W
ESLEYNOTES
Connecting you with the School of Arts and Letters
Vol.3 Issue 2
Spring 2016
Communication for the digital age
I am happy to present the Spring 2016 edition of Wesleynotes. In this issue, we expanded student participation by involving three Mass Communication courses. For the first time, we profile both a staff member and an adjunct professor: Jacob Sanchez (’15), the administrator for Theatre Wesleyan and Kate Sierra, who teaches French and is also a nationally-ranked saber fencer. Another first for this issue--results of this year’s program review (Mass Communication and Religion). A review of academic programs within Arts and Letters will continue in future issues. I am really proud of the work these students have done, and I hope you enjoy this issue. -Dr. Steven Daniell Dean, School of Arts and Letters
In this issue
Study abroad................... 2 The 39 Steps.................... 3 Program Review............. 4 Alumni Profiles.............. 5 Student Profiles.............. 6 Student Profiles.............. 7 President`s Concert....... 8 Faculty Profiles............... 9 Dean`s List....................10
Photo courtesy of Kay Colley Mass communication students toured the social media listening center at Southwest Airlines.
Mass communication at Texas Wesleyan continues to take steps into the digital world by implementing career advancing trips for students and personal interactions with local professionals. Associate Professor of Mass Communication Dr. Kay Colley said the idea for the trips stemmed from the South Central Broadcasting Society Conference and the Broadcast Education Association District 5 Conference, hosted on campus last fall. “In my Mass Communication 3351 Survey of Public Relations class, students helped with the conference,” Colley said. “One of the reasons I wanted to host that conference was because I wanted our students interested in broadcasting to be able to meet a variety of local broadcasters.”
Dan Landson from Southwest Airlines also came to the conference and talked about what he does for the airline, which led to a trip to the social media listening center at Southwest Airlines. Senior mass communication major Samantha Rodriguez said it was a great experience. “I got a feel for how a professional job would be and what they expect out of college graduates,” she said. Another interactive experience that linked students with communication professionals was a visit from Andrea Ahles, reporter for the Star-Telegram. A trip to CBS 11 also took place on April 8 and was planned by students. “The reason that I really wanted to get into this is because internships are required
for our students,” Colley said. “We do have some sites here in Fort Worth where students have completed internships and have had successful experiences.” Senior mass communication major Michael Acosta took a tour of Studios 121 and NBC 5 during the SCBS Conference last fall. “Studios 121 was really cool,” Acosta said. “I got to go in, be a part of their set and meet professionals. Both studios were fast-paced.” Colley said the students are responding well to this experiential, immersive learning. “Students seem to be more excited about these aspects of their education than maybe they had been before because they see how it’s working in real life,” Colley said. “And that’s what we want to see.”
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Students enjoy more international studies
Photo courtesy of Alejandro Hernandez Just one of many beautiful waterfalls students visited while on the summer 2015 two-week study abroad trip to Costa Rica.
Learning for students within Texas Wesleyan’s School of Arts and Letters extends beyond the walls of the classrom. Last year, students studied Spanish in Costa Rica. Religion and political science in Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia. This year a trip to Russia has been planned for students studying music, history and humanities. Dr. Amy Bell, associate professor of Spanish, led Spanish students last summer to Costa Rica, where she witnessed firsthand the benefits study abroad has on students. “I like to see how awed the students are,” she said. “There’s so much natural beauty, and I just like to see students’ reactions.” Students stayed with native families to develop a deeper connection with the culture. “A lot of students notice that Costa Ricans work to live instead of live to work,” Bell said. “Family and community are a lot more valued.” Alejandro Hernandez, senior Spanish major with a secondary in education major, found the natural beauty of the
beach to be the most memorable. “It was the first time that I’d actually ever been to the beach,” he said. “We didn’t waste any time in heading there when we arrived. We swam for hours!” Hernandez found the trip helped him grow both academically and personally. “I learned a lot about Costa Rica, but this trip also helped me to be more social,” he said. “I don’t usually tend to be social with people I barely know, but being with people all day kind of forced me to.” Hernandez said what he learned in class helped him prepare for Costa Rica. “Dr. Bell did a good job of preparing us with a trip itinerary and by teaching us about Costa Rica,” he said. Costa Rica isn’t the only chance for students to study abroad. Students will be traveling to Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia in May. Dr. John Fisher, professor of music, believes that students at Wesleyan have an advantage when it comes to these opportunities. “Tuition generated from two required three-hour courses is allocated to help
defray the cost of the trip, making it very inexpensive.” Fisher also has seen firsthand how students fall in love with the experience. “Every year they want to go on the next one, because they know what a benefit this is,” Fisher said. “Travel becomes like a bug – you get infected with it.” Brianna Kessler, senior mass communication major, has definitely been infected with the travel bug. She said she loves experiencing new cultures. “I’m really excited about the upcoming Mother Russia trip,” she said. “It’s my graduation gift to myself.” This won’t be Kessler’s first study abroad trip. She traveled to Thailand, Cambodia and Singapore last summer. Kessler is especially thankful for this opportunity as it was made financially possible to her through the help of theStudent Government Association’s Travel Abroad Scholarship. “I never would have gotten to leave the country if it wasn’t for study abroad programs like Wesleyan’s,” she said. “I’m so fortunate to receive the SGA’s scholarship. It’s a dream come true.”
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Theatre Wesleyan’s 39 Steps is a great success The 39 Steps is a hysterical comedy with a mysterious story line that kept audiences guessing to the end. The play, directed by Bryan Stevenson, is loosely based on an Alfred Hitchcock movie and a 1915 novel by John Buchan of the same name, stars only four cast members, who play 10 characters each. Carlos Brumfield, senior theatre major, said being able to play multiple characters allowed the cast to broaden their acting style and was a fun challenge. “From the 10 characters, there’s two I equally liked,” Brumfield said. “Mrs. McGairrgle and Mr. Dunwoody.” Brumfield played the role of two completely different characters in the same act. In one scene, he was a grumpy old man, Mr. Dunwoody, and in the next scene, he was a funny Scottish housemaid, Mrs. McGairrgle. “Playing these chraracters gave me the opportunity to learn a Scottish accent, which was tricky,” he said.
“The biggest challenge was switching my characters from Mr. Dunwoody to Mrs. Gairrgle, but I enjoyed the experience.” Brumfield said the show was a huge success and everything ran smoothly. “Just like in a relationship, in theatre, you require an amount of trust with each other,” he said. “Luckily for me, I had really smart cast members who together helped put on a fantastic show.” Clarissa Murillo, sophomore theatre major, said the interactive play, which takes the audience through a European spy chase, was exciting for the viewers as well as the cast members. “It was a lot of fun,” Murillo said. “The crowd really loved it; they couldn’t believe that each of us played different roles in the show.” Murillo said each role was different and set a new scene for the audience. “In every role that I played, I was the love interest of all the scenes,” she said. “I
was also a German spy named Annabella in one scene.” Anthony Harper, sophomore forensic accounting major, said having friends as theatre majors was a reminder to go watch the show. “I’m an RA and most of my residents are theatre majors,” Harper said. “I wanted to watch the show and support my friends.” There was no one in the audience who disliked the show. The Thad Smotherman Theatre was filled with a big crowd of cheering people, and you could see that everyone enjoyed every minute of it. “It was a great turnout,” Harper said. “There were a only few seats left, on the last day of the show.” The show was performed live seven times, had an interesting mixture of romance, action, mystery and laughs. The show kicked off the Spring 2016 semester of productions, which also includes Clue: The Musical April 21-24.
Photo by Michelle Phillips The 39 Steps was directed by Bryan Stevenson and starred only four cast members, who played 10 characters each.
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Religion and mass communication reviews
Dr. Mark Hanshaw, associate dean of Arts and Letters, looks over the Program Review document.
Wesleyan’s Program Review Committee met in March to consider changes to the religion and mass communication programs. Dr. Steven Daniell, dean of the School of Arts and Letters, said the purpose of program review is to ensure that programs meet students’ needs. Associate Provost Dr. Helena Bussell said the program reviews address program centrality to the university mission and strategic priorities. “It also reviews quality, student achievement, strategic advantage of the program and current demand and future marketability,” Bussell said. Both departments are looking at changes to programs based on the review. Dr. Gladys Childs, chair of the Religion Department, said the reli gion program will be exploring the development of certificate programs in areas of
conflict resolution or interfaith studies. Having the certificate program will increase the number of religion majors and minors, Childs said. Childs said the department plans to develop scholarships aimed at the transfer market. “Because we have room in our upper level classes,” Childs said, “we could focus on transfer markets that may help our department grow.” Childs said the department wants to create relationships with religiously-affiliated high schools and private schools with its Dual Enrollment program. She said the department will also promote future Wesleyan students to become double majors of religious studies. Dr. Kay Colley, chair of the Mass Communication Department, said the department may develop media courses targeting certain majors. “We want to start a social media class
Photo by Dalise DeVos
targeting students from the School of Business Administration, particularly marketing students,” Colley said. “The other class we hope to develop will be an everyday audio and video course.” Daniell said these courses will create opportunities for business majors. He said it will help with entrepreneurship, management and marketing. “I think it’s something that business students would like that was requested from the dean of the School of Business Administration,” Daniell said. Colley said the department is looking at developing a program to train students for Spanish-language media. According to the review, this niche-market program will help students gain proficiency for mass media jobs. The Academic Affairs Committee and the Board of Trustees will make the final decisions on recommendations.
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Alumni Profiles Jacob Sanchez was part of the Texas Wesleyan community even before he graduated high school. Sanchez said Wesleyan has provided an environment where he has been able to grow when he was just a high school student visiting five years ago. Sanchez graduated from Wesleyan in Spring 2015 and was a student assistant in the Theatre Department all four years. He took his current position as the business manager for the department in September 2015. “I handle business aspects of the department including some budgets, purchasing, making sure royalties for shows are paid for, etc. and the graphic design for the department,” he said. Sanchez is happy with the way things turned out. “I get to incorporate what I learned as a student with my job, and also, I get to add a few new things that you can’t learn
from just being a student,” he said. Sanchez is also active with his other passion, performing arts. He had a role in Young Frankenstein and his most recent role was in Nevermore. He plans to continue performing this summer and whenever he has the time. Sanchez said the four years he spent learning under the Theatre Department meant so much to him. “If there is one thing I have noticed about our Arts and Letters school, it’s how active the students are,” he said. “They always come to support the other students across the school, like music students supporting theatre students and vice versa.”
“They always come to support the students.”
Sokhan Solis graduated from Texas Wesleyan in 2002. She majored in Spanish while receiving her secondary certification in education to be able to teach. She didn’t always want to be a Spanish teacher. At one time she actually wanted to be a sports therapist or a computer engineer. It was while she attended Wesleyan that she decided to become an educator. “I thought majoring in Spanish would be the easiest thing,” Solis said. As a student she had done lots of volunteering and reading at several schools. “When I’d observed the different schools, I knew that teaching high school students would be best for me,” she said. Solis has kept herself very busy since graduating from Wesleyan. She has been a teacher for 14 years, teaching regular and Pre-Advanced Placement courses at North Crowley High School’s 9th grade campus. She has been the Language Other Than English (LOTE) department head for 10 years,
and she is the Spanish Club sponsor. Solis still remembers turning in assignments to some of her professors and how supportive they were of her studies. “At Wesleyan, students were close to their professors,” she said. “The learning environment is a lot better when students have a good relationship with them.” Being a teacher at a 9th grade campus rather than a large high school with several grades, Solis says her teaching style is reminiscent of Wesleyan’s. “When you have a good relationship with your teacher, you learn more,” she said. “Being at a smaller school, one learns how to network and establish long-lasting relationships. That’s one of the things I learned while being a student,” she said.
“When you have a good relationship with your teacher, you learn more.”
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Student Profiles Junior music major Avary Vaughn excels in music because of her passion and love for it. Vaughn has been one of the few to be selected to perform at the President’s Honors Concert for the past three years. The concert is an opportunity for music majors and minors to compete for a spot in a showcase recital. Auditions are presented in front of a panel of five judges from other universities or organizations. This year’s winners are the pinnacle of Department of Music student skill and talent. Vaughn has also received several musical scholarships throughout her career, including the Sigma Alpha Lota American scholarship, the Marjorie Murphey Scholarship and the European Club Scholarship. Vaughn is primarily a singer, so you could say her instrument is her vocals, but she also plays percussion with the wind ensemble at Wesleyan. Vaughn plans to continue her music career in the future through performance and teaching music at a school.
Bruce Terry is Texas Wesleyan’s Event Coordinator and a part-time student. His favorite event to set up is the President’s Picnic. This event brings all the students together in one place. He enjoys seeing the freshmen and the older students getting to know each other for the first time. When Terry is not setting up events, he is taking classes. He started college in 1982 at Jarvis Christian College but did not finish. He has been away from school for a while but decided to go back. At the age of 52, Terry is working to finish his bachelor of arts degree in liberal studies with a minor in business and criminal justice. Although he has been at his degree for three years and will not graduate until 2018, his motivation to continue is the promise that he made to his mother before she died, that he would get his degree. He does not look at his journey as hard work. He takes it as just something that he has to do. Terry’s motto is “Some days will be bad, and some days will be good. If you just concentrate on the good days, then you can swallow the bad days.”
Cenk Tuncel, a junior mass communication major at Texas Wesleyan, has been living the American dream for a few years now, and he does not plan to leave anytime soon. Tuncel first came to America when he was 17. “I went to the language course in Lynn University, Miami, Florida, and I stayed three weeks,” Tuncel said. “After those three weeks, I knew one day I would study in the United States.” Tuncel left his family and friends in Turkey to come to America to study and learn English. He knew it would be hard but he came anyway because he knew he would get a great education and experience.“I wanted to come here because of education and English,” he said. “I am still not a perfect speaker or writer. However, every day I am improving myself.” Though he misses his country, Tuncel has adapted to the difference in cultural norms, such as food and lifestyle, from Turkey to America. “ I rarely eat fast food in Turkey,” Tuncel said. Now he said he eats a significant amount of fast food in America. He has not officially decided, but if offered a job, Tuncel wants to stay in America for a few years post-graduation to gain work experience. After the work experience, Tuncel has one mission to accomplish.“I really want to go to LA, California.”
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Student Profiles Tobin Griffin is not your average theatre major at Texas Wesleyan. He is the guy who makes the play have “flair.” He works all day with power tools and creates the props that the actors use in the play. Since he first started as a freshman, he has shown why he is the lead man when it comes to prop designs: drawing his own sketches and creating the architecture to make everything perfect for the play. While he spends most of the day at school, he heads right into the theatre after classes to begin work. Trevor Baxter, who works with Griffin, understands that Griffin just wants to do his best. “Tobin really likes Texas Wesleyan, and I think it shows in all the hard work he does for not only him, but everyone around him and the school,” Baxter said. “I can’t really say what it is about me, but when I wake up, I think only positive thoughts. I truly believe if you are not trying to improve your life or somebody else’s life, then you are not really living, and I hope that helps people here at Texas Wesleyan,” Griffin said.
Texas Wesleyan University senior Lori King-Nelson has her hands full with being a full-time mother and student. King-Nelson is majoring in comparative religion and is planning to attend Brite Divinity School at TCU for her graduate studies. King-Nelson is president of Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society and a member of Alpha Chi, Phi Alpha Theta, Pi Gamma Mu and Tau Sigma. She also volunteers with the GayStraight Alliance on campus, participates with Omega Chi, Religious Life for Common Meal and Chapel. Her goal is to educate the public about religious and cultural differences, with a focus on Islamic-Christian relations, in order to promote respect, understanding and peace. “Texas Wesleyan University has provided me with the strong foundation to accomplish these goals,” she said. “I chose to attend Wesleyan because of its diverse and inclusive nature and strong academic emphasis.”
Junior English major Kimberlee Sims chose Wesleyan not only because it was close to home, but because of the outstanding liberal arts program. Reading has always come naturally for her. Sims said she remembers always having a new book thanks to her loving parents. “Ever since I was a child, my parents paid for every book I read until they finally realized they needed a new source of income because my reading habit was getting a bit pricey,” she said. She soon began writing and found out that she was good at it, which is why she decided to become an English major. Sims said choosing to study English at Wesleyan has helped her reach her full potential. At Wesleyan Sims has reached the Dean’s List every semester, became the president of P.E.N. and has gained four years of teacher child care experience. Sims is also a part of a few extra clubs and activities starting with Sigma Tau Delta (English honor society), Phi Epsilon Nu (creative writing organization), Alpha Xi Delta (freshman honor society), Golden Shears, and currently is a resident assistant. One day, Sims hopes to own her own daycare and make a difference in the community in all aspects while attending graduate school to obtain a master’s in rhetoric or business management.
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President’s Honors Concert
Photos courtesy of The Rambler Students from last year’s President’s Honors Concert show off their talents. Photos from this year’s concert will be featured online.
On April 8, twelve students and one faculty member showcased their musical talents at the annual President’s Honors Concert. The concert, at Nicholas Martin Hall at 7:30 p.m., was hosted by Wesleyan President Frederick G. Slabach and his wife Melany Neilson, along with Nancy and Tim Carter, who is a current member of the Wesleyan Board of trustees. “We have some truly phenomenal talent in our music department,” Slabach said. “This is one of those opportunities that the rest of our student body would have to see.” The students performing at the concert
included Amber McIntyre, soprano; Jan Lässker, piano; Daniel Hernandez, tenor; Avary Vaughn, mezzo-soprano; Tyler Simpson, percussion; Joshua Hearon, baritone; Chanel Hurd, mezzo-soprano; Julian E. Rodriguez, baritone; Hayley Eaker, flute; Alex Lopez, baritone; Luis Calderón, French horn; and Ian Michael Whetsel, baritone. In addition, adjunct music professor Keith Critcher performed a wonderful solo piano recital. Dr. Jerome M. Bierschenk, chairman of the Music Department, said 44 prospective performers auditioned for the concert last fall in front of an independent jury of judges.
“We had 13 of our best students in the department, a combination of vocal and instrumental,” Bierschenk said. The audience experienced three moods: embittered, wistful and jazzy, Bierschenk said. “Our audience for the concert is a mixture of trained musicians and some who aren’t,” he said. “We pick pieces that everyone would enjoy.” The pieces that were presented included Michael Head’s “When I Think Upon the Maidens” for baritone and piano, Ricky Ian Gordon’s “In Time of Silver Rain” and Roger Quilter’s “Go Lovely Rose,” among others.
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Faculty Profiles Kate Sierra teaches French at Texas Wesleyan, fencing and Spanish at a couple of private schools in the area, and is a coach at her fencing club. Sierra took fencing her senior year at the University of Northern Iowa. After she graduated, she moved to Texas and found a job teaching. She stopped fencing and worked on establishing herself as an educator. After turning 30, she realized that it was time to get her body into shape. Instead of just
Dr. Carol Johnson-Gerendas has been a professor at Wesleyan for eight years. She is also one of the founding advisory board members of the Young Women’s Leadership Academy in Fort Worth. Johnson-Gerendas regularly serves on Rep. Marc Veasey’s education task force. In 2013, she was asked to join the board by Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Brooks’ wife, Dr. Jennifer Giddings Brooks. “The goal of his education task force is to bring people who are struggling financially to the middle class
going to the gym, she found a fencing class in a catalog of the North Richland Hills recreation center. Twelve years later, she is the co-owner of CuttingEdge Fencing Center. Sierra is ranked No. 3 in the country on the points list for her age group. “It takes a lot of courage to meet someone head-to-head in battle with a small, one-pound sabre in your hand,” she said “I never dreamed my life would take this path; it will be exciting to see where this takes me.” Sierra is a firstyear professor at Wesleyan and is ready for the new challenge.
through education,” she said. There was a special moment at the first YWLA gala that took place March 4 where YWLA honored its first graduating class. Johnson-Gerendas and other founding board members were presented with vision awards for their service to the organization. “It started as something that I was kind of doing just as my own philanthropy and involvement in the community,” she said. “It’s really wonderful, to see how support for YWLA has grown throughout the community and the recognition that the school has gotten over the years.”
Dr. Jeffrey DeLotto has taught English at Wesleyan for more than 30 years. He was awarded the Frances B. Hernandez Teacher-Scholar Award, the highest award available from the Conference of College Teachers of English. Over the course of his career he has had several works published nationally, including an essay in The Chattahoochee Review and his books Days of Chameleon: Collected Poems and Voices Writ in Sand. “Wesleyan has been absolutely essential to my success,” DeLotto said. “They have always been very appreciative and encouraging.” He believes in Wesleyan’s vision and its future. “When I think of what could be changed at Wesleyan, nothing comes to mind,” DeLotto said. “I think
we are going in great directions.” What he does see is the movement of classes to virtual world. DeLotto understands moving with the times but believes people still see some of the advantages that come with a traditional classroom. “I really think that the future of personal higher education, and that’s what Wesleyan is all about, remains in the brick and mortar, face-to-face teaching,” he said. “Both the students and professors get something out of that that cannot be replaced by online.” No matter the state of the university, when he chooses to retire, DeLotto said he will always remember the people he’s met at Texas Wesleyan. “I’ll always remember the faculty, the administration, and my remarkable students,” DeLotto said. “They encouraged me to do more than I would have on my own.”
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Dean’s Honors list First Name
Last Name
Miguel Shanna Miguel John Robert Heather Tamara Rachel Michelle Caleb Cameron Luis Eulalio Christina Ryan Dexter Lucia Dalise Lauren Cassandra David Valeria Andrew Amanda Edward Rachel Erik Emily Tammy Joshua Alejandro Benjamin Calvin Dapril Victoria Travis Brianna Lori Rowan Samuel Rachel Alexander Jessica Jakeb Emily Amber Karan Heather
Arreguil Bailey Banos Berthiaume-Brady Birge Bowers Bradford Brueggemann Bunch Byerly Calderon Cardona Carter Collier Collins Cruz DeVos Dixon Dunlap Durham Espinoza Fillingim Fitzgerald Fitzhugh Frick Garner Gordon Hayes Hearon Hernandez Huebner Johnson Johnson Johnson Jones Kessler King-Nelson Lehr Leos Levy Lopez Lopez Lowery McDermott McIntyre Muns O’Donnell
First Name Isabel Stormie Kimberly Jessica Carolyn Clayton Jasmine Lauren Shannon Eleanor Jaclyn Jorge Cathy Jacqueline Madeline Zahraa Crystal Rebecca Lilia Giselle Jennifer Darya Kimberlee Derek Katherine Kasey Bruce Etha Devon Kimberly Avary Nadine Jasmine Casey Christopher Zhaoyu Graduates Cheri Jeremy Teresa Andrea Rebekah Valerie Abigail Flor Lewis Marcos
Last Name
Wesleynotes is the official newsletter for the
Olmedo Olmedo Owen Pendleton Phillips Phillips Phillips Phillips Poche Powell Puga Redmon Rivers Rodriguez Rubino Saheb Salazar Sample Sanchez Saucedo Serrano Servatyuk Sims Smith Smith Szamatulski Terry Trader Tunnell Vankirk Vaughn Villarreal West Williams Willmer Wu
School of Arts and Letters at Texas Wesleyan University. It was produced by students in MCO 2345, MCO 3320 and MCO 4346 at Texas Wesleyan University.
Byrd Hunt Moore Reyes Ruiz Spears Trevino Urbina Wall Zamarron-Maldonado
Arts and Letters Dean: Dr. Steven Daniell For more information, contact the Dean of Arts and Letters office at 817-531-4900 or come by Polytechnic United Methodist Church, 256.
Class instructors: Dr. Kay Colley and Professor Terri Cummings Special thanks to: Dr. Dave Ferman and Caroline Kajihara Brianna Kessler - Design Editor
Contributors:
Michael Acosta Victoria Garcia Jessica Lopez Antonio Simmons Gracie Weger Coleman Dalise DeVos Sachiko Jayaratne Rowan Lehr Michelle Brueggemann Samantha Rodriguez Travis Farnik Jessica Locke Heather Birge Dalton Martin
Got a story idea? Something you’d like to hear about? Let us know what you think about this edition of Wesleynotes.We would love your feedback. Contact Dr. Kay Colley via email at kcolley@txwes.edu or phone at 817-531-6525