What made 1925 the golden year of literature | Reimagining career success
A MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF LONGWOOD UNIVERSITY
WINTER 2024
Homecoming cements its place as Longwood’s newest tradition
The human condition is at the core of The Great Gatsby, and people love to read about themselves.’
—DR. ELISE GREEN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH AND WRITING
Page 10
On the Cover Homecoming & Alumni Weekend drew a record crowd in its second year, with the Lancer Family Tailgate cementing its status as one of the signature events. Photo by Sabrina Brown. See more starting on Page 16.
President’s Message
2
10 The Golden Year of Literature
1925’s great works endure with lessons for today.
In With The New Charter Hall brings new music building one step closer.
4
16 There’s No Place Like Home
Homecoming 2.0 draws more than 800 to campus.
22 Mad About Mushrooms
Alumnus taps into a booming trend in fungi.
4
Colorful Language Renowned basketball commentator spices up men’s games.
5
29 Like Father, Like Son They were roommates. Now their sons are, too. A Growing Reputation Longwood moves up again in U.S. News rankings.
Career Success Reimagined
The journey is about so much more than résumés.
6
26 A Peaceful Goodbye Veterinarian’s calling is helping pets cross the rainbow bridge from the comfort of home.
A MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF LONGWOOD UNIVERSITY
WINTER 2024
Editor
Sabrina Brown
Graphic Design
Rachael Davis
Associate Editors
Gina Caldwell, Matthew McWilliams, Lauren Whittington
Photographer Courtney Vogel
Contributors
Savannah Bartlett ’26; Boyd Pearman Photography; Rohn Brown ’84; Dr. Amber Butler ’01; CodaPet; Donn Dobkin Photography; Emilio Salgado Garcia ’26; Fian Arroyo Illustration; Kim Fisher Hockaday ’79, M.S. 06; Victoria Kindon; Corrine Louden ’02, MBA ’23; TheFarmvilleHerald; Justin Pope; Paula Prouty ’85; Mary Ellen Riddle/OuterBanks Voice; Jason Snyder; Jenny Sullivan/ArlingtonMagazine; University of Miami School of Law; Edward Gaughran ’96; Ashley Theado Raska ’07
Advisory Board
Wade Edwards, Larissa Smith, Courtney Hodges, Victoria Kindon, David Locascio, Justin Pope
Board of Visitors
Ronald O. White, Rector Midlothian, Virginia
Fabiola Aguilar Carter Richmond, Virginia
Vellie Dietrich-Hall Charlotte Court House, Virginia
Kathleen M. Early ’92 Richmond, Virginia
Charles Fagan ’87 Manakin-Sabot, Virginia
Nadine Marsh-Carter Richmond, Virginia
Jeffrey Nottingham Raleigh, North Carolina
Kristie Helmick Proctor ’04 Mechanicsville, Virginia
Ricshawn Adkins Roane Great Falls, Virginia
Kathryn Roberts ’97 South Boston, Virginia
David Rose Richmond, Virginia
Brian Schmalzbach Midlothian, Virginia
Shawn L. Smith ’92 Richmond, Virginia
Editorial offices for Longwood magazine are maintained at the Office of University Marketing, Communications and Engagement, Longwood University, 201 High Street, Farmville, VA 23909. Telephone: 434-395-2021; email: browncs2@longwood.edu. Comments, letters and contributions are encouraged.
Printed on recycled stocks containing 100% postconsumer waste.
To request this magazine in alternate format (large print, braille, audio, etc.), please contact Longwood Disability Resources, 434-395-2391; TRS: 711.
Published December 2024
FROM THE PRESIDENT
The Lancer Family Tailgate at Homecoming lived up to its name, with parents, children, aunts, uncles, cousins and more soaking up the Lancer spirit. Here President Reveley chats with Pat Yeatts, the father of Bentley Yeatts, a redshirt sophomore on Longwood’s baseball team. The Yeatts family is from Lynchburg, Virginia.
Fall is again among us and with it a colorful burst of leaves and crisp autumn air that often makes me stop and pause at the beauty of our campus. So many of you—a record number, in fact—joined me at November’s Homecoming & Alumni Weekend and shared with me how wonderful campus looks amid the great joy of the weekend.
Homecoming (Page 16) is a highlight of the campus calendar because it strengthens the deep ties that run through generations of Longwood alumni, students, friends and community members. Hundreds of alumni and their families toured campus and enjoyed all Farmville has to offer, reconnected with classmates, enjoyed each other’s company at Saturday’s tailgate and cheered both Longwood basketball teams to victories over the weekend.
The coming year brings many more opportunities for Longwood to push forward. Our faculty are busy in the classrooms teaching a growing student body—the freshman class this year was the largest since before the pandemic—and campus is awash with tours as prospective students begin to fall in love with the place many of them will soon call home.
The English department in particular is busily preparing to mark the 100th anniversary of the year 1925 (Page 10), truly a banner year for literature worldwide but particularly among American authors. I, as I suspect is the same for many Longwood alumni, have returned periodically throughout the years to the words of Langston Hughes, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway and many others to marvel at their lasting power. Words matter a great deal, and there are great lessons to be learned from these novels and poems even a century later.
Impressive as well are the accomplishments and insights of our faculty, which, combined with alumni, are two of the great strengths of the alma mater. There are many opportunities beyond Homecoming to engage with Longwood. I encourage you to join the Longwood Alumni Association and be a part of a community that gives so much. A much-anticipated date on the spring calendar is Love Your Longwood Day, which will be held this academic year on Feb. 25. Giving, no matter the amount, has an outsized impact on the university. It helps us stay competitive when hiring and keeping faculty— providing them with the latest equipment to conduct research and instruction—as well as maintain the beauty of the campus and support students through scholarships.
I hope that you enjoy this issue of Longwood magazine and continue to foster the incredible Longwood spirit that endures and continues to grow nearly two centuries after our founding.
All my best,
W. Taylor Reveley IV President
Baliles Center
Executive Director
Sherry Swinson ’77 talks with students about the new facilities, which will greatly expand research and hands-on learning opportunties.
More budding scientists will have the opportunity to spark their passion for exploring and understanding the natural world thanks to new facilities dedicated earlier this semester at the Baliles Center for Environmental Education at Hull Springs.
Officially opened at the dedication were two new student cabins that can accommodate up to 12 students each; a pavilion designed to serve as an outdoor space for teaching, meetings and events; and three faculty cabins—one newly constructed and two that were renovated. These additions will increase the capacity for students and faculty to conduct research at the center, expanding opportunities for hands-on learning.
A $1.2 million research lab, completed and dedicated in 2021, is the centerpiece of the Baliles Center, which is located on a 662-acre historic property in Westmoreland County that was bequeathed to Longwood in 1999 by Mary Farley Ames Lee ’38. It is situated between two tributaries to the Potomac River, has about 8,400 feet of shoreline along two creeks and is just a short distance from the Chesapeake Bay—making it a
Science Happens Here
New facilities at Baliles Center expand opportunities for inquiry and research
THE HOPE FOR THIS PLACE IS THAT IT INSPIRES GENERATION AFTER GENERATION, BOTH WITH REGARDS TO FIELDS LIKE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND BIOLOGY, AND THAT IT REALLY PROVIDES INSPIRATION FOR THE SOUL ACROSS ALL DISCIPLINES, AS A PLACE TO GATHER AND REFLECT ON THE FUTURE.’
—PRESIDENT W. TAYLOR REVELEY IV
perfect setting for studying the environment and critical sustainability issues. The property was renamed to honor the late Gov. Gerald L. Baliles, who was a champion of environmental issues and improving the health of the Chesapeake Bay.
“The hope for this place is that it inspires generation after generation, both with regards to fields like environmental science and biology, and that it really provides inspiration for the soul across all disciplines, as a place to gather and reflect on the future,” President W. Taylor Reveley IV said at the dedication.
In With The New
Charter Hall promises enhanced services to campus, helps make way for new music building
Longwood’s new music building will be one step closer to becoming a reality when the newly constructed Charter Hall is fully online in early 2025.
The 42,580-square-foot facility will be home to an array of departments focused on keeping the campus in good running order—from HVAC to environmental health and safety; from painters and carpenters to capital design and construction; from plumbers and planners to mechanics and project managers.
Some of those units are currently housed in Bristow Hall, which eventually will be demolished to make way for the new music building. A replacement for Wygal Hall, the new music building is scheduled to be complete in fall 2027.
Charter Hall comprises a one-story section designated for facilities shops, offices and stockroom storage and a two-story administrative section. “The building’s design draws inspiration from the brick warehouses that shape the fabric of the town of Farmville while still maintaining attributes of the architecture throughout Longwood’s campus,” said Jared Tackett, deputy director of capital design and construction.
Constructed with more than $23 million in funding from the state of Virginia, the facility’s features include
• electric vehicle charging stations
• three vehicle lift systems, including a lift for Longwood’s buses
• an indoor wash bay that uses water collected in a rain-harvesting cistern
• appliance testing stations for repairing washers, dryers and stoves
• separate power shut-down safety switches in each shop
“Every office, department and student living on campus will see benefits from the upgrades in Charter Hall,” said Tackett, and Director of Facilities Scott Cheek agreed that the positive impact of the building will be far-reaching.
“Having the Facilities and Capital Design and Construction departments together under the same roof will enhance our ability to serve the Longwood community,” Cheek said. “The new stockroom will allow us to expand our product line, which in turn will increase our response time to students living in Longwood-managed housing, staff and faculty. And the emergency backup systems in the new building will make it possible for us to continue operations even if there is a power outage.”—Sabrina Brown
Longwood climbs again in U.S. News rankings
Longwood has again climbed in annual rankings used by millions of families to make decisions about higher education.
This year, Longwood has moved to No. 6 among all regional public universities in the South, making it the 10thstraight year that Longwood is a top-10 public university in that category, according to the annual U.S. News & World Report rankings that came out at the end of September.
Charter Hall comprises 42,580 square feet in two sections: a two-story administrative section (shown here) and a one-story section designated for facilities shops, offices and stockroom storage.
For the last decade, Longwood has consistently found its place among the best regional academic institutions in the South, which are defined as offering undergraduate and master’s programs, but few doctoral programs. This year, in that category, Longwood climbed two spots, to No. 6, among public universities and climbed six spots, to No. 15, among all universities, both public and private.
Longwood also stayed in the top tier of universities on the annual U.S. News Best Value in the South list, climbing 17 spots over the past four years and this year, for the first time, claiming the honor of being the top-ranked public university in Virginia on that list.
Colorful Commentary
Acclaimed basketball broadcaster John Feinstein will spice up men’s home games on ESPN+
As Longwood men’s basketball gears up to defend its Big South title, the ESPN+ broadcasts of the team’s home games will feature color commentary by one of college basketball’s pre-eminent storytellers: John Feinstein.
The acclaimed author of 23 New York Times best-sellers will bring to the Joan Perry Brock Center the wisdom and insight gleaned from his more than 40-year career covering the giants of the college basketball world—including Dean Smith at North Carolina, Mike Krzyzewski at Duke and Bobby Knight at Indiana.
Even though he has rubbed shoulders with the “Who’s Who” of college basketball, Feinstein holds a special place in his heart for programs where a run to March Madness can send a jolt of pride through a whole institution, as it has at Longwood. Longwood featured prominently in his 2020 book Backroads to March about teams that compete in the shadow of the Goliaths of college basketball.
“Certainly it is both an honor and privilege to welcome John to our ESPN broadcast team,” said Longwood Athletics Director Tim Hall. “Simply stated, he is one of the best color commentators in the business. His knowledge is vast and deep, and coupled with preparation that is second to none. With Sam Hovan and John, our fan base is in for a real treat!”
Feinstein, who will broadcast with Sam Hovan, the Voice of the Lancers, was Longwood’s 2023 Undergraduate Commencement speaker. He will also co-teach a writing class in the Cormier Honors College.
All Longwood men’s and women’s basketball home games and Big South Conference matchups are broadcast on the ESPN+ streaming service. You can sign up to watch games at espn.com.
Not On Her Watch
Ending the regular season with 4 straight shutouts, goalkeeper reaps Big South honors
Longwood women’s soccer goalkeeper Sara Curtis ’25 was named the Big South Goalkeeper of the Year following the conclusion of the regular season.
The Lancer net-minder closed the regular season with four consecutive shutouts, helping vault the team into the Big South playoffs for the first time since 2021. She didn’t allow a goal in the final 373:43 of the regular season, and Longwood was unbeat en in that stretch.
Curtis ranked second in the Big South in goals against aver age across eight confer ence games, surrendering only 0.75 goals per game. In addi tion, she ranked third in the league in save percent age—0.824—in that same time frame.
The senior, who is majoring in sociology, also earned All-Big South First Team Hon ors, and she became the first goalkeeper in team history to earn Goalkeeper of the Year honors from the Big South. She went 3-2-3 in Big South Confer ence play.
Goalkeeper Sara Curtis ’25 helped vault the women’s soccer team into the Big South playoffs for the first time since 2021.
Longwood’s Sam Hovan (left) and acclaimed color commentator and author John Feinstein will team up for ESPN+ broadcasts of men’s home games this season.
ADVENTU
ADVENTU
Dr. Elizabeth Narehood, senior director of career and professional engagement
RE
REREIMAGINED CENTER FOR CAREER SUCCESS OPENS UP DIVERSE PATHWAYS FOR STUDENTS IN QUEST OF THEIR DREAM JOBS
BY LAUREN WHITTINGTON
GONE ARE THE DAYS OF EFFECTIVE CAREER SERVICES FOCUSED ONLY ON HELPING WITH RÉSUMÉS AND COVER LETTERS. WELCOME TO THE MODERN WORLD OF CAREER SERVICES, where students find alumni mentors to give them the opportunities and guidance they need. Where the entrepreneurs of tomorrow tap into the professional networks of local businesspeople to gain practical management skills. Where work-based experiences give students the confidence to walk into job interviews well-prepared. WE SAT DOWN WITH DR. ELIZABETH NAREHOOD, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF CAREER AND PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT, who arrived on campus last fall, to find out more about the Office of Alumni and Career Success and Longwood’s reimagined approach to guiding students as they explore their interests and gain experience to reach their career goals.
Q:How has the approach to career development changed in recent years, and how do we meet the needs of our students with our Center for Career Success?
A:A modern career success center is multifaceted and takes a much more holistic view of helping individual students prepare for the professional world.
Longwood gives its students the opportunity to do two key things while they’re here.
One is to explore their interests. They do that not only through their academic classes but also by participating in campus organizations and activities, as well as through internships and work-based learning experiences.
Second, they have opportunities to build a professional network. Longwood has an unusual advantage in offering students networking and mentorship opportunities because alumni and career success are housed within the same office. We have great relationships with our passionate alums, who really want to engage with our students and support them, especially with their career aspirations. Students have multiple ways to connect with our alumni and learn more about a career field that interests them. We have a close partnership with the Longwood Alumni Board. Chris Tunstall ’88, who works for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, is the current chair, and he has been a tremendous partner.
A lot of work has been building on the foundation that was already here— starting with that incredible alumni network and our symbiotic relationship with the alumni office.’
— DR. ELIZABETH NAREHOOD
Q: Could you explain more about your
multifaceted approach?
A:Traditionally, career development was thought of more in a transactional sense: Students come in, receive a service such as résumé review and then leave. With a much more multifaceted approach, we can better address the diverse paths that students may encounter on their quest for a meaningful career and life. We are making sure that career is part of the entire journey at Longwood and beyond—from applicant to alumni.
Thinking about your professional career does not start your senior year. It’s important to have opportunities available from the outset of the student’s journey here. This is the first year we were embedded in all of the first-year orientation sessions. That’s putting us in front of first-semester freshmen and getting career on their minds as soon as they arrive. In the first half of the fall semester, the number of freshmen who came by our office exceeded the number who visited us all of last year. So we have data to show that what we are doing is working.
Q:
How does Longwood’s campuswide focus on student success after graduation fit into the work you are doing?
A:
Longwood recently adopted the Post-Graduate Success Initiative, which really helped to put career in the forefront of everyone’s minds here. Our work goes hand in hand with that initiative, and we are helping to support it. Our staff is collaborating on some existing programs with other offices and continuing to work with our faculty partners on curriculum development and embedding career competencies and events within their syllabi.
We also are launching new programs to connect students to micro internships, work shadow and mentorship. Going back to the point that thinking about career happens throughout a student’s journey at Longwood, our goal is to have students participating in micro internships and work shadowing beginning in their sophomore year, if not before. The earlier students start to think about how to reach their post-graduation goals, the more likely they are to stay in college and graduate on time ready for success.
HEAR MORE ABOUT CAREER SUCCESS AND THE ALUMNI NETWORK
Q: Could you elaborate on some of the expanded initiatives and programming that you’ve implemented to help students explore their career interests?
A:A lot of work has been building on the foundation that was already here—starting with that incredible alumni network and our symbiotic relationship with the alumni office. We’ve also continued building and strengthening partnerships with stakeholders across campus. We are being creative and finding different ways to connect our students with alumni and employers, including through speed networking, meet and greets, coffee chats and information panels.
In October, we had a tremendously successful Career Week. Fifty-nine companies representing a variety of different fields were on campus for our career, internship and graduate school fair. We added new alumni panels this year so that our students could hear about the career journeys of our alumni and how their Longwood experience prepared them for the workplace. And, again, we were intentional that Career Week wasn’t just for seniors who will be graduating soon. We encouraged freshmen and sophomores to go to these career events and start making some connections and having conversations they can continue in the future.
Another thing I’m very proud of are three state grants, totaling $350,000, we received this year for initiatives that support and improve student participation in for-credit internships and career-readiness initiatives. One of the grants funded a new staff position to focus almost exclusively on collaborating with academic departments and campus partners to develop and expand student work-based experiences.
Q: Tell us a little bit about your background and how you found your way to Longwood.
A:Most of my career has been focused on education and workforce.
I started my career as a 4-H extension agent. That really embedded in me the idea of what it means to be a citizen leader because I worked with many student leaders in my 4-H programs.
From there my career took me to regional economic development work, where I managed a 501c (3) nonprofit focused on STEM education. One of the key projects I was responsible for was standing up a STEM academy on the campus of Central Virginia Community College (CVCC), which required making connections with regional business and industry, and understanding their workforce needs.
Later I became the workforce development coordinator at CVCC, which entailed designing and implementing new training programs for students that were focused on certifications. I also managed a large federal grant that was focused on student success initiatives across campus.
I began my current job at Longwood in August 2023. Given my background, my role here has been a great fit because it’s an opportunity for me to bring in some new ideas from these varied experiences and take this office in some different directions.
Q: What do you most enjoy about your job?
A:First of all, I really like Longwood. It’s been a very welcoming community. The student body is great to work with. The students are pleasant and down-to-earth. The faculty and staff have been open-minded and collaborative. It’s been a pleasure to be invited to other departments to have some of the new initiatives that we’re putting in place embraced and supported.
It’s been a really fun job, even though it’s challenging because we’re building some new things. I love seeing the forward momentum we are creating and the difference we’re making in students’ lives. We see success stories every day, and it’s very rewarding. It’s also rewarding because we are seeing more and more academic departments and students come to us, which is great. That means things are working, and we’re creating an energy where they want to connect with us and work with us.
A big factor that has made this job so fulfilling and fun is the team that we have in this office. We have a wonderful staff and graduate assistants—it is truly a team effort, and I’ve been lucky to work with them. We have some members who have been here for a few years, as well as some new teammates who provide a nice mix of backgrounds and ideas.
Q: What sets Longwood graduates apart in the hiring process, and why do employers like hiring our alumni?
A:Employers want to hire Longwood graduates because they see that they’re well-prepared. The feedback I’ve heard is that our students are very professional in their interactions. They are hard-working, good collaborators and overall good colleagues. They are well-prepared to transition to the workforce through the experience they have here. A lot of that flows from the things that we do well, like our low student-to-faculty ratio.
We also have great programming and organizations on campus for students to get involved with that expose them to a lot of opportunities. The Brock Experiences is one good example. Employers know what they are getting when they hire our students because they have had good hires from Longwood in the past. To some employers, that has made us a preferred hiring place.
One thing that really makes our students stand out is our Civitae core curriculum, which focuses on growing citizen leaders who not only have the technical acumen but also the ability to understand the broader picture of how society works and how they fit into that bigger picture. The No. 1 skill and base competency that employers want is critical thinking. Longwood students are going to be a top pick because of that. They are given this incredible experience where they are challenged with problem solving, working with diverse groups and working in teams. Those types of higher-level soft skills will make them stand out and be important for companies to have on their teams in the future.
Boats Against The Current
100 YEARS LATER, ENGLISH FACULTY SHINE
A LIGHT ON WHY THE GREAT LITERARY WORKS OF 1925 ENDURE TODAY
BY MATTHEW McWILLIAMS
1925 was a golden year for literature worldwide, especially among American authors. Major writers including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Langston Hughes and Edith Wharton published groundbreaking books that shaped literature in the century that followed.
••
MANY OF
THE
WORKS SHARE COMMON THEMES.
As war-torn Europe was recovering from World War I and dealing with another threat to peace in the fledgling rise of fascism, American society was in the midst of an economic boom—the Roaring ’20s—that came with it a fight for civil rights for women and minorities. The literature of 1925 is characterized by a sense of shifting cultural norms, fallout from a world at war and criticism of the status quo. To mark this year, the faculty in the Department of English and Modern Languages this spring semester will teach classes that focus on books, poems and plays written in 1925, culminating with a series titled “The Great Gatsby and Friends” and dedicated to Fitzgerald’s luminous work.
We asked several English faculty to share their thoughts about some of the standout books from 1925 and why they are still relevant today.
Dr. David Magill, PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH
In Our Time ERNEST HEMINGWAY
In Our Time, Hemingway’s first collection of short stories, introduces the world to the character Nick Adams, who will be featured throughout the author’s career.
Why is this collection significant?
In Our Time is emblematic of Hemingway’s style and his early focus on the war and sense of that lost generation. It’s a book that has influenced Tim O’Brien’s writing about the Vietnam War, others writing about the Iraq war and Korea—you could say everything that came after it.
How does the writing stand apart from his previous works?
Hemingway employs this spare technique he likens to an iceberg, where only a small portion of what’s really going on is on the page, leaving most of the content to be inferred. One of the most famous stories in this collection, Big Two-Hearted River, is the story of Nick Adams going camping. But you understand completely that he’s alienated and lost, and dealing with the effects of fighting a war. That comes through in the small details of his thoughts and making camp.
Are there themes in these stories that mirror changing times in the ’20s?
Certainly there’s a lot of cynicism and disillusionment about the culture and the postwar world. In the story Home, the character George Krebs comes home and is thinking about a photograph of himself at the Rhine with two girls and a friend. He was happy in that picture, but he can’t find that same feeling when he is back in the States. The Roaring ’20s is supposed to be this big party, and yet, underneath, there are all these roiling currents. Hemingway is trying to capture that.
How do students respond to Hemingway a century after In Our Time was published?
Students today live in a world that isn’t that dissimilar to 1925 in the sense that it’s changing quickly and people are dealing with big, fundamental questions. So they see that in the text.
I,
Too LANGSTON HUGHES
Dr. Sean Ruday, PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH
Why is this poem still relevant a century after it was published?
The reason we still read Langston Hughes is that the themes are not only universal but also extremely, extremely relevant in today’s society. Issues of equity and justice and people needing to fight for those things are very much present in Hughes’ work.
Hughes’ poem is a sort of response to Walt Whitman’s I Hear America Singing. Why is that choice important?
Whitman writes from his perspective as a 19th-century white man, and celebrating all of these different aspects of America. Hughes, in a contrasting poem and style, identifies himself and his experience with that same America.
The last stanza is very powerful: “Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed” How do students respond to that word “ashamed”?
Ashamed is a strong word that is meant to evoke an emotional response from the reader, and it’s consistent with other Hughes’ work. His poem Harlem starts
with the question, “What happens to a dream deferred?” And the last line of that is, “or does it explode?” Hughes is great at that really powerful and economical language, using strong and specific words.
How do students respond to the poem?
Before becoming a professor, I taught middle-school English in Brooklyn, and I did an activity with this poem with my students. We read Whitman’s poem, which is celebratory and presents an idyllic viewpoint of America, and then Hughes’ poem, which offers another perspective of the American experience. Then students wrote poems about their own experiences of America. The poems by the middle-schoolers were so powerful in their own voices. That is why I, Too is so important.
There is a continuing need to address and respond to issues and societal injustice. We can follow Hughes’ example and address injustice in the world around us.
Hughes’ seminal poem I, Too, first published in the magazine The New Negro in 1925, was a defining work of the Harlem Renaissance.
Dr. Thomas Nez, LECTURER IN ENGLISH
Why are these essays important and enduring?
They’re important because they’re critical examinations of figures who shaped American history. They’re fragmented and experimental for one thing, but what’s important is the intimate critique that Williams is making of someone like Washington, who is often seen as this giant moral center of America. It’s a reinvestment in the truth that was lost through historical record.
This collection of essays is such a departure from Spring and All, Williams’ 1923 poetry collection that is a benchmark of American literature.
Williams is fascinated by what it means to be an American in the individual sense, not in a general national sense. Identity constantly needs to be renegotiated in America because there’s this independence that one needs to pose for, yet one depends on all these other resources.
Williams is critical of these historical figures—not as if they were bad people,
Dr. Rhonda Brock, PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH
The Mother’s Recompense
EDITH WHARTON
In 1921, Edith Wharton became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel The Age of Innocence.
Why is The Mother’s Recompense important 100 years later?
Like a lot of her books, it’s surprisingly modern in that she’s tackling a lot of stuff that we still talk about. She’s working very much on social constructions of identity and how our behavior is both prescribed and conscribed. She’s particularly mindful of the position of women and women’s choices. I think the other thing that this novel does so beautifully is to show how what happens in your past shapes you and how you deal with that. You don’t get to make a choice and then forget it.
A common thread in publications around this time is a sense of changing society. Do you see that in this novel?
I come to Edith Wharton via ghost stories. And in a way, that’s what this novel is. Characters are haunted by their pasts, haunted by the expectations on them from culture and other characters. By the 1920s, everything has changed. There was
In the American Grain
WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS
In 1925, the great New Jersey poet and physician William Carlos Williams departed from collections of poetry to publish a series of essays that offered a fresh, and sometimes critical, perspective of George Washington and other prominent figures in American history.
but critical of the idea that they are symbolic stand-ins for American ideals. He looks at them as individual people with flaws and insecurities. For instance, Washington is portrayed as this deeply insecure figure. That’s the opposite of how Washington is portrayed in history.
How do students respond?
I think students love to talk about these essays because they’re used to American history being glorified. But when they read about how Benjamin Franklin is up all night trying to make his shoes more shiny so he can impress people at his talk the next day, that gives them license to be ironic.
Was Williams responding to his experience in postwar America?
I think postwar concerns for Williams have to do with individualizing the United States as a place under its own kind of evolution, distinct from European evolution. He’s really invested in the actual present moments that people encounter and how those present
the “war to end all wars,” and we are right on the cusp of another growing threat. With regard to women, there are huge changes, which means consequently there are huge changes to the concept of family. That raises a lot of “what do we owe” questions. How much do I owe society? How much do I owe my country? How much do I owe my family?
Do you have a favorite passage or line that sticks in your mind?
The main character, Kate, leaves her husband and child in America in the beginning of the book to move to Paris. At the end, when she’s struggling with the idea of returning to the city, her daughter tells her that it’s safe for her to go home because nobody’s going to remember what happened; the city has amnesia. I love that image.
Dr. Elise Green, ASSISTANT
The Great Gatsby F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
In the century since its publication, The Great Gatsby has become a classic, ranked at or near the top of many lists of the greatest American novels ever written.
PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH AND WRITING
Why has Gatsby endured?
The human condition is at the core of The Great Gatsby, and people love to read about themselves. It’s corruption in the human heart. It’s trying to gain everything at the expense of being a good human. A lot of the issues in the 1920s represented themselves a bit differently than they do today, but we still struggle with many of the same concerns. We’re still grappling with things like loneliness and excess and self-fulfillment. And we still have a great interest in topics relating to love and the American dream. Gatsby thinks that if he can fit Daisy into this life that he’s created for her, then he’s achieved the American dream. But their relationship lacks depth. It’s all a façade. She ends up with Tom Buchanan, and Gatsby ends up dead.
And class differences are key to the book, as well?
Yes. Jay Gatsby is this wonderfully elusive and mysterious character, seen in society as one thing but under the surface he is nervous and worried about his likability. He is the son of farmers, “poor people.” He’s new money, not old money. This is the root of his lack of confidence, providing a deeper layer of commentary on class differences.
Does that theme resonate with students?
I think it does—or it will for them eventually. One of the things about a book like Gatsby is that it comes to be meaningful in different ways as you move through life.
Students do see class differences now, but it’s hard for them to real ize what that fully means until they get out in the world and establish a lifestyle for themselves.
What do you hope students take away from the novel?
I hope they reflect on what elements of society they are grabbing hold of in trying to find satisfaction and ful fillment. So many superfluous things today are taking the place of human interaction—something we need so desperately now more than ever.
Dr. John Miller, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH
Glasgow’s setting of 1920s Virginia is in contrast to Jazz Age novels written by American expatriates. What makes that important?
Glasgow was a Richmond native, born in 1873. Her mother was a descendant of the Tidewater gentry, and her dad was associated with the Tredegar Ironworks. She wrote very candidly, very realistically and very unsentimentally about the New South—not just about the elite class but also about how they’re hostage to their own codes of decorum and manners, and how that inevitably leads to problems in their lives. She addressed how those codes were often unfit for a rapidly changing modern world.
Did Glasgow buck tradition with that style?
I think what Barren Ground really demonstrates, what the main character realizes throughout the book, is that you shouldn’t have to be a martyr to
Barren Ground
ELLEN GLASGOW
Richmond, Virginia, author Ellen Glasgow won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1942, and was notable for her portrayal of the early 20th-century South—paving the way for authors including William Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor.
tradition and to custom. It was very much counter to Southern literature up to that point and especially how things were portrayed in the literature of Glasgow’s childhood. In many ways, the popular myth of a genteel South was fabricated. She didn’t want to perpetuate those conventions.
And what is her legacy?
She was recognized as a major figure in the first half of the 20th century. She had quite a circle of critical allies and fans among the major tastemakers of that period. In the years after Barren Ground was published, she convened a conference at the University of Virginia, where she invited William Faulkner and Sherwood Anderson and other major writers, some of whom were or would be following in her footsteps. Overall, though, her reputation has been somewhat eclipsed by those great Southern Renaissance writers who came just after her.
Dr. Chene Heady, PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH
The Hollow Men
T.S. ELIOT
After the publication of his poem
The Waste Land in 1922, T.S. Eliot followed with The Hollow Men, a poem that explores themes of religious confusion, despair and the state of the world in disarray.
Why is this poem still read 100 years after publication?
Eliot is grappling with a sense of cultural exhaustion. In 1925, he’s at his most despairing and nihilistic. The Hollow Men concludes, famously, with the world ending “not with a bang, but with a whimper.”
There’s a sense of being emptied out—that everything that could be
ing. So, yes, they tend to see parallels with their own experience of the world.
The Waste Land is famously dense whereas The Hollow Men is much simpler. Why?
The language is much, much simpler in The Hollow Men. In The Hollow Men, the speakers are so exhausted and empty that they have trouble coming up with words at all, much less profound ones. There’s an interesting mash of high and low culture—allusions to Dante and the Bible blur into nursery rhymes—which I think is really contemporary, very postmodern. But language itself collapses until in the end everything just peters out in that last whimper.
More Literary Gold from 1925
1925 was not just a banner year for American literature. Across the world seminal works were published and publications launched, many of which are still culturally relevant today. From the publication of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway to the first issue of The New Yorker that February, the publications below were among those that made 1925 a global golden year in the literary arts.
••
Mrs. Dalloway virginia woolf
The Wrong Sort of Bees (Winnie-thePooh) a . a . milne
Dark Laughter sherwood anderson
The Professor’s House willa cather
Did this poem mark a turning
Yes, he’d taken his attempt to capture the despair and emptiness he perceived in the modern era as far as he could go, The Waste The Hollow , which asks the question, linguistically, how much further down this road can you go until there’s not a poem at all? And he saw this poem as having
The Trial franz kafka
The Secret of Chimneys agatha christie
Manhattan Transfer john dos passos
An American Tragedy theodore dreiser
No More Parades ford madox ford
Arrowsmith sinclair lewis
Porgy dubose heyward
Those Barren Leaves aldous huxley
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes anita loos
The Painted Veil w . somerset maugham
& e . e . cummings
XLI Poems e . e . cummings
The Making of Americans gertrude stein
The Paddington Mystery cecil street
Paul Bunyan james stevens
Christina Alberta’s Father h g wells
Carry On, Jeeves p . g . wodehouse
Dr. Doolittle’s Zoo hugh lofting
The Lost King of Oz ruth plumly thompson
Fallen Angels noël coward
Color Struck zora neale hurston
THERE’S NOPLACE LIKEHOME
Lancer spirit draws more than 800 to campus for Homecoming & Alumni Weekend 2.0
With more than 800 registered participants—nearly a 20 percent increase over 2023—this year’s Homecoming & Alumni Weekend was an unqualified success, cementing the event as Longwood’s newest tradition.
The weekend’s tailgating, basketball games, family entertainment, Gold Society luncheon, ghost tour and late-night festivities were part of the draw—not to mention the absolutely perfect fall weather. But what also pulled alumni back to campus was the opportunity to renew friendships, share memories and, more than anything else, bask in the sense of unity that comes from being part of the Longwood family.
Asked why he had traveled to campus from his home in Virginia Beach, Gary Cason ’86 summed it up in one word: “Fellowship.” Cason is one of the founding members of Longwood’s chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., whose members were celebrating the chapter’s 40th anniversary at the Homecoming tailgate.
“All of us are pretty tight-knit,” added Thurman Richard ’85, another founding member of the fraternity, who traveled from Upper Marlboro, Maryland. “We’re planning to make it here every year from now on.”—Sabrina Brown
1. Gold (of course) tiaras were the order of the day for women in the Class of 1974—including Linda Gill—who celebrated their 50th reunion and induction into the Gold Society during Homecoming & Alumni Weekend. Jan Poole Iacopinelli ’74 helped with planning the reunion, including ordering the tiaras. 2. Cooper Nichols (right), already a diehard Lancers fan at age 4, skipped attending a birthday party to join his dad courtside at the men’s Homecoming basketball game. ‘He loves coming to basketball games,’ said Cory Nichols ’08, MBA ’10, of his son. ‘This is our second Homecoming. Go Lancers!’ 3. Members of the Longwood chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., celebrated the 40th anniversary of the chapter’s founding at the Homecoming tailgate. 4. It was just the second year for Homecoming & Alumni Weekend, but tailgaters looked like seasoned pros with elaborate setups, grills galore and Longwood style in evidence throughout the four tailgating areas.
Ted Hodges ’85
Savannah Bartlett ’26
Ted Hodges ’85
Ted Hodges ’85
Courtney Vogel
THE VIDEO OF HOMECOMING 2024
1. The women’s team came away with a crushing Homecoming win over Division III Hood College. Final score: 102-21. 2. Division I Morgan State University was no match for the Lancer men’s basketball team, who revved up the crowd with an 84-66 victory in the Joan Perry Brock Center. 3. Joselyn Sanders ’25 (left) and Stephanie Jennings ’27 said it with flowers when welcoming their Sigma Kappa alumni sisters to campus during the Homecoming & Alumni Weekend memorial service. 4. Students led a spooky tour of campus on Friday evening, regaling the crowd with haunting stories of ghosts from Longwood’s past. 5. A walk down memory lane courtesy of a display of yearbooks and other memorabilia from Greenwood Library Archives was a favorite of many Homecoming participants, including Elizabeth Rex Spiers ’64 (standing left), Carol Combs Irvin ’64 (standing center) and her daughter (seated), and Terrie Swann ’64 (right). Alumni could also search through an interactive digital presentation of photos and article clippings from the 1950s through the present day. Shown on a large monitor operated via touchscreen, the presentation included nearly 350 images from yearbooks and the library’s archival collection. Virtually all of the work—more than 50 hours—was done by Archives’ student intern Jenna Lankford ’25, a public history major.
It just doesn’t get any better than a mother and daughter sharing their love of Longwood and the Lancer community. Mom Sophia Debolt Cimbal ’99 (right) looks on as daughter Tricia Cimbal ’25 (second from left) greets Nicole Perkins ’05, senior director of alumni engagement and a driving force behind Homecoming & Alumni Weekend.
Courtney Vogel
Courtney Vogel
Ted Hodges ’85
Ted Hodges ’85
Savannah Bartlett ’26
Courtney Vogel
Mad About Mushrooms
Donn Dobkin Photography
1950s
Shirley Jane Lucy Leyland ’59, a business education major at Longwood, worked most of her life as a business and accounting teacher, retiring from Council Rock High School (North) in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She died May 24, 2024. Her obituary also stated that after retirement she relocated to Maryland, where she volunteered her time with the St. Mary’s County museum division, especially with Piney Point Lighthouse Museum & Historic Park. She also loved to travel and visited all 50 states and several destinations outside the U.S., including Europe, England, Bermuda and Canada.
1960s
Emma “Em” Davis ’62 was posthumously selected as the 2024 Virginia Beach Champion for the Arts in recognition of her impact on the cultural and arts community. The award was presented to Davis’ family in August. She died March 18, 2024. Davis was a longtime member of the Arts & Humanities Commission, including officer roles as treasurer, secretary and vice chair, as well as chair of the commission’s Public Art Committee. She also was one of the key voices in developing the Champion for the Arts award in 2016 and served on the selection committee for several years. Davis had a vigorous passion for the arts in her community, including directing the Boardwalk Art Show for several seasons, and volunteering and/or serving on the boards of Little Theatre of Virginia Beach, Symphonicity and Virginia Musical Theatre. In addition, she worked for Virginia Beach City Public Schools for over 40 years as a teacher, principal and member of the Virginia Beach School Board.
Jean Gould Bell ’64, who had a busy and varied professional and personal life, died July 18, 2024. She married in 1965, but that was not a deterrent to her career. A secondary education major at Longwood, her obituary states that she taught junior high English in Charlottesville from 1965-67, then, after relocating to Washington, D.C., worked as director of publications for the Society of American Florists
Special Deliveries
Alumni step up to help ship donated books to nonprofits, schools and more
When former Longwood Sports Information Director Hoke Currie and his wife, Nancy, decided to donate 1,300 copies of the book memorializing the inspirational life and professional basketball career of Jerome Kersey ’84, Longwood alumni were among those who stepped up and literally paid the freight to make it happen.
Providing the funding to ship the copies of Jerome Kersey: Overcoming the Odds to their destinations— which included libraries, schools, correctional centers and homeless veteran groups— were alumni Suzanne Frailie DuBose ’83, Robert Pierce ’89, Kevin Brandon ’82, Ron Orr ’84, Dr. Chip Jones ’97, M.S. ’03, Megan Clark ’05 and Sheri Nunn States ’83; Bryan Kersey, who attended Longwood at the same time as Jerome Kersey (no relation); and former Longwood staff members Don Lemish and Ricky Yahn.
One organization that received copies was REAL LIFE, a Richmond-based nonprofit that helps men and women leaving incarceration. REAL LIFE designed and led a four-week discussion group based on Kersey’s life principles. An outline of the program can be requested at rohnbrownva@gmail.com.
“Paying shipping for the books was not a hard decision. I was particularly excited that some of the books went to REAL LIFE,” said DuBose, who came to admire the organization after paying the shipping
Jerome exemplified the value of hard work and giving your best. I felt getting his book to highschool athletes and veterans could motivate them to work hard to be their best.’
— ROBERT PIERCE ’89
Suzanne Frailie DuBose ’83 (left) with Dr. Sarah Scarbrough, founder and director of REAL LIFE, a Richmond-based nonprofit that received eight cases of books thanks, in part, to DuBose’s donation that covered shipping costs.
“Jerome exemplified the value of hard work and giving your best,” said Pierce, a former Lancer basketball player. “I felt getting his book to high-school athletes and veterans could motivate them to work hard to be their best.”
costs for the eight cases of books they received. —Rohn Brown ’84
Editor’s Note: After this story was written, we received the news that Hoke Currie died Sept. 26, 2024. Our condolences to the family.
Courtesy of Rohn Brown ’84
from 1967-70. For the next 20 years, after the birth of her two daughters, she was an active volunteer, including serving as chair of the docents at the National Gallery of Art and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Then in 1990, after another relocation and despite her lack of experience, her career took a turn to retail. She was hired as the manager of the Atlanta location of The Container Store, the chain’s first store outside Texas. It grew to 60 employees before she retired in 1998. After retirement, she and her husband participated in a number of mission activities with Peachtree Presbyterian Church, traveling to China, Costa Rica, Israel, Malawi, Kenya and Greece. They also traveled for pleasure, and she had visited 45 of the 50 states and more than 30 countries across six continents before it became too difficult for her to travel.
Dr. Deanna Jean Talley-Ronsholdt ’67, a published researcher whose work received funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, died June 18, 2024. A double major in biology and chemistry at Longwood, she went on to earn a Ph.D. in biochemistry and nutrition from Virginia Tech and completed postdoctoral studies at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She spent the majority of her career on the faculty of the Marquette University School of Dentistry in Wisconsin.
Katherine Yancey De Lorraine ’68, M.A. ’79 (English), is the author of Miss Lila’s Place, a Southern gothic mystery novel set in Farmville and published by Mystic Publishing. In addition to its primary plotline—outwitting a serial killer—the book explores the racial conflict in Prince Edward and touches on Civil War history. De Lorraine has taught English and creative writing in secondary schools and at Roanoke College. The recipient of four (continued on Page 23)
Destination: Margaritaville.
Four Longwood alumni participated in a Homefront Players production of the musical Escape to Margaritaville in May 2024 at Ft. Gregg-Adams in Prince George County, Virginia. Making the trip to the land of Jimmy Buffett via the nonprofit theatre group were Zachary Fortune ’21 (left); Matt Bolte ’03; Lyndsey Brown ’24; Kim Fisher Hockaday ’79, M.S. ’06 (school library media); and Naiihrr Dryden-Mason, who also attended Longwood. Hockaday, who sent in the photo, reports she has been performing with Homefront for more than 25 years—but never before with so many fellow alums. She is in her 46th year as an educator in Prince George County and currently is an elementary librarian K-5 at L.L. Beazley Elementary. Hockaday also related that Brown, who earned a theatre degree at Longwood, is in her first year as the theater teacher at Prince George High School. Fortune majored in music at Longwood; Bolte in theatre.
Courtesy of Kim Hockaday ’79, M.S. ’06
Do You Know the ‘Mushroom Man’?
Plenty of people in Northern Virginia do—his weekly farmers market yield invariably sells out
Ian Triplett ’12 had no idea mushrooms were on the verge of stardom when he bought his first mycological grow kit in 2015. In fact, he didn’t even have a taste for fungi back then. He simply wanted to try his hand at cultivating something new and different alongside his family’s viticulture operation in Leesburg, Virginia.
After serving in the Marine Corps and earning a degree in economics from Longwood University, he had a day job in banking. But he missed getting his hands dirty.
“I grew up in agriculture. I’ve always liked to grow things,” says the owner of Three Cap Farms, a popular vendor at the Saturday morning EatLoco farmers market in National Landing. “I always had a little garden—even at university. In this case I just fell in love with the process.”
Little did Triplett know his umami-rich crops would become an “it” food, expanding beyond the produce aisle and finding their way into snack food seasonings, homeopathic remedies, biodegradable packaging, a 2019 Netflix documentary and even home décor. In 2022, The New York Times declared mushrooms the “ingredient of the year.”
I have increased production by 100 percent every year since I started Three Cap Farms in 2020.’
— IAN TRIPLETT ’12
As demand for the product, uh, mushroomed, so did Triplett’s business. “I have increased production by 100 percent every year since I started Three Cap Farms in 2020,” he says. “Now I’m at the point where that’s not so easy.”
Today, he harvests roughly 160 pounds of gourmet mushrooms per week, selling them for $26-$28 per pound, with offerings that change seasonally. Early spring’s bounty in 2024 included lion’s mane—“a scary, puffy brain-looking thing that tastes like crabmeat,” he says—along with pink oyster, Hamilton oyster (a variety indigenous to Loudoun County) and his current personal favorite, pioppino.
About that last one: “It has a classic look with a thin stem and a velvet brown parasol cap,” he says. “The flavor profile is unique and hard to peg with one adjective. It’s a sort of woodsy-meets-bittersweet-nutmeg-cacao kind of thing. I like to pair it with heartier dishes like red meat proteins or anything Italian.”
For scalability, he grows only four types of mushrooms at a time, on average, using a proprietary substrate that combines hardwood sawdust from Appalachian woodlands with wheat bran, gypsum, water and black oil sunflower seeds. “The plant-based fat
content is pretty high,” he says of his growing medium. “It’s nice and nutritional for the mycelium to eat.”
For the record, Triplett doesn’t grow or sell psychedelic shrooms (he’s not that kind of mushroom man), though for fun he has been experimenting with a species of Cordyceps, the so-called “zombie fungus” made famous in the videogame-turned-HBO drama series
The Last of Us. Unlike the fictional fungus in the show, the real-world Cordyceps isn’t a human killer. On the contrary, it has purported medicinal properties that make it a hot commodity.
“I’m playing around just to see if I can get it to grow,” Triplett says. “In Asia it’s considered a delicacy. An ounce, dried, goes for $70. That blows truffles out of the water in terms of return on investment.”—Jenny Sullivan; reprinted with permission from Arlington Magazine
Ian Triplett ’12 started Three Cap Farms in 2020. Today he harvests about 160 pounds of gourmet mushrooms each week, selling them for $26-$28 per pound.
Donn Dobkin Photography
fellowships to the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, De Lorraine shared that “I am the author of a prize-winning chapbook, Someone You Should Know, [and] a multigenre book, Human Bridges.” Her Longwood undergraduate degree is in English and speech. She also earned an MFA from Goddard College.
1980s
Michael John McGeehan ’82, a business major at Longwood and a member of what was then Longwood’s nationally ranked soccer team, died July 15, 2024. His good friend and former teammate, Steve McGurl ’83, wrote to let the Longwood community know of McGeehan’s passing, sharing this information: “Mike had a successful business career after graduating from Longwood. He was the COO of a major milk transport company and the owner of a trucking/logistics business before retiring to Florida. … Mike was recruited to play soccer by Longwood’s most successful soccer coach, Rich Posipanko, and was considered one of the ‘Founding Three’ that established the program to become a nationally ranked program during Mike’s years. He had college teammates visit him in his final days. He was a teammate of mine, and we knew each other for 44 years.”
Susan Meadors Warren ’83 was one of 13 Patrick & Henry Community College graduates honored as 2024 distinguished alumni. Meadors, who majored in therapeutic recreation at Longwood, has more than 40 years of experience working with children and adults with disabilities. She currently is the executive director of Tackfully Teamed Riding Academy, whose mission is to provide therapeutic horseback riding and other equine activities to individuals with disabilities, giving them an opportunity to improve their physical, mental, emotional and social lives. A horse lover virtually from birth, Warren began riding at age 4 and has taken lessons over the years in different disciplines, though her background is mostly hunt seat. She began teaching beginner and intermediate riding lessons when she and her husband bought their current farm. She also began to learn about therapeutic riding. Warren became a registered therapeutic riding instructor through the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International and is a member of the Therapeutic Riding Association of Virginia.
Karen Marie Nettemeyer ’84, a retired speech pathologist for the Newport News (Virginia) Public Schools, died Aug. 29, 2024. Referred to as “Nutty-Buddy” and “Special-K” by her co-workers and friends, she worked in the Newport News schools 34 years and 4 months before retiring. (Nettemeyer’s obituary mentions that she was always precise about her dates, which was a topic of amusement among her friends). Additionally, she worked as a speech pathologist at Dominion Physical Therapy in Newport News for 27 years. Her co-work-
From Lancer to Hurricane
University of Miami School of Law selects Longwood alumna to give student commencement address
Adedicated single mother of two boys, former account executive, athletic trainer and lifelong University of Miami Hurricane fan, Ann Turner Light ’95 was selected to give the student commencement address for the 2024 graduating class of the Miami School of Law.
Light, who earned a J.D. and LL.M. in entertainment, arts and sports law, embarked on her journey to Miami’s law school through a circuitous and unusual path.
LONGWOOD’S 1 HOUR
A MONTH program is a volunteer experience designed for alumni and friends. You’ll be rewarded with exclusive Longwood swag depending on your level of participation. Find out more at go.longwood. edu/1hour.
After earning her B.S. in psychology from Longwood, she spent 16 years in Washington, D.C., at The Economist Group, where she assisted law firms, nonprofits and all government agencies in following and analyzing federal legislation. She then changed directions and became the head athletic trainer at Orangetheory Fitness in Parkland, Florida. However, the Covid-19 pandemic led to the loss of her job, coinciding with a personal life upheaval due to a divorce. She was crucial in securing an ideal settlement agreement during the divorce process, which ultimately led her to law school.
“That experience lit a passion inside me to help others … ,” said the Virginia native. “Honestly, I did not even know what the LSAT was. I quickly found out, and the rest is history.”
Light first attended Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law but decided to transfer to Miami Law after her first year.
“For 50 years, I wanted to be a Hurricane,” said Light, whose mother is a 1969 Miami alumna. “However, the defining moment that helped me decide to transfer, leaving behind the top scholarship at Nova, was the unparalleled range of opportunities at Miami Law.”
Among her many activities as a law student, she volunteered with ER Sports Law & Arbitration, an independent firm, providing pro bono assistance with motions and legal drafting. Light also worked as a certified legal intern in the Broward County State Attorney’s Office and received the John M. Hogan Public Interest Litigation Scholarship.
After passing the Bar, Light will begin her legal career as a trial attorney specializing in maritime law at the Florida firm Mase Seitz Briggs.—Excerpted from a story by Michelle Valencia/University of Miami
Longwood psychology graduate Ann Turner Light ’95 graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 2024 and plans to specialize in maritime law.
Courtesy of University of Miami School of Law
ers, students and patients continually expressed her passion for helping children and their families improve their day-to-day lives.
Joe Damico ’85 was named chief administrative officer for the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) in July of 2024. He recently served as the deputy director of the Richmond Department of Public Works. Prior to that, Damico served in leadership roles for more than 21 years at the Virginia Department of General Services, including six years as the director. As the SCC’s chief administrative officer, he will oversee administrative divisions responsible for the SCC’s budget, human resources, computer technology, data security, public relations, procurement and facilities management.
Horace Scruggs ’85, an educator, musician, conductor, composer and documentary filmmaker, received a fellowship through the African American Fellows Program as part of the Voices Remembered initiative at Preservation Virginia. Scruggs, who earned his Longwood degree in music, was one of five Fellows selected in June 2024, each of whom received a $10,000 fellowship to help support their research. Those selected as Fellows work with Preservation Virginia staff, learn from mentors and continue research projects in their communities. The goal is to increase the number of trained community preservationists helping save African American historic sites in Virginia. In addition, Scruggs was hosted by the Piedmont Virginia Community College Fine Arts and Performance division for a two-day residency at the college in February 2024. Events included a showing of his recently completed documentary chronicling local African American history and the latest in his signature series of learning and listening concerts on elements of African American music.
Danny Pate ’89 is the chief operating officer for Fatbeam, a leading provider of fiber optic broadband in the western United States. In his new role, announced in August 2024, Pate is based in company headquarters in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, where he oversees engineering, construction, operations and service delivery. “I am very grateful for my education and experiences at Longwood University, which have afforded me a fulfilling 30+-year career, including my current role leading a team of highly energized people under a family-oriented culture at Fatbeam Fiber,” said Pate. Fatbeam CEO Paul Merritt described Pate as “an exceptional addition to our leadership team,” adding that “his extensive experience in FTTX engineering and OSP build programs, coupled with his collaborative leadership style and strong financial acumen, make him the perfect fit to help steer Fatbeam through our next phase of growth.” Pate’s Longwood degree is in business/management information systems.
Lori Wentworth Spiller ’89 is retiring from the Hanover County, Virginia, schools after 35 years: 14 as a special educator and 21 as a
Do you know a Longwood alum who deserves to be recognized for their good works? Nominate them for an Alumni Award at go.longwood.edu/ alumniawards
Edward in Paris. In the shadow of the Eiffel Tower and no doubt with the aroma of baguettes wafting somewhere nearby, Edward Gaughran ’96 took the opportunity to introduce the Longwood Lancers to Olympics fans at Eiffel Tower Stadium this past summer. It was an experience he is unlikely to forget anytime soon. “This was an amazing and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to raise the [Longwood] flag in an iconic location!” recalled Gaughran, who was a political science major at Longwood. “I remarked after one evening of track and field that there were so many languages, accents and pockets of celebrations for the athletes and accomplishments that we had all witnessed. … Usually in such a setting, the vast majority are pulling for one team or result. It was wonderful!”
Courtesy of Edward Gaughran ’96
reading specialist. A special education major at Longwood, she earned a master’s degree in reading from the University of Virginia and her library certification from UVA-Wise. Spiller said she and her husband, who have two grown children, are planning “to retire at a beach and live a simple life.”
1990s
O’Kelly E. McWilliams III ’90, a partner in the Holland & Knight law firm’s Washington, D.C., office, was named the firm’s new diversity partner earlier this year. In that role, he chairs the firm’s Diversity Council and leads its award-winning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. McWilliams joined Holland & Knight in 2022 and is the leader of its DEI Task Force, a group that answers clients’ questions and helps them navigate compliance regarding their DEI commitments. Throughout his career, McWilliams has led DEI efforts in various capacities, including as a law firm partner and as a member of various corporate and nonprofit boards, enhancing their DEI and environmental, social and governance strategies. McWilliams earned a degree in business administration/finance at Longwood.
Paula Erwin Totten ’92 exhibited her work earlier this year at Farmville’s Riverside Café under the auspices of Central Virginia Arts, a partner of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Totten, who studied graphic design, drawing and printmaking at Longwood, also earned a degree in geology from Radford University. She is the owner of Twisted Holly Services, which provides video production and graphic design for farms and other businesses related to agriculture in the Cumberland, Virginia, area.
Henry Thompson ’93 was named senior vice president of technology at Chartway Credit Union in Virginia Beach in July 2024. A member of the Chartway team since 2018, he initially was director of IT and was promoted to vice president of IT in 2022. In his new role, he will be playing a more strategic role in shaping Chartway’s technological future. Thompson’s Longwood degree is in physics.
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Highlights Reel
Ransford Doherty ’97, actor, and Martin Montgomery ’97, film producer, both theatre majors at Longwood, recently collaborated on a new Longwood video ad titled “What The World Needs.” Doherty provided the voiceover, and Montgomery produced the ad, which highlights a mix of academics, student life and athletics. The ad earned two bronze Telly awards and is helping Longwood connect with prospective students as well as reinforce the university’s brand.
Longwood is her travel buddy
MICHELLE LAYNE ’07 made sure to promote her alma mater during a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. “It’s always great to represent Longwood in my travels,” she said. “It’s even greater when someone stops to ask, ‘Where or what is Longwood?’” Layne’s Longwood degree is in business administration.
Ransford Doherty ’97 (bottom left), seen here in a behind-the-scenes still from Longwood’s new video ad, has appeared in multiple films and television series, including a recurring role on The Closer and Major Crimes.
A Peaceful Goodbye. Making the decision to euthanize a pet is incredibly difficult. That’s why Dr. Jessica Loweth ’10, a veterinarian in Fresno, California, is dedicated to making the process as easy as possible—both for pets and for the humans who love them. “Providing in-home euthanasia affords me the ability to share the greatest last gift we can give our pets,” said Loweth, who earlier this year joined CodaPet, a company that offers in-home end-of-life care for pets in more than 70 cities around the U.S. “I’ve known I wanted to be a veterinarian since I was only 3 years old, sadly after my own cat was hit by a car. I learned then that only a vet could have helped my kitty, which started a lifelong journey dedicated to saving animals and a special passion for providing a peaceful passing surrounded by loved ones.” After earning her biology degree at Longwood and completing her training in veterinary medicine, Loweth worked with the U.S. Navy as an on-board veterinarian. She then practiced emergency medicine before transitioning to general practice.
Jennifer Gattari Beaupre ’95, a highschool Spanish teacher at Rome (New York) Free Academy for the past 27 years, died April 29, 2024. An avid Miami Dolphins fan, she also tended bar for 30 years on Sundays during football season at Black River Ale House in Rome. One of her former students described her as “the funniest teacher I had … . [S]he was wonderful and was loved by so many students in the school. I will always remember how much I enjoyed learning Spanish because of her.” Beaupre also was remembered as “an absolute ball of fun, excitement and passion,” an avid gardener, and someone who enjoyed “the peacefulness of running” and camping with family and friends. Beaupre majored in Spanish at Longwood and went on to earn a master’s degree from SUNY Cortland.
Katrina Moulton Goodman ’97 and Corinne Louden ’02, MBA ’23, were part of the team whose efforts earlier this year resulted in full accreditation of the Virginia Office of the State Inspector General (OSIG). See full item under 2000s.
2000s
Dr. Amber M. Butler ’01 recently received her doctoral degree in educational leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University. Butler’s career in education spans more than 20 years, including experience in special education, literacy and administration. She currently is an elementary program specialist with the Virginia Department of Education’s Training and Technical Assistance Center at VCU. In that role, she provides dynamic professional development for teachers, offers personalized support to schools and develops essential resources to enhance classroom practices. With a commitment to inclusive education, she collaborates closely with educators to implement effective strategies that support all learners. Butler’s degree from Longwood is in therapeutic recreation. She also received an M.Ed. from Liberty University.
Courtesy of Dr. Amber Butler ’01
Courtesy of CodaPet
Jon Hardie, M.S. ’02 (education/administration and supervision), is the principal of Campbell County Technical Center and is in his second four-year term as a Rustburg, Virginia, district supervisor.
Corrine Louden ’02, MBA ’23, and Katrina Moulton Goodman ’97, M.S. ’01 (sociology), were part of the team whose efforts earlier this year resulted in full accreditation of the Virginia Office of the State Inspector General (OSIG). OSIG oversees executive branch agencies in the commonwealth, investigating instances of state fraud, waste and abuse. Louden, whose undergraduate degree is in business/accounting, is chief deputy inspector general with the office, and Goodman, whose undergraduate degree is in sociology, is chief of investigations. Accreditation was awarded earlier this year by the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission (VLEPSC) and the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). OSIG was the first inspector general office in the nation to achieve CALEA accreditation.
Jacob Halloway ’04 was named manager of video production for Christopher Newport University Athletics in August 2024. He coordinates the department’s production of video content, including all live-streamed events and feature content distributed on CNUsports.com and the @CNUathletics social media channels. Halloway previously was coordinator of broadcast operations for Longwood Athletics and a member of the ESPN+ crew. His Longwood degree is in communication studies.
Patrice Johnson Martin ’05 is the assistant vice president in People, Culture + Wellness at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Virginia, leading the team of human resources business partners for the Fed’s national IT organization. She joined the Fed in July 2024 from Home Care Delivered and previously worked at Thermo Fisher-Scientific, Altria, McKesson and Genworth. Martin was a business/management major at Longwood and earned a master’s degree in human resource management from Strayer University.
A Volunteer Extraordinaire
From children’s theater to the SPCA, alumna’s gifts of time are widespread
Donna Roark ’89 is a farm-raised gal. She grew up in Central Virginia surrounded by rolling hills and hunting dogs. She left behind the farm landscape for the sea when she came to Dare County, North Carolina, 33 years ago and became a volunteer extraordinaire, giving back to the community through multiple nonprofit and county organizations.
The Kill Devil Hills resident has run a theater program for kids, worked with the Artrageous children’s festival, helped thousands of children to read during her 16-year-stint at the Kill Devil Hills Library, volunteered for the Outer Banks Presbyterian Church, worked with the Red Cross and fostered almost a dozen dogs through the SPCA.
The OSIG accreditation team: Michael Westfall (left), state inspector general; Elizabeth Knudson, accreditation manager; Katrina Goodman ’97, M.S. ’01, chief of investigations; Charen Johnson, forensic analyst; and Corrine Louden ’02, MBA ’23, deputy inspector general.
She has put her Longwood education in speech pathology and theatre to work not only in her career as a speech therapist but also in her volunteer work.
I think you teach respect. I think you teach generosity. I think you teach kindness and empathy. And it’s a great opportunity I have in this community working with children to do that.’
— DONNA ROARK ’89
A prime example: While operating under a modest stipend, she put in countless volunteer hours for 15 years at Dare County Parks and Recreation, where she taught theater to 8- and 9-year-olds in a group she called Shadow Players. “I had children who had every disability you can name in my programs,” she said. “I wanted the parents and kids to see that this could benefit the kids outside of theater.”
Roark has passed her community spirit down to her daughter, who now works for a nonprofit helping homeless kids in the District of Columbia go to college.
“That came from me,” she says. “… I think you teach respect. I think you teach generosity. I think you teach kindness and empathy. And it’s a great opportunity I have in this community working with children to do that.”—Based on and excerpted from the original story by Mary Ellen Riddle/Outer Banks Voice
Donna Roark ’89 has volunteered countless hours to numerous nonprofit and county organizations in her Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, community, including the local library.
Courtesy of Corrine Louden
Mary Ellen Riddle/ Outer Banks Voice
One Fine Day. The first day of school is special for teachers, too. Five Longwood alums who teach at Briar Woods High School in Ashburn, Virginia, got together to capture the start of the 2024-25 year: Brocke Quimby ’12, who majored in social work at Longwood (left); Blake Whitacre ’12, a history major; Heather VanDyke ’06, business administration; Brady Hurlich ’23, liberal studies/special education; and Nick Snead ’12, music.
TYLER WILLIAMS ’19 and MARY ANDERSON ’19 were married June 8, 2024, at Mankin Mansion in Richmond, Virginia. The bride was a liberal studies major with a concentration in elementary education PreK6 and is now a fifth-grade teacher in Chesterfield County Public Schools. The groom majored in criminal justice and currently is employed as a network engineer for All Points Broadband in Richmond.
LONGWOOD’S 1 HOUR A MONTH program is a volunteer experience designed for alumni and friends. You’ll be rewarded with exclusive Longwood swag depending on your level of participation. Find out more at go.longwood. edu/1hour.
Alex Grabiec ’07, curator of exhibitions at the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA), was recently appointed to a fiveyear term on the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the state agency dedicated to investing in the arts in Virginia. Grabiec, who earned a BFA in fine art at Longwood and an MFA in photographic and electronic media from the Maryland Institute College of Art, is responsible for curating and organizing a range of historic and contemporary exhibitions at the LCVA. He also serves as a faculty member in the Cormier Honors College for Citizen Scholars. “I feel really honored, and I’m looking forward to doing some good work for artists and art organizations,” said Grabiec. He has exhibited his own artwork at the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, the Katzen Art Center at American University and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.
Torrie Welton Patterson ’07 is the 2024 Prince Edward Christmas Mother. Christmas Mother is a nonprofit organization that provides families in need with toys, books and other gift items during the holiday season. A Prince Edward County native who earned her Longwood degree in criminology and criminal justice, Patterson is the founder of We Understand Youth Outreach, an organization dedicated to bringing free programs and events to the atrisk communities in Central Virginia. The organization’s mission is to remind teens and children they are loved and to teach them the value of self-worth through events, classes and programs. “We chose Torrie as this year’s Christmas Mother because we were searching for someone who loves this community and the children here,” Christmas Mother President Kerry Mossler told The Farmville Herald. “She has been a great model for many of our youth.”
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Like Father, Like Son
20 years after they left Longwood, 2 alumni are getting a distinct feeling of déjà vu
Jesse Blankenship and Jackson Davis have put a different twist on the custom of following in your father’s footsteps.
Their dads—Rob Blankenship ’00 and Brian Davis ’98—both went to Longwood and were roommates for a year and a half in what is now Johns Hall.
“I don’t remember there ever being any problems,” said Rob, adding that he and Brian might have roomed together longer if Brian hadn’t graduated two years before him.
Brian agrees. “Rob and I had a great relationship, and I wanted Jackson to have that same experience,” he said.
Now, more than 20 years later, not only are Rob’s son Jesse and Brian’s son Jackson both freshmen at Longwood—the two second-generation Lancers also are roommates. Best of all, they’ve become great friends.
“They didn’t grow up together, but you wouldn’t know that now. At this point, it almost seems like they share a brain,” Brian said with a chuckle.
That’s not as much of an exaggeration as it sounds.
“Our dads worked so well together during college, and I assumed Jesse and I would be the same way,” said Jackson, a nursing major from Midlothian, Virginia. “It’s awesome that he’s my roommate. We like similar music. We both play the trumpet. We get to bounce ideas off each other. If I’m not sure about what I’m wearing in the morning, I’ll ask Jesse. I trust him a lot.”
Jesse, an art and music major from Richmond, Virginia, said he’s been pleasantly surprised by how quickly his friendship with Jackson has taken off. “I didn’t know we were going to be as close as we are now. We discovered we have so much in common, but we’re also very com-
Jackson Davis ’28 (left) and Jesse Blankenship ’28 (right) are re-creating the experience their dads—Brian Davis ’98 (second from left) and Rob Blankenship ’00— had as roommates at Longwood. Jackson and Jesse live in Wheeler Hall; Brian and Rob lived in what is now Johns Hall.
plementary. He gets me to do things that I enjoy but that I might not try on my own.”
For example, Jackson has turned Jesse into a San Francisco 49ers fan, making football game days more fun for both of them.
Considering their parents’ strong continuing connections to Longwood— both moms are Longwood alumnae as well, and both families have regularly visited campus through the years—it would be easy to think that choosing Longwood was a foregone conclusion for Jesse and Jackson.
Not so.
“Longwood has always been a huge part of our life, but we never wanted to push Jackson to Longwood,” said Shannon O’Leary Davis ’00, Jackson’s mom.
When Jesse ultimately chose Longwood, both of his parents were excited—and a little relieved. “We felt he would be safe at Longwood—not just physical safety but his emotional well-being,” said Rob.
Jackson also considered other schools but made up his mind earlier in the process, possibly keeping his eye on a prize his father had promised years earlier.
“I’ve had a Longwood sweatshirt for 20
Our dads worked so well together during college, and I assumed Jesse and I would be the same way. It’s awesome that he’s my roommate.’
Angie Chappell Blankenship ’00 said Jesse actually was very interested in another Virginia university late into the decision-making process. “Even though we weren’t too enthusiastic about him wanting to go there, we were willing to support whatever he decided,” she said.
— JACKSON DAVIS ’28
years, and I love it,” said Brian. “Jackson would always steal it from me when he was growing up. I told him back then that he could have it if he came to Longwood.
“Literally the night he signed up, he said, ‘I’d like my sweatshirt now.’”
Sabrina Brown
In Memoriam
1940s
Ella Carrington Schipke ’45 June 26, 2024
Helen Mundy Scruggs ’45 June 25, 2024
Bernice Nichols Fussell ’47 July 18, 2024
Gertrude Driver Averett ’48 Sept. 5, 2023
Estaline Anderson McCraw ’48 June 16, 2024
Celia Scott Vandegrift ’48 June 19, 2024
Linnie Noblin Kernodle ’49 Sept. 2, 2024
1950s
Jane Fogus Stoker ’50 Oct. 26, 2023
Corinne Hamilton Moore ’51 Jan. 7, 2024
Anna Hall Wagner ’51 Jan. 20, 2024
Ethel Straw Beall ’52 Aug. 16, 2024
Patricia Tuggle Miller ’52 Sept. 13, 2024
Barbara Moore Curling ’55 Sept. 8, 2024
Joyce Hunt Jones ’55 Aug. 10, 2024
Elizabeth Welbon Alwood ’56 July 20, 2024
Phyllis Hamilton Walker ’56 July 8, 2024
Patricia Simpson Kelsey ’57 June 26, 2024
Anne Smith Faulconer ’58 Aug. 11, 2024
Derwood Franklin Guthrie ’58 Sept. 3, 2024
Carolyn Waugaman ’58 June 18, 2024
1960s
Joanne Hartman Rose ’60 Sept. 14, 2024
Barbara Chaffin Lappen ’61 Sept. 10, 2024
Judith Dodson Fosse ’62 Aug. 13, 2024
Marjorie Freese Steinke ’62 Sept. 1, 2024
Carol Nye Parod ’63 Feb. 17, 2024
Brenda Isbel Baker ’64 Aug. 11, 2024
Jean Gould Bell ’64 July 18, 2024
Margaret White Moore ’64 Sept. 20, 2024
Linda Huffman Cox ’66 Aug. 15, 2024
Suzanne Briel Farrior ’66 July 21, 2024
Linda Sturdivant Nester ’66 Sept. 7, 2024
Rose Mary Stone ’66 June 19, 2024
Deanna Talley-Ronsholdt ’67 June 18, 2024
Barbara Conyers Strickler ’67 July 5, 2024
Nancy Brown ’67 Sept. 27, 2024
Diane Bosher Harris ’68 June 10, 2024
Betty Goad Hart ’68 July 8, 2024
Elizabeth Haley Scott ’68 June 21, 2024
Linda Hunter Fletcher ’69 June 15, 2024
1970s
Marcia Bowman Franklin ’70 Sept. 1, 2024
Jean Hancock Gilley ’71 Sept. 5, 2024
Linda Reynolds Burden ’72 June 26, 2024
Linda McMorrow Taylor ’74 March 29, 2024
Catherine Glazebrook Ray ’74 July 25, 2024
Kaye Knight ’75 Sept. 4, 2024
Carol Guidice McCalester ’75 Aug. 7, 2024
Mary Ryland Deel ’76 July 31, 2024
Janice Jones Campbell ’78 Aug. 19, 2024
Nancy Saunders Pierce ’78 Sept. 13, 2024
1980s
Catherine Stephens Loving ’80 June 8, 2024
Teresa Ware ’80 July 19, 2024
Harold E. Crenshaw Jr. ’82 June 15, 2024
Michael John McGeehan ’82 July 15, 2024
Anne Tinsley Roberts ’83 Sept. 24, 2024
Karen Marie Nettemeyer ’84 Aug. 29, 2024
Janet Slayton Garton ’85 July 13, 2024
Paul Randolph Weatherly ’88 Aug. 28, 2024
1990s
Elaine Mary Smith ’92 July 23, 2024
Melissa Bew Seward ’98 June 25, 2024
2010s
William J. Gouldin Jr. ’06 June 19, 2024
Scott Charles Krogh ’07 Aug. 10, 2024
Faculty, Staff and Friends
Betty Bailey Aug. 30, 2024
Walter B. Blair June 30, 2024
Susan L. Booker July 23, 2024
Annie J. Bryant Aug. 16, 2024
Kenneth G. Clark Sept. 10, 2024
Virginia S. Cook July 1, 2024
W. Hoke Currie Sept. 26, 2024
David F. Harnage May 28, 2024
Stephen C. Keith July 23, 2024
Robert S. Shelton Aug. 11, 2024
Callie L. Stuart July 31, 2024
Allison J. Tignor Sept. 3, 2024
(continued from Page 28)
Dr. Brian Raska ’07, principal at Hartwood (Virginia) Elementary School, was named the 2023-24 Principal of the Year for Stafford County. He recently earned his doctorate in education from VCU, completing his capstone project on “Combating Chronic Absenteeism: A Practical Approach to Improving Attendance in a Mid-Sized Virginia School Division.” Raska, who earned his Longwood degree in kinesiology, is married to Ashley Theado Raska ’07, who was a physical education major.
Pamela Bowen Stepko ’07, M.S. ’16 (educational leadership), is the new assistant principal at Cumberland County (Virginia) Elementary School (CCES), though that role no doubt feels very familiar to her. She most recently served on the CCES intervention team, allowing her to devote more time to family, but earlier she had risen to assistant principal after teaching PreK, second grade and third grade at the school. In 2022, during her first term as assistant principal, Stepko received the Milken Award, the nation’s preeminent teacher recognition program, which comes with a $25,000 award. She began her teaching career in the Nottoway County (Virginia) Public Schools after receiving her Longwood undergraduate degree in elementary education.
Melissa DeJarnette Chumney ’08 kicked off the 2024-25 school year getting to know her students in her new role as principal of Mecklenburg County (Virginia) Middle School. Previously the principal of South Hill Elementary School, she has dedicated her career to the Mecklenburg County Public Schools, beginning her journey as a classroom paraprofessional before obtaining her formal teacher qualifications. Her Longwood degree is in elementary education. She also earned a Master
The Raska family on vacation in Jamaica in summer 2024: (back row) Mary Grace (left), Brian and Ashley; (front row) Aubrey and Caroline.
Courtesy of Ashley Raska ’07
of Science in Education with a concentration in administration and supervision from Old Dominion University.
2010s
Kelly James ’12 is the supervisor of world languages for Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS). A French K-12 education major at Longwood, James took on the role at LCPS in November 2023. She had a successful first year, making strides in expanding student opportunities while promoting teachers’ professional growth. She is now looking forward to expanding the system’s Dual Language Immersion program. Previously she was an assistant principal at Independence High School in Brambleton, Virginia, for four years and before that taught French and was department chair at John Champe High School in Aldie, Virginia, for seven years. She earned her master’s degree in education leadership in 2017 from George Mason University.
Brooke Short ’13 was inducted into the Altavista (Virginia) Combined School’s Hall of Fame in 2024. She was a standout member of the school’s softball team, earning Dogwood District pitcher of the year honors all four years as well as being named region and state pitcher of the year. She holds school records in batting average (.575) and strikeouts (750). Short also played softball at Longwood and was named Big South Athlete of the Year during her collegiate career. Her Longwood degree is in kinesiology.
Jennifer Louden ’16 was appointed in September 2024 as the director of sales and events for Hotel Weyanoke in Farmville. A press release noted that her “familiarity with the community and her network within the university will be instrumental in fostering robust local partnerships and enhancing the hotel’s presence in the area.” Louden, a communication studies major, said she considers herself a steward of the historic property, which was completely renovated and reopened in 2018. “Getting to work at the Weyanoke is such a gift,” she added.
Sean H. Pico ’17 joined the Richmond, Virginia, office of the law firm Thomas, Thomas & Hafer as a member of the general liability practice group. Pico brings to his new position experience in trucking and transportation law, FELA and railroad defense, and business and corporate transactions. He clerked with the Henrico County Circuit Court under the Hon. Rondelle Herman and the Hon. Lee A. Harris Jr. Pico’s Longwood degree is in political science, and his J.D. is from Liberty University School of Law. Outside of work, he enjoys hiking with his wife, Erin, and their two Labrador retrievers. He is an avid golfer and a Pittsburgh sports fan.
Melissa “Lisa” Clore-Taylor ’18 (educational leadership endorsement) was named the new principal of Madison County (Virginia) High School in July 2024. A veteran teacher and administrator with experience in three Virginia
school districts, she began her career as a middle-school math teacher in Madison County in 1996. Most recently she was assistant principal at Orange County High School.
SEND US YOUR CLASS notes. If you have any news from your professional or personal life, we’d love to hear about it. Please email the details to us at alumni@longwood.edu Remember to give us your full name, the year you graduated and the degree you received.
Louis Gould ’19 was named 2024 Citizen of the Year by the Kappa Rho Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Gould, a secondary education major at Longwood, teaches seventh-grade U.S. history at Prince Edward County Middle School, where he coaches basketball and track and field. Gould also is the president and founder of Fresh Boyz Club, a nonprofit mentorship program for boys and young men in the Farmville community. The organization’s mission is to give members a chance to develop leadership skills, participate in service to others, achieve academic excellence and practice personal integrity.
Anne B. Hagen, MBA ’19, was appointed to the Virginia Board of Accountancy for a fouryear term beginning July 1, 2024. The retired CEO of the Masonic Home of Virginia, she brings four decades of experience in various leadership positions to the board. She is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and Virginia Society of CPAs.
2020s
Mason Patrick ’20 starred in a local theater production of Firebringer in August 2024 as part of the 67th annual Dogwood Dell Festival of the Arts in Richmond, Virginia. The cast also
included Garrett Reese ’19 and Gabby Klatt ’16, who both were theatre majors at Longwood. Patrick majored in communication studies.
Brittney Hardee ’23 recently passed the national exam through the American College of Sports Medicine to become a certified exercise physiologist. Her Longwood degree is in kinesiology.
Do you know a Longwood alum who deserves to be recognized for their good works? Nominate them for an Alumni Award at go.longwood.edu/ alumniawards
Izzy Morales, MBA ’24, was named assistant softball coach at Minot (North Dakota) State University in August 2024. After playing softball throughout her college career and earning her undergraduate degree, she came to Longwood to work as a graduate assistant while pursuing her MBA.
A Multicultural Calling. When Tianna Jordan, M.S. ’22 (counselor education/mental health counseling), first heard about Longwood’s Master of Science in counselor education program, the program’s focus on multicultural counseling and social justice resonated with her. She completed an internship with Longwood’s Counseling and Psychological Services and then accepted a position there as a counseling resident, where she focuses on working with Black, indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC). She currently collaborates with the university’s Office of Multicultural Affairs to provide embedded counseling and conduct outreach, and she organized a series on healing racial and generational trauma.
Kim Redford
Army brat, math-phobic and one of the most patient people you’ll ever meet
Kim Redford ’14, director of user support services (more familiarly known as the computer support helpdesk), describes her job as “putting out fires.” With 2,300 university-owned computers on campus, that’s a lot of fires. And there are just three full-time staff (plus Redford pinch-hitting) and five part-time student workers to put them out. Redford has been at Longwood 25 years, all of them devoted to helping frustrated people figure out what the heck is wrong with their computers. She still does it with kindness and a generous helping of patience—and she requires nothing less than that from her staff.
I WAS BORN in Germany, but we left there when I was 18 months old. I was an Army brat, so we lived a lot of places. We finally settled in Virginia.
THE MOST MEANINGFUL THING I STILL HAVE FROM MY CHILDHOOD is a tiny pair of red leather lederhosen.
MY FIRST JOB was working for my uncle the summer I turned 13. His company installed those canopies that go over the pumps at gas stations. My cousin and I helped out the construction crew. I still have a scar on my leg where I got cut by one of the metal panels I was moving around.
MY FAVORITE THINGS ON MY DESK are two red talking buttons from a Staples marketing campaign about 20 years ago. You press them, and they say, “That was easy.” One I got as an office white elephant gift—pretty funny for the type of work we do—and the other, which “talks” in Spanish, was a gift from some of my student workers who brought it back from their spring break trip.
MY FAVORITE LONGWOOD TRADITION is CHI and the CHI burning. I had been at Longwood just a couple of years, and I got a tip that I should be at the CHI burning. So I went, and we got a commendation for the Resident Technician Associates program. Ever since then I’ve thought of CHI as a really cool tradition at Longwood.
MY FAVORITE SPOT ON CAMPUS is the Hiner-Coyner complex. Hiner because that’s where I spent so much time when I was working on my Longwood degree in business. Coyner because that’s where the helpdesk was when I started
and where it stayed for many years. I have a lot of nostalgia for those buildings. Every time I walk past, I want to go in.
OFF THE CLOCK
They keep the lights on, the syllabi current and so much more— seen and unseen— around campus. The faculty or staff member featured here in each issue calls Longwood home—and not just during working hours.
I HAVE THE MOST FUN when I’m spending time with my son, Carter, who is 25. I think that’s the reward you get for raising children. You can’t be their friend when they’re growing up, but you can be when they’re adults.
I’D LIKE TO BUY THE WORLD some patience. Everything is so immediate now.
I’D LIKE TO NEVER AGAIN take a math test. It gives me hives just to think about it.
PEOPLE SHOULD TRAVEL TO Aruba. I’ve been to a lot of the Caribbean, and I don’t need to see any more. I’m planning my third trip to Aruba now.
WHAT’S YOUR MOST MEMORABLE HELPDESK CALL? I will never forget it. A staff member who had just gotten a new computer called and was furious because we hadn’t transferred her trash from her old computer. She said, “I keep a lot of important things in the trash!” And I’m thinking, “It’s a trash can. It’s what you’re done with.” Of course, we hadn’t backed up the trash. It was gone forever. She’s been retired for years, but she’s probably still mad about it.
Illustration by Fian Arroyo
201 High Street
Farmville, VA 23909
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Table Hopping. Tailgaters turned up the creativity and style and welcomed friends and classmates to sample impressive spreads of food and drink during Homecoming & Alumni Weekend 2.0. See more of what Longwood’s newest tradition had to offer starting on Page 16. And save the date for next year: Nov. 14-16, 2025.
