the
eporter
Class of Senior Issue 1
student publications board
The Reporter Staff names in GreeN denote seniors
writers
editors
Jordan Bennett JB Pitts Lynn Walsh Morgan Eiland Veronica Faison
Alissa Pagano Kait Forsythe Madison Akins Shaylen Vitale Lynn Walsh
photographers
designers
Maeve Coughlin Raisa Bailon Alicia Sapirman Cat Keve
Kitty Geoghan Colette Cacciola Sami Hartman Mitch Robey Laine Weber-Callahan
Nick Saffan Jason Cruz Alissa Pagano Pub Board Chair
The Reporter
Secretary
Kait Forsythe Gabby Cassidy Kitty Geoghan Member at Large
Tony Pizzo WHAT Radio
Touchstone
Creative Director
Casey Deiter Samantha Zarek Technical Director
WHNN
(Firefighter)
Meet the NEW Hatter Network staff! see back cover
/HatterNetwork
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Follow us on social media @HatterNetwork for campus news updates from The Reporter and WHNN!
HatterNetwork
Special Senior issue Who are the class of 2017? Page 8
The Reporter’s Senior Exit Survey
Hatter Network: Letters from our Seniors Page 4
School of Music Seniors Page 14
Bonner Program Seniors Page 18
Page 10
A Graduation Engagement Page 16
Senior Athletes In Retirement Page 20
plus
Music School’s Dr. Rickman Retiring Page 15
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LETTERS FROM OUR SENIORS
Tony PizzO Hey everyone! Well, it’s about time I graduate. I just gotta hit that ol’ dusty trail. A lot of writers retire their column with a grandiose mystery. Others sculpt themselves a trophy with a clay of words. Even some do a really neat thing or two. But me? I’d like to take this opportunity to publish something. You see, for the past 3 years or so, I have been putting about 2% of my creative energy into a personal project. That may not seem like much, but this is 3 years of classes with a laptop. This project exists as a digital art book of Adobe Photoshop doodles of my roommate Nickolas James Saffan. The title of this project exists as “The Secret of Nick.” Please enjoy a sample of The Secret of Nick.
“Nick If He Was War”
Please visit the entire digital art book, existing here at www.conspiracysuperhighway.net! No, but seriously. I loved generating this network with incredibly dedicated people, and I’m happily passing it off to incredibly dedicated people.
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Tony Pizzo, Station Manager: WHAT Radio
LETTERS FROM OUR SENIORS
Samantha Zarek Hello Viewers,
fell a few times, but I learned to get right back up and keep going because As the 2016-17 school year is coming each experience made me stronger and wiser. With my next step across to an end, so is my college career. I the graduation stage, I will reminisce will be graduating on May 13 along on sophomore year; by far the year with my fellow students of the class with my most rigorous class load, of 2017. As I walk across the stage I had found myself on a personal early that Saturday morning, I will level. This same year, my professional reflect upon my four years. With my first step, I will flash to freshman year; level developed, as I decided that I wasn’t supposed to be a business a young high school graduate still trying to find her way in the big world major, and that my heart was with communication and media studies. of college. That year, I stumbled and
Halfway across the stage now with my degree in sight, I think back to my junior year; finally where I belong in my major, comfortable in my personal and professional life, and ready to delve deeper into educating myself in my field. Only seconds away from shaking hands with Dr. Libby and receiving my college degree, I think back on the most amazing year of my life thus far, senior year; I can tell you what I learned in college, but the most important thing is to tell you about what I learned from college. I learned that you can truly accomplish anything that you put your mind to… passion and determination are the two most important ingredients in achieving significance. Don’t limit yourself to boundary lines that you think cannot be crossed, arm yourself with knowledge, and rise to become the best version of yourself that you can possibly become. That is what I learned from college, and that is what I will hold onto as I throw my graduation cap into the air on May 13. To our wonderful viewers and fantastic team here at WHNN, I bid you a bittersweet farewell. P.S. WHNN is happy to announce our new executive producer for the 2017-2018 academic year, Allison Tankersley! Congratulations, Allison! As always…Stay tuned, Hatters, Samantha Zarek Founder/Executive Producer: WHNN
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LETTERS FROM OUR SENIORS
I got started with student media fall semester of my sophomore year, becoming a late night WHAT Radio DJ with my best friends. The old radio station (more like a broom cupboard) had a hole in the wall that me and former Editor-in-Chief Katie Dezes use to joke around through. Apparently someone had lost their temper after a long night of student reporting. When the opportunity to be Station Manager of WHAT Radio presented itself I jumped on it. The chance to create a tangible product that would bring value to this campus was inspiring. It pushed me to pursue journalism on a higher level, not just
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To My Friends in Hatter Network, Thank you. Thanks to this organization I’ve had the incredible opportunity and the unique experience of helping the largest student-led team on campus achieve some outlandish goals. Many collegeage students will never have the resources and freedom to do what we have done over the past several years and turn what used to be four mics in a dilapidated closet into a living and breathing conglomerate of creative and driven individuals. The simple
focusing on theory but practice. I want to thank Tony Pizzo, Casey Deiter, and Aidan Bandy for all the wonderful memories I have of building this organization from the ground up, and for sticking with me to the end. I also want to thank the university for seeing the potential in what we were trying to accomplish, and working with us this year to make WHAT Radio the centerpiece of the CUB renovations.
Nick Saffan
walking with Sarah while she filled our boxes with new issues.
But I’m proud to have become the chairman of the student publications board in a year of such significant transitions. I want to thank this year’s publication board for all of the quality work they’ve done, and I am incredibly proud of the work the entire team has put in to make Hatter Network’s inaugural year a success, Last year I met two of Stetson’s and everyone who has contributed most passionate student journalists: to our web presence and the new Sarah Dean and Sam Votaw. I was website. I would like to thank this heartbroken to see them graduate and year’s designers, reporters, and content hoped that I would be as eloquent creators who make Hatter Network and dedicated of a leader as the two possible, as well as our dedicated of them were. I not-so-secretly loved executive team, who keep us running going to those bi-weekly meetings smooth. It is an honor that this year with them and trying to create a we placed in ACP’s Best of Show twice future where the quality of content we on our first time out, and I know our could and did produce was higher. I journalism will bring home plenty miss working with Kyo Padgett to help more awards for the Hatters. get Touchstone off the presses and
Casey Deiter
joy of ripping the cables from the old mixing board, knowing that I had the freedom to do whatever I wanted with it, soon became a sense of leadership not only with just tech concerns, but the organization as a whole. The mind-blowing idea of possibly setting up a DJ controller in the studio evolved into securing a donation for what I can only imagine will be the most bangin’ podcasting studio on any college campus in Florida. I’m unbelievably excited to see what the new leadership team will do. I know everyone’s nervous as hell, but there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that they’ll leave an even bigger mark on this campus. Meghan: you’re gonna kill it with your leadership
skills and your analytical and calm demeanor. K8: your creativity and natural ability to inspire others will undoubtedly permeate not only to the people you work with, but also the products that come out of the Network. Nora: your uplifting and positive attitude, problem solving skills, and excitement to help others will make you an invaluable asset to Hatter Network.
My college experience would not have been nearly as rich without the chance I had to help make this organization what it is today, and without the friends I’ve made along with it. With Gratitude, Casey Deiter
LETTERS FROM OUR SENIORS
Jason Cruz It was My Fault all along
J
ust after spring break, another member of Hatter Network described part of my efforts as EditorIn-Chief this year as a failure. I believe the exact criticism was that we had failed to capture things important to the student body rather than ourselves. My colleague immediately and profusely apologized for using the word “failure,” and explained precisely what they saw as the issue. We agreed on the point, but the moment has remained with me in the weeks since. It has made me ask myself the simple question: “Was I a failure?”
A few examples: an anonymous email alleging that the Faculty Senate had intentionally torpedoed the provost search process last fall. A story I assigned but was never written regarding elevated lead levels in Sage Hall. The worst, students who told me or others around me they had been sexually assaulted on campus and were thinking of using us to get their stories out but never did, never felt comfortable sharing with us. Many, many other opportunities to tell important stories that I just flat-out failed to follow through on.
Dear Reader, you of all people deserve my confession because you have been harmed the most. You deserved a better editor, a wiser and more committed student voice. The only solace I can offer is that soon you will have one. Kait Forsythe, next year’s captain of this unwieldy ship, is driven to correct course and already has great ideas and people in place to make the future of Hatter Network as brilliant as it can be. I expect nothing but the greatest successes from her.
When asked to write a farewell letter to this role which has taken so much I will not bury the lede. On the whole, When I was not missing stories, I of my time and mental energy this looking back and considering all of was simply using Hatter Network year, I do not think the person asking the nuance, giving myself a tougher as a place to say what I wanted to had this in mind. My impending standard than that to which I hold say. Full editorial control meant I graduation has given me a sense of others, I must report a B. Maybe a B-. could cry shame at the Democratic melancholic dread forcing me to I did well enough, and I did it honest, Party, review movies I loved, explore deliver this mea culpa before I depart. but I failed often. It gives me no my personal relationship to 9/11, et And so even here, I place my needs pleasure to type these words. cetera et cetera. Little has prevented above yours. Luckily for you, it is more self-indulgence from flooding finished. In a few weeks I will walk I often count them off in my office, this space, and when I did not do it out of the old finance office for the these failures, and wonder how the directly I assigned other writers to the last time, give myself over to postheck I was the only person to apply for things which tickled my brain and, graduate life, and never again will you this job a year ago. How I could have judging by readership numbers, my have to read the blatherings of Jason squandered the trust my predecessor brain alone. Cruz. Sarah Dean had in me. Why I could never live up to the potential others I take full responsibility for these Allow me to wish you the very best saw in me. I sat and licked these failures. The rest of the Hatter possible life as thanks for putting up festering wounds, unable to bring Network team and my staff members, with my whims, my oversights, this myself to do a damn thing about for their occasional shortcomings, letter. Godspeed, Dear Reader. Until I them. worked hard and produced great see you again. work. I am glad to have worked alongside them. I apologize to them for having failed them, too.
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Who are this year’s
Seniors? Number of graduating seniors in 2017
536
Male
Female
98%
Asian/ Pacific Islander
Other
Chose not to specify
Hispanic
Black
of seniors received financial aid to attend Stetson
8
White
Most Popular Majors Psychology
54
General Business
45
Health Sciences
41
Finance
32 29
Biology 27
Digital Arts
26
Communications 22
Marketing 18
Political Science Accounting
17
71%
of seniors attended Stetson for all four years
Most Unique Majors Majors represented by only 1 student each in the class of 2017
87%
Applied Physics Biochemistry German Guitar Music Education Music Technology Music Theory
of seniors were involved in recognized organizations at Stetson
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Senior Exit Survey Hatter Network conducted a poll of graduating students on their experiences at Stetson, including classes, friendships, and extracurricular activities. A summary of the results is presented below.
What was your favorite
academic experience? Learning Mandarin Chinese with Stephanie Chung. One of my favorite professors who made learning a new language so much easier through her hard work and dedication to her students.
My favorite class was my Textile Design class from six to nine on Wednesday nights. I learned a whole new set of skills from screen printing on fabric. Best of all, the atmosphere in the classroom was very relaxed and the professor was very approachable if we needed help. I loved how supportive everyone was and the feedback I received during critiques. I hope to continue using my newfound skills beyond the classroom.
Being able (and encouraged) to try things outside of your major. By doing that I’ve added a minor, learned many interesting things, and took some classes that really aligned with personal interests outside of my chosen career path.
71%
said Stetson classes shaped their beliefs and opinions
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Learning about all the subtleties of baton use from Dr. Phillips.
84%
said Stetson classes taught them the skills they needed to achieve their goals
Taking the Integrative Medicine Seminar with Dr. Skelton. Our class was really small and we got to know each other so well while we learned about totally new concepts.
I’ll never forget the times during my freshman year that my friends and I went to Denny’s all the way in Daytona at two in the morning. The first time was an accident and the rest became a tradition.
What was the best thing you did with friends you made at stetson?
Organizing events within our friend group such as cooking nights.
Exploring states, cities, and countries together.
The midnight thought walks.
Going to Disney together when we all had annual passes.
93.5%
will miss the people they met at Stetson
Traveling to Tampa for Gasparilla! Our weekly lunch dates. It’s a cyclical occurrence and really helped to keep me grounded in the midst of class work and student employment.
Sitting on the steps of Sampson in the middle of the night having conversations with my best friend while watching the fountain.
Just being friends. No trimmings or extras, just enjoying our time together.
90.3%
made friends they consider family during their time at Stetson
Did you have any SERIOUS romantic relationships at Stetson? Yes, at least one lasting over a year
Yes, at least one lasting a few months
Yes, at least one promised/married/engaged
No
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What was your
“Stetson Moment”? Sitting in my dorm room at 3:45 in the morning studying and doing homework with my three best friends drinking milkshakes and eating French fries from Checkers.
I came to Stetson the year the football program started back up again. My “Stetson moment” was being a part of the Hatter Band and playing our fight song for the first time as our football team ran out on to the field at the start of our very first game.
74%
would attend Stetson if they could choose again
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Getting thrown into the fountain. Being selected to attend a conference at Brown and Brown and speaking there.
Setting foot on campus and realizing it already felt like home and I couldn't see myself going anywhere else.
Living in Honors House 2 my freshman year. Losing my wallet and immediately having it returned to Stetson Public Safety instead of being pocketed by the finder. Introducing my students who I TA’d for to Thai chili peppers from Hatter Harvest. They were not tolerant of spice, and one person managed to somehow get it in his eye. Was incredibly entertaining for the whole class.
94%
do not regret attending Stetson
Getting all-gender bathrooms signs put up.
Realizing what I wanted to do with my life while sitting in class. The moment I realized how much I’d really learned from Stetson. When I’m speaking to others, I often hear bits and pieces of career developement professionals, or my supervisor, or my professors in my own voice inflection. The impact they’ve made on me is definitely apparent.
My Stetson moment is more of a montage of many small moments that come together to create the experience of being a Hatter. It was ringing Big Green at football games, becoming close with my professors, finding my person, and going on adventures with my friends. Every small moment shaped my life and my values and brought me to where I am now: the brink of adulthood. My Stetson moments have prepared me to go out into the real world and be significant even in the small things.
What will you miss MOST about Stetson? Friends
41%
Professors
26%
Clubs & Organizations
13%
Campus & Deland Classes
7% 3%
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School of Music
Kait Forsythe Features Editor
sPotlight On performing St John’s Passion this April:
“It was really amazing. We worked with professional conductor and Bach specialist Simon Carrington, who is a professor at Yale, and he completely changed the way we sounded as a choir. I learned so much about the correct interpretation of baroque music and it made me so much more passionate about performing early music than I ever was before. We also worked with professional tenor Dr. Derek Chester, who sang the role of the Evangelist and worked with many students individually. He gave me a lot of helpful advice for my solo about how to use different colors in my voice to make the music more interesting and meaningful. I loved working with him. It was definitely one of the best experiences I’ve had in my four years in the School of Music.” -Melaina Mills, Senior Vocal Performance Major
On advice for incoming freshmen: “Listen to your teachers. It baffles me... It took me a long time to really grasp that concept, the wisdom that my teachers had to share. It is a rare gift to be able to work with seasoned adults that have had performance experience, that have been able to travel the world, have a life, have a family, have things to impart on these young, growing minds. Not just in the music school. I have met so many professors that had so many things to teach. I was so lucky to have been able to gain that knowledge and that wisdom from those people.” -Erika Sassman, Senior Vocal Performance Major
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S
itting on a bench on the second floor of Presser Hall, I scribble down last-minute questions while perfect scales and flowery, legato phrases are leaking from Dr. Michael Rickman’s office, or rather from the Steinway in his office.
“A Kind Soul” Set to Retire from Stetson’s Piano Faculty
it resembled Rickman’s. Kennard commented on Emily Vitale’s A few moments pass before a man rendering of Brahms’ Romance in F with a clear voice and kind eyes opens Major, Op. 118 as sincere and used the door and invites me to sit on one it as a platform to bring attention to of four different wooden chairs, each nuances of a piano’s sound quality. He undoubtedly an antique. His office conveyed a deep understanding that smells like those nice people that hug music is more than just getting the you at church, and the dozens of faces notes right, an attention to detail that in the mishmash frames are smiling at “thrilled” Rickman. me, exuberant. His plan once he takes his final bow “Please don’t ask me any hard as Stetson School of Music faculty to questions,” Rickman chuckles as I unrestrained applause in Lee Chapel take out my pen and notebook, his on Friday, April 28 (Beethoven’s Piano humanity peeking through. For all Concerto No.5 ‘Emperor’ is on the the right reasons, Rickman is tired docket. Appropriate.) is a summer trip of answering questions. Thirtyto Scotland for six weeks, where his four Stetson years of instructing, partner, a genealogy enthusiast, has practicing, collaborating, lecturing, traced their roots. I mentioned that I judging, rehearsing, traveling and hoped during his stay he would listen participating. It’s understandable. to Mendelssohn (see Symphony No. Rickman’s readiness to retire came 3 in A minor, Op. 56, composition about the best possible way: True hard inspired by the Scottish isles, known work and genuine effort takes a lot as Scottish). Like a true scholar, this out of you. It also came from his deep Steinway artist plunged into the acceptance that someone closer to history of Felix Mendelssohn (1809this generation may be better suited 1847) and how he revived J.S. Bach to take the helm -- Rickman feels the (1685-1750), whose death marked the generation gap. “Some of my students end of Baroque music. are the same age as my grandchildren.” Scholarship such as Rickman’s is Sean Kennard, the newest addition to highly valued in the School of Music, the piano faculty, is lined up for the though, what he valued most during task and more than qualified. With his time at Stetson were his colleagues: names like Yale and Juilliard under “I will miss my students at Stetson, but his belt, 32-year-old Kennard was an I will miss my colleagues most of all.” immediate fit, according to Rickman, He seems fulfilled by the lifelong who spoke highly of his demeanor relationships he has developed with at Kennard’s piano masterclass a few other music faculty. Every fall for the months back. past 26 years, Rickman has gladly Funnily enough, I attended this accompanied Dr. Routa Kroumovitchmasterclass and remember feeling Gomez, Latvian violin professor, impressed with Kennard’s calm on her faculty recital. For Dr. though compelling nature and how David Bjella, Stetson’s resident cello
professor, it’s 25 years. For a man who’s been to Europe more than he’s been to the West Coast, even Rickman acknowledges the mysterious, Mayberry quality of a town like DeLand. “I do not like Florida, but DeLand is a wonderful place,” says the North Carolina native. What Rickman may not know is that it is people like him that make DeLand a wonderful place. “He’s a kind soul,” says Thomas Ingui, one of his senior piano students. With a magnetic composure in his voice, Rickman described the work of teaching his students a piece as akin to a mechanic’s. “Your task is to deconstruct the piece with the student [like a mechanic disassembles a vehicle]. Every student is different so you learn the right words, insights, and procedures that work for them.” On Wednesday, April 19, Rickman generously donated his time and talent to a music student’s benefit concert, performing Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes, No.11 Harmonies du Soir. And transcendental it was. About halfway in, the piece opens up dramatically and dazzles as Rickman travels up and down the registers. His attention to dynamics tugged on our emotions and made one thing clear to all listeners present, experienced and not, there is so much love in his playing. Rickman may feel like Bach, an embodiment of a previous generation and a previous musical ethic that may have less to offer to Stetson’s current batch of learners, but also like Bach, he will be remembered fondly by us as
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A Graduation
Engagement JB Pitts Staff Writer
W
hen Editor-in-Chief Jason Cruz asked me if I was willing to write a marriage article for our senior issue, I had to laugh. I have never been in a committed relationship, and for me, planning for the future tends to go about as far as thinking about what essay I have due tomorrow. But I was also intrigued - being in college has provided more than enough stress for me in and of itself, so what would it be like trying to prepare for someone else’s life too? For at least these four Stetson seniors, the challenge of balancing student life with the promise of a lifelong relationship was one they were ready for.
While the pair jumped at the opportunity to get married as soon as Hell had obtained a better job because they didn’t want to face the possibility of a long distance relationship and they wanted to enjoy their lives together before it starts getting hectic, the Tredeaux’s had actually planned to wait until after Kaitlyn’s December graduation to seal the deal - only to find out that she would actually need to take two more classes this spring after their March date had already been set.
While these two couples will be checking off two big life achievements at once, the paths they took to this point were very different. The Tredeauxs met when Kaitlyn was a freshman at Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange and were engaged by the time she started at Stetson, while Consol and Hell came across each other for the first time in an Elizabeth Hall study lounge during their sophomore year.
The two couples agreed that the most challenging part of this experience has been planning a wedding while balancing the rigors of student life. Consol, who was also a member of Stetson’s cross country team, said that despite the difficulty it has made the pair more excited to graduate and start life together.
Both Dan and Jacob got sneaky with their proposals. Dan got Kaitlyn’s ring size by asking to fix her broken promise Kaitlyn Tredeaux (née Wilson) is an ring, and then surprised her with a seat English major who married her husband swap at Chili’s, her favorite restaurant. Dan Tredeaux on March 7 of this year, Jacob popped the question while while math major Clarissa Consol and shooting the sequel to a superhero film computer science major Jacob Hell are the couple made for Clarissa’s junior set to be married in Lee Chapel on May seminar class so he could make sure to 20, just one week after graduation. capture the moment on film.
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Both couples will be taking that start to new places after graduation. Consol and Hell will be moving to Alabama, where Clarissa will be studying for her master’s degree in industrial engineering while Jacob searches for a job. The Tredeauxs will be heading west and switching roles - while Dan has worked to pay the bills during Kaitlyn’s studies, she will now be searching for a job out west so that Dan can take the time to become certified as a police officer with the National Park Service.
Kaitlyn and Dan provided this advice: Get married on a Tuesday, so that everyone will give you discounts. Now there’s something that every college student can identify with.
Photos by Maeve Coughlin.
With commencement fast approaching, it will soon be time for a new start for all of us seniors. After meeting with these two couples, I have to admit I was a little jealous that they get to take on this scary “next step” together. For the many of us who will still have the marriage box to check off as we create our futures,
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McKenzie Beery has volunteered in Volusia County schools since her first semester at Stetson. Photo by Ari Kravatsky.
M
any students have heard of Stetson University’s Bonner Program, a group of volunteer students. However, the Bonner Program is much more than a volunteer program: it’s a tight-knit community of students passionate about social issues like poverty, hunger, health care, and education. Through their four years at Stetson, Bonner students partner with local non-profits for eight or more hours each week and work to alleviate these pressing issues. This instrumental program has several seniors graduating this May; three of these seniors shared their personal experiences with this program and how their Bonner “family,” as the tight-knit group affectionately calls each other, indelibly shaped their college experience. “Being a Bonner student has had the single-greatest impact on my Stetson experience,” Kyle Maley, marketing major, shares. “Without Bonner, I would not be anywhere near the person I am today.” McKenzie Beery, English major, echoes these life-changing effects of the Bonner program: “Bonner has provided me with some of my greatest friends. Some of my most challenging conversations were held in dorm rooms with these friends. I would not be the person I am today without them.”
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Kyle Maley has developed his marketing degree through his Bonner service and is now one of its Senior Interns. Photo by Ari Kravatsky.
Taylor Duguay sacrificed regular service at the Neighborhood Center of West Volusia to become a Senior Intern. Photo by Ari Kravatsky.
Taylor Duguay, political science and communication and media studies double major, shared, “the Bonner Program has shaped my future in ways that I never could have imagined four years ago. In Bonner, I found my people, I grew into my own identity, and I discovered new passions. I have made lasting friendships and found the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
One of the largest undertakings for Bonner students is the Junior Capstone. Beery is currently completing her junior project during her final year because she was studying abroad at Oxford University during the typical time to for it. Beery is working with Dr. Gregory Sapp, associate professor of religious studies, “to bridge the gap between what teachers need and what students need.” Beery explained how in their mandatory FSEM, taught by Sapp, Bonners are required to tutor in a kindergarten classroom for a certain amount of hours.
Bonner students are able to meld their studies with their volunteer experiences, often creating stronger projects for the program. Maley shared his past opportunities to meld his marketing studies with his volunteer services, strengthening his classroom knowledge of marketing initiatives, program development, public speaking, and leadership with real-world non-profits. “The non-profit organization that I worked with primarily was the on-campus Center for Community Engagement, where I served as the Marketing Director,” Maley explained. “I helped to build the capacity of our office by conducting various outreach initiatives that brought attention to volunteer opportunities. My favorite aspect of this role, though, was to work with local non-profit community partners to help them develop their own marketing campaigns in an effort to recruit more volunteers and earn grant funding.”
With Sapp, Beery is working to improve this program. She shared how she “plan[s] to create general tutoring activities that FSEM students can bring to the classroom (if the teacher desires it). This helps eliminate additional stress teachers might face with accepting FSEM students. Ideally these activities will provide a general platform for Bonners, allowing them to meet the student’s needs and areas of improvement.” Excitedly, Beery shares that “(hopefully) [we will] add Starke Elementary to the list for Fall 2017” and expand the program. Duguay discussed her volunteer experiences at the Neighborhood Center of West Volusia, a food pantry and homeless shelter in DeLand. “While at the NHC, I got to build personal
relationships with many members of the DeLand community as I helped to provide food and financial assistance to those who utilized the services of the NHC. I also had the opportunity to do some case management, data input, and volunteer training during my three years at the Neighborhood Center.” Currently, both Duguay and Maley are the Bonner Program Senior Interns, who manage the day-to-day operations of the Bonner Program. It is not all work and no play for Bonner students, however. Beery and Duguay shared their favorite moments with their Bonner family. Beery explained, “the one [favorite memory] that comes to mind, and I’m sure I will receive major criticism for saying this, is from our fall retreat my first year. The fall retreat is an annual camping trip we take and we always end the first evening with a talent show. I remember seeing a toothbrush, toothpaste, and cup of water on a table. One by one upperclassmen Bonners came in and brushed their teeth with the contents. Brush. Rinse with cup of water. Spit into the cup. The last person actually drank the cup of murky toothpaste water. It was horrific. It was awesome. It was disgusting. It was memorable. Needless to say we have kept the tradition alive. I have participated in this ‘talent’ for the past two fall retreats. Bonding.”
Bonner
THE SENIORS OF
Duguay’s favorite memory comes from her time at the Bonner Program’s annual Spring Retreat. She described how Bonner students sit in a “reflection circle” and everyone “give[s] each other shout-outs. Everyone ends up bawling for two hours, but it is an extremely personal experience that we all share as a family.”
Lynn Walsh News Editor
Duguay concludes, “always remember that you are part of an amazing, supportive community. And if you ever feel like your work on the day-to-day is not making a huge difference, just remember that you As these Bonner seniors pass on the torch to the remaining and future Stetson are part of a much larger community Bonner students, they left behind personal doing the same kind of work you are in communities all across the world. advice. Maley suggested to his Bonner Remember that none of us are in this family, “take your time. With a program that has such a major time commitment, alone.” it is easy to grow complacent towards your schedule and be eager to move on to the ‘next thing’. However, it is incredibly important to take your time to recognize the work you are doing and appreciate the people around you.” Beery urges Bonner students to “treasure your time together” Bonner students pose for a group as a family. photo at their annual retreat. Photo by Kevin Winchell.
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Retiring your Jersey W
Madison Akins Sports Editor
hile all collegiate student athletes’ experiences are different, one part is unfailing. They all come to an end. Enduring this process myself, I dealt with the sadness of my last game, the excitement of my athletic commitment no longer dictating my time, and the hole that remains when you realize that what use to define you is no longer there. In that exact order. For me, my identity on campus was a student athlete, but since my season ended in the fall, I have been trying to figure out how to be just a student. Whether you finish in the fall or the spring, things change. My season ended in the fall, so this whole spring I have been adapting. I had to change my eating habits since I was not exercising as much, I had to find ways to self motivate myself to stay active, and I had to make sure I was managing my influx of free time. Eduarda Pavao, an international student who played on the women’s soccer team, talked to me about her experience after her Stetson career ended. “Surprisingly, my spring semester remained very busy because I didn’t have the free time I thought I would have after being done playing soccer. I now have to balance my time between studying, working out, applying for jobs, planning and finishing my senior research, which comes to be my main priority since seniors have to finish it in order to graduate.”
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Pavao also shared an experience that I would argue all senior athletes go
Photos by Stetson Athletic Communications.
through. “Yes, I’ve been able to stay close to my teammates and I think the reason for that is that we all had a good and strong friendship during all 4 years. However, since we don’t have the same schedule I don’t get to see my teammates every day and because of that, I got to meet different people and started hanging out with other graduating seniors.” International athletes have an added stress when their careers end because they have to decide if they are going to stay in the United States or go back home. These individuals can either stay for their master’s degree or work for a year. After that year, a company has to sponsor their Visa. Pavao came to Stetson from Brazil. Her plan as of now is to stay and work for a MLS team in Orlando as their Broadcast Assistant. Another international student athlete, Kristin Lind, plans to return to home, Sweden, after she finishes the Beach Volleyball season this May.
making memories at Stetson. “Fall semester was great, but once it ended, it was strange not coming back for the spring semester. I’m still getting used to it,” explained Fogarty. He is now living back home in Savannah, Georgia working as an inside sales representative. “It has been hard transitioning from football to the real world. Football has been such a major part in my life and now it not paly has been difficult,” Fogarty added. Another football player, Davion Belk, stayed for the fall semester, but has been spending this spring doing something a little different. Belk has been training to pursue a professional football career with the NFL or the CFL. He shared with me the uncertainty in the future, “The NFL draft is right around the coroner so that will help make my future a lot more clear. I’ve been just working hard and blessed to have a great opportunity.”
Although Belk hopes to continue to “I have enjoyed being here, but I am play, he said that his dedication would happy to be done with being a student be the one thing that will always stay athlete in the states,” commented Lind. with him from being a student athlete. Regarding her life as an athlete, Lind “When I do things, I always put my talked about how she will cope when best foot forward. I was always ready it’s done, “I am going to keep playing to put in the work that needed to be when I go back home because it would done to be the best. I’m dedicated to be a hard transition from practicing being great at whatever endeavors my every day to not at all.” life leads me to. That’s something that will never leave me,” explained Belk. It is difficult to leave your sport and move on. That is why some Stetson All student athletes have to face going Football players stayed for their fifth into the real world as other students year to use all of their eligibility. do. Except, we have to do it while Patrick Fogarty stayed just for the losing one of the biggest parts of our fall because he loved football and life.
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A Moment with President Libby I
n a lengthy interview, President Dr. Wendy Libby praised the resilience of the Stetson community, pushed back on criticism of her administration’s priorities and policies, and outlined her hopes for the future. Talking in her softly lit DeLand Hall office, Libby offered at times frank appraisals of her tenure while at others carefully minding her comments. The president, who has held this role at two establishments over 14 years and has no plans to stop, discussed the impact of the class of 2017, her ambitious fundraising plans, what worries her about Stetson, and her vision for the future.
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Jason Cruz Editor in Chief the business climate is so much better and I think even the opportunities for graduate school are much better” compared to the climate for graduates from the beginning of the decade. She hopes that Stetson has taught them to be “adaptable” because “a lot of them came in as the world seemed to be quite certain and now the world isn’t quite as certain.” She was referring to the cultural and political climate of the United States and broader world, which appears to have entered into relative chaos in recent years.
Center enhance students’ Stetson experiences and stated, “I don’t make any apologies for raising money for buildings.” Regarding landscaping expenses, an oft-bemoaned subject from Students and faculty, Libby students would not have attended Stetson if the grounds were not kept beautiful and that the physical pride people have in Stetson improves their time here.
Clarifying the purpose of her fundraising efforts, Libby argued that most donors want their money going Libby’s eyes lit up when she described towards students. According to the her top priority for the next academic president, Stetson has raised over $25 year, which is finishing the university’s million for student scholarships and Asked about the effect this year’s $150 million Beyond Success — $10 million for faculty development. graduating seniors have had on Significance Campaign fundraising Referring to donors, Libby reiterated, Stetson, Libby said, “This particular endeavor. Launched in 2015, Libby “They give money to underwrite class was one of the classes that says that $110 million has been student internships. They give money experienced the largest change at the raised to date. Two years remain to help students be able to travel university so I think that they are in the campaign and Libby has its overseas. There’s a whole wide range particularly resilient. And they’ve completion “really way up there on of things that they give money to that also shown a great ability to volunteer [her] priority list.” students may not understand or know and to get the spirit of Stetson more “We have to finish the campaign, about.” infused throughout the student body.” it has to be successful. So much of On the opposite end of the spectrum, She noted that she did not believe the support for student scholarships Libby’s biggest worry is Stetson’s the various changes have had any and for our faculty is built into that retention rate. She fears students negative effect on the class of 2017, campaign and when there is a big “capable both intellectually and which entered Stetson as the thendonor that’s getting asked for a large financially” are leaving Stetson, largest number of incoming first year amount of money it’s usually the despite pointing out that our most students in Stetson history. At the president who makes the ask.” recent freshman retention was higher time a housing shortage forced many Responding to a common criticism than it had been in years. The website students to unexpectedly live offthat Stetson’s funding is poured into College Factual shows that Stetson’s campus. Students who have remained buildings and marketing efforts to retention and graduation rates at Stetson in the four years since will are above the US average, though be graduating on May 13 at the Spec attract new students rather than the development of programs and nearly 40 percent of students do not Martin Stadium commencement. students already attending Stetson, graduate. Libby sees the future as ripe for these Libby had no qualms about how graduates. She said “the prospects for Stetson spends its money. She believes On the topic of academics, Libby these graduates are enormous because that new buildings like the Welcome deferred to the judgments of Stetson’s
deans to keep programs in shape while praising certain programs. Libby gestured towards new efforts to recruit non-traditional students including an adult degree completion program for people with some prior college experience. She said, “I don’t really think that getting a Stetson education should be just for an 18-to-22 year old.” Libby’s vision for the next five years includes a robust response to the recent campus climate survey, successfully completing the fundraising campaign and ensuring Stetson’s financial stability. The survey showed that 23 percent of students felt uncomfortable at Stetson. Libby believes “we owe it to everyone on this campus to make everyone, to help everyone to feel they belong here.”
“We owe it to everyone on this campus to make everyone, to help everyone to feel they belong here.”
She hopes to “complete the campaign successfully and put in place resources that support student learning here and students ability to come to Stetson. That’s really important to me. I’d like to know that we are comfortably financially stable so that we can weather storms from within our economy and still be able to deliver on the quality that were known for.” To read the full transcript of Libby’s interview, visit Hatter Network on Facebook at facebook.com/HatterNetwork
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meet the NEW Hatter Network Editorial board
Brianna Lopez Managing Editor
Meghan Moran Station Manager
Kait Forsythe - Editor-in-Chief
Veronica FaisoN Managing Editor
Allison Tankersley Executive Producer Maeve Coughlin Creative Director
Gabby Cassidy Managing Editor of Creative Content
see you next year!! 24