Results Oriented
Goals become reality for Longwood’s latest graduates
LONGWOOD STUDENTS do more than just dream about what they want to do after college. They make plans. They listen to and learn from faculty and staff committed to their success. They take advantage of the resources and opportunities Longwood offers. That’s what turns dreams into reality—and it happens at Longwood year in and year out. In these pages you’ll find just a few examples from the Class of 2025.
Kassidy Owens left
Mattie Smith right
HOMETOWN Mechanicsville, Virginia
HOMETOWN Colonial Heights, Virginia
MAJOR Chemistry/ biochemistry
MAJOR Biology
ACTIVITIES Research EXPERT ADVICE Owens knew she wanted to pursue a career in forensic science and thought a major in criminal justice was the way to get there— but that was before she talked with Longwood chemistry professor Dr. Sarah Porter. “She said I should major in chemistry because that would get me to my career goal.” COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT Dr. Jonathan White, former chemistry faculty member. “Dr. White was my research mentor throughout my whole Longwood experience. He is the reason I have succeeded.”
ACTIVITIES Brock Experiences, Cormier Honors College I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW “Speaking to community members [as part of the Yellowstone Brock Experience] on very controversial civic issues that we don’t experience here was extremely eye-opening. I was able to expand my horizons and step out of my comfort zone.” COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT Dr. Ruth Holliday, biological and environmental sciences. “I have never been more grateful for a connection or mentorship. She is the kindest and most caring professor I have ever met, and I have never seen someone value her students the way she does.”
Master’s program in forensic science, VCU Paid graduate teaching assistantships
Jaylen Fedderman
William Poch
HOMETOWN Suffolk, Virginia
HOMETOWN Centreville, Virginia
MAJOR Kinesiology
MAJOR English/secondary education
ACTIVITIES Internship Adult mental health
and substance abuse case manager at Horizon Behavioral Health Wellness Center at Campbell, Rustburg, Virginia
Payden McGuire HOMETOWN Rustburg, Virginia
ACTIVITIES Internship
A PLACE TO GROW Fedderman served in leadership positions for several student organizations. “It meant a lot watching people and organizations grow, as well as having the chance to discover aspects of myself that I was unaware of.”
PREP SCHOOL “Longwood has prepared me to be a successful teacher and an active community member. My student teaching experience allowed me to connect with students and create an inclusive environment. Longwood has taught me a lot about myself, specifically how to balance my goals, recognize my strengths and grow as both a teacher and an individual.”
COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT Dr. Jonathan Page, multicultural affairs. “Dr. Page mentored me through my journey of applying to graduate school and as a campus leader.”
MAJOR Social work ACTIVITIES Internship, research INTERNSHIPS = SUCCESS “What Longwood did to prepare me for success was the requirement of two internships. My junior and senior internships at the Department of Social Services … enabled me to apply the knowledge I learned in the classroom to real-world practice. I worked with clients, learned how social service programs operate, and developed stronger skills in communication, advocacy and professional problem solving.” COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT Teresa Reynolds, social work faculty. “Professor Reynolds went out of her way to mentor me and to encourage me when I doubted myself. She connected me with internship opportunities and gave me confidence in my research. Without her, I would not be a social worker.”
Doctor of Chiropractic program, University of Bridgeport
‘It meant a lot … having the chance to discover aspects of myself that I was unaware of.’
Grace Taylor HOMETOWN Furlong, Pennsylvania MAJOR Business administration/marketing ACTIVITIES Division I athlete/soccer, internship, study abroad SUPPORT GROUPS “Playing Division I soccer was a lifelong dream. I chose Longwood because of the people. It’s a community that provides a very loving and caring support system. The coaches and players were dedicated to our academic and athletic success, as well as our personal growth as we developed into mature adults.” COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT Patti Carey, McGaughy Internship and Professional Development Center in the College of Business and Economics. “Professor Carey was a major reason for my success. No matter what it was, she always made time for her students. She was my biggest fan in the business school, and it truly changed the confidence I had in myself and my future career.”
COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT Dr. John Miller, English faculty. “My first semester at Longwood I took Dr. Miller’s Witches, Outlaws, and Rebels course, where I truly started to enjoy reading and the discussions that came with it. Dr. Miller always encouraged me and helped me realize what a strong writer I am.”
English teacher and
baseball coach, Gainesville (Virginia) High School
Master’s degree program in aerospace engineering, Old Dominion University
Anastasia Lajoie HOMETOWN Taunton, Massachusetts MAJOR Physics ACTIVITIES Division I athlete/lacrosse, internship SIZE MATTERS “I was at a larger school before, which I also enjoyed, but I found it difficult to ask questions and get the help I needed when I didn’t understand something or was behind. Longwood prepared me to be successful through its small classes, which allowed me to get to know my professors and classmates and to work closely with others.”
Inside sales and customer success representative for Ascential Technologies, an international company
COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT Dr. Chuck Ross, physics faculty. “I had Dr. Ross for modern physics and thermodynamics. We came to know each other quite well. He helped me by writing letters of recommendation for all of the grad schools I applied to.”
Jade Riddle HOMETOWN Christiansburg, Virginia MAJOR Biology ACTIVITIES Brock Experience, Cormier Honors College, Phi Kappa Phi, research FALLING IN LOVE WITH RESEARCH “The San Francisco Brock Experience really opened up so many new opportunities for me. Being able to tour the labs at Stanford and UCSF [University of California San Francisco] helped me realize research was within my grasp. I remember talking to Dr. [Dale] Beach at the train station as we were leaving Stanford. He pointed out that, while all of their equipment seemed fancy, we had the exact same things here at Longwood and that I could do any of the things they were doing if I wanted to. I applied to PRISM [Longwood’s research program], and over that summer I absolutely fell in love with research.”
Production director, Tri-
City Chili Peppers baseball team, Colonial Heights, Virginia
George Gaston* HOMETOWN New Kent, Virginia
Peace Corps,
Madagascar
MAJOR Communication Studies ACTIVITIES Internship, study abroad THE DIAMOND IS HIS BEST FRIEND “In my job, I direct and produce the broadcasts of Chili Peppers’ home games. I also produce and direct the on-field entertainment for our Cosmic Takeover Tour games around the country. Cosmic Baseball was invented by the Coastal Plain League. It’s baseball played under stadium black light, with all gear, equipment, uniforms and field markings designed to be black light reactive.” COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT Jeff Halliday and Dr. Ryan Stouffer, communication studies faculty. “I wouldn’t be the man I am today without those two. Dr. Stouffer has connected me with people who have made my professional career soar.”
COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT Dr. Dale Beach, biology faculty. “Dr. Beach made it a point to foster my independence in the lab and to show me that I knew more than I was giving myself credit for.”
Tyra McCowin
Miyah Kellam* HOMETOWN Goochland, Virginia MAJOR Criminal justice ACTIVITIES Internship TRY IT, YOU’LL LIKE IT “Longwood brought me out of my shell and showed me it’s OK to try new things. I feel you have to be open to new things to continue to grow and be successful.” COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT Dr. Virginia Beard, criminal justice faculty. “Anything I needed Longwoodrelated, Dr. Beard had the answer. She always made me feel good about my work in her classes, and she wrote me a recommendation letter for law school after I graduated.”
MBA program,
Longwood University
Alec Daniel HOMETOWN Gloucester, Virginia
Paralegal,
George R. Andrews & Associates law firm, ManakinSabot, Virginia
HOMETOWN Columbia, Virginia MAJOR Therapeutic recreation ACTIVITIES Internship, study abroad DOING GOOD “In the Peace Corps, I’ll be providing health education in homes and communities to promote safe pregnancies, child nutrition, illness prevention, immunizations and malaria control. I will also support hygiene, sanitation and adolescent health through clubs, camps and school programs.”
Ph.D. program in translational biology, medicine and health, Virginia Tech
COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT Dr. Susan Lynch, therapeutic recreation faculty. “From the moment I joined the major, she consistently encouraged me to pursue this dream and others, and offered unwavering support when challenges arose. She inspired me to have a deep level of compassion for others, both personally and professionally.”
‘Anything I needed Longwood-related, Dr. Beard [criminal justice faculty] had the answer.’
MAJOR Business administration/finance ACTIVITIES Athlete/cross country and track, Cormier Honors College, internship, Phi Kappa Phi, research, study abroad A NEW GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE “I participated in an economics study abroad in Qatar and Thailand. This being my first time abroad, I was incredibly nervous initially. But after the trip I had so much more appreciation for the differences in culture, politics, geography and many other things between the U.S. and other countries.” COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT “So many Longwood faculty have helped me succeed, I can’t single out one person.”
* December 2024 graduate
Adam Story HOMETOWN Courtland, Virginia MAJOR Nursing ACTIVITIES Internship LIFE LESSONS “Longwood taught me it’s OK to fall down as long as you get back up. I was a fifth-year nursing student who fell behind because of one class. Because of that I made more friends, and, more importantly, I learned how to pick myself back up. It wasn’t easy, but I had more than enough help from my friends and my professors.”
Master’s program in speechlanguage pathology,
James Madison University
COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT The entire nursing faculty. “I really feel as though every faculty member in the nursing department helped me in one way or another. I constantly felt that they wanted to see us succeed and were committed to providing us the tools we needed to do that.”
Lauren Vick HOMETOWN Quinton, Virginia MAJOR Communication Sciences and Disorders ACTIVITIES Athlete/cross country and track, Brock Experience, Cormier Honors College, Phi Kappa Phi BEST OF BOTH WORLDS “I knew coming into Longwood I wanted to do more than just be an athlete or just to go to class. Being involved in Longwood clubs and organizations has been such a rewarding experience and has been the heartbeat of my years as a Lancer. Being a student-athlete gave me the best of both worlds. I got to learn and be challenged in the classroom and in practices and races. I had a community within my major and also a community every single day at practice. COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT Dr. Heather Lettner-Rust, English faculty. “I had her for professional writing. I loved her course because I always felt challenged and she never failed to make me laugh in class.”
Connor Williams HOMETOWN Suffolk, Virginia MAJOR Information systems and cyber security ACTIVITIES Athlete/track and field, Cormier Honors College, internship
Associate cyber compliance analyst,
Dominion Energy, Richmond, Virginia
TEAM EFFORT “Being the chair of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee was a great experience. I provided overall guidance to the subcommittees and helped out if they had any issues. We volunteered, donated food for charity and helped manage athletics at Longwood. We also participated in events throughout the year to spread happiness and to raise awareness.” COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT Patti Carey, McGaughy Internship and Professional Development Center in the College of Business and Economics. “She helped me learn proper business etiquette, how to be professional and what it takes to perform well in an internship.”
Ph.D. program in biochemistry and molecular biology, University of Georgia
Victoria Walden HOMETOWN Fredericksburg, Virginia MAJOR Biology ACTIVITIES Research BEST FRIENDS “My favorite thing at Longwood was the time I spent with a close group of fellow students and friends.” COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT Dr. Amorette Barber, biology faculty, and Dr. Andrew Yeagley, chemistry faculty. “They both mentored me and helped me with graduate school applications. Dr. Barber helped me develop and complete a senior thesis on a potential treatment for ovarian cancer. I also completed research with Dr. Yeagley to identify a small molecule alternative to commercial parabens.”
Registered nurse, Henrico (Virginia) Doctors Hospital
‘Being the chair of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee was a great experience.’