UNDER FORTY

Cumberlands is devoted to training up students to set positive examples for others. The following 40 alumni, all under age 40 have taken that training to heart and, despite their youth, have already set themselves apart in notable ways. They are CEOs, educators, ministers, military personnel, counselors, writers, healthcare heroes, fitness gurus, multimedia masters, and more. Some work with people, others with animals. Some alumni walked across the stage on our Williamsburg campus to receive their college degrees, and others received their degrees online. No matter how they experienced Cumberlands as students, these alumni are now living across the U.S. and in different countries around the world. All have made their mark in their homes, their professions, and their communities. Innovation, risk, faith, labor, compassion, commitment, and service are the hallmarks of their lives. In short, they have carried Cumberlands’ mission forward into the world and put our alma mater’s deeply-held values into action.

In choosing alumni for this feature, an effort was made to show the diversity of career fields and specializations our young alumni have chosen. A special emphasis was placed on professional and personal growth and "leadership through service,” in keeping with our university’s vision. Since its beginning, Cumberlands has stood strong on its foundational pillars, including nurturing lasting relationships, celebrating individualized journeys, challenging ourselves academically, displaying servant leadership, learning global perspectives, being forward-thinking, and offering outstanding value in our work, whatever that work might entail. We believe the following alumni have clearly shown these values in their lives since graduation. It is our pleasure to introduce to you the University of the Cumberlands Alumni: 40 Under Forty.

McKenzie (Wheeler) Hines, ’18, recently began a new position with Yum! Brands, which owns the food chains KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Habit Burger and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. The company culture is geared toward equity, inclusion, and opportunity for all, with a recent push on sustainability in its restaurants and entrepreneurship for residents in impoverished communities that their restaurants serve. In McKenzie's new role, she is responsible for conducting benefit market research and benchmarking against other Fortune 500 companies to ensure that Yum! brings cutting-edge benefit offerings to its employees at affordable costs. She said, "I am excited to be working for a global organization that is striving for the good of its employees, their communities, and the earth!"

"I absolutely loved my time at Cumberlands," she said. "I believe that much of my success in my personal and professional life is attributed to my time spent in Williamsburg, between the people I met and the education I received."

Kyle Belcher, ’12, serves in the U.S. Navy as an operations research analyst for NETC (Navy Education and Training Command) N3 as head of the Integrated Production Planning division. As such, Kyle maintains and develops analytical tools for the production planning process and provides analysis when asked. He is a certified nuclear reactor engineer who has earned two separate master's degrees in systems engineering and operations research.

Kyle made the news for his work on moving sailors around the country during 2020. He is the co-creator of the OST (Optimized Slating Tool), a program which was built in a matter of weeks to automatically ensure sailors were moved according to their priority, which had to account for a number of variables per sailor. In Kyle's words, the OST is "a great story about mixing what computers and people do best to accomplish the mission."

Eric Lowe, ’07, is the CEO of Aptiva Health, responsible for leading the company, managing operations, and cultivating new opportunities for future growth. He was selected as a Healthcare Hero by Insider (formerly Business Insider) in 2020 and named to Business Insider's 40 Under 40 class of 2021.

Eric started his first business as a teenager. Since then, he has grown several businesses into multi-milliondollar annual revenue companies, has managed more than 100 employees at a time, launched the first online healthcare marketplace (Medvoucher.com), took a company to a successful exit in 2021, and has opened more than ten successful offices throughout Kentucky and into Ohio. He also helped in launching several additional companies for other young entrepreneurs and mentors young business owners and start-up innovators in the early stages to put them in the best position for success. In his free time, he is a football coach in Christian Academy of Louisville's youth football program.

Dr. Jaime Whitaker, EdS ’19, EdD ’21, was a high school dropout and young mom whose life experience proves that education can turn your life around. After returning to finish high school, she began her college journey and discovered, as she said, "I could do school! I found a love for teaching students that no one else could reach - teaching students like me." Eleven years into education, she is now the behavior specialist at a Title 1 school in the west end of Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Whitaker created several opportunities for students to achieve goals beyond the classroom, such as beginning an annual homeless outreach, leading a team of teenagers to 2nd place finish in the Aspen Challenge, and running a tutoring program during the COVID shutdown to support underserved students with their academics, free of charge. Jaime also planned the Academy at Shawnee's Men in Power and Women in Power events, which were created to inspire young people.

Matthew Courtney, MAE, ’13, EdD ’16, serves as the executive director of a nonprofit that he started. He is also a member of the leadership team within the Office of Continuous Improvement and Support in the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), serving as a policy advisor. In this role, Dr. Courtney works to improve education systems for all of Kentucky’s students. He has used this policymaking role to improve conditions for children enrolled in alternative education programs and curtail harmful behavior resolutions, among other things.

A published researcher, Dr. Courtney uses data to help the KDE and those in education better understand the potential impact of continuous school improvement efforts on Kentucky’s communities. He has also created a website, matthewbcourtney.com/repository, in which he builds and releases freely accessible tools that help educators focus on their own continuous improvement efforts. Through these free resources, educators are better able to promote continuous improvement in their students.

Dont'e Paul, ’12, is a full-time pastor who has worked in Christian ministry since graduating from Cumberlands. During the week, he is the director for Kentucky Christian Recovery, a recovery center for those seeking healing from substance abuse and addiction. On the weekends, he preaches sermons and volunteers at his home church, Stony Baptist Church. As Dont'e puts it, "My life is wrapped up in ministry. It's about really helping people, really serving people, and meeting them where they are."

He has helped start two recovery centers from the ground up for the Kentucky Christian Recovery. The first building was an old school they purchased and remodeled. Currently, the organization is looking at the possibility of expanding further, and Dont'e is working on becoming a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC) so he can better help those he serves.

Connor McJunkin, ’18, MSSM ’21, is a media and communications specialist with the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. He creates and publicizes messaging through news releases, presentations, and social media content to advance Kentucky's business recruitment, retention, and expansion efforts.

"We work closely with the Governor's communications team, often putting together talking points and presentations, which is always a great experience," Connor said.

On the side, Connor is a freelance graphic designer for various collegiate athletic programs. This passion grew as he worked as an assistant football coach and a graphic designer/social media coordinator with Cumberlands from 2019-2021, serving in those roles again at Centre College from 2021-2022.

Warry (Woodard) Bonney, ’10, MAE ’11, is working in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as a second grade teacher at the city’s American International School. She recently accepted a new position as the Community Liaison Office Newsletter Editor in the United States Embassy in Riyadh. Her new role will support the mission in Riyadh by bolstering the community and fulfilling their needs. She will also start a new role with Moreland University’s Teach Us Program as an adjunct faculty instructor.

Alongside teaching, Warry volunteers as a wrestling coach. She explained, “Some Saudi women cover themselves in a full Niqab and do not allow men outside of their immediate families to lay eyes on them. They come into this private women's gym and are able to then compete with each other in an open space.” Warry also runs the Embassy’s baseball team for youth, as well as their adult softball league, and she hosts a weekend Guided Book Club for children.

Bradley Paynter, ’17, MBA ’18, is a senior financial analyst in the business development team at Sound Physicians, a leading physician partner to hospitals, health plans, physician groups, and postacute providers. In this role, Bradley gathers data for different service lines including anesthesia, hospital medicine, emergency medicine, and critical care. After this data is gathered, he evaluates if Sound would partner well with an existing or new hospital.

An education enthusiast, Bradley is on his way to earning his doctorate and is teaching online financefocused classes at Cumberlands.

Bradley hopes to become a financial manager at Sound and to potentially teach a few more classes as the opportunity arises. He takes the quote, "Change your perspective, change your life," seriously and approaches all of life with that mentality.

Shannon Glendinning, ’18, MBA ’19, is the director of marketing and public relations at the Humane Society of St. Lucie County in Florida. In her time there, she has helped increase annual giving by 475 percent and has increased thrift store revenue by 46 percent monthly. She oversees all marketing and social media platforms that promote the Humane Society; orchestrates fundraising programs and platforms through online campaigns, in-house promotions, and community events; and serves as a representative for the Humane Society in the community. A dog-owner and all-around animal-lover herself, Shannon has raised thousands of dollars to benefit animals in her local area.

"I never imagined being able to use my education for something that I have always been so passionate about," Shannon said. "I think I was simply an animal lover who accidentally became an animal welfare advocate with my small amount of time working with the animals at our shelter."

Lora “Brook” (Blackburn)

Moak, ’11, is the dental director and lead dentist at Williamson Health and Wellness Center, a federally qualified health center in Williamson, West Virginia. Brook provides daily patient dental care and is in charge of managing the entire dental department within her clinic. She also does grant writing/applying for grants to defray the cost of patient care for underserved individuals, and she coordinates the dental school outreach program for Mingo County, West Virginia. She credits Cumberlands with encouraging her passion for serving underserved populations.

Through her career, Brook has grown two dental practices and started one practice at two separate federally qualified health centers in Florida and West Virginia. Following her servant’s heart, she has provided numerous hours of patient care for patients who otherwise would not have received treatment. Additionally, Brook helped organize the first mobile dental outreach program in the Mingo County school system.

Kelsley Wilkinson, ’18, MBA ’20, has taken his love of sports and confidence in front of crowds to a higher level. He is a weekend sports anchor for NBC2 in Nebraska who primarily reports on athletic events. From calling highlights during sports events to conducting interviews with athletes, Kelsley does it all. He also reports on local news stories periodically, interviewing city councilmen and councilwomen. He has even interviewed the governor of Nebraska, an exciting event for Kelsley.

Being a sports anchor for NBC has been "an excellent opportunity" for him, giving him experience and new connections in the field. His hope is to be on ESPN and to be affiliated with an NBA team.

Courtney (Hamm) Azra, ’11, MSPAS ’14, is a physician assistant (PA) at Norton Audubon Hospital. She is also an assistant professor and a member of the clinical faculty within Sullivan University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences physician assistant program.

As a PA in general surgery, Courtney collaborates with supervising physicians in the care of patients, taking histories and performing physical exams, interpreting laboratory and diagnostic testing, and contributing to patients' treatment plans. She also assists her supervising surgeon in the operating room and cares for patients post-operatively in an inpatient and outpatient setting.

In her position as a professor, she teaches and coordinates different courses and helps prepare students for their general surgery clinical experience in their second year of the PA program. She is the coordinator for students' general surgery clinical experience, and she assists in their learning while at this practice site.

Shannon Jones, ’18, has been commissioned as an Army Captain (03) and will soon be a licensed Army psychologist. She is currently an Army clinical psychology intern finishing her final year of clinical work for her doctorate. She has a master's degree in clinical psychology and a master's in psychopharmocology. Shannon provides mental healthcare to service members and their families at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. She gives neuropsych assessments, provides therapy, runs inpatient groups, evaluates for special operations, and works on research.

Shannon was ranked No. 1 for the Army Psychology Health Professions Scholarship Program for her recruiting year; they only accept four people out of 300 per application cycle. She has multiple publications on the neuropsychological effects of Parkinson's disease from her work at Edward Hines VA Hospital in Chicago.

Traci

Bitondo-Stenavage, PhD

’22, has been actively involved in leadership, advocacy, and scholarly pursuits since completing her doctoral degree in counselor education and supervision. She is the new president of the New Jersey Art Therapy Association and is also part of a research team that was recently awarded the American Art Therapy Association's Rawley Silver Research Award. For her advocacy work in New Jersey, Dr. Bitondo won the American Art Therapy Association's Nancy Schoebel Legislative Service Award.

She has presented at the National Association of Creativity in Counseling's annual conference and has three presentations that have been accepted for presentation during the 2023 American Counseling Association's Annual Conference.

James "Clark" Embree, ’11, has worked in the television industry since 2011, serving as a news producer since 2016 and working for WLEX since 2021. He's known he wanted to work in communications since he was at Cumberlands majoring in journalism and public relations.

As a news producer, Clark is responsible for a daily newscast (in his case, LEX 18 News at 11). He works with reporters and executive producers to help decide what stories the reporters will work on each day, and he chooses and writes the other stories in the show. He is also responsible for timing the live show and making sure it ends on time.

Until he arrived at Cumberlands, Clark had no idea he was good at writing, always thinking "writing" meant long-form essays. Professors like Jamey Temple, ’03, and Jeremiah Massengale, ’05, were "hugely influential" in shaping his career.

Dudley Napier, Superintendent Certification ’23, is the principal at Camargo Elementary School in Montgomery County, Kentucky. She provides both instructional and managerial leadership. Dudley has served eight years in administrative roles at the Elementary level.

She is a member of the Kentucky Women in Educational Leadership, a select group of women educators chosen by KASA (Kentucky Association of School Administrators). She was also selected as a member of the Leadership Institute for School Principals through the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. Recently, Camargo Elementary was one of a dozen schools in the state named a "Best Practice School" by the Kentucky Department of Education. The best practice awarded is Camargo Elementary's "Vertical Planning," a planning process that Dudley and the school's faculty lead to help improve instructional practices and student achievement at the school.

Dudley's current goals are to finish the doctoral program she has begun at Cumberlands and take the next step professionally into a district leadership role.

Michael Prewitt, ’17, is a full-time touring musician. He currently plays mandolin and sings lead and harmony in an internationally touring, twice Grammy-nominated bluegrass band called The Special Consensus. He also plays shows alone or in collaboration with other artists. Both Special Consensus’ full album and Michael’s solo album are set for release in 2023.

In 2022, Michael was one of six musicians nominated for an International Bluegrass Music Association Momentum Award for Instrumentalist of the Year. Special Consensus’ single that year, “Blackbird,” was nominated for IBMA’s Collaborative Recording of the Year.

Before becoming a touring musician, Michael taught at the University of North Dakota while playing mandolin and banjo for the Flatt Mountain Bluegrass Boys. He then co-founded a band while living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, called Back Up & Push.

Amanda Faulkner, MD, ’10, has been a doctor since 2014 and an anesthesiologist since 2018. She currently works as a neurosurgical anesthesiologist and intensivist at Duke Raleigh Hospital, also serving on faculty at Duke University School of Medicine as an assistant professor. In the operating room, she routinely cares for patients with complex brain tumors, brain aneurysms, or spinal deformities. In the classroom, she mentors medical students and promotes deeper understanding of the nuanced anesthetic implications on neurosurgical conditions.

Dr. Faulkner serves her team and her field as a peer reviewer for multiple publications, a critical care stroke champion at her hospital, a residency application committee interviewer, and a frequent lecturer. Her expert lectures have included talks on the perioperative management of neurosurgical patients, including cerebrospinal fluid diversion, neurophysiologic monitoring, electroconvulsive therapy, and a host of other topics in the critical care realm.

Nathan Barnes, ’06, is an assistant vice president and branch leader at Truist (formerly BB&T) in West Virginia. In his role, Nathan is in charge of managing all aspects of his assigned branch(es). He drives branch performance through leading, coaching and managing, and business development; offers small business expertise and development; ensures compliance with internal controls, operational procedures, and risk management policies; and manages human capital, including interviewing, selection, hiring, conducting performance reviews, disciplinary actions, workforce management, and scheduling.

As a consistent top performer, Nathan has been invited to share insights and counsel with executive leadership of Truist on how corporations can help rural areas like Southern West Virginia. Also, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Nathan was placed in project leadership with the Payment Protection Program (PPP). His goals are to move up into area and regional leadership within the company.

Major Colin Corrigan, ’06, is the assistant professor of military science for the Eastern Kentucky University Army ROTC program and the senior military instructor and department head of Cumberlands’ ROTC program. He handles logistics, training, and staff management for the EKU ROTC program and is senior tactics instructor for EKU. He is also responsible for the administration, teaching, and management of the entire ROTC program at Cumberlands.

Post-graduation, in addition to completing a master’s degree, Maj. Corrigan was commissioned into the active Army as an infantry officer. He served in combat as a platoon leader and operations officer, as a company commander four separate times, and also as the military school's advisor to the Office of Program Management - Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program (OPM-SANG).

Mitchell Mascaro, ’14, is beginning work as an official oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Eastern Tennessee after nine years of post-graduate school and hands-on training.

Previously, Mitchell graduated in the top five of his class in dental school and subsequently worked in oral and maxillofacial surgery in Central Illinois as the chief resident. He was responsible for coordination and on-call schedule of all residents, as well as leading and teaching them through surgeries and best practices for clinic patient care. The clinic supports implant reconstruction, head and neck trauma, orthognathic surgeries, head and neck cancer, and cleft and craniofacial work.

Myriah Snyder, ’14, MACS ’20, started as a news writer for a Kentucky Baptist paper in 2014 and is now a senior level writer and editor for one of the largest missions agencies in the world, the International Missions Board. She received the Baptist Communicators Association's Frank Burkhalter Award for Exceptional Achievement in Religious Newswriting in 2020 for her article "Unholy Tour attendees hear survivors recount 'second chances.' "

In her role as senior writer and editor, Myriah is responsible to pitch, research, and write news and feature articles; handles content and edits for news and feature articles; serves as an editorial resource for greater marketing and communications team; produces a bi-weekly newsletter, Global Highlights; monitors reprints of content in other media (Google Alerts, PR General Channel, etc); incorporates generosity campaigns into written content; and completes various special projects and tasks as assigned. She hopes to become a managing editor within the next few years.

Bailey Mays, ’14, is currently serving as an interim social-emotional counselor in a middle school in upstate New York while completeing a dual degree doctorate for clinical psychology/school psychology. Previously, she worked in a rural East Tennessee middle school where she designed and implemented an evidence-based drug prevention program and served a term on the board of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. She has presented at several conferences on polyvagal theory and school counseling and was a level 5 educator in the state of Tennessee from 2019-2022. Additionally, Bailey served as a Tennessee Achieves mentor for several years to help high school seniors navigate the college enrollment process.

Her goals now are to complete her doctoral program while in New York and successfully defend her dissertation, then focus her work on helping mental health for those in rural communities.

Rebecca (Worrall) Frosch, ’11, is the co-owner and co-founder of Hyperchat Social, a social media marketing agency that has grown to over a million dollars in annual sales. As a co-founder, it's Rebecca's job to inspire and lead her team, keep up with the constant change of the industry, and manage the overall operations, sales, and leadership within the company.

"When you're managing many personalities in the form of employees or talking to business owners about getting them to invest in their brand, being able to manage conversations and handle objections is crucial," she said. "The interviewing class I took at Cumberlands has really stuck with me. I'm such a crazy judge of résumé because of that class, but I think it helps me weed out a lot of potentially lazy employees."

Rebecca would love to see Hyperchat Social continue to grow in the new attorney vertical they've created, which helps increase brand exposure for attorneys and provides strategy on how to do so.

Ashley Collins Horn, ’07, is a district manager with the United States Railroad Retirement Board, a federal agency that operates similar to Social Security for railroaders and their families. Ashley manages operations of the Cincinnati, Ohio, district office, overseeing the employees in the office and managing retirement, survivor and disability benefits, as well as Medicare, unemployment, and sickness benefits.

She has presented at several pre-retirement and rail labor union conferences and meetings across the Eastern U.S. Most notably, she was the sole presenter from her agency at a training hosted by the Ohio Supreme Court to educate judges and magistrates on various public pension systems.

Recently, Ashley began a podcast with a friend entitled "Rooted Branches" (available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify), where they "branch out to share the wisdom of our roots" by sharing old-fashioned wisdom, old family stories, Biblical truths, and lessons from the past.

Brittney (Becker) Congdon, MD, ’08, is a caseworker for the A21 Campaign, working directly with survivors of human trafficking. Dr. Congdon helps survivors build skills and resources to address the vulnerabilities that put them at risk, helping them become secure in their independence.

“Expanding your perspective outside of your life experiences and the culture you grew up in is important for everyone, and it’s been especially valuable for me in developing my career experiences,” she said.

Dr. Congdon graduated from Northeast Ohio Medical University in 2012, completed a residency in family medicine, and became a board-certified family medicine physician. She then completed an addiction medicine fellowship and became the director of adolescent medical services for a substance use disorder treatment facility. When the opportunity arose for her to work on the front lines of the counter-human trafficking movement, she took it, and she’s grateful she did.

Emma (Kleather) St. Jacques, ’08, owns and operates Kleather's Pumpkin Patch, a seasonal agricultural tourism location, open each fall. "I absolutely love what I do!" Emma said. "When the opportunity presented itself to purchase and grow the family business, I couldn't resist. We've been in business since 1976. I get to work with my father, the farmer, alongside my husband to continue my parents' passion for business. I love building relationships with this community. Whether it's meeting new vendors or seeing new or returning guests in our patch, to us, it is about making a positive impact in the community, building relationships, and making lasting memories."

Since purchasing the business in 2015, Emma has brought in five female-owned businesses and their products to sell in the Pumpkin Patch's shop. The business has grown every year by introducing new products as they try to maintain traditions and engage new generations. Emma is hoping to extend the Patch's typical season and even expand by offering a farmers market in the spring and summer.

Jerrod Johnson, DVM, ’07, is an owner and managing veterinarian with the National Veterinary Associates (NVA) Gateway Animal Care Group in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Care Group has four veterinary clinics. Dr. Johnson is also a national speaker/lecturer on pain management in veterinary patients, drawing from his extensive experience in surgical and pain management cases. He is heavily involved in associate veterinary mentorship programs and works with multiple clinics in this regard across the country. He is also involved in the management of the business, particularly from a medical advisory standpoint.

Dr. Johnson was recently nominated for a national medical advisory board for national veterinary associates (NVA). He has opened clinics, bought clinics, and networked with others in the industry. He has completed post-graduate specialization by the American Board of Veterinary Practice in canine and feline practice. His specialization in veterinary pain management has afforded him the opportunities to lecture/ present on pain management across the country.

Lauren (Howe) Lunsford, DPT, ’09, is a physical therapist at CHI Saint Joseph Berea. She also mentors PT students in clinic rotations, educates caregivers in the safe handling of their loved ones and/or patients, and leads fellow PTs in her department for training, orientation, and scheduling.

Recently, Dr. Lunsford co-led her department in the training of every employee in the hospital on ‘Safe Patient Handling’ to decrease the number of falls their patients experienced. The result of the training was recognized by her quality and risk manager to be presented as a poster at the Kentucky Hospital Association Conference.

On the side, Lauren is a volunteer coach for her daughter’s soccer team and a Bible study/life group leader.

TJ Hurst, ’13, MBA ’15, is the owner and CEO of a State Farm Agency, located in Pikeville, Kentucky, and serves Eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee.

In the past four years owning a business, TJ has been named the Top 25 New State Farm Agent in America (2019), was inducted into the Chairman’s Circle for 2020/21, made the Senior Vice Presidents Club for 2020/21 (both this list and the Chairman’s Circle list the top-percentage performers in State Farm), and was selected to serve on State Farm’s Corporate Agent Marketing Thought Leaders Group for 2022/23.

Outside of work, TJ runs regular marathons and ultra-marathons. In 2022, he completed the Asheville Marathon, the War Hammer 100 (50K race), and the Cloudsplitter 100 (100-mile ultra-marathon race). His running goals are to complete an IRONMAN Triathlon, qualify for the Boston Marathon, and complete another 100-mile race.

Josh Frosch, ’11, is the assistant plant manager for The Clorox Company at their largest producing manufacturing plant in Atlanta, Georgia, a plant responsible for about 60 million cases of product and $800 million in revenue annually (per reports for the 2022 fiscal year).

As assistant plant manager, Josh has leadership responsibility for operations, maintenance, and quality of a 9-production line facility that produces items 24/7, with approximately 370 people who report through his role; ensuring the safety of all team members and proper adherence to government OSHA requirements; and production of about 450 active products that are made onsite across these brands.

Josh co-founded the Clorox Southeast Science Education Program, which impacted more than 100,000 elementary students in the Atlanta area in its first year. He has also led an award-winning, STEM-focused partnership between The Clorox Company’s Atlanta plant and a local public high school.

Jared Tackett, ’06, is an architect and project manager for Longwood University Capital Design and Construction Department in Farmville, Virginia. His responsibility is to oversee the management of design/ construction projects for the university. He works with end users at the university level, the Building Official at the Virginia Department of Engineering and Buildings, the architect/engineer during design phase, and finally the design firm and contractor during construction phase of the project. Projects range from mechanical-maintenance replacements to new building construction. He also supervises construction inspectors within the department. Currently, he is managing roughly 15 projects for the university.

Jared has received Acknowledgment of Extraordinary Contribution by LU Capital Design & Construction for work completed in 2021 and 2022. Additionally, prior to moving to Virginia, he served as president of the Kiwanis Club in Jenkins, Kentucky, and was awarded the Governor’s Spirit of Kiwanis Award during that time.

Kendra (McCollum) Rodriguez, ’12, runs her own business, Kendra R. Photography, which specializes in weddings and high school and college senior portraits. From marketing, social media, and emails to photo editing and client experience, Kendra handles all the typical tasks that come with running a small business. What she learned as a business administration major and communication arts minor at Cumberlands has played a key role in her success.

Kendra has done photoshoots nationally and internationally for weddings and other sessions, and her work has been published domestically and abroad in several magazines. Her family just moved to Nashville, so she is at work building a presence in that new market and revising her business’ branding to better fit the clientele.

Victoria Paynter, ’17, MSDF ’18, is a special agent with the United States Secret Service, currently assigned to the New York Field Office where she works as an investigator in the Cyber Fraud Task Force. Victoria works alongside federal, state, and local government organizations and law enforcement agencies, as well as private sector partners, to execute cybercrime investigations. Within the investigations, she works with law enforcement partners to deter, detect, and disrupt fraud schemes. As part of its integrated mission, the Secret Service continues to focus on confronting evolving threats that are targeting the United States' financial infrastructure.

Victoria said, “Throughout undergrad and my graduate programs, I was challenged with every single assignment to broaden the way I think, which has carried over into my current position. I was a biology major with the intent of going to med school. Now, every day I show up to work, I am helping people, just in a completely different way.”

Rubem Rodriguez, ’14, is a performance coach for Nashville Soccer Club in the MLS (Major League Soccer). Rubem assists athletes and the team with training and games, such as warmups, activation, strength, and conditioning on and off the field. He is responsible for GPS data collection and analysis of training sessions and games. Additionally, he helps athletes recover during the post-injury process.

Prior to his MLS position, Rubem played soccer for Cumberlands (where he learned English; he’s a Brazil native), and subsequently rebuilt both the men’s and women’s soccer programs at an NCAA Division III college, achieving record-breaking seasons during the five years he was there. Also during that time, he completed coaching and strength and conditioning certifications, as well as finished his master’s degree in exercise science.

Matthew Reis, ’07, is the sustainability curriculum coordinator at the only NEED Platinum educational institute in South America certified by the U.S. Council of Green Buildings. Students are taught from preschool about water, energy, and waste management; the school’s installations are a living text for it. For instance, the school has a water footprint 47% smaller than similar-sized institutes.

Matthew’s responsibilities include implementing and monitoring the school’s sustainability curriculum, teaching a sustainability course to new teachers, modeling best practices, organizing sustainability summits and events, and teaching a high school environmental sustainability course. As a teacher, he is educating future stewards of the planet to have a holistic approach to sustainability that includes environmental, governance, and social aspects.

Tyler Fruth, ’14, is an optometrist at Abell Eyes in Lexington, Kentucky. He examines, diagnoses, and treats everything related to the eyes, doing everything from regular eye examinations to treating visual disorders, eye injuries, and diseases. In the state of Kentucky, he is able to perform in-office laser procedures to treat glaucoma and is licensed to perform minor surgical procedures. Tyler provides primary eye care as well as pre- and post-operative management for refractive surgeries and cataract surgeries. He also fits patients for specialty contact lenses and leads the dry eye clinic.

Outside of work, Tyler enjoys hunting, gardening, and traveling. He also assists at his church as an audio and video technician.

PJ Martinez, ’12, MJA ’13, is a K9 officer-technician with the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division. His job is to create a safe environment for all individuals that fall under United States Secret Service protection and provide coverage to the White House, Naval Observatory, and Foreign Embassies in the Washington, D.C. area.

He said, “Working for the Secret Service was a dream come true in itself, but being selected to the K9 Unit was surreal. I get to travel the world with my best friend and partner. I’m also proud that I still coach wrestling, and this year we had two state champions and were the runner-up in Maryland State Duals."

Elizabeth Whitehouse, ’07, is the chief policy and programs officer at the Council of State Governments. Founded in 1933, the Council of State Governments is the nation’s largest nonpartisan organization serving all three branches of state elected and appointed officials. Elizabeth leads national programming, including communications, leadership development, policy, and research. She also fundraises with a team of 60 or so folks who support state leaders across the nation.

Outside her work, Elizabeth’s family owns a small horse farm in Woodford County, Kentucky, where they live. She also helped create and grow the CSG Center of Innovation. The Center began with herself and an intern fewer than 5 years ago and now has an almost 50 million dollar portfolio of funding and a large team of policy professionals. She led work advocating for CSG to create interstate compacts to support military spouses and families through funding of up to $10 million in the National Defense Authorization Act.