fish passage work in the Conasauga Watershed.

Jessica Foley Griesbach (04C, FS) has released her first book, Turning Life Into Lemonade. Based on her own experience persevering in the face of chronic and lifethreatening health conditions, she shares helpful, researchbased insights on how the brain processes trauma and

Miranda Huggins Swanson (04C) and husband Bob announce the birth of first child Ella Gwen on Aug. 25, 2020.

Berry extends sincere condolences to family and friends of the following alumni and faculty/staff. This list includes notices received Sept. 1, 2020, to Feb. 28, 2021.

1930s Robert Lamar Whittle (39C) of

Southern Pines, N.C., March 5, 2020.

1940s LaVane Moss Smith (42H) of Woodstock, Ga., June 4, 2020.

Mattie Whitlock Hilton (43C) of Baxley, Ga., Jan. 18, 2021.

Ray W. Gunnin Sr. (44H) of Gainesville, Ga., June 30, 2020.

Emory M. Brooks (46H) of

Lawrenceville, Ga., March 27, 2020. Norma Johnson Hopkins (46c) of Washington, Ga., Jan. 19, 2021. Jack L. Hunter (46H, 49C) of Easley, S.C., Aug. 26, 2020. Betty Jo Chesnutt Stone (46c) of Oviedo, Fla., Jan. 9, 2021. Betty Lott Thomas (46C) of Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 18, 2021. Nancy Taylor Walters (46c) of Lancaster, S.C., July 27, 2019. Irma Grace Young Smith (47C) of Calhoun, Ga., Sept. 24, 2020. Mattie Denney Lee Barnett (49c) of Oak Ridge, Tenn., Jan. 24, 2021. Thomas Edgar Miller (49C) of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Nov. 27, 2020. Herchel H. Sheets (49C) of Covington, Ga., Feb. 8, 2020.

1950s

Bobbie McGoldrick Moore (53c) of

Samir Massouh (64A) of Kenosha, Wis.,

Patrick Michael Bateman (86C) of

Frances Harris Eubanks (54C) of

Marilyn Scott Allen (65C) of Pickens,

Alice Victoria Skelton (87G) of Rome,

Knoxville, Tenn., Oct. 20, 2020. Gilbert, S.C., Oct. 26, 2020.

John Burch Harp Jr. (54H) of

Fayetteville, Ga., Dec. 23, 2020. Ronald Leroy Neece (54C) of Meridianville, Ala., Oct. 19, 2020. Jo Ann Riner Thompson (54C) of Brunswick, Ga., Jan. 24, 2020. John M. Hammock (55H) of Orlando, Fla., Feb. 23, 2020. Roderick E. McDonald (55C) of Suwanee, Ga., March 7, 2020. Annette Bryant O’Neal (55H) of Valdosta, Ga., Feb. 13, 2021. Oscar Derward Toler (55C) of Monroe, Ga., Feb. 12, 2021. Luther R. Rogers (56c) of Tallahassee, Fla., Nov. 8, 2020. Glynn E. Tindall (56H, 60C) of Calhoun, Ga., Nov. 21, 2020. Sandra Sorrow Gipson (57C) of Rome, Nov. 11, 2020. Bennie Carl Moore (57c) of Nicholls, Ga., Dec. 13, 2020. Harry C. Poole (57H) of Summerville, Ga., Aug. 21, 2019. John W. Powell Sr. (58H) of Savannah, Ga., Feb. 17, 2019. Joyce Stover Rowell (58C) of Sautee Nacoochee, Ga., May 21, 2020. James Rodney Sentell (59H, 63C) of Cumming, Ga., Jan. 12, 2021. Charles G. Wilson (59H) of Sylva, N.C., Dec. 19, 2020.

1960s

Euthema Mitchell Goodson (50C) of

Chattanooga, Tenn., Oct. 20, 2020. Martha Hall Stallings (50C) of Carrollton, Ga., Sept. 7, 2020. Warren Shannon Foster (51c) of Woodbury, Ga., Jan. 31, 2019. Joan Underwood Beard (52C) of Tallahassee, Fla., March 8, 2020. LaJean Battles Griffin (52C) of Irmo, S.C., Oct. 7, 2020. Charles F. Jenkins (52c) of Blairsville, Ga., May 18, 2020. Paul Logan (52C) of Hueytown, Ala., Jan. 10, 2021. Carol Green Usher (52C) of Brunswick, Ga., Nov. 14, 2019. Alma Rachel Fossett (53c) of Dalton, Ga., Dec. 9, 2020. Jerry W. Merrell (53c) of Acworth, Ga., March 18, 2019.

Cora Scales DeMott (60C) of

Thomasville, Ga., Jan. 3, 2021. Jack Herbert Silber (60H) of Gainesville, Fla., Jan. 18, 2021.

Harvard Carroll Miller (60C) of Young Harris, Ga., Feb. 4, 2021.

Roger Wayne Clemons (61C) of Hiram, Ga., Nov. 27, 2020.

Barbara Griffin Clemons (62C) of Hiram, Ga., Nov. 25, 2020.

Alvin Bradley “Brad” Harp (62H) of Ball Ground, Ga., Dec. 23, 2020. Floyd E. Chambers (63H) of Chatsworth, Ga., Jan. 12, 2021.

Jean Westmoreland Stroud (63C) of Gainesville, Ga., Dec. 25, 2020.

Carlee McCarter Wilson (63C) of Rome, Oct. 24, 2020.

H. Gene Wray (63c) of Shelby, N.C., Jan. 21, 2021.

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Jan. 12, 2021.

S.C., Jan. 25, 2021.

Loretta Ann Jones (65C) of Huntsville, Ala., Jan. 2, 2021.

Ernest Ralph Rodgers (65C) of McRae,

Rome, Oct. 27, 2020. Sept. 26, 2020.

Albert Grady Perry III (89C) of Durango, Colo., Dec. 19, 2020.

Ga., Sept. 30, 2020.

1990s

Daniel L. Bius (66C) of Murphy, N.C., Nov. 7, 2020.

James Martin (Turner) Brown (66A) of Augusta, Ga., May 4, 2020.

Giles M. Chapman Jr. (66C) of Rome, Feb. 12, 2021.

David A. Geraldson (66A) of Fallbrook, Calif., Nov. 8, 2020.

Carol Wilson Gore (67C) of Fort Mill, S.C., Oct. 3, 2020.

Dwight Dewayne Kinney (91C) of Canton, Ga., Jan. 19, 2021.

Thomas Grant Parks (94C) of

Manchester, Ga., Sept. 22, 2020. Russell Wayne Walker (96C) of Buford, Ga., Dec. 26, 2020. Joseph Ray McKenzie (98G) of Lawton, Okla., Jan. 6, 2021.

Patsy Grindle Bryan (68C) of

Murrayville, Ga., Nov. 20, 2020. Milton Swift Fortson (68C) of Staunton, Va., Dec. 12, 2020.

Ann Jeffries-Sawyer Beatty (69C, 85G) of Decatur, Ga., March 28, 2019. Thomas Gary Trimm (69C) of Hilton

2000s Elizabeth Sanders Jefferson (00G) of

Powder Springs, Ga., Nov. 23, 2020. Clayton Lee Culpepper (07C) of Rome, Feb. 10, 2021.

Head Island, S.C., Dec. 3, 2020.

1970s Rick A. Walker (70C) of Rome, Oct. 9,

2020s Jalen Kenneth Simmons (22c) of Atlanta, Jan. 2, 2021.

2020.

Cathy Robinson Aldredge (71C) of

Anniston, Ala., Nov. 26, 2020. Geraldine M. Cox (71c) of Calhoun, Ga., Nov. 6, 2020. William T. Ratliff (71C) of Waleska, Ga., Sept. 30, 2020. James E. Minyard (72C) of Durham, N.C., Dec. 27, 2020. Neill Clark Goff (73G, FFS) of Rome, Dec. 18, 2020. Faye Fleming Milner (75G) of Armuchee, Ga., Jan. 24, 2021. Dwain Shiflett (77C) of Cedartown, Ga., May 19, 2020.

1980s John Edward Anthony (80C) of Midland, Texas, Nov. 16, 2020.

Reuben McDaniel “Dan” Tuck III (81A)

of Phuket, Thailand, Aug. 31, 2020. Cynthia Anne Bonnet (82C) of Roswell, Ga., Nov. 28, 2020. Robert William Snyder (82c) of Lakeland, Fla., Jan. 10, 2019. Elizabeth Webb Eadie (84C) of San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 7, 2021.

FACULTY AND STAFF

Jeffery Robert Smith of Silver Creek, Ga., Jan. 29, 2021.

FORMER FACULTY AND STAFF

Martin L. Blackwelder of Rome, Dec. 18, 2020.

James Earl Clark of Rome, Jan. 29, 2021.

James V. Edge of Cedartown, Oct. 29, 2020.

Barbara Mixon of Lake Junaluska, N.C., Feb. 22, 2021.

Steven L. Shartzer of Foley, Ala., Sept. 17, 2020.

Fannie Louise Shelton Shaw of Rome, Sept. 2, 2020.

Dorothy “Dot” Treadaway of Rome, Oct. 15, 2020.

Jack W. VanStavern of Raleigh, N.C., Nov. 2, 2020.

with BankSouth Mortgage; Jim and Stacey own Rainbow International Restoration in Athens, Ga.

Matthew Weitzel (04C) and

Byron Schueneman (05C) has

wife Eva welcomed first child Rose on Jan. 16, 2021.

been appointed chief financial officer for the Clarke County (Ga.) School District. The licensed CPA with a master’s degree in accountancy from the University of North CarolinaWilmington gave a shout-out to Coach Richard Vardy and his former Berry teammates, adding, “Some of the best times of my life were had in the dorms, classrooms and soccer fields at Berry.”

Dr. Raina Clemmons Ferenchick (05C) was named 2021 Young Professional of the Year by the Grady County (Ga.) Chamber of Commerce. She lives in Cairo with husband

Charles “Chuck” Ferenchick (05C) and their two children. Raina is an OB/GYN at Cairo Medical Care; Charles is an attorney and serves as solicitor general for Grady County.

Dr. Libby Allen Rosenet (05C) has completed a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in care of the populations from Quinnipiac University and been promoted to clinical assistant professor at Baylor University’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing. She is pictured with daughter Tegan.

Diana Sturgess Simmons (06C) has been sworn in as a Cobb County, Ga., state court judge after winning election in August 2020. Sons Bennett, Cooper and Tate helped her into her robes. The graduate of John Marshall Law School previously served for more than a decade in the Cobb solicitor’s office.

and husband Ryan announce the birth of daughter Elizabeth Alma on Nov. 16, 2020.

Allison Watts Hamilton (09C) and husband Brian welcomed son Jack Adams on Jan. 13, 2021. He is the second grandson of Bridgette Minor Watts (84C) and Terry Watts (82C).

Aubrey Hall Hudson (08C)

David Bayne (06C) has been named director of strategic partnerships at the Washington State Department of Health. He previously served as director of the department’s Center for Public Affairs.

Katie Edenfield Price (07C)

Candace Jackson (07C) has

and husband Derek celebrate the arrival of daughter Evelyn Mae, born on June 17, 2020. She joined brothers Maddox (2) and Everett (2) at the family home in July; her adoption was finalized on Jan. 19, 2021.

been named an audit partner at Moore Colson CPAs and Advisors, leading the employee benefit plan audit practice area. She has worked with Moore Colson for more than 13 years and serves on the board of the Pension Education Council of Atlanta, among other professional affiliations.

2010s

Kelli Stansell Duncan (10C) and husband Stewart recently celebrated the first anniversary of their bicycle repair shop, Revive Cycleworks in Rome. They were married in December 2018.

The Rev. Ted Goshorn (06C)

Cleveland Miller (08C), left, and Jim Casey (91C) were

Benjamin Bell (11C) is the new

has been elected president and

all smiles after completing

policy and advocacy manager

board chair of the EastmanDodge County Area Chamber of Commerce in South Georgia.

the grueling Duncan Ridge 50K trail run on Nov. 21, 2020. Cheering them on was Jim’s wife, Stacey Kitchens Casey (93C), who first brought them together. Stacey and Cleveland met in 2018 through a business networking group and eventually learned of their shared connection as alumni of Berry and the Viking Crew rowing team. Jim also competed for Berry, albeit in cross country. Cleveland is now a lender

for the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Georgia. His work in mental health dates to his teenage years supporting his brother, Noah Bell (07c), a veteran who was bipolar and suffered from PTSD. Now a licensed social worker with master’s degrees from Georgia State University (social work) and St. John’s College (philosophy), Benjamin has eight years of case management experience with the Georgia

John Maupin (07C) and Jayne Curtis Maupin (10C) welcomed third child Anniston June in January 2020, joining sister Addison (6) and brother Jackson (4) at the family home in Cleveland, Tenn.

NEWS FROM YOU

Division of Family and Children Services and Emory Healthcare. He also served as an aide in the United States Senate and Maryland House of Delegates.

Jenna Crouch (11C) married Dr. Josh Kerr on Nov. 21, 2020, in Moultrie, Ga. Jenna is a Spanish teacher for the Valdosta City Schools; Josh is a chemist.

tourism at WVU. Her doctoral work specialized in adventure STEM education. Kevin is a land surveyor.

Courtney Walls Cook (14C) and husband Robert welcomed son Silas in January 2021. The couple married in early 2020.

Dr. Kenneth Wessel (11C) is a

Blake Childers (15C, FFS)

doctor of physical therapy for Reach Movement Studio, the first PT clinic with 3D-motion technology within a Walmart health clinic in the U.S., and a physical therapist for The Spires at Berry College.

has accepted a position as a communications specialist with The Home Depot servicing the company’s Online Contact Center network of more than 3,000 associates. He previously served as director of sports information and promotions for Berry.

Lauren Tarpley McGibboney (12C) married Charles Robert McGibboney on March 14, 2020, at Frost Chapel.

Anna Bullock Ward (12C) and husband Lanier announce the Dec. 17, 2020, birth of daughter Emma Michael, weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces and measuring 18 inches long. The new arrival is well loved by brother Eli (2).

Glenn Garrido (14C) and Sydney Kelly (13C) were married on Feb. 5, 2021, at the Art and History Museums of Maitland, Fla.

Will Corley (13C) has started an accelerated Bachelor of Science program in nursing at Mercer University.

Alee Hatch (15C) earned a Lydia Miller Chase (15C) is Jenevieve Marie Hornsby (11C) and husband Tommy welcomed second daughter Lydia Jean on Aug. 14, 2020. Sister Ruth Joan was thrilled by the new arrival.

Alex Middleton (12C, FFS) and wife Lauren welcomed first baby McCay Anderson on Sept. 30, 2020. Mac loves eating, playing, giggling and avoiding nap time. The Middletons are healthy, happy, a little tired and thankful.

Katie Weisbecker Kosmala (13C) and husband Matt welcomed first child George Henry on Dec. 30, 2020.

Jody Sinard Lawrence (11C) and husband Nathan welcomed first child Parker on Oct. 2, 2020.

Dr. Rebecca Welch (11C) has accepted a new position as a clinical veterinarian at West Virginia University.

I BERRY

Dr. Alice Morgan (12C) married Kevin Brockett on March 15, 2020, at Blue Plate Books in Winchester, Va. Alice is a researcher at West Virginia University’s Science Adventure School who recently completed a Ph.D. in recreation, parks and

Joseph Nicholls (13C) and Abby Bradley Nicholls (13C) are excited to announce their move back to Georgia from Nashville, Tenn.

putting problem-solving skills learned as a Berry mathematics major to good use working on real estate deals out of the Atlanta area as director of investments for Core5’s Midwest region. She also is pursuing an MBA at Emory University. Husband Jack Chase (15C), a Berry marketing major and lacrosse player, is now a member of Chick-fil-A’s customer listening team, supporting multiple marketing functions related to how the brand and its competitors are being referenced on social media. He previously completed a one-year consulting role as senior analyst for social analytics at Coca-Cola. The couple lives in Buckhead.

Master of Music Education degree from Anderson University in December. She teaches at Northside Elementary School in Cedartown, Ga.

Stephanie Woody Martins (15C) married Lewis Martins on Sept. 19, 2020. The couple lives in Simpsonville, S.C.

ANOTHER FULBRIGHT IN THE FAMILY Ellie Johnson (20C) has added her name to the list of Berry alumni with Fulbright on their resumes, earning a 2020-21 Teaching Assistantship for Austria after graduating with a double-major in German and political science. Since October, she has lived in the mountain town of Gloggnitz in Lower Austria, teaching English in two schools, indulging her love of hiking, exploring the art and history of Vienna (only an hour away by train), forging new friendships, and gaining fresh perspective on life outside the United States. Though the pandemic has limited her experience somewhat, Johnson declared, “Austria with COVID restrictions is better than no Austria at all! I think this experience will be a highlight of my life, and I’m so grateful to Dr. [Christine] Anton for introducing me to the opportunity and helping me apply – and for teaching me German!” Next up is graduate school – she’s been accepted to programs at Georgetown University and the University of Georgia – and then a career in international politics.

Terrell Blakesleay (17C) is a new law associate in the litigation practice group of Sirote & Permutt, based in Birmingham, Ala. He holds a J.D. from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law, where he chaired the Thurgood Marshall Symposium and was a member of the school’s nationally ranked trial team, among other involvements. At Berry, he studied political science and played on the college’s inaugural football team.

Sarah Bryan Anders (18C) and John Anders (18C) were married on June 1, 2019, in the Berry College Chapel, the place where they first met. They worked together in the chaplain’s office all four years.

Jake Hager (18C) is now

of Nursing at the University of Washington in Seattle. Previously, he was recruiting coordinator for student programs at Amazon.

Nathan Womack (15C) was

Braham Berman (16C) is the

valedictorian of his class at the Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service. He also received numerous awards for excellence

2021 Teacher of the Year for Creekview Elementary School in Alpharetta, Ga. He and Heidi King (16C) were married in

in funeral service. He is now manager of the Freeman Harris Funeral Home in Rockmart, Ga., where wife Danielle Guy Womack (16C) is assistant office manager. The couple lives in Rockmart with dog Sherlock.

November 2020.

Shelby Smith (16C) has graduated from the Mississippi College physician assistant program.

Meredith Wacter (16C) has

Alex Moon (16C) has started

Robbie Ellwanger (17C) is ichthyologist and curator of fishes at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science. Among his many duties, the Berry environmental science major conducts summer field projects focused on species of conservation concern. He

executive director of the South Rome Alliance, which strives to achieve redevelopment through home ownership, affordable housing choices, educational opportunities, active community involvement, leadership and appropriate economic development.

holds a Master of Science degree in fisheries from Auburn University and is married to

Michelle Pilcher Ellwanger (16C), a former teammate on Berry’s swimming and diving team. The couple lives in Jackson, Miss., with dog Oscar.

Lindsey Campbell (19C) has earned a master’s degree in photography from Studio Arts College International in Florence, Italy.

been accepted into a graduate program in microbiology and cell science at the University of Florida.

a new position as advancement services officer for the School

NEWS FROM YOU

the Year” issue for their efforts during the 2020 presidential election to help Joe Biden become the first Democratic candidate to carry the state in 28 years.

assistant, SOAR leader and Admissions Ambassador, in addition to studying abroad in Ireland in 2018.

Josh Hines (19C) and Sarah Enger (20C) were married in September 2020.

Emma Duke (20C) is Anthea Phitides (19C) married John Mark Simmons on Oct. 16, 2020, in an intimate ceremony at her family’s home.

Megan Radosta Hirsh (19C) and husband Nathan Hirsh (18C) welcomed daughter

2020s

Emmie Grace on Oct. 22, 2020. She weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces and was 21 inches long. The family lives in Woodstock, Ga.

attending Mercer University School of Law, where she was one of four members of her first-year class to receive the George F. Woodruff full-tuition scholarship and stipend. She ended her first semester on the dean’s list and in the top 5% of her class. Emma was inspired to pursue a career in law while interning in the victim-witness department at the Floyd County district attorney’s office.

Jai Foote (20C), an intern

Griffin Davis (20C) has secured

Kathleen C. Minor (19C) was among the Georgia volunteers featured in Time’s “Person of

a full-time position with Comcast NBCUniversal after interning with Comcast in 2019 and State Farm in 2017. The Berry business major gained valuable on-campus experience as a Leadership Fellow, resident

with the National Black Justice Coalition, recently co-authored an article for Ms. Magazine with Dr. Kia Darling-Hammond, NBJC’s director of education programs and research, highlighting a collaboration between the NBJC and Cartoon Network meant to teach children about pronouns and respect.

There’s no better way to stay connected between magazines than our new alumni website

ALWAYSBERRY.COM You’ll find alumni spotlights, exclusive contests, event information (including the latest Mountain Day news) and more. Also, be sure to follow @BerryAlumni on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

I BERRY

Casey Johnston (20C) has

Chandler Polk (20C) parlayed

started a job as a nurse in the operating room at Northside Hospital after graduating from Berry with two Bachelor of Science degrees – nursing and psychology.

connections made at Berry’s 2020 career fair into placement in the Waffle House Leadership Development Program. He stated: “Being part of this program has been a blessing. While running a business, I have the great opportunity to not only cultivate the growth of work skills, but also to help my colleagues grow to be great contributors to society.”

Andrew Myers (20C) and Bailey Fowler (20C) have married, bought their first house and started careers. Andrew, who already has a patent pending for a new 3D printing method and material developed at his first employer, recently accepted a new position as an additive manufacturing engineer with Henry Schein/ Brasseler in Savannah, Ga. Bailey is a teacher.

IN THE END, IT’S ABOUT THE STUDE NTS

Lessons learned and applied for others By Debbie Rasure Cassie LaJeunesse (20C) contributed reporting for the story

hen the Berry campus closed in the spring of 2020 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, biochemistry major Sara Myers (21C) was worried about distance learning – but not for herself. Myers tutored at Rome’s Open Door Home, a shelter for neglected and abused children, through Berry’s Community and Industry Work Partnership, an off-campus extension of the college work program, and she knew her students would struggle with virtual classes. Determined to help even with the tutoring program officially paused, Myers and six other Berry students mobilized as volunteers, scheduling virtual sessions for the ODH students nearly every weeknight for the remainder of the school year. Their work was even more successful than they imagined: Grades improved significantly, and there were other equally important benefits. “Many of the students at ODH can only see their families for a short amount of time,” Myers explained. “When COVID hit, family time was limited even more. It was very difficult for the ODH students to feel supported, valued and loved. By meeting with them every day, the Berry tutors were able to support them emotionally and build relationships that helped boost their confidence

and self-esteem while challenging them to reach their educational goals.” Myers’ initiative and the tutoring team’s generosity touched the heart of Candice Spivey, the education and placing liaison for ODH. In her work, Spivey sees firsthand the depth of emotional need among ODH students.

Student Matthew McConnell

Student Emily Thompson

Growing responsibility

“Our children and adolescents are so used to people coming in and out of their lives,” she said. “Sometimes they feel like no one truly cares. The Berry students’ perseverance, their eagerness to help and their willingness to stay online with our students meant a lot. The Berry tutors never gave up, and when you’re working with youth in difficult situations, that’s not something you see often.”

Myers began tutoring at ODH as a sophomore. By the following year, she had been promoted to program coordinator, adding responsibility for making sure every aspect of the program ran smoothly, from scheduling and supervising the dozen-plus tutors to serving as liaison between Berry and ODH staff. Myers mastered a host of administrative skills as well as the softer, and perhaps even more important skills of listening, getting to know and understand others, and remaining flexible while staying focused on her goals. Helping guide her through it all was her supervisor and mentor, Mark Kozera (79C, 19G), director of employer engagement for Berry’s Center for Personal and Professional Development and career consultant for students in the Campbell School of Business. “He allows me to have responsibility and independence, but he’s always there to assist me and guide me,” Myers said. “It’s been a really rewarding and growing experience. The way he treats people – he listens really well – and he’s very intentional and caring and just very kind to everyone. I want to carry that forward in my life.”

Next steps

In addition to her experience with ODH, Myers has worked on campus in the Health and Wellness Center, served her fellow Berry students as a summer orientation leader and first-year mentor, and competed as a member of the tennis team. She studied abroad in Thailand, interned in Costa Rica teaching English and was a participant in the Honors Program. Now, with her senior year complete, she looks ahead to medical school and a career dedicated to serving people either in a developing country or a rural community in East Tennessee, her home state. Regardless of where she ends up, Myers – an obviously remarkable individual in and of herself – possesses a deep understanding of what it takes to lead and how it feels to change lives. And she credits her experience at Berry for it. “The leadership positions and the opportunities I’ve had to serve others, continuously challenge myself, and get out of my comfort zone have improved me as a person and my ability to impact the lives of others in ways that I never thought would happen before I came to Berry.” 37

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Lighting the way The Ford Buildings blazed with student gratitude thanks to this luminary display created during “Always Berry Week,” which this year celebrated the mentors, donors and other individuals who give so much of themselves to make Berry’s distinctive education possible. (Photo by Brant Sanderlin)