October 2023 Guilford College Magazine

October 2023 | www.guilford.edu

MAGAZINE

Bright Bulbs These Guilford entrepreneurs found a problem and became the solution

Natalie Hodge '01

NURTURING OUR ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT Friends, A FAMILIAR STORY IN THE WORLD OF BUSINESS is the impact of the liberal arts on the creation of Apple Computers. Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, shared in interviews how his own liberal arts undergraduate experience helped shape his early thinking of elements of what would make up the initial design components of Apple products.

This issue of Guilford College Magazine highlights members of our Guilford community leveraging their liberal arts education into entrepreneurial ventures. In the stories you will read here, we learn about several of the ways that our alumni are engaged with developing new businesses, creating jobs and ultimately finding ways they can be engaged in shaping new possibilities.

Recognizing the role a Guilford education plays in the work of these and other Guilford entrepreneurs, we’re exploring ways we can enhance elements of our liberal arts curriculum to encourage more innovation and entrepreneurship among our students and alumni.

Among those you’ll meet in this issue is Lou Anne Flanders-Stec, Guilford’s new Senior Executive Director for Innovation and Engagement.

Joining us from the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, where she served as Executive Vice President of Entrepreneurship , Lou Anne will play a vital role in helping us think about ways we can support Guilfordians who have an interest in entrepreneurship.

The College will never lose the richness of the liberal arts. We see that every spring in our graduates who leave us with a respect for our shared history, an

understanding of the underpinnings of our government and appreciation for art, literature and culture.

But that’s not all. Through the stories of Guilford’s entrepreneurs, you see that many of them point to the impact their education had in helping them think critically and innovatively, and ultimately generate the ideas and work they are now pursuing.

This spirit of entrepreneurship is not a new path for our College, but rather an enhancement of what we are already doing. Entrepreneurship has always been woven into Guilford’s curriculum. Think about it: A Guilford education helps you deal with ambiguity and think critically. A Guilford education helps you spot opportunity. A Guilford education equips our students to leave this College with the skills to envision, create and execute.

In implementing our new strategic plan, we will explore ways we can encourage this entrepreneurial spirit among many of our students while encouraging the pursuit of liberal arts foundations for much of their work.

“Entrepreneurship has always

been woven into Guilford’s curriculum. Think about it: A Guilford education helps you deal with ambiguity and think critically. A Guilford education helps you spot opportunity.

A Guilford education equips our students to leave this College with the skills to envision, create and execute.”

Best regards,

Kyle Farmbry President W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U | 1

EDITOR Robert Bell ’11 CONTRIBUTING WRITER Robert Lopez DESIGN Chris Ferguson PHOTOGRAPHY Julie Knight Michael Crouch ’10 & ’12 COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING TEAM Ty Buckner, Vice President of Communications & Marketing Robert Bell ’11, Assistant Director of Communications & Marketing Michael Crouch ’10 & ’12, Associate Director of Communications & Marketing LaToya Marsh, Director of the Bryan Series Aziz Peregrino-Brimah, Digital Content Manager Lydia Saunders ’23, Presidential Fellow FUNDRAISING TEAM LaDaniel Gatling II, Vice President for Advancement & Alumni Relations Stephanie Davis, Director of Annual Giving & Donor Relations Elizabeth Freeze, Director of Development for Major Gifts Rick Lancaster ’88, Director of Development for Strategic Engagement Lauren Reinking, Director of Alumni Relations & Engagement

The Spirit of Entrepreneurship Welcome to Guilford College: Home of the entrepreneur.

OK, to be fair, Guilford doesn’t have an entrepreneurship degree — though starting this fall students are able to pursue an entrepreneurship minor. We’re still that small liberal arts college that produces some of the best teachers in the state. We still graduate dozens of law enforcement professionals every year who are dedicated to serving their communities. Our business grads are working for some of

CONTACT US Office of Communications & Marketing New Garden Hall Guilford College 5800 West Friendly Avenue Greensboro, NC 27410 P / 336.316.2239 magazine@guilford.edu

Wall Street’s biggest firms — Main Street’s, too.

But for every teacher, police officer and banker out there, Guilford produces a number of graduates eager to venture out on their own. They want to put to use those critical thinking skills for which the College is known. Oftentimes those problem-solving skills are on display in a more traditional workplace. But increasingly Guilfordians are using them to find solutions to unsolved problems or fill

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This issue of Guilford College Magazine lifts up those

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dream, and connected an innovative idea with a hungry

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adventurous souls who made the leap, took a chance on a audience. We hope you enjoy their stories as much as we enjoyed telling them. And speaking of stories, if you have a Guilfordian you want to lift up, drop me a note.

Guilford College Magazine is published by the Office of Communications & Marketing. The views expressed within these pages do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the College.

Guilford College does not discriminate on the basis of sex/gender, age, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, genetic information, military status, veteran status or any other protected category under applicable local, state or federal law, ordinance or regulation. For our complete statement, please visit www.guilford.edu/nondiscrimination.

— Robert Bell ’11 Editor

IN THIS ISSUE

22

08 24

4 Stories from the heart Guilford stories from Zac Apple ‘10 led to one of the College’s biggest bequests.

6 Investing in Guilford Lou Anne Flanders-Stec thinks Guilford’s a good investment.

Her job is to convince others.

8 Super author!

Comic book writer Jadzia Axelrod ’01 is something of a superhero in the LGBTQIA+ community.

12 A special partnership President Kyle Farmbry has always had a strong connection with South Africa. He wants Guilford to share in that bond.

14 Bright bulbs Meet five entrepreneurial Guilfordians who saw a need in their world and set out to fill it.

20 Huddled against time The race is on to learn how Guilford’s last apple tree has survived for more than a century.

22 A different perspective Marius Pascale doesn’t teach students right from wrong. He teaches them how to think critically.

24 Catch Adam Smith (if you can) After a successful professional football season, the blur that is Adam Smith ’16 is slowing down.

For now.

October 2023 On the Cover Entrepreneur Natalie Hodge ‘01 kept failing at her business ventures before she found her passion.

26 It runs in the family Author Anita Grant Jones honed her writing skills listening to her father’s stories.

28 Remembering Gertrude With the passing of Gertrude Upperman ‘69, Guilford loses one of its most devoted alums.

W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U | 3

PHILANTHROPY

STORIES FROM THE HEART With every story they heard from the grandfather of Zac Apple ‘10, William and Myrtle Pickard fell in love with Guilford. Those stories led to one of the largest gifts in the College’s history.

IN A LIFE THAT STR ETCHED 95 YEARS, Myrtle F. Pickard served with the Red Cross, tutored thousands of elementary school students in Raleigh, and could pick up a pair of knitting needles on Monday and create a sweater for husband William by Friday.

The couple had no children and for most of their 66 years together, they lived a life of modesty, volunteering at schools and hospitals, sharing a used car and wearing jeans to grow a backyard garden together.

The Pickards’ biggest luxury in life, says Pam Couch of Raleigh, a niece, was a fondness for travel, and there was no part of the world too remote. Gibraltar.

England, Germany. Even when the Pickards moved into a retirement home in 2007 they continued to travel.

William, a retired IRS accountant and auditor, died in 2017; Myrtle, who worked for the state, died in February of this year.

The Pickards had many other interests. One of those was investing —

MYRTLE AND WILLIAM PICK ARD, SHOWN HERE IN GIBRALTAR, GAVE THEIR ENTIRE ESTATE — MORE THAN $3.7 MILLION — TO GUILFORD.

specifically in bank stocks and bonds.

William and Myrtle’s shrewd investing

largest individual gift to Guilford in

footing and gives it more time to

and modest ways helped them amass

the College’s history, and second largest

increase revenues to offset assistance

more than $3.7 million by the time

ever. In 2005, the Corella and Bertram

during the pandemic.

she died.

F. Bonner Foundation donated $4.5

If the size of their estate was a surprise to family members, it was

“We are incredibly grateful for this

million to establish a Bonner Scholars

wonderful act of generosity,” says

Endowment.

Danny. “This gift affirms to the Guilford

even more surprising where they

Danny Gatling, Vice President for

community that we are serving our

directed that fortune: to Guilford

Advancement and Alumni Relations

students well, and preparing them to

College, a school neither attended nor by

at Guilford, says the gift will provide

change their part of the world.”

many accounts ever set foot on.

revenue for the next three fiscal years

The story of William and Myrtle and

that helps keep the College on sound

their generosity to Guilford is the final

William and Myrtle's bequest is the 4 | W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U

chapter in a series of shorter stories —

their place in the world and that their

all originating from Zac Apple '10.

money was going to go to this college

Zac played baseball at Guilford

in Guilford County,” recalls Pam.

before graduating with a degree in

“Everyone agreed and encouraged them

Exercise & Sport Science. During his

to move forward.”

time at Guilford, Zac would often tell

Zac didn’t learn of the Pickards'

his grandfather, David Hix, about his

gift — and the role his stories played in

experiences at Guilford,.

inspiring their generosity — until the

David would often

College reached out to

share his grandson’s

him this summer.

stories about Guilford

He grew up in

with his good friends

Gibsonville, N.C., a

William and Myrtle.

rural, largely white

With every passing

town in Guilford

story David told them,

County, 26 miles east of

the Pickards, both of

the College.

whom graduated from

Zac says coming to

N.C. State University,

Guilford “was a bit of a

were falling in love with

cultural shock.”

Guilford College.

It is common for millionaire philanthropists to give to schools that are already well resourced and where they often have a personal connection. Pam says her uncle and aunt were anything but common.

“Not just the diversity on campus

“The diversity and what I

but in the classes

learned about other cultures really prepared me to be able to deal with the real world, and acceptance and what I now do as a teacher and with my teammates.”

I took, too,” says Zac, a teacher and head baseball coach at Rockingham County High School in Reidsville, N.C., “You didn’t just learn about geography in a geography class.

— Zac Apple ’10

“They always

You learned about

believed smaller

the people and the

schools were the

cultures and the

best place to get an education because

impact countries had on those cultures.

the class sizes are so much smaller and

The diversity and what I learned about

the personal attention a student gets,”

other cultures really prepared me to

says Pam. “I think with every story

be able to deal with the real world,

they heard about Guilford, they started

and acceptance and what I now do as a

falling in love with the school.”

teacher and with my teammates.”

After William died, Myrtle gathered

Danny says the gift will help

her nieces and nephews, grand nieces

Guilford continue to grow. “We’re

and grand nephews, and told them of the

excited about the transformation a

couple’s intended bequest to Guilford.

gift like this can bring to the College,”

“She told us that everyone in the family had their opportunity to make

he says. “It’s a great start to the academic year.”

Lauren Reinking is Guilford’s new alumni director Lauren Reinking, Guilford’s new Director of Alumni Relations & Engagement, could see and hear the passion Guilfordians have for their College when she interviewed for the position.

“There’s something special about Guilford that's unique to every alum,” she says. “You can hear it in their voice and see it in their smile. I’m excited to be part of that passion."

Lauren, who started her new position Sept. 12, brings a diverse range of experience to Guilford, having held previous roles in both the cultural and higher education sectors. Most recently she was the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations at the University of Chicago, where she worked with thousands of alumni to encourage them to stay connected and active with their alma mater.

Before that she worked as Director of Volunteer Services for the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.

Lauren says Guilford alumni will play a vital role in the College’s future. “Our alumni are our biggest ambassadors,” she says. “They spent four years at Guilford. Who better to share the stories and experiences of Guilford to others and attract students.”

Lauren also knows the importance of connecting with alumni and teaching them the importance of philanthropy. “It’s important to give back to the College that helped you get your start.”

Danny Gatling, the College’s Vice President for Advancement & Alumni Relations, says Lauren brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position. “We’re eager for Lauren to meet with and connect with our alumni,” says Danny. “Lauren understands our commitment to growing our alumni engagement and fostering important partnerships that will last a lifetime between the College and alumni. We’re excited to have her helping build those connections.”

•

W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U | 5

CAMPUS NEWS

INVESTING IN GUILFORD The College has many revenue streams not being used. Meet Lou Anne Flanders-Stec, whose job is to tap into those streams and find others.

FINDING ADDITIONAL INCOME streams can seem daunting for liberal arts institutions like Guilford. Pushing administrators and faculty beyond their traditional academic comfort zones and into the worlds of research, real estate, and commerce can prove anxious. Even some alumni wring their hands at the idea of their college losing the focus of its mission.

Stop right there. Lou Anne FlandersStec has heard those worries before — the ones about liberal arts colleges straying from their mission of building students into well-rounded citizens.

“Guilford has always been working in an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit,” says Lou Anne, Guilford’s new Senior Executive Director ofInnovation and Engagement. “That’s played out for years at Guilford in social innovation, and how to really engage,educate and address social issues with creativity and innovative thinking. What we want to do now is see how we can enhance those areas and maybe turn them into revenue for the College.”

That way of thinking should not be a significant leap for the College, says Lou Anne. She points to established Astronomy and Physics departments have with NASA. She talks about the artificial intelligence research taking place with Analytics faculty and students. “How do we leverage those partnerships already in place? How do we grow them?” she asks. “There 6 | W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U

LO U A NNE F L A N D E R S - S T EC H A S T HR I V ED IN T HE E N T R E P R E N E U R I A L W O R L D. IN HER N E W R O L E , S HE ’S B R IN G IN G T H AT W O R L D TO GU IL FO R D.

PHOTO BY ROBERT BELL ’11

partnerships that Guilford’s

are (faculty) books that have been written that are sitting on shelves that haven't been published. What can we do to get them published?”

In her new role, Lou Anne is responsible for facilitating and strengthening connections between Guilford faculty, students, staff, alumni, industry leaders and investors, and the community.

That entrepreneurial world is one Lou Anne has thrived in.

After receiving her MBA in Finance from the University of North Texas in 1991, she worked for a private equity group, focusing on mergers and acquisitions and became steeped in the process of entrepreneurship exits — building a business that is viable to be purchased.

Lou Anne moved from New York to Greensboro in 2002 to work for the Piedmont Angel Network where she helped fund 11 local companies. Before coming to Guilford this summer, she was the executive vice president of entrepreneurship at the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce for seven years.

“Lou Anne brings a skill set and leadership experience that will immediately help to further advance our efforts in innovation, entrepreneurship, and business engagement,” says President Kyle Farmbry.

Lou Anne says the College has identified three so-called pillars of revenue the it can explore: Real estate, innovation and investor funding. That’s already begun.

The College earns revenue from the Eastern Music Festival, which has been a strong partner for 62 years. This summer the College rented its athletic facilities to various sports camps. Leaders are exploring other properties on campus to leverage, too.

The second pillar is finding or creating research at Guilford that, as Lou Anne says, “can be used changing lives beyond the campus.”

Those types of ventures need funding and Lou Anne says the College is interested in setting up an angel-investment system to help faculty members and other people tied to the school launch start-up businesses.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL CROUCH ’10, ’12

The idea, says Lou Anne, is to generate start-up capital to help get those businesses off the ground. It would fill, at least partly, the gap between a would-be Guilfordian entrepreneur’s out-of-pocket spending and more traditional venture-capital and private-equity investments.

Lou Anne says this seed money would not be philanthropic but rather real investment money. “We’re looking at whatever efforts we can to help researchers, alumni, students turn their work into commercial enterprises,” she says. “When the project or program succeeds, so will the investors.”

•

New address for Friends Center Friends Center has moved into its new digs at Worth House I, after having spent nearly a decade at the Campbell House.

Wess Daniels, William R. Rogers Director of Friends Center and Quaker Studies, said the program was in need of more space, and that Worth House I will allow it to more easily host meetings and classes.

The move was motivated by a good problem, says Wess. “At Campbell House, we just couldn’t get all the Quaker Leadership Scholars Program students in there,” he says. “I have taught classes at the Campbell House, but they have to be pretty small classes. Worth House I, also gives us more room to bring in interns and grad assistants. And we usually have three or four Friends Center Fellows, who are work study students, and this provides a little more space for them to have a desk and to set up.”

Wess said the new space will also be easier for students to find.

“It’s not too far from where we used to be,” he says. “But there’s a walkway up to (Worth House I), you can see the middle of campus from it (it’s 250 steps from the quad), and if you’re in the middle of campus, you can point to the house. The Campbell House is on campus, but George White Road ran between it, and most of the rest of campus. It felt almost like it was on a different campus.”

Friends Center celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, and, Wess says, “nurtures the Quaker ethos of the college and the spiritual life of our community.”

The Center is open to students of all faiths, and offers workshops and classes on community building.

Worth House I was once the Alumni House. Wess says he connected with representatives of Black Alumni of Guilford College (BAGC), Alumni and Friends of Guilford College (AFOG) and Save Guilford College “to ensure that this space continues to be a home for alumni, and we are excited that this move can deepen our connection to the entire alumni community.”

W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U | 7

AWESOME ALUMNI

CAPED AND QUEER, JUST LIKE HER Writer Jadzia Axelrod '02 is helping bring queer superheroes to life. Her fans are loving every page of it.

Jadzia Axelrod '02 couldn’t walk into a book store and find an LGBTQIA+ section for young adults. Those books, almost entirely self-published or put out by small niche presses, were often shelved separately from other romances in bookstores.

“Guilford certainly has a very

welcoming vibe to encourage who you really are. A lot of colleges do, but Guilford especially.”

— Jadzia Axelrod ’02

The world has changed, of course, and

lot of the emotions Taylor feels are absolutely the emotions I felt. Even with all the sci-fi rigamarole that goes on it's still very grounded in my experiences and what I wanted to say.”

“Guilford certainly has a very welcoming vibe to encourage who you really are,” she says. “A lot of colleges do, but Guilford especially.”

Jadzia is helping lead the charge.

Jadzia has been a fan of comics and

Her DC Comics graphic novel Galaxy:

of course, but Jadzia drew on her own

superheroes since her father gave her a

The Prettiest Star was released last year

experiences growing up in Tennessee

Flash comic book he’d bought at a yard

and tells the story of Taylor, an alien

and later at Guilford College, where she

sale when she was maybe eight.Through

princess who has been living on Earth

came out as queer, to tell Taylor’s story.

the years, it’s been easy for Jadzia to

disguised as a human boy, but who, with

“Are you kidding?” she asks, laughing.

every new chapter, finds the strength

“A trans teenager alone on another

to live her true self. It’s science fiction,

planet? A lot of me is in that book. A

8 | W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U

draw comparisons between superheroes and the LGBTQIA+ community.

“This idea that there is a life that

PHOTO COURTESY JADZIA A XELROD ’02

GROWING UP IN THE EAR LY 1990s,

you have, that other people don't

what they are,” she says. “That sort of

necessarily have and that life is

visceral excitement was perfect for a

more colorful than the life you're

comic book. I was hooked.”

experiencing, a life that is often more

Galaxy: The Prettiest Star, which

rewarding and more exhilarating, but

earned sweeping praise from readers

also more dangerous,” Jadzia says. “A

and critics, was so successful DC Comics

lot of the (LGBTQIA+) community can

approached Jadzia to put together

relate to that. Sometimes you wear very

The DC Book of Pride: A Celebration of

different clothes in that life than your

DC’s LGBTQIA+ Characters, which was

day-to-day life. There's a very powerful

released in June.

queer metaphor in superheroes. I think

In July, DC released Hawkgirl,

that's why a lot of queer people love that

Jadzia’s newest comic. Hawkgirl is the

concept so much.”

latest adventures of one of DC’s most

In the same breath Jadzia admits there’s a darker side to that superhero

heterosexual superhero, which is out of

metaphor many in the LGBTQIA+

the norm for Jadzia.

community can relate to. “Sometimes

These days Jadzia is married to Mae

you have to keep your secret for your

(Kalwaic) Axelrod. The two met when

own safety and the safety of the people

they lived next door to each other as

you love,” she says.

first years in Binford Hall.

The exception in Jadzia’s life was

Jadzia says it’s “sad and frustrating”

Guilford, a nest lovingly lined with

to see teens today experiencing what

students and faculty who accepted her and many other LGBTQIA+ students.

“Being at Guilford was more like me

old self, but not now.

“It's such a wonky sci-fi idea that

feels like many of the same cultural forces fighting against LGBTQIA+

you would never be able to pull off

representation that she experienced

joining up with my Justice League pals,

effectively in any other medium even

growing up. She’s determined to do

rather than going back to my secret

with computer special effects being

her part in affirming their place in the

identity at home,” she says.

Jadzia was raised on the Sunday

H AW G I R L A R T B Y O T T O S C H M I D T. © D C C O M I C S

popular superheroes. Hawkgirl is a

world through her writing.

It’s weird,” she says, “Obviously I'm not

comics section. She still has that Flash

the first one to write a gay comic book.

comic book her father gave her. Even

But it does feel like there's such a dearth

now, all these years later, she remembers

in publishing in general and comics in

the panels from one scene in particular

particular. Mainstream comic creators

of Flash trying to be his superhero self

are rarely given an opportunity to really

and his secret identity at the same time.

tell these stories. I’m happy I get to do

In it, Flash moves through the room

it. And I understand the responsibility

in a blink taking off his costume and

of that. But also I'm a little angry that

putting on clothes and taking off his

there's not more of us out there.”

costume again, over and over trying to

That anger pales to the joy she gets

be two people at once, a metaphor that

from readers of her work. “I've heard

might have been lost on Jadzia’s 8-year-

several times that people have never seen themselves in a book before until

TOP: JADZIA A XELROD’S 2022 GR APHIC NOVEL GAL A X Y: THE PRET TIEST STAR TELLS THE STORY OF AN ALIEN PRINCESS TR APPED IN THE BODY OF A HUMAN BOY; RIGHT: JADZIA'S NEWEST PROJECT IS WRITING A NEW HAWKGIRL SERIES FOR DC COMICS.

they read Galaxy,” she says. "They come up to me and say things like, ‘This is such a really beautiful book,’ and, “I wish I had been around when I was younger.’ That’s very humbling.”

•

W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U | 9

JEFF & LOUISE: A LOVE STORY 32 YEARS IN THE MAKING In 1991, Jeff Albright missed his chance to confess his feelings to fellow first year Louise Lesserman. More than three decades later, he got a second chance.

But this spring day was different.

wishes before Louise and her mother

’94 and Louise Lesserman stood in

Jeff and Louise didn't know what

drove off. Then came the tears. Jeff

the parking lot near Binford Hall, the

to say. Louise’s car was packed. She

and Louise became fast friends since

residence hall where Louise lived in her

was heading home to Tennessee and

first-year orientation that year, and

first year at Guilford. The place where

wasn’t coming back. Instead, she was

Jeff wondered if he might never see

both sat on the outdoor steps at night

transferring to a college in Nashville so

Louise again.

talking about nothing and everything

she could be closer to her boyfriend.

until the small hours of morning.

There were hugs and smiles and well

“I just remember dropping to my knees and crying,” recalls Jeff. “I had

LOUISE AND JEFF ALBRIGHT SITTING ON THE STAIRS OUTSIDE BINFORD HALL, WHERE JEFF PROPOSED TO LOUISE LAST YEAR. 1 0 | W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U

PHOTO BY ROBERT BELL ’11

IN THE SPRING OF 1991, Jeff Albright

S UR R O UND ED BY T HEIR C HIL D R E N , LO U I S E A N D J EF F G O T M A R R IED IN B E AU FO R T, N .C . B ELO W, F IR S T Y E A R S LO U I S E A N D J EF F O U T S ID E HER B IN FO R D H A L L D O R M R O O M IN 1 9 91 .

so many feelings for Louise but never

stairs. He was holding a ring. This time

acted on them. Now she was leaving,

there were no tears, only smiles.

and I remember thinking I’d missed

On a Sunday afternoon in July, Jeff

my chance.”

ferry that connects Beaufort, N.C.,

ago. Love is kind, it does not boast and

to Sand Dollar Island. They wanted

is not jealous. But above all, love is

the island all to themselves, their

patient. That patience would be tested

six children and Jeff’s best friend, an

because theirs was a love story 32 years

ordained pastor. After the wedding

in the making.

ceremony, everyone ran into the water,

Louise ended up marrying that

splashed around, and began searching

boyfriend after college. A few years

for sand dollars, long a symbol of rebirth

later Jeff married, too. They kept in

and renewal. There were also stories of

touch through phone calls and emails.

Guilford and love and second chances.

Sometimes, when Jeff’s job took him on

They’ve been married three months

the road, they’d even meet for lunch.

now and Jeff and Louise are still trying

“He was like the best friend you could

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LISA ALBRIGHT

and Louise paid for all 40 seats on the

That was more than three decades

news with Jeff, he couldn't believe it.

to make sense of – and celebrate – their

have,” says Louise. “Even after Guilford I

That's when Jeff told Louise that he was

love’s winding journey. “There are times,”

always felt comfortable talking to him.”

also getting divorced.

says Louise, “Where we’ll be watching a

Louise and her husband had three

By now you've probably figured out

children. So did Jeff and his wife. They

the rest. Jeff and Louise reconnected

both had successful careers which

as friends first, but that friendship

meant there was always something to

quickly evolved into dating. “It was like

from bonding in your teenage years in

talk about. They even talked about the

we were those two freshmen back at

one big way: Time is too short being coy

troubles each was having in their own

Guilford,” he says. “I laugh more in one

or playing games. “We don’t look at it as

marriages.

day around her than I had in one year.”

we lost 30 years,” says Jeff. “We think

In August of 2022, Jeff and Louise, a

about what we can do with the time we

“I remember telling Jeff, ‘Why does

movie on the couch and I’ll just hit pause and say, ‘How did we get here?’”

Reconnecting in your 50s is different

marriage have to be so hard?’” Louise

couple now, were roaming Guilford’s

have left. Louise saved me. I may have

recalls. “Jeff never pushed me one way

empty campus when they walked past

lost multiple years of my life, but we’re

or the other. He just did what he always

Binford and those same steps they’d

going to make the rest of them count,

does and that’s listen.”

spent so many nights sitting outside

you know?”

In 2019, after separating from

together as first years. They sat down

Louise says she gives Guilford the

her husband, Louise moved to North

to talk. About Guilford, their lives and

credit for her path crossing Jeff’s. “I

Carolina to live with her sister. Her

how grateful they were that 31 years

was only there a year, but it feels like

children were grown, and she wanted

later love gave them a second chance.

my school. How can it not? Look who it

a fresh start. When Louise shared her

That's when Jeff bent to one knee by the

brought to me.”

•

W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U | 1 1

PRESIDENT FARMBRY EARLIER THIS YEAR SIGNED A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE UNIVERSIT Y OF PRETORIA.

‘MY SECOND HOME’ ASK KYLE FAR MBRY why he so

student at Germantown Friends School

who were political prisoners and

loves his adopted second home of

in Philadelphia.

learning firsthand about people whose

South Africa and listen to his stories

He still remembers his sophomore

lives have been turned upside down by

of walking through Cape Town under

year at George Washington University

the apartheid government, and some

the immense brow of Table Mountain

sitting in his dorm room, brimming with

of its actions and then finding ways

and the heavy weight of over 130 years

joy and pride when Nelson Mandela

to rebuild or to build a society that

of history in Johannesburg — a history

was released from prison. He still

they wanted to build. I just remember

that closely parallels that of the U.S.

remembers his first visit to the country

thinking how I wanted to spend more

But it’s not enough to listen. You

in 2002 staring out at Table Mountain

time there and I wanted others to see

need to watch. The eyes first. See how

and the Atlantic Ocean crashing

this place that was so special to me.

Kyle’s widen. And the smile. Subtle at

against the shores.

“Really, for the past 21 years the

first before stretching to a grin. South

“Everything about the country — the

Africa is the faraway country in the

geography, the people, the food — is just

life. It's been like my second home.”

throes of upheaval Kyle read about and

beautiful to me,” he says. “I remember

It’s a part of his life Kyle wants to

talked about in class as a middle school

that first visit, hearing from people

share with Guilford students, faculty

1 2 | W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U

country has been such a big part of my

PHOTOS BY ROBERT BELL ’11

President Kyle Farmbry has always had a special connection with South Africa. He wants that for Guilford, too.

and staff. He’s devoted many hours and stories doing just that. Just this year the College signed agreements with two South African universities, the University of Pretoria and the University of Venda, to examine partnerships that would benefit both parties. In September, Venda staff and faculty traveled to Guilford to meet with the College’s faculty and administrators to learn more about one another. Earlier this summer, members of Guilford’s inaugural MBA class traveled to Cape Town to study and focus on the entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystem of the country.

Kyle envisions faculty and student exchanges and joint research that could lead to additional revenue streams for both institutions. He wants the College

PRESIDENT FARMBRY, DASIA WASHINGTON '23 AND LATAYLIN MA XWELL '23, GRAB A SELFIE ON A PRIVATE RESERVE IN SOUTH AFRICA THIS SUMMER.

to help find private funding that would enable local high school students to visit

“A lot of times these trips are life-

thinking they knew what they wanted

South Africa as a means of exposing the

changing,” he says. “So many times I’ve

to do for a career but now they see a

students to Guilford.

seen through my students who have

whole bunch of other things in front of

Besides helping grow Guilford,

gone on South Africa trips that they

them they might want to engage in.”

Kyle says trips to South Africa help

want to go again or somewhere else.

“And, really, that’s what college —

students grow, too. He says he loves

I’ve had former students who had an

especially Guilford College — is about.

seeing students and faculty experience

amazing experience and then have

Putting these opportunities in front of

the range of emotions he first felt

decided that they suddenly are thinking

students to discover what they really

21 years ago.

about the Peace Corps or they’re

want to do with their lives.”

•

W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U | 1 3

Bright Bulbs These five Guilford entrepreneurs found a problem and became the solution.

The original charter of Guilford College, drafted during the horse-and-buggy years of the 19th century, established a boarding school dedicated to the advancement of science and literature.

These days, the College is equally dedicated to the advancement of the next Bill Gates.

This is not a pivot by Guilford. Ideas have always taken seed in our students just as they have by those who developed a vaccine to suppress a global pandemic and made AI a reality. Those innovations might never have happened without allowing change makers the space to fail, as well as the support to try again. In that sense, the College has always been fertile ground to discover those light bulb moments. Here are five alumni who saw a problem in their corner of the world and set out to correct it. Some people call those change agents entrepreneurs.

We call them... Guilfordians.

by Robert Bell ’11

14 | W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U

THE VIDEOGRAPHER

Telling stories through video and passion

I

n her own unblushing words, Natalie Hodge ’01 was a serial business failure. She sold cosmetics, a career that lasted about as long as this sentence. Next came real estate.

“I thought I couldn’t have any less passion for something

when I sold cosmetics, but then I got into real estate,” she says, only half-joking. “It just wasn’t for me.”

Neither was the travel company she opened. She didn’t know it at the time, but with each failed venture, Natalie was learning.

More important she was closing in on finding her true passion of telling stories and helping others find their own passion.

Today Natalie owns and runs Rudy’s Girl Media in Martinsville, Va, a multimedia content development company.

In November, she’s launching her own cable channel station.

RGMTV will air original TV shows, independent movies and lifestyle content across southern Virginia.

The difference between Rudy’s Girl and all the others that came before it? “Passion,” she says. “I know people make money doing things they don’t love but that is not my recommendation for a great life. When you love what you do, it’s the best feeling in the world.”

“I know people make money doing things they don’t love but that is not my recommendation for a great life.

When you love what you do, it’s the best feeling in the world.”

— Natalie Hodge ’01

Natalie comes from a family of entrepreneurs that goes back to her grandfather and grandmother, with third-grade educations, opening a convenience store in Martinsville in the late 1940s. All these years later she’s never forgotten those roots. “My grandparents were African-Americans with limited educations who dared to think of themselves in a different way. That’s always been true for me.”

A few years ago, Rudy’s Girl started a YouTube channel, Hometown Hustle, which highlights successful businesses in 11 southwest Virginia cities and offers entrepreneurial inspiration and advice for others. Natalie says the channel is geared toward high school or college students and young entrepreneurs just getting started.

“Anyone stepping into entrepreneurship who might need some help filling in the gaps to their business,” she says. “I want to be there to help them. Because there’s something I really love about being an entrepreneur and making those decisions and being out on your own, you know?”

W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U | 1 5

K Y L E K I S ER ’ 16, HI S W IF E C A R LY K I S ER ’ 1 6 A N D T H E IR C HIL D R E N , JAC K A N D AU D R E Y.

THE CEO

Has Kyle Kiser’s startup found a remedy for high drug prices?

K

yle Kiser ’06 wasn’t one of those entrepreneurial wunderkinds out of college. Are you kidding? He couldn’t wait to start work in his family’s employment

benefits business and hoped to work happily ever after.

Like most entrepreneurs, that didn’t last. Kyle became frustrated with one of the most basic questions of the healthcare industry: Who picks up the check?

At the time there were two options for managing health care costs: The provider shifted costs to the patient or the employer.

“All I know is I wasn’t looking to sell a product or be a cog in the wheel. I wanted something a little more purposeful.”

make better (read: less

— Kyle Kiser ’06

went looking for a solution.

“There was no third option,” says Kyle, “so the more I worked in the business, the more I grew frustrated.”

But with that frustration came curiosity. Kyle has always

expensive) decisions when prescribing medications.

Like all entrepreneurs, Kyle, a Guilford Trustee who is married to Carly Matteson Kiser ’06, encountered a problem and The problem: Two out of

three Americans delay or ignore health care because of the costs associated with medications.

been intrigued at how things work. Just have lunch with him

The solution: Give doctors the data they need to provide

at a restaurant. Chances are while you’re looking at the menu

alternate medications or pharmacies that are more affordable.

Kyle is looking at how the staff is working together — or not.

A CEO's income is nice, but Kyle says the money doesn’t come

“I’ve always liked looking at systems,” he says. “It’s interesting

close to the satisfaction of helping others. He knew as a first-

to me how the kitchen interacts with the hostess staff and how

year at Guilford he wanted to do something meaningful after

they both interact with the bar. It’s all a series of small systems

college. He just didn’t know what.

working within one larger system. If you like to observe and

“All I know is I wasn’t looking to sell a product or be a cog in

think about systems, the American health care system is about

the wheel. I wanted something a little more purposeful,” he

the most complicated one you can observe in the world.”

says. “I was clueless as to what that was, but isn’t that what

Today Kyle is CEO of Arrive Health, which helps physicians 1 6 | W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U

Guilford helps you discover? Your purpose in life?”

THE PRODUCER

Brian Lowit gives voice to under-the-radar bands

B

rian Lowit ’98 didn’t wait to graduate from Guilford before showing off his entrepreneurial side. He was a sophomore spinning records at WQFS, the College’s

radio station, when he seized his opportunity.

Brian grew up in Falls Church, Va., a suburb of Washington D.C., and was a big fan of the city’s legendary independent punk music scene. “I wanted to be more than just a fan of the music,” he says. “I wanted to be more involved in it, but it

“I wanted to be more than just a fan of the music. I wanted to be more involved in it.”

— Brian Lowit ’98

was frustrating being so far removed.”

Using connections he had with bands and other producers back home, he started his own record label. That’s the truncated

story behind Lovitt Records, which has produced albums for more than 1,000 bands nationwide. Over the last three years at Guilford, Brian ran Lovitt Records out of the dorm room and apartments he lived in. Most start-ups require heavy support from venture capitalists. Brian worked in the College’s mailroom and as a tour guide for Admission, using his paychecks to fund the business.

The first album he produced was for a Washington punk band. Lovitt Records sold out all 1,000 albums. Brian wasn’t just the producer; he loaded the albums in his car and drove to record stores in Greensboro and across the state, persuading store owners to stocks their bins with them.

“I took that money and invested it back into another album for another band and just grew the business,” says Brian, a member of Guilford’s Board of Trustees.

He still runs Lovitt Records and he also manages Dischord Records, a legendary punk label that has evolved into one of the most respected and enduring independent labels in the country.

Brian doesn’t just press vinyl for a living. He also scoops ice cream. He opened his own store, Mount Desert Ice Cream, in Washington in 2018.

“Guilford really handed me the opportunity of independence and creative thinking,” he says. “They never shot me down, they always encouraged me. I think that’s why so many people leave Guilford ready to succeed independently.”

W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U | 1 7

THE SCRIBE

Mike Reiney pushes paper’s big comeback

R

Wistful paper executives remember.

That quid-pro-quo business model

Ever since the world became digitized,

works and word of mouth is spreading.

they’ve seen consumers choose screens

“Once you have 20 big customers in your

and clouds over paper and pens. So guess

database and you bend over backwards

which product Mike Reiney ’17, and

for them, word is going to spread,” he

his then-fiance Poojah Patel , chose to

says. “That makes the next sale a

“[The notebooks] were always made in the cheapest form and the ink would just bleed through the paper.

I just thought to myself, ‘Gosh, we can make these so much better.’”

reinvent when they quit their jobs at a

little easier.”

— Mike Reiney ’17

emember paper? Post-its to

the board members help out in their free

stick. Memos to sign. Letters

time and let them know that we can help

to write.

those foundations, too,” says Mike.

tech startup to build The Scribes? Even on paper, an online, luxury notebook company in a highly commoditized market seemed a bad idea.

Mike never saw it that way. Before starting The Scribes, he attended trade shows around the country. His suitcase would be filled with the obligatory promotional materials — keychains, koozies and notebooks. But of all the giveaways, it was the cheap, flimsy notebooks that made Mike cringe. Like many entrepreneurs, Mike saw a need not being filled and set out to fill that space.

“They were always made in the cheapest form and the ink would bleed,” he says. “I just thought to myself, ‘Gosh, we can make these so much better.’ ” And The Scribes do. Last year, the company grossed more than $1 million in sales and is on pace to do even better this year.

The company has carved a niche in the highly competitive personal notebook industry not just by what they sell but what they do. The Scribes has donated thousands of notebooks to Boys & Girls Clubs, juvenile detention centers and Title I schools. When they go looking for new clients, like they did with Kirkland & Ellis, one of the largest law firms in the country, they first do their homework.

“We want to know which foundations 1 8 | W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U

THE BAKER

Dima Kash needed dough so she baked a plan to stay home

M

any people discovered a love of baking during the pandemic. Dima Kash ’12 realized her passion could be more than a hobby.

She was working for a startup accelerator in Cleveland

when, in 2020, the world almost overnight pivoted to social distancing, Zoom and face masks. She was already on maternity leave taking care of Mark, her two-month-old son.

That’s when she decided to give baking sweets a shot.

For years she’d been dabbling at baking, a hobby she started

“I think practice makes perfect whether that’s in the kitchen or in how I brand myself.”

limiting how man people

— Dima Kash ’12

Quarantine Cakes.

could gather in one place, Dima switched her baker’s cap for a marketer’s hat and — voila! — The eight pre-sliced

cakes were a hit from the start. “Everyone wanted one,” says Dima, who was selling a dozen Quarantine Cakes a day.

living in Mary Hobbs Hall. From cupcakes, she advanced

Business has slowed down a bit since the pandemic’s end,

to cookies, then cakes. Today, Cleveland Sweets is one of

but orders still keep Dima busy. Her customers range from the

Cleveland's most popular bakeries, selling indecision-inducing

neighbor down the street to the City of Cleveland. If you want a

arrays of cookies and cakes.

wedding cake in June, it’s best to get on Dima’s schedule sooner

Two not-so-minor business decisions differentiate Cleveland

rather than later. Such is the demand for Cleveland Sweets.

Sweets from the rest of the city’s pastry pack. First, Dima runs

What makes her success even sweeter is Dima taught

Cleveland Sweets out of her home. That eliminates one of her

herself everything. From sales to inventory to marketing

company’s biggest expenses (rent) and gives her a nice home-

— most of her customers come through word of mouth or

business tax break at the end of the year. She has a license

Instagram (@ClevelandSweets). “I’m pretty dedicated to my

and is inspected regularly. Second, unlike her baking days at

practice,” she says. “I think practice makes perfect whether

Guilford, all of Dima’s goodies are made from scratch. “You

that’s in the kitchen or in how I brand myself. From where I

really can taste the difference,” she says.

started up until now I feel like there's been a lot of growth in

Early in the pandemic, when health officials suggested

such a short time. There’s room to grow and that excites me.”

•

W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U | 1 9

HARVEST TIME The seasons are numbered for the last apple tree from a 19th century Guilford orchard.

The race is on to learn how it survived all these years.

JUST YAR DS FROM THE EAR LY College at Guilford’s classrooms, in the shadow of Bryan Hall, stands the sole survivor of a Quaker orchard that was planted in the 19th century.

A gnarled tree, its weathered bark a mottled, stony gray, has borne witness to more than a century of Guilford’s

GUILFORD'S CENTURY-OLD APPLE TREE HUDDLES AGAINST TIME AT THE CORNER OF GEORGE FOX ROAD AND QUADRANGLE DRIVE. LEFT, WOMEN REST IN GUILFORD'S ORCHARD IN THE 1920s.

development from what is now the intersection of George Fox Road and Quadrangle Drive. It still produces apples in late summer and early fall, but its remaining years may be few.

cabling it together would only make it

That’s why some are now trying to

weaker. But, its longevity could provide

preserve its legacy. Diane Flynt, author

some valuable insights.

of Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived, a history

“We are looking for varieties that are

of apple cultivation in the region, last

disease-resistant and will flourish in hot, humid conditions,” she says. “And this

nurseries for grafting to produce more

College Art Gallery, brought the tree to

tree has really had no special treatment.

trees of that variety. She also gathered

Diane’s attention last year.

It’s not been sprayed as it would in a

and sent leaf samples to Washington State University for DNA testing.

“I really want to make sure that we

Not much is known about Guilford's apple tree or the orchard where it once thrived. A photo taken around the

commercial orchard, or given any kind of disease prevention. Yet, it’s survived.”

What she would like to see is perhaps

preserve the genetic material,” says

turn of the 20th century (above) shows

a small orchard with about a half dozen

Diane. “That tree could come down in an

a group of women lounging under

trees grown with the cuttings she

ice storm easily, it could be blown over in

apple trees in the campus orchard, but

gathered. “They’ll still be there when

a heavy summer thunderstorm.”

exactly when the orchard was planted

the grand old dame hits the ground,

is not known. Diane said the center

which hopefully won’t be for a dozen

of the College’s last tree is gone, and

years or so,” Diane says.

Terry Hammond '81, retired founding director and curator of the Guilford 2 0 | W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U

•

TREE PHOTO BY ROBERT BELL ’11

year sent cuttings from the tree to

A LENS INTO WAR Photographer Lynsey Addario shares her images and stories at next month’s Bryan Series.

TWO-TIME PULTIZER PRIZE-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario knows the impact a single image can have on a viewer. A scene once snapped is forever lost to time, but the moment captured can stay with viewers forever.

“The best photographs can bring a viewer from the other side of the world into the most intimate or terrifying space in someone else’s life in an instant,” says Lynsey.

On Nov. 9, Lynsey will try to do just that when she shares her images and stories about the human toll of war as part of Guilford College’s 2023-24 Bryan Series of lectures.

Armed with only a Nikon camera, Lynsey has documented wars and conflicts over the past 15 years, but

have a platform if myself and others aren’t out there documenting their stories."

Lynsey also wants to

For tickets to the 2023-24 Bryan Series please go to guilford.edu/bryanseries

for the Bryan Series kicked off last month with pilot Sully Sullenberger.

Tickets to hear Lynsey

it’s not so much the conflicts she

share with Bryan Series

and future Bryan Series

documents as it is the people impacted.

attendees the “story behind the story”

speakers Charles Bolden, a two-

“Those are the stories I focus on, the

of being a wartime photographer in

time Space Shuttle commander, and

people who need to be seen and heard

Ukraine working for The New York

distinguished news anchor Judy

from because they’re the ones who don’t

Times. The 19th subscription season

Woodruff are still available.

•

W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U | 2 1

FACULTY PROFILE

EDUCATING ETHICAL LEADERS Philosophy professor Marius Pascale doesn’t teach students right and wrong, but rather how to see new perspectives.

CEOS PL AYING FAST AND LOOSE

in the world today. “The desire by so many

goods — before tossing everything into

with the rules. Family members sharing

people to ignore ethics, professional

the dumpsters behind the store.

their Netflix password. Politicians

ethics, codes of ethics, there’s been

From a business perspective, the

getting caught with their hands where

a strong reaction to that. I sense a

logic seemed simple: The company

they shouldn’t be. Ethical questions

strong push to make things better for

was committed to selling fresh food

these days seem to come fast and

themselves and for other communities.”

to its customers and the move made

furious from large corporations to

In a sense, Marius sees himself in

financial sense, given that the healthy

Guilford’s students. He’s always had

tax write off kept the chain profitable,

small-town churches.

the innate curiosity to be drawn to

which, in turn, kept employees like

some people as an abstract or

An education in ethics can strike

complex, abstract, multidimensional

Marius on the payroll.

indulgent endeavor. But Marius

subjects, ask questions and explore all

Pascale, Visiting Assistant Professor

the sides to an issue.

of Philosophy, points to a handful of students in Guilford’s Class of 2027 as a potent rebuttal.

While poring over the 50-plus fall applicants for the College’s second class of Ethical Leadership Scholarship Fellows (see sidebar), Marius was inspired by the passion found in many of the students’ essays and videos.

“There’s a strong desire for change

disperse to families in need?

“In Guilford students, I think

we are seeing a much more increased propensity and capacity to see the complexity of ethical issues.”

— Professor Marius Pascale

from many of the students, particularly

“It’s a great ethical question to ask of a class,” says Marius. “Which need is more important, or how can we effectively balance them?”

For the record, the grocery store decided to report the pounds of food disposed of to the corporate offices, but quietly arrange for local charities to pick it up.

Marius readily admits that decision

change towards character, towards morality, towards trying to affect

Marius had a different take. What if the food went to area charities to

poses yet another series of ethical His mother likes to tell the story of

questions, and that’s the point. Ethics

positive outcomes,” says Marius, who

Marius once asking her on the trip to

is not always straightforward. There

came to Guilford last summer after

preschool what would happen if he woke

are numerous factors to take into

teaching at Rider University in New

up the next day and the past three years

account. There’s often no perfect

Jersey. “So many of the applicants

of his early life had all been a dream.

answer that leaves you feeling good

— many (Guilford) students, actually

He also remembers working in a

after leaving one of his ethics classes.

— have a desire to define good,

grocery store’s produce section in

Abortions, gun bans, the death penalty,

understand how they can be good

upstate New York to help put himself

the Netflix password you borrow from

themselves and, just as important, be

through college when one of those

your kids at college.

good for others.”

ethical issues arose.

What’s important, he says, is the

Marius says students’ curiosity to

Every week Marius and other

process. There is no universal formula

look at today’s issues with an even more

employees moved around the store,

for thinking through a concrete ethical

critical eye than before might be because

gathering hundreds of pounds of food —

dilemma. One of the many important

of what they’re seeing — or not seeing —

produce, packaged meats, cheese, baked

parts of the process, Marius says,

2 2 | W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U

Help develop our future leaders

PHOTO BY ROBERT BELL ’11

M A R I U S PA S C A L E S AYS M A N Y GU IL FO R D S T U D EN T S “ H AV E A D E S IR E TO D EF IN E G O O D, U N D ER S TA N D H O W T HE Y C A N B E G O O D T HEM S ELV E S A N D, J U S T A S IM P O R TA N T, B E G O O D FO R O T HER S .”

is intersectionality — the consideration

exposed to much more. Not just more

of marginalized groups, cultures and

information, but also more perspectives,

perspectives when making decisions.

and more experiences, both their own and

Marius teaches both normative and

others. I think they've become much more

applied ethics classes at the College —

willing to recognize that there are different

ethics, medical ethics, ethics of data,

perspectives to a lot of things.”

environmental ethics, philosophy of law,

He loves when students start to see those

philosophy of horror and death. He says

differing perspectives because that’s when

Guilford students are open to considering

the passion starts to take hold. “They take

other views in large part because most of

what they know and what others know

the College’s faculty long ago incorporated

and … use it to both understand their own

the concept into their courses.

position and understand the positions of

“In Guilford students, I think we are

What is the role of Guilford College in developing tomorrow's leaders with good character?

At a time when many see a crisis in leadership around the world, Guilford is answering this question through the Ethical Leadership Fellowship Scholarship program.

Now in its second year, the Ethical Leadership Fellowship Scholarship program teaches Guilfordian scholars to be more than just effective leaders. The program also nurtures ethical leaders who will carry those values, virtues and visions with them into their lives after Guilford.

Ethics, inspired by the College’s Quaker ethos, have always been a cornerstone of Guilford’s curriculum. The Ethical Leadership Fellowship program goes even deeper. The Ethical Leadership Fellowship Scholarship is a four-year, merit-based program in which students learn more about developing strong ethical and character traits through classes, conversations and campus and community leadership projects.

Guilfordians who want to help grow the Ethical Leadership Scholarship program can donate through the QR code below.

others and better develop a deeper, maybe

seeing a much more increased propensity

even newer perspective,” says Marius.

and capacity to see the complexity of

“That’s when students learn and grow. Maybe

ethical issues,” he says. “Students are

even see the world in a whole different

growing up in environments where they're

perspective — in their work and their lives.”

• W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U | 2 3

ATHLETICS

GOOD LUCK CATCHING #4 If you think keeping up with former Guilford All-American Adam Smith ’16 on the football field is hard, try doing it off the field.

THIS TIME OF YEAR ADAM SMITH ‘16 looks and acts as unassuming as a high school business teacher, which is good since that’s what he’s paid to do.

Springtime, a season of change, is a little different.

That’s when Mr. Smith at Springbrook High School in Hyattsville, Md., takes on the role of Adam Smith, wide receiver for the Carolina Cobras, Greensboro’s professional football team in the National Arena League.

You think playing professional football is demanding? Try first managing five classrooms four days a week before hopping in your Jeep Wrangler for a six-hour drive to Greensboro to squeeze in a Friday practice before Saturday night’s game.

Within an hour or so after the game, Adam’s back in the Jeep for the ride back to Maryland, where some of Mr. Smith’s biggest fans — his students —

A DA M S MI T H ' 16 L ED T HE N AT I O N A L A R EN A L E AGUE W I T H 2 1 TO U C HD O W N S T HI S S U M M E R , IN C LU D IN G T HR EE F R O M K I C KO F F R E T U R N S .

are waiting Monday morning to see “Yeah, I guess you could say it was a

professional football player on the side.

really good year,” he says. “I had a lot

USFL. He also had a private workout

of fun.”

with an XFL team.

“It can be hard,” says Adam. “Actually

the Canadian Football League and the

it’s very difficult, but I guess that’s how

The biggest fault Cobras coach James

At 29, he knows there are fewer

much I love the game. It’s always been a

Fuller can find with Adam is that there’s

football games in front of him than

part of my life and I love it so much.”

only one of him. “If I could clone him and

behind him. He’s hoping for a chance

Football has loved Adam back, too,

get two or three of him I’d be happy,” he

to play on a bigger stage but is grateful

over the years, but nothing like the past

says. “He does so much for this team. I

for any stage, really. “We’re going to see

season, his best year ever. Adam racked

hope other, bigger leagues take a chance

where life takes me here in the coming

up nearly 1,300 all-purpose yards and

on him because he’s worth taking a

months,” says Adam. “Everybody

21 touchdowns en route to All-League

chance on. He’s that good.”

dreams of playing in the NFL, that

honors for the Cobras. His three kickoff

In fact, Adam’s season has caught the

would be huge. I know I can’t play

returns for touchdowns also led the

attention of bigger, outdoor leagues.

forever but I want to experience the

league.

He has spoken with team officials in

highest level I can.”

24 | W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U

•

PHOTO COURTESY OF ADAM SMITH ’16

their business teacher, who dabbles as a

Master’s students, master jugglers Four of Guilford’s 2023-24 Presidential Fellows are student athletes. That leaves them with little time to rest.

COMPETING FOR THE WOMEN'S soccer team is one of Gracie

covered and collect a stipend. But with only so many hours in a

fulfilled away from the public eye, is her pursuit of a master’s

week, how do they pull off three jobs at once? “Google calendar

in business administration, a degree that will set her on a path

is my friend,” says Gracie. “Without it, I don’t know where I’d be.”

for her career.

All four student-athlete Fellows could have made life easier

Those athletic and academic jobs are braided together,

on themselves and not played sports this year. Instead they

but to make them possible, Gracie and three other Quaker

took advantage of the extra year of eligibility granted to

student athletes have taken on third jobs. Since August,

athletes because of COVID-19.

Gracie, Julius Burch ’23, Grace Calus ’23 and Lydia Saunders ‘23

“My view of college is you have to pay for it so why not get

have been working at Guilford as the College’s second class of

the most out of every single day,” says Grace. “When I’m gone

Presidential Fellows.

and graduated, I’ll have a nine-to-five job and I won’t have

They work 20 hours a week supporting departments across the College on key projects.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL CROUCH ’10, ’12

In exchange the Fellows have tuition, room and board

Mayer's '23 two full-time jobs at Guilford. Gracie’s second job,

these recreational and fellowship opportunities. I’m going to take advantage of everything available.”

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GR AC E C A LU S ' 2 3 , LY D I A S AU N D ER S ' 2 3 , J U L I U S B U R C H , ' 2 3 A N D GR AC IE M AY ER ' 2 3 A R E PA R T O F GU IL FO R D'S 2 0 2 3 -24 C O H O R T O F P R E S ID EN T I A L F EL LO W S .

W W W. G U I L F O R D . E D U | 2 5

COMMUNITY NOTES

Anita Gail Jones continues her father’s storytelling ways Anita Gail Jones ’76 grew up in southwest

out loud. I couldn't really hear where the

Georgia listening at the knee to one of her

problems were in the written word until

favorite storytellers, her father Silas Jones.

I was listening to the spoken word. It’s

“He would tell these stories that started

infinitely a part of my process to marry

as a true story about growing up but then

the two and go back and forth.”

he would embellish them, turn them

Anita’s book is the first of a two-book

into tall tales and they were amazing,”

deal signed with publisher Henry Holt

says Anita, who would go on to become

and Company. The second book, with

a storyteller herself at schools in and

a working title of Headrag, is about a

around San Francisco. “I learned so much

young woman from southwest Georgia

about narrative and pacing listening to

who moves to New York to become a

my dad and his stories.”

model in 1985. The story is inspired by

These days Anita has her own story

Anita’s own journey to New York as a

to tell. It’s the one about a writer whose father planted a story in her years ago that has finally come to light. The Peach Seed, a time-traveling love story that toggles from the Civil Rights Movement in Albany, Ga., to the 1700s and the shores of Senegal. In between are two teenagers separated for decades but are now reunited.

The book was released in August after being named a finalist in the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially

model and the struggles and racism she

“Really, all I’ve ever done after

Guilford is create jobs for myself.

That’s what Guilford teaches you to do. You’ll have opportunities for sure but it also prepares you to make your own way.”

— Anita Gail Jones ’76

Engaged Fiction.

faced along the way.

“Because of my frustrations with the industry I started writing,” says Anita, who began writing the book in the 1980s. Anita was a Fine Arts major at Guilford. She remembers James McMillan, who led Guilford’s Art Department, telling her one day that she would have to create a job for herself after Guilford. “That really floored me,” she says. “I thought ‘aren't you supposed to be telling me what my job paths are? Aren’t you supposed to be

Anita didn’t know it as a child, but those oral stories passed down by her father would come back to help

preparing me for a certain job?’”

It wasn’t until later in life that James’ words resonated with

her when she sat down to start writing The Peach Seed in 2006.

Anita. “Really, all I’ve ever done after Guilford is create jobs

“When I was writing, I always needed to hear it,” she says.

for myself. That’s what Guilford teaches you to do. You’ll have

“When I was struggling with a section I would always speak it

opportunities but it prepares you to make your own way.”

Newton Cowan ’89 was installed as associate pastor for pastoral care at First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro in July. An Economics major at Guilford, he first worked in sales and entered the ministry at mid-career.

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Don Edwards ’89, who has years of experience as a hot air balloon pilot, has been named the executive director of the Carolina BalloonFest. Don has worked as the event director for the Albuquerque (N.M.) International Balloon Fiesta since 2010.

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Brandon Rothfuss '15 is the new Director of Revenue for the Greensboro Swarm, the NBA G League affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets. Brandon, who played soccer at Guilford and later professionally for the Memphis Americans, previously worked in development and partnership marketing for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies.

Leslie Alexander ‘95 became the new Superintendent of Watauga (N.C.) County Schools in August.

An Education major at Guilford, she was most recently the Chief Human Resource Officer and Area Superintendent of Leadership Development of Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County Schools.

Robby Poteat ‘07, a former men’s assistant basketball coach at Guilford, is Georgia Tech’s new executive associate athletics director for development and executive director of athletics development. Robby spent the past 14 years as an athletics administrator at the University of Dayton.

We Want Your News Share your news with classmates and friends! Submit your Community Notes online to our Alumni Directory via magazine@guilford.edu. The deadline for the April 2024 issue is February 1.

Note: Community Notes may appear in print or online. Please share information that is appropriate for all audiences.

IN MEMORIAM

REMEMBERING GUILFORDIANS The following Guilfordians died recently, and we offer condolences to their families and friends.

A more complete list of obituaries is available on the Community Notes page at www.giving.guilford.edu.

Gertrude Upperman: Passionate Guilford Supporter Gertude Upperman ’69 was among Guilford’s first African-American graduates, a notable achievement to be sure. But what she longed for was to be remembered just like her classmates.

Not as a pioneering Guilford graduate, not as an African-American Guilford graduate. Gertrude, who died Aug. 2 at the age of 76, was frequently described as both through the years. In the spirit of Quaker simplicity, Guilford graduate was fine by her.

Carletta Judd says her sister was proud of her role in shaping Guilford’s history, but that work paled to her passion for the College itself. “She paved the way for other Black students to follow at Guilford — and I’m sure she took pride in that — but her true pride came not in her accomplishments but in the College itself,” says Carletta. “She would brag about the College whenever she had the opportunity.”

Those opportunities came up often.

and staff members, too. Her father,

a family member to experience the

Friends and family say it was not

James Stewart, owned a television

school's Quaker values. “He realized

uncommon for Gertrude to drop a

and electronics repair shop in the

that a Quaker education taught you

reference to her alma mater when she’d

neighborhood. He helped install Dana

basic core values … that everybody has

run into friends at the hair salon or

Auditorium’s first audio system. And

a purpose for being here,” she said. The

waiting in line at the grocery store. “It

it was in Persimmon Grove’s basement

College teaches you the worth of every

was always Guilford this and Guilford

that Jim, Bruce Stewart '61 and Jim

person, no matter what nationality,

that,” says Carletta smiling.

Newlin '60 helped form and hold New

race, color or creed.”

In hindsight, Guilford and Gertrude

Garden Friends School's first classes.

Gertrude Upperman arrived at the

seemed made for each other. She grew up

In a 2012 interview, Gertrude said

across Friendly Avenue two blocks from

she attended Guilford to honor a request

tumultuous years of the Civil Rights

Guilford. The family’s neighborhood was

by her great-gradfather, who worked in

Movement. Gertrude was concerned

home to many of the College’s faculty

Guilford's cafeteria and always wanted

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College in 1965 during some of the most

(Continued on page 30)

during her first few weeks at Guilford

Gertrude graduated with a degree

— but not for herself. She wanted fellow

in Sociology. She moved away from

first-year students to feel as relaxed

Greensboro only to return a few years

as she did at the College. A few weeks

later and spent the rest of her life

service to the College, Gertrude received

after she enrolled, on the advice of

volunteering with different groups on

the Charles C. Hendricks '40 Distinguished

her father, she invited many of those

campus such as serving on the Friends

Service Award, the oldest and most

classmates to her home for a pig pickin’.

of the Library board and taking part in

notable of Guilford’s alumni awards.

As Gertrude recalled, many of her white

presidential search interviews.

classmates were reluctant. They had

She was a charter member of Brothers

organizers of the Black Alumni of Guilford College (BAGC).

In 2019, recognizing the sum of her

Gertrude’s son, Joseph Upperman says his mother was a passionate advocate for

come to Guilford from northern and New

and Sisters in Blackness, the first Black

Guilford. “You could see the love in her

England states and had few encounters

student organization on campus, and

eyes and in her words about Guilford,”

with Black students. Over barbeque and

was a member of the Alumni Association

he says. “When she was talking about

sweet tea, students bonded.

Board of Directors and among the

Guilford, she was always smiling.”

•

Debra Kiliru’s life made others’ lives better Debra Kiliru ’99 always stood tall. Even The daughter of a white Jewish mother when she was frail and dying in the hospital, from New York and a Kenyan father, everyone around her looked up.

Debra grew up in the pineapple fields of Christopher Keiser ’98, who raised two Kenya before mother and daughter moved daughters with Debra, knew that look well. to Durham when Debra was 13. Debra's “That’s how you felt when you spoke to her,” grandfather was instrumental in bringing he says. “Talking to Debra was like you were Quakerism to Kenya, and those Quaker roots always looking up.” led her to Guilford, where she met Chris.

Friends and family say that’s how she Chris says she was not the shy, timid lived her life, too. Debra died unexpectedly first year student. “She was active at April 23 after an extended illness, but not Guilford and the community from the before spending most of her adult life in the beginning,” he says. The two of them service of others. started One Love Roots, a student-led group Gill Green ’99, like Debra, a Bonner that created the Cooperation Celebration Scholar, shared a house off campus with Festival at the College. The festival was Debra and three other Guilford students conceived as a fundraiser to start an their senior year. organic farm in the meadows, where He says Debra spent a lifetime bringing Guilford’s current farm is located. together people of different faiths, races In 2012, the family moved to Ghana, and socioeconomic backgrounds. “She where they ran an organic farmers market. created community wherever she went,” Debra also visited local schools and helped says Gill, who likened his friend to Anansi reform the teaching methods of many of the spider, the mythic figure in West the country’s post-colonial schools. “She African folklore who incited pride and a wanted the schools to reflect what we had sense of invincibility in underdogs. at Guilford, which was less about ‘repeat “Debra loved Anansi,” says Gill, “and that's after me’ and more like ‘think for yourself’ who she was, this positive, elegant person and experiential learning.” who could spin a web and connect all these Debra was instilled with a servant’s people together and magic would happen.” heart and streak for social activism long — Gill Green ’99 For more than 20 years Debra spun those before she showed up at Guilford. Chris webs for a wide range of nonprofits. She says the College nurtured those qualities. designed domestic and international wellness “Guilford was like a blank palette for Debra programs, focused on food and agriculture, to live into her passions and be affected by nutrition education, cultural connections and youth leadership for the type of the type of education you get there,” he says. “Now we’re dozens of schools and nonprofits in North Carolina and beyond. seeing the fruit of her time there play out after her passing.”

“[Debra] was this positive,

elegant person who could spin a web and connect all these people together and magic would happen.”

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Larry Addleton ’64,

Anne Watson Strowd ’49 a

who taught high school chemistry before his love of food and cooking pulled him in another direction, died March 30. Larry left teaching after a few years to open Knightdale (N.C.) Seafood and BBQ, a longtime favorite of locals.

librarian and department administrator at Duke University, died March 28.

Anne and her late husband Elvin ’48, who met in the library at Guilford, traveled to Europe after retiring and were proficient fishermen — even catching some trophy king mackerel.

Georgeann Kivett Pace ’49, an executive secretary with textile giant Burlington Industries in North Carolina, died April 6. Georgeann was an avid craft person and tried every new craft that came down the road. She loved playing bridge and making baby caps for local maternity hospitals throughout the Triad.

Betty Hughes Nichols ’51, one of Greensboro's first women residential builders, died March 8.

Betty graduated from Guilford with a major in English. She went on to earn a master’s in Education at the University of North Carolina and taught high school. She also financed

and built homes around Forest Oaks Country Club.

Charles Gaylord Neelley ’52, a retired Navy Captain, died June 10.

After 30 years of military service, Charles studied art.

His passion for Western art led him to move to Story, Wy., and the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains.

Harry Redfearn, a longtime business man, teacher and mayor of Cedar Point, N.C., died May 6. Harry served as commissioner and mayor for a combined 20 years providing his community, among other things,

the addition of sidewalks and street lights. He also loved to fish and hunt quail.

Sarah Malino, professor of History Emerita, died Sept. 7. Sarah was an active Jewish faculty member connecting students to the community and supporting campus opportunities relating to Jewish faith and practice.

She worked with several former and current faculty members, alumni and students on a collaborative research project of the origins, evolution and impact of 40 years of the Women’s Studies program for a 2013 celebration that coincided with her retirement. She was also a founding board member of the Women's Resource Center and the Guilford County Anti-Racism Alliance.

LAST LOOK

″

″

Joni Robyn Schwabe

and Rob Newman

“

THIS WAS MY SENIOR PHOTO FOR THE YEARBOOK. There wasn’t any social media back then so of course everyone wanted to find a photo that would stand out, you know, for the rest of time. That’s Joni Robyn Schwabe up there with me. We hung out a lot together.

The train station was about a mile from campus (near the corner of West Market Street and Guilford College Road). It’s not there anymore, but the house I lived in my senior year is nearby and still standing. I don’t remember a lot about that day except it wasn’t easy getting up there. A lot of shimmying and shoving, but it was worth it because the photo is still around. I see it every once in a while on the internet. I guess it’s going to be around for the rest of time. I hope so.˝ — Rob Newman ’75

Do you have a photo and memory of Guilford you want to share for Last Look? Send them to Robert Bell at magazine@guilford.edu.

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