Berry Magazine - Winter 2022-23

BERRY

Winter 2022-23

A Berry College Publication

The Magic of Coach M

Meghan Nolan Boenig (99C) leads UGA to national success

The Class of 2026 demonstrates how to “B” Berry.

BERRY

Published since 2003 for alumni and friends of Berry College and its historic schools. Winner of numerous regional awards for writing, editorial and design excellence.

Editor Rick Woodall (93C, FFS)

Contributing Writer and Editor Karilon L. Rogers (FFS)

Staff Writers

Debbie Rasure, Dawn Tolbert

Graphic Design and Production Craig Hall

Director of Photography

Brant Sanderlin

Major Gifts, Martha Berry Society, Death Notices Debbie Rasure, Jennifer Wright (22G) and Rose Wall (22C)

CONTACT INFORMATION

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

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

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

BERRY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

President: Aaron Chastain (15C)

Immediate Past President: Patricia Tutterow Jackson (82C, FFS)

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

Chaplain: Jake Bruce (17C)

Parliamentarian: Rodney Chandler (90C)

Secretary: Larry Arrington (93C, FFS)

About the cover: Rette Solomon, with assistance

Director of

became only the second student to shoot a Berry magazine cover. Fittingly, she is following in her subject’s ‘hoof prints’ as a senior member of Berry’s equestrian team.

Brant

Inside front cover: Brant Sanderlin

Assistant Vice President for Alumni Engagement and Development Jean Druckenmiller

Senior Director, Advancement Marketing and Communications Jennifer Schaknowski

Vice President of Marketing and Communications Nancy Rewis

Vice President of Advancement Cyndi Court

President Stephen R. Briggs

from

Photography

Sanderlin,

THE MAGIC OF COACH M

Meghan Nolan Boenig (99C) builds an equestrian powerhouse from the ground up at the University of Georgia.

GAMING LIFE

Derek Detweiler (03C) indulges his passion for computer programming as a video-game designer for PBS Kids and other clients.

MOVING HIS MOUNTAIN

Justus Edwards (21C) reaches a milestone in his recovery from a serious injury with a triumphant walk across Berry’s commencement stage.

MAKERSPACE

HackBerry Lab doubles in size

Students and faculty in Berry’s fast-growing creative technologies program have more room than ever in which to stoke the fires of innovation thanks to a significant expansion of the aptly named HackBerry Lab.

Completed last spring, the new addition doubled to 7,200 square feet the amount of work and learning space available to students drawn to the interdisciplinary major, which combines aspects of the liberal arts, computer science, design thinking and business.

Located in the shadow of the Emery Barns, HackBerry’s utilitarian exterior offers little hint of the incredible levels of hands-on creativity and experimentation taking place within its walls. Inside, visitors will find a dizzying array of projects in all stages of development that highlight the ingenuity of the students and the depth and breadth of the program. These creations range from autonomous rovers and smart watches to WiFi-enabled environmental sensors and handheld digital music mixers –and countless more.

In less than a decade, creative technologies has grown from a handful of students using a single 3D printer in McAllister Hall to Berry’s

10th largest major (76 students as of late fall). It also boasts an impressive network of highly engaged alumni who leverage their considerable creativity and problem-solving skills for Nike, Ford, John Deere, Lockheed Martin and Trilith Studios, among others, when not mentoring (and sometimes hiring) current students and new graduates.

“Creative technologies students end up going into all sorts of careers,” explained Garrett Professor and former Campbell School Dean John Grout, whose vision helped launch the program in 2014. “About 17% have job titles that end with ‘engineer.’ Others are designers, teachers, makerspace managers, etc.”

The new building is expected to spur further success by providing students with a dedicated design studio in which to build and test their concepts. Previously, they had to break down their creations each night to make room for classes the following day. Now they have the storage and workspace necessary to pursue projects of even greater scope.

The addition also houses expanded woodworking and metal shops, freeing up space in the existing facility for sewing and wearable

technology, a permanent photography studio, an advanced electronics lab, and an office in which faculty can work one-on-one with students to solve difficult design challenges.

Even the old shipping container once used for metal work has been repurposed as a paint studio (previously, that work had to be done outdoors).

“Our program is founded on the idea that we can always do better,” said Dr. Zane Cochran, HackBerry director and clinical assistant professor of creative technologies. “The expansion, to some extent, is us trying to make good on that goal of helping students make things that change the world and being able to do that in a more meaningful, productive environment.”

It also ensures that similar opportunities are available to students in other majors by providing the space necessary for everincreasing levels of collaboration between programs. Last fall alone, that list included mathematics, physics, engineering, communication, theatre, data analytics, entrepreneurship and business, with more on tap for spring.

Clockwise left to right, student Kalista Shields works in the HackBerry Lab; Thomas Harlin tests a prototype; Haikal Cooper experiments with audio equipment.

Cradle of presidents

Emmanuel College taps Berry leadership team

For the third time in six years, a member of the Berry President’s Cabinet has been chosen to lead another institution. This time it’s Provost Mary K. Boyd, who last summer was named president of Emmanuel College in Boston.

She follows former Provost Kathy Richardson and Chief of Staff Whit Whitaker (81C) in making the jump from cabinet post to president’s office. They now lead Pennsylvania’s Westminster College and Tennessee’s King University, respectively.

During her five years as Berry’s chief academic officer, Boyd focused on student success, helping to increase retention and graduation rates. She also worked to foster diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging on campus with proactive recruitment practices to diversify faculty and staff. Boyd promoted undergraduate research and faculty development, as well as expanded academic program offerings and grant proposal activity.

“Emmanuel College has found a leader who is both principled and pragmatic, with a sharp eye for excellence,” said President Steve Briggs. “I have admired her thoughtful analysis of issues and her decisiveness, especially in the face of challenges and uncertainty.

“She is smart, inquisitive, engaging, and truly enjoys getting to know her community, from students to faculty to alumni,” he added. “We will miss her leadership at Berry College, but I am thrilled for Mary as she devotes her talents to a thriving, mission-driven college in such a vibrant city.”

Tackling a national crisis in nursing

With the support of a generous benefactor and direction from a top leader recruited from Atlanta’s Emory University, Berry’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program is increasing efforts to help combat a national shortfall of registered nurses projected to exceed 500,000 by 2030.

The new Bobbie Bailey and Audrey Morgan Nursing and Medical Professions Scholarship, made possible by a $5 million gift from long-time Berry supporter Audrey B. Morgan, was awarded to an inaugural group of 22 students last fall. Recipients benefit from direct admission to the nursing program, additional scholarship support and opportunities to engage in local clinical settings throughout their four years at Berry.

Plans also are in place to add

faculty, all with the goal of doubling the number of nursing graduates Berry produces each year.

Leading these efforts is Dr. Carolyn Reilly, who joined Berry as director of nursing after most recently serving as professor of clinical nursing at Emory. She brings 30-plus years of clinical, scholarly research and teaching experience to her new role, including decades of caring for critically ill and cardiovascular patients. Her

Slade named interim provost ’97 grad begins term as chief academic officer

An alumnus who has distinguished himself as an administrator and faculty member has stepped into the role of interim provost following Dr. Mary K. Boyd’s selection as president of Emmanuel College in Boston.

Dr. David Slade (97C) has been appointed to a two-year term as Berry’s chief academic officer. He previously held the title of associate provost (since 2018) and dean of academic services (since 2016), in addition to teaching in the Department of World Languages and Cultures.

Slade has served his alma mater since 2007, returning to Berry after completing his education at the University of Kentucky (M.A., Spanish) and Emory University (Ph.D., Spanish) and teaching for two years at Centre College in Kentucky.

“Dr. Slade has been actively engaged in many facets of the Berry community for 15 years, and he is well prepared to lead the Deans Council, the faculty and our academic professionals as we face squarely the challenges that lie ahead,” said President Steve Briggs.

In related moves, Drs. Casey Dexter and Lauren Heller have begun twoyear interim appointments as dean of academic services and assistant provost for teaching and research, respectively, while Dr. Anna Sharpe is serving as dean of student success.

credentials include a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska and a master’s degree from Emory.

“We really have to meet the growing need for nurses,” Reilly said. “I hope to take an already stellar program, with a solid reputation for producing quality nurses, and expand our size, scope and depth.”

Among other initiatives, Reilly and her team are working on a fast-track program for students entering Berry with dual/AP credit, enabling them

to complete their B.S.N. a semester early. They’re also excited about a summer immersion experience for rising seniors in Africa.

“Our growth plan emphasizes the quality and compassion of our nursing graduates,” Reilly stated, pointing to formidable rates of success on the NCLEX licensing exam and in job placements before graduation, as well as a proven track record for Berry nurses in the workforce.

Dr. Mary K. Boyd

Dr. David Slade

Above left, Director of Nursing Carolyn Reilly; right, Grace Eckstein (22C) in Berry’s simulation lab.

Dr. Peter A. Lawler

Students revered him. And were in awe of him. His utter mess of an office was, for years, almost as iconic as Berry’s beautiful vistas. The late Professor Peter Lawler was the complete package: teacher, mentor, and nationally recognized scholar and thought leader. And it is not only at Berry that he remains appreciated.

Last May, Editor-in-Chief R.J. Snell of Public Discourse introduced a reprise of one of Lawler’s important essays with the following message:

“Peter Augustine Lawler, who served as Dana Professor of Government at Berry College until his death on May 23, 2017, was one of America’s most insightful critics of politics, religion, and culture. Throughout a highly productive career in which he wrote or edited eighteen books, Lawler brought his vast classical and Christian wisdom to bear on a wide range of contemporary issues, including conservatism, human dignity, bioethics, and technology. In a modern world that celebrates autonomy and individuality, Lawler called us to remember that we are relational beings, a fact that is grounded in our creation by a personal God.”

In the days that followed, Public Discourse ran three articles, written by renowned authors, “reflecting different aspects of Lawler’s legacy and its enduring relevance.”

In his piece on Lawler as a Catholic political philosopher, Dr. Daniel J. Mahoney, professor

emeritus at Assumption University and senior writer at Law and Liberty, described the Berry legend as a “rich, dialectical, and irenic [peaceseeking] thinker who strove to prevent fruitful tensions from transforming into dangerously implacable oppositions.”

Mahoney went on to say, “In my estimation, he was the most penetrating and original American Catholic political thinker of his generation, a lover of his country who was a self-described ‘friendly critic’ of the modern democratic dispensation.”

Of Lawler’s writings on higher education, Dr. James Patterson wrote, “A proper understanding of education means embracing the creation of small liberal arts colleges in which students have the leisure to study and faculty the leisure to teach them. As Peter liked to say, every human person is ‘wondering and wandering,’ and higher education is where one wonders and wanders the most.”

The associate professor and chair of politics at Ave Maria University went on to write, “As one finds throughout his work, Peter believed humans to be relational, meaning that they found purpose only in families, communities, and institutions, including liberal arts colleges like Berry College, where he had been a fixture on the faculty.”

Chastain leads Alumni Council

So thought Aaron Chastain (15C) when first invited to join Berry’s Alumni Council in 2017. Now president, he hopes others will be just as excited as he was by the prospect of serving their alma mater in such a meaningful way.

“When I heard of the Council’s great work and positive impact on Berry, current and future students, and fellow alumni, I couldn’t wait to get involved,” he said. “The passion for Berry among alumni is contagious, and we want to ensure that continues as our alumni base grows and changes each year.”

Chastain has been humbled by the quality of his fellow representatives and impressed by the lengths some will go to serve. Regardless of age or life experience, all are united in their love of Berry and desire to create and sustain an ever more vibrant and engaged alumni community.

“The Council has alumni who travel in from all over the country and others who drive across Rome,” Chastain noted. “Some balance several aspects of career and family life, while others are retired yet remain involved in multiple service and leadership positions outside of Berry.

“Everyone is in a different season of life,” he added. “And there are ways to manage that, even in the midst of Council service.”

Finally, Richard Reinsch, senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and columnist for its Daily Signal, stated in his essay on Lawler and recovering the American proposition: “Peter Augustine Lawler … spent much of his career building a philosophical foundation for a school of thought he dubbed ‘Built Better Than They Knew Studies.’ These studies center around the idea that, although America’s Founders knew their achievements to be remarkable, the philosophical sources of their political project were even greater and richer than they realized, as the studies’ name suggests.”

To paraphrase Lawler, he wrote, “they weren’t fully aware of the real shape and meaning of their eighteenth-century constitutional glory.”

These are just some of the ways the Berry legend is remembered on a national basis. Even more important are the ways he is memorialized in the hearts and minds of the countless alumni lucky enough to have had a class with their beloved “Dr. Lawler” or to have been welcomed by his wry smile through his always-open office door.

Built better than he knew.

Chastain balances his own service with responsibilities as husband to Lizzie Hendrix Chastain (15C) and work as a senior investment consultant for NEPC. He will carry the title of president for two years, along with concurrent service as an ex officio member of the Berry College Board of Trustees.

Joining him on the Alumni Council’s Executive Committee are five other elected officers – Immediate Past President Patricia Tutterow Jackson (82C, FFS) and vice presidents Callie McGinnis Starnes (07C), alumni engagement; Jason Sweatt (88C), Berry heritage; Meredith Lewallen Roberts (07C), financial support; and Jeffrey Ramos (15C), alumni awards. Three additional members serve in appointed positions: Chaplain Jake Bruce (17C), Parliamentarian Rodney Chandler (90C) and Secretary Larry Arrington (93C).

Ready to get involved?

Those interested in alumni leadership (or wishing to nominate someone else) are encouraged to complete the online form available at alwaysberry.com/Council. Submissions are reviewed each January for potential service the following year. Criteria for elected members (per Alumni Council bylaws) include prior service to Berry, a history of giving back, and demonstrated leadership in career and service.

If you have questions, please contact the alumni relations office at alumni@berry.edu or 706-236-2256.

Remembered and honored:

“Why wait if I can make an impact now?”

Aaron Chastain

Paul O’Mara

BERRY ATHLETICS: PLAYING TO OUR STRENGTHS

Winning leadership: Berry AD earns national acclaim

A remarkable year for Berry athletics continued in October with Dr. Angel Mason’s recognition at the Women Leaders in College Sports National Convention as Nike Executive of the Year for NCAA Division III Colleges.

She was one of only eight women nationwide chosen for these peernominated awards, which honor contributions made by senior-level administrators in each of the various divisions of the NCAA and other major college sports associations.

“In the 50th anniversary of Title IX, we are thrilled to celebrate this group of exemplary women who are blazing trails in the industry of college sports,” said Patti Phillips, Women Leaders’ CEO.

Equestrian soars ever higher

The Berry equestrian program is no stranger to national success as a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association. Now the college’s hunt-seat and western teams are embarking on new affiliations offering additional opportunities for competition and recognition.

While retaining membership in the IHSA, source of nine national championships for Berry (three team, six individual), the program also has joined the ranks of the National Collegiate Equestrian Association and the Eastern College Athletic Conference.

The NCEA is a national governing body responsible for the development and administration of equestrian rules and guidelines. It works in concert with the vision and mission of the NCAA, which classifies equestrian as an “emerging sport” in Divisions I and II only.

Mason’s recognition honors service in 2021-22, a year in which Berry made history by claiming the Southern Athletic Association Commissioner’s Cup as the conference’s top program, a first for the college in the DIII era. That accomplishment is just one measure of success during Mason’s tenure as director of athletics. Since arriving on campus in 2019, the veteran coach, administrator and former DI basketball player at Indiana’s Butler University has helped Berry’s student-athletes and coaches reach new heights in the SAA and DIII – all while navigating the challenges of two COVIDshortened competition years.

Highlights at Berry during her first three years on campus included 17 conference championships and unprecedented national tournament runs in softball and volleyball, among many notable achievements. Mason also has distinguished herself at the national level through service to the NCAA and other organizations.

“Because I work for an institution that shares my values, I am empowered to serve daily,” she said. “I am a part of an incredible team that allows me to continue to fill my cup by mentoring and investing in our students and staff, with underrepresented groups, and within our profession.”

“I am excited about the opportunity for our riders to compete at the NCEA,” said Berry head coach Margaret Knight Ellington. “Our program has historically seen great success, and we hope this opportunity will benefit us in the future.”

The same can be said of the Eastern College Athletic Conference, which Berry has joined as an affiliate member for equestrian only.

The ECAC seeks to enhance the experiences available to studentathletes by sponsoring championships, tournaments and other types of competition across various sports. It boasts more than 200 member institutions up and down the Eastern Seaboard. Many, like Berry, maintain primary membership in another athletic conference.

There are more than 20 NCEA members nationwide, including large DI programs such as the University of Georgia – led by 1999 Berry alumna Meaghan Nolan Boenig (see page 12) – and a quartet of Berry’s DIII counterparts: Bridgewater, Lynchburg and Sweet Briar, all in Virginia; and The University of the South in Tennessee.

Matthew McConnell (21C)

Director of Athletics Angel Mason

— Margaret Knight Ellington, Head Coach

Student Marcelene Leverett competes at Berry’s Gunby Equine Center.

Astrid Escobar Swimming and diving

A three-time NCAA Division III All-American and 11-time conference champion for The University of the South, Astrid Escobar now coaches in the same pool where she set the Cage Center record for the 200-yard breaststroke.

Her previous experience includes service as head coach and/or assistant at four institutions: the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota; the State University of New York at Fredonia; the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse; and Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

Escobar also has coached at numerous national camps, including the University of Georgia’s Bauerle Bulldog Swim Camp, Harvard’s Technique Academy and Kenyon’s Total Performance Swim Camp.

FALL CHAMPIONS

Lathbury sets the pace

Bradshaw Lathbury returned to the NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Championship for the second consecutive year after successfully defending his Southern Athletic Association individual crown and placing third overall in the South Region.

Competing in Lansing, Michigan, in late November, the son of former Berry runner Jason Lathbury (93C) posted a time of 25 minutes, 42.3 seconds over 8 kilometers, good enough for 45th nationally, Berry’s best finish in the DIII era.

HEAD COACHES FOR 2022-23

Mick Hedgepeth Men’s basketball

Praised for his calm energy and high basketball IQ, Mick Hedgepeth takes the reins of a Berry team fresh off backto-back Southern Athletic Association titles and an appearance in the 2022 NCAA DIII national tournament.

He spent the last three years as director of men’s basketball operations at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, helping his alma mater to 77 wins and the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference crown.

Prior to returning to Belmont – where he shined on the court and in the classroom as a player for the Bruins – Hedgepeth was head coach for two seasons at The University of the South, leading Berry’s SAA rival to a 36-18 record and one conference tournament championship.

Jessica Strong Softball

A year after leading Pennsylvania’s Seton Hill University to incredible heights in DII, Jessica Strong takes over a Berry team coming off its own historic third-place national finish in DIII.

Strong achieved higher levels of success in each completed season at Seton Hill, closing her fouryear tenure by tying for fifth in the DII College World Series.

Her resume includes prior DIII experience and Georgia ties, the latter forged through her affiliation with Armstrong State University in Savannah. There, she earned All-Conference and Academic All-America recognition as a player before helping the program to back-to-back conference and DII regional championships as an assistant coach.

Berry sweeps SAA titles, reaches Sweet 16

The hits keep coming for Berry volleyball, which again swept the Southern Athletic Association regular-season and tournament championships en route to the NCAA Division III Sweet Sixteen.

A heartbreaking four-set loss to Transylvania University prevented the Vikings from returning to the Elite Eight for a second consecutive year, but nothing could diminish the pride generated by a 25-5 finish propelled by six American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America selections – the most in program history.

Lathbury’s individual success fueled another strong season for the Berry men, who once again edged Oglethorpe for the SAA team title before racing to a program-best third-place team finish in the South Region, where five Vikings earned AllRegion honors by placing in the top 30.

Other individual accolades included SAA Runner of the Year recognition for Lathbury, who bested his closest competition by more than 40 seconds in the conference meet, and another Coach of the Year nod for Paul Deaton (91C), his second in as many years.

The Vikings soared as high as No. 5 in the national rankings during the regular season, winning 13 matches in a row at one point. Appearing in their fifth consecutive DIII national tournament (no event was held during the abbreviated spring 2021 season), they swept Covenant College and Carnegie Mellon University in the opening two rounds before falling to the host Pioneers in the regional final.

Leading the way was senior setter Emily Rapach (No. 12 in photo), a first-team AllAmerican who tallied 1,000-plus assists for the second time in her career while earning a host of individual accolades, including SAA Tournament MVP and AVCA Region 6 Player of the Year.

Joining Rapach as All-Americans were junior Jazzy Innis (second team), sophomore Kate Whittle and senior Peyton Breissinger

(third team), and junior Olivia Mallow and senior Molly Bergin (honorable mentions).

Breissinger and Whittle earned additional acclaim as SAA Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively. Caitlyn Moriarty (14G), meanwhile, claimed her fourth SAA Coach-of-the-Year award after leading her team to a 13-1 mark in the regular season and a sweep of the conference tournament, which was capped by a thrilling five-set win over Birmingham-Southern in the Cage Center.

Courtesy of the Southern Athletic Association

Jane Hopkinson-Wood/Centre College

Difference makers

Two couples whose positive impact on Berry students has been extraordinary and immeasurable were recognized during the college’s second-annual Evening of Honors, held Oct. 22 in Marietta, Georgia.

Attendees celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Berry Information Technology Students Program made possible by the support of Randy and Nancy Berry and the successful launch of the Griswell Scholarship Program honoring the memory of the late Barry Griswell (71C), who for many years distinguished himself in generosity, service and the pursuit of opportunity for hardworking students alongside his wife, Michele Irwin Griswell (70C).

Berry College President’s Awards were given to both couples, with Michele accepting on behalf of herself and Barry. Other highlights included news of two special campus namings: the Randy and Nancy Berry Endowed BITS Directorship and the Barry Griswell Basketball Locker Rooms (Barry was a star for the Vikings as a student).

The Berrys’ children and grandchildren provided an additional surprise, donating a new golf cart for the BITS Program, complete with Randy-inspired mustache.

Joining friends and family of the honorees were BITS alumni, Griswell Scholarship recipients, college leaders and other guests, including Platinum and Gold members of the Martha Berry Society of annual leadership supporters (see page 36).

In his remarks, Berry President Steve Briggs noted the powerful bonds of friendship connecting Barry and Randy, who served together on the Board of Trustees and as co-chairs of the recordsetting LifeReady Campaign

“Randy and Barry were great partners,” Briggs observed. “Both with big personalities. Both with an irreverent sense of humor. Both with a deep respect and affection for each other, which other board members witnessed in the form of merciless teasing. Both with an analytical, incisive mind. Both with a profound curiosity. Both with a wonderfully big heart and a passion to make things better.”

The honorees’ Berry connections couldn’t have been more different: Barry played basketball for the college, while Michele was a cheerleader; Randy and Nancy, on the other hand, literally are family – he the great-nephew of Martha Berry herself. Yet all have shared the same steadfast commitment to the institution and its students.

of AN EVENING HONORS

Their enduring impact was evident in video tributes featuring alumni and students touched by their generosity and influence.

“I’m just incredibly grateful for how much the BITS Program accelerated my career and the foundation it gave me,” said Whit Marbut (10C), now an IT executive serving as director of the public cloud for AutoZone. “I came out of college with four years of professional work experience and was already almost half a decade ahead of my peers when I entered the workforce.”

Similar appreciation was shared by Griswell Scholarship recipients whose lives have been changed by alumni and friends moved to honor the late Berry board chair by supporting students who have overcome great adversity in their young lives, just as he once did.

“I feel so honored to be a part of the Griswell Scholarship,” said psychology major Alexis Copley. “It is the only reason I was able to come to Berry … You have made it possible for me to attend Berry College and shown that dreams can come true.”

Nancy and Randy Berry Barry and Michele Griswell

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Gate of Opportunity Scholarship

BERRY COLLEGE PRESENTS

Iceberg, right ahead!

While icebergs turned out to be very bad things for the ill-fated Titanic, they are pots of gold at the end of a scientist’s rainbow for Associate Professor of Geology Tamie Jovanelly. That’s why she and 32 other researchers actually sought out the enormous glacial “calves” in the Arctic Circle last summer, finally setting sail on a pandemic-delayed voyage aboard an old-fashioned tall ship in the waters around the Svalbard archipelago.

During the journey, Jovanelly conducted research on climate change, general geology and water-quality issues; marveled at wildlife such as polar bears, whales, seals and walruses; and experienced a thrill unfamiliar to most modern seafarers on the two occasions when the three-masted Antigua was able to glide through the water at full sail.

Hail the champion!

Berry professor honored by Longleaf Alliance

Students, alumni and colleagues will toast the news that Dana Professor of Biology Marty Cipollini has been honored with the True Longleaf Champion Award of the Longleaf Alliance, a nine-state organization dedicated to ensuring a sustainable future for longleaf pine ecosystems.

The longtime Berry faculty member received the award at the 14th Biennial Longleaf Conference, where he was recognized for his “lifetime of dedication to the conservation and restoration of the South’s iconic forest” and for introducing and inspiring “thousands of individuals at Berry College, Georgia, and across the range.”

Berry faculty member earns NSF grant Research looks at bias and discrimination in science

The National Science Foundation has funded a novel, complex research project investigating the impairment to science resulting from bias and discrimination. Assistant Professor of Data Analytics Thema Monroe-White is principal investigator on the $405,000 grant; two-thirds come to her and Berry, one-third to co-researcher Dr. Cassidy R. Sugimoto, Patton School chair in Georgia Tech’s School of Public Policy.

The project seeks to quantify the benefits to science derived from the inclusion of people of color and other historically marginalized groups in the scientific workforce, clarify their role in propelling intellectual innovations, and understand how the distribution of labor and composition of scientific teams create barriers and pathways to their scientific success.

Dr. Marty Cipollini inspects longleaf pines at Berry College.

Dr. Thema Monroe-White works with Isabelle Rousseau (22C).

Brant Sanderlin

Matthew McConnell (21C)

Tamie Jovanelly

We dislike it thoroughly when it happens – when President Steve Briggs uses material in his essay that surely was destined for our magazine purposes. It doesn’t seem fair! And man oh man, did he rob us blind in the summer issue!

First, he told you about senior Sydney Nelson becoming the fourth Berry student in five years to win a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, the top award for undergraduates in science, engineering and mathematics. We could have made hay with that one. And then there was student Vanessa Rice, who spent the summer in Ankara, Turkey, on a Critical Language Scholarship

Bwah hah hah! Berry was a backdrop for the series that brought in the highest weekly viewership in Netflix history at 335 million hours of watch time! Fans of this nostalgic ’80s horror drama know exactly what we’re talking about: A very spooky and critical part of episode 4, season 4 of the runaway hit Stranger Things was filmed at Pennhurst Mental Hospital, a.k.a. the Ford Buildings.

The mental hospital’s setting is beautiful, if creepy, with disoriented patients wandering the gardens. Many spaces will look familiar to

Berry alumni, but not the “criminal ward” at the bottom of a dark staircase. That space is NOT the legendary catacombs, but a TV set constructed to mimic the look of the Ford Buildings.

Filming at Berry took place before the pandemic’s start in 2020. The season aired in May and June of 2022 and was nominated for Outstanding Location in a Period Television Series by the Location Managers Guild International (because of Berry, no doubt!). Be sure to keep the lights on if you watch it. Bwah hah hah!

through the U.S. Department of State.

He also let the cat out of the bag about two students winning U.S. State Department Gilman Scholarships, which provide substantial support for those wanting to study or intern abroad but otherwise might find it financially unfeasible.

We could go on and on about the cool things Berry students earned or did last spring and summer. But why? He covered it all in his Summer 2022 essay. Read it online at berry.edu/president/summer22. In the meantime, we’ll eat our sour grapes.

Berry is so many great things!

OK. The first one is so utterly awesome that we simply must expound upon it.

Veranda recently published a list of the “12 Most Beautiful College Campuses Around the World.” Yes, the WORLD. Only four are in the U.S., and Berry is one. Swarthmore, Flagler and Stanford are the others. The international eight include the Sorbonne in Paris and Oxford in the U.K., as well as universities in Japan, Brazil, South Africa and Portugal. And what college’s picture heads the page? Beautiful Berry, of course! In addition, Berry is:

● No. 1x2 (best value and undergraduate teaching) and No. 3 overall among Regional Universities in the South, according to U.S. News & World Report; the college also scored NATIONAL placement in such categories as service learning (No. 19) and first-year experience (No. 56)

● On the very short list of “Best Colleges in Georgia” – No. 7 to be exact – as ranked by both University Magazine and NICHE

Great job!

From 2018 to 2021, Berry grew firstyear enrollment by 48% and increased enrollment for students of color by 90%. In addition, the high school GPA of our incoming classes increased for three straight years. Now, those are some fine numbers! So fine, in fact, that Berry was one of two winners of the 2022 Peter S. Bryant Marketing and Recruitment Excellence Award presented by RNL, a leading provider of higher education enrollment, management and student success solutions.

● A regional and national beauty according to the likes of Southern Living, Architectural Digest, Conde Nast Traveler and AAA, in addition to being one of “21 Stunning U.S. Colleges That Will Make You Say ‘Dayuummm,’” according to The College Post (That’s a new one!)

Stranger Things indeed BERRY

He beat us to it!

Matthew McConnell (21C)

YEARS AFTER

Berry joined the Southern Athletic Association as a founding member in the fall of 2012. It was a pivotal moment for the college as it marked the promise of better days ahead after a bruising and contested decision in 2009 to move from the NAIA to the NCAA. Part of that promise was how the change would benefit Berry’s institutional reputation and aspirations.

Today, the Vikings are firmly established as a competitive member of NCAA Division III, and the fit seems apparent. But a decade ago, the move was more controversial than obvious.

The Vikings had a proud history of athletic success in the NAIA, including national championships and a still-fresh visit to the baseball World Series. Joining DIII meant the end of scholarship awards based on athletic ability and participation, allowing instead increased focus on financial aid for academics and need. It also meant a four-year prohibition from postseason tournaments due to NAIA and DIII reclassification rules. Needless to say, it was a vexing period for Berry athletes and coaches.

The context

In 2003, the college considered the possibility of affiliating with the NCAA. Over a period of years, there had been a significant decline in the number and academic quality of institutions making up the NAIA. A committee of the Berry Board of Trustees determined that any decision should be deferred until a new athletic facility could be built.

In 2007, anticipating the opening of the Steven J. Cage Athletic and Recreation Center, the board agreed to reconsider the issue. A campus committee focused on seven criteria:

• Ability to grow the varsity sports program

• Contribution to campus culture

• Ability to compete athletically

• Consistency with Berry’s educational philosophy

• Quality of the studentathlete experience

• Opportunity to improve the visibility of Berry

• Needed resources

The committee examined opportunities in the NAIA as compared to Divisions I, II and III of the NCAA. The study process was thorough but did not lead to a consensus. In fact, while the faculty voted in favor of a move to DIII, the coaches had a strong preference for the NAIA or DII, and a straw poll of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee indicated no support for DIII, with a preference instead for the NAIA or DI.

Adding to these concerns, Berry would join DIII as an independent school with no conference affiliation. The Southern Collegiate Athletic

Conference Berry had hoped to join was in the throes of change, and it would be two years before Berry was invited to help establish the Southern Athletic Association.

The results

With 10 years of perspective, we now can see clearly the fruits of that thorny decision and can celebrate the trajectory of the athletic program. Berry has thrived in the SAA, a conference recognized nationally for the strength of both its academics and its athletics. Last year, for the first time, the Vikings won the allsports trophy for the conference –the SAA Commissioner’s Cup – based on regular-season and tournament finishes. The volleyball and softball teams both advanced to the Elite Eight in DIII national tournament competition and ranked in the top 10 of their sports.

Taking a step back, however, how do these successes measure up to the criteria established by the study committee 15 years ago?

Growth of varsity sports

As one of its founding priorities, the SAA promotes varsity athletic participation through a wide range of diverse opportunities. Since joining DIII, Berry has added nine sports: football, softball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s track and field, and beach volleyball. The number of Berry students competing as varsity athletes has increased from approximately 360 each year to 560.

Contribution to campus culture

Before the opening of the Cage Center, Berry was saddled with a “suitcase-campus” reputation on weekends. That term has not been heard in years, and a large part of the increased vibrancy on campus has been due to the growth of varsity sports, along with our increased emphasis on Berry’s residential experience and other efforts.

Ability to be competitive

athletically

Since joining the SAA, Berry has won 29 regular-season championships and 18 conference tournaments,

Dr. Stephen Briggs

with 17 postseason appearances in eight years of eligibility (excluding the pandemic year of 2020-21). Softball, volleyball and football have been especially dominant in the conference. In addition, individual student-athletes have qualified to compete in national championships in men’s and women’s cross country, golf, and swimming and diving, as well as in women’s track and field.

That’s a remarkable run for a college new to DIII. Also, a number of Berry teams have achieved top20 national rankings, noteworthy given that DIII is the largest division in the NCAA with approximately 450 member institutions. DIII competition is stiff, but Berry is making its name known.

Berry student-athletes also have achieved notable success as Athletic and Academic All-Americans in the decade of DIII competition. Across seven sports, a total of 29 Vikings have earned 44 All-American awards, including seven who won two awards and four who were triple winners. Volleyball alone had three triple and three double award winners. Equally impressive, a total of 30 Viking athletes have earned 43 Academic All-American awards across 11 sports. In women’s golf, four Vikings earned the award three times as did a women’s soccer player.

Consistency with Berry’s educational philosophy

A chief principle of the SAA is that members integrate athletics into the whole of a student’s residential educational experience. Berry student-athletes have comparable GPAs to other students, graduate from Berry at slightly higher rates, pursue a wide variety of majors and participate actively in the LifeWorks Program. All four of Berry’s most recent Goldwater Scholars – the top national award for science, engineering and mathematics students – were student-athletes, with three serving as captains of their teams.

Recent Athletic All-Americans have gone on to pursue postgraduate degrees in the fields of medicine and veterinary medicine, while others

work in auditing, data analytics, environmental consulting, sports communication, nursing and teaching. Who says academics and athletics don’t mix?

Quality of the student-athlete experience

When Tony Kunczewski – Coach K –arrived on campus as our inaugural

application for his iPhone, and starred in Cabaret, singing and dancing with as much agility as he played nose guard on the defensive line.

Opportunity to improve the visibility of Berry

The study report completed in 2008 asserted that the visibility of the

the company it keeps. Berry keeps good company.

Needed resources

The opening of the Cage Center made feasible the move to DIII by providing an exemplary facility for varsity basketball, volleyball, and swimming and diving. Since then, we have added Valhalla, home to football, lacrosse, and track and field; the Kay Williams softball field; and the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College. We also have improved our baseball and soccer facilities and Richards Gymnasium. All of this was made possible independent of student tuition and fees by the generosity of alumni, parents, benefactors and other partners who contributed construction and renovation funds.

This fall, we received a substantial new gift from Steve Cage (74C) to help construct a premier four-court beach volleyball facility, and we also are currently raising funds to relocate and expand a championship facility for our track and field throwing events. (I’d be pleased to talk with you about either of these giving opportunities!)

Looking back

football coach, someone asked how he would define success at Berry. His answer: when a member of the team was elected SGA president. Fittingly, senior offensive lineman Teddy Palmer (17C) was elected to that role the same year that Berry won the first of its five-straight regularseason football championships.

Our experience this last decade is that Berry’s student-athletes share fully in the life of campus. Take Alec Leeseberg, another 2017 football graduate, for example. Alec served as a lab coordinator for creative technologies, designed a hologram

athletics program contributes to the public’s perception of a college. Berry and the other colleges in the SAA are all members of the Annapolis Group, which comprises the nation’s leading residential colleges. Approximately 90% are in DIII.

Competing against these colleges week after week in a variety of sports has elevated Berry’s profile and reputation at a pace that has exceeded expectations. Winning conference championships and competing in the Elite Eight at nationals help shine a spotlight, but a college is known more generally by

Ten years after our first fall season in the SAA, it’s hard not to be thrilled with how things have turned out. But let’s not take it for granted. The years of change (2008-2013) were harsh. Then-Athletic Director Todd Brooks and his leadership team admirably implemented a contested decision. Coaches encouraged their athletes through several years without any prospect of postseason play. And many highly competitive athletes honored Berry by staying through the transition years though it meant sacrificing their own potential All-American recognition. They, too, helped bear the cost of propelling Berry toward the promise of better days that we now have realized.

Ten years after, we remain grateful to these student-athletes, coaches and leaders for their exceptional efforts on behalf of our team. They epitomized what it means to Be Berry.

All four of Berry’s most recent Goldwater Scholars – the top national award for science, engineering and mathematics students – were student-athletes, with three serving as captains of their teams.

Goldwater Scholar and standout golfer Seth Jolly (22C)

© J&S Photography 2021

Brant Sanderlin

THE MAGIC OF COACH

When the legendary Vince Dooley, then athletic director and former longtime football coach for the University of Georgia, remarked on the young age of the 24-year-old he was interviewing for head coach of the institution’s new varsity equestrian program, he received a bold response: “But if I can do this well, Coach, I can be awfully good for an awfully long time.”

The job was hers, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Meghan Nolan Boenig joined UGA athletics as a head coach in October 2001. Since that time, she has blazed an equestrian trail untouched by any other college or university coach in the nation: seven National Collegiate Equestrian Association championships and seven reserve championships (equivalent to second place), to name just a few team accomplishments. She also was named NCEA National Coach of the Year in 2021, again to name just one of many accolades. Not bad for a woman who was almost too nervous to go to college.

Say what?

That’s right. Scared. Flat out didn’t want to go. Boenig was born in New Jersey and had lived in New York before moving to horse country in Virginia. It was

Twenty years ago, in the inaugural issue of Berry magazine, we told readers about Meghan Nolan Boenig (99C), who’d been hired by the University of Georgia to develop and lead its first varsity equestrian program. What’s transpired since seems magical. But she’d heartily disagree, telling you there’s nothing magical about it – it’s all about confidence, preparation and a great start at Berry.

in the Old Dominion State that she became deeply involved in horse care and riding, as well as teaching others about both. She was comfortable in the world of horses but otherwise painfully shy. As a junior in high school, her family moved to Powder Springs, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, and barely 18 months later it was time for college. The timid teen was just getting settled and was reluctant to forge her way in yet another new place.

“I had known about college options in Virginia, but now it was smart to stay in Georgia because of the Hope Scholarship,” she remembered. “But I just wasn’t interested in going anywhere new. Because I had learned it was always wise to ‘listen to your mother,’ I asked mine where she thought I should go. She said Berry because of its natural beauty, it was close enough to home for visits, and so on. I was so nervous, but once I was there, my parents had to beg me to come home to visit!”

Boenig was blessed with roommate Christy Ethridge Brimmer (99C), who “turned out to be my best friend and helped me so much.” She also flourished as a member of Berry’s equestrian team (then a club sport), serving as president twice, participating in both English and Western

BY KARILON L. ROGERS

Photography by Rette Solomon

Intercollegiate Horse Show (now Shows) Association competition and helping organize the shows.

But what’s that have to do with UGA?

“When you know something well, you are more confident,” Boenig remarked. “I knew horses, and that gave me confidence once I went to Berry and got involved in equestrian.

“Holding the offices and participating in competition really helped me flourish and gave me a foundation – made me confident in other areas. To be a coach, you better be a salesperson. You better be confident. You better be bold.”

Her skills must have been amazing when she left Berry. When she arrived at Texas A&M to start her master’s program in equine exercise physiology, she quickly was put on staff to co-coach the school’s new varsity equestrian program. So she studied, researched, taught, coached and developed a new program. Not a bad two-years’ work. No wonder UGA hired her.

Bold does work

But did she really think she’d get the UGA position at age 24?

“Yeah, I did,” she stated firmly. “The reason is that there was no one else with the experience with NCAA rules and knowledge of equestrian that I had. I had spent time coaching as well as time managing people, writing budgets – the administrative side. I had those skills more than anyone else. I knew what no one else did.”

With the utmost support of Hoke Wilder, her

administrator at the time, Boenig put those mad skills to work for UGA, working with her staff to develop everything “from policies to the type of program we wanted to be.”

“I will always count my blessings for Hoke Wilder!” she laughed. “In the very beginning, he leased a boarding facility for us across town including 12 horses and lots of peacocks, potbellied pigs and miniature donkeys. It was always fun out there. Never boring!”

She also spent time maturing her sport, which at that time was just a foal in the varsity world, having been adopted by the NCAA as an emerging sport for women only a few years earlier in 1998.

Boenig was part of a national team of coaches and administrators who developed the rules and competition format for the new NCAA version of equestrian competition.

Luckily for her, husband Markus Boenig was back at Texas Tech studying law during that exceptionally busy time of program-building, and sons Josef and Matthew had not yet been born.

Straight to the big time

Today, UGA equestrian has a complete facility with clubhouse, several arenas, more than 50 horses and 109 acres of land – the first land ever purchased by UGA, according to Boenig. Approximately 60 student-riders make up the team each year.

Boenig emphasized the great support her program has received from other UGA sports programs and athletic administration, as well as the quality of her coaching and support staff. All that backing has helped her lead her teams to victory after victory. One that stands out for her personally came in 2014.

It all started with the Southeastern Conference Championship, which UGA thought it had won. Their victory had been announced in the arena.

“We started celebrating, putting on championship t-shirts,” Boenig recounted. “Then came an announcement that there had been a calculation error. We had not won.

“The ladies were so deflated. I told them that it was not our championship, but we were not done. We had more to achieve.”

Boenig was part of a national team of coaches and administrators who developed the rules and competition format for the new NCAA version of equestrian competition.

Matthew McConnell (21C)

You might say the riders literally had lost the shirts off their backs. But three weeks later at the NCEA National Championships, the UGA women worked especially hard to win the title, and they succeeded – with the very last rider bringing home the winning points. An amazing moment.

“That team made it happen,” Boenig stated proudly.

She should be proud – of her teams, her staff and herself. Competing as head coach in her first – and THE first – NCEA National Championship in 2002 – her Georgia team came home as hunter seat champs while the first program Boenig helped build, Texas A&M, won the overall title. The next two years, UGA brought home two overall national titles, as well as the hunter seat awards. The Bulldogs went big again in 2008, 2009 and 2010, winning three national championships in a row, as well as hunter seat titles in 2009 and 2010. Next came the 2014 highlight and finally, their most recent big win in 2021.

Not surprisingly, Boenig’s student-riders also excel in the classroom, with many earning placements on NCEA All-Academic teams and other academic honor rolls. Boenig said the focus of her program is threefold: 1) Academics, 2) Attitude and 3) Athletics.

“Those three things align very well,” she explained. “All focus on preparation, attention to detail and other factors leading to success.”

Good call?

Boenig said she is never amazed when her teams win national titles. She is not staring in wonderment. She is busy watching carefully as they compete to see what they can work on to improve.

“That doesn’t make me ungrateful,” she determined. “You get a day to celebrate, and that day is wonderful. But winning is what we are meant to do in sport. It is what we work and prepare for each day. My life and what this sport and my family have given me are what I find amazing.”

When asked if Coach Dooley ever told her he made a good call approving her hire, she said he never expressed the sentiment in words, but he didn’t have to. They always had a good relationship; he even called her years into his retirement when her team won the 2021 NCEA National Championship.

“He was very proud of his legacy in women’s sports at UGA, as he should have been, and equestrian is part of that legacy,” Boenig explained. “His support for me didn’t need to be put into words; it was a given. He was always a coach. He congratulated me, and then it was, ‘Let’s do it again. Back to work.’ That’s a coach.”

And that also is Meghan Nolan Boenig. Or Coach M, as she is called. And, until or unless Berry equestrian competes against them … Go Dawgs!

Boenig on Berry equestrian

“I’m proud of Berry’s continued success in competition. It takes hard work and determination to return to championship rounds year after year. I give Margaret Knight, now Ellington, much credit for continuing to lead them back to the top. It’s funny to think of the history as I was on her first team at Berry. It was wonderful to see them move from a club to a varsity sport. What growth and pride!

“Today, Berry, too, is a member of the NCEA. I can’t wait to take our student-athletes to Berry to experience the wonder I’m privileged to call home.”

Boenig on Berry

“It was Berry in general that put me on the path I am on. The community. The connections. The exposure to new and different things. The lifelong friendships. My random pairing with roommate Christy Ethridge Brimmer made a huge difference.

“I loved my biology classes and labs. My work as a teaching assistant for Biology Professor Bill Davin built my confidence, my practical knowledge and my curiosity. Animal Science Professor George Gallagher and his wife, Robina, who was one of my equestrian coaches, helped me decide about Texas A&M, and Berry gave me the nerve to actually go someplace very different from anywhere I had ever been. You might say Berry was a jumping-off place to new opportunities.

“When students go to college, it is often the first time they begin to decide for themselves what they want to be and do. It is so important to be open to learning from all around you. I met incredible people at Berry, and it made a lifetime of difference to me. I always thank Berry for putting me on this path.”

Erin McGlone (19C) is one of the many riders who have competed for Berry’s equestrian team.

Brant Sanderlin

Matthew McConnell (21C)

Boenig holds a copy of the first issue of Berry magazine, which included news of her then-new job at the University of Georgia.

Gam InG LIFE

By Rick Woodall

Derek Detweiler (03C) was only 8 years old when he created his first video game. He had no way of knowing at the time that the rudimentary “text adventure” he programmed for his siblings –admittedly more fun to make than to play – would be the foundation for a career.

If you have young children in your life, chances are they are familiar with the work of Derek Detweiler. They won’t recognize him by name, but his games are a different story. That’s because the born-and-bred North Carolina Tar Heel has spent the last 11 years developing webbased learning experiences for such clients as PBS Kids, Random House, Fred Rogers Productions and The Jim Henson Company. Detweiler worked first for his own boutique game-design firm and now is lead creative engineer for Makefully, a Kansas City-based studio committed to designing inspiring and engaging learning experiences for children. He has played a key role in game development, website redesign and/or app creation for an impressive list of properties including Alma’s Way, Cat in the Hat, Wild Kratts, Dinosaur Train and Ready Jet Go Equal parts curious, creative and clever –with a healthy dose of entrepreneurial spirit tossed in – Detweiler has forged his own ideal career, combining a lifelong love of computer programming with problem-solving skills sharpened at Berry and an adept ability to work in teams forged in his experience as a Berry Information Technology Student.

As technical lead for development processes that can take up to six months to complete, he leans heavily into each of his talents while seeking to create a young-user experience that entertains even as it educates. The creative challenges are endless, but so are the rewards.

“When kids get frustrated playtesting our games, it just kills me,” he said. “But when you see them enjoying it and learning in real time, it’s just awesome.”

Finding his passion

It’s truly a sign of the times that the children for whom Detweiler designs games today are in many cases younger than he was when he got his first taste of computing as a grade-schooler in the late 1980s. In those days, smart phones were still years away, and computers of any kind were only beginning to establish a foothold in American homes.

The first computer in the Detweiler household was purchased for the family’s generalcontracting business. The drab, monochrome monitor wasn’t much to look at, but the boy was spellbound.

“That was kind of the start,” he recalled.

“As soon as we got that first computer, I was fascinated seeing how it responded to what I told it to do.”

Devouring books on computing as fast as his mother could check them out of the local library, Detweiler taught himself BASIC, the aptly named programming language of the day, and began experimenting with the new machine. He quickly gravitated toward game design because it was “a really easy way to put something out there that people could interact with.” In the absence of anyone else, his siblings became test subjects.

“It was really simple stuff,” he acknowledged. “It would ask them a question like, ‘What is your name?’ And then it would print their name back. I would say, ‘Whoa! Isn’t that cool?’ And they were like, ‘No. Not really.’”

Undaunted by their less-than-enthusiastic response, Detweiler continued to stoke his passion for computers in the years to come. His knowledge and skills grew with the technology, and by the time he graduated from high school, he knew he wanted to attend a college that could prepare him for a career in programming. He chose Berry, motivated both by the opportunities he found there and the

incredible beauty of the campus, so reminiscent of the area surrounding his hometown of Hickory, North Carolina.

“I totally love being outside and hiking and doing outdoor activities, and it just seemed like a great place to be,” he related. “You’re not just going there for an education. You’re living there for four years.”

Learning journey

Those four years turned out to be transformational in many respects. Choosing to double major in computer science and mathematics, the erstwhile programmer got the technical education he was looking for while also gaining new insight into problem-solving, courtesy of Dr. Eric McDowell, then-assistant professor of mathematics (now retired).

“It always felt like he was on the journey with us to learn mathematical concepts,” Detweiler said in praise of his teacher and mentor. “Rather than a simple lecture, he invited us to struggle with concepts and experience the reasoning behind mathematical theories instead of simply memorizing theorems.”

Each of Detweiler’s majors provided a “helpful lens” through which to view the other, together becoming a “powerful combo” that positioned him for success in his chosen career.

“Game design always starts with a creative idea, but turning that idea into an actual, playable video game involves layers and layers of math and logic,” he explained. “Every day as a game designer and developer involves applying mathematical concepts and designing creative algorithms to solve design problems.”

While Detweiler’s academic courses enhanced his knowledge and understanding of programming, participation in BITS (an apprenticeship work opportunity within Berry’s Office of Information Technology) offered equally important lessons, albeit uncomfortable ones at times.

A self-described “super-introvert” coming out of high school, Detweiler immediately drew what he considered a “nightmare” work assignment –the help desk – fielding calls for technical support from students, faculty and staff. He didn’t enjoy the experience at first but quickly discovered he was good at it.

“By the time I left Berry, it was a great job!” he exclaimed. “I found out that I really enjoyed helping people.”

And in doing so, he expanded his comfort zone, developing interpersonal and communication skills that significantly heightened his ability to work with others.

“I didn’t realize it in college,” Detweiler said, “but ultimately, I think it helped complement my software engineering capabilities in a way that was very useful when it came to looking for a job and working in an occupational environment.”

Making his future

Detweiler’s first job out of college was very similar to the one he held at Berry – technical support for a satellite campus of Appalachian State University located in his hometown. Four years of help-desk experience prepared him well for the position, but his dream of a career in programming persisted.

While his days were spent managing technology, off hours were devoted to learning new computer languages and seeking out creative ways to further develop his skill set. Among other activities, he engaged in a series of impromptu challenges with Todd Lewis (05c), an old friend from Berry who later graduated from Georgia Tech. Together, the two former BITS would come up with a random word (wind, for example), then compete to see who could bring it to life in the most creative fashion.

This exercise eventually led to Entanglement, a

video game Detweiler created based on an idea he’d had for a board game. Pleased with the result, he wound up sharing it online where it came to the attention of Google. Soon, he and Lewis were busy working on a refined version of the game to be used by the tech giant in promoting the early Chrome Web Store.

When Google again came calling, they knew they were on to something. Lewis soon left his West Coast job bound for Hickory, and within a short time Detweiler stepped out as well.

“There is that voice in the back of your head saying, ‘This is foolish. You have a good job,’” he recounted. “But if you have a dream that never dies … if you don’t do it now, when are you going to do it?”

As it turned out, the timing was perfect. Working under the moniker of Gopherwood Studios, Detweiler and Lewis capitalized on their ability to use emerging platforms and programs, building a steady clientele that kept them busy for a decade.

“We were getting all these people who wanted games made to highlight their stuff,” Detweiler said. “There were very few people working in that space. And we were perfectly placed.”

An early break came when PBS Kids sought their assistance in developing games compatible with an operating system update for Apple. More PBS Kids-related projects followed, helping the two developers make connections across the industry that would pay dividends in their move to newly formed Makefully.

“It was a natural transition,” Detweiler said, explaining that he and Lewis had already been working well with the people involved before officially joining forces under the Makefully banner.

Living the dream

While diving into code and creating something can be very difficult, the process of bringing an idea to life is “inspiring” to Detweiler. So too are other benefits of his work.

Since first striking out on his own, he has spent the bulk of his work time at the home he shares with wife Ginny Pinnow Detweiler (04C) and their four sons, ages 7-16, who sometimes double as informal playtesters, just as his siblings once did.

“I always had this dream of sitting on my front porch and coding,” he said gratefully, a man blessed to be doing exactly what he wants to do in the place he wants to do it.

Christopher Smith

READY JET GO! © 2020 Jet Propulsion, LLC. Ready Jet Go! and the Ready Jet Go! logo are registered trademarks of Jet Propulsion, LLC.; THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT! Season 3 © 2017-2018 CITH Productions III Inc. Based on the original television series created by Portfolio Entertainment Inc. and Collingwood & Co. Dr. Seuss Books & Characters TM & © 1957, 1958 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. All rights reserved.

JUSTUS EDWARDS

MOVING HIS MOUNTAIN

By Rick Woodall

hen Justus Edwards (21C) started up the ramp to Berry’s commencement stage last May, there was no denying the significance of the moment.

Less than four years earlier, the Alabama native was competing for Berry in a football game at Kentucky’s Centre College when a spinal-cord injury left doctors doubting whether he would ever walk again. In the immediate aftermath, Edwards could only move his big toe, and it took hours of focus just to do that.

Yet there he was, making his way on stage with the assistance of a walker, graduation robe unzipped to reveal the No. 14 Viking jersey that had so inspired teammates and the Berry community. He fist-bumped President Steve Briggs as he received the diploma signifying the exercise science degree he had completed the previous December, then unleashed a welldeserved roar.

“I felt a lot of emotions, but if I had to choose one I would say PROUD,” Edwards recalled of the moment when the Valhalla crowd rose to its feet to salute his accomplishment. “Never giving up on my education but finishing what I started meant the world not only to me but my family as well.

“I also felt very thankful to all the people who believed in me and helped me get to this point,” he added, praising the Berry peers, tutors and teachers who went above and beyond in their support during long hours of study in and out of the classroom. “It wasn’t hard coming back to such a loving place with a great community of people behind me cheering me on and helping me along the way.”

Within days, the cheers that rang out on graduation day echoed nationally thanks to video shared by the likes of Hoda Kotb and NBC’s The Today Show – but Edwards will be the first to tell you the game is not over yet. Not by a long shot.

“The journey’s not done,” he stated. “This is just one mark off the list.”

Walk of faith

“I will never forget, for as long as I live, going out there right after he got injured and just how calm he was,” Berry head coach Tony Kunczewski recalled in an interview with Berry’s student media. “I can vividly remember him saying, ‘Hey, I’m going to be all right. God’s got me. We’re going to get through this.’”

The life Edwards lives today is a testament to those words, though the way forward has been one of behemoth struggles, significant pain, bone-deep weariness and tiny victories.

“You name it, and we’ve tried it,” he explained, citing the many different types of therapies and

treatments he has undergone. “Anything we could do to get these legs moving again functionally with my brain.

“It’s been tough,” Edwards added. “But I’ve had some of the best people beside me to walk me through this process. They never gave up on me and, most importantly, never let me give up on myself.”

At every juncture, strength has flowed from Edwards’ powerful Christian faith, pushing him forward even though the path was not of his choosing and ultimately filling him with gratitude for lessons learned along the way.

“I have grown into the man that God has designed me to be,” he declared. “I have been broken down and rebuilt for His purpose.”

Edwards has believed since childhood that his purpose would involve helping others. His journey as a spinal-cord patient has shaped that purpose into a passion for assisting those who face challenges like his own. To that end, he now aspires to become a Doctor of Physical Therapy, but he’s not about to wait for another graduation day to start making a difference.

Already, he has been trained as a mentor with the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, enabling

him to go into hospitals and “enter into the fight” with patients at the earliest stage of recovery.

“It’s a blessing and very important to play such a role in someone’s life as they have just experienced a life-altering injury,” he emphasized. “It really matters who is around you and who speaks life into your life as you are going through this tough time.

“To have somebody there to tell you the good, the bad, the ups and the downs not just in that moment but throughout the rest of your life, that’s really big,” he added. “To be able to do that in my hometown [of Birmingham] has meant a lot to me.”

Edwards also has started a clothing line and foundation to raise money for patients and families dealing with spinal-cord injuries, in addition to serving as a motivational speaker –not easy for someone who once believed his story was not meant to be heard.

Overcoming that reluctance with encouragement from mentor and former University of Georgia linebacker Rennie Curran, Edwards quickly discovered that speaking filled him with the same joy he once felt on the football field. Now he relishes having a platform for inspiring others and pointing them toward the same power that sustains him.

Edwards ultimately hopes to reach an even wider audience through a book he is working on with an all-together fitting title: Tackling Trials. The writing process has been emotional at times, even drawing tears, but he is excited by the opportunity to be “honest and vulnerable” as he helps others to see “how I have gotten through life’s toughest battles with faith, dedication and support by my side.”

How are you waiting?

While the thought of quitting has never entered his mind – “That just ain’t in me” – Edwards does admit to growing weary at times: “I have gotten to the point where I was just tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of being strong … and battling day in and day out in therapy. Just tired.

“One thing I’ve really learned is patience,” he said. “But it’s not just about patience. It’s about how are you waiting? Are you upset, angry, waiting for God to do this for you, or are you helping people? Are you creating new avenues? What are you doing in that in-between space from the time that you were down to the time that you’re getting back up on your feet? And do you really believe this can happen for you?”

Asked what he would say to those facing their own trials, Edwards offered well-internalized encouragement rooted in faith and forged in the fires of personal experience: “You were assigned this mountain in life to show others that it can be moved.”

“I have grown into the man that God has designed me to be. I have been broken down and rebuilt for His purpose.”

— Justus Edwards

LIFE HAPPENS

Brand-new 47-year-old Berry graduate Paul Bryant is a registered pharmacist and a successful businessman. He’s the major holder in five pharmacies across Northwest Georgia and a minor partner in one, as well as a real estate manager and occasional developer. Funny thing is, he never really wanted to be or do any of these things. Except graduate from Berry.

BY KARILON L. ROGERS

So how does a guy who started out at Berry in 1993 as a music major only to make an immediate left turn toward a Ph.D. in chemistry so he can research pharmaceuticals even though he had absolutely NO interest in handling them as a pharmacist – let alone owning a pharmacy – end up where Paul Bryant (22C) happily is today? As the adage goes: Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. To understand, you really must start at the beginning of his Berry story.

Berry roots

Born into a lower-income family in Chatsworth, Georgia, Bryant was attending middle school when he ran smack-dab into Tim Howard (82C), an excellent teacher who soon would change his young student’s life forever.

“When I was in high school, Tim contacted me about Berry,” Bryant remembered. “I originally wanted to be a music major, and Tim introduced me to all the right people. With his help, I ended up with a full music scholarship, which I needed.”

As life would have it, Bryant quickly discovered –in six short weeks – that majoring in music was not

for him. Ready to give up his scholarship and leave Berry, he met with Dr. Ouida Word Dickey (50C, FFS), then dean of academic services and now deceased, who, rather than sending him packing, worked with him to secure a partial scholarship in his second area of interest, chemistry.

Bryant immediately fell further in love with the subject and focused on a chemistry degree so he could then get a Ph.D. and become a researcher in pharmaceuticals.

At Berry, he worked in the theatre department building sets, at the gate house for campus safety and then in the chemistry labs, thanks, he said, to Dr. Gary Breton, who in 1994 was in his first year at Berry as an assistant professor and today is Callaway professor of organic chemistry. Eventually, Bryant became a tutor for other chemistry students and earned a spot in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program at the University of Alabama. All these positions helped keep his student loan debt manageable and his skills base growing. He also took electives over the summer at Dalton State College and senior-level chemistry classes his junior year at Berry.

With graduation on the horizon, Bryant changed course again, this time motivated by a comment that he could get a degree in pharmacy and make a good living while working on his Ph.D. This led him to transfer to the University of Georgia after his junior year even though he insists, “I had NO intention of being a pharmacist!”

After graduating from UGA in 1999 with a B.S. in pharmacy, Bryant was accepted into a Ph.D. program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was ready to head to the Tar Heel State when a family situation put everything on hold. Instead of starting his program, he worked full time as a pharmacist in Atlanta while also doing as much relief work as possible at pharmacies in his home area of Northwest Georgia so he could pay off student loans.

“I saw how a dozen different pharmacies were run,” he said. “What worked well, what didn’t. Although I had NO plan to be a businessman!”

One thing after another, life kept happening.

A

Berry degree in 2022

The Ph.D. never materialized. Bryant never became a researcher. But he did discover he loves working

as a pharmacist. Not that he gets to do much of it these days.

“I’m 95% businessman today,” he revealed. “I only get to work at the bench to cover vacations.”

That evolution began in 2000, when Bryant became part owner of a pharmacy in Dalton (in which he sold ownership long ago). Three years later, he established his first Living Well Pharmacy in Chatsworth. Now he has three in town, one located in a shopping center he developed. More recently, he has become a major holder in two more Northwest Georgia pharmacies, Rocky Face Pharmacy and Calhoun Drug Co., as well as a minority owner of Magnolia Pharmacy in LaFayette.

He has 58 employees in the pharmacies in which he holds ownership, and his attention is fully focused on the vital role he has in supporting them. His time is taken up with payroll, insurance credentialing and staff management, as well as bookkeeping.

That’s a very full plate, so why add a return to college on top of it?

“It was a totally personal decision for me,” Bryant said. “I just wanted to have a Berry degree. Berry gave me so much.

“I contacted Dr. Breton about five years ago but didn’t follow through. I wasn’t fully committed. But I reached out again in February 2022. I thought it was going to be difficult, but I didn’t care how many classes I had to take. I was going to do it. Dr. Breton

“The statistics professor’s lectures were available online, so he didn’t require me to attend class either, but I went to as many as I could anyway,” Bryant remembered with a laugh. “I am 47, and I felt so old compared to the other students. And they probably thought I was failing because I missed some of the classes!”

He did not fail and graduated from Berry at the end of the 2022 summer term, nearly three decades after he first arrived on campus.

Paul Bryant

reached out to the registrar’s office and asked me for permission to access my transcripts. It turned out, with my UGA credits transferring, I only needed three classes.”

Bryant took those three classes last summer: Introduction to Christianity, Theatre Appreciation and Elementary Statistics, the first two of which he was able to take online.

Bryant could spend an entire day raving about his “new” alma mater and why finishing his Berry degree was so important to him. Mostly, however, it came down to his professors in the chemistry department, notably Breton and the retired Drs. Larry McRae (60C) and Charles Earnest.

“They really motivated me, prepared me,” Bryant explained. “They really poured so much into every student. Research was there, which is important, but they always put students first. I honestly felt genuine sadness when I left to go to UGA. But I felt prepared and confident when I got there because Berry prepared me well.”

“I just wanted to have a Berry degree. Berry gave me so much.”

—

he generosity of alumni and friends is an ever-present help to students seeking the distinctive education Berry provides. We are grateful to ALL whose gifts of any size benefit Berry students. Here, we recognize leadership gifts, pledges and realized planned gifts of $25,000 or more received between March 1 and Aug. 31, 2022. On the facing page, you will find examples of the creative ways in which Berry supporters choose to make a difference.

H. Inman and Tricia Allen, $25,000 for the H. Inman Allen Endowed Gate of Opportunity Scholarship

Betty Anne Rouse Bell (52H, 56C), $200,000 in support of the Robert H. Bell Scholarship, part of the Griswell Scholarship Program

Randy and Nancy Berry, $100,000 to support the Griswell Scholarship Program

Patricia Pollard Blanton, $50,000 for the Frost Chapel renovation and restoration in honor of her mother, Jennie Floyd Pollard (48C)

Lamar Fletcher (66A), $50,000 for the Frost Chapel renovation and restoration

Georgia Independent College Association, $33,397 for the general fund

Rick (77c) and Debra Bourne (76C) Gilbert, $100,000 to support the Griswell Scholarship Program

Tim (03C) and Maureen Trane (03C) Goodwin, $25,000 for the Frost Chapel renovation and restoration Greg (82C) and Judy Cash (85C) Hanthorn, $50,000 for the Frost Chapel renovation and restoration

Peter (53H, 57C) and Emmaline Beard (55H, 58C) Henriksen, $25,000 for the Henry and Jessie Henriksen Endowed Scholarship

Lavender Mountain Senior Living Inc., $25,000 for The Spires Scholarship Roger (79C) and Candy Caudill (82c) Lusby, $30,000, with $25,000 going to the Griswell Scholarship Program, $2,500 to the Save a Student Scholarship, and $2,500 to the general fund

Blaine and Sara Ellen Midkiff Minor, $50,000 in support of the Donald Ray and Typhnes Fish Midkiff Scholarship, part of the Griswell Scholarship Program

Mark Moraitakis (91C), $25,000 to support the Mark and Dimitra Moraitakis Save a Student Scholarship

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, $33,000, with $25,000 for the beach volleyball facility and $8,000 for the NSDAR Gate of Opportunity Scholarship

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Junior Membership Committee, $31,000, with $23,000 for the Frost Chapel renovation and restoration and $8,000 for the NSDAR Junior Gate of Opportunity Scholarship

S. Denise Sumner (89C), $50,000 for the Frost Chapel renovation and restoration

Robert (04C) and Tessa Frye (07C) Swarthout, $50,000 for the Cryptocurrency Club

The Tomé Foundation, $620,000 to fund The Tomé Scholars Program

Marti Berry Walstad, $30,000 for the Historic Preservation Endowed Fund

H. Oliver Welch (52H), $50,000 for the H. Oliver and Patricia Welch Endowed Nursing Scholarship

Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation, $695,000 for the Lettie Pate Whitehead Scholars Fund

Robert H. Williams (62H), $40,000 to fund stadium seats at Valhalla

WinShape Foundation Inc., $279,853, with $262,353 for the WinShape Scholarship, $12,500 for the WinShape Appeals Fund, and $5,000 for the Truett and Jeannette Cathy Expendable Scholarship

REALIZED PLANNED GIFTS

Estate of Marie Benson-Lyon, $117,771 unrestricted bequest

Estates of H.I. Jones and Frances M. Jones, $25,104 for the H.I. Jones Endowed Agriculture Scholarship

Estates of J.T. (37H) and Evelyn Parker, $563,935 for the Griswell Scholarship Program

Estate of Estelle Wright, $84,814 unrestricted bequest

Soccer alum makes perfect assist

It’s been more than 20 years since Todd Crew (99C) last roamed the pitch with his Berry soccer teammates, but there’s part of his heart that forever will be tied to that wide, green expanse adjacent to the Ford Buildings. That’s why he immediately thought of Berry and his old team when advised that a charitable gift of stock would be beneficial to his portfolio.

Recruited to Berry with best friend Eric Gentilello (98C, 01G, FFS), Crew played two seasons with the Vikings, starting both years. Gentilello stayed on for an additional season while completing his graduate studies in education, then worked for 20 years as an assistant under former Berry women’s coach Lorenzo Canalis.

To this day, Crew stays in touch with Gentilello and other Berry friends, often meeting up with former teammates to cheer on Atlanta United. There’s also an annual camping trip involving a dozen or more lifelong Vikings.

Inspired by these connections and associated memories, Crew stepped out of his comfort zone and gave in a way he’d never done before – designating 50 shares of stock to Berry that originally had been gifted to him by his employer, Fortinet, a global Internet security company.

“I was a little nervous, but there were people all along the way to answer my questions and walk me through it,” Crew said.

Gifts of appreciated stock offer many benefits, including a break on capital gains taxes enabling supporters to contribute up to 20% more than if they’d sold the stocks and donated cash. On top of that, the full fair-market value of the asset is still eligible for an income tax deduction.

While he appreciates such benefits, Crew – who this year was recognized as a Gold member of the Martha Berry Society of annual leadership supporters – is most grateful to be championing opportunities for the student-athletes now following in his footsteps.

“I definitely want to support the team and enrich their experience with Berry soccer as much as possible,” he said. “And I wanted them to benefit from the stocks given to me by my company. If I can pass that gift on, why not?”

Contact Jean Druckenmiller at 706-238-7938 or jdruckenmiller@berry.edu to learn more about gifts of stocks and other ways in which you can support Berry students.

Stadium seats “boost” athletics

Bob Williams (62H) embodies the spirit of Berry athletics.

Hardworking and fiercely devoted, the proud graduate of the Mount Berry School for Boys has been a familiar face at Berry sporting events for decades, cheering on his beloved Vikings and leveraging his generosity to help ensure the best experience possible for the student-athletes who generate so much Berry pride.

This passion is rooted in his love for the school and his belief that lessons learned through athletic competition prepare student-athletes for success in the game of life.

“Sports teach responsibility,” Williams emphasized. “If you don’t do your job, you let someone down. If you work hard, you will reap the benefits. Sports teach work ethic in a way that

Blessings multiplied

Because Beth Senn (72C) has always had a special place in her heart for Berry, she wanted to do something significant to honor that love in recognition of her 50th reunion.

“My Berry years were the best of my life,” Senn explained. “It’s where I made my best friends, learned so much, and was introduced to faith in a way that ultimately led me to Christ.”

The Berry art alumna worked in libraries for many years after graduation, augmenting her salary

doing freelance biological illustrations for scientific journals through the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Although funds always have been tight, she has prioritized giving back to Berry for more than three decades. When Senn learned her classmates intended to support the renovation of Frost Memorial Chapel, she knew she wanted to help.

“Frost Chapel has wonderful acoustics and is a great place in which to sing,” she said. “And I wanted to do something for my class.”

Senn boosted her latest donation by using part of the required annual disbursement for her Individual Retirement Account, thus enabling her largest cash gift to date. As a result, she has moved from the Bronze to Silver level of the Martha Berry Society of annual leadership supporters. Even better is the satisfaction she feels knowing her generosity is going to a place she loves.

“God wants us to give,” she said. “When He blesses us, He wants us to take those blessings and bless others with them. I learned that at Berry.”

To learn how you can use assets such as an IRA to support the Frost Chapel renovation and other Berry priorities, including student scholarships, contact Jean Druckenmiller at 706-238-7938 or jdruckenmiller@berry.edu.

speaks to what is needed in the world today.”

His latest act of generosity is among his most creative, helping to enhance the fan experience in one of Berry’s premier venues while also providing an opportunity for other supporters to race over the goal line with gifts of their own.

With a lead gift honoring the memory of his late daughter, Ann, Williams kicked off fundraising for 300 permanent chairback seats installed on the home side of Valhalla stadium in time for the 2022 football season. With a gift to the Berry Vikings Booster Club, fans can purchase tickets in this special section, enjoying comfortable seats and a great view while knowing their gift helps student-athletes across all sports benefit from new and renovated competition venues and practice facilities, equipment upgrades, and special travel opportunities that allow them to display their talents on a regional and national stage.

For more information on qualifying gift levels, contact Fred Mercer at fmercer@berry.edu or 706-290-2164.

by

Matthew McConnell (21C)

BERRY ALUMNI COUNCIL

Distinguished Alumni Awards

With notable experience in politics, community outreach, education, event planning and administration, Genny Castillo has built a reputation as an effective leader who gets things done. Currently regional engagement director for the Southern Economic Advancement Project, she is responsible for coordinating local programming that brings the project to the people. She also serves as COO of the BLUE Institute, the premier training program for young people of color preparing to lead electoral campaigns in the South and Southwest. In 2018, she played a leadership role in the Democratic Party of Georgia’s coordinated campaign.

Aaron Chastain credits his Berry education and the principles it instilled with helping him achieve success at an early age. Now a senior investment consultant at NEPC, a large, independent investment consulting firm, he advises institutional investors on strategy, policy and implementation. His decisions directly impact more than 500,000 lives, and research pieces he crafts touch millions more. He became a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder – an honor held by only 170,000 individuals globally – faster than 91% of candidates in the last decade. The committed Berry volunteer currently serves as Alumni Council president.

Inspired by the example of his Berry student work supervisor, Stewart Fuqua lives a life defined by servanthood. A contractor by trade, he served for 23 years as a volunteer firefighter, including 21 as department president. His efforts helped strengthen the department and ensure proper care for volunteers tasked with providing life- and property-saving support to their Tennessee community. For more than two decades, he has built schools in Guatemala for two weeks each year, in addition to serving his church and volunteering at Berry – all with a can-do spirit.

Joy Schmidt has built a reputation for creating fresh, custom confections through her business, Baked Joy. Her true measure of success is the satisfaction expressed by customers, and the sweet words spread by happy mouths speak volumes about Baked Joy and its owner. Specializing in high-end decorated cookies and cakes delivered in self-designed custom packaging, she drives revenue through work with corporate accounts and schools, achieving exponential growth. Her business approach is shaped by a Berry-inspired lens that values the head, heart and hands.

Visit alwaysberry.com/awards for more on our winners and to submit nominations for future consideration.

NEWS FROM YOU

1970s

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

George Johnson (70C), right, and Mick Pyle (76C) are new inductees in the Boone County (Ind.) Basketball Hall of Fame.

Both excelled at Zionsville High School, ranking among the Eagles’ all-time leading scorers. After completing their high school careers in 1965 and 1972, respectively, they brought their basketball talents to Berry, continuing to shine in competition for the Vikings.

Jane Smallwood McWhorter Rolan (70C) and Terry Rolan (64A, 68C) were married on Sept. 24, 2021, bringing full circle a relationship that began decades earlier in high school. After losing touch for many years, they reconnected when Terry reached out on Facebook. The couple happily shared that they are each other’s “first and last love!”

has directed for 12 seasons. Originally slated for 2020, the pandemic-delayed performance included musical settings of poems by Robert Frost and George Herbert composed by Randall Thompson and Ralph Vaughan Williams, respectively.

‘DO YOU LIKE TO CLIMB TREES?’

That was the question that greeted brothers Don (62H) and Steve (61H) Huff when they arrived at Berry in June 1960 to begin summer work assignments in advance of their first year as high school students at the Mount Berry School for Boys.

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 April 1 to Sept. 30, 2022.

Len Willingham (70C) was one of two guest conductors for a combined choir concert at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall last June. The choir included the Three Rivers Singers, Rome’s community chorus, which Len

Glyn Pelfrey

(76C) welcomed first grandchild Jameson Wayne on May 23, 2022. She exclaimed: “He’s beautiful y’all! I’m not biased at all. I got the official T-shirt: “‘First-time Grandma = let the spoiling begin!’”

Answering yes, they immediately were assigned to a small crew of high school and college students tasked with climbing high into the air to trim trees damaged during a freak ice storm that, in the words of the Alumni Quarterly, left the campus without heat and power for “53 miserable hours” the previous March.

As would be the case during subsequent severe weather events such as the “Blizzard of ’93” and the 2011 windstorm, the campus canopy suffered most acutely at the hands of Mother Nature. Hundreds of trees were felled by the heavy coating of ice, while many that remained were left with damaged and broken limbs.

“How great was the damage? That question cannot be answered for years,” reported the Alumni Quarterly. “Some of the planted forests look as if a tornado had swept through, felling or damaging beyond recovery nine out of ten trees.”

By the time the Huff brothers arrived that summer, the storm itself was just an unpleasant memory, but there was much cleanup work to be done.

Bill Pence (76C) is pleased to share news of wife Janet’s recognition by the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools as a 2022 Charter School Champion for her work as a teacher at Hope Charter School in Ocoee. Janet’s son, Caleb Enright (22C), graduated from Berry last spring.

1980s

Greg Hanthorn (82C) once again has earned recognition for commercial litigation in Best Lawyers in America, the 11th consecutive year he has been so

Their crew crisscrossed main campus in the months to come, hoisting themselves 100 feet or more into the air with a long length of hemp rope, then working their way down the trunk, trimming limbs with a hand saw and using a “tar-like” paint to seal the cuts.

“It was a hot summer, and every day our clothes were totally soaked,” Don recalled. “Rather than climb down the tree for water, we would pull up a gallon container of ice water and drink from that.”

While the work was arduous, it wasn’t without its rewards. From his commanding perch near the top of a pine tree at the corner of what is today Evans Hall, Don could see Rome’s church steeples in the distance. Returning to that spot last May for his 60th high school reunion (also attended by fellow crew member and ’62H classmate Charlie Russell), he was pleased to find the tree (pictured above) still standing sentinel over the Berry campus.

Earnhart

CAN THEY SERVE MORE?

John Love (89C), right, and Rob Gondolfo (91C) have more in common than their commissioning as cadets out of Berry’s former Army ROTC program and the positive feelings they share for their alma mater. It turns out both are now working toward second careers as physician assistants after spending more than two decades in service to their fellow citizens.

After graduating from Berry, Love began a 28-year law enforcement career – uniform patrol, detective and supervision – with the Cobb County (Ga.) Police Department. Gondolfo, meanwhile, served domestically and abroad in the U.S. Army Special Forces, retiring as a Green Beret lieutenant colonel. Today, Gondolfo and Love both are members of the Class of 2023 – Gondolfo in the University of New England Physician Assistant Program in Maine where he plans to work for Veterans Affairs, and Love at the South University Physician Assistant Program, Richmond, Virginia.

honored. Greg also has been tapped for another term of service as co-chair of the Federal Practice Task Force of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association. He works in the business and tort litigation practice for the Atlanta office of international law firm Jones Day.

Dr. Ann Jorn Kronick (82C) has been invited to join the Board of Editors for The Journal of Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behavior Therapy. She is also a practicing life coach in Massachusetts.

Dunn Neugebauer (82C) has released his sixth book, Graduation Day, which includes a couple of essays about his time at Berry. He lives in Sandy Springs, Ga., and is in his 19th year at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School.

Julia Woodward (84C) retired last April after 38 years with Truist Financial, most recently serving as a vice president in account analysis, which is responsible for billing corporate clients.

a

Floyd Sports Hall of Fame. A star on the basketball court whose No. 12 jersey has been retired at both Model High School and Berry, Lee-Anda tallied 2,111 points and 987 rebounds during her four years as a Viking, twice leading her team to nationals. The former All-American now enjoys success as a real estate agent living in Gwinnett County, Ga., where daughter Victoria is a high-school freshman.

America: Nothing but the Truthiness with Lexington Books. Tracing the news parody genre from the 1960s’ That Was the Week That Was through the 2010s and HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, the associate professor of communication at Berry explores how news parody has entertained audiences throughout the history of television, satirizing political and social issues and offering a lighthearted take on broadcast news.

1990s

Melissa Fairrel (90C) has been promoted to payroll manager at Veristat.

Bob Leek (92C) leads a team of approximately 200 employees in his new role as chief information officer for Nevada’s Clark County, home to the city of Las Vegas. The Berry accounting alumnus brings more than 30 years of IT experience to the position, with an extensive background in managing large capital projects, developing strategic plans and implementing systems.

Bruce Mulkey (93C) is in his first year as principal of Vidalia (Ga.) High School, his alma mater. He is excited to be back in his hometown, calling it an opportunity “too good to pass up.” Bruce is pictured with wife Tracy and their four children.

Andrea Henry Boulware (91C) graduated summa cum laude from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary last May with a master’s degree in counseling. She specializes in play therapy with children and teenagers.

David Grindle (93C) has been appointed executive director of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, a global association key in establishing standards and education for media technology and distribution worldwide.

Lee-Anda Hutchens (92C) has been inducted into the Rome-

Dr. Curt Hersey (93C, FS) recently published A History of Television News Parody in

Andrea Owens Pitts (93C, 22G) was asked to serve as student commencement speaker upon completion of a Master of Business Administration degree from Berry last May. The recently promoted director of patient experience and organizational excellence at AdventHealth Redmond also holds an M.Ed. in communication disorders from Georgia State University and is a certified speech-language

Linda Littlejohn Franks (87C) has worked for 29 years as controller for the Wen Choo Choo Wendy’s franchise. She lives in LaFayette, Ga., with Chuck, her husband of 34 years. They have two sons,

daughterin-law and two grandchildren. Linda also serves as a member of the Baptistry team and Finance Committee for First Baptist Church LaFayette.

pathologist. She lives in Rome with husband Tim Pitts (93C, FFS) and rescue-pups Maggie and Mr. Smiley Man.

Leigha Young Burnham (94C) was honored as 2022 Teacher of the Year for Summerville (Ga.) Middle School in recognition of her work as library media and technology specialist and gifted education coordinator. This is the fourth time Leigha has been named Teacher of the Year during her 22-year career. She lives in Armuchee.

Scott Chancey (95C) recently earned a third-place national award for feature photography from Associated Press Sports Editors. This brings his career APSE total to 12 in writing, photography and video competition. Scott works at the Florence (S.C.) Morning News.

Cohen (96C) recently held an impromptu Berry reunion in Atlanta. Alicia and Jennifer traveled from Birmingham, Ala., and Raleigh, N.C., respectively, while Amy came all the way from her new home in Sydney, Australia. The trio exclaimed: “The bonds we formed at Berry made us lifelong friends, and no distance will keep us apart! After several years of only virtual visits, it was great to catch up in person.”

Dr. Christy Chancy Bridges (97C) has been appointed interim chair of biomedical sciences for the Mercer University School of Medicine. A faculty member at Mercer since 2006, the Berry biology alumna also serves as professor of histology and director of the Master of Science in biomedical sciences program. Her research into environmental toxicants –with a particular emphasis on mercury exposure – has been widely published, earning grant support from the likes of the National Institutes of Health, Navicent Health Foundation and MedCen Research Foundation.

Alison R. Hill (98C) is the newly promoted director of treasury operations at Community Loans of America Inc.

HERO IN ACTION

Antoine Simmons (99C) was hailed for quick action and bravery last spring after rushing to the aid of a studentathlete in distress during a track meet at Coahulla Creek High School in Dalton, Georgia.

A certified athletic trainer for Hamilton Sports Medicine (a division of Hamilton Health Care Systems Inc.), Simmons was working on-site when a competitor in the 200-meter sprint collapsed at the finish line after suffering a severe asthma attack. When the runner’s breathing stopped, Simmons immediately initiated life-saving CPR, working in tandem with another rescuer to restore her lung function.

While grateful for his subsequent recognition by the Whitfield County Schools, Simmons’ true reward was seeing the young athlete back on her feet and fully recovered.

“Who knows what she’s going to become in life?” he asked.

“Maybe this becomes a defining moment for her that she can use as a launch pad to something great. Giving her the opportunity, that’s what I appreciate the most.”

Simmons hopes that incidents like this encourage Georgia’s leaders to require schools to have trainers on site for their athletic events. In this case, it was literally the difference between life and death.

“It was pretty intense,” he recounted. “We were fortunate we had the outcome we did.”

Mandy Zimmerman Mattox (95C, 00G, FFS) has been honored for outstanding nonprofit leadership by the Wilmington (N.C.) REALTORS® Foundation in recognition of her service as a board member and presidentelect of the Wilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry. She also works as a residential real estate agent with Landmark Sotheby’s International Realty. Mandy and husband Charlie Mattox (98C),

Jeff Morris (95C) has been inducted into the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association Hall of Fame. An NCADA member since 2006, he has served on the association board and as president. He has been active in developing and instructing a professional certification curriculum for both the state organization and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. Currently executive director of the Bethany Community 6-12 charter school in Summerfield, Jeff lives in Jamestown with wife Paula Huggins Morris (93C)

Dr. Stacie Clark Petter (99C) and husband Rick Petter (00C) recently moved to Winston-Salem, N.C., where Stacie has accepted a new position as professor of information systems at Wake Forest University. She currently is conducting research supported by a National Science Foundation grant that seeks to automate detection of suspicious and criminal activity within online marketplaces, thus helping consumers choose

2000s

for one weekend each year to celebrate and strengthen bonds of friendship first formed at Berry. For their 17th such reunion, they returned to the place where it all began. In the adjacent photo by current student Alex Ruble (23c), they are seen in front of their former home, the Ford Buildings.

Dr. Christina Brennan-Hutson (01C) recently was named chief of the Poxvirus and Rabies branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

both Berry basketball alumni, have three sons.

Alicia Clavell McCall (95C), Jennifer Quesenberry Dickens (96C) and Amy Tinaglia

trustworthy sources of goods and services.

Kerry Guess Hofer (00C), Erin Drury Boorn (00C), Cami Tarr Reynolds (02C), Kristen Hill Stone (00C) and Stacey Walters Hardy (00c) gather

John Knight

Brandy Flora (01C) and John Sammon welcomed daughter Sofia Caroline on May 12, 2022. Brandy reports that her “perfect little bundle of sunshine is home and thriving.”

Patrick Ouzts (03C) has been promoted to vice president, assistant general counsel at Atrium Hospitality, which manages the performance of 83 hotels with 21,773 rooms across 29 states.

FLIGHT OF FANTASY

Michael Webb (02C) had no creative writing experience when he embarked on his first novel in 2019. He’s now published three books in a span of two years to complete his Shadow Knights trilogy, all while continuing his full-time job as a purchasing manager for a wholesale distribution company.

“I’ve always enjoyed reading,” he said. “I love when a story captivates you with incredible characters or great plots. I thought it would be fun to build a story like that of my own to share with others.”

To date, his self-published books have sold approximately 60,000 copies in various formats, each earning a coveted “No. 1” tag on Amazon. They’ve also been well received, boasting an average score of 4.5 or better (on a 5-star scale) after 5,500 ratings.

Michael currently has two more books in the works. He also will be speaking at an upcoming national writing conference. The topic: “How to Successfully Launch a Debut Novel.”

Visit jessicagphotography.com to view her work. She is pictured with son Colt.

Canaan George Stevens (02C) is pleased to announce that oldest son Riley (No. 14 in photo) started Berry last fall as a tight end on the football team and a student in the WinShape College Program. His arrival coincided with Canaan’s 20th reunion year.

Jessica Foley Griesbach (04C, FS) recently hosted “Framed Fauna,” her first public photography exhibit, at the Gadsden, Ala., Museum of Art. A professional photographer for seven years, she also serves as assistant director of digital marketing and media for Berry.

Jennifer Kane Martin (04C) teaches Advanced Placement language, American literature, American Sign Language and journalism at her high school alma mater not far from the Middle Georgia home she shares with husband Lawrence, daughters Madison and Amelia, and cocker spaniel Taylor. The Berry English alumna with a master’s degree from the University of Georgia has been accepted for publication in the holiday edition of the Syncopation Literary Journal and is grateful to remain in touch with Berry mentors Dr. Bob Frank (FFS) and Dr. Jim Watkins (FS)

Dr. Kyle Floyd (06C) has started his own lab as assistant professor of microbiology at Illinois State University after earning a Ph.D. in microbehost interactions from Vanderbilt University (2017) and completing postdoctoral training at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

sixth- and seventh-grade math at the Academy for Classical Education, also in Macon.

Dr. Ted Goshorn (06C) has started a new job as senior pastor of Mulberry Street United Methodist Church in Macon, Ga. Wife Dana Mire Goshorn (07C) is now teaching

Becca Hogue (07C) is the newly promoted director of individual giving and development operations at Georgia Public Broadcasting, her professional home for seven years. Becca is a 15-year veteran of nonprofit fundraising, including stops at The Alliance Theatre and The Atlanta Opera.

Anna Tucker (08C) has taken on a new role as executive director of Massachusetts’ Framingham History Center. The Berry history alumna previously served as founding curator for the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience’s new location in New Orleans.

Whitni Bledsoe Freeman (09C) and husband Nathan Freeman (07C) announce the birth of third child Lila Elise on June 10, 2022. She was welcomed with love by sister Amelia and brother Jos.

Melissa Owens/

FB Mom Photography

Marcy Peterson Holzrichter (09C) and husband Nathan celebrated the birth of fifth child Mason on May 5, 2022. The family lives in Tokyo, Japan.

Dr. Ben Popple (09C) recently celebrated completion of a new 8,000-square-foot office for White Oak Pediatric Dentistry, replacing his original Newnan, Ga., location. The practice also has an office in nearby Carrollton. Ben’s fellow dentists at White Oak include Dr. Ian Alexander (09C), who joined the practice in 2020. Ben (right) and Ian are pictured on the back patio of the new office.

Ashley

TOP TEACHERS

2010s

(10C)

Kyler Post (10C) and wife Emily announce the March 26, 2022, birth of first child Peyton Anne, weighing 9 pounds, 3 ounces and measuring 24 inches long. The family lives in Lilburn, Ga.

Lindsay Tutt Davis (11C, FFS) and Austin Davis were married March 5, 2022, at Peachtree Christian Church in Atlanta, surrounded by Berry friends, including matron-of-honor Camille Lucas Adams (10C), Dylan Bowen (17C), Lauren Tutt (18C), Nick Wessel (18C) and Kenneth Wessel (11C). The couple lives in Atlanta, where Lindsay works for Salesforce and Austin at Dr. Squatch.

Tiffany Schneider (11C) and Mekonnen Abera (09C) celebrate the birth of baby girl Semira, who joined older brother Ezekiel at the family home in Marietta, Ga. Tiffany and Mekonnen both work in IT.

Dr. Alison Crane (12C) has taken on a new challenge as executive director of the Wyoming Wool Growers Association. The Berry animal science alumna with master’s and doctoral degrees from North Dakota State University previously served on the faculty of Kansas State University.

Brin Enterkin (12C) recently completed a Master of Education degree in policy

Amanda Dean Gong (09C) and husband Yan welcomed son Ryan Long Gong on Feb. 7, 2022.

Kelly Hester Jimenez (09C) married Jarret Jimenez at Foxhall Resort in Douglasville, Ga., in March 2022.

Lynn Roney Pineda (09C) and her husband welcomed baby boy Nicolai Pineda Jr. in November 2021.

Emily Naylor Taylor (09C) and her husband are pleased to announce the March 14, 2022, birth of son Michael Grayson. Big sister Kinsley (3) is smitten with the new arrival.

Dunn

has moved to Boston with husband Dan and started a new job at Postscript.

Ashley Bollinger Timpanaro (10C) and husband Dan welcomed second child James in May 2022, much to the delight of older brother Jack.

Ten teachers from across the entire state of Georgia were selected as finalists for the 2023 Georgia Teacher of the Year honor. Two were Berry alumni: Ashley Ware Anglin (07C, 12G) and Chelsea Sims Leming (09C) Anglin, a Berry psychology alumna who later returned for a master’s degree in early childhood education, is a first-grade teacher at Elm Street Elementary School in Rome. Leming, whose Berry degree is in middle grades education, is a fifth-grade teacher at Indian Knoll Elementary in Cherokee County.

State School Superintendent Richard Woods praised the Berry duo and their fellow finalists as “the very best of our state’s public education system,” adding, “They are hardworking, innovative, skilled, and – most importantly – focused first and foremost on students. I am immensely proud of each of them and honored to recognize them as finalists.”

Ashley Ware Anglin

Chelsea Sims Leming

Three Cross Photography

and management at Harvard University. She now works at Google, serving alongside a team responsible for utilizing machine learning and engineering to build tools that decipher user voice.

announce the arrival of their first child, son Anderson. The

Dr. Emma Schmidt (12C) married Dr. Steven Johnson on April 23, 2022. They live in Chapel Hill, N.C., where she is a physical therapist and he is a pathologist for the University of North Carolina.

Alan

Alice Boyd Rochow (14C) spent the first half of 2022 circumnavigating the globe with her husband after both quit their jobs in pursuit of adventure. Among many unforgettable experiences, the couple went diving in the Maldives, trekked to Everest base camp and tramped through New Zealand for two months – all while visiting a total of 12 countries. They now are back in the “real world” working as a physician assistant and engineer, respectively.

April 2, 2022, in Martinez, Ga. Nikki Cline Elmore (14C) and Tiffany Bouchard (15C) were in the wedding party. The couple now lives in Acworth with Brittany’s “bonus daughter,” Lyla.

Bailey Merlin (15C) is pursuing a Master of Science degree in media, medicine and health at Harvard Medical School after earning a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Butler University. Looking back on her experience at Berry as a double major in English and creative writing who also served as student coordinator of the Writing Center, she praised the “stellar English department” and especially Dr. Sandra Meek (FS), “whose 2015 Writing in Community class (and stalwart mentorship) changed my life in a real way.”

INNOVATIVE AND INSPIRING!

Louie Spivak (16C) can rightfully take a bow for his inclusion among the 100 Most Innovative and Inspiring Individuals of 2022 as recognized by Adweek, one of the two largest advertising trade publications in the nation. His company on the list is impressive, including the set designer for Hamilton and creative directors for TV, movies and Lego.

Spivak is senior copywriter for Tombras, one of North America’s top independent agencies with five offices from Knoxville and Atlanta to New York City where he is located. Projects of note include the “Guy on a Buffalo Wing” campaign for Zaxby’s, which Spivak told Adweek “got press and even some airtime on Jimmy Kimmel,” as well as a strong response.

His first post-graduation position was in Atlanta with Jackson Spalding, an award-winning public relations and marketing firm with many Berry alumni ties. As he explained to Adweek, Spivak started on the “account side” of the business before catching the eye of a creative director “who saw something in me and gave me a chance.”

Campbell (13C) and wife DeLaney Stewart Campbell (15C, 19G) are thrilled to

family lives in Canton, Ga.

Katie Lochridge Claxton (13C) and husband Zach Claxton (10C) welcomed second child Daniel Ridge on July 14, 2022.

Dr. Nick Morrow (13C) and wife Jesse King Morrow (13C) recently purchased Senior Medical Systems, LLC., with Nick now serving as president and CEO and Jesse as COO and general counsel. Their team provides services for post-acute and longterm care facilities and their residents in Northwest Georgia.

Madison Willoughby Whisonant (13C) earned a Master of Arts in Teaching degree in world language education (Spanish) from the University of Georgia last May. She is in her fifth year as a Spanish teacher at Brookwood High School in Snellville.

Lacey Herring (14C, 16G, FS) is Berry’s newly promoted assistant director of admission. The former Viking softball standout previously served as an admission counselor.

Brittany Alfieri Sperry (14C) married Cameron Sperry on

Student Rette Solomon

Meaghan Hughes-Davis (16C) graduated from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa last May with a master’s degree in gifted education. She was named Most Outstanding Student in her department and maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout the program.

Meaghan and her husband live in Huntsville, where she teaches elementary students.

MEET YOU IN SURGERY

There they were: a University of Georgia veterinary student and a visiting specialist who had practiced veterinary surgery far and wide. Both were scrubbed in for a surgical procedure investigating a novel technique for treating kidney problems in cats when they discovered a deep shared connection. Both are Berry grads!

That’s how Berry animal science major Dr. Danielle Creamer (17C) and biology major Dr. Robb Hardie (87C) first met.

Now, after earning a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 2021, Creamer is completing an internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the same University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine where Hardie, also a UGA alum, is clinical professor of small animal general surgery.

Hardie was not surprised to run into a young veterinarian of Creamer’s caliber who shared his Berry roots.

“I assumed I would eventually work with another veterinarian who was a Berry graduate,” he said, “because of Berry’s track-record for preparing students for veterinary school at the University of Georgia and other institutions, as well as for the rigors of the advanced training required of internships and residencies.”

success, he summed it up nicely: “The excellent science and pre-veterinary education we received from Berry.”

Both are eager to see Berry’s recently opened animal science facility.

Next up for Creamer is a three-year residency in small animal surgery at Massachusetts’ Tufts University. Her goal is to become a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Richard Tischler (16G) is the newly appointed principal of Walton High School in Marietta, Ga., earning unanimous approval from the Cobb County Board of Education after previously serving as an assistant principal at the school. He holds an Education Specialist degree in educational administration and supervision from Berry, in addition to bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia and Kennesaw State University, respectively.

“After veterinary school, you can become a general practitioner or specialize in a particular field,” Creamer explained. “With specialization, you first complete a rotating internship with the goal of matching for residency. In my case, I wanted to specialize in surgery. My mentor at UGA, Dr. Chad Schmiedt, did his surgery residency at the University of Wisconsin under Dr. Hardie, and he spoke very highly of the program at the UW. It was hard to envision myself anywhere else when two people I respect had career paths that involved a great program.”

Corpay One after three years in nonprofit communications.

Hardie and Creamer both cited work ethic as a quality they share as Berry graduates. Creamer added passion for the profession, Hardie humility and quiet determination.

Both played soccer while at Berry, further strengthening their Viking bond.

“It has been very exciting to see the soccer program grow and excel over the years,” Hardie stated, “and it has been fun to compare stories from our ‘playing days’ and reminisce about how playing soccer was such an important part of our Berry experience.”

As for the source of their veterinary

Hardie’s internship and residency at the University of Minnesota and Cornell, respectively, launched a career that has taken him to such far-flung places as the United Kingdom and Australia, working in both academic and private practice positions. A Diplomate of both the American and European colleges of veterinary surgeons, he has been a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin since 2000. In addition to training students, interns and residents like Creamer, his work includes not only performing surgery on small animals but also researching solutions to challenging clinical problems in dogs and cats.

Jessica Cannon Brooks (17C) is putting Berry-honed communication skills to work in her new role as content marketing strategist for

Husband Chandler Brooks (17C) is a practicing attorney with a Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia. He continues to play the bass, while she is an avid actress who recently participated in a community production of Noises Off. The couple lives in Richmond, Va.

Weaver Ellard (17C) is capitalizing on experience gained as a student marketing specialist for Berry Student Enterprises in his work as marketing director for Rule 1 Ventures, providing assistance

to various startups supported by the studio. Additionally, he and brother Fraser Ellard have launched their own marketing agency, Dodeka Digital.

Weaver’s wife, Nikki Tilka Ellard (18C), is leveraging her Berry psychology education on behalf of autistic children, having recently completed a master’s degree in applied behavioral analysis at the University of Georgia.

Elizabeth Ellis (17C), left, is a newly appointed youth market director at the American Heart Association serving Atlanta area K-12 schools through the Kids Heart Challenge and American Heart Challenge programs.

Berry extends sincere condolences to family and friends of the following alumni and former faculty/staff members. This list includes notices received March 1 to Aug. 31, 2022.

1940s

Clayton C. O’Mary (43C) of Winfield, Ala., April 22, 2022

LaVonne Aspinwall Childers (47c) of Suwanee, Ga., Aug. 1, 2021

Janie Dove Thornton (47C) of Sandy Springs, Ga., March 3, 2022

John Louis Westbrook (47c) of Buford, Ga., May 21, 2022

Marie Benson-Lyon (48C) of Alpharetta, Ga., March 16, 2022

1950s

Barbara Sheppard Davis (50c) of Charlotte, N.C., March 9, 2022

Wilbur O. Maney (50C) of Jonesboro, Ga., July 26, 2022

Earl W. Spooner Jr. (50H) of Winterville, N.C., Nov. 28, 2021

Linnie Lane Gibson (51C) of Albany, Ga., April 13, 2022

Richard F. Dennis (52c) of Franklin, Ga., May 6, 2022

Charles Howard Elmore (52C) of Millen, Ga., Aug. 25, 2021

Mildred Bedenbaugh Franks (52C) of Grayson, Ga., Nov. 6, 2021

Herschel Burch (53c) of Hoschton, Ga., April 22, 2022

Frank Adams (54H, 58C) of Rome, March 2, 2022

Grace Mitchell Stinson (54C) of Pensacola, Fla., April 21, 2022

Frederick Wayne Wagnon (54C) of Decatur, Ala., Aug. 27, 2022

Billy G. Waters (54C) of Rome, June 17, 2022

Annette Bryant O’Neal (55H) of Valdosta, Ga., Feb. 13, 2021

Roger W. Dean (56C) of Marietta, Ga., June 1, 2022

Elouise Conaway Jerome (56c) of Prior Lake, Minn., Nov. 15, 2020

Harold D. Sowell (56H) of Greensboro, Ga., March 7, 2022

Jeanne Hourigan Burch (57c) of Lancaster, S.C., April 25, 2022

Doris Reynolds Chapman (57C) of Dalton, Ga., April 20, 2022

Edd Larry Eidson (57c) of Johns Creek, Ga., Aug. 7, 2022

Ellen May Partridge (57C) of LaGrange, Ga., Aug. 20, 2022

Rayford Hill Boyett (58C) of Climax, Ga., April 26, 2022

Yvonne Barker Hughes (58C) of Union Hall, Va., May 8, 2022

James Herndon Martin (58C) of Chesapeake, Va., Aug. 7, 2022

Herman J. Allred (59H) of Rome, March 30, 2022

Hollis E. Patterson (59c) of Calhoun, Ga., July 22, 2022

1960s

Adriane Downs Griggs (60c) of Reynolds, Ga., May 27, 2022

Mary Sue Garner Hill (61C) of Ocala, Fla., March 27, 2022

Samuel H. Weeks (62C) of Randleman, N.C., April 7, 2022

Joe M. Byars (63H) of LaGrange, Ga., July 23, 2021

William “Gary” Mantooth (63c) of Old Fort, Tenn., Aug. 24, 2022

Edison Lee Jr. (64C) of Gainesville, Ga., July 22, 2022

Harriet Keckley Terry (64C) of San Luis Obispo, Calif., Feb. 14, 2022

Charles William Chandler Sr. (65A) of Morristown, Tenn., Jan. 8, 2022

Wendell Lamar Cook (65C, 76G) of Huntsville, Ala., July 15, 2022

Ronald Eugene Dayhoff (65C) of Dahlonega, Ga., Aug. 8, 2022

John Bryant Jordin (65A) of Smyrna, Ga., April 17, 2022

Sidney Paul Sutton Jr. (65C) of Reidsville, N.C., March 14, 2022

Doug W. Scott (66C) of Cumming, Ga., June 15, 2022

Beatrice Irene Gunter Hawley (67C) of Aiken, S.C., Dec. 22, 2021

Ann Saywell Spears (67C) of Rome, June 29, 2022

Richard L. Crawford (68C) of Rocky Face, Ga., May 16, 2022

Kay Shearin Lindley (68C) of Herndon, N.C., Jan. 13, 2022

James L. Register (69C) of Poquonock, Conn., May 12, 2022

1970s

Veronica Moore Longwith (70C) of McDonald, Texas, Dec. 28, 2021

Elaine Winsett Siegel (70c) of Rome, May 18, 2022

Benjamin L. Treadway (70C) of Roswell, Ga., March 16, 2022

Linda Stamper Mros (73C) of Aragon, Ga., Feb. 21, 2022

Eleanor Strickland (73c) of Douglasville, Ga., July 29, 2022

James Donald Tate (77c) of Seattle, Aug. 15, 2022

Dewey E. Mann (78C) of Chattanooga, Tenn., July 12, 2022

Terri Dean Chastain (79C) of Belle Isle, Fla., Aug. 4, 2022

Elizabeth Thomas Delesante (79c) of Brainerd, Minn., March 23, 2022

1980s

Former Faculty and Staff

Timothy Biggart of Greensboro, N.C., Sept 13, 2022

Don Jones of Hendersonville, N.C., Aug. 24, 2022

William Hudson of Rome, March 21, 2022

Larry J. Taylor of Nashville, Tenn., April 21, 2022

In memoriam

The Berry community mourns the deaths of two emeritus trustees whose leadership helped advance the mission of the college to the benefit of current and future students.

James

Laura

1990s

Charles Thomas Luna (93C) of Tullahoma, Tenn., April 14, 2022

Arnisa Lola George (95C) of Fayetteville, Ga., March 17, 2022

David A. Preston (96C, FFS) of Columbus, Ga, July 8, 2022

Lillian Joyce Swendsen (98G) of Salt Springs, Fla., Feb. 7, 2022

Chester W. Diercks of Roswell, Ga., died Dec. 4, 2021. He served Berry as a trustee from 1992 to 1997, in addition to nine years on the Board of Visitors. The retired president and CEO of Utility Power Corp. and Siemens-Allis Inc. was generous in his support of Berry students, endowing a scholarship for animal science majors in memory of his first wife, Marie, that has been awarded more than 100 times to date.

Roxanne H. Spillett of Decatur, Ga., passed away April 10, 2022. A Berry trustee from 2014 to 2021, she made history as the first female president and CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (1995 to 2012). In that role, she advocated for educational opportunities benefitting deserving students from disadvantaged backgrounds, experience that would serve Berry well during her subsequent tenure as a trustee.

Curtis Gibbons Sr. (81C) of Rome, June 5, 2022

Dent Morgan (86C, 89G) of Cartersville, Ga., April 26, 2022

Cardie McClure (17C) has been named to the Board of Directors for the Rome Shakespeare Festival.

Allison Moore (17C, FS) has returned to Berry as director of community engagement and education for Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum, working to attract new visitors and expand K-12 offerings for students and teachers, in addition to overseeing the college’s Senior Scholars Program. She holds a master’s degree in museology from the University of Washington.

record-holder in women’s steeplechase while at Berry, Danielle is now an assistant coach for cross country and track at the University of Alaska Anchorage, where she lives with husband Dillon Patterson (16C)

Madison last May with a Ph.D. in astrochemistry. He now serves as lecturer of chemistry at Georgia’s Clayton State University.

Mexico City and El Salvador to visit friends, and taking conversational Spanish classes in preparation for the school year.

Sarah O’Carroll (17C) has earned a master’s degree in political science from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany – State University of New York.

Emily Roberts (17C) has started a new job as manager of museum experience for the High Museum of Art in Atlanta after completing a master’s degree in arts administration from the Savannah College of Art and Design. While in graduate school, she was operations manager at the SCAD FASH Museum for Fashion + Film, also in Atlanta. Emily started her career as a student working at Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum.

Abby Mason Carnill (18C) and husband Zac Carnill (16C) welcomed first child Ande on Aug. 30, 2021. The family lives in Quito, Ecuador.

Jake Hager (18C) is the new development director for Northwest Georgia Hunger Ministries. The Berry Bonner Scholar previously served as director of the South Rome Alliance and in various roles for the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

Gabrielle Marquez (18C, FS) is coordinator of student ministries in the Berry chaplain’s office. She previously spent three years working with the WinShape College Program and one as an admission counselor for Berry. Gabrielle is currently working toward a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Richmont Graduate University.

Danielle Ferro Patterson (17C), pictured far left, has earned a Master of Science degree in coaching from Adams State University. A national qualifier in cross country and school

Krista Zalewski Williams (17C) earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Kennesaw State University last August.

Tori Farrelly (18C) and Trevor Lusk (18C) were married on Sept. 26, 2021, in Laporte, Colo., surrounded by family and friends. Trevor teaches in Fort Collins, and Tori is working toward a master’s degree in elementary education. They enjoy fishing, hiking and biking whenever they get the chance.

Dr. Khari Nickoli Harrison (18C) has started her veterinary career in Oxford, Miss., after graduating from the Mississippi State College of Veterinary Medicine. She is pictured with husband Dean.

Seth Read (18C) is teaching English as a Second Language at Mentora College and Bay Atlantic University in Washington, D.C. Upon securing the full-time position last spring, he expressed appreciation to Dr. Julia Barnes (FS) for his deeply impactful and perspective-shaping experience in Berry’s ESL program.

Dr. Connor Wright (17C) successfully defended his dissertation and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-

Bella Fornuto (18C) is working as a school psychologist at a bilingual elementary school in Denver after earning a master’s and educational specialist degree in school psychology from Georgia State University. The Berry psychology and Spanish alumna spent last summer camping in Colorado and Wyoming, traveling to

Lucy Kirby (18C) and Matthew Heckman were married during an intimate ceremony in Essex, Mass., on April 30, 2022. The couple resides in New Hampshire with their four cats.

Lauren Richardson (18C) has accepted a new position as academic advisor at Atlanta’s Oglethorpe University – part of that institution’s transition to a staff-driven advisory model. The daughter of Drs. Randy (FFS)

Matthew McConnell (21C)

and Kathy (FFS) Richardson said “working at a small, liberal arts institution feels natural after growing up at Berry from birth through college.” She added that it is fulfilling to be assisting students during such a “pivotal, exciting time in their lives.”

Caleb Brezina (19C) married Katherine Marie Hamilton in Ames, Iowa, on March 12, 2022. The fourth-year veterinary students at Iowa State University look forward to a life filled with love and laughter.

Devon Powers (19C) is working on Capitol Hill in the office of Idaho Sen. James Risch after graduating from American University’s School of International Service with a master’s degree in international relations and affairs.

Shannon Davis Kirschner (20C) and Zach Kirschner (21C) were married in Shannon’s hometown of Austin, Texas, on June 10, 2022, with fellow Vikings in attendance.

Dec. 18, 2021, with a reception following at Ford Dining Hall. The wedding party included Cory Johnson (19C), Jake Birdsong (20C), Oakleigh Reeves-Page (21C), Faythe Choate Isherwood (21C), Anna Rumore (22C) and Kendall Scott (21C). Hollie is a registered nurse in the neuro intensive care unit at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., while Bailey is completing rotations at Grandview Medical Center as a third-year medical student at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) at Auburn University.

Ashley Rutkowski (18C) has completed Master of Fine Arts and Master of Arts Administration degrees from Ohio University.

Cori Carmony (19C) graduated from Boston’s Suffolk University Law School last May with an eye toward a career in education law. She is the daughter of Brian (93C) and Connie Hendricks (92C) Carmony

w Genna Telschow (19C), left, has earned an “en route” Master of Arts degree in human factors and cognitive psychology from the University of Central Florida while working toward a Ph.D.

Kacy Jones Trueman (20C) married Ransom Trueman on Dec. 18, 2021, in Thomasville, Ga. Miranda Smith (20C) and Heitor De Paula (20C) were in the wedding party.

The Rev. Payton Stone (18C) has been appointed associate pastor of Mulberry Street United Methodist Church in Macon, Ga., after completing a Master of Divinity degree at Duke University. Wife Mallory Paulk Stone (18C) is now curator of earth sciences at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon.

Kimberly Resendiz Chavez (19C) has completed a Master of Arts in Teaching degree in special education from the University of Georgia and earned certifications as a special education teacher and boardcertified behavior analyst. Next up is UGA’s Ph.D. program in educational psychology.

2020s

Katie Malcolm Carter (20C) is leveraging her Berry education degree as community moderator at Incident IQ, a software company supporting K-12 classrooms.

Alana George (21C) earned “Brand Champion” recognition last June for her work as content manager at EW Motion Therapy. She credits “all I learned at Berry” for aiding in her professional growth.

Julia Lester (22C) is putting her Berry music education degree to work as chorus director at Callaway Middle School in LaGrange, Ga.

Rose Wall (22C, FS) is “excited to give back to my school” in her role as print and production specialist for Berry’s advancement marketing operations and services team. She graduated last spring with an honors degree in communication.

Alex Beato (19C) is practicing complex litigation for a national firm after graduating summa cum laude from Georgia State University College of Law last May.

Camille Hanner (20C) has started a new career path at BlackRock in Atlanta, working for the Alternatives Client Platform with Private Equity Partners and BlackRock Alternative Advisors.

Hollie Bennett Lawson (22C) and Bailey Lawson (20C) were married at Frost Chapel on

2021-22

Each year, alumni and friends amaze us with their enduring love of Berry and powerful desire to help hardworking students. Together, they ensure that this place remains a source of opportunity, just as Martha Berry intended.

For that reason, we are pleased to honor the college’s annual leadership supporters as members of a special group bearing the name of our beloved founder. On these pages, we gratefully

Inman and Tricia Allen

Betty Anne Rouse Bell (52H, 56C)

Randy and Nancy Berry

Stephen and Brenda Briggs Vaughn and Nancy Bryson

James Burton

Dan and Rhonda Cathy Al (61c) and Becky Browning (61C) Christopher

Young Chun-Strickland

Larry (69C) and Nadine NeSmith (71c) Covington Jimmy Davis (69C)

Ron (56H) and Robbie Barber (56H) Edwards Lamar (66A) and Patricia Fletcher Rick (77c) and Debra Bourne (76C) Gilbert Lou Brown Jewell

Mark (82C) and Judy Howard (82C) Keappler John (54H) and Debra Lie-Nielsen Roger (79C) and Candy Caudill (82c) Lusby Wanda Riggs Mack Phil (68C) and Charlotte Lee (71C) Malone

acknowledge the 2021-22 Martha Berry Society, consisting of those who made cash gifts or pledge payments of at least $1,000 (or equivalent for the Young Alumni Leadership Giving Circle) between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022.

Visit alwaysberry.com/MBS for information on membership and benefits at all levels. To learn more, contact Vice President of Advancement Cyndi Court at ccourt@berry.edu or 706-236-1713.

Buzz and Barbara Mote (61C) McCoy Jim Miller (53C)

Larry and Mary Montgomery Audrey B. Morgan

Mary Ann Riggs Neave (72C)

Sunny and Kay Park Jim and Lonnie Puhger Brent (88C) and Georgia Ragsdale John Roessler

Samuel and Fontaine McFerrin (71C) Souther Robert (04C) and Tessa Frye (07C) Swarthout Ronald and Martha Taylor Randy Tibbals (79C)

Carol and Ramon Tomé

Joe and Marti Walstad Mack (62C) and Wanda Hixson (62C) Weems Oliver Welch (52H) Buster (73C) and Janice Wright John Zellars

David (84C) and Kelly Asbury Jimmy (60C) and Luci Hill (60C) Bell

Patricia Blanton

Charlie Burdette (68C) and Lauren Abrams (74C) Sam Bulow (06C)

Brad and Kimberly Bushnell Leslie Choitz (76C)

John (04C) and Jackie Feit (05c) Coleman Glenn (62C) and Jena Cornell

Mike (92C) and Margaret Crego

Todd Crew (99C)

Toni Norris Dasher (91C)

Tommy Dopson (78C)

Charles (64A) and Jane Downey

Brian and Theresa Dulaney

Ed (57C) and Evelyn Quarles (57C) England

Russ Evans (56C)

Robynne Schmidt Ferguson (89C)

Stewart Fuqua (80A)

Will Gaines (93C) and Tara Ravi Bradford Gooch

Matt (02C) and Kelly Daly (03C) Grisham

Greg (82C) and Judy Cash (85C) Hanthorn

Peter (53H, 57C) and Emmaline Beard (55H, 58C) Henriksen

Marilyn Herring

Jeff (07C) and Amber Cole (08C) Jahn

Buford Jennings (58C)

Scott Markle (92C)

Amos Montgomery

Peter and Tamara Musser

Joe (65C) and Nelda Parrish (64C) Ragsdale

Jerry Shelton (58C)

Bill and Kay Stokely

Reg (51C) and Maxine Strickland

Denise Sumner (89C)

Mandy Tidwell (93C)

Art and Kelly Vanwingerden

Georgia Rivers Ward (60c)

Blaise and Sarah Warren

Steve (80C) and Cindy Snead (80C) Wherry Mary Wooton

“When I can no longer work for Berry, alumni and friends will continue the work.”

BRONZE

Martha Bently Abernathy (52c)

Pat Alderman

Brad Alexander (96C)

Dale Ash

Mark Aubel (81C)

Brian and Emily Beals Mark Beaver (97C)

Joe Bihlmier (91C)

Carol Buchanan Blair (56H, 58c)

Mary Boyd and John Quinn Andrew and Jennifer Rice (07G) Bressette Rob (83C) and Amber Brock Brian (97C) and Susan Wells (97C) Brodrick

Vivian Slappy Carney (61C)

Joyce Carper

David (95C) and Heather Taylor (97C) Cloud

Joe (88C) and Leanne Hand (87C) Cook

Doug and Cyndi Court

Angela Dickey (75A, 79C)

Calvin Doss (49C)

John Eadie (83C)

Charlie (86C) and Lori Elrod Cleone Elrod

Roger and Elaine Estill Glenn (71C) and Pam Priest (71C) Ferguson Ray (58C) and Judy Fewell

Todd (88C) and Amber Pruitt (89C) Grubbs

Jean Miller Hedden (52C)

Steve (10G) and Debbie Heida Howell Hollis

Jan Deen Howell (60C)

Mark and Sonia Ivey

Travis James (97C)

Norris Johnson (67C)

Allison Brock Jones (87C)

Betty Brown Madden (58C)

Owen (97C) and Tina Campbell (95C, 97G) Malcolm

Anonymous

Rick and Julie Ackerman

Kathy Adams

Tom (85C) and Kim Evans (84C) Adams W.J. and Crista Albertson

Sheila Allen

Stephen Aultman Jr. (00C)

Lynn Austin (77C)

Andrea Backlund

J.B. (78C) and Diane Brett (81c) Bader

Michael and Christell Bakken

Bill Bannister Jr. (56H)

Glen Barber (91C)

Richard Barley (49H)

George Barron

Frank Barron Jr.

Robert and Barbara Jean (78C, 82G) Bentley

Tom Berry

James and Mary Frances Bigelow

Tracey Biles (94C)

Billy Blanchard (93C)

Doug Bloch

Jane Jones Block (86C)

John Block

Anne Bonnyman

Araya Mesfin (98C)

Mark Moraitakis (91C)

Mary Nadassy Scott and Fay Neal Joy Jones Neal (83C)

Bettyann O’Neill and Ken Sicchitano Mary Page

Ed Parkerson (55C)

Bill (76C) and Janet Pence Mark Piecoro (90C)

Harry and Terri Pierce David (74C) and Katherine Powell

Lee Anne George and David Rapp

Tom and Eleanor Ratchford

Jason (94C) and Kelly McElroy (94C) Richardson

Frances Richey (83A, 87C)

Pete and Carol Snyder Roberts Barbara Robertson (79C) Earnest Rodgers (60C)

Doris Vaughn Rowland Beth Senn (72C)

Matt and Gwen Sirmans Don Slater (77C) and Debbie Poss (78C) Casey (00C) and Angela Smith

The late Ann Saywell Spears (67C) Margaret Steward Stanley (65C) and Lora Stubbs (65C) Tate Scott and Paige Thompson

Ron (61C) and Bernice Thornton

Billy (62H, 66C) and Marvalee Lord (65C) Townsend Shannan Tracy

Ray (69C) and Pamela Tucker

Jim (70C) and Barbara Van Meerten Freddie (94C) and Jennifer Helton (95C) Villacci

Bob Williams (62H) and Linda Petty Chuck (80C) and Regina Yarbrough

Alan Bowers (17c)

William and Pamela Boyd Bridget Boyette (88C)

Beth Williams Boykin (92C)

Sally Buchanan Bradshaw (85C)

Thomas and Wendy Brand

Alan Bridges (79C)

John (62C) and Geraldine Johnson (62C) Bridges

Ronnie Bridgman

Richard and Alice Bristow

James Brock (61c)

Kevin (99C) and Katy Moore (99C) Brodrick

Dennis and Trina Buce (82C) Brown

Joan Costley Brown (74C)

Perry Brown

Tim Brown (88C)

Jerry (66A) and Emily Bullock

Wallace and Wendy Burgoyne

Becky Burleigh

Randy and Deborah Butler

Rich and Diane Byers

Detty Caddell

Raiford Cantrell (66C)

Fred and Bonny Carr

Nick (17C) and Mary Grace Carr

Patrick Carroll

Butch (67C) and Connie Carter

Doug (83C) and Sabrina Vail (84C) Carter

Jerry (64C) and Sharon Thompson (66c) Cates

Harlan Chapman (58C)

Aaron (15C) and Lizzie Hendrix (15C) Chastain Beth Clark

Jean Etherton Clark (70C, 74G)

Paul (88G) and Shannon Clark

Randall (67C) and Margaret Cochran (68c) Clark

Thomas (10C, 13G) and Jacque Smith (10C) Clarke

Michael and Maureen Collins

Gavin Colquitt

Brian and Maria Connors

Michael (76C) and Milagros Contreras

John (60C) and Sandy Midkiff (60C) Cooper

Lewis Copeland (60C)

Russell Copeland

Bart Cox (92C)

Joe Crain (58C)

Celeste Creswell (93C)

Charles and Roxie Crosby

Ron Dean

John and Joan Delk

Tina Stancil DeNicole (85C)

Gina Griffeth Dickens (93C)

George Donigian (74C)

John Downs

Jimmie Dudley Jr. (72C)

Pamela Bowen Dunagan

C. Warren Dunn (77C)

Kay Davis Dunn (57C)

Kevin and Christy Dunn

Beth Collins Earnst (93C)

Andreas (97C) and Amy Fields (97C) Economopoulos

Susi Edwards

Joe (63C) and Shirley Bowen (63c) Elder

Leon Elder (54C)

Christopher and Rebecca English

William (69C) and Sally Schwartz (69C) Epps

Ruth Fay

Paul Ferguson Jeff (81C) and Carol Field

Stephen Finn

Jeanette Justice Fleming (72C)

Gary (77C) and Hermanett Pruitt (73C) Ford

Sam Forte (19C)

Bret and Elaine Foster

Bill Fox

Sammy (77C) and Holly Wood (73C) Freeman

Terry Frix (86C)

Dan and Ann Fukushima

Bobby Walker Fulmer (56C)

Nathan Gaby (20C)

Eddie Gammill (87C)

Kay Gardner

Loyd Gass (60C)

Bob (70C) and Mary Anne Fears (70C) Gaw

Mack (59C) and Liz Gay

Francy Jessup Geiger (78C)

Gail Howard Gibson (82C)

Dwight Glover (84C)

Ed and Gayle Graviett (67C) Gmyrek

Mark Graham (93C)

Terry and Molly Graham

Richard and Susan Green

Dottie Clark Gregg (69C)

Reid Grimes (76C)

Michelle Spiegel Groover (97C)

Larry Haire

Yondi Linker Hall (80C)

Randy and Nita Hardin

Jennifer Harris (93C)

Bert Harrison (11C) and Courtney Cooper (11C)

Joyce and Tim Heames Kelly and Tiffany Held

Jennifer Burdette Heller (81C)

George Hemstreet Deborah Hill

Mimi Hofstetter (07C)

Myrtle Beckworth Hogbin (65C)

Bill (67C) and Diane Harris (66c) Holden

Pat Barna Holland (69C)

Faye Lovinggood Hood (65C)

Jeffrey Horn (87C)

Jack and Karen Holley (74C) Horrell

Karen Akridge Houghton (01C)

Paul (82A) and Laura Howard

Tim Howard (82C)

Michael (02C) and Amanda Bradley (03C, 07G) Howell Charlie Hudson (62C)

Barbara Ballanger Hughes (71C)

Justin (06C) and Gabby Lester (06C) Hukill

Joey Hutchins (01C)

Denise Riedlinger Iglesias (95C)

Mark and Pat Tutterow (82C) Jackson

Rick (83C) and Jennifer Swinford (84C) Jackson Jerry Jennings

Gene Johnson (54C)

Janna Johnson (81C)

Jim (85C) and Jennifer Smith (85C) Johnson Ronald Johnson

Ty and Joy Padgett (73C) Johnson Walt Johnson (41H)

Melanie Green Jones (76G)

Peter Karmin

Grady (87C) and Kimberly Winkles (88C) Keith William Keith (56c)

Scott and Pamela Keller

Steve (63C) and Nancy Harkness (62C) Kelly Michael and Julia Kimple

Shane and Janet Kinsey

Josh Kivett

Robert (76C) and Katrina Deleski (76c) Knight Drew Landis (06C)

Tina Sue Ward Lane (52C)

Dennis (79C) and Jane Williams (80c) Latimer

Ashley Malone Levy (99C) Hart Levy (82C)

Andrea Lindgren (21C)

Terry (68C) and Charlene Head (67C) Lingerfelt

Lowell (60C) and Dee Hysinger (60C) Loadholtz

William and Mara Lockard

Judy Longshore (67C)

Ellen Free Lueck (73C)

Robbie Panter Luedke (63C)

Latha Coleman Maine (59C)

Van (70C) and Sara Malone

Michael Maney (98C)

Riley Mangum (61H)

Craig and Patricia Marijanich Ernest and Amy Marquart

John and Myrtle Marshall

Joel Martens Jr. (86C)

David Martin

Wesley (63C) and Ruth King (65C) Martin

Rufus (75C) and Mary Anne Schimmelmann (75c) Massey

Stanley and Michelle Maxey

Kris Mayo (94C)

Lee and Christin McDaniel

Mack and Sandy Koedyker (67C) McDaniel

Valerie Scott McFry (90C)

Gavin McGinnis

Karen McGrath

Shawn McIntire (03C)

Joseph McMahon

Gene (65C) and Sandra Dickerson (65C) McNease

Larry (60C) and Clara Hall (60C) McRae

Matt (99C) and Heather Harper (04C) Medley

William and Janette Melson

Gail Miller

Blaine and Sara Ellen Minor

Kermit (55C) and Joyce Burch (57c) Mock

Robert Moore

Emily Hoppman Moothart (89C)

Gregg and Angela Morgan

John and Missy Morgan

Jeff (95C) and Paula Huggins (93C) Morris

Charles Mosby

Jim Mros (72C)

John and Paula Muina

George Narwold

Justin (02C) and Lindsey Hutcherson (04C) Neal

Constance Peterson Newby (82C)

David Nicholson (84C)

Mary Finley Niedrach (75A, 97G)

Chad and Lauren Norwood

Julie Patrick Nunnelly (88C, 00G)

Beau Nygaard (93C)

Charlie (77C) and Ann Lingo (76C) O’Mahoney

Larry O’Neil

Sean and Stephanie O’Rourke

Larry (63C) and Kathy Osborn

Mary Outlaw

Elaine Overman (61c)

Melton Palmer Jr. (64C)

Kelleigh Payne (09C)

Derrick (06C) and Lindsay Williams (06C) Perkins

Linda Petty

Kevin and Melissa Phillips

Knox Pitts (56H)

Robert Plourde

Chad and Karen Poist

Tim (88C) and Niki Markham (88C) Pollock Neal Pope

Bob Prince and Michaele Flynn (93C, 07G)

Robert and Christine Dodd (70C) Puckett

Teresa Smith Puckett (75A, 92C)

Jonathan (85C) and Crystal Purser

Matt Ragan (98C) and Shelly Driskell-Ragan (96C)

Dan Randall

Luke and Ronna Rapach

Jim and Nancy Rhoades

Jane Fisher Richard (78C)

Steve (85C) and Kristen Riley

Jack Riner (65C)

Henry and Margaret Ritchie

Alison Lounsbury Ritter (94C)

Tony Rivers (78C)

Meredith Lewallen Roberts (07C)

Glynelle Cook Rowland (68C) W.C. (60C) and Sylvia Davis (60C) Rowland Charles Russell

Scott and Rosie Hoagland (78C) Russell

Tracy Boswell Saless (90C)

Marlene Schneider (49H)

Larry (55C) and Dixie Schoolar Tom Schuette (77C)

James Scoggins (52C)

Charles and Sandra Sexton John (64A, 69C) and Jo Shahan Gary Sheffield

Jean Mitchell Sheffield (54C)

Thomas Shipman

Deborah Barber Shores (04C) George and Rosalind Simpson Tom and Barbara Slocum Chad and Melissa Smith

The late Gary Smith

Marvin and Beverly Philpot (69C) Smith

Peggy Dalton Smith (67C)

Daniel Spangler

Laky (84C, 87G) and Kay Hurst (85C) Spas

Tom Spector (74A)

Judy Sperry (79C)

Ross (05C) and Katy Spinks Bernie Spooner (53H)

Daniel Sprinkle (00C) and Rita Chen

Andrea Boyd Stanley (67C)

Carolyn Stanton (80C) Brad and Kelly Stephens John and Janey Sterchi Kendall Stewart (72C) Richard and Jennifer Stiles Roy Stuart (57C) Keith (89C, 02G) and Amy Brock (92C, 97G) Summerlin Lem (63C) and Gayle Miller (64C) Sumner

Roger (53H) and Neomia Sundy Darrell Sutton (00C)

Jason (88C) and Melinda Mitchell (90C) Sweatt

Harold Tarpley

Tim and Sue Tarpley John and Kelly Tate

Betty Jane Taylor

Marcia Parker Taylor (91C)

Van (76C) and Katherine Winfrey (76C) Teague Jacque Terrill (65C)

Al Terry (63C)

Scot and Beth Molloy (94C) Teverino Fred Tharpe (68A)

Janet Thomas (80C) Michael (87C) and Elizabeth Thompson Mark (05C) and Rebecca Porter (05C) Thornsberry Bill (68C) and Avis Cordle (57C) Thornton

William and Mildred Campbell (61C) Tietjen Earl (52H) and Carolyn Tillman

Jack Timberlake

Joel and Lynn Todino

Leila Edgerton Trismen John (81C) and Sherry Furr (81C) Tucker

Sam Turner (66C) Seth Turner (06C)

Charlie Underwood (53H, 57C) G.H. (53C) and Jean Junkins (61c) Underwood

BRONZE

$1,000 - $4,999

Steve Vaughn

Pete (60C) and Janelle Brumbelow (56H, 60C) Vincent Mike (14C) and Chrissy Ricketts (15C) Voso

Rob Voutila (09C)

Christine Walker

Tim (71C) and Joan Kisselburg (73C) Warrick Lamar and Dorenda Weaver

Larry (63C) and Pat Webb

Jane Weise

Lenard and Bernice Ogle (53H) Whaley Sidney (60C) and Nancy Harris (61C) Wheeler Whit (81C) and Maria Crego (85c) Whitaker Danielle Dorling White (97C)

Mark White (76A, 80C)

Shari and Courtney White Mark (96C) and Deanna Whitfield

YOUNG ALUMNI LEADERSHIP GIVING CIRCLE

This distinction honors recent graduates who aren’t waiting to make a difference in the lives of Berry students. There are three levels of giving, based on age and life stage, all equivalent to that of a $1,000 annual donor:

LEVELS

$100 annually for alumni 1-5 years out $250 annually for alumni 6-8 years out $500 annually for alumni 9-10 years out

Many young alumni choose to make smaller contributions monthly or quarterly, enabling them to support students in a budget-friendly way. Visit alwaysberry.com/mbs/ young-alumni to learn more.

Anonymous

Momo Abdellatif (19C)

Shanice Amos (22C)

Selena Angle (22C)

Drew Barbaree (20C)

Alexi Bell (19C)

Amy Borton (21C)

Shakarah Boswell (16C, 22G)

Alan Bowers (17c)

Kelsee Brady (22C)

Josh Bullock (17C)

Tyler Calvert (20C, 21G)

Nick (17C) and Mary Grace Carr

Jack (15C) and Lydia Miller (15C) Chase

Aaron (15C) and Lizzie Hendrix (15C) Chastain

Faythe Choate Isherwood (21C)

Kara Clark (15C)

Riley Clark (22C)

Shannon Collins (21C)

Marie Collop (17C)

Alex Dalton (22C)

Brandon (14C) and Charlotte Collins (14C) Davis Ashley DeMinico (22C)

Sydney Edelen (22C)

Helaina Epps (22C)

Maggie Stansell Farmer (17C)

Johannes Fiedler (22C)

Sam Forte (19C)

Nathan Gaby (20C)

Jess Gross (17C)

Hannah Gurniewicz (18C)

Cassie Hale (14C)

Kyle (16C) and Rachel Dorris (16C) Harris Kalene Heilesen (22C)

Seth (22C) and Jorie Hodapp (20C, 22G) Jolly Brittni Hoover (19C)

Chris (14C) and Kimberly Bagnell (14C) Human Dale Jackson (17C)

Stephanie Jacob (22C)

Peter Jacobson (22C)

Stephen Jenkins (15C)

Emily Keller (22C)

Michael Klein (15C)

M. Catherine Wilber

Sue Wilder (85C)

James (95C) and Carrie Travers (99C) Willard Jim (64C) and Charlotte Ray (64C) Williams Seymour and Michelle Williams Wade (84C) and Wendy Grace (90G) Williams Bill Wilson

Frank Windham (57c)

Kay Wingo

Jerry (56H, 60c) and Louise Conaway (57C) Winton David (68A, 72C) and Alta Breeden (70C) Wood

Richard Woolbright (80C)

Terry (78C) and Kathy Worley Earl (52C) and Esther Worthington Koji (65C) and Reba Nichols (67C) Yoda

Heather Kobeck (22C) Andrea Lindgren (21C) Cam Mallett (20C) Alexa Medor (22C) Joe Miller (22C) Noah and Maddie Jordan (19C, 21G) Miller Trey Newton (17C) Ree Palmer Easton (16C) Sunday and Funmi (18C) Peters Elizabeth Ragland Phipps (18C) Nate Phipps (19C)

Grettie Reifenberger (22C) Haley Edmondson Richards (19C) Leanna Ritchie (22C) Isabelle Rousseau (22C) Emily Saunders (22C) Noah Shever (22C) Amber Slyter (14C) Mary Chambers Smith (14C) Alyssa Stevens (22C) Anthony Studstill (22C) Halle Teague (22C) Grace Titley (22C) Emily Treon (22C) Graham Troiani (22C) Anna Van Kley (22C) Sarah Vest (22C) Colleen Visser (22C) Mike (14C) and Chrissy Ricketts (15C) Voso Graham (18C) and Joanna Logan (18C) Wall Rose Wall (22C)

Quincy Watford (18C) Sydney Kate Watson (22C) Sydney Weaver (17C, 19G) Jake Weitkamp (22C) Casey Whitaker (19C) Savanna Wilkes (22C) Amberlee Williams (20C) Cate Williams (19C)

Alex Willoughby (12C) and Sydney Hulebak (14C) Kyle (13C) and Julie Zimmerman (14C) Wilson Logan (15C) and Abbie Smith (17C) Yerbey

Empowerment

By Amani Pyron

Berry was an easy choice for Caroline Lanier, offering an “unparalleled” community and a campus that “feels like home.”

The route through college was less clear, but the Marietta, Georgia, native soon found direction, thanks in part to a transformational learning experience her freshman year, coupled with a student work placement that proved to be “just the right fit.” Now a few months shy of graduation, the senior economics major boasts an impressive resume with experience at several nonprofits –including the Carter Center – and a vision for how she can leverage her passion for helping others in meaningful ways.

Key to her journey were lessons learned in The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, an introductorylevel honors course taught by Professor of Economics Lauren Heller that provided “great insight into the importance of sustainable change-

she currently serves as student engagement coordinator.

“My supervisors and mentors in CPPD were crucial in helping me land my internships,” Lanier praised. “They encouraged me to apply to places and positions that seemed out of reach.”

She landed her first internship with Make-AWish Georgia, where she enjoyed the “fun and engaging” culture while supporting fundraising efforts for an organization dedicated to providing hope to children facing serious illness.

Her work, which included creation of grant applications and other donor-centric communi-

and want other women to have the choice for themselves to pursue an education, a career, motherhood, etc.,” she emphasized.

Work alongside A Teen’s Choice founder Ciara McKnight proved both inspirational and insightful, resulting in a “growth-filled” experience providing an up-close view of “what it looks like to found and run your own nonprofit.”

All these experiences offered valuable lessons in the practical application of business principles and economics that Lanier now is drawing upon for her Berry honors thesis, which focuses on women’s empowerment in developing nations by

making and global responsibility.” This started Lanier down the path of a major in economics, which offered a new lens for viewing the world.

“Economics has taught me the importance of sustainable, long-term visions for bringing about change,” she explained. “Short-term fixes, like food or shelter, are great starts, but real change happens through long-term solutions like education, creative partnerships and empowerment.”

Inspired to pursue opportunities in the nonprofit sphere, Lanier received support and encouragement through her work in Berry’s Center for Personal and Professional Development (an on-campus career-building resource), where

cations, helped familiarize Lanier with nonprofit structure and prepared her for her next role at the Carter Center. There, she continued her work in fundraising, conducting donor research and assisting in the creation of articles and briefings for organizational leaders meeting with the Gates Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development, among others.

Concurrently, she interned part-time with A Teen’s Choice, a local nonprofit seeking to empower young women in Rome. This mission was of particular interest to Lanier, who earlier in life had been profoundly influenced by the difficulties faced by women she had encountered while serving abroad.

“As a woman pursuing an education and career myself, I see the value of my own empowerment

looking at how mothers with very young children invest money received through a government cash transfer system.

Following graduation, she looks forward to putting her Berry-earned education and experiences to work locally and then beyond, perhaps one day starting her own nonprofit focusing on women’s empowerment or health.

Regardless of her eventual destination, Lanier is confident in her preparation, concluding, “Berry has provided a great start for me along this exciting journey ahead.”

Editor’s note: This story was written by student Amani Pyron, who has worked as an assistant writer and editor in Berry’s Office of Digital Marketing and Communications.

— Caroline Lanier

Photos by Brant Sanderlin

Caroline Lanier, seated above, is seen working with mentor Ciara McKnight at A Teen’s Choice in Rome and, below, networking at a Viking Connections event.

BERRY Magazine

P.O. Box 495018

Mount Berry, GA 30149-5018

That’s a good boy!

Sure, Berry has deer and eagles. But you can’t pet them. Not so with Bailey the golden retriever and other stars of the “Peers and Puppies” event hosted last fall by the Center for Personal and Professional Development.

(Photo by student Rette Solomon)