MOE Winter 2019 by University Communications

I AM ELON BY KIM WALKER

After announcing games at his Greensboro, North Carolina, high school, Kenneth Brown Jr. came to Elon excited to pursue a career in communications. But after just one semester, he realized what he really wanted to do was help others. “Since ‘helping people’ wasn’t a major, human service studies was the closest option,” Kenneth jokes. He will receive his degree this spring, having helped the Elon community in many ways: serving as student body president, planning events for the Black Student Union and adding his voice to the cheering Phoenix Phanatics at athletic events. Elon was the only university Kenneth wanted to attend, and the Odyssey Program, a merit- and needbased scholarship program, made it a reality. The oldest of eight, he took note when people helped his family through difficult times, and it made a deep impression. “People are kind, and people can help each other. I understand that my life is bigger than just what I want to do, and it’s not always about me. I want to help us be a better society,” he says.

Kenneth has served as his class’ student body president for three of his four years, skipping last year to spend a semester studying in Scotland. Now the executive president of the Student Government Association’s executive council, he says, “I see student government as a sports team, and I’m the head coach. I work with everyone to create strategies to help us win.” Kenneth, a ubiquitous presence around campus, loves connecting with people: meeting the students he represents, participating in panels or just listening to the concerns of folks he runs into. “In my role, I’m the face of the student body, and people know me. It’s the best part.” Kenneth says his friends would describe him as kind and enthusiastic, a good listener and adviser. Those attributes should serve him well as he pursues working in higher education, possibly even as a university president, after graduation. “I want to do my part to help students with a background like mine come to places like Elon and thrive.” Kenneth is Elon. Visit elon.edu/magazine to see more stories that are part of our “I Am Elon” series.

CONTENTS The Magazine of Elon | winter 2019

FROM THE ARCHIVES

MORE THAN A STOP BY OLIVER FLETCHER ’20

Once a bustling train station, Mill Point depot played an important role in Elon’s history.

COVER STORY

THROUGH THE GLASS CEILING BY ALEXA BOSCHINI ’10

Despite challenges, more women are making their mark in leadership roles at Elon and beyond.

24 A STEPPING STONE BY OWEN COVINGTON

Serendipity in the lab leads to life-saving discoveries for Professor Emeritus of Chemistry Gene Grimley.

26 UNDER THE SEA BY ROSELEE PAPANDREA TAYLOR

Her passion for marine life has led Mariana Kneppers ’18 to live outside her comfort zone.

30 A SISTER’S LOVE BY ERIC TOWNSEND

Knowing she will be the guardian for her older sibling has profoundly influenced the choices of Emily Benson Chatzky ’15 L’19. 2 Under the Oaks 11 Long Live Elon 14 Phoenix Sports ON THE COVER

34 Point of View 35 Alumni Action 39 Class Notes

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT:

lisa keegan, Assistant Vice President and Dean of Undergraduate Admissions; lauryn adams ’22, Student Government Association First-Year Class President; jo watts williams ’55, Vice President Emerita; gabie smith, Dean of Elon College, The College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Psychology

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▶ from the PRESIDENT

ELON EDUCATION =

POWER SKILLS

D facebook.com/ElonConnieBook

twitter.com/ElonConnieBook

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uring a recent strategic planning retreat, we discussed a challenge by technology leader Lila Ibrahim, chief operating officer of DeepMind, related to the phrase “soft skills.” Soft skills are typically associated with a person’s emotional intelligence and describe characteristics like a person’s ability to communicate well, work with people from different disciplines and backgrounds and having the curiosity to engage in new thinking. In a compelling essay, Ibrahim argued that what we call “soft skills” are really the “power skills” from which leaders are born. At Elon, we couldn’t agree more. Leveraging a broad education in the arts and sciences, no matter the declared major, our graduates have the power skills and are the leaders who can work with a team to critically consider a challenge and offer creative solutions that engage multiple disciplines. One of the privileges of working at Elon is that we have relationships with our students and witness the transformation of a student from first-year to graduation. During those four years of engaged and experiential learning in classrooms, student employment, leadership roles in organizations and then tackling the world in internships and study abroad or study USA, the power skills are formed. After graduation, as I visit with our alumni and as you read in the pages of the Magazine of Elon, those power skills take Elon graduates on journeys of leadership throughout their lives and around the globe. This is true even when those power skills are formed through unplanned circumstances, such as those detailed by Daniel Hulseapple ’70 in his column on the unexpected value of being a procrastinator (see page 34). This concept of power skills and the power of a broadly educated student were on my mind when I recently listened to senior Judah Brown perform an essay he had written titled “Foundation.”

{ Judah Brown ’19 }

An Honors Fellow majoring in Economics from Charlotte, North Carolina, he described his journey of learning as “Sometimes you learn by seeing; sometimes you learn by doing. Sometimes you learn from choosing; sometimes you learn from losing.” Judah’s story is one of rising leadership at Elon, developing power skills, from the moment he stepped on campus—from engaging in our rigorous Honors program curriculum, serving as resident assistant in our residence halls and apartments on campus, to providing organizational leadership as vice president of finances in the Elon Black Student Union and as a student coordinator for the Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education. His growth as a leader will continue after he graduates in May and begins his career as an internal audit analyst at AIG. At any stage of our lives and careers, we can develop our own power skills by learning something new by seeing, doing, choosing or, in fact, losing, as Judah so eloquently wrote. As an institution, Elon can also learn through this same process. This is especially true for us as we enter the final year of the Elon Commitment strategic plan and

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embark on conceptualizing a new long-range plan that envisions the Elon of 2030. Our culture of inclusive strategic planning is Elon’s power skill and has led to decades of success because we believe that an essential feature of successful planning is to create opportunities for many voices to contribute their own aspirations for the future of the university. I am confident that a process that synthesizes the ideas of our entire community will result in a compelling and forward-thinking strategic plan. Please take this opportunity to use your power skills and share your insights about what you hope for the future of Elon—what’s worth doing, choosing or losing—as we work to strategically plan the next decade at Elon and focus on what’s ahead. We know that together our power skills, developed through Elon’s mission of transforming the mind, body and spirit, will chart a powerful course for our future.

{ Susan Klopman, center, cutting a ribbon at the newly named graduate admissions suite with President Connie Ledoux Book and Greg Zaiser, vice president for enrollment. }

HONORING A VISION

Connie Ledoux Book PRESIDENT

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Please get involved and help create our community’s shared vision for Elon’s next decade.

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lon recognized Vice President Emerita Susan C. Klopman in November, naming the graduate admissions suite in the Inman Admissions Welcome Center in her honor. Klopman served 27 years at the university, including positions in admissions, publications, development and the president’s office. Klopman led all of Elon’s undergraduate and graduate enrollment, financial aid and admissions marketing operations prior to her retirement in 2012. She joined Elon in 1985 as assistant director for publications and public relations, and later was director of foundation and corporate relations in the university development office. She began serving as assistant to President J. Fred Young and the board of trustees in 1993 and then joined admissions as assistant dean in 1996. Under her guidance from 2000 to 2010, Elon’s annual applications for admission grew from 5,600 to more than 9,000, with the size of its first-year class increasing from 1,140 to 1,400. Elon added graduate programs in physical therapy and physician assistant studies while expanding efforts to recruit international students. For all she has done for Elon, Klopman was awarded the Elon Medallion, the university’s highest honor, in 2013. During the Nov. 26 naming event, President Connie Ledoux Book described Klopman as a “true architect of contemporary Elon,” noting that “the work of admissions and our financial planning teams are critically important to Elon’s success.” Klopman moved her team forward “with tenacity and a vision of making Elon stronger and better,” Book said. Joined by her four grandchildren, Klopman offered thanks for those who helped her along the way and contributed to her remarkable career at Elon while heaping praise on the work of past and present admissions and financial aid staff. “I love Elon deeply because of each of you and our work together,” she said. “What an exceptional group of individuals to work with.”

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Keren Rivas ’04

Coach Trisciani: ‘I’ve been preparing for this my whole life’

DESIGNERS

Garry Graham Bob Nutt Billie Wagner PHOTOGRAPHY

Andrew Krech ’13 Kim Walker E D I T O R I A L S TA F F

Alexa Boschini ’10 Owen Covington Roselee Papandrea Taylor CONTRIBUTORS

Belk Library Archives and Special Collections Oliver Fischer ’20 Noah Zaiser ’20 Leila Jackson ’22 V I C E P R E S I D E N T, U N I V E R S I T Y C O M M U N I C AT I O N S

Daniel J. Anderson EDITORIAL OFFICES

The Magazine of Elon 2030 Campus Box Elon, NC 27244-2020 (336) 278-7415 elon.edu/magazine

ooking to build upon its recent success on the gridiron, Elon University selected Tony Trisciani as its new head football coach in December. He follows Curt Cignetti, who resigned after two seasons to accept a head coaching position at conference rival James Madison University. Trisciani has served as Elon’s defensive coordinator for the past two seasons. His selection promises continuity in a program that has garnered top-10 rankings and made FCS playoff appearances during the past two years. “I am so proud to be the head football coach at Elon University,” Trisciani told a room crowded with fans and news media. “During my tenure, I have watched our players and staff fully commit to a culture of excellence. I am excited and eager to finish

what we’ve started together. “I’ve been preparing for this my whole life. This is the right job, and the right time. ... Today is by far the greatest day of my football career.” Trisciani brings to the top post 23 years of coaching experience, with 13 of those at Colonial Athletic Association institutions. He arrived at Elon ahead of the 2017 season for what is his second stint with the Phoenix, having served as defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator in 2006. During the past two years, he’s guided a defensive program that achieved significant declines in total defense and average points allowed while coaching All-CAA award winners. “This is obviously a program that has unbelievable momentum right now,” said Director of Athletics Dave Blank. “Two years ago, we installed a system we believed in. Most importantly, the players bought in and they led the way.” Trisciani and his wife, Julie, live in Gibsonville with their two children, Shane and Hannah.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES, CHAIR

Edward W. Doherty P’07 Saddle River, New Jersey ELON ALUMNI BOARD, PRESIDENT

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Michelle Wideman Snavely ’00 Boulder, Colorado YO U N G A LU M N I C O U N C I L , P R E S I D E N T

Webb Bond ’08 St. Petersburg, Florida PAR E NT S CO U N C I L , CO - PR E S I D E NT S

Paul & Mindee Blanco P’19 Fairfield, Connecticut SC H O O L O F CO M M U N I C ATI O N S ADV I SO RY B OAR D, C H AI R

Roger Bolton New Canaan, Connecticut SC H O O L O F L AW ADV I SO RY B OAR D, C H AI R

David Gergen Cambridge, Massachusetts MARTHA AND SPENCER LOVE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS BOARD OF ADVISORS, CHAIR

Patricia Chadwick P’16 Old Greenwich, Connecticut PHOENIX CLUB

Anton Delgado ’20, managing editor of Elon News Network’s newspaper, The Pendulum, has been named a 2019 Carnegie-Knight News21 Fellow. As part of the paid summer fellowship, the journalism and international & global studies double major will travel to Phoenix for a 10-week investigative reporting assignment at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He and a group of top journalism students from 18 universities in the United States, Canada and Ireland will look at how the federal government has handled natural disasters during the past several decades.

ADVISORY BOARD, CHAIR

Mike Cross Burlington, North Carolina

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{ Anton Delgado ’20 }

Accounting major Gillian Hook ’21 and biochemistry major Sydney Thornton ’20 have been accepted into the University Innovation Fellows program administered by Stanford University’s Hasso Plattnew Institute of Design, more commonly called d.school. They are among 358 students from 96 colleges and universities in 16 countries who have been selected for the program designed to empower students to become agents of change at their schools. Journalism major Cammie Behnke ’19 has been selected for the Pulitzer Center Student Fellowship. She spent 12 days in Rwanda, one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, reporting on how the role of women has changed 25 years after the country’s genocide. Elon is one of the Pulitzer Center’s more than 30 Campus Consortium partners, an educational initiative that brings Pulitzer Center staff and journalists to Elon’s campus twice a year.

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TOP MARKS

Elon University was recognized in the fall by several organizations for its outstanding academics, alumni success, undergraduate business program, LGBTQ-friendly practices, study abroad program and student engagement.

• For the sixth year in a row, U.S. News & World Report ranked Elon University the No. 1 Southern master’s level university, with No. 1 rankings for excellence in undergraduate teaching and innovation in its annual best-selling college guide, “America’s Best Colleges.” Elon also leads the nation in the “Programs to Look For” that influence student success.

• The undergraduate business degree program in Elon’s Martha and Spencer Love School of Business was ranked No. 50 in the country by business education news outlet Poets & Quants. The school also ranked No. 39 in the country in the area of career outcomes, No. 51 for academic experience and No. 71 for admissions.

• Princeton Review ranks Elon as the No. 2 “best-run” college in the country, with the No. 3 “most popular study abroad program” in its 2019 “Best 384 Colleges” guide. Elon also earns a No. 4 ranking for “most beautiful campus.”

• Playbill included Elon among the top 10 most represented colleges and universities on Broadway during the 2018-19 season for the third consecutive year. The venerable performing arts publication included Elon

Four Elon students received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, a U.S. Department of State grant dedicated to funding opportunities for underrepresented students to study in underrepresented locations. Araya Sykes ’20 and Jaylan { Araya Sykes ’20 } Evans ’20 spent the fall semester in the U.K. studying at the Theatre Academy London while Jordyn McAtee ’19 studied at the Elon Center in London. La’Shaundranique Marshall ’20 spent her fall semester in Cape Town, South Africa. { Jordyn McAtee ’19 }

alongside institutions such as New York University, University of Michigan, Carnegie Mellon University, Boston Conservatory, Yale University and the UNC School of the Arts. • College Consensus, which combines a variety of college rankings with student interviews from around the web, ranked Elon fifth among its 25 LGBTQfriendly colleges and universities in its 2019 list. In the fall Campus Pride, a national advocacy group, also ranked Elon as one of the top 30 American colleges and universities for policies, programs

and practices that are friendly to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. • Elon’s engaged learning programs were recognized in the 2019 Fiske Guide to Colleges. The guide, which features about 300 of the nation’s “best and most interesting” universities, highlighted Elon’s welcoming environment, nurturing faculty and the five Elon Experiences: study abroad, internships, undergraduate research, service and leadership.

{ Jaylan Evans ’20 }

Staff with Elon News Network, Elon’s student-run news organization, received six awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC) in November. First-place award winners included Elizabeth Bilka ’18, Paul LeBlanc ’18, Brooke Wivagg ’18, who took first place in the D. Haney Howell Student Journalist of the Year competition, and Anton L. Delgado ’20. Selina Guevara ’19 and Grace Morris ’20 earned second-place awards. Nick Ochsner ’11, Connor Del Prete ’16 and Maggie Brown ’21 were also recognized in the professional competitions.

{ La’Shaundranique Marshall ’20 }

Four students in the School of Education have been awarded $5,000 scholarships from the Hattie M. Strong Foundation. Danielle Lauren Marzullo ’19, a special and elementary education major; Marcella Anne Mastrocola ’19, an elementary education major minoring in leadership studies; Allison Michelle Wrin ’19, an elementary education major minoring in early childhood education; and Mirella Fabiola Cisneros Perez ’19, a middle grades math education major minoring in poverty and social justice and environmental education, are student teaching this spring. winter

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“It would be great to start an organization— not the Federalist Society, not the American Constitution Society but a society that builds bridges. A society that talks to each other. A society that conducts debates between centrist conservatives, centrist liberals—real debates, real rational discussions. And when you go into a discussion like that, you have to go in there prepared to change your mind. … It won’t happen every day because you have strong views, but be ready to change your mind.” — Alan Dershowitz, civil liberties lawyer and Harvard Law professor emeritus, during the Distinguished Leadership Lecture at Elon University School of Law on Nov. 14.

“We shouldn’t miss the point that Dr. King was making in signaling that he had a strategy for how his movement was going to be sustained. And his strategy was inclusiveness. He had to make it not just the movement of the people who were oppressed, but he had to let the world understand that the oppression that was being experienced by people in the African-American community, which he was leading, that oppression was affecting everyone—directly and indirectly.” — Anita Hill, attorney, professor of law and advocate, delivering the 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address on Jan. 10.

Peter Felten, assistant provost for teaching and learning and executive director of the Center for Engaged Learning, received the 2018 Bob Pierleoni Spirit of POD Award for his exemplary contributions to the field of faculty development. The award is the highest honor the Professional & Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education bestows on a member. Assistant Professor of Anthropology Jennifer J. Carroll is part of a collaborative research team that has been awarded a $262,500 federal grant to combat the nation’s opioid 6

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epidemic. Led by Jesse Bennett and Loftin Wilson at the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, the project will evaluate harm reduction and overdose prevention services for people who use drugs in rural areas of the state. Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Environmental Studies Anthony Weston has written a new book, “Teaching as the Art of Staging: A Scenario-Based College Pedagogy in Action.” Published by Stylus Publishing Company, the book offers a new model of a teacher who serves as a class mobilizer, improviser and energizer.

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An inspirational teacher, A.J. Fletcher Professor and Professor of Communications David Copeland has mentored countless students throughout his time at Elon. In recognition of his scholarship, leadership and teaching, he received Elon’s Distinguished Scholar Award in 2006 and the university’s Daniels-Danieley Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2012. He was invested as a Distinguished University Professor in 2017.

David Copeland

avid Copeland’s wide-ranging curiosity and passion for learning are infectious. His avid enthusiasm for history is evident in the way he prepares his lessons, and his dedication to his students has made him one of the most beloved professors in Elon’s School of Communications. That’s exactly why I sought Dr. Copeland’s mentorship when I applied for the Lumen Prize during my sophomore year. He helped me craft an idea for a thesis that combined my interests in media and history, his primary areas of study. I ultimately proposed using media framing theory to examine how Hitler was portrayed in three of the largest U.S. newspapers during his rise to power. It was a massive undertaking, and Dr. Copeland helped me narrow the project in a way that preserved its scope and significance. He was unfailingly supportive as I combed the digital archives and shared in my wonder as I discovered long-forgotten details about Hitler and the journalists who covered the movement that gave way to the Third Reich. I found that an average American reader would have had little reason to view Hitler as a credible political figure even as he amassed an enormous popular following in Germany. As an editor, Dr. Copeland was patient and thoughtful. He helped me turn a mountain of research into two tightly focused papers, both of which were accepted for presentation at research conferences typically reserved for professors and doctoral students. He traveled with me to St. Paul, Minnesota, for the American Journalism Historians Association Conference and to Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Southeast Colloquium, helping to calm my nerves at both. My research honed my ability to think critically about both the value and the limits of traditional journalism in covering matters of significance, a perspective that has continued to influence my career in newspapers. The Lumen experience elevated my application to the Hearst Fellows program after graduation, and now, several months into a job at The Wall Street Journal, I continue to think about Dr. Copeland’s mentorship and his unflagging belief in the importance of history and context.

An energy reporter at The Wall Street Journal, Katherine Blunt ’15 has worked for the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News. winter

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A hub for innovation and collaboration

ichard W. Sankey Hall, which opened at the start of the 2018–19 academic year, was officially dedicated during Homecoming weekend in November. The gathering offered an opportunity to express thanks to dozens of donors who made the three-story, 30,000-square-foot building possible, with special appreciation for Elon parents Jim and Beth Sankey and their family, who offered the lead gift. Richard W. Sankey Hall bears the name of Jim Sankey’s father, a business leader in Canton, Ohio, who passed away in 2013. Built on what was the north end of the McMichael Science Center parking lot, Sankey Hall is home to the Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Chandler Family Professional Sales Center, a Design Thinking Center and Financial Education Center—all programs and facilities that serve students in every major, school and college. “These services and centers combined with classrooms and teambuilding spaces create a powerful backdrop for problem-solving and creative teamwork,” President Connie Ledoux Book said. In his remarks, Jim Sankey said the new building will undoubtedly help instill in the students it serves the values that made his father the man he was. “I hope these are the same types of values that this business school

{ Donors to Sankey Hall cut a ribbon to mark the dedication of the building in November. }

teaches these students for many years to come,” Sankey said. “The Sankey family is really proud to be a part of this. We love the university and wanted to be able to give something back.” Designed to mirror the modern workplace, Sankey Hall features exposed building components, glass walls and vertical writing surfaces. The second and third floors feature technology-infused classrooms, faculty offices and conference rooms, with each of the three floors offering ample student breakout spaces and locations for student-faculty engagement.

REL 376: Religion and Healing

ou catch a cold and feel miserable. It’s a virus so it just has to run its course, but what if you could have prevented it in the first place? What if there were an alternative way to approaching physical and mental health that focused more on preventative maintenance, not just crisis management? That is what Associate Professor of Religious Studies Pamela Winfield wants students taking REL 376 Religion and Healing to ask themselves as they approach alternative medicines in a religious and East Asian context. The course is typically taken by majors and minors in religious studies, public health and Asian studies, although it attracts a broad range of students. The course consists of two main components—Traditional Chinese medicine in the first half of the semester and Buddhist healing in Japan in the second half. For most students, this is their first exposure to concepts of healing that are very different than traditional Western medicine. As students learn about the foundations of Chinese medical theory, they become familiar with Daoism (the way of nature) and its principles, which include the familiar yin and yang. “Yin is the passive, more receptive form of life, yang is the active, bright, light, ascending energy or fire energy,” Winfield says. Students also learn about the theory of a vital life force called qi. The main idea is that when the body and all those forces are in harmony, there is health. When there is an imbalance in energy, the flow of qi in the body becomes obstructed and causes illness. “It’s an energy-based medical system that is just completely different from our bio-medical model,” she says. Students get to apply these concepts by identifying Traditional Chinese medicine’s acupuncture meridians, the system of channels thought to channel qi energy. Winfield asks students to map the meridians on their own bodies by placing colored stickers along specific lines of acupoints. This allows them to

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visualize how each yin meridian connects to the next yang one, and how the qi flows smoothly throughout the body. Buddhists, on the other hand, historically explained illnesses as karmic retribution for past misdeeds. “That translates today into ‘If you’re sick, then maybe you might want to think twice about continuing smoking,’” Winfield says. “Karma just means actions. For every action there is a reaction.” The idea behind this is that preventative maintenance is key for both body and mind, which are inseparable. This is also recognized to a certain extent in the biomedical model. “We know that stress affects the body physically,” Winfield says, and so mindfulness and the relaxation response can be helpful therapeutic tools. Buddhism has articulated this in a more sophisticated way, although it sometimes might sound mystical. “I think there are some lessons we can learn from that as well,” she says.

ABOUT THE PROFESSOR Associate Professor Pamela Winfield joined Elon’s Department of Religious Studies in 2008. She is the interim coordinator of the Asian Studies Program and teaches numerous courses at Elon on religion and visual culture. RECOMMENDED MATERIALS • “Healing and the Mind with Bill Moyers: the Mystery of Chi” Documentary • “Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Premodern Sources,” edited by C. Pierce Salguero

Steven House

TO CONCLUDE SERVICE AS PROVOST

fter more than a decade of service as Elon’s provost and 18 years of exemplary leadership at the university, Steven House has decided to conclude his service as provost by the end of the calendar year, in line with his long-established plans for a leadership transition. President Connie Ledoux Book has appointed a committee to conduct a national search for the next provost. House will remain in the role of provost until his successor is in place and will then continue to provide leadership as executive vice president through the 2020–21 academic year. “Steven House has been one of the chief architects of Elon’s development as a national institution since he joined the university in 2001 as founding dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences,” Book said. “With a positive spirit and boundless energy, he has guided growth of Elon’s academic programs, constantly striving for the highest levels of excellence. He has been a committed servant-leader who always keeps students at the center of his work.” House said his work at Elon has been stimulating, challenging and rewarding. “My greatest delight has been working closely with so many supportive colleagues and dear friends who each day commit their every breath to create a student- and learning-centered institution that is now widely recognized as the premier institution in the country for engaged and experiential learning,” House said. Since his promotion to provost in 2009, House has been responsible for all academic programs, overseeing Elon College and the schools of business, communications and education and establishing new schools of law and health sciences. In a landmark achievement for the university, he worked closely with faculty colleagues to make broad investments in academic resources and programs, culminating in Elon’s successful application to shelter a Phi Beta Kappa chapter in April 2010. House chairs Elon’s long-range planning committee and the university’s budget committee, developing annual financial models for the board of trustees. In addition to leading all academic programs, he provides oversight and leadership for the divisions of student life, admissions and financial planning, and Elon athletics. He also served as a member of the Elon Commitment strategic planning committee and the presidential search committee.

CAREER PREPARATION One of the Elon Experiences, internships are a gateway to employment, which is why the Student Professional Development Center staff works hard to find great opportunities to fit students’ needs. SPDC staff travels the country to build relationships with quality employers and then connect them to Elon talent through on-campus recruiting, career fairs and job and internship posts on the Elon Job Network. Below are some figures about the success students experience through internships.

1,462

The number of students who completed an internship, practicum or student-teaching assignment for credit during the 2017–18 academic year, a 21 percent increase from four years prior.

89%

The percentage of members in the Class of 2018 who completed an internship prior to graduation. Of that number, 73 percent got a job lead thanks to an internship.

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CREDIT SUISSE

One of the top 10 companies that hired Elon interns during the past three academic years. The others include EY, Fidelity, JP Morgan, MetLife, Northwestern Mutual, PwC, RSM, Walt Disney World and Wells Fargo.

42 STATES 36 COUNTRIES { Steven House has served as Elon’s provost since 2009. }

During the past three academic years, Elon students have completed internships in 42 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia, as well as in 36 different countries. Source: Student Professional Development Center winter

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SPRING

Julia Gillard to headline Elon’s Spring Convocation

F THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28

“A Conversation with the Honorable Loretta Lynch” Distinguished Leadership Lecture Series presented by The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation A distinguished former federal prosecutor, Loretta Lynch was the 83rd Attorney General of the United States from 2015 to 2017 and the first African-American woman to serve in the role. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6

John Douglas, “Mind Hunter” Liberal Arts Forum Lecture John Douglas is a former special agent and unit chief with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation who developed groundbreaking techniques for hunting serial killers, sex offenders and other violent criminals. THURSDAY, APRIL 4

Julia Gillard, “Engagement in the Asian Century: The Opportunity of Our Lifetime” Elon University Spring Convocation Baird Lecture Series While serving as prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, Julia Gillard was central to managing the Australian economy, the 12th largest in the world, during the global financial crisis. THURSDAY-MONDAY MAY 2-6

Department of Performing Arts presents “The 1940s Radio Hour” Set during a live radio broadcast in 1942, this show captures the spirit of a bygone era with tunes such as “Black Magic,” “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,”“Our Love is Here to Stay” and “Blues in the Night.” 10 the MAGAZINE of ELON

ormer Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who served from 2010 to 2013, will be the featured speaker at the university’s Spring Convocation on April 4. Her address, centered around geopolitics and the global economy, is part of Elon’s Baird Lecture Series, which was endowed in 2001 by a gift from James H. Baird and his late wife, Jane M. Baird, of Burlington, North Carolina. As prime minister and earlier as deputy prime minister, Gillard was central to managing the Australian economy, the 12th largest in the world, during the global financial crisis and in 2012 generated worldwide attention for her speech in Parliament on the treatment of women in professional and public life. During her tenure leading Australia, she developed the country’s guiding policy paper, “Australia in the Asian Century,” and delivered nation-changing policies including reforming the country’s educational system from early childhood to university. Gillard played key roles in improving the delivery and sustainability of health care in Australia, creating a national system to care for people with disabilities, restructuring the

telecommunications sector and building a national broadband network. She deepened ties with Australia’s Asian and Pacific neighbors while strengthening the country’s alliance with the United States. Born in Barry, Wales, Gillard migrated to Australia with her family in 1966 and became an Australian citizen in 1974. Prior to being sworn in as prime minister, she served as deputy prime minister and minister for education, employment and workplace relations, and social inclusion. She has been a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institute since 2013 and in 2014 was appointed board chair for the Global Partnership for Education. She published “My Story,” a book about her service as prime minister, in 2014. For information about tickets, which will be available starting March 14, please contact the Center for the Arts Box Office at 336-278-5610.

A Recipe for Mathematical Success athered in groups around tables full of ingre-dients and paired with several chefs from Harvest Table Culinary Group, middle school students in Elon’s “It Takes a Village” Project assembled what they needed to make bean soup, cornbread and chocolate cake. The exercise was a semester-ending event in December and the culmination of a partnership between the Village Project, an initiative of Elon’s Center for Access and Success that pairs student tutors with elementary and secondary school students to help them achieve academic success, and Harvest Table, a division of Aramark that provides dining and catering services at Elon. This new math approach for students in the Village Project of using cooking to teach real-world math skills is in response to lagging test scores for many middle schoolers in the project. Gathered in Alumni Gym with the middle school students who have been working with Harvest Table recipes all semester were 175 K-5 students who are also involved in the Village Project. These younger students, with their parents and other family members looking on, learned about nutrition with a program led by Dietitian

Amanda Cerra that included taste tests of fruits and vegetables and other nutritional education programming. At the end of the night, they were provided with canvas bags to fill with fresh fruits and vegetables from a farmer’s market to take home with them. “When you have a student struggling with something over and over again, taking a different approach can be very helpful,” said Jean Rattigan-Rohr, director of the Center for Access and Success. “We are looking forward to seeing the impact this experiential learning component has on the middle school students’ math scores.”

LONG LIVE ELON

Opening doors for talented students BY JALEH HAGIGH AND MADISON TAYLOR

major gift from Elon Trustee Louis DeJoy and his wife, Dr. Aldona Wos, of Greensboro, North Carolina, will establish multiple scholarships in the university’s Odyssey Program to assist students with talent and high financial need from Title I high schools in the Greensboro area. The gift from the Louis DeJoy and Aldona Z. Wos Family Foundation will support one of the university’s top priorities—growing the endowment to increase financial aid—and establish The DeJoy-Wos Odyssey Scholars Endowment, a collaboration between the university’s Odyssey Program and Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, Greensboro area schools and the United Way of Greater Greensboro. The endowment will provide scholarships for highly motivated students who are eager to participate in Elon’s high-impact learning opportunities in the Love School and who would be unable to enroll without financial assistance. Once fully funded, the endowment combined with other aid will provide up to 12 full scholarships a year. Each DeJoy-Wos Scholar will be part of Elon’s highly selective Odyssey Program for students with great promise and significant financial need, including many who are

{ The endowment will support students participating in Elon’s Odyssey Program. }

{ Louis DeJoy & Dr. Aldona Wos } the first in their families to attend college. “This dedication of personal resources by the DeJoy-Wos family represents the hope and confidence in an Elon education and in the future of our local communities,” President Connie Ledoux Book said. “Louis and Aldona are creating opportunity where little was imagined. The recipients of these scholarships will gain access to an Elon education and experiences, preparing for lifetimes of service to our local region, state and country.” “When I see the commitment that Elon has to the Odyssey Program and the success they’re having, it is very inviting to someone like me who wants to make an impact in the Greensboro community,” DeJoy said. DeJoy said it is important to him to support students in Title I schools in his community, many of whom are first-generation students and cannot afford an Elon education. “I wanted to localize this initiative and do what I feel is really important, which is transforming lives,” DeJoy said. “We want to go into areas where we can lose students and figure out how to get them prepared to go to Elon and be successful at Elon, and then be successful in the workplace and turn around and give back to their communities. My hope is that we create a pipeline of students leading successful and consequential lives.” “I am so pleased that we are able to provide otherwise unavailable educational opportunities for the youth of our community,” said Wos. “It is especially rewarding to winter

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LONG LIVE ELON me to enable educational growth on all levels and to encourage and support our future leaders.” Michelle Gethers-Clark, president and chief executive officer of the United Way of Greater Greensboro, praised DeJoy and Wos for their generosity. She noted the power of the couple’s gift to lift up underserved communities with limited resources and to support children living in generational poverty. “Title I schools are a wonderful place to invest and help students realize their untapped potential,” Gethers-Clark said. “This is not just an investment in the student who will be the direct beneficiary of the gift. It is also an investment in their parents and siblings for generations to come, which is powerful.” DeJoy is president and founder of LDJ Global Strategies, a real estate and private equity firm in Greensboro. He started the company in 2016 following his retirement as chief executive of the North American supply chain division of XPO Logistics, a global firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut. DeJoy joined XPO Logistics after the company acquired New Breed Logistics, where he served as chairman and CEO since 1983. He has served on Elon’s board of trustees since 2007. Wos, a retired physician, served as U.S. Ambassador to Estonia under President George W. Bush (2004–06) and also served as Secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (2013–15). Her numerous board memberships include The Institute for World Politics, the Council of American Ambassadors, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, the Duke Law Board of Visitors and the Board of Governors for the University of North Carolina. The couple are among Elon’s most generous benefactors. They are founding donors of Elon’s School of Law in Greensboro and have made lead gifts to support scholarships and the Numen Lumen Pavilion, Elon’s multifaith center. In 2009, the couple established the Honorable Aldona Z. Wos, M.D. and Louis DeJoy Scholarship for International Study. 12 the MAGAZINE of ELON

the Center for Organizational Analytics, Elon Academy, undergraduate research in the sciences, law school scholarships, athletics and the physician assistant studies program.

Scholarship honors President Emeritus Lambert

{ Allen E. Gant Jr. }

Glen Raven, Gant family support Schar Center Glen Raven, Inc., along with Trustee Allen E. Gant Jr., chairman of Glen Raven, and his wife, Denise Gant, have made generous gifts to establish the Sunbrella Club, the premium club-level seating area in the new Schar Center. The Sunbrella Club includes 125 seats, a buffet, bar, dining tables and comfortable gathering spots near video monitors. The space is an example of the kind of creative planning that ties Elon to Glen Raven. “As far as we’re concerned, innovation is the last frontier we have,” Allen Gant said. “Anyone can put the facilities in place, but unless they have the environment and culture for innovation, they have no chance to win. Elon is the preeminent place in higher education where creative and engaged learning are in place.” Glen Raven, Inc., is a global provider of performance fabrics based in Alamance County, North Carolina. Sunbrella, manufactured and marketed by Glen Raven, is a successful and fashionable indoor and outdoor fabric used to create distinctive marine, shade, outdoor upholstery and indoor upholstery for home or commercial use. Allen Gant has a long history of support for Elon. He joined the board of trustees in 1997 and served as board chair in 2007. He received Elon’s Frank S. Holt, Jr. Business Leadership Award, the university’s highest honor for business leadership, and an honorary degree from the university in 2010. Gant has also generously supported several Elon initiatives, including the Numen Lumen Pavilion,

Members of the President’s Advisory Council along with Elon parents have made an endowment gift to establish two Odyssey Program scholarships in honor of Elon President Emeritus Leo M. Lambert. Abbey Roberts Chung p’12, a member of the President’s Advisory Council, said the council could think of no better way to honor Lambert’s 19 years of service to Elon than by endowing two Leo M. Lambert Odyssey Scholarships. She said the scholarship recipients will embody the steadfast service of Leo and Laurie Lambert. “Two deserving individuals who have demonstrated not only the intellectual and social skills required by the Odyssey Program but also the qualities of integrity, inclusion and leadership that defined his tenure at Elon will receive the Leo M. Lambert Odyssey Scholarship,” Chung said. Lambert, who concluded his service as university president in February 2018,

{President Emeritus Leo M. Lambert } said he was gratified by the gift. “There are few things that are more important to me than the Odyssey Program and the Elon Academy, because both of those programs give opportunity for higher education to really smart young people who might not otherwise have access to it,” Lambert said. “Odyssey is a huge point of pride for me.”

LONG LIVE ELON

▶ MAKING A DIFFERENCE

{ Jill & TJ Rose ’00, posing here with their dog, Riley, are loyal Elon supporters. }

For the love of Elon BY MEGAN M CCLURE

ou might say that Elon alumni Jill and TJ Rose ’00 are on a roll. For the past 15 years, the couple has made an annual tradition of supporting Elon to honor what their alma mater means to them. “TJ and I were very lucky to have the ability to attend Elon,” says Jill. “We give back to support the ability for others to have the same opportunity and experience.” The couple, who both graduated in 2000, says the growth they experienced as students has inspired their loyal support of the university. While Jill came to Elon from South Carolina and TJ from Ohio, they each recall feeling early on Elon was the right place for them to attend college. TJ even learned his acceptance letter from Elon had arrived at his house while he happened to be visiting campus—and quickly headed to the bookstore to pick up a few Elon hats. They both majored in business administration and formed lifelong friendships through student organizations, with Jill becoming a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma and TJ joining Lambda Chi Alpha. “Everyone was so welcoming,” says TJ. “We met people at Elon that we’re still close with today, and we get together with them a few times a year. Those friendships have continued to develop.” The couple now lives in the aptly named Phoenix, Maryland, and they credit their experiences at Elon with preparing

The Elon Society is the university’s leadership annual giving community that includes all donors who make a gift of $1,500 or more each year, for any purpose.

them for success in their careers. Jill was recently named vice president of operations for Dosh, a financial services app, after several years at PayPal. TJ serves as regional president of boat retailer MarineMax and has been with the company since he completed an internship there as an Elon student. He has also looked to Elon to recruit for positions at the company, hiring two fellow alumni as colleagues. “It’s important to give back to the things that have developed you,” he says. “Philanthropy was ingrained in me by my family from a young age, and I learned early on to support what matters to me. Elon helped shape who we are, including the careers and friendships we have today.” Jill’s service on the Elon Alumni Board for several years also highlighted the importance of philanthropy at Elon, further motivating the couple to give. “It was eye opening to learn how important giving back is for bringing great students and faculty to Elon and building programs like study abroad,” she says. “It’s critical for alumni to give back so those things continue.” The Roses designate their support to Elon’s Greatest Needs, a fund that opens doors for students to attend the university by providing scholarship support. It is a choice inspired by Jill’s own experience as a scholarship recipient through Elon’s Business Fellows program. Their generous support also makes them a part of the Elon Society, which recognizes the university’s leadership annual donors. “We’ve been fortunate to be successful in our careers, and we owe a lot of that to the education we received at Elon,” Jill says. “We want to continue to give back as members of the Elon Society as part of our lifelong relationship with Elon.” Ultimately, their support helps continue to build the place that brought them together and they say has given them so much. “There was a great sense of community at Elon when we were there, and it’s still there today,” TJ says. “I never want to see that change.” winter

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PHOENIX SPORTS

▶ elonphoenix.com

A renewed sense of

ATHLETIC PRIDE The Phoenix Phanatics are redefining what it means to be an Elon sports fan.

“When we come back to Elon for a fifth, 10th or 15th class reunion, we can say, ‘Hey, we started that. That was us.’ It could be something we could be proud of.” —Jacob Young ’20

14 the MAGAZINE of ELON

BY OLIVER FISCHER ’20

hen junior Jacob Young first arrived at Elon, he was underwhelmed by the fan experience he encountered at sporting events. Young attended Gilman High School in Maryland, where school spirit was strong. “I come from a school that had a lot of school pride and athletics,” Young says. “When I came here, I realized that school spirit, in terms of athletics, was very much lacking.” Young believes the resurgence of the Phoenix Phanatics, the student organization dedicated to promoting Elon’s athletics and school spirit, is a big part of the improvement in the fan experience the school has experienced during the past two years. “We are the ones who always rally at basketball, football or soccer games,” he says. “We are always the loudest ones in front of the student section, trying to lead the rest of the students that come to the games to put their game face on.” Although the organization was founded in 2003—and serves as the official student organization support club for Elon’s athletic departments and its 17 intercollegiate athletic teams—it was in need of a boost when Young arrived at Elon in 2016. “The organization was not as strong as I would have liked it to be,” he says. “I decided to take on the role of rejuvenating it because I thought, as a Division I school for athletics, it’s a shame that we didn’t have this great student spirit I had seen at my high school.” After taking the helm of the organization, Young says the group has come a long way but there is still much to do. “You can’t change people’s opinions about spirit overnight. It’s going to be a long haul.” Deputy Director of Athletics Mike Ward says Young has done a good job revitalizing the Phoenix Phanatics. “The group’s strength now is in large part due to Jake and a handful of others within the organization who really want the athletics experience to be a meaningful part of their college careers,” Ward says. Athletics are a big part of college life because sports bring together students from all kinds of backgrounds. “Elon students are spread very thin, but athletic events are a sort of unifying thing where everybody is welcome and it’s a common rallying point for Elon,” he adds.

PHOENIX SPORTS

This past fall served as a sort of trial run for the Phoenix Phanatics revival efforts. Going forward, Young wants to implement weekly or biweekly meetings for existing members. He also wants to grow the group’s membership and, by extension, the school’s fan base. “Right now we have a leadership team of 11. I would like to see that double so more people have a reason to come out to games.” Although the Phanatics already encourage people to come to the games via social media, Young says a bigger leadership team would be even more effective. “The more people we have on our leadership team, the more people we are going to be able to reach directly versus PR or social media,” he says, adding it’s easier to get people to go to games when they are approached personally. “When you say, ‘Hey, come out to the game,’ the person is more likely to go than when they see it on social media. That’s kind of my hope for the future.” The success of Young’s efforts to rejuvenate the Phoenix Phanatics has shown through attendance at games, according to Don Scott, director of marketing and fan engagement for Elon Athletics. “We’ve had great student attendance in 2018 and broken student attendance records at football games,” he says. Since Young is studying abroad this spring, a new president will take the rein but he remains optimistic about the group’s impact on Elon athletics. He recognizes the fan culture at Elon isn’t going to change overnight, but he hopes that in a few years, Elon athletics will be more successful and the university will be able to look back on the Phoenix Phanatics’ role in that. “When we come back to Elon for a fifth, 10th or 15th class reunion, we can say, ‘Hey, we started that. That was us,’” Young says. “It could be something we could be proud of.”

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PHOENIX SPORTS

▶ elonphoenix.com

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT COACH MIKE KENNEDY BY PIERCE YARBERRY

A TWO-TIME HONORABLE MENTION ALL-AMERICAN CATCHER for the Phoenix from 1988–90, Elon head baseball coach

Mike Kennedy enters his 23rd season as skipper in 2019. Through 22 years at the helm, he has coached the maroon and gold to 18 winning seasons, including 16 campaigns with 30-plus wins. In 2008, the Phoenix captured its first ncaa di league tournament title and Kennedy’s program won four Southern Conference regular-season crowns as well as a pair of tournament championships. The Magazine of Elon talked with Coach Kennedy about life beyond the diamond.

He’s an avid outdoorsman. It’s hard to miss the stuffed prize turkey when you first walk into Coach Kennedy’s office. In addition to turkey, he also likes to hunt whitetail deer, as the team’s downtime works well with both hunting seasons in late November. He also has a passion for bass fishing.

16 the MAGAZINE of ELON

He loves listening to music. The coach will usually have Pandora on in his office, playing late ’70s and early ’80s rock or country in the background. Some of his favorite artists include country musician Eric Church and rock band Ambrosia.

He was a three-sport athlete out of high school. In addition to baseball, he also played basketball and football at Westover High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Kennedy had a scholarship offer to play quarterback at Wake Forest University but chose to play baseball because he had the most potential to play at the next level.

He’s an avid fan of college hoops. A huge UNC fan growing up, Kennedy loves watching college basketball and has season tickets at Elon. When the Phoenix played home contests at Alumni Gym, he could be spotted playing one-on-one against his son well after the game had ended. “If I could go back and coach any other sport, it would be basketball. I love the strategy of the game.”

He’s a big St. Louis Cardinals fan. “I’ve been to the past three World Series that the Cards have played in with my son. I took him to his first World Series when he was 6 years old back in 2004.” Kennedy plans to make an annual trip to spring training whenever he’s done with coaching. As luck would have it, his first player to make it to the pros was John Brebbia ’12, who is on the Cardinals’ roster.

From the ARCHIVES

More than a stop Once a bustling train station, Mill Point depot played an important role in Elon’s history. BY OLIVER FISCHER ’20

nlike today, most students According to Durward T. Stokes’ attending classes at Elon book “Elon College: Its History and in the autumn of 1890 Traditions,” the wreck involved an arrived at the newly built evening passenger train and was college by train. They got off at the caused by spreading rails. The engine Mill Point depot, near where the School flipped on its side, as did the coal car. of Communications’ Snow Atrium While no one was hurt, the fireman now stands. and engineer experienced “narrow While the blare of the train escapes,” Stokes writes. Local citizens whistle is no stranger to today’s rushed to help, offering their homes Elon community, the station itself is to the unfortunate passengers, while buried in the past. All that the engineer was taken survives of the train stop is into a nearby home for a commemorative plaque first aid. where the station once A similar happy ending stood. It was demolished was experienced in 1911. in 1961 after cars and buses What started as a harmless reduced passenger rail usjoke suggesting one of the age. College administrators male students in East Dormiunsuccessfully attempted to tory needed a bath quickly eskeep the train depot in opcalated, with the student being eration, as few people were dropped in a bathtub of water. riding the train. And so, the He reported the perpetrators last passenger train stopped to the school and the faculty at campus in the late 1940s. later ruled that this was a case of The history of the railhazing and expelled the group road that passes through of students involved. The culprits { The railroad station at Mill Point was demolished in 1961. For many decades, Elon dates back to the 1850s. signed a plea for mercy, but were it was an integral part of campus life. } Following emancipation, unsuccessful in their appeal. They an African-American community established its roots south of packed their belongings and headed to the train station, awaiting the railroad tracks, which roughly paralleled Buffalo Road. That the arrival of the morning train. As they waited, a petition to relocation was ideal for unloading factory wagons after cotton mills verse the decision was signed by 102 students as well as the victim. began production at Altamahaw and Ossipee in the early 1880s, This was enough to convince faculty members to reinstate the making the railway stop at Mill Point a popular one during an seven culprits, just before the morning train arrived. Had they not important part of Elon’s history. been awaiting the train’s arrival, these seven students might have The train depot was not only built for handling freight cars. had to say goodbye to Elon. The railroad was also an essential method of transportation for a Today few people remain who remember the station and the majority of Elon College students. By 1900, six passenger trains impact it once had on the community. An excerpt in the Alumni ran through Elon every day. The depot was located across from News Bulletin from March 1963 says that there was a strong sense the post office, and four mail trains came through Elon on a daily of nostalgia surrounding the station shortly after it was demolbasis. A 1981 article in The Pendulum, the student-run newspaper, ished. “The joy of going ‘down to the station’ to meet the trains recalls that “The ‘coming in’ of the train was a big attraction for (girls chaperoned of course); the anticipation of meeting the trains townspeople as well as students. Virtually everyone turned out in September to see who was coming back, since nearly everyone to watch the train pass through town.” The townspeople also met traveled by trains; the farewells in May as students departed for students there when they arrived and saw them off at the end of the summer vacation months. But these days are gone forever and each term. for the old station is gone and only two trains daily—one east, one The railroad has many stories to tell. There was a train dewest—and if you want to ride, you flag!” railment in 1908 only a few hundred yards east of the station. winter

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Leigh-Anne Royster

Director of Inclusive Community Development & Assistant Professor

back row :

Sylvia Muñoz mba ’02

Associate Director for the Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity Education & Director of the Spanish Center 18 the MAGAZINE of ELON

Jean Rattigan-Rohr

Executive Director of Community Partnerships, Director of the Center for Access and Success & Professor of Education

Cindy Fair

Professor of Public Health Studies and Human Service Studies, Watts-Thompson Professor & Chair of the Department of Public Health Studies

FEATURE TITLE REPEAT

Charlotte Smith

Head Women’s Basketball Coach

Melissa Duncan ’06 l’09

Assistant Dean for Career and Student Development at Elon Law

Jana Lynn Patterson

Associate Vice President for Student Life, Dean of Students & Assistant Professor

Maya Eaglin ’19

News Director for Elon News Network

Connie Ledoux Book President of Elon University

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Despite challenges, more women are making their mark in leadership roles at Elon and beyond. hen kerrii anderson ’79 was growing up on a tobacco farm about five miles outside of elon, she never thought of any job as being strictly for one gender. She drove a tractor on the farm, where most of the workers were men with the exception of her sister.

At age 16, she started driving a school bus. “I guess because I grew up that way, there was no mindset that I could not do something because I was female,” Anderson says. “But when I got out into the world and began working in public accounting, there was no doubt in my mind that because I was female, I had to work harder, I had to be smarter and I must be better prepared.”

Fast forward 40 years and Anderson has held many prominent leadership positions in the business world, including stints as chief financial officer and chief executive officer of Wendy’s International. She now sits on the boards of Abercrombie & Fitch, LabCorp and Worthington Industries, as well as Elon University’s board of trustees, which she previously chaired. While women have steadily made more strides toward increased leadership opportunities throughout history, it’s only within the past year or so that the national conversation surrounding women’s equality in business, government, education and other arenas has grown louder and stronger. The #MeToo and Time’s Up movements have empowered women to speak up about sexual assault and harassment and engage in more open dialogue about gender equality in the workplace. In September 2018, California enacted a law requiring the state’s publicly traded companies to include at least one woman on their boards of directors by the end of 2019. Similar measures already exist in some European countries such as Belgium, France, Italy and Norway. Many news outlets dubbed 2018 a “Year of the Woman,” with more women elected to Congress than ever before, including the first Native American and Muslim women representatives. Still, those record 127 women only equate to 24 percent of Congress, a long way from true gender parity. carrie eaves, assistant professor of political science at Elon, says the 2018 midterm election results signal steps toward progress and indicate a great deal of work left to be done. “The political science literature suggests that when women do run, they win at the same rate. They’re just less likely to run,” Eaves says. “They’re less likely to view themselves as qualified or more likely to need to be recruited, whereas men view themselves inherently as qualified. Perhaps 2018 signals that we’re starting to see that shift.” leigh-anne royster, director of inclusive community development and assistant professor, says if organizations learn to truly value the unique viewpoints that a diverse group of leaders brings to the table, it creates a more multifaceted professional environment. You can become immersed in understanding and you can develop an amazing sense of empathy around all sorts of identities, she says, but there is no substitution for actually living out those identities. “There is nothing like having organized one’s entire life around being a woman, being gender nonconforming or being Latina, for example. You bring that perspective,” she says.

hile women are connected by gender, Associate Professor of English prudence layne emphasizes women embody a host of other identities too, from ideology to cultural background. It’s important not only for all of those voices to have an opportunity to speak, she says, but for others to really listen to those perspectives so the culture of leadership can change. “When you think about women of color, I am still largely not represented at Elon, but that has not stopped me from looking to see where the needs are and doing what I can to fulfill those, not just for faculty but for staff and students,” Layne says. “What makes me happy is Elon is actually working in the classroom to help others build their own confidence and be empowered.”

20 the MAGAZINE of ELON

THROUGH THE GLASS CEILING

what makes me happy is elon is actually working in the classroom to help others build their own confidence and be empowered.

Prudence Layne

Associate Professor of English & Chair of Academic Council

An OngOing climb

Elon’s leadership has certainly shifted since Anderson was a student, when few women held high-ranking management positions at the university. Four of the six academic deans are now women—Ann Bullock (School of Education), Rochelle Ford (School of Communications), Becky Neiduski (School of Health Sciences) and Gabie Smith (College of Arts and Sciences). The chairs of Academic Council and Staff Advisory Council are also women—Layne and Manager of Phoenix Card Services Janet Rauhe, respectively—and more women occupy director positions among the university’s staff than ever before. And of course, President Connie Ledoux Book became the first female president in Elon’s history in 2018, a milestone that was embraced in the news surrounding her selection and inauguration. “It was a search committee decision and a unanimous decision to select Connie, and I was so proud of how widely we cast our net,” Anderson says. “We were very focused on having a diverse slate of candidates. When the decision was made, we selected the best candidate, not the best female candidate. Having said that, I’m really proud that she’s female. She earned it.”

lon’s history of women’s inclusion dates back to its founding as a co-educational institution in 1889 at a time when women’s educational opportunities were still limited. But like many other colleges and universities, most leadership positions were predominantly held by men for decades. When jo watts williams ’55 was a student, she says the societal expectation was that if women wanted to work outside the home, they would pursue one of two career paths: nursing or teaching. She opted for the latter and after serving as a public school teacher for 14 years, she returned to Elon as a faculty member in what was then the Department of Education and Psychology. The next step in her career was unexpected, when in 1976 President J. Fred Young and the board of trustees asked her to move into an administrative role as associate dean of academic affairs and director of the learning resource center. Williams ultimately rose to vice president of development in 1979 and right away made her own strides toward changing the higher education landscape not only through her own work, but by hiring and supporting other women in administrative leadership roles at Elon. “I used my energy trying to bring in capable women to serve in roles,” Williams says. “I started hiring women and just kept bringing them in. I quietly and patiently kept plugging away.” Nan Perkins was one of them. She went on to establish the Office of Publications (now the Office of University Communications) in 1985 and hired susan klopman as a writer. Klopman was struck by how much the people she worked with respected and appreciated the voices of women, even though most departments were led by men. “Nan hired me, and development had the only woman vice president, Jo Williams, so I began my career under two of the most significant women leaders in the history of Elon,” Klopman says. “Questions of women in leadership didn’t really come up for me until my own career started moving forward.” That path led her to roles in the development office and the president’s office before joining the Office of Admissions as associate dean. She was named dean Susan Klopman of admissions in 2000 and promoted to vice president in 2006.

Vice President Emerita of Admissions

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n general, Klopman thinks women ultimately made inroads in their professional lives out of financial necessity. As the cost of living in some areas of the United States began to climb, more women entered the workforce because their households needed more than one income to thrive. “I’m 70 now, so it was not until maybe 20 years ago that I really began to see this change,” Klopman says. “Women absolutely rose to the occasion. The responsibilities women handled managing a household were always overlooked as a strength until it became the necessity of economics. I think women have had a tough climb within organizations because we were not positioned by experience or education to all of a sudden infiltrate the ranks of upper-level management.” As she watched Elon grow during her tenure, Klopman saw more and more women move from leading behind the scenes to leading in management roles, ultimately including the university’s highest office. “It took 129 years, but we got there,” Williams says. “You can’t imagine how fulfilling it is to look back when there were no women in any of those roles before.” Elon’s energy and focus surrounding leadership development was part of what attracted melanie bullock to the director of the Center for Leadership position a little more than a year ago. She says just seeing the representation of women at Elon creates a support system and invites critical discussion about traditional definitions of leadership and how those are shifting today. “I think we can’t help our students prepare for life beyond Elon if we don’t do our due diligence to make sure they’re seeing leadership in a variety of different ways,” Bullock says. “If they don’t see it here, they won’t expect to see it or be able to help other people have that expectation to see other types of representation elsewhere.” While many think of leaders as high-profile people who everyone knows, Class of 2022 President lauryn adams admires the “hidden figures” who work behind the scenes or in pockets of society that are often ignored. “I’m one of the few black people in the dance program at Elon, and I think that in itself is a form of leadership, paving the way for other black students who want to be dance majors,” she says. “I’m also able to show up in my American government class and speak up for certain things that someone else isn’t in the room to say or advocate for.” Adams also believes it’s crucial for women in leadership to support one another. During a meeting for prospective Student Government Association candidates, when Adams mentioned her intention to run for class president to another young woman in attendance, the student replied she was considering president too but would run for vice president instead. “That was very telling to me, that as women we see each other as competition when there is space for all of us,” Adams says. “Sometimes we put ourselves down before even giving ourselves the chance to be successful.”

CREating a climatE fOR succEss

22 the MAGAZINE of ELON

i think we can’t help our students prepare for life beyond elon if we don’t do our due diligence to make sure they’re seeing leadership in a variety of different ways. Melanie Bullock Director of Elon's Center for Leadership

oyster has always been impressed that Elon strikes a balance between investing in the development of inclusion and equity in authentic ways while being open and honest about the work that still needs to be done. She routinely sees students engaging in conversations about equity in their daily lives, from expanding on discussions that start in the classroom to unpacking how gender issues tie into the songs they listen to and the movies they see. These conversations about women’s rights can happen more prominently now thanks to the work of people focused on the central issue of gender, a multifaceted community including those who have historically faced disproportionate discrimination like women of color and LGBTQIA groups. “We have to acknowledge the work that has happened thus far on so many levels,” Royster says. “In academia, people quietly fighting for equity and inclusion individually in their own work, all of these spaces where resistance happens around systems of dominance, we want to acknowledge that every little piece of that is part of the foundation.” The challenge now is continuing that work during what Royster says is both an exciting and scary time for gender equality in the United States. She now sees more harmful rhetoric directed toward women and girls than at any point in recent history, but she also sees more transparency and agency among women. They are leading by talking openly about gender discrimination, from growing grassroots movements to more celebrities using their platform to elevate the voices of those with less power. Bullock says that work is essential to challenging antiquated perspectives about leadership and helping others understand the validity of women’s voices in spaces where some feel they don’t belong. “We need to work collectively to change mindsets on what has been deemed ‘the norm’ so we can continue to make waves and not just have a seat at the table but build tables that are more inclusive and diverse,” she adds.

THROUGH THE GLASS CEILING

The more students see women leading by example on campus, Bullock says, the more they will feel empowered to effect change in the world at large after they graduate. gabrielle raymond mcgee ’06 is among the alumni who are blazing trails for women in leadership. She is vice president of digital, marketing and special projects at the Tory Burch Foundation, which provides access to capital, education and digital resources for women entrepreneurs. One of the foundation’s core initiatives is #EmbraceAmbition, which addresses the stigma that ambition is a negative characteristic for women but a positive quality for men. “By challenging the way men and women alike perceive women that are ambitious, and empowering women and girls to fearlessly pursue their dreams, we will make the playing field more even for women to achieve parity and take on critical roles as leaders” she says. At Tory Burch the senior executives are women, and Raymond McGee says it’s refreshing to work in a culture where “empowered women empower women.” Even prior to that, when she was working at Major League Baseball, she was fortunate to have role models and mentors who “modeled what being a woman in male-dominated spaces could look like,” she says. Raymond McGee herself is now a role model for other women in her industry and team, which include Elon alumna Molly Heffernan ’11. “It’s incredibly rewarding to invest in Molly’s career, to see her rise and to see her invest in the next generation of women leaders,” Raymond McGee says. “For me, it’s important to invest in those around me and the women that I work with infuse so much energy, hope and passion into my life and together we are effecting change in our society.”

by challenging the way men and women alike perceive women that are ambitious, and empowering women and girls to fearlessly pursue their dreams, we will make the playing field more even for women to achieve parity and take on critical roles as leaders.

n the political sphere, Eaves hopes to see more women in leadership at all levels of government and across party lines. Eaves says one of the most concerning statistics from the midterm elections is that while women made gains overall, the number of Republican women serving in Congress actually declined. Only 13 Republican women now serve in the House of Representatives, down from 23 the previous term. If the U.S. Congress can ever come close to reaching gender parity, Eaves says it is critical for both parties to empower women to run for office. While most media attention has been focused on the congressional midterm elections, more women also ran for governor, mayor, city council, school boards and other state and local offices. “The ultimate goal would be that one day we don’t have these stories,” Eaves says. “We don’t have to call it a ‘Year of the Woman;’ it’s just not a big deal. We’re not close to that yet, but we are making gains.” Royster says it is essential for organizations to create environments where different styles of leadership can flourish. If a single parent holds a leadership position, for example, their employer should consider how to structure work in a way that best equips that person to succeed. If a company wants socioeconomic diversity, it’s crucial Gabrielle Raymond McGee ’06 to consider how those employees organize their lives around transportation, second Vice President of Digital, Marketing jobs or other realities. “If we have constructed leadership historically around one and Special Projects at the identity—white, male, cisgender, wealthy, able-bodied—and we want diversity of Tory Burch Foundation identity in leadership, then we need to think about what it means to create the environment where diversity can exist.” Layne says men have an important role to play in creating that change. If there are men around a board table and women are absent, she hopes the men in that space will ask three questions she always considers when speaking on behalf of people whose voices are silent: Who is missing? Why? And how do we include them? “It’s not just women advocating for their equality, but fathers and brothers and sons must also advocate for the women in their lives,” Layne says. “It can only make our world better. Women’s empowerment is everybody’s empowerment.” Though Royster acknowledges some of the national discourse surrounding women’s rights today is discouraging, she says there are also plenty of reasons to be encouraged. At Elon she sees students and colleagues speaking out not only about women’s equality in general but about issues that are unique to women of color, for example. She hopes those conversations will continue to grow louder on a national scale. “Instead of an arc of justice, I think about work toward equity and inclusion as this tide that eventually erodes the shore,” Royster says. “It recedes at times, and I think we’re seeing a little bit of that tension right now, but it’s encouraging that we have the waves and swells.”

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A STEPPING

STONE SERENDIPITY IN THE LAB LEADS TO LIFE-SAVING DISCOVERIES FOR PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF CHEMISTRY GENE GRIMLEY. BY OWEN COVINGTON

G “Research is like making your way in fog across a stream on a series of stepping stones,” Grimley says. “I was just fortunate to be able to provide the next steps.”

24 the MAGAZINE of ELON

ene Grimley’s work on what would go on to be one of the most successful cancer chemotherapy drugs in history started with a 3x5 index card. It was on that card more than 50 years ago that Grimley, professor emeritus of chemistry at Elon, found a job listing from the biophysics lab at Michigan State University that was seeking a chemist. Then a graduate student, Grimley landed the job and began the work that would play an integral part in the eventual Food and Drug Administration approval of cisplatin, a groundbreaking anti-cancer drug that has since saved countless lives. Grimley was able to revisit the role he played in the development of cisplatin this past summer as he returned to Michigan State University to attend The Cisplatin Celebration & Cancer Research Symposium and reconnect with former colleagues. The 2018 gathering drew more than 200 people to mark the 40th anniversary of the FDA’s approval of cisplatin as the cancer-fighting drug Platinol, which is commercially produced by Bristol-Myers Squibb. “It was exciting to reunite with researchers on the team along with dozens of chemists, physicists and oncologists from around the world who took those early findings and worked to develop this most-successful chemotherapy remedy for cancer.” Grimley says. “My career went in the direction it did because of this project.”

Cisplatin is now known as “the penicillin of cancer drugs.” Along with being one of the first platinum-containing drugs to treat many cancers including ovarian, testicular, esophageal, bladder, head, neck, lung and stomach cancers, brain tumors and neuroblastoma, it has proven to be one of the most effective and most widely prescribed anti-cancer drugs. Bruce Chabner, former director of the National Cancer Institute, estimates that 40 to 50 percent of all cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy receive a platinum-containing drug. “It would be frightening to imagine the current status of cancer treatment without this essential drug,” Chabner wrote in a 2010 article for the American Association for Cancer Research. While the length of time he spent at Michigan State from 1963 through 1965 was not substantial, the discoveries he made there marked a significant period in Grimley’s career. He was working on the research team of biophysicist Barnett Rosenberg and microbiologist Loretta Van Camp, who were researching the potential impact of an electrical field on how E. coli cells divide. The team determined that using platinum electrodes to run a current through a solution containing the cells showed no change in the cell division process. While the electric field didn’t appear to have an effect, examination of cells in the waste solution after the experiment revealed that cells continued to grow, but became elongated. The elongated cells then ceased growing and

A STEPPING STONE

died. “They observed that filamentous forms had developed because cell growth continued while cell division had stopped” Grimley says. Grimley’s challenge was to determine what chemical substance within the experiment was causing cell division to stop and the bacteria to elongate and then die. He was able to isolate and identify that a platinum compound was responsible. Grimley and the team determined that in creating the electrical field in the solution, the use of platinum for the electrodes had led to the creation of a water-soluble platinum compound that Grimley then identified as what would become the first platinum anti-cancer agent. The compound quickly led to the discovery of a second platinum anti-cancer agent, cisplatin. Although both platinum compounds were very effective, cisplatin was the more effective of the two. Serendipity is a common element in the discovery process, and Grimley points to multiple points along the path to discovering cisplatin when it played a role. Often it lay in the decision to examine what appeared to be a failure only to find it to be a breakthrough. First was the decision to examine the solution after the electric field experiments appeared to have failed, rather than just dumping that solution down the drain. Without that extra step, Grimley wouldn’t have discovered what was causing the bacteria to stop dividing { Gene Grimley with John Cleland, the first patient and elongate. treated and cured of testicular cancer by cisplatin. } Next, a solution of a platinum test compound had bleached after sitting in the sun for several days in what was originally thought to be an error and a waste. Van Camp, the project’s microbiologist, decided not to discard the solution, and instead discovered in it the evidence of a photochemical reaction that produced the exact species responsible for E. coli’s filamentous growth that was isolated by Grimley. Grimley’s work was key to the eventual application of cisplatin as a cancer-fighting drug, but FDA approval was still more than a decade away. He left Michigan State in 1965 to complete his doctoral degree and then hold his first academic position, at Mississippi State, all before cisplatin “hit the big time.” Grimley arrived at Elon in 1987, where he spent 30 years and played a key role in building the university’s Department of Chemistry before retiring in 2017. “Research is like making your way in fog across a stream

on a series of stepping stones,” Grimley says. “I was just fortunate to be able to provide the next steps.” Grimley’s return to Michigan State last summer offered him the chance to learn more about what happened with the research after he left to pursue his doctorate, and to see firsthand the significant role cisplatin has played in the lives of so many. One of those lives is that of John Cleland, who in 1974 became the first patient treated and cured of testicular cancer by cisplatin. Grimley met Cleland at the Michigan gathering and learned how the pioneering use of the drug had saved Cleland’s life. Now cancer-free for more than 40 years, Cleland only had days to live with no other options available when he first took cisplatin. In East Lansing, Grimley reconnected with many of his old research colleagues. Three of the five key players in the lab in the mid-1960s were able to come back together after so many years apart. “It was so great to see them and to see what they have done with their lives,” Grimley says. James Hoeschele of Eastern Michigan University, a former colleague who would co-develop a less toxic platinum anti-cancer drug, and Grimley are now co-authoring a history of the development of platinum chemotherapeutics. For Grimley, the experience at Michigan State solidified his interest in inorganic chemistry and his extensive further research on the synthesis and characterization of platinum compounds. And for that, he is eternally grateful. “I learned so much about the impact of the work I had done that I just didn’t realize,” he says. “This really was such a fantastic opportunity in my life.”

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UNDER the Sea

26â&#x20AC;&#x192; the MAGAZINE of ELON

UNDER THE SEA

BY ROSELEE PAPANDREA TAYLOR

Her passion for marine life has led Mariana Kneppers ’18 to live outside her comfort zone.

ather than head straight to graduate school to begin work on a doctorate in coral ecology, Mariana Kneppers ’18 is living outside of her comfort zone for a year and gaining hands-on experience. Originally from Walnut Creek, California, her time at Elon exposed her to both. She studied abroad

twice, spent summers away from home pursuing internships and, in addition to the many academic demands required of a dual major in biology and environmental and ecological science, Kneppers conducted undergraduate research as a Lumen Scholar and Elon College Fellow. Since September, she has participated in a volunteer divemaster internship with Global Visions International off the coast of East Africa. She lives in the Seychelles on the island of Mahe, nestled among the mountains but with quick access to crystal blue water where research opportunities abound. “I chose the program to harness my skills conducting underwater research on marine conservation and also to obtain my padi divemaster certification while challenging myself to live far out of my comfort zone,” Kneppers says. For three months, she went diving twice a day, collecting data on coral growth. Her project focused on expanding a coral restoration nursery as well as planting baby corals back onto the reef to assist with reef recovery. “What stands out most to me is the sheer diversity of coral and marine life,” she says. “There are species here I have never heard of in my life.” In the past decade, two major coral bleaching events have occurred in the Seychelles, causing a 95 percent loss of hard coral coverage. Those events typically happen when water temperatures are too hot for coral to survive. Coral can recover winter

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“What stands out most to me is the sheer diversity of coral and marine life. There are species here I have never heard of in my life.” —MARIANA KNEPPERS ’18

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but only if the water temperature drops back within comfortable range, something that is unlikely to happen while sea temperature continues to steadily rise. “The science that we conduct allows us to see how many baby corals are recruited to the reef over time,” Kneppers says. “By monitoring the number of new recruits and their growth, we can see how well the reef is recovering from these events.” Living in a simple room with seven other volunteers, Kneppers had adjusted to life without modern conveniences, such as air conditioning or warm water. The closest store and bus station were just a mile and a half away, except she had to walk to get there. Now in the second half of her internship, she lives in town. In between taking people out diving, she is learning dive theory and rescue procedures, completing fitness tests and learning how to run a dive shop—all qualifications required of the padi divemaster course.

UNDER THE SEA

{ Mariana Kneppers ’18 with her Lumen Prize mentor, Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies Brant Touchette }

he experience has provided meaningful insights. Kneppers discovered she isn’t just honing her research skills. “Through my coral restoration project and my time working with clients at the shop, I’ve been surprised by my confidence collaborating and leading others around me in a cooperative manner,” she says. “I’ve learned that being a leader means more than just delegating jobs. It’s also about ensuring your peers gain something from your guidance. There’s a difference between telling someone what to do and teaching them in a way that promotes personal growth.” Kneppers’ interest in coral ecology and passion for marine life, research and exploration were all ignited while spending a Winter Term in Belize when she was a sophomore at Elon. “We only spent the final week and a half on the coast,” she recalls. “But we spent every day out snorkeling on the water learning to identify species of fish, algae and coral while performing field experiments.” It was life-defining. “I found that I loved being out in the field every day, swimming amongst the coral heads,” she says. That experience instilled the confidence she needed to spend a full semester abroad, which she did in spring 2017. “My passion for marine research really blossomed during my time in Turks and Caicos,” she says. The courses she took there focused on marine conservation and research, with an emphasis on evaluating local sea cucumber populations as a potential fishery. While there, she obtained her padi advanced scuba certification, diving twice a week conducting underwater labs, something that sparked her passion for underwater dive-based research. “I decided I wanted to pursue conservation work after graduating, focusing on using scuba techniques for data collection.” Her dive safety officer in the Turks and Caicos told her about the Seychelles program. “I knew it was the program for me and ideal for my career goals,” she says. A recipient of the Goldwater Scholarship and the Lumen

Prize while at Elon, Kneppers spent three years working on a research project mentored by Brant Touchette, professor of biology and environmental studies. She examined heat and salt stress in coastal marsh plants at risk from threats associated with climate change. Kneppers’ work on that project left an impression on Touchette, who is getting that research ready for publication this spring. “Mariana is very dedicated,” he says. “Part of that is exemplified in what she’s done in terms of her data collection.” One of the studies involved chlorophyll fluorescence, which produce massive data sets. “She had hours upon hours of that and had to comb through that data, synthesize it and summarize it. It took hours and hours to do. She remained focused and never wavered.” During the past several months, she applied for a Fulbright grant and the Marshall Scholarship, both prestigious awards that would allow her to pursue a graduate degree in the United Kingdom. She was the first Elon graduate to be shortlisted for an interview for the Marshall Scholarship, says Janet Myers, director of the National and International Fellowships Office. Preparing with Myers and Sarah Krech, associate director of National and International Fellowships, for the 30-minute, rapid-fire interview in front of a panel of eight wasn’t always easy. “Given that I was living in the jungle with a terrible Wi-Fi connection, preparing for the interviews took some strategic planning,” Kneppers says. She flew to San Francisco in November and found out a few days after making the trek back to the Seychelles that she didn’t receive the award. “I was proud to have made it as far as I did,” she says. “It was an incredible learning experience that has prepared me for similar interviews in the future.” She will find out in the spring if she received the Fulbright award to study at Imperial College in London, where she hopes to earn a master’s degree in science communication. Earning a doctorate in coral reef ecology remains a goal, and Kneppers plans to pursue a career that would allow her to serve as a liaison between the scientific community and the general public—another interest she shaped while at Elon. It happened while presenting her research at various conferences and to her peers. She has her sights set on a job with the BBC or National Geographic. “I really enjoy communicating science and realize that I have a knack for it as well,” she says. “I love watching the lightbulb go on when someone understands a complex scientific topic like chlorophyll fluorescence. It’s so rewarding to show people that science isn’t just for scientists.”

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A sister’s love Knowing she will be the guardian for her older sibling has influenced the professional and personal choices of Emily Benson Chatzky ’15 L’19. BY ERIC TOWNSEND

f not already, for many of us, there will come a time when we assume the responsibility to care for an elderly parent. From living arrangements to personal finances to end-of-life care, these decisions are, more often than not, guided by conversations or advanced directives outlined in a living will. Far fewer of us will ever care for a sibling. If we do, it might be for a short period of time, perhaps at an older age when his or her spouse has long been gone. But we almost never expect it to happen, let alone plan in advance for such a moment. So, what do you do when you have time to prepare? When you’ve sensed since you were a child that you will one day be responsible for the care of your older sister? And that her care will likely extend for decades once your parents are no longer able to be guardians? What do you do if you’re Emily Benson Chatzky ’15 l’19?

e The first thing you notice in the photos of Emily with her older sister, Sarah, is the smile. Not Emily’s smile. Sarah’s. You see it in the photos of her 11-yearold-self visiting the hospital to hold Emily, who had been born nine weeks early. You see it in the photos of her holding Emily in a pool, and in posing with Emily and Pluto at Disney World. Diagnosed with translocation of the 18th chromosome, a form of developmental delay that affects cognition and physical appearance, Sarah first showed signs of intellectual impairments as a young toddler. She today navigates life at JARC Florida, a residential community designed for adults with special needs, and works at a nearby Cheesecake Factory. Emily has 30 the MAGAZINE of ELON

few early memories of her sister. Sarah had moved from the family’s Connecticut home to JARC in Boca Raton when Emily was in third grade. “A lot of people don’t have the option to do what my parents did for her,” says Emily, who would visit Sarah two or three times each year. “They would always tell me that was the only way for her to have her own life.” The Arc, a national advocacy group for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, estimates that 600,000 to 700,000 families in the United States include an adult with an intellectual or developmental disability where there is no plan once an aging relative is unable to provide care. In that regard, Sarah is fortunate—her parents, Deborah and Gregg, have long had a plan for her lifelong care. The plan includes Emily.

e As a child, Emily envisioned careers in either medicine or law. Both her parents practiced law. It wasn’t until she interned at JARC Florida before her sophomore year of college that she discovered a love for vulnerable populations and the careers that existed to make a difference for people who lacked the ability to speak for themselves. For Emily, that didn’t rule out a legal career. She simply wanted to see what else was possible. At Elon she majored in psychology. She joined the Epsilon Sigma Alpha co-ed service sorority. She completed an undergraduate research project that even today is shared with senior seminars when Associate Professor Katie King wants to illustrate superior student scholarship: an analysis of coping mechanisms for family caregivers of adult children with developmental delays. Surveys were conducted at—where else?—JARC. “Emily was starting to

A SISTER’S LOVE

{ Opposite page: Sarah Benson holding newborn Emily. Above & left: the siblings throughout the years, including recently with Emily’s husband, Jacob Chatzky. }

understand that she may want to work with this population in her career,” King said, “not in a direct way, but rather as an advocate.” That understanding led Emily to New York City following her Elon graduation to earn a Master of Social Work degree at Columbia University. Seeing in the Big Apple many of the barriers to access and regulatory limitations of social work, and always reflecting on her early interest in law, Emily returned to North Carolina to begin legal studies at Elon Law as an Advocacy Fellow. In November she was elected editor-in-chief by her peers on the Elon Law Review. “Policies and government dictate so much for people with disabilities,” Emily says. “I wanted to make myself a better attorney to fight for people. There are a lot of vulnerable populations in the world.” “She was always determined to keep going, and to get degrees, and to change the world. She’d always talk about ‘changing the world,’” says Jenna Gilder ’15, one of Emily’s friends from Elon’s psychology program. “Emily loves her sister and talks about her all the time. When I met Sarah, it was like meeting a celebrity. I said to her, ‘I know so much about you!’”

e If you want to point to a particular moment when Emily “officially” learned of her future role as Sarah’s guardian, it was shortly after her parents moved to Florida during Emily’s sophomore year at Elon. The move required Gregg and Deborah Benson to update their estate plans. The conversation wasn’t lengthy or dramatic. “We’re re-

doing our wills and assume it’s OK to name you as Sarah’s successor guardian and successor trustee,” Deborah asked. Emily’s response: “Well, of course it’s OK!” It wasn’t a surprise. Emily will tell you how she has always sensed she would one day look after Sarah. The sisters connect in a way that isn’t possible with their brother, and knowing what awaits her has influenced more than Emily’s academic and professional interests. It has shaped her relationships with would-be suitors. The men in her life knew from almost their first date with Emily how she prioritized Sarah. Not that there was a “Sarah test,” but in hindsight, Emily now sees how Sarah was receptive (or not) to boyfriends who met the family. So who did Emily Benson just marry? Jacob Chatzky, an occupational therapist for children with special needs— and a new brother-in-law whom Sarah, a bridesmaid at their December wedding, simply adores. He’s a familiar face to Sarah having once worked at JARC. Their plan is to eventually move back to Florida, where Emily aspires to practice disability and Social Security law to protect vulnerable people. Emily and her husband also will continue their double dates with Sarah and her friends. Emily will continue her daily phone calls with Sarah because of how much Sarah loves to share about her work and JARC community. Emily will continue to help her parents manage Sarah (who sometimes ignores their mother and father but will do anything her sister asks). After all, Sarah looks up to Emily, and Deborah Benson is convinced the relationship has shaped the professional path Emily has chosen. winter

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“If she didn’t have a sister with special needs, how different would her life have been? Would she have done something completely different? As her mother, I think she would have done something similar,” says Deborah. “It’s who she is, and that’s what her heart is about. If she had no sister with special needs, she still would have done something about helping those who were less fortunate. I don’t think she can fill her heart if she’s not doing that something.” Outside of grassroots organizations like the Chicago-based Sibling Support Network, little research exists on siblings who care for a brother or sister. What scholars have identified is that many siblings aren’t always aware of the resources available to them, or even the different levels of responsibility the law recognizes. Thus, if you’re Emily Benson Chatzky, and you have time to prepare for one day being your sister’s guardian, and you know that you have the education and support needed to be a loyal caregiver, you’re better able to ask yourself questions that many others don’t consider: What happens when my parents are no longer here? What if I can’t afford to keep her where my parents want her and where Sarah is happiest? What kind of major decisions might I have to make down the road that could be very difficult? What kind of level of personal involvement is best for her growth and independence and for my personal life? There is at least one person sure that Emily’s heart is in the right place.

“My sister told me when she comes back to Florida, that she will come and get me—and keep me safe. … I miss her a lot. I really love her.”

PHOTO: STARFISH STUDIOS

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A SISTERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S LOVE

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POINT of VIEW

Words of wisdom from a procrastinator BY DANIEL L. HULSEAPPLE ’70

34 the MAGAZINE of ELON

rowing up just outside of Middletown, New York, I found it easy to be a procrastinator. The fourth of five children, I got away with almost everything, which led me on the road to being a “world-class procrastinator.” And while this is not a trait often desired, it’s taken me 75 years to learn that its serendipitous nature often allowed me opportunities I didn’t even know existed. It all started in primary school—that three-room schoolhouse with eight grades divided up between three teachers. When my teacher was giving her main attention to the other class in the room, I’d start playing rather than doing the assigned work. Being diagnosed with a heart murmur didn’t help either as I was put on restricted physical activities. Aha! Now I could procrastinate from doing my chores and not be scolded for it. Unfortunately for me, most of the restrictions only lasted for about a year, which meant I had to find other ways to not do what needed to be done until the very last moment. In high school, I found additional distractions, mainly girls. Getting last-minute homework finished got harder. My senior year I realized that while I had passed, I hadn’t really learned much, which wouldn’t do if I wanted to go to college. I delayed my high school graduation a year while I voluntarily repeated three necessary classes to improve my grades. My extra work paid off: I got accepted into Elon, the only school to which I applied. Sadly my procrastination did not end there. I did well my first year for the most part, but in my second year I was put on a conditional standing. I had to either bring my grades up or be placed on probation for a semester. At the end of my third year, I had done so poorly that I was forced to take the following semester off, missing the fall semester in 1962. I went back to Elon the following spring, but did not return that fall. Instead I journeyed off to Bangor, Maine, where I began the first of two stints of study at Bangor Theological Seminary. My procrastinating habits continued to follow me. I found more excuses for burning the midnight candle than I did for starting endof-semester reports before the last two weeks of classes. In spite of this, I managed to receive a seminary diploma in spring 1967, still short of two requirements to earn my full degree and three weeks prior to my wedding to Rosie, the young lady who had stolen my heart a year and a half earlier. I still didn’t have my college degree from Elon, so after our honeymoon, Rosie and I packed up and headed to North Carolina where I took the position of student pastor at a small rural church and resumed taking classes.

Between learning to be a husband, serving a church and going to college, I had to keep my procrastinating in check. That brought on ulcers and another setback in my studies. In the summer of 1968, I barely finished my classes before our first child decided it was time to make an entrance into this world. A move to New York to pastor another church put a damper on my plans to finish my Elon degree and complete the first draft of my thesis to get my full degree from Bangor. I still found way too much time for procrastinating, failing to get much done on my thesis and, frankly, doing a poor job of pastoring the flock I had been called to serve. But things started to turn. I managed to persuade the powers-that-be at Elon that I had enough credits and, thanks to President Earl Danieley, I finally received my diploma in May 1970. Another move awaited when I got home, this time back to Middletown to serve as a social work trainee at a psychiatric center. Thus began my career as a mental health state employee, which lasted a little over 32 years. But the story is still not over. In January 2001, at age 60, I returned to Bangor to earnestly pursue the degree that had evaded me those many years earlier. I still did a lot of procrastinating, but finally received my Master of Divinity degree in May of that year. In 2003 I received a call to pastor another rural church 50 miles from my home. I was ordained a month after I led my first service there in May 2003. Since then I’ve pastored one more church and retired from ministry twice. As I look back at my life, I see that most of the difficulties I’ve faced have been, for the most part, the result of my habitual procrastinating. Yet, had I not procrastinated during my high school days, chances are I may not have made it to Elon. I was already planning on attending the local junior college in my hometown, and then going on for the bachelor’s degree elsewhere. I learned about Elon only because I spent that extra year in high school. I also learned about Bangor Theological Seminary only because I was forced to miss that one semester at Elon. And had I not taken an extra year in Bangor, I would not have met the young lady who became my wife. So these are my words of wisdom: May those of you who are just starting out in life learn even just this single lesson—go for it all: the hard work and the fun; the studying and the relaxing; the reality and the wonders of the imagination. Just keep it balanced, so that you do not have regrets later on in life. But don’t forget to procrastinate occasionally—it will help keep you on your toes. A retired ordained United Church of Christ minister, Dan Hulseapple ’70 lives just outside of Middletown, New York, with his wife, Rose Marie.

ALUMNI ACTION

The Inn at Elon: A space for all alumni Dear fellow alumni,

ince joining the Elon Alumni Board, I’ve had the opportunity to talk with hundreds of you across the country. What always becomes clear in these conversations is that we share a deep bond through Elon—one that transcends the inevitable, yet important, changes that happen at an institution over time. This holds true no matter when we graduated, what we studied or where our lives have taken us since we left campus. That is why I’m so excited about The Inn at Elon. When this on-campus hotel and conference center opens in the fall, it will serve as a new home for all alumni, parents, friends and prospective students. The inn will be a place where we can all come

together, share our favorite Elon stories and create new memories by hosting weddings, reunions and special events. I’m also proud The Inn at Elon will serve as an innovative approach to expanding educational access at the university, since revenue beyond operating expenses will be used to fund student scholarships. My hope is that The Inn at Elon will add to the many other places and symbols on campus that unify us and remind us that no matter what year we graduated, the heart of Elon has stayed the same and is displayed every day in Elon’s more than 30,000 alumni worldwide. Michelle Wideman Snavely ’00 President, Elon Alumni Board

HOMECOMING 2018 A CELEBRATION OF FELLOWSHIP

hanks to the nearly 2,500 alumni, students, family and friends who attended Homecoming 2018 on Nov. 2–4 and added another chapter to their Elon stories. Alumni found ample opportunities throughout the weekend to reconnect with old friends, especially while tailgating before Saturday’s football game against the University of Rhode Island. Award ceremonies, open houses and reunion events on Friday were followed by the Rock the Block: #ElonHome Community Block Party celebration in the new Schar Center. By the time runners had lined up outside the Martin Alumni Center for the Homecoming Brick Run/Walk, rainy weather had cleared and the brisk temperatures made for a perfect November day for activities indoors and out. Elon’s milestone reunion programs celebrated another successful year by contributing more than $6 million to the university through annual gifts, major gifts and planned gifts, making for a truly memorable weekend. For more images from the festivities, go to this issue’s inside back cover. And don’t forget to save the date for Homecoming & Reunion Weekend 2019, Nov. 1–3! winter

2019

ALUMNI ACTION

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: ELON DAY 2019 IS MARCH 5

03|05|19

We look forward to celebrating with you at one of our regional parties. Be on the lookout for more information via email and social media about the event in your city. Visit elon.edu/elonday to learn more or sign up as an Elon Day champion.

Service events

Several of our chapters engaged in service projects this past fall: »» In November, the Chicago

alumni chapter volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House. The group led a family activity program, helped with holiday-themed crafts and donated necessary arts and crafts supplies.

{ Chicago }

»» Members of the Atlanta alumni

chapter spent a Saturday morning volunteering with Meals on Wheels to help feed the elderly in their community.

{ Tampa Bay }

»» The Charlotte alumni chapter

volunteered at the Humane Society of Charlotte by spending time with furry friends and also cleaning the facility.

{ Atlanta } 36 the MAGAZINE of ELON

ALUMNI ACTION

UPCOMING SPRING EVENTS Join fellow alumni, parents and friends as President Connie Ledoux Book travels to your city for a special Evening for Elon event series. Don’t miss your chance to hear an update on current priorities and learn how you can get involved in creating Elon’s future. Unique venues like the Adler Planetarium (Chicago) and OUE Skyspace LA (Los Angeles) will provide special backdrops for these inspiring events. Save the dates and we’ll see you soon!

KEEP ELON IN THE KNOW If you have recently moved or changed jobs, make sure to update your information at elon.edu/alumniupdate to receive details about upcoming events in your area.

ELON.EDU/ALUMNIUPDATE { Charlotte }

»» April 10: Chicago »» June 12: Los Angeles »» June 13: San Francisco

Chapter events { Asheville }

»» Asheville-area alumni enjoyed reconnecting

at an alumni social gathering at Wicked Weed Brewing Pub in December. Special thanks to alum Ryan Guthy ’09 and Wicked Weed Brewing for hosting the group.

»» For the second year in a row, the Tampa Bay

alumni chapter took a tour of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s home arena in January prior to watching a game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Special thanks to Brian Fink ’08 for leading the tour.

»» More than 40 alumni, family members and guests

attended the Triangle alumni chapter’s Carolina Hurricanes outing in December. This outing was a fun night of hockey but also a local fundraiser, as a portion of the proceeds from each ticket purchased went directly to a Raleigh-based nonprofit organization founded by Jenn Nowalk ’99. The Triangle Spokes Group distributes bicycles and helmets to families in need during the holiday season and received more than $400 from this event.

{ Tampa Bay }

winter

2019

ALUMNI ACTION

Recognizing alumni excellence

Homecoming 2018 offered the perfect backdrop to celebrate the accomplishments of alumni who are making a difference in their communities and are committed to their alma mater. The Office of Alumni Engagement honored five alumni on Nov. 2 with the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Awards: ✪✪ David A. Stevens ’81,

✪✪ ✪✪ ✪✪

✪✪

{ From left: Angie Lovelace Walton ’10, Jill Rose ’00, Tony Weaver Jr. ’16, President Connie Ledoux Book, David A. Stevens ’81 & Carter M. Smith ’92. }

mid-south division president, SunTrust Banks, Inc. – Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Jill Rose ’00, vice president of operations, Dosh – Distinguished Alumna of the Year Tony Weaver Jr. ’16, founder, Weird Enough Productions – Young Alumnus of the Year Angie Lovelace Walton ’10, director of news and entertainment content, USA TODAY – Young Alumna of the Year Carter M. Smith ’92, executive specialty representative, Amgen – Distinguished Service to Elon

The Elon Black Alumni Network presented awards on Nov. 3 to five members of the Elon community: ✪✪ M arcus Elliott, director of the Odyssey Program, Elon University –

K. Wilhelmina Boyd Outstanding Service to Students Award ✪✪ Z aire Miller McCoy ’02, associate vice president for enrollment and dean of admission, Rollins College – Gail Fonville Parker ’70 Distinguished Alumna Award ✪✪ David Williams Jr. ’13, cloud consultant, Amazon Web Services – EBAN Distinguished Young Alumnus Award ✪✪ Retired Col. Berkley Gore ’85, senior vice president, Analytical Government Solutions – Eugene Perry ’69 Distinguished Alumnus Award ✪✪ Durice White Galloway ’09 G’14 (in absentia), senior executive director of alumni engagement, University of California–San Diego – EBAN Distinguished Young Alumna Award 38 the MAGAZINE of ELON

The Elon LGBTQIA Alumni Network honored four alumni at a Nov. 3 ceremony for their advocacy work: ✪✪ B renna M. Ragghianti L’14, hearing officer, Guilford County Clerk

of Superior Court – Community Enrichment Award

✪✪

Ivey M. Ghee ’03, owner and lead consultant, The Hospitality G,

✪✪

Charlie Cheema ’19, health and physical education major – Matthew

LLC – Community Enrichment Award

✪✪

Antonio Bosch Student Community Engagement Award Jonathan Chapman ’07 (in absentia), pastor and teacher, Westfield United Church of Christ – Community Enrichment Award

CLASS NOTES

68|

Lee Johnson and Perry Williams remember being

The Rev. Lou Wallace ’79 was honored in September by The Carolinas Center with the 2018 Peter Keese Leadership Award in recognition of her work in end-of-life care. Lou is credited with establishing the first North Carolina hospice community-based bereavement program at Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro (HPCG), where she worked in a variety of roles for more than 29 years. In 1989 she opened HPCG’s grief counseling center to anyone who had experienced the death of a loved one and was also instrumental in establishing HPCG’s Kids Path program, which supports children coping with serious illness and loss. Now retired, she continues to facilitate support groups at the organization throughout the year.

the first Elon football players selected to play in a NCAAsanctioned All-Star game. They played the East-West Shrine Bowl at Carter Stadium in Raleigh, N.C. Now both retired, Lee lives in Asheboro while Perry lives in Virginia Beach,Va.

90|

Robert Hubler and his

WPEC-TV colleagues received a Suncoast Regional Emmy Award on Dec. 1 for their coverage of the February 2018 mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla. The CBS television affiliate in West Palm Beach was honored at the 42nd annual Suncoast Regional Emmy Awards gala, presented by the Suncoast Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. An assistant director of news content, Robert and his colleagues were nominated in the competition’s Team Coverage category.

elon.edu/classnotes

96| TURN YOURSELF IN!

Help us keep you in touch with your Elon classmates.

Eileen Perez has joined

LabCorp’s Office of Information Security (OIS) after working in IT with the North Carolina lab for 13 years. As the communications manager on the behavior management and communications team, Eileen builds cybersecurity awareness, manages all OIS communications, presents the program at new hire orientations and manages the OIS intranet site. She lives in Mebane.

97|

Damon Crone reports there was an impromptu reunion when several of his Elon friends attended the Elon-UNC men’s basketball game at Schar Center in

November. The reunion included John Crawford ’96 , Chris Prince , Dan Thompson, Jason Crawford ’98 and Zack Perryman ’98. Damon lives in Greensboro, N.C., with wife Jillian and their two children.

98|

Kaye Hayes was recognized for “Excellence in Performance” during the spring 2018 Recognition and Awards Banquet for staff at North Carolina A&T State University. She is now the communications coordinator at Winthrop University. Kaye lives in Columbia, S.C. • Kebbler M. Williams and Mark Williams welcomed son Kellen Mark on 8/23/18. She is also happy to announce she was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society at Elon University as an alumna honoree in April. She was originally inducted ALUMNI ALBUM

as a student member in 1997. Kebbler is an education planning and development consultant for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction and also serves on Elon’s board of trustees. The family lives in Pittsboro.

99|

Jaime Doucette Maglione

and Chip Maglione welcomed son Jacob Ellis on 8/29/18. Jaime is a teacher with the Berkeley County School District in South Carolina. The family lives in Hanahan.

00|

Matthew Davis was recently hired as digital experience manager for Kaplan Early Learning Company, a national supplier of school supplies, teaching resources, classroom furniture and playground equipment. He and wife Melissa live in Lexington, N.C. • Dannielle Thomas , who bought her father’s insurance agency in December 2017, was recently featured in an Allstate commercial sharing her story of agency ownership. Dannielle and husband Jerome Thomas live in Moncks Corner, S.C., with their two children, Jared, 13, and Laila, 11.

03|

Denard Jones and Sara Gould ’09 were married 10/7/18. Jessica Beasley ’09 officiated the wedding and Kendall Wetzel ’09 served as matron of honor.

Eileen Perez ’96

(l-r): Damon Crone ’97, John Crawford ‘96, Chris Prince ’97, Dan Thompson ’97, Zack Perryman ‘98 & Jason Crawford ‘98

Kebbler Williams ’98, Mark Williams & son Kellen Mark

Other alumni in attendance included Brett “Coop” Cooper ’05, Catherine Culyba ’09, Shannon Holland Drewry ’09, Katy LoPresto Melanson ’09 and Kristin Cunningham Raymond ’09. Sara is a doctoral student at

winter 2019 39

CLASS NOTES

NEWFOUND PERSPECTIVE

{ From left: Cole Hyman ’16, Ashlyn Hyman ’16, Brianna Pepperman ’16, Mariah Moger G’17 & Aaron Moger ’12 }

BY NOAH ZAISER ’20

ife can be unexpected, but it can also provide opportunities to explore the world around you. That’s what five Elon alumni discovered after returning home to North Carolina from a church mission trip to Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia. From meeting new people to making an impact on a community thousands of miles away, the group went abroad to assist children in local orphanages and left with a newfound sense of purpose. In August, Brianna Pepperman ’16 and husband-and-wife alumni duos Cole and Ashlyn Hyman ’16 and Aaron ’12 and Mariah DPT ’17 Moger took connecting flights with their Summit Church team through Raleigh, Chicago and Istanbul before landing in Kyrgyzstan. The country has a challenging history with international adoptions, so when the team was presented with an opportunity to go there, they seized it. “Aside from my honeymoon, I had only traveled abroad once, so it was all still new to me,” Cole Hyman says. With four medical professionals and 11 others in the group, the objective of the trip was to examine the health of children in orphan care, as well as provide companionship by partnering with the country’s local orphanage organizations. Initially, the concept of visiting a country with little knowledge of the culture or geography was daunting. “In the beginning, I didn’t know what to even expect. Kyrgyzstan’s view on Western civilization has been skewed, and I didn’t know how we’d be received,” Hyman says. By the time they landed and started to meet the locals, those concerns disappeared. The team was able to interact with children of all ages by taking them on day trips and getting to know one another. “We were able to provide MRIs, assistive devices, orthotics and medications to the children,” Mariah Moger said, adding that as

40 the MAGAZINE of ELON

a physical therapist she also had the opportunity to assess some physical needs, train nannies and caregivers and teach children how to walk and play again. More importantly, the group was able to share their faith with those they encountered and “plant seeds in the hearts of orphanage directors, translators, nannies and others—seeds of hope and change,” Aaron Moger says. “We had the chance to love them with the love of Christ and watch their whole demeanor toward us change in a matter of minutes.” The overall goal of the trip was to create an adoption profile for each of the nearly 50 children the team met who were eligible for adoption. In all, the team was able to create around 90 informational files to provide a clearer picture of each child’s background for a new home life. With 31 hours of travel from door-to-door, the group covered extensive ground to build a lasting relationship with the organizers on the ground and children within the system. But the journey didn’t end there. The Summit team was able to share of themselves while also becoming a part of a larger group of like-minded individuals with a mission to love others. “An amazing and unexpected experience we had was finding a church that mostly spoke English and represented people from multiple walks of life—China, India, Africa, among others were all gathered together for fellowship, and it was incredible,” Hyman says. The experience solidified his passion and purpose for the journey, offering an opportunity to share his faith while learning from others in the process. “At the end of the day, it’s not about us or you, it’s about others,” he says. “More and more, I’m realizing there’s always something more to learn.”

CLASS NOTES Vanderbilt University and Denard is an associate director of college counseling at Harpeth Hall. They live in Nashville. • Jeanette Olli Mokry and Gilbert Mokry welcomed daughter Olivia Marie on 8/19/18. Olivia joins older brother Austin. Jeanette is an associate professor of mathematics at Dominican University. The family lives in Elmhurst, Ill. • Katie Berman Thomas and Brad Thomas welcomed daughter Madeleine Riley on 7/20/18. The family lives in Baltimore.

04|

Sara Dent Freeman and

Brant Freeman welcomed son Victor Robert on 1/1/18. He was the first baby to be born in 2018 at Fauquier Hospital in Virginia. Sara is a Music Together teacher. The family lives in Delaplane. • Daniel Hampton has joined Access National Bank as a senior vice president to help grow its government contracting banking team. Daniel is excited to join the team in the northern Virginia-D.C. market. He lives in Leesburg. • Danielle Wilson Nashold and D. Blaine Nashold Jr. welcomed son Daryl Blaine “Trey” on 8/13/18. She is a senior technology manager with Bank of America. The family lives in Charlotte, N.C.

05|

Brian Pickler and Kara Anderson Pickler ’06

welcomed son Wade Franklin on 10/4/17. The family lives in Dublin, Ohio.

06|

Ben Newsome and Julie

Lyon welcomed son Henry Daniel on 9/24/18. Ben is a music teacher. The family lives in San Jose, Calif.

08|

Andrea Attorri {DPT ’11}

became an APTA board certified geriatric clinical specialist in June, one of fewer than 3,000 nationwide. She has been accepted into a critical care physical therapy fellowship at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas. Prior to that, Andrea was an acute care physical therapist at Wake Forest Baptist Health since 2012 and served as an adjunct professor in Elon’s Department of Physical Therapy Education. • Calley Lev recently passed the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences certification exam, which evaluates editorial proficiency in editing life sciences manuscripts.

She is a senior developmental editor with Elsevier. She and husband Cody Lev live in Philadelphia. • Maddie Phillips and Domhnall Minogue were married 7/12/18 in Ireland. Alumni in attendance included Tommy Hayes ’76, Danielle Andre Skeen ’07, Kim Warnke Haka, Michele Hammerbacher Modany, Jamie Maurer Shull, Lauren Eleuteri Thornhill, Lauren France ’09, Stacy Laue ’09, Kate Austin ’10, Kimberly Likman ’11, Hillary Noble ’11, Christy Schmidt ’11 and Anna Hunsucker Woodlief ’11. • Eric Garren and Luci Strauss ’11 were married 8/11/18. Alumni in attendance included Matt Lardie ’06, Adam Lindsey ’07, Mike Lynch ’07 , Dan Cariello , Greg Galante , Justin Garren , Samantha Gilman, Steve Haas, Alex Satterfield, Eric Lewandowski ’09, Rick Myers ’09, Jeffrey Tente ’09, Glen Cornell ’10, Jerome Lewis ’10, Jason MacCollum ’10, Katy Burns ’11, Peter Guyton ’11, Jo Beth Harstrick ’11, Bridget Kelly ’11, Kelly Appino Otte ’11, Eliza Pope ’11, Catherine Ross ’11, Catherine Rossi ’11 , Melanie Woodward ’11 and Ryan Beckstead ’12. Luci is a relationship manager at Goldman Sachs and Eric is a product manager at American Express. They live in New York City.

09|

Chelsie Wagner Counsell

received her doctoral degree in marine biology from the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Hawaii in October. Her doctoral work focused on the assembly dynamics for a coral-associated reef community. Days were spent underwater studying cryptic reef creatures, and even more time spent on dry land modeling the results. Chelsie is currently doing a post-doctoral assignment and seeking a faculty teaching position in the future. She lives in Waikiki with husband Travis Counsell ’11. • Jill Medhus DeLorenzo and husband Jason DeLorenzo opened Ad Deum Funds in early 2018. The firm specializes in stock options and offers individual asset management and investment planning services. Jill and Jason live in Chantilly, Va., with their two children. • Lauren Sharkey and Rob Bowne were married 8/4/18 surrounded by many of their Elon friends. They live in Shrewsbury, N.J. • Caitlin Pascarelli Silvi and Matthew Silvi welcomed son Levi Alexander on 9/24/18.

Charitable Gift Annuities CAN PROVIDE INCOME FOR LIFE

a charitable gift annuity of $10,000 or more to Elon will guarantee a fixed income for the rest of your life. With market interest rates near historic lows, a gift annuity is an attractive way to increase your income and make a gift to Elon at the same time. You will receive immediate tax benefits and can defer capital gains. The payment rate of a charitable gift annuity depends on your age at the time of the gift—the older you are, the higher the rate.

— NEW RATES — ONE BENEFICIARY

TWO BENEFICIARIES

AGE

ANNUIT Y R ATE

AGE

ANNUIT Y R ATE

4.7%

60/65

4.3%

5.1%

67/67

4.7%

5.6%

71/73

5.2%

Annuity rates are subject to change. The annuity rate remains fixed once your gift is made.

To explore a gift annuity for you, your spouse or a family member, visit ELONLEGACY.ORG. Talk with us today about how you may benefit from a life income gift to Elon and other gift-planning opportunities. please contact: Carolyn DeFrancesco, Director of Planned Giving 336-278-7454 ■ cdefrancesco@elon.edu ■ elonlegacy.org

{ Elon’s marching band during a parade in the mid-1960s. }

winter 2019 41

CLASS NOTES

A thrilling PROCESS BY OLIVER FISCHER ’20

trong superheroes that can take on an army of bad guys all by themselves may be exciting, but they aren’t relatable to most people. So when Kevin Wallace ’o2 set out to write—and publish—his first novel, “Broken Soul,” he chose a different kind of protagonist: a U.S. Marine veteran returning from a hellacious combat deployment. In the book, Sgt. Jake Bedford returns home, struggling with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. His only comfort lies in the loving arms of his young wife, Michelle. Shortly after his return, Michelle is brutally murdered in a random gang initiation. Unable to cope, and unsatisfied with the broken judicial system, Bedford takes matters into his own hands as he embarks on a dark journey of revenge. “[Writing the book] was kind of just a bucket-list project that I wanted to see through,” says Wallace, who works as a district sales manager for medical device company Nevro. “When I started writing it, I didn’t expect to have the reaction from editors and the target audience. It’s really been taking off.” Most readers, Wallace included, like a good revenge thriller, but he believes the main reason for the novel’s success is its relatable main character. “The main character in this book is not some muscle-bound superhero with super strength,” he says. “I wanted to create a storyline based around someone who was more realistic and believable.” As Wallace was working on “Broken Soul” in his spare time for three years, he wanted to highlight how detrimental PTSD can be to men and women in the U.S. armed forces returning home after combat. The book also offers the reader the opportunity to follow someone on a dark journey who has experienced a terrifying, traumatic loss, providing an outlet for their emotions, as well as an opportunity to enjoy the adventure. This combination seems to have struck a chord with readers. “I think people are not only able to relate to the loss of

TURN YOURSELF IN!

elon.edu/classnotes

The family lives in Roswell, Ga. • Shannon Waite and Will Hendricks were married 4/28/18. Amanda Braunlich, Kelly Cofer {Law ’12} and Elizabeth Moy were in the bridal party. Other alumni in attendance included Hannah Crafford and Kara Sweeney. Shannon is a campus minister at Campus Christian Community. They live in Fredericksburg, Va. • Dorian Wanzer joined the American Institute of Architects as its senior manager for grassroots advocacy in September. In that role, she is responsible for implementing grassroots advocacy campaigns that mobilize the institute’s 90,000-plus members to connect with their legislators at the federal, state and local levels. She lives in Washington, D.C.

10| 42 the MAGAZINE of ELON

Hunter Cavell recently

joined the Buckley King Law Firm in Cleveland.

{ Kevin Wallace ’02 }

the main character but also the sadness and emotions he has been experiencing,” Wallace says. While he has been writing since an early age, writing a novel presented numerous challenges for Wallace. A book like “Broken Soul” requires a lot of research to accurately portray PTSD and combat situations. To accomplish that, he talked to active and retired combat veterans, discussed military tactics and researched how crime scenes are analyzed. All of this contributed to a believable storyline, Wallace says, though he makes sure to let readers know what they are in for. “This is a very dark thriller,” he says. “This book is for readers who want a suspenseful, dark thriller that might take them to some places that push their comfort zones, and it will be an emotional rollercoaster.” Wallace believes getting thought-provoking reactions is the sign of a good story in any medium, something he’s keeping in mind as he works on a second installment of what will be a three-part series. He hopes readers enjoy the upcoming book as much as they did the first. “This entire process has been rewarding in so many unexpected ways,” Wallace says. “I’ve always been passionate about writing but being able to interact with readers has taken the process to a whole new level. I look forward to continue to build on that.” “Broken Soul” is available on Amazon.com.

He focuses on contract disputes, real estate, employment matters and trademark infringement. In 2018, Hunter was recognized as a Rising Star in the Ohio Super Lawyers list.

11|

Courtney Jackson Brown

and Ben Brown welcomed son Carter Andrew on 11/6/18. Weeks prior to welcoming her son into the world, Courtney was able to visit her Elon oak, which is planted on her grandfather’s farm in the Shenandoah Valley. She says she cannot wait until her little acorn meets the mighty oak. The family lives in Richmond, Va. • Nolan

Elingburg {Interactive Media ’12}

and Danielle Bliss were married 8/4/18 in Asheville, N.C., at Highland Brewing Co. Derek DeAndrade and Brendan Kane served as groomsmen. Nolan and Danielle live in Raleigh with their

two dogs. • Caitlin Yuschak and Andrew Feiter were married 9/22/18. Alumni in attendance included Rachel McGlaughlin ’09 , Vic McGlaughlin ’09, Dana Blaney Van Wie ’09, Cameron DePuy DiLorenzo ’10, Marcus Lockamy ’10, Aly Speir Parker ’10, Elizabeth Rymer ’10, Sam Bianchetti, Kimberley Campbell, Geoff Hall, Kelly Krech, Hannah Lane, Gina O’Rourke, Luke O’Rourke, Allie Stolte and Sam Speicher ’12.

12|

Christopher Antal and Kelly Giffear were married 9/15/18

in Cape May, N.J. Alumni in attendance included Jonathan Citty ’10, Rachael Fine ’10, Stephanie

Olsen Azar ’11 {Interactive Media ’12}, Caroline Cook ’11, Andrew Cordisco ’11, Kelly Thompson Cordisco ’11, Aran Moultrop ’11, Matt Smith ’11, Stephen Azar , Brett Brawerman , Taylor Brownstein , Peter Dempsey ,

CLASS NOTES ALUMNI ALBUM

Jaime Doucette Maglione ’99, Chip Maglione & children

Dannielle Thomas ’00

Katie Berman Thomas ’03, Brad Thomas & daughter Madeleine Riley

Sara Dent Freeman ’04, Brant Freeman & children

Eric Garren ’08, Luci Strauss Garren ’11 & friends Grace Foster, Maria Gardell, Kate Szabo Glotfelty, Jeff Kolodkin, Chris Lapp, Emily McLaughlin, Megan Riddle Shulman, Steve Schulman, Samantha Brain ’13, Paul Flieger ’13, Jessica Clinch Peddicord ’13, Bobby Rafferty ’13, Johnny Tricoli ’13, Matthew Bedard ’14, Nick Margherita ’14, Hillary McManus ’14 and Asher Weinstein ’15. Chris and Kelly live in Philadelphia. • Amber Glenn-Thomas

and Scott Childs were married 10/11/18 surrounded by many of their Elon friends. They live in Charlotte, N.C. • Laura Dellicker is happy to announce she adopted son Salim on 3/1/18 from Hyderabad, India. Laura is a clinical social worker. The family lives in Chapel Hill, N.C. • Katie Seringer and Nathan Russell were married 10/13/18 in Columbus, Ohio. Alumni in attendance included Meg D’Albora ’11, Lauryn Thomas ’11, Grant

Denard Jones ’03, Sara Gould Jones ’09 & friends

Danielle Wilson Nashold ’04, D. Blaine Nashold Jr. & son Daryl Blaine “Trey”

Maddie Phillips Minogue ’08 & friends DeRoo, Kaitlin Henze, Stephanie Quinn DeRoo ’13, Alexandria Weller Palombo ’13 and Michael Palombo ’13.

Katie and Nathan live in Columbus, where she works as a business analyst for CoverMyMeds.

13|

Mollie Hughes and Andrew

Levy were married 8/19/18 surrounded by many of their Elon friends. Mollie is a student at California Western School of Law and Andrew is a partner at Textile Rental Partners. They live in San Diego. • Sarah Lentz and Andrew Krech were married 5/26/18. Alumni in attendance included Scott Muthersbaugh ’06, Steve Ferguson ’11, Avery Bebout, Jason Brodie, Katie Nelsen Burke, William Burke, Jacqueline Evans Lieb, Morgan Gregg Simmons, Kim Lilienthal ’14 and Margaret Spotts ’14. Sarah is the associate director of national and

international fellowships at Elon University while Andrew is the university’s social media manager. They live in Greensboro, N.C., with their dog, Maddie. • Janelle McNeil and Eldridge Masuka were married 6/3/18. Janelle is a medical student. They live in Wes Lafayette, Ind.

14|

Sarah Beacham and Curtis Van Iseghem ’15 were

married 9/1/18. Sarah and Curtis met at Elon and got engaged on campus. Sarah is thankful for Elon, the place that introduced her to the man of her dreams. They live in Raleigh, N.C. • Tierney Guido and Tyler Robb were married 8/25/18. Tierney is an occupational therapist and Tyler is an account executive with SAP America. They live in Philadelphia. • Heather Harder appeared on the

Ashley Deese {Interactive Media ’13} was honored by Forbes.com in its 2019 “30 Under 30 in Games” list recognizing creative young game designers. Ashley is manager of digital media for the Smithsonian Institute, where she manages the production and distribution of digital media and products. She leads a team in creating educational science products and gaming apps, with her “Aquation: The Freshwater Access Game” earning a nomination for The Webby Awards’ Inaugural Public Service and Activism category in 2018.

winter 2019 43

CLASS NOTES

BREAKING THE MOLD

atie Zanca ’14 and Alexa Magnotto ’12 have turned their love for the theater into successful careers in casting. Their performance experiences led them into the field and aided their knowledge, giving them the qualifications to work in the industry. A casting assistant at Binder Casting, a full-service theatrical and commercial casting company in New York City, Zanca’s interest in casting began at Elon. “While my lifelong love for performing is what led me to Elon in the first place, it was during my time there that I realized there were other ways in which I could contribute from the other side of the table,” Zanca says. She was involved in the casting for Elon Cares, the benefit concert for Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS, and for the Class of 2014’s senior show, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Following graduation, her first job was as company manager at Flat Rock Playhouse in Hendersonville, North Carolina, which allowed her to further explore this part of the industry. Zanca later returned to New York and interned briefly at Binder Casting, then spent a year at a talent management company exploring the representation side of the theater before returning to Binder Casting in 2017. Also based in the Big Apple, Magnotto is a voiceover casting assistant at Sound Lounge. Following graduation she interned at Telsey + Co. She knew she wanted to pursue casting early on, but was unsure how to become acclimated with the casting world since there is no formal training. She built up her name as a freelance theatrical casting assistant and realized she had the directorial proficiency and the { Alexa Magnotto ’12 }

BY HALEY MCCORMICK ’19

organizational skills required to audit and schedule auditions and casting. Both Zanca and Magnotto say their music threatre training at Elon prepared them for what they do every day. They understand the challenges of auditioning, how to mark cuts and sheet music and how to relay applicable notes to actors. “It’s great to be able to coach actors and singers with an actual understanding of the technique that they are using to approach { Katie Zanca ’14 } their audition,” Zanca says. In this field, she adds, it is important to be able to translate what a director or producer may be looking for in an actor because it could make or break a job offer. For both professionals, knowing how actors feel is important; they strive to react in a constructive and positive way that gives performers a safe environment to put their best auditions forward, without fear of judgment or failure. “When performing on stage, your energy has to be 1,000 percent at all times,” Magnotto says. “When I’m running a casting session I see a lot of people, and each person deserves the same attention I gave to the first person of the day.” While Zanca never thought she would be in casting one day, she is thankful she kept an open mind while crafting her own career. “I think when you commit to a performance BFA, sometimes there’s a shame involved if you ultimately end up pursuing other career paths and I really wish that wasn’t the case,” she says. “The things we are taught as Elon music theatre students translate into so many other jobs and fields. If you find yourself interested in something different, then you should allow yourself to go for it.”

ALUMNI ALBUM

Lauren Sharkey Bowne ’09 & friends 44 the MAGAZINE of ELON

Chelsie Wagner Counsell ‘09 & Travis Counsell ’11

Jill Medhus DeLorenzo ’09, Jason DeLorenzo & sons

CLASS NOTES live in Richmond, Va. • Danielle Schwartz and Jacob Marshall were married 10/7/18 surrounded by many of Danielle’s sorority sisters, including Jennifer McAllister, Jeannie Halvorsen Berg, Katie Bowman, Alex Johnson, Megan Larcher and Maddie Sills. Danielle is an admissions officer at EF Academy International Boarding School. They live in Stamford, Conn.

TV show’s “Shark Tank” season 10 trailer and on the video introducing Matt Higgins, RSE Ventures’ chief executive officer. Heather joined the company in February to coordinate communications surrounding Higgins’ appearance as a guest on the show and visited the set in June to watch the pitches. She lives in New York. • Katie Pullman and Jarred Liszeski were married 7/21/18 surrounded by many of their Elon friends. Katie is a marketing and communications specialist at Trinity Episcopal School. They

15|

Robin Kester has joined

the Elon University staff as assistant director for

analytics and reporting in the Office of University Advancement.

16|

Waverly Ann Jackson

and Bryce Williams were married 5/19/18 in Louisa, Va., surrounded by many Elon alumni, including her matron of honor Courtney Jackson Brown ’11 and bridesmaids Morgan Goldstein and Emily Kelch. They live in Easley, S.C.

17|

Mike Casterlow {Law}

and Charles Harvey were married 5/5/18. Mike is a document review attorney for

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, LLP in Winston-Salem, N.C. • Lauren Hossfeld {Law} recently accepted a full-time position with the Minority Corporate Counsel Association in Washington, D.C., serving as its membership and development manager, assistant counsel. • Shane McGrath {Law} started a new position in April as judicial staff attorney for the Florida Fourth Judicial Circuit in Jacksonville. Specific assignments include handling motions for postconviction relief.

ALUMNI ALBUM

Shannon Waite Hendricks ’09, Will Hendricks & friends

Hunter Cavell ’10

Courtney Jackson Brown ’11

Caitlin Yuschak Feiter ’11, Andrew Feiter & friends

Caitlin Pascarelli Silvi ’09 & son Levi Alexander

Dorian Wanzer ’09

Nolan Elingburg ’11 G‘12, Danielle Elingburg & friends

Christopher Antal ’12, Kelly Giffear Antal ‘12 & friends winter 2019 45

CLASS NOTES

BY LEILA JACKSON ’22

natural born broadcaster, Eugene Daniel ’11 has experienced a less-than ordinary path to his professional calling, which has interwoven communications with his religious faith. From an early age, Daniel knew he wanted to study broadcast journalism in college. “I loved the idea of being able to craft ways for people to understand concepts better, and I loved the idea of being able to do that on television,” he says. But his faith was also a big part of his life, so he decided to minor in religious studies and get involved with Elon’s Gospel Choir. He also co-founded Affinity, a Christian group that Daniel and his friends organized to connect people through exploring and understanding their Christian faith. “I never really knew how to balance my two passions, but Elon gave me the chance to start my own organization and lead that while also being able to grow and learn in journalism at the same time,” Daniel says. A Communications Fellow, Daniel was determined to be a sports journalist. His father played professional football for 14 years, and he grew up watching famous sportscasters like Stuart Scott. The catastrophic earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010 made him reconsider his career path during his junior year, and he ultimately decided to focus on general broadcast news. “I realized there are only so many angles that the sports broadcasters at the time were able to take and I knew that I really wanted to be able to help people, to encourage and to educate,” Daniel says. After graduating, Daniel took a position as a general assignment reporter at WMBD-TV station, the CBS affiliate in Peoria, Illinois. He moved on to covering local government news and is now a producer and an evening news anchor for the station. He also served as the

young adult coordinator at St. Paul Baptist Church in Peoria, working with young adults aged 19 to 29 to guide them in their faith. In 2014, Daniel decided to pursue a Master of Divinity degree at Lincoln Christian University and work part time at the station. “I’ve always been interested in digging deeper into faith, particularly the Christian faith and its background,” Daniel says. “I’ve had the great opportunity to teach and speak at various churches here and share about my faith and my career, so I wanted to make sure that I could study as much as possible from what I believe.” Now that he is back at WMBD full time, he is still involved part time at St. Paul. In addition to his many jobs, Daniel is also a weekend personality at WCIC-FM , a Christian radio station in Peoria, which gives him the chance to combine his two passions in a different way. “I am still on a journey to being the best that I can be, no matter what I’m doing, and figuring out what that looks like,” Daniel says. “You don’t have to suppress a passion in order to pursue your career and for me, I’ve been blessed that I’m able to have two passions that I’ve been able to do simultaneously.”

{ Eugene Daniel ’11, second from right, with members of the St. Paul Baptist Church youth group. }

IN MEMORIAM Paul Daniel Brown ’49, Siler City, N.C., 10/9/18. Mary Griffin Butler ’49 P ’88,

James Farrell Austin Sr. ’57,

Morganton, N.C., 9/6/18.

Fred Simmons Hodge ’58,

George W. Hughes ’69, Shallotte, N.C., 9/30/18. Stephen Bruce Roberts ’70,

Burlington, N.C., 9/20/18.

Raleigh, N.C., 10/28/18.

Clarksville, Va., 10/20/18.

George Stanley, Sr. ’50,

Roy Lee Cobb ’59,

H. Glenn Winters ’71,

Ireni Toumaras Autry ’52,

Larry L. Umstead ’59,

William C. Smith, Jr. ’72,

Jane Tuck Morgan ’52, Columbia, Md., 11/29/18.

Earl Craven Roberts ’64, Lillington, N.C., 9/18/18.

Clinton, N.C., 11/13/18.

Preston “Tim” Allen Holt Sr. ’53,

John Cowan Nichols ’65, Charlotte, N.C., 11/24/18.

Tampa, Fla., 9/14/18.

East Ridge, Tenn., 10/15/18.

Raeford, N.C., 9/1/18.

Chesapeake, Va., 10/22/18. Billy Denson Chilton ’55,

Burlington, N.C., 10/13/18. Durham, N.C., 10/28/18.

Alton “Bud” Skinner III ’66,

Morganton, N.C., 10/12/18. Rawlings, Va., 10/24/18.

Karen “Candy” Ann Fox ’78, Kenneth Boyd Joyce ’83, Ronald Patrick Waters G ’08,

Bennett, N.C., 9/4/18.

Raleigh, N.C., 9/28/18.

Mebane, N.C., 10/29/18.

Charles G. Gilliam ’56, Burlington, N.C., 11/20/18.

Oxford, N.C., 10/16/18.

John Robert “Bobby” Saddler ’67,

Mark Daniel Hoffer ’11,

46 the MAGAZINE of ELON

Deborah Hatton Beck, a member of Elon’s Order of the Oak and the Phoenix Club, died 9/4/18. Deborah learned to love Elon through her husband, Ray Beck ’75, and shared his passion for preserving Elon’s history.

Atlanta, Ga., 9/30/18.

Elijah Junior “Buddy” Evans, who worked in Elon’s Physical Plant for 31 years in various positions, died 12/16/18. He retired in May 2005 but returned that same year to work part time in Shuttle Services, driving until 2017.

CLASS NOTES ALUMNI ALBUM

Amber Glenn-Thomas Childs ’12, Scott Childs & friends

Sarah Lentz Krech ’13, Andrew Krech ‘13 & friends

Katie Pullman Liszeski ’14 & Jarred Liszeski

Danielle Schwartz Marshall ’14 & friends

Sarah Beacham Van Iseghem ’14, Curtis Van Iseghem ’15 & friends

Laura Dellicker ’12 & son Salim

Katie Seringer ’12 & friends

Mollie Hughes Levy ’13, Andrew Levy & friends

Heather Harder ’14

Tierney Guido Robb ’14, Tyler Robb ’14 & friends

Waverly Ann Jackson ’16, Bryce Williams & friends

Lauren Hossfeld ’17 winter 2019 47

A WEEKEND TO REMEMBER Friendships were rekindled and new memories made during Homecoming 2018 on Nov. 2â&#x20AC;&#x201C;4. From class and affinity reunion events to games, tailgating and dancing, the weekend offered fun for the entire family. Here are some images from the weekend festivities.

Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Elon, NC Permit No. 1

Office of Alumni Engagement PO Box 398 Elon, NC 27244 Toll Free: (877) 784-3566 elon.edu/alumni

{ A group of Elon students volunteered at a Habitat for Humanity building site in Burlington, North Carolina, in January as part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. }