Current A Publication of Palm Beach Atlantic University
Legacy of Leadership
Honoring retiring President and Mrs. Bill Fleming --Page 16
Volume XXXI No. 1 Spring 2020
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Volume XXXI No. 1
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS Natalie M. Alvarez ’11 President Annaleah Morrow ’93/’97 M.S. Vice-President Josué Léon ’11 MBA Vice-President Jessica Clasby ’13/’15 M.S. Secretary Nancy Albertz-Schmidt ’05 Pharm.D. Robert Anderson ’94 Michael Armfield ’98/’02 M.S. April Bernal-Cleek ’01 Daylen Brinkley ’15 Bruce Burk ’10 Victoria A. Chouris ’97/’01 MBA Alexandra C. Cook ’93/’94 MBA Britton Cotton ’10 John Cupini ’08 Katrina Lewandowski ’16 Paul Giles ’94 Karen Hilo ’02 MBA Ryan Howerton ’09 Pharm.D. Brendan Kesler ’07
Putnam Kling ’10 Jean Marseille ’05 Adam Masterson ’06 Zach McElroy ’02 Matt McKee ’95 Ramona Owen ’91 Don Sloan ’73 Jared Southworth ’13 Laura Titus ’16 David L. Williams II ’16 PARENTS COUNCIL Robert & Cindy Read Co-Chairs Wayne & Deretta Cotton Founding members Dee Devine Vincent & Sally Grillo Webb & Beth McCanse Suzanne Mehregan Dave & Kathleen Michaeli Dan & Kendra Pearson Enrico & Laura Pucci Joe and Patti Ripp Donald and Shirley Scott
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Feature s
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William M. B. Fleming, Jr. | President Becky Peeling, APR, ‘05 M.S. | Associate Vice President for University Relations and Marketing
R e s e a rc h con fe re n ce
Learn what plans these educators have for the future.
Hear keynote speaker Dr. Tom Chesnes on March 17.
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Steve Eshelman ‘99 | Director of Alumni Relations Ellen Vaughan | Director of Annual Fund Development
Current Magazine Volume XXXI No. 1, February, 2020 Current magazine is published by the office of University Relations and Marketing, Palm Beach Atlantic University, P.O. Box 24708, West Palm Beach, FL 33416-4708 John Sizemore, editor: john_sizemore@pba.edu
Ab ove par
Cl a s s N o te s
Taylor Sukmana leads on the golf course and in nursing major.
See who has a new job, spouse or baby (and share your news with us).
PBAAlumni
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On the cover:
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R eti ri n g f a c ul t y
Mary Jacobs | Associate Vice President for Development
Katie Gentry ‘16 | Coordinator of Alumni Relations
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@pbauniversity
@PBAtlantic
PBAvideo
See pages 16-21 for a tribute to President and Mrs. Bill Fleming, now in their last semester at PBA.
From the President Dear Friends, During Homecoming weekend, as I sat getting my face painted in support of the Sailfish, I soaked up the excitement at the Greene Complex, its lobby bustling with students and with joyful alumni visiting their alma mater. I thought back to 1992, when Pam and I became a part of the PBA family. From the beginning, we’ve been consumed by the spirit of this place. Now, in the final semester of my presidency, I look back with a grateful heart as I think about how God has blessed Palm Beach Atlantic over the years. I’m so very thankful to the passionate servant leaders who have worked with me to rise up and claim great success and a nationwide reputation for Palm Beach Atlantic University. If high school students are willing to leave their neighborhood, wherever it is in the country, and if they’re looking for an intentional, Christfirst experience, they will put Palm Beach Atlantic University on their list. I compliment our faculty, who are the best of the best, and I congratulate our staff for their diligent work, which has been filled with integrity and sheer guts at times, in order to get extraordinary accomplishments done with precision and perfection. As you’ll see beginning on page 12, a number of faculty members also are retiring at the end of this semester. I’m sure you’ll want to reach out to them with thanks, and with plans to keep in touch.
But this issue of Current magazine is about much more than retirement plans, because the future is bright as the vibrant work of the PBA family proceeds, fullspeed ahead. Our alumni continue to make their mark in the world, excelling in so many fields. Read about Emin Toro ’97 (page 4), who is now a federal judge. During his journey toward that appointment, he told a U.S. Senate committee about his Palm Beach Atlantic professors “who made me a better thinker and writer.” In the financial services world, Regina Bedoya ’92 (page 8) serves as president of the Million Dollar Round Table. In that role she’s already traveled in five continents, promoting her association’s values of lifelong learning, ethical standards, community service and philanthropy. As you read the rest of the magazine, you’ll see that the list of student and alumni accomplishments just goes on and on. To God be the glory. Great things He has done and continues to do at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Sincerely yours,
William M. B. Fleming, Jr. President Current Spring 2020
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EMIN TORO Judge of the United States Tax Court also proud Sailfish Washington, D.C., Dec. 6, 2019 His left hand resting upon a Life Application Study Bible held by his wife, Emin Toro ’97 raised his right hand and listened to the oath of office administered by Clarence Thomas, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Among the courtroom full of onlookers was Randy Goeppner, who recalled when he first met the teenager who was now grown and becoming a federal judge. “He was tall and really thin and kind of sickly looking,” said Goeppner. Eighteen-year-old Toro had just arrived from his native Albania, a povertyravaged country that had suffered many years under a communist dictatorship. He headed home with Randy and Joyce Goeppner in Royal Palm Beach to live with them and attend The King’s Academy. Toro had immediately set about to make the most of his new opportunities. “One of the things that struck me was how inquisitive he was,” said Goeppner. “He would find something new or something that he didn’t understand, and the guy would not stop researching until he got all the
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information.” “I was excited about the opportunities that a U.S. education offered, but did not in my wildest dreams imagine that one day I might become a federal judge,” said Toro, speaking to the crowd after taking the oath of office. “It is a credit to this great country that such an opportunity is equally open to all — to first-generation Americans as well as those whose ancestors arrived on The Mayflower.” Toro had become a top student at King’s, and then entered Palm Beach Atlantic University. There in the freshman class of the Supper Honors Program he met Katie Nordine, daughter of PBA librarian Ed Nordine. She is now Katie Toro ’96, the proud wife holding the Bible during the December ceremony. In his remarks Toro gave thanks for her “unflagging support, creativity and love” and “most of all, for continuously encouraging me to pursue in faith the path that God set out for us.” He had graduated summa cum laude from PBA, a double major in accounting and history, and then earned his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In May of 2019 when Toro’s
nomination to the United States Tax Court came before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Toro publicly gave credit to his PBA and UNC professors “who made me a better thinker and writer.” After law school he had clerked for Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and for Supreme Court Justice Thomas. He became a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm Covington & Burling LLP. Toro told the Senate committee that his pastors and mentors in West Palm Beach, Durham and Falls Church, Virginia, “taught me to have faith and serve others. It is thanks to their efforts and God’s grace that I appear before you today.” Nominated by President Donald Trump, and unanimously approved by the Senate committee,
Toro was confirmed by the full Senate in August. He now has begun a 15-year term on the 19-judge court that resolves disputes between taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service. Randy Goeppner heard Clarence Thomas and multiple others sing Toro’s praises at the ceremony on Dec. 6, but having come to know well that young man from Albania, he said he wasn’t surprised at what Toro had accomplished. Director of Alumni Relations Steve Eshelman ’99, who also attended the investiture of Judge Toro, found similar sentiment popping up on his smartphone from the PBA family. After the ceremony, he said, “social media lit up with posts from alumni who just knew Emin was destined for greatness.”
Emin Toro ‘97 New Judge of the United States Tax Court Clarence Thomas Supreme Court Justice
Katie (Nordine) Toro ‘96 Emin’s wife
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Center for Integrative Science Learning
SUMMER CAMPS Science Camp and Institute
Topic: Health Sciences June 1–5 Incoming 1st – 5th graders
Incoming 6th – 12th graders
Tuition: $275
Tuition: $350
Extended care available
For more information or to register: www.pba.edu/summer-science-programs Dr. Fred Browning, camp director, professor of physics, email ISLCenter@pba.edu
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Trustees name president-elect
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alm Beach Atlantic University trustees have named Dr. Debra A. Schwinn the university’s ninth president. An accomplished higher education academic leader, innovator, scientist and physician, Schwinn served as associate vice president for medical affairs, dean of the Carver College of Medicine, and professor of anesthesiology, pharmacology and biochemistry at the University of Iowa. “Palm Beach Atlantic University conducted a nationwide search,” said Timothy S. Sotos, chair of the search committee and new chair of the Board of Trustees. “Dr. Schwinn impressed the search committee and the board with her understanding and appreciation of PBA’s deep Christian commitment, highly regarded academic reputation and legacy of growth and innovation. She is an exceptional leader with great interpersonal skills. Creative, energetic and a person with a deep and passionate faith, she enjoys music and ballet and plays the violin. We are excited to welcome Dr. Schwinn and her family to the PBA community.”
Schwinn states, “It is my firm belief that great Christian liberal arts universities such as Palm Beach Atlantic hold a unique and important place in today’s society. PBA offers students the opportunity to examine and deepen their faith while pursuing a rigorous academic path, arriving at graduation prepared to be servant leaders. I am honored to walk on the journey with our students on the West Palm Beach and Orlando campuses, and around the world.” Prior to her positions at the University of Iowa, Schwinn served in senior leadership roles at the University of Washington and Duke University, where she was director of cardiovascular genomics in the Center for Genomic Medicine. Schwinn holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of Wooster and earned her medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine. She is an accomplished educator and researcher and has published many articles and papers. Since 2002, Schwinn has been a member of the National Academy of Medicine in recognition of her contributions to science and medicine. She is married to Dr. Robert Gerstmyer, a religious scholar and instructor in the Department of Religion at the University of Iowa. They have two adult children. Schwinn will begin her term of service as president on May 4, 2020, following the retirement of President William M. B. Fleming, Jr. after a highly successful eight-year tenure.
Layin' down some jazz Faculty members Roget Pontbriand and Nicole Kidd perform a Dizzy Gillespie number, "Night in Tunisia," during the fall concert of the PBA Jazz Combo. For upcoming performances of music, dance and theatre, visit www.pba.edu/performances.
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'Success is about serving others' Financial coach and president of the Million Dollar Round Table has a special role helping divorced women
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ow led by Regina Bedoya ’92, the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) is a trade association of more than 72,000 leading life insurance and financial services professionals across more than 500 companies in 70 nations and territories. But while the “nuts and bolts” of this profession involve insurance plans, mutual funds and other investments, don’t come to Bedoya thinking it’s all about numbers. And “it’s not just about making money,” Bedoya said, sitting in the cheery conference room of her Juno Beach office. “It’s about giving clients financial peace of mind. It’s about allowing them to not worry about
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money and focus instead on the real things in life, which are not things.” Bedoya grew up in Paraguay, where she earned a degree in computer science and mathematics. She worked in banking in South Florida for a number of years, rising to positions of vice president and chief financial officer. After thriving in that analytical world, she entered the evening program at Palm Beach Atlantic to study human resources. “PBA served a huge purpose in my life,” she said. She learned about the Bible, and in her HR major she learned much about people, including how best to communicate and how to be a good listener. She
still has the document coming out of one assignment: “Write the philosophy of your life.” Melding the biblical perspectives with her other coursework, she concluded, “success is about serving others.” Bedoya became an agent/financial planner with Prudential Financial in 1993 and in just four months she qualified for membership in the Million Dollar Round Table. Eleven years later she stepped out on her own, forming the company RB Financial Advisors. Along that path of professional and financial success, she’s also had her share of struggles, including surgery to remove a brain tumor and also “a tough divorce that I didn’t seek.” Weathering those storms,
she developed an outlook that she now shares with clients facing their own challenges: “When you go through these things, you have a choice. You can either be a victim and feel miserable, or you can use it as fuel to empower yourself and say, ‘This will make me stronger.’ Because I’ve been able to do that through the grace of God, I can help people now do the same.” Many of her clients now are recently divorced women. “They come and they cry the first two or three appointments, because they think their lives are just over,” Bedoya said. Responding to those tears, first she just listens, and over time she helps her clients understand that “what happens to you doesn’t define you. And you can reframe your past and put the pieces back together.” Her eyes grew moist as she recalled her own time of putting those pieces back together. “Tears of joy, believe me,” she said. “I feel so blessed that God gave me the grace and the strength to focus on what I needed to focus on: on what my strengths were; on who was there to help me.” Now she helps others, with wide-ranging volunteer work in addition to her professional role as financial coach. Numerous plaques of recognition adorn her office, including those from Palm Beach Atlantic, which honored her as a distinguished alumna and as a companion medalist at the American Free Enterprise celebration. Her service in the Million Dollar Round Table is volunteer work that she has enjoyed for 25 years. The association emphasizes lifelong learning, ethical standards, community service and philanthropy. Last September she began her term as MDRT president, and in that role she already has traveled in five continents. Among her goals as president are promoting the globalization of the organization and promoting more mentoring teams. Bedoya’s personal mentoring goes back to her childhood, when as the oldest of nine kids she heard her parents say, “You need to set the standard: your siblings are watching you.” And her parents themselves set the standard. “My family was amazing,” she said. Her physician father, age 94, “is still seeing patients, the poor and needy in Paraguay.” From that background, she frequently shares with others her formula for success: “competency, confidence and kindness.” Juli McNeely, a fellow MDRT member and president of a financial services company in Wisconsin, described Bedoya this way: “Within minutes of meeting her you can tell she loves what she does from the core of her being, which allows her to serve her clients and community with complete passion and willingness to serve others. These are rare qualities to find.” Current Spring 2020
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Instilling hope Bivocational grad leads a West Palm Beach outreach for 'Peace in the Streets'
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tudents exploring a “call” to the ministry must realize that God doesn’t call everyone to follow the same path toward service, said Kevin Jones ’07, speaking at the weekly chapel service for graduate students in ministry. “Our path will not always be an easy path,” said Jones. “But God knows exactly where you are, and God knows exactly where He’s trying to take you.” Jones’ own call has taken him through a variety of jobs in youth development, including teaching juvenile offenders and running a pregnancy prevention program. Now he works two jobs in West Palm Beach, as assistant pastor of The Tabernacle Church and as coordinator of a city program to reduce violence and improve outcomes for young African American males. All of those jobs, said Jones, have helped fulfill his livelong yearning “to give back, to provide wise counsel and instill some hope in folks.” He grew up in Virginia, where he earned a degree in criminal justice from Radford University. He had prepared to work in juvenile probation, but before long he felt a pull toward ministry: “It was like a thirst I couldn’t quench.” He entered the evening program in ministry at PBA, which “provided a very rich foundation to ministry and really propelled me,” he said.
The pull toward ministry “was like a thirst I couldn’t quench.” — Kevin Jones ’07
(Shown here speaking at the chapel service for graduate students in ministry. )
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The Tabernacle Church (then called Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church) hired Jones first as minister of youth and young adults. He became assistant pastor after earning his Master of Divinity degree from the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. The church and Palm Beach Atlantic have numerous ties, and work together on community service projects. Deacon Matthew Stevenson is a PBA trustee, as is Mami Kisner, wife of Pastor Gerald D. Kisner. “Pastor Kisner has been great, allowing me to grow in the community, representing the church on local boards or organizations like the Salvation Army,” said Jones. The church is located in the historic, but challenged northwest community of West Palm Beach. As Jones got to know the community, he also came to know local leaders concerned about urban problems such as youth violence. He joined the city staff after West Palm Beach signed on with Cities United, a national movement dedicated to stemming the tide of urban violence. Now as the city’s coordinator of community initiatives, Jones leads in the Mayor’s Village Initiative, with a goal to reduce violence and improve outcomes among black males. When Cities United began in 2011, every 24 hours 14 young people were being gunned down on the streets of America’s cities. Jones recalls when disadvantaged neighborhoods in West Palm Beach suffered a traumatic summer of violence. He gathered local clergy and other leaders to walk through troubled
In a Peace in the Streets walk organized by Kevin Jones '07, six other walkers had PBA connections. West Palm Beach Police Officer Seth Buxton '96 (far right) grabbed a selfie with Adjunct Professor Dr. Alisha R. Winn (far left) and four of her students. Next to Winn was Josmery Botello, along with Catalina Rios (hidden from the camera), Natalie Owens and Patrick Hamel. With them was Buxton's colleague Sgt. James Graves. neighborhoods, reaching out to residents and praying for the community. “At an initial walk, we prayed at each of the sites where young men lost their lives,” Jones said. As the walk continued, a chant broke out: “Peace in the Streets!” The walk became a quarterly effort given that name, with support from city commissioners and police officers. The walkers rotate among three neighborhoods, praying, shaking hands, listening to residents’ concerns and handing out material to promote crime prevention, job programs and other resources. (See back cover photo.) During a recent Peace in the Streets evening, Jones was joined by six other walkers having PBA connections. Dr. Alisha R. Winn, a cultural anthropologist, brought four students from her Christian Social Ministries class. “I thought it was important for our students to
immerse themselves in understanding the dynamics of this unique community, having them examining their role as social ministry students and their role as change agents in a community like this,” said Winn. Winn’s students wrote reflections from the experience, and junior Josmery Botello found it much more than just a class exercise. “It teaches me to be faithful to my community back home,” she said. She is from Miami, and she felt challenged to look at the needs of her community and participate there in community outreach like Peace in the Streets. The sixth walker connected with PBA was alumnus Seth Buxton ’96, a West Palm Beach police officer. Buxton, crime prevention officer for the department, has gotten to know much about Kevin Jones and Jones’ work as a pastor and city staffer. “Kevin has had immense impact,” said Buxton, “because he’s a doer, not a talker.” Current Spring 2020
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Retiring faculty (See also pages 14-15)
Dr. Ray Waldner 38 years
Thank you for your years of service
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en dedicated educators will retire (at least from full-time status) at the end of the semester. All combined, they have given Palm Beach Atlantic more than 177 years of service. What a remarkable gift they are to us! We pay tribute to them for their scholarship, collegiality, creativity, artful teaching, mentoring and service to our Lord, to the profession and to the community. --Dr. Nathan Lane, associate provost
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Dr. Ray Waldner has enjoyed teaching a variety of biology classes, but his all-time favorite has been Natural History of the Galapagos Islands, for which he’s led students to visit that remarkable habitat. “You can’t visit that archipelago without coming back changed, viewing natural history in a different way,” he said. By now he’s been to the Galapagos 21 times, “and I think it’s made a tremendous difference in our students,” he said. Waldner started the PBA Science Club during his second year here as a way to bring in outside experts to speak to students. To raise money for the new club he organized the Great American Bug Race, which became a longstanding homecoming tradition. In retirement he plans to do more fishing, the great love that led him into the field of biology. And he’ll continue to write for Sport Fishing magazine, for which he’s the southeast regional expert. He hopes to come back and do some occasional teaching at PBA. “I’ve had some wonderful people to work with: faculty, administrators and students,” he said. “It’s the people and the atmosphere that have kept me here more than anything.”
Dr. John Grawe 26 years
Dr. Lloyd Mims 20 years
Dr. Gene Sale 19 years
In 1994, Dr. John Grawe joined what had been a one-man chemistry department. “I saw this as a great opportunity,” said Grawe, “a Christian school, and a fresh start where you could make an impact pretty easily, establishing different types of research and building a major.” With inspiration from the Scripps Research Institute relocating to nearby Jupiter, Grawe and his colleagues developed PBA’s now distinctive medicinal and biological chemistry program. Before coming to Palm Beach Atlantic, Grawe had conducted a wide variety of chemical research, including cancer studies at the National Institutes of Health. In his early semesters at PBA, he went out recruiting, taking a chemistry magic show to area high schools. Now in his last semester, Grawe deferred questions about his plans after retirement. “I focus on the here and now,” he said, wanting to make the most of his time with chemistry students. Meanwhile, other students may recognize Grawe by his crisp, white beard and his antique Ford Thunderbird. Recently, the T-bird suffered a collision, and Grawe was blamed until he explained the accident in terms of Newton’s laws of motion. At that, the authorities reversed their decision.
“I will teach voice the rest of my life,” said Dr. Lloyd Mims, dean emeritus and professor of music in the School of Music and Fine Arts. He plans to continue at PBA as an adjunct “to finish out” his voice students who have not yet graduated. After that, he said, “I will hang out a shingle” as an independent teacher. “I love teaching high school students,” he said, “and I’ll probably do a lot of that.” In retirement he also hopes to write choral music for the Church. “That’s a real desire on my heart, and I’ve never before had the time to devote to it.” Mims came to PBA after 20 years at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, where he was professor and dean of the School of Church Music and Worship. He recalled visiting many Baptist colleges to recruit for the seminary. “And although PBA is not a Baptist college, it was always the school that I thought the people in the pews of Baptist churches would be most proud of,” he said. “So I was very happy to come here, and it’s proved to be exactly that kind of experience through the years.”
Dr. Gene Sale has been professor of counseling, interim dean of the School of Education and Behavioral Studies, and for seven years, dean of the school. During his time as dean, the school developed the Health and Human Performance major, “which took off, and continues to do so,” he said. “That was really exciting.” He also recalls what came from his getting training through the National Child Protection Center. He developed a PBA course called the Psychology of Child Maltreatment, as an introduction to child advocacy. “Just seeing the impact that course has had, with many students going into the field of child advocacy, has been one of the highlights for me.” Sale himself has served as guardian ad litem with the 15th Judicial Circuit, representing the best interest of abused, abandoned and neglected children. His work in child advocacy goes back many years, and includes a time on the staff of the U.S. House Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families. For retirement he has “a couple of research projects” in mind, and he plans to continue some curriculum writing. “And I might come back and teach a course on occasion,” he said.
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Dr. Alex Wainer 16 years
Dr. Marcia Perez-Rivera 14 years
Dr. James Mitroka 12 years
Dr. Alex Wainer plans to “semiretire,” moving to Colorado to be near family, but taking with him two PBA online courses to teach as a distance adjunct. “This is a great opportunity for faculty to keep their hand in at a school they love and be with family at the same time,” he said. “It’s the best of both worlds.” Wainer, professor of communication, will teach online versions of Film Appreciation and Introduction to Media. “Faceto-face teaching will always be the best,” he said, “but given the realities of where our education is going, it’s imperative that we maximize the quality and the quantity of our online courses.” The key, he said, is to compensate for the lack of physical presence by increasing and improving online interaction between professors and students. The courses Film Appreciation, History of American Cinema and Redemptive Storytelling have been among his favorites to teach at PBA. With more time available in semi-retirement, he hopes to conduct research on the topic of redemptive storytelling. He was the point person in the fall of 2018 when the University began its two-day Art of Storytelling conference. The conference “became a fulfillment of my time here,” he said.
“The major reason for my retirement is having time to write,” said Dr. Marcia PerezRivera. She’s working on a book of essays: a collection of conference presentations, with a new perspective based on Michel Foulcault’s essays about society. She also has started a book of short stories and a compilation of her poetry. Chair of the Foreign Languages Department, Perez-Rivera has more than 20 years’ experience teaching Spanish language and literature. She has taught classical Latin courses in high school, and her experience in higher education includes the University of Miami, Barry University, MiamiDade Community College and St. John Vianney College Seminary. For many years she served as assistant director of the Study Abroad Program in Salamanca, Spain, and was supervisor of writers for radio and television programs for the Institute of Radio and Television in Cuba. She plans to move to Miami to be near family, and she hopes to teach ecclesiastical Latin parttime. She has found PBA “a very professional place to work,” with “excellent relationships between professors,” and said she has very much appreciated the Christian atmosphere.
Prior to joining PBA, Dr. James Mitroka worked for Bristol-Myers Squibb as a research group leader and conducted studies to determine the metabolic fate of experimental drugs. He retired from the company to go into teaching full time. “By divine providence, I came across an ad for the Gregory School of Pharmacy pharmaceutical science faculty,” he said, “and I jumped at the chance.” He now conducts research with students to evaluate the relationship between genetics, metabolism and stress. He teaches pharmacology and medicinal chemistry as well as an online course in healthy lifestyles. He is thankful for the opportunity to work with students and to share how medicine and lifestyle can work together to optimize health. As an outstanding PBA memory, he recalled “the character of the students that I saw from day one: how respectful they are towards the faculty and how loving and helpful they are towards each other. It’s a true example of the Fruits of the Spirit.” Now with his second retirement, he plans to move to Pennsylvania “with my dear wife, Rosemary, and have fun with the grandchildren.” He also wants to teach part-time and work on his blog, “Christian Health Perspectives.”
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Beth Hallquist 12 years
Dr. Leslie Turner 12 years
Jean Giarrusso 8 years
Assistant Professor of Communication Beth Hallquist served as a member of the adjunct faculty for approximately 20 years before her transition to full-time status. “It’s always been a really great place to teach,” she said. “Being in the classroom has just been a joy.” She has taught 10 different PBA courses, most often Public Speaking, Interpersonal Communications and Group Dynamics. Interpersonal likely was her favorite. “Students are the main reason I enjoyed teaching,” she said, “but I certainly had some wonderful colleagues over the years, and I will carry those memories.” She also coached high school swimming for 10 years, having grown up as a competitive swimmer, and having swum at the University of Florida. “We’re a family of swimmers,” she said. In retirement, she and her husband, Eric, probably will remain in their Palm Beach Gardens home, but they plan to travel more to see their two daughters, who live in Philadelphia and Denver. Her husband, a pilot, has worked for many years with Missionary Flights International, and she often has volunteered with the organization. The Hallquists are active members of First Presbyterian Church in North Palm Beach.
Dr. Leslie Turner joined the PBA faculty in 2008, became interim dean of the Rinker School of Business in 2010, and was appointed dean in 2013. When he retires at the end of the semester, he plans to expand his ongoing work at his church, West Pines Baptist in Greenacres. He already serves as volunteer treasurer, paying the bills, managing the bank accounts and such, but in retirement he will take more business-related items “off the plate” of the church pastors. “Pastors’ times are better spent in religious things, rather than business things,” he said. Turner also plans to keep updating the textbook he and coauthors wrote on accounting information systems. With his wife, Theresa, he wants to do more traveling and outdoor activities, like biking, using his three-wheel “handcycle” cranked by the arms. “My time at PBA has just been fabulous,” he said. “It’s been a blessing from God to finish out my career at a Christ-first institution. I spent more than 22 years at state universities where I couldn’t talk about Christian faith, so it’s been a joy here, and I’ve loved working with our students.”
Understandably, Jean Giarrusso finds great joy in teaching highperforming math students, but she finds a special joy in teaching the math phobics, the ones who’ve always felt, “I can’t do math.” “In all the students I’ve met in 45 years, there might have been one or two who really couldn’t do math,” she said. “But most of them just needed someone who really believed in them, that they could do math. And that was the challenge that caught me.” Giarrusso met that challenge in 24 years of teaching high school mathematics. She left the classroom to coach other teachers, and became a mathematics administrator for the School District of Palm Beach County. She retired in 2011, but a year later Dr. Stephen Selby, chair of math and computer science at PBA, coaxed her into joining the faculty here. “I said I’d come for one year,” she recalled. “And here I am, eight years later, and I still can’t let go.” Finally she’s decided to “slow down a little bit,” to spend more time with her grandchildren, so after her second retirement she’ll teach maybe one or two courses per semester. “I love teaching,” she said. “It was meant for me.”
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The Fleming legacy
On pages 18-20 see tributes to Bill Fleming from alumni and others, and on page 21 learn how you can make your own lasting tribute through the new Fleming Service Scholars Fund. 16
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Retiring president reflects upon his 28 years of being a Sailfish With William M. B. Fleming, Jr. now in his last semester as president of Palm Beach Atlantic, Current magazine interviewed the president and also reached out to a variety of people who know him well, and who know his remarkable record of leadership and service. The dignity of his conservative suits and his podium eloquence shines one day, and the following day Bill Fleming might be having his face painted with Sailfish blue or doing a chest bump with an assistant dean in front of a Chapel crowd. And all the while, he seems equally interested and at ease talking with a new freshman, a visiting dignitary or a million-dollar donor. To truly understand this man and what he means to the University community, you must follow how his PBA legacy began 20 years before he became president in 2012. In 1992, then PBA President Dr. Paul R. Corts wanted a vice president for development at this college that needed to expand its campus and its external outreach. Corts had come from the job of president at a college in North Carolina, where Fleming had been his able assistant. So Corts brought Fleming and his wife, Pam, down to see Palm Beach Atlantic. “We were consumed by the spirit of this place and its drive for success,” said Fleming. “In our time in private higher education we had not encountered an institution that was as intentionally and authentically Christ-first as we witnessed at Palm Beach Atlantic University.” Though he and his wife weren’t anxious to leave North Carolina, they found PBA too exciting to pass up, “because it was this beacon for Christ, in a downtown setting, in a rapidly growing part of America.” So Fleming came aboard, and he began to professionalize the advancement process and communicate the Palm Beach Atlantic story with alumni, parents and the community at large. He came to know “titans of the faith,” early believers in PBA’s promise: people such as Don Warren, Ted Johnson, Marshall E. Rinker Sr., Bill Lassiter and many others. “Being able to work with these champions of faith and free enterprise was delightful,” he said. Fleming’s communication skills and ability to “really connect” with people quickly shone. Biology professor Dr. Peggy VanArman (now emeritus) recalled, “He would meet somebody; it didn’t matter who or where, and he would say, ‘What’s your name? Where are you from?’ and he would remember all that the next time he saw them. I think that’s one reason he was so successful at fundraising.” Fleming has been instrumental in raising more than $180 million, supporting the University’s dramatic growth in campus facilities, programs, prestige and enrollment. He’s been a part of 15 building or property acquisitions on the main campus. “It’s interesting that my first project at Palm Beach Atlantic University was a residence hall, Baxter Hall, and my last project at Palm Beach Atlantic University is a
residence hall, the eight-story building now going up on Pembroke Place,” he said. “This is so important because we believe in the engaged learning experience, that is so far superior if a student is in residence in this living, learning, high-touch, participatory environment of PBA.” Though Fleming has not been a professor per se in that “engaged learning experience,” he’s had powerful influence on the process, even before he became president. Dr. Tom St.Antoine, now professor of communication and director of the Supper Honors Program, graduated from PBA in 1993, and has known Fleming since St.Antoine’s time as a young intern here. “If President Fleming were to teach a class,” said St.Antoine, “it would be about life lessons on success and leadership.” In fact, he said, Fleming’s informal gathering that evolved into the President’s Lyceum “is sort of Fleming and Friends teaching those life lessons.” The Lyceum, St.Antoine explained, brings distinguished guest speakers before a group of high-achieving PBA students who have curious minds and who show these guests the “radical hospitality” that Fleming espouses. Those guests have included leaders in business, the media, academia and the government. St.Antoine recalled how Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas relaxed in that PBA hospitality and interacted frankly with the Lyceum students. “There are legal scholars in the Ivy League who never in their lives would get this kind of access to Clarence Thomas,” he said. Fleming was interim president for 14 months before being named president in 2012. By that time he had become so well known and respected in the community that he quite naturally became the “face” of PBA. His staff dubbed him the Energizer Bunny as they saw him tirelessly put in long hours going to endless night meetings, PBA concerts, athletic contests and community events. He traveled for alumni gatherings and donor events, and he made personal, lasting connections with a myriad
of students and graduates. On pages 18-20 of this magazine a chorus of tributes from alumni and others provides a sample of the ways he touched people’s lives. Now in his final semester before retirement, Fleming was asked to name three of the most significant developments during his time as president. The most visible development, he said, would be the Marshall and Vera Lea Rinker Athletic Campus, anchored by the John & Sheila Rinker Sports Center. That enabled PBA to join the nationally renowned Sunshine State Conference, with the number of student-athletes going from barely over 100 to well over 300. “And that has been a wonderful blessing as we have further etched the Palm Beach Atlantic University brand for recruiting, retention and reputation.” A second item that has helped to distinguish PBA and draw top-tier scholars, he said, was adding graduate programs including the Master of Accountancy, the Master of Global Development, the Master of Nursing, the Doctor of Nursing Practice, the Master of Divinity and the Master in Christian Studies. Thirdly, Fleming said, “We have developed six Centers of Excellence: the Gregory Center for Medical Missions, The LeMieux Center for Public Policy, the David and Leighan Rinker Center for Experiential Learning, the Titus Center for Franchising, the Center for Integrative Science Learning and the Center for Biblical Leadership. And they have brought new life, a new donor base, new scholars and new excitement, elevating Palm Beach Atlantic in exceptional ways.” He concluded, “We have had a front-row seat witnessing miracles and wonders taking place through the helping, loving hand of God as He has anointed gifted people to do His work and to respond to His call to foster and fashion a place that remarkably is a center for leadership, learning and service. And having been an eyewitness to the transformational nature of Christ-first higher education in the lives of thousands of students has been an indescribable joy and a high honor.”
Pam Fleming, "the Campus Mom" Asked to talk about Pam, his wife of 43 years and his partner in leading PBA, President Fleming responded: Pam’s heart beats for the aspiration and dreams of students. Students recognize her genuineness and are attracted to her in countless numbers. When we stepped into the presidency Pam retired from her career in early childhood education and although never an employee at Palm Beach Atlantic University, she has been a full-time volunteer. She declares herself the campus mom and I truly believe that she is the most approachable and most sought-after individual on campus. Pam’s portfolio of responsibilities at Palm Beach Atlantic has primarily focused on all areas of Student Life, from Residential Life to Workship to Career Development to serving students with learning disabilities to Health and Wellness. In addition to that, Pam also has been a part of the University’s Design Standards Committee and has been very involved with special events, the Women's Ministry, the Book Club and the maximization of the best from our food service. But I think her legacy is truly the innate way that she interacts with students, who understand that she has limitless love, compassion and care for them. Current Spring 2020
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Photo captions on page 20 3
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I'll always remember: Alumni & others share tributes
About the Flemings
Bill Fleming has served the Lord through Palm Beach Atlantic in so many ways over these past 28 years. The phenomenal growth that the school has seen would not have been possible without Bill’s skill, diligence and loyalty to the cause of Christ and the principles upon which PBA was founded. -- Dr. Paul R. Corts, PBA President 1991-2002 Bill cares deeply for people and is a lovely person, which radiates out and into everything that he sets his mind to. As a vice president and then a president, he passionately told the story of Palm Beach Atlantic. And it always rang authentic to the listener. One of the unique qualities about Bill is that he saw potential in the big vision that he and others formed. He is a compassionate conservative whose story of faith and God’s immense faithfulness is never far from being told. -- Shirley V. Hoogstra, president, the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities
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The first word that came to mind in regard to Bill Fleming was loyalty. When he was heading up the Presidential Ambassadors, he showed so much loyalty not only to the group itself, but also to the school. And he really puts himself second, behind the interests of others. He has a way with people, and he makes you feel comfortable right off the bat. -- Josh Drew ’08 President Fleming and Pam have built lasting relationships with so many students, faculty and staff at PBA. Some of my most fond memories with them are from annual dinners they hosted at the Sailfish Marina with the Steering Committee leading up to Welcome Week. This was a sweet time of community and spending quality time together. Another favorite memory will always be President Fleming doing the Cupid Shuffle on the Welcome Week stage in front of all our new Sailfish! -- Kristin Knudsen ’12/’16 MBA
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I would describe Bill’s legacy on Palm Beach Atlantic as transformational. The University has had a meteoric rise in the past several decades, and Bill’s influence is woven throughout it. He dreamed some very big visions and he recruited leaders to the University who could operationalize those dreams. He had an eye for talent and most especially, talent that works hard for a great cause. I’ll always remember the way Bill Fleming engaged with each person who crossed his path. -- Carolyn S. Stone, former vice president of intercollegiate athletics President Fleming, our class would argue we got some of the very best years at PBA because we got to be there with you as our president. You do a tremendous job of being Christ-focused and others-focused! Finding you on the Green in the middle of the day to offer a hug, a Sailfish cheer or an encouraging word are moments I cherish. Thanks for your great example. We love and honor you! -- Priscilla Babrick Nicholson ’13
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Bill has been one of the great ambassadors of our community. His outstanding communication skills and strong moral compass made him a tremendous asset to PBA and Palm Beach County. Very few people have been more passionate and committed to making our community a better place to live, work and play. -- Dennis Grady, CEO, Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches Dr. Tom St.Antoine was one of two faculty members on the search committee that recommended the trustees hire Fleming as president. “We looked all over the country,” he said, “and every time we narrowed the list, Bill Fleming was right there with the other top names.” St.Antoine will always remember the blessings from Fleming’s President’s Lyceum, which has brought “a wonderful parade of significant people” to interact with the PBA family.
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(Bill Fleming tributes continued from previous page) President Bill Fleming’s years as Palm Beach Atlantic University’s president have been marked with great challenges – each of which was faced by President Fleming and his administration with courage and conviction. Accordingly, his presidency has been extraordinarily successful and our community is diminished by his impending retirement. What we remember about President Fleming is his utter kindness and complete devotion to PBA and our community. We wish this good and gracious gentleman and his lovely wife, Pam, complete good health and happiness on their well-deserved retirement. -- Eileen and Brian Burns He’s charismatic, and he’s got a finger on the pulse of everything. He was absolutely a faculty and student advocate. He’s just so personal. When he talks to you he makes you feel like you’re the one that’s important in the room. Bill’s the person who always cares. -- Dr. Peggy VanArman, emeritus professor of biology For the life, ministry, dedication and love of President and Mrs. Fleming, we want to say “Thank you.” Their love for Christcentered higher education, their compassion for the University family and their zeal for PBA, is unparalleled. We pray your continued mighty hand of blessing over their lives. In him we have seen the importance of unity, love, dreaming big, servant leadership and especially the Power of Prayer. -- Campus Pastor Bernie Cueto, in his prayer at the announcement of the new president, Dr. Debra Schwinn.
Find a larger collection of photos from the Fleming era online at go.pba.edu/fleming-album
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Bill Fleming’s legacy is, simply put, bringing the compassion and connection of Jesus into every encounter. Bill’s sincere interest in each individual and his ability to connect to anyone and everyone with love and grace is reflective of a heart molded after the Lord. -- Susan Richmond Johnson ’95 President Fleming is a remarkable leader. Under his stewardship, Palm Beach Atlantic University has become a world class institution. I am personally grateful to President Fleming for his stewardship of the LeMieux Center for Public Policy. Because of his leadership, PBA has the best public policy center in Florida, and one of the best in the nation. -- Sen. George S. LeMieux Bill Fleming has been a champion for strengthening spiritual vitality on campus, the integration of faith in the classroom and instilling a culture of service through Workship and missions. As president, he has sought God’s wisdom in making the hard decisions and led the University with dignity. He loves engaging with people, learning their stories and creatively using those stories to showcase PBA. The many notable achievements during his presidency include building athletics into a DII powerhouse and elevating PBA to national prominence in Christian thought leadership. President Fleming’s tireless efforts over almost 30 years are greatly valued and appreciated. -- Jim Jenkins, past chairman, Board of Trustees (2016-2019) Photo captions: 1. Gary Carter, Chris Gryskiewicz and Bill Fleming; 2. The "Sailfish Salute"; 3. Student leaders present a signed longboard to the Flemings, Fall 2012; 4. Fleming and former PBA Presidents David Clark and Paul Corts; 5. Bebe and Donald Warren with the Flemings; 6. Fleming washes the feet of Rachel Vogeney in the powerful tradition that concludes Welcome Week; 7. The Marshall and Vera Lea Rinker Athletic Campus opens with a ribbon cutting, Sept. 4, 2014; 8. Ben Carson speaks at commencement; 9. The Flemings and the 2012 Welcome Week Steering Committee show off their "Rock 'n' Bowl" costumes.
Assistant Dean of Students Kate Magro, President Fleming and Lyndsey Morrell ’15 serving in the community during a Welcome Week Workship project.
With their leadership gift, President and Mrs. Fleming have established the Fleming Service Scholars Fund to help future generations of PBA students develop a heart for service in Palm Beach
Fleming Service Scholars Fund
County. This endowed fund reflects the Flemings’
To make your gift, please visit
commitment to service and to the vocationally
www.pba.edu/giving
transformative student experience provided by the University’s Workship program. Income earned
or call (561) 803-2011
by the fund will provide scholarships to students involved in community service within the county.
You can honor Bill and Pam Fleming and expand their legacy of service by making a gift to the fund today. Current Spring 2020
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From left, John Hunt, Rob Laffoon ’82, Gary Fogleman, Jimmy Fogleman ’88, Jeff Goode ’87, Craig Alea and Dave Kerrison ’80 pose with the north Georgia resident whose porch the group rebuilt.
The spirit of Workship lives on
U
p in the mountains of north Georgia a woman named Dottie lives with her little dog Coco in a double-wide home. She’s on a fixed income, and she has an hour’s drive each day to take care of her husband, who is in an assisted living facility. She had neither the time nor the resources to deal with her aging front porch. “The porch was falling apart and getting dangerous to walk on,” said Rob Laffoon, a Palm Beach Atlantic alumnus. He was seeking a service project for an informal reunion of old friends from PBA, Forest Hill High School and First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach (now Family Church). These friends got together in 2017 and rented a lakeside home for several days of hiking, fishing and “pretending we’re young again,” as Laffoon put it. For their reunion in the fall of 2019, “we decided we would incorporate a service project and give back to the little community of Blairsville, Georgia,” he said. Working through local contacts, Laffoon had learned of Dottie and her needs. He and nine other guys came to Blairsville, bringing tools and lumber for the porch. Some had come from the Atlanta area, while Laffoon traveled from his home in Fort Worth,
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Texas, and Dave Kerrison came from just outside York, Pennsylvania. They devoted the better part of a day to rebuilding the porch for Dottie. “She was just as thrilled and appreciative as she could be,” said Laffoon. “But as much as it meant to her, I think it meant more to the guys. They’ve raved about it.” The other days of the mountain reunion the group spent as a getaway of recreation and fellowship. “We pray together; we support each other; we open our hearts to each other,” said Laffoon. “It is just an amazing experience.” The group plans to keep getting together every two years, “and now they’ve insisted that a service project be a standard part of our agenda,” he said. Back at PBA, when Assistant Dean of Students Kate Magro heard about the project, she said, “One of the deepest hopes of Jess and Doris Moody was that after their undergraduate Workship experience, students would demonstrate lifelong habits of service. This story is a heartwarming example of their hopes realized through our alumni.”
Leave A LEGACY Become a part of our Legacy Society by making a planned gift to PBA.
To learn more about how you can leave a lasting legacy or to give a gift, contact us:
Palm Beach Atlantic University Development Office
(561) 803-2011 pba.giftlegacy.com
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Sailfish going strong
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Urged on by a cheering crowd, members of the PBA family tested their strength at Sailfish Jack’d during Homecoming 2019. Contestants raced against each other in a concrete bucket relay and tire flip, tossed medicine balls and pulled a 15-passenger van on a chain. The winners (photo above) were senior psychology major Brendan Patterson for the men and Assistant Director of Academic Support Comfort Olugbuyi for the women. Dr. Patrick Heyman ’94 (bottom right photo), associate dean for the undergraduate nursing program, ably represented the faculty.
March 17-18 research conference
Everglades veteran to speak
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his year’s Interdisciplinary Research Conference (March 17-18) welcomes as keynote speaker PBA’s own Dr. Tom Chesnes, award-winning biology professor who delights in taking his students out of the classroom and into the “field” – or more precisely, the marsh. Chesnes, winner of the 2015 Charles & Hazel Corts Award for Outstanding Teaching, has worked in estuaries and salt marshes throughout the southeastern United States, studying vertebrate, invertebrate and plant species. He has published widely, often as the result of field research conducted with undergraduate students. “At a lot of higher-ed institutions, undergraduates don’t really get into the field at all,” said Joshua Holbrook ’09, one of Chesnes’ former students. “But pretty much from day
one we were getting outside and going places and doing actual work that you do if you were a field biologist.” Holbrook should know, because he is now a reptile and amphibian expert, teaching and researching at Montreat College in the mountains of North Carolina. “Tom Chesnes’ classes were lot of what got me really interested and really trained me in what I do now,” said Holbrook. “I base a lot of my teaching method, especially fieldwork, on what he did in his classes.” Chesnes and Holbrook wrote the first academic paper showing the detrimental effect on mammals by invasive pythons in the Everglades. That work, and their study of the mangrove saltmarsh snake, became an ongoing project for the two. For Homecoming weekend last November, Holbrook came down to PBA to accept an Outstanding Alumni Award, but the night before the ceremony he and Chesnes were driving through the Everglades, hunting for snakes for hours. The two typically go out about dusk and find snakes that come out onto the roadway to warm themselves in the evening. “It’s not always fun; it’s not always comfortable,” said Chesnes of such field work. “But it’s worth it.” Chesnes, chair of the Biology Department, gave the first lecture in PBA’s 2019-2020 Christian University series, speaking about the harmony and compatibility he finds between faith and science. Held in the Warren Library, the research conference features a wide variety of presentations from PBA students and faculty. Also, alumna Taylor Sims will share about her medieval and women’s history studies as a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan. She was a 2012 PBA graduate, summa cum laude, with a double major in English and history. For the research conference schedule, visit www.pba.edu/irc.
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Sweet spot
Sailfish finds her place on the fairway & in the nursing community
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"I’ve been given the opportunity to play golf and be a captain and be a leader and apply those leadership skills to nursing." --Senior Taylor Sukmana
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s thrilling as it is to see the growth and the victories of Sailfish student-athletes on the field, court and course, coaches often find that the most outstanding stories are simply those student-athletes themselves. Consider one talented Sailfish who marvels at how her golfing success “overlaps into nursing and life in general.” Taylor Sukmana, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, loves the game that her dad introduced her to when she was 7. So when Head Golf Coach Craig Watson assured her a spot on his team, that cinched her decision to enroll at PBA. Four years later, Watson said, “Taylor’s one of our top players, either number one, two or three, week in and week out.” And she leads in much more than the golf scorecard. “I can’t say enough about Taylor,” said Assistant Professor of Nursing Kathy McKinnon, after rattling off a list of ways Sukmana excels, in and out of the classroom. Conventional wisdom would say that a varsity golfer can’t major in nursing, because of the time commitment with nursing clinicals and the unique challenge of a sports season spanning most of the fall and spring. But Sukmana sees both demanding pursuits providentially working together. “I’ve been given the opportunity to play golf and be a captain and be a leader and apply those leadership skills to nursing,” she said. “God had that planned for me and it all fell into place.” Nursing school is competitive, said Sukmana; “we always want to get the A.” But as she has advanced in her major, she’s re-directed her focus. “I tell myself, GPA does not define how I’m going to be as a future nurse. It’s more about where my heart is, and my heart is to help others. We’re all going to be nurses together. It’s more like the family of nurses and the community of nurses that makes patient care.” McKinnon has observed Sukmana reaching out to fellow students when they are struggling. “She has the most empathetic, caring heart,” said the professor. “She has been through many trials herself, but she always has a smile on her face and a laugh.”
Those trials include the divorce of her parents, about three years ago. Sukmana has concluded that her purpose through that ongoing challenge “is to be a light” to her parents and to her teenage brother. Within nursing, she’s thinking her purpose may be serving kids and their parents. As she has rotated through her clinicals, she said, “I didn’t feel at home until the semester when I was on the pediatric floor, and there I just felt this overwhelming sense of peace.” She recalled a youngster terribly frightened by the MRI and other diagnostic tests he faced. “Hey, it’s OK,” she told him. “This may seem scary, but it’ll be quick.” And then, every step of the way, she said, “I was able to care for him and apply what I learned in nursing school, like hands-on technical skills and communication.” She felt it was like God confirming, “This is exactly where I want you to be.” In addition to her clinicals and her golfing, Sukmana also has found time for two 12-hour shifts a month as a nurse extern at Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach. That’s a paid position she sought to get comfortable in the hospital setting. “I absolutely love it,” she said. Meanwhile, her PBA coaches and professors have observed her leading devotionals, shining in outreach to the homeless and faithfully serving in the nursery at Truthpoint Church. As these observers have seen her initiative and perseverance, they’ve encouraged her to keep expanding her leadership skills. “It’s so comforting and helpful to know that I have such support,” said Sukmana. “A huge support system to show that no matter what you face in life, you can still follow your dreams. It gives me goosebumps because of how much I’ve grown.”
Taylor Sukmana at Good Samaritan Medical Center Palm Beach Atlantic’s School of Nursing offers the Bachelor of Science and the Master of Science in Nursing, as well as the RN to BSN (online), the RN to MSN and the Doctor of Nursing Practice, which includes five options of specialty. See www.pba.edu/nursing
Men and women score DII firsts
Golf teams claim trophies
In golf during the fall semester, the men and the women snagged their first tournament team victories since joining NCAA Division II. The women struck first, taking the trophy in the Battle for Royalty in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sept. 24. Senior Taylor Sukmana (see story above) tallied two birdies on the second day of the tournament, as did sophomore Jewel Jorgensen. On Oct. 1, the men followed suit, winning the Griffin International at Petersburg, Virginia. Senior Martin Westerlund further made program history, claiming the first individual title for the Sailfish in the D-II era. “We improve every year,” said Craig Watson, head
coach for both squads. He came to the university in 2013 to reinstate the men’s golf program and establish the first women’s program. “We so appreciate the generous donors who helped launch our Division II programs,” he said. PBA embraces the NCAA Division II philosophy of a balance between academic success, athletic contribution and campus/community involvement. With PBA adding its Christ-first perspective, “here in the golf capital of the world,” said Watson, “we’re a unique university. When the culture on the team equals the culture that the Bible teaches us, you can’t help but excel.”
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Class Notes Paul Proctor ’78 sold his startup company, Vigilant Solutions, Inc., to Motorola Solutions in January 2019, and now serves as the managing director for international operations and supply chain for the company. He lives in Austin, Texas. Kelly Sater Reed ’84 welcomed her first grandchild, Amelia Joy Reed, on June 8, 2019. Amelia’s parents, Dan and Alyssa Reed, live in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Kelly’s husband, Joseph Reed ’87, passed away on March 8, 2018. Kelly lives in Lancaster, South Carolina, and serves as the executive administrative assistant to the senior vice president of programming at INSP Networks. Michael McCurdy ’89 retired from the School District of Palm Beach County in June 2019 after 30 years as both a resource teacher and an administrator. He is now a full-time, self-employed musician with a variety of bands, including a Rolling Stones tribute show, a Latin-infused rock band and a variety R&B/dance band. He lives in Delray Beach, Florida. Sherman Dibble III ’93 earned his Certified Government Finance Officer designation in October 2019, and was promoted to deputy administrator for Darlington
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County, South Carolina. He lives in Hartsville, South Carolina, with his wife, Sandy, and daughters Lauren, 20; Kayleigh, 17; and Ciara, 11. Alicia Scott ’93 relocated back to the Atlanta area in 2019 to work with Korn Ferry’s CEO Succession Practice, Board & CEO Services. She is a project manager and works in the Mid-Town office. She lives in Cumming, Georgia. Nathanael Fisher ’94 is the producing artistic director of Emerald Coast Theatre Company, which he founded with his wife, Anna. The Miramar Beach, Florida, company recently launched its seventh season. www.emeraldcoasttheatre.org. Christopher Apgar ’07 and Kirsten Zwick Apgar ’05 welcomed their first child, Beatrice Elizabeth, on Feb. 13, 2019. Beatrice weighed 8 pounds, 9.5 ounces and was 21.5 inches long. Christopher works as an actuary and Kirsten is a stayat-home mother. They live in Medina County, Ohio. Chris Moody ’07 and his wife, Cristina Caraballo Moody ’07, live full time on the road in an offgrid tiny house they built into a
cargo van. Chris, an award-winning journalist, received the 2019 Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship as a result of their experiences traveling the country. He will write about their travels in his project, “Freedom on the Fringes: A 35,000mile Journey in Search of a More Meaningful American Dream." Jacceleny “Leny” Beltran Fralicker ’09 created an organic elderberry syrup and has turned the sale of her product into a booming business. She sells at local stores and farmers markets in southwest Florida, as well as nationwide online at www.elderberryelixir. com. She and her husband, Aaron Fralicker ’07, have two children: Julian, 5; and Jesse, 1. Aaron is a nurse practitioner and medical provider at a pain clinic. They live in Fort Myers, Florida. Bonnie Prescott Thompson ’10 recently left the corporate world to join the philanthropy team as an advancement officer at Thornwell, an organization serving families and children in South Carolina, Georgia
What's your news? and Florida since 1875. Thornwell provides homes for children in need and offers education and communitybased programs, as well as counseling and support toward wholeness and healing. Bonnie was in the international export industry for eight years. She and her husband, Karl Thompson II, have been married nine years and have two sons: Karl III, 4; and William, 2. They live in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Julieth Urbina Formosa ’10 is the pharmacy medication safety officer at Mount Sinai Medical Center. She was promoted to management in February 2019 after serving as a clinical coordinator focused on antimicrobial stewardship. Previously she held multiple positions at Baptist Health South Florida for 15 years. She received her board certification in pharmacotherapy in 2012. Julieth married her husband, Alan, in 2013, and they have three children: Audrey and Alina, 5; and Isaac, 3. They live in Miami, Florida.
Tell the PBA community about that new job, spouse or baby. www.pba.edu/alumniservices
Swapped Everyday, which can be found on Amazon. Carly is an integrative nutrition health coach, cooking instructor and founder of FitLiving Eats, an “online kitchen,” where she shares mostly plant-based recipes and makes healthy living simple for her clients. www.fitlivingeats.com. Christopher Jensen ’12 received the Fair Unknown Award in the summer of 2019. The prize is presented by the International Arthurian Society North American Branch in honor of the best graduate student paper at the International Congress on Medieval Studies. Christopher recently graduated from Florida State University with his Ph.D. in medieval literature and has accepted a visiting faculty position in FSU’s English department. He married Kelsey Ward in November of 2019.
T.J. Judson ’11 and Kristen Judson ’11 announce the birth of their first child, Finley Robert Judson, on Oct. 21, 2019. He weighed 9 pounds. They live in Orlando.
Taylor Smythe ’12 has released the third book in his Kingdom of Florida series, The Place Beyond the Sea. The series is a middlegrade Florida-fantasy saga that follows the adventures of young children who find their way into a mysterious and enchanted land. This series is ideal for readers ages 8 and up (or the young at heart), and makes a great “read-aloud” story for families.
Carly Thurman ’11 recently published her first cookbook, Simply
Raquel Gary ’14 M.S. recently published her first book, The Legacy:
A Journey of Faith, Sacrifice, and Never Giving Up. It is available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble. Raquel is a career advisor and scholarship coordinator at Palm Beach State College with the Institute of Excellence in Early Care and Education (IEECE). She recruits and supports day care employees to complete their degree in early childhood education through the support of the SEEK (Seeking Excellence and Education through Knowledge) Scholarship. Raquel is also invited to speak at various women’s empowerment events. Kimberly LittleJohn Hammaker ’15 was named Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce Teacher of the Year in April 2019. She teaches high school students at The Conservatory School in North Palm Beach, Florida. Victoria Fuller ’15 married Ronnell Ross ’15 in January 2019, and they welcomed their first son, Aaron Ronnell, on Sept. 23. Victoria is an accountant with Palm Beach County Health Department, managing the accounting of a $5 million budget for three nurse home visiting programs. Ronnell teaches and coaches at Lake Worth Christian School. Current Spring 2020
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Kourtni Aaron Taylor ’16 and Michael Taylor welcomed their first child, Juniper Lee Taylor, on June 14, 2019. She weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces at birth. Kourtni is taking leave from work to be home with Juniper, while Michael is a fifth grade teacher at Seminole Trails Elementary School in Palm Beach County. They live in Jupiter, Florida. Taylor Delange ’17 married Edward Amos ’16/’19 M.S. in August 2019 at The Lake House in Fort Pierce, Florida. Taylor is a freelance photographer, and Edward graduated with his Master of Science in Global Development and Master of Business Administration in December. They live in West Palm Beach. Marissa Osterhouse ’17 married Zachary Drum ’17 on June 24, 2017, and they welcomed their first child, Jameson, on July 8, 2019. Jameson weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and was 21.5 inches long. Marissa is a prekindergarten teacher at Palm Beach Christian Academy and Zach teaches middle school chorus at Tradewinds
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Middle School. They live in West Palm Beach. Kat Knapp ’17 married Nick Rumell ’17 on Aug. 24, 2019. Kat works as an admissions counselor at PBA, and Nick is a digital marketing specialist at MDVIP in Boca Raton, Florida. They live in West Palm Beach. Michelle Turner ’17 has worked for Urban Youth Impact for two years, and recently was named guidance services coordinator. She also received the “High Five” award for excellence. She is in the Master of Science, Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at PBA, planning to become a licensed mental health counselor, and she will continue to work in the Palm Beach County inner-city community with children and families. Maritza Vicente ’17/’19 M.S. received her Master of Science degree in general counseling in May 2019 and accepted a position as the second head kindergarten teacher at The Greene School in West Palm Beach. She lives in West Palm Beach. Austin Parenti ’18 married Sarah Starkey ’19 at The Lake Pavilion in West Palm Beach, near the West Palm Green Market where they went
on their first date as PBA students. Austin recently was promoted to director of digital arts and media journalism at The King’s Academy, and Sarah works at The King’s Academy as a third grade teacher aide. They live in West Palm Beach.
In Loving Memory The Rev. Wayne H. Padgett ’72, of West Palm Beach, died Sept. 27, 2019. He was 71. A member of Palm Beach Atlantic’s inaugural class, he also had been the first Student Government Association president. President William M. B. Fleming, Jr. called him “our great friend, loyal alumnus and pastor to many.” One of Padgett’s last services to the University was as commencement speaker on Dec. 8, 2018. He had been a pastor for many years, most recently at Crossroads Baptist Church in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of West Palm Beach. He also served for 18 years as chaplain for Trustbridge (formerly Hospice of Palm Beach County). Survivors include his wife, Gerry ’72; their children, Stacey ’00 and Brian ’04; and five grandchildren.
Hannah Giboney Rosenthal ’10 checks out a baby at a mission hospital in Pakistan.
A word from globetrotting nursing alumna:
'Appreciate the significance of each opportunity' Primed by her first medical mission trip during spring break of her senior year, Hannah Giboney Rosenthal ’10 has served as a nurse overseas six times in the past 10 years, including eight months in Pakistan and stints in Brazil, Kenya, Guinea and Iraq. She has worked from Mercy Ships and she has served in a trauma field hospital receiving casualties directly out of the fighting in Mosul, Iraq. “At PBA I really appreciated the focus on missions, which has obviously had a pretty big impact on my years since graduation,” she said. She married Matthew Rosenthal on Dec. 28, 2019, and they now live in Posen, Illinois. From her blog she offered encouragement to those of us whose routines seem mundane compared to her 10 years of globetrotting: “For most of us, God is calling us to be gracious to someone who tests our every nerve; to extend forgiveness when it feels impossible; to share our hope in Christ with a coworker; or to be inconvenienced by someone who needs our help. This side of heaven, we will usually never discover the eternal impact of the ways in which God uses us to bring His love, grace and
truth to a broken and hurting world. I encourage you to fight the temptation to measure your role in God’s Kingdom based on human standards. Pray that God, in His unending grace, will help you to appreciate the significance of each opportunity He brings you to bring Him glory and to be the fragrance of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:14-15) in a world of suffering.” (caring4thesick.blogspot.com) As Rosenthal has enjoyed varied opportunities to serve, she also has taken advantage of opportunities to give. When she was a PBA senior she received the Women of Distinction Scholarship, and as a graduate she became a regular contributor to that same scholarship. “I do what I can to give back to organizations when I really believe in their mission,” she said. “I’m really grateful for being at PBA and for the experience that I had there. So it doesn’t really seem like much of a sacrifice to give 50 or 100 bucks here and there, considering how much I have benefitted.” Like Rosenthal, you can find convenient opportunities to give back to PBA: visit www.pba.edu/giving.
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P. O. Box 24708 West Palm Beach, FL 33416-4708
'A doer, not a talker' Kevin Jones '07 serves as both a pastor and the coordinator of community initiatives for the City of West Palm Beach. In a recent outreach called "Peace in the Streets," six other members of the PBA family joined him serving a historic, but challenged neighborhood. See page 10.
NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID WEST PALM BEACH FL PERMIT #1356