History101
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he story of Berry High School/Academy and the amazing impact the school continues to have on the lives of its former students will be the focus of an upcoming history book being written by Dr. Jennifer Dickey (77A, 80C). The book was first envisioned by the Berry High School Breakfast Club, a group of alumni who meet monthly to reconnect with memories and friends and to promote the school’s legacy. Berry President Steve Briggs commissioned the project, which is being managed by Historic Berry with the support of the alumni relations office. Jennifer teaches public history at Kennesaw State University and works with Berry as a historic preservation consultant. She is uniquely qualified to author this important
publication due to her history at Berry and her writing skills. She grew up on Berry’s campus and attended Berry’s nursery school, middle school, high school and college. She also is a former director of Historic Berry and Oak Hill and has spent much of her career researching Berry and the Berry student experience throughout the decades. Jennifer said that the stories of high school/academy alumni will permeate the book. “I’ve been encouraging everyone to send their stories to me if they have something in writing that they would like to share,” she said. “While I can’t necessarily use everything provided in the book, the stories will certainly inform the book and will be available for reference in the Berry archives after I turn over all the materials I have collected while working on this project.” Materials may be sent to Jennifer at jdickey@berry.edu. The Berry High School Breakfast Club meets the second Saturday of each month – normally at WinShape Retreat on the Berry Mountain Campus or the Berry Alumni Center. All are welcome. For more information, e-mail alumni@berry.edu or call 800-782-0130.
Strong coaches,
strong programs
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erry has recruited some strong new talent in Chris Delfausse, Stephanie Dunn and Shaun Williamson, the newest members of the athletic coaching staff. Chris was tapped as head coach of men’s lacrosse, and Shaun was named head coach of women’s lacrosse, both of which will debut as intercollegiate sports at Berry in 2010-11. Stephanie has taken over the reins as head women’s basketball coach, replacing Jonathan Norton, who accepted a similar post at Columbus (Ga.) State. Stephanie came to Berry from Saint Pius X Catholic High School in Atlanta, where she compiled a 170-34 record. She led her teams to state championships in 2004, 2006 and 2007, earning Georgia High School Coach-of-the-Year accolades with each championship. She also served as assistant athletic director and associate admissions director at St. Pius. As a player, Stephanie was a member of the University of Georgia’s 1995 team that advanced to the NCAA Final Four. Chris (center) came to Berry from Adrian College in Michigan, where he was head coach during that team’s first two seasons of varsity lacrosse competition, ending both with a winning record. He also played a key role in the creation of the Midwest Lacrosse Conference, which will become an official NCAA Division III conference in 2010. Earlier, he was a successful club coach at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Shaun assisted in the launch of NCAA Division II women’s lacrosse at both Belmont Abbey College and Lees-McRae College. While with Belmont Abbey, he was named National Coach of the Year for Division II by womenslacrosse.com after leading his secondyear squad to a No. 10 national ranking. His team was ranked No. 9 the following year. Shaun served four years on the NCAA Division II Lacrosse Committee, including stints as National Committee Chair and South Region Committee Chair. ALAN STOREY
Government offers cap on student loan payments
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ALAN STOREY
lumni who used a Federal Stafford, Grad PLUS or consolidation loan to help fund their college education now have the option of capping their monthly loan payments at an affordable level (based on income and family size) through the federal government’s Income Based Repayment (IBR) plan. While lenders will perform the actual calculation to determine eligibility for the new program, the U.S. Department of Education has established an IBR calculator online that will estimate likely benefits. The calculator can be accessed at http://studentaid.ed.gov/ PORTALSWebApp/students/english/IBRCalc.jsp. Please contact your lender for more details.
FALL 2009
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