Meredith College Magazine Spring 2017

A Publication for Alumnae and Friends of Meredith College

Spring 2017, Volume 42, Number 1

M A G A Z I N E

A FITTING WELCOME | Renewing the spirit of Johnson Hall

Meredith Magazine Volume 42, Number 1 Spring 2017 Executive Editor Kristi Eaves-McLennan, ’14, MBA

CONTENTS FEATURES 16 A FITTING WELCOME

Managing Editors Melyssa Allen Karen T. Dunton

Assistant Editor Gaye Hill

Writers Reah Nicholson Emily Parker Art Director Vanessa Harris Designer Margaret McIver, ’09 Alumnae Connection Editors Hilary Allen, ’01 Savannah Phillips, ’16 Contributing Writers Mary Kay Delaney Wendy Jones Leslie Maxwell, ’01 Photographers Christopher Ferrer Peter Finger Kaili Ingram Travis Jack Gary Knight Brian Lynn Charlotte Claypoole McKinney Susan Murray Caleigh Thomas, ’16 Michael Zirkle Meredith College Faculty & Staff Meredith Magazine exists to serve the Meredith community by providing readers with insight and information about the news, activities, events, programs, plans, and people of the College. Meredith Magazine is published three times a year by the Meredith College Department of Marketing. Questions or comments may be submitted to marketing@meredith.edu. © 2017 Meredith College. The Meredith name and wordmark are registered trademarks of Meredith College and may not be used without permission. All rights reserved. 16-233

Please note the following names were omitted from the 2015-16 Honor Roll of Donors.

Eugenia Rhoten, ’71 - Annual Donor Fayette Jones, ’73 - Iris Society Kelly Scott, ’98 - Annual Donor

Renewing the spirit of Johnson Hall

24 HOME–GROWN LESSONS How students hone their skills and gain professional experience on campus

30 EMPOWERED TO SUCCEED

One alumna’s pursuit of her dream career – later in life – began at Meredith

34 CLASS OF 1970: HOLDING THE ROPE

FOR EACH OTHER

NEWS 6

Notables on Campus

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Meredith Poll Explores Perceptions of Law Enforcement

12 Meredith Adds Graduate Nutrition Options 14 Meredith College Remembers Allen Burris

IN EVERY ISSUE 1

Meredith Campus News

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Letter from the President

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Meredith Experts in the News

11 Strong Stories 13 Newsmakers 37 Beyond Strong | The Campaign for Meredith 41 Alumnae Connection On the Cover: Johnson Hall is one of the most iconic buildings at Meredith. Starting on page 16, learn about the renovations that have improved both the function and appearance of this important campus space.

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NEWS Johnson Hall has been a Meredith College landmark since the College moved to its Hillsborough Street location. Built in 1925, it has undergone many changes over the years, including its most recent renovation. Read about the updates made to create a more welcoming space for prospective students and the Meredith community on page 16.

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Annual Event Honors Veterans’ Service

By Reah Nicholson

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eredith College held its annual Honoring Women Veterans event on November 9 in Jones Chapel, where students, faculty, staff, and other attendees gathered to honor those who have served in all branches of the military and have fought to protect the freedoms of the U.S. – particularly women veterans.

Rear Admiral Christina M. “Tina” Alvarado, the deputy chief for the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) Reserve Policy and Integration, who has served 28 years in the Navy, was the keynote speaker.

The Enloe High School U.S. Army JROTC Color Guard, the Millbrook High School U.S. Army JROTC Drill Team, and the Meredith Chorale all participated in the event.

“I never in a million years expected to stay this long in the Navy,” said Alvarado. “And, I never expected to be promoted to admiral.

It is not something that you plan for, but it is something that happens when you give your life to serving others.”

“The one thing that we all have in common is our tremendous love of our country.”

– Rear Admiral Christina M. Alvarado

Alvarado shared her experiences in Afghanistan and talked about the suffering that many Afghan women experience on a day-today basis. She reinforced how fortunate American women are to live in a country with so many freedoms and how many women sacrificed their lives for those freedoms. Nearly 200 women were deployed to Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, and died fighting against the “War on Terrorism.” Alvarado honored those women.

“Less than one percent of our nation’s citizens ever wear the uniform of the armed forces,” said Alvarado. “That’s astounding, but the ones who do so put themselves in harm’s

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way for a number of reasons. The one thing that we all have in common is our tremendous love of our country.”

Throughout her message, Alvarado listed a number of women in history, such as Marie Curie, Coretta Scott King, Florence Nightingale, and Harriett Tubman, who have paved the way for women today. Alvarado said these women broke down barriers and are known as pioneers whose bravery and sacrifice should be acknowledged.

“Today, women serve in every branch of the military including the Navy Seals,” said Alvarado. “And for the first time in military history,

women can officially serve in all special operations forces, including the Army Special Forces.”

The event started and concluded with a piano arrangement of My Country, ‘Tis of Thee played by organist Craig Barfield. Before the postlude, Barfield played a medley of service hymns and anthems, representing all five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Air Force, while veterans of each branch and their family members stood in recognition. Closing out the event was an exhibition by the Millbrook High School U.S. Army JROTC Drill Team.

Renovations to Johnson Hall gave a new look to the traditional post-parade serenades.

Cornhuskin’ 2016

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ornhuskin’ – the College’s biggest student tradition – made its annual appearance on campus this fall. As always, students worked hard to bring their Cornhuskin’ spirit to all of the events, from Can Art and the parade to the main competition. The 2016 event was special in two ways. The post-parade serenades were held around the new Johnson Hall fountain, and alumnae were invited back to the College’s first official Homecoming.

Cornhuskin’ brings students and alumnae – whether Odds or Evens – together.

Watch Cornhuskin’ 2016 at youtube.com/meredithcollege.

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C-SPAN Campaign Bus Visits the Meredith Campus

By Melyssa Allen

During the 2016 presidential election, C-SPAN brought its Campaign Bus to the Meredith campus.

On November 1, students, faculty, staff, and the community were able to visit the bus to learn more about political campaigns in U.S. history, and C-SPAN’s role in covering the political system.

The C-SPAN Campaign 2016 Bus visited schools, universities, and political events across the country to engage students, educators, civic leaders, and the community through on-board multimedia technology.

Meredith students also had the opportunity to share their perspectives on politics through C-SPAN’s "Voices from the Road" project. Their responses were shared on the @cspanbus Twitter feed, using #cspanvoices.

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NEWS

Those Mysterious College Rankings

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n the search for distinction, many colleges advertise their rankings and ratings to point to their elite status, special attributes, and selectivity. Meredith has certainly done the same as we’re proud of our top rankings by US News & World Report, Forbes.com, College Choice, Princeton Review, and others.

Historically, in fact, Meredith has ranked in the top 10 in several US News & World Report categories, including “best colleges in the Southeast” and “best value.” So imagine our surprise when the new rankings placed us 154th.

The good news is we are ranked #154 because we moved up in categories. Our former category, “Regional Institutions” (the southeastern U.S.) included N.C. colleges such as Catawba, LeesMcRae, Barton, Belmont Abbey, Mars Hill, and Brevard.

Our new category, “National Liberal Arts Institutions,” has two tiers: the top one ranked (that is where we are now) and the second one unranked. Now Meredith is a “top-tier national liberal arts institution” in very good company with Williams, Amherst, Wellesley, Swarthmore, and Davidson, among other excellent institutions known for quality and distinction.

You may be curious about other rankings. College Choice, for instance, includes a review of women’s colleges, ranking Meredith #5 best women’s college (among Wellesley, Smith, Barnard, Bryn Mawr) and #2 for academic excellence (bested only by Wellesley).

Other rankings are not so favorable to us, especially those that have very small responses or unusually unreliable criteria. For instance, PayScale.com purports to measure return-on-investment for undergraduate degrees, weighing the cost of tuition with the average salary of graduates. Fields that pay the highest salaries – engineering, technology, science/math – skew the results against institutions such

as Meredith who graduate more teachers, social workers, and public servants – notoriously lower-paid professionals.

Just as misleading is “Rate My Professor,” where an algorithm calculates an institutional score based on anonymous student ratings (and gripes) about individual faculty. Imagine which students are most motivated to respond!

As stand-alone measures, PayScale.com and Rate My Professor are pretty easy to understand; the true problems come when they are embedded into other rankings as a proxy for “value” or “instructional quality.”

While it is tempting to dismiss all rankings, many prospective students and their families use rankings to guide their thinking about a college, even to the point of whether to consider the college at all. Alumnae and friends who understand the ways rankings are calculated and the distorted pictures they often introduce can offer great insights to these families.

Ultimately, rigorous internal assessments of student learning outcomes, the great employers and graduate programs that recruit our students, and alumnae’s lifelong satisfaction with their college experience are our best evidence that Meredith is an institution of distinction … and Going Strong!

President Jo Allen, ’80

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“People always ask me which species is smarter – I tell them that’s like asking which is a better tool, a screwdriver or a hammer? It depends on the job at hand. That is how evolution works; a particular species evolved because it was useful in different ways.” – Brian Hare

Notables on Campus Brian Hare Scientist and New York Times bestselling author Brian Hare spoke on Meredith’s campus on October 11. In addition to an evening lecture, he visited a research methods class, held an informal Q&A, and joined a group of students, faculty, and staff for dinner. Hare, who is an associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University and the founder of the Duke Canine Cognition Center, presented a lecture titled “Survival of the Friendliest.”

Lee Smith Award-winning novelist Lee Smith, author of Meredith’s Summer Reading selection, Dimestore: A Writer’s Life, spoke at Meredith on October 12 about her experiences as a writer and storyteller. While at Meredith, Smith also visited classes and participated in other events, including a lunch gathering with English majors and minors, and a meet-and-greet with students.

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Mia Bloom Author and terrorism expert Mia Bloom spoke at Meredith on September 29. Her talk, “Veiled Threats: Women and Jihad,” covered women’s roles in terrorist movements. Bloom is professor of communication at Georgia State University in Atlanta. She conducts ethnographic field research in Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia on violent extremism.

Quail Ridge Books Partnership Nationally-known authors Jodi Picoult and Vivian Howard visited Meredith as part of the College’s partnership with Quail Ridge Books.

On October 14, Picoult discussed her newest novel, Small Great Things, in conversation with physician Damon Tweedy, author of Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor’s Reflections on Race and Medicine.

This event was co-sponsored by Meredith’s Friends of the Library.

Howard presented her new cookbook, Deep Run Roots, on October 20. In the new book, Howard, chef and co-owner of Chef and the Farmer in Kinston, N.C., celebrates local, seasonal cuisine.

“I’ve always believed myself to be more of an oral storyteller rather than a writer.

So I started to write down everything I could remember about my father’s dimestore — the smells, the people, the stories — and before I knew it, I was writing nonfiction.” – Lee Smith

community engagement demographics

By the Numbers: Foundation Gifts Foundation relationships have been a strong focus of Meredith College's fundraising efforts for many years. The College has been rewarded with stronger relationships with foundations and substantial gifts and grants. These are just a few of the facts that support our ongoing strategy in working with foundations. Read more about foundation gifts in the Beyond Strong section on page 38. social/political attitudes

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college selection

Number of foundations currently funding a gift or grant at Meredith. Fifteen of these foundations are based in North Carolina.

$500,000

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Number of foundations who are funding multiple gifts or grants.

community engagement

SLargest gift from a single foundation.

Financing college

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Highest number of programs funded by a single foundation.

social/political attitudes

Meredith Experts in the News

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“Eighteenth and nineteenth century newspapers were commonly aligned

Meredith faculty and staff have served as experts in a wide variety of news outlets, including The Christian Science Monitor, BBC World Service, Mic.com, WUNC radio, and NPR’s All Things Considered.

with specific political parties and gen-

S “As long as it’s in addition to recognizing the contributions of women, it is fine … the whole point is to widen the conversation about what women’s equality is about. We need everyone Financing involved. Ideally, we get to a place where it is for all of us.”

raised in such publications as lies and

erally asserted party-line arguments.

Opponents considered the ideas stated as much. Candidates in this at-

mosphere faced serious accusations college

– Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology Kris Macomber in a segment on BBC World Service’s World Have Your Say about Glamour magazine naming U2 singer and activist Bono its Man of the Year as part of the magazine’s Women of the Year awards.

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about their actions, character, and intentions when in office that would sound very familiar today.”

– Associate Professor of History Dan

“GMO is not an ingredient, it is a breeding technology. Genetically Engineered (GE) technology does not inherently pose any risk to consumers or the environment that other, less-precise breeding technologies don't pose.”

Fountain, providing historical context for a Christian Science Monitor article about “post-truth” political coverage.

– Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Karthik Aghoram, in a Mic.com article about whether GMO labeling is necessary.

“I worry about it from the 40,000-foot view about what this is saying to the average citizens of North Carolina without evidence. We need to have a legitimate electoral system for municipal elections [and] state elections and that people have faith in it so they go into the next election and vote.”

– Visiting Professor of Political Science David McLennan, in an NPR story on claims of election irregularities in North Carolina. The story ran on the national broadcast of All Things Considered.

“It is almost impossible to get away any more if you do something illegal. Your cell phone is a tracker, many businesses have cameras, computers track purchases.”

– Professor of Sociology Lori Brown, on technology’s role in the decrease in property crimes counted in the FBI crime statistics report. The story was posted by WUNC radio.

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Subscribe to Meredith’s YouTube channel to make sure you won’t miss any new episodes of The Meredith Minute video series.

The Surprising Benefits of Fidgeting and Doodling

By Mary Kay Delaney

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hat do you do when your mind wanders and you are in class or a meeting? Do you doodle? Or perhaps fidget?

You are not alone. Humans have been doodling, and fidgeting, for a very long time.

Recent research suggests that doodling (spontaneous drawing) and fidgeting (spontaneous body movement) might actually help us to maintain focus and/or reduce stress that interferes with focus.

Teachers frequently observe doodlers and fidgeters. I once had a student who rolled his pencil up and down the desk. His pencil rolling did not seem to interfere with his attention or that of other students, but it definitely distracted me, so we talked. He rolled the pencil, he thought, because he was bored, during times when we reviewed material. We looked into this further – making note of when he rolled the pencil and what we were doing in

class. We made a surprising discovery – he rolled his pencil whenever class focused on new topics or new ways of doing things!

So, why roll your pencil when topics are new? Recent research gives us some clues.

Consider that learning new material takes vigilance and maintaining vigilance is stressful. Research suggests that fidgeting might be a way of relieving stress – just enough to help us keep going with the task. Some studies even suggest that fidgeting leads to better recall.

Doodling might work in the same way, by helping us stay focused on a sustained task. A 2009 study found that doodlers recalled more information from a tedious phone message than non-doodlers did. The researcher speculated that doodling took just enough attention to keep the listeners’ minds from wandering, but not so much as to be distracting. The doodling gave a kind of “mental break” from the task of listening. In this way doodling might

improve working memory. More recent studies have found that college and junior high school students who doodle recall more information than non-doodlers when listening to lectures.

The work on fidgeting and doodling has led to classroom practices that help students remember and attend to work. Exercise balls, for example, serve as chairs so that students can fidget away and not disturb others. Playing with small fidget toys while doing a sustained task, like writing a story, helps some students stay on task. Fidget toys also help adults at work who spend hours at computers.

How we move our bodies affects how we think about the world. And, how we are thinking and feeling about the world affects how our bodies move. Learning is not just in our heads – fidgeting and doodling are telling you something valuable about your own thinking and feeling.

Mary Kay Delaney, Ph.D., is a professor of education at Meredith College, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate students. Her areas of special interest include learning in sociocultural contexts, teacher education, equity and education, special education, and qualitative research methods.

A cipher book, made by two sisters from Perquimans, N.C., in the late 1700s. Notice the complex arithmetic they were learning … and notice their doodles.

Doodles by President John F. Kennedy written/drawn during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

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Wilson Library, archives, UNC-CH, Cipher book of Martha and Elisabeth Ryan

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Meredith Poll Explores Perceptions of Law Enforcement

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he Fall 2016 Meredith College Poll asked North Carolinians about their perceptions of law enforcement officers.

A large majority of North Carolinians (69%) have great respect for law enforcement officers in the state, with only 4% of its citizens stating that they have very little respect for officers. Among demographic groups, whites have higher respect for police officers (74.9%) than do nonwhites (62.6%). Republicans have significantly higher levels of respect for those in law enforcement (81%) than do Democrats (63%) or unaffiliated citizens (64%).

The most striking difference in respect for law enforcement, however, is related to age, with young people possessing decidedly less respect for law enforcement officers than their older counterparts. Those in the youngest age category (19-29) had about half as much respect for police officers as those in the oldest age category (76+).

“Women may be more likely to listen, to be compassionate, and to be more flexible.”

– Professor Lori Brown

In terms of police officers themselves, more than three-quarters of North Carolinians believe that men and women officers are equally capable, with only 16% stating that male officers were more capable and 3% stating that female officers were superior. Also, when asked about whether men or women made better police chiefs, more than two-thirds of North Carolinians (68%) felt there were no differences between men and women in law enforcement leadership. Twenty-one percent felt that men made better police chiefs and 5% perceived that women made better police chiefs.

In terms of qualities associated with police officers, most North Carolinians believe that men and women police officers equally pos-

sess compassion and a sense of ethics, as well as possessing the skills to protect the public.

69% OF NORTH CAROLINIANS HAVE GREAT RESPECT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS IN THE STATE.

Some of the negative traits often associated with police officers, such as using excessive force or exceeding their authority, are where many North Carolinians favor women police officers over men. Only 3% of citizens consider women more likely to use excessive force, while 59% consider men more likely to do so. Similarly, 46% of North Carolinians state that men are more likely to exceed their authority, while only 6% consider women more likely to do so.

Professor of Sociology Lori Brown believes some of these perceptions are caused by gender stereotypes.

“Many people may feel that it is beneficial to have a woman officer to help if there is a problem, if you are a victim, or if someone needs to deal with teens or women in trouble because women may be more likely to listen, to be compassionate, and to be more flexible,” Brown said. “However, when it comes to being in charge of all those men and women, making tough decisions about policing, sadly some people still see men as leaders. I hope these stereotyped ideas will change as more women move into leadership in all levels of law enforcement and in the rest of the work world.”

About The Meredith College Poll The Meredith College Poll uses a stratified random sample of households with telephones and wireless (cell) telephone numbers. The survey was conducted using a livecaller, dual frame (landline and cell phone) survey of 487 registered voters of North Carolina between September 18-22, 2016. Meredith College students administer the survey as part of the College’s commitment to civic engagement.

Meredith to Host Symposium on World War I

By Melyssa Allen

Meredith College will host a symposium on World War I in 2017.

The symposium, sponsored by the Department of History, Political Science, and International Studies with support from the North Carolina Museum of History, is scheduled for April 6-8. The dates of the symposium are significant, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the United States entering World War I. This interdisciplinary symposium will focus on the local, national, and global experience of World War I. Organizers seek papers offering multiple perspectives on the conflict, from the front lines to the home fronts, addressing issues of politics, economics, race, gender, class, culture, and the military.

There will also be specialized panels featuring work by graduate and undergraduate students.

“The symposium will include presentations by scholars who have contributed to a book on North Carolina’s role in World War I history, but the symposium will have a broad, international, and interdisciplinary focus,” said Assistant Professor of History Angela Marritt, organizing committee co-chair.

For more information, visit meredith.edu/symposium-ww1.

Meredith College 1918 Class Day

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Meredith Athletics Has Strong Fall Session

By Wendy Jones

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he Meredith College athletics program opened the 2016 fall season going strong and shared an early lead in USA South Women’s President’s Cup standings with the Piedmont Lions.

With a near perfect 14-1 conference record and 25-4 overall, Meredith volleyball boasted one of the best finishes in program history.

Coach Fiona Barkley led her squad to a USA South Conference Tournament Championship, the first for Meredith volleyball since joining the league in 2007.

The championship title punched Meredith’s ticket to the NCAA Tournament, another first for the volleyball Angels, where the team faced off with nationally-ranked Juniata in round-one action. While Meredith ended their season earlier than hoped, the team set a new standard for Avenging Angels volleyball.

One of the most decorated players in Meredith history, outside hitter Karlie Long, leaves with several career records, a host of USA South honors, and the program’s first

All-America recognition. Her counterpart, first-year student-athlete Caroline Corey, follows Long’s standard of play as this year’s USA South Rookie of the Year and All-South Region Freshman of the Year, impacting the league early in her career.

Under the leadership of 16-year head coach and four-time conference Coach of the Year Paul Smith, Meredith soccer collected the program’s third-consecutive and fifth overall USA South title. Led by sophomore forward Jessica Wallace, a two-time All-Conference honoree adding All-State and All-Region to her résumé this fall, the Angels closed out the regular season winning seven matches to outlast their opponents and claim the East Division Regular Season Championship.

The three-time USA South championship cross country Angels fell just shy of another title, finishing second in the conference championship this season. With leadership and speed from Itzel Gonzalez, Abigail Thiele, and Macy Brinson, the 2015 Rookie

of the Year who recovered from a mid-season injury to score for Meredith, the Avenging Angels advanced higher in the results than was expected.

Wellness Leader Becky Jacobs to Deliver 2017 Commencement Address

By Melyssa Allen

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ecky Jacobs, chief engagement officer at Simple Change Wellness, will serve as Meredith College’s 2017 commencement speaker.

Simple Change Wellness designs, implements, and manages customized wellness programs for businesses.

Jacobs has spent almost two decades as an operations leader focused on building teams, driving process improvements, and delivering change management programs. She has a passion for helping others embrace new ideas and take action to achieve positive results.

She previously served as senior director of global operations change management at Red Hat. In addition to this role, Jacobs initiated and led the company’s Global Volunteer Program. She also spent 11 years at Bank of America.

Jacobs volunteers her time as past board chair of Inter-Faith Food

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Shuttle, and on the Advisory Board and Health/Wellbeing committee of the Alexander YMCA. She has used her background in change management to slowly evolve her personal lifestyle, and enjoys helping others achieve the goal of becoming ‘healthy, fit, and strong.’ She has combined her experience and passion to create an organization focused on helping local businesses design, implement, and manage wellness programs. As a Certified Corporate Wellness Specialist, she works with customers to create programs that improve the overall health of their employees, allow them to attract and retain top talent, increase productivity, improve collaboration, and positively impact the engagement of their teams.

Jacobs holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Old Dominion University and an MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill’s KenanFlagler Business School.

Meredith will hold commencement exercises on Saturday, May 13, 2017, at Dorton Arena on the N.C. State Fairgrounds.

STRONG STORIES

Using Music to Make a Difference

By Reah Nicholson

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ost high school students are focused on getting a driver’s license, going to prom, or dating. The last thing on their minds is picking a career path.

La’Meshia Whittington, ’16, was different.

At the age of 16, she knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life – she wanted to start a nonprofit.

She and her brother, Robert, launched TW2 Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit which operates The Scale Academy of Performing Arts (SAPA). SAPA, a satellite music arts school, is responsible for teaching hundreds of impoverished, at-risk, and special needs youth in the state of North Carolina formal music lessons, music theory, and performance studies.

Running a nonprofit made it hard for Whittington to further her education. She wanted a school that was understanding of her life commitments and was willing to help her be successful inside and outside of the classroom. Meredith gave her that opportunity with Wings, the College’s adult education program.

“Don't allow others to define your academic goals, don't be your own worst critic, and trust the timing of your life.”

– La'Meshia Whittington, ’16

“After spending two years at another university, I realized I needed something more,” said Whittington. “I needed an educational environment and experience that would facilitate, nurture, and inspire my academic pursuits.”

Whittington, along with her brother, began classical training at the age of five when she first started playing the violin. Later, they studied musical genres including Celtic, bluegrass, jazz, and gospel, which is the grassroots of their family. She teaches violin, keyboard, guitar, and voice.

With a background in music and a non-

La’Meshia Whittington, ’16

profit centered on the art of music, many would think she would want to pursue a degree in music, but Whittington chose a different academic focus. She majored in sociology with a minor in criminology. Through her academic success, she had the opportunity to present her undergraduate research at the N.C. Criminal Justice Association Conference and at the Southern Sociological Society in Atlanta. While at Meredith, she was awarded the 2016 Excellence in Criminology Award and was president of the Meredith College Democrats.

“Meredith tailors your study plan to your needs and your dreams,” said Whittington.

“That’s the beauty of this college - I never had to lose who I wanted to be or sacrifice

my work schedule to obtain my degree. Don’t allow others to define your academic goals, don’t be your own worst critic, and trust the timing of your life.”

Her academic success at Meredith and her passion for helping those in the community has opened up many doors and opportunities for Whittington. In August 2016, she began her studies at East Carolina University on a full scholarship, where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in sociology with a focus on nonprofit studies.

Find more stories like this one at meredith.edu/ goingstrong.

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Meredith Adds Graduate Nutrition Options

By Gaye Hill

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ith a highly sought-after Dietetic Internship program and a rigorous Master of Science in Nutrition program, Meredith has a national reputation in graduate nutrition studies. Now, students seeking an advanced nutrition degree can choose from two options: a Dietetics track and a Food and Nutrition Studies track.

The Dietetics track, accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education and Nutrition (ACEND), prepares students to become Registered Dietitians. The newest track, Food and Nutrition Studies, focuses on careers in areas such as nutrition education, the food system, local and organic food industry, community food and nutrition programs, and food marketing and communication.

“In the past few years, it has become increasingly evident that many non-traditional aged students would like to study the vast field of nutrition outside of dietetics,” said Tracy Smith, master of nutrition program manager and admissions counselor. “The Food and Nutrition Studies track was developed to allow those looking for a career change to gain an advanced degree in nutrition.”

The new track is also ideal for existing Registered Dietitians who need advanced degrees, a requirement that is expected to go into effect in 2024.

Learn more about the new graduate nutrition options at meredith.edu/nutrition. See how Chris Dunham, ’16, M.S. in Nutrition, is using his degree as a sustainability coordinator.

Taste of Research

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arlyle Campbell Library was the site of Meredith’s annual Taste of Research, a showcase of undergraduate research. This event featured a poster session highlighting progress and results from summer research projects. Topics included visual literacy, societal impacts on local communities, literature and feminism, and religious imagery in popular culture.

This summer, several Meredith students and faculty members had the opportunity to work with student interns from Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy in a newly developed summer partnership. The Taste of Research displays included the results of these projects.

Taste of Research is planned by Meredith’s Undergraduate Research Program, which also sponsors the College’s annual Celebrating Student Achievement Day. The 2017 event will be held on April 11.

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Newsmakers The following faculty members have been awarded sabbaticals during the 2017-18 academic year: • Professor of English Rebecca Duncan, Spring 2018 • Professor of Music Kent Lyman, Fall 2017 or Spring 2018 • Professor of Mathematics Cammey Manning, Spring 2018 • Associate Professor of Education Julie Schrock, Spring 2018 • Associate Professor of Business Bing Yu, Fall 2017

A visit by K9 officers, alumnae career panels, and celebratory events were held this fall to help students explore academic options.

Exploring Majors and Career Paths

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electing a major and choosing what career to pursue are important decisions for every college student. This fall, several academic departments sponsored special events to provide information for students who are undecided, and to celebrate their majors for students in the program.

Criminology Week enabled students to learn more about a variety of careers in law enforcement and crime investigation. Events included presentations by K-9 patrol officers, correctional officers, a forensic anthropologist, accountant, photographer, and FBI crime scene analysts.

English Week, held in conjunction with the Summer Reading Program lecture by author Lee Smith, included film screenings, a career panel, and “Lit Live” featuring readings by English students and faculty.

Romance Languages Week was a celebration of diversity, exploring French, Hispanic, and Italian culture through a series of events that gave students opportunities to talk with foreign language professors about language and cultural courses. It also provided a chance for students who have studied abroad in places such as France and Italy to share their experiences with other interested students.

Watch a video about Criminology at youtube. com/meredithcollege.

Associate Professor of Fashion Merchandising and Design Eunyoung Yang’s design submission, “Jogakbo Rose,” was accepted for juried gallery exhibition at the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) annual conference, held in Vancouver in 2016. This submission was awarded the Sandra Hutton Award for Excellence in Fiber.

She also presented two other designs in the juried gallery exhibition.

Assistant Professor of Political Science Whitney Ross Manzo was featured on public radio’s The Academic Minute.

Her topic was how to improve civil discourse. The segment was also published in Inside Higher Ed. Meredith English faculty members presented at the annual convention of the South Atlantic Modern Language Association. Professor of English Rebecca Duncan presented her essay “Landscapes of Fear in the Fiction of Zoila Ellis,” and chaired a session, “Utopia/Dystopia and a Sense of Place,” that featured place-based readings of Henry David Thoreau, Middle Eastern women, and 19th century American prisoners. Assistant Professor of English Martin P. McNamee presented “Keats’s The Eve of Saint Mark and the Reader’s Struggle to a Literary Utopia.” Instructor of English Tina Romanelli organized a session on early modern literature that featured her own work and that of several Meredith colleagues. Dean of the School of the Arts and Humanities Garry Walton presented an essay, “The Shakespearean Sacrament of the Disobedient Daughter.”

Professor of Theatre Catherine Rodgers won a directing award and Assistant Professor of Theatre Jenni Mann Becker won a designer/technician award for Lysistrata, from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

Theatre majors Victoria Mitchell, ’18, Elena Mulligan, ’17, and Allie Sullivan, ’19, were all nominated for Irene Ryan Acting Awards.

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CAMPUS

NEWS

Meredith College Remembers Allen Burris

By Melyssa Allen

said his daughter, CeCe Middleton, an alumna of the Class of 1978. “He retired just before the turn of the century, but his leadership helped pave the way to the modern institution it is today, without sacrificing its traditional values.”

David Burris said his father “was passionate about three things – education, the Baptist church, and women’s rights.”

These passions were what drew him to spend his career at Meredith, along with the family atmosphere found on the campus. “Dad totally bought into Meredith – academics, sports, music, friendships, and fun,” said Middleton. ”We were a Meredith family.”

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n his decades of service as vice president for academic programs and dean of the college, Allen Burris made an impact on Meredith College that is still felt years after his retirement in 1998.

The Meredith community mourned his loss when Burris passed away on September 24, 2016, at age 87. He is survived by Jane Russell Burris, his wife of 61 years, two children, two grandchildren, other family, and many friends.

In Burris’s obituary, the family described Meredith College as “the place where his life’s goals as an educator and his lifelong concern with issues of equality and social justice would be fulfilled. He brought hard work, innovation, intelligence, and good spirits to the mission of furthering women’s higher education in the South in the last decades of the 20th century. He believed vigorously in the concept of a liberal arts education and actively supported Meredith’s humanities, science, art, drama, music, mathematics, business, and athletic programs.”

Burris “embraced Meredith’s ideals while helping to guide it into the 21st century,”

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“He was always ethical, kind, and knowledgeable.

He was accessible, had high expectations, and was focused on the strengths of others.”

– Professor Deborah Tippett

Professor Emerita Betty Webb, ’67, who served on the faculty during Burris’s tenure, noted that he preferred to use the title of dean, rather than vice president.

“As a result, it is a term many faculty and staff came to hold dear. To us it was a term of affection for the person who stood both in front of and behind the faculty – always in service of our students,” Webb said. “It was always, at the end of the day, about students and about ensuring faculty had the support and resources needed to serve them.”

Webb said Burris helped usher Meredith through some of its most important transitions.

“He led us in our endeavors to diversify our student body and faculty, and he gave leadership to the modernization of the College’s academic programs while ensuring that the arts and liberal arts – both

of which he loved – remained at the core of a Meredith student’s education.”

Burris was also the dean when Meredith launched its first study abroad program, which reflected his support of global education. In 1973, Burris completed a Fulbright in Pakistan, and his scholarly career later took him on research trips to England, the Soviet Union, Peru, China, Japan, and Italy.

Another way that Burris continues to have an impact on Meredith is through his influence on faculty.

Professor of Human Environmental Sciences Deborah Tippett called Burris an important mentor.

“He was always ethical, kind, and knowledgeable. He was accessible, had high expectations, and was focused on the strengths of others,” Tippett said. “He was comfortable in allowing others to disagree with him. After he retired, I continued to use the lessons that he taught me.”

Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities Garry Walton said Burris “always thought of his role first as faculty, not administration. He invariably asked about our classes, and our families, and our involvement in church and community – taking a personal interest in all aspects of our lives.”

Walton shared a favorite story that shows the interest Burris took in him when he was a newly hired member of the English faculty.

“I asked him for directions to the National Humanities Center so that I could attend a lecture by noted phenomenologist Paul Ricoeur. He seemed both knowledgeable of and interested in Ricoeur and volunteered to drive me to the lecture,” Walton said.

“On the way back to campus, I realized that the point of the trip had not been for him to learn from a world-class scholar, but to support a young faculty member. He didn’t care about Ricoeur: he cared about me. In that moment I learned what it meant to be a dean.”

Meredith Supports Hunger Relief Efforts On October 24, the Meredith College Nutrition Graduate Student Association (NGSA) celebrated National Food Day with an event to support hunger relief. A team of 73 volunteers, including graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, and staff, participated in this effort. The group packed 17,106 vitamin-fortified meals in two hours for Stop Hunger Now. These meals are distributed across the globe to people who are affected by hunger. NGSA is a student-led service, leadership, and professional development organization.

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“A campus with well-maintained buildings sends the message of pride, of financial stability, and of overarching quality.”

– President Jo Allen, ’80

A FITTING

WELCOME Renewing the spirit of Johnson Hall

By Melyssa Allen

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s one of the original buildings constructed after the College’s move to Hillsborough Street, Johnson Hall holds a special place in the hearts of those who love Meredith.

In a recently completed project, Johnson Hall has been thoroughly renovated. Goals of the project were to repair damage that had occurred over time to a building constructed in 1925, to improve function and accessibility, and to make Johnson Hall even more beautiful – as befitting such an important place in Meredith’s history and future.

The renovations included creating a welcome center, restoring the historic elements of the building, creating a new sweeping staircase in the Rotunda, and adding a new copper dome.

The gleam of the new dome, which can be seen from the College’s front gate, is one of the most visible aspects of a project that conveys Meredith’s strength.

“A campus with well-maintained buildings sends the message of pride, of financial stability, and of overarching quality,” President Jo Allen said. “This renovation, in short, allowed us to accomplish an astounding number of goals – all appropriately significant for the most iconic building on Meredith’s campus."

In this feature, Allen shares her insights on the project, helping readers explore the improvements made to one of the College’s most beloved spaces.

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“Jo Ellen's greatest interest was students. She loved Meredith and was always interested in helping people.”

– Jud Ammons

A History of Renovation

Creating a Sense of Welcome

While the 2015-16 renovation was extensive, it was not the first time Johnson Hall had undergone major changes, such as the removal of the original exterior stairs and the addition of an interior staircase in the Rotunda.

President Allen is pleased with the project’s attention to historic details.

“We worked with an historical architect who could not only help us see possibilities for design, but who also could help preserve or reintroduce some elements of the original building while understanding Johnson Hall’s contemporary functions,” Allen said.

A $3.5 million gift from the Jud Ammons family, in memory of Jo Ellen Williams Ammons, ’57, made many of the renovations possible. This gift is one of the largest in Meredith’s history.

Thanks to this gift, admissions, financial assistance, the registrar, and the accounting office were all brought together on the first floor to create the Jo Ellen Ammons Welcome Center. The renovation created a more user-friendly experience for prospective and current students and their families.

The center is named in memory of Ammons family matriarch Jo Ellen Ammons, who earned a degree in religion from Meredith

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Watch highlights from the Ammons Welcome Center Dedication at youtube. com/meredithcollege.

President Jo Allen and Jud Ammons officially open the Jo Ellen Ammons Welcome Center.

in 1957, served four terms on the Board of Trustees, and was the recipient of the Meredith College Alumnae Philanthropy Award in 1997. Her family felt the Welcome Center and renovation of Johnson Hall was a fitting tribute.

“Jo Ellen’s greatest interest was students,” said Jud Ammons, Jo Ellen’s husband of 57 years. “She was compassionate, hard-working, and always smiling. She loved Meredith and was always interested in helping people.”

The Ammons Welcome Center’s location is important because it serves as the “front door” of Meredith College.

“It makes guests feel welcome and makes navigating Johnson Hall

and the admissions process logical,” Allen said. “It helps meet the expectations of our prospective students, who visit several colleges and make assessments of the quality of the institution based on factors such as campus appearance and the ease of finding information.”

Allen appreciates the connection between the Center’s purpose and the person for whom it is named.

“Jo Ellen was an incredibly warm and welcoming person, who was chosen as ‘friendliest’ by her classmates in 1957, ” Allen said.

“That her family honored her with such a powerful and authentic statement of memorial, one that so beautifully captures the welcoming woman she was, would no doubt please her beyond measure.”

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“I especially like the new fountain. Its openness and its creatively distinctive look make a symbolic statement about the College – that Meredith as a community is also open and distinctive.”

– President Jo Allen, ’80

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Fountain Incorporates Historic Elements The new fountain in front of Johnson Hall is one of Allen’s favorite elements of the project, and is one of the ways the renovation reflects the building’s history. Parts of the original exterior staircase, which had been stored on campus for decades, were incorporated into the fountain. From a certain angle, it looks as if the stairs are still part of the building’s front façade.

“I especially like the new fountain. Its openness and its creatively distinctive look make a symbolic statement about the College – that Meredith as a community is also open and distinctive,” Allen said.

In October, a ceremony was held during which the fountain was turned on for the first time and campus community members tossed pennies into it, making wishes for the College.

The new fountain has already proven to be a popular place for impromptu photo shoots during campus visits and during Meredith traditions like Ring Week and Cornhuskin’.

Increasing Efficiency and Accessibility: Bobbitt Clay Williams Executive Suite Bobbitt Clay Williams, ’57, and Bill Williams made a $1 million gift to commemorate their 60th wedding anniversary. The funds were used to support renovations to Johnson Hall, and in honor of this gift a suite of offices on the second floor was named for Mrs. Williams.

Bobbitt Williams said the gift was meaningful to her because she loved her days at Meredith and believes Meredith has directly contributed to the wonderful life she has led.

“Meredith College is grateful to the Williams family for their gift, which is a touching tribute to the life they’ve built together and evidence of the lasting impact of the Meredith experience,” said Allen.

The Williams Executive Suite brought the offices of Meredith’s Executive Leadership Team (ELT) together to facilitate greater communication and collaboration. The suite is located in the former admissions office. This is one example of the efficiency improvements allowed by the renovation.

“We wanted to reorganize offices for greater efficiency, beginning by creating a one-stop shop for enrollment services that would be student-friendly, logical, and fully accessible,” Allen said. “We also wanted to cluster organizational entities, such as ELT and institutional advancement, so that staff collaboration would be better supported.”

A new patio connects Johnson Hall to the courtyard, providing a gathering place for the campus community.

All doors to Meredith's main administration building are now fully accessible.

The Bobbitt Clay Williams Executive Suite is the new home to Meredith's senior administrators.

Watch highlights from the fountain ceremony at youtube.com/meredithcollege.

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Central Rotunda Staircase Removing the central staircase and replacing it with a new structure made the Rotunda more functional – providing a space for receptions, recitals, and other events that the previous stairs sometimes blocked.

The new position of the staircase means those gathered are no longer forced to cluster to one side of the stairs or the other, and it also opens up the view. Now, from the front of Johnson Hall, visitors can see through the Rotunda onto a new back patio and out to the courtyard.

As part of the renovation, each door is now fully accessible, and the elevator has been overhauled to improve its function.

Symbol of Change “What I love most about Johnson Hall is the way the light plays in the Rotunda throughout the day,” Allen said. “From early mornings to late afternoons, the glow of the lighting changes subtly. I think that movement is a nice symbol of evolution and change. The passage of time amidst this kind of historical legacy is a reminder to use our time wisely to preserve and enhance Meredith.”

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“The passage of time amidst this kind of historical legacy is a reminder to use our time wisely to preserve and enhance Meredith.”

– President Jo Allen, ’80

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Home–Grown Lessons How students hone their skills and gain professional experience on campus

By Leslie Maxwell, ’01

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eredith senior Gemma Brodney knew that she wanted to work with the Meredith Autism Program (MAP) before she even arrived on campus for her first semester.

“MAP is actually what drew me to Meredith in the first place,” said Brodney, who is pursuing a double major in psychology and child development. “I wanted the opportunity to work with children who were on the autism spectrum.”

MAP, a program for young children who have been diagnosed on the autism spectrum, is just one of a number of opportunities at Meredith that offer students experiential learning without leaving campus.

These programs serve students in several ways: strengthening what they learn in their academic coursework, providing valuable experience that supports them upon graduation, and helping them make connections on campus.

Reinforcing Academics In part, these experiential learning opportunities help students move from the theoretical to the applied.

Brodney, for instance, took a conditioning

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and behavior modification class through the psychology department. The class provided her with theories about behavior.

“Then you can come to MAP and put it into practice,” she said. “You can collect data, do assessments. You get to see the entire thing unfold.”

“It's interesting to be able to see all the theories that we've learned in class” and see “them applied to the real world.”

– Haley Ligon

Junior Haley Ligon, who is double majoring in sociology and criminology, has also seen how an experiential learning opportunity can reinforce coursework. She is working with sociology faculty member Amie Hess to update and expand the College’s 2013 report The Status of Girls in North Carolina. Ligon’s role is researching and writing a section about the victimization and criminalization of girls.

“It’s interesting to be able to see all the theories that we’ve learned in class” and see “them applied to the real world,” Ligon said.

Ligon chose to work on the section on criminalization in part because she plans to go to law school after graduating from Meredith.

“Having a background in this will help me because I understand that not everything is what it seems on the surface,” Ligon said. It “will broaden my perspective on how I view things, which hopefully will make me a better lawyer, because I’m not just thinking of one side of the issue.”

Hess, the department head for sociology and criminology, said that she encouraged the students working with her on the report to choose something that related to their academic interests.

“Most chose a section that was in some way related to their major,” Hess said. For instance, another student in the class has written several essays about immigration in her sociology major classes, so she is continuing with that topic for the research she is doing with Hess.

Like the research team, Learning Center tutors also find their work supports their academic interests. Junior Jessica Tucker

“MAP is actually what drew me to Meredith in the first place. I wanted the opportunity to work with children who were on the autism spectrum.”

– Gemma Brodney

Watch Gemma Brodney, ’17, talk about her experience at meredith.edu/adulteducation.

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Meredith AIM students demonstrate fitness programming at the College's Wellness Fair.

sees the ways her role as a chemistry tutor for fellow Meredith students connects to her coursework as a chemistry major and education licensure student.

While reinforcing what she’s learned in chemistry coursework, she is applying concepts from her education classes on how to work with different kinds of learners. “I can take one concept and explain it six ways to six students. I figure out how I can work around one subject to meet different students’ needs,” Tucker said.

Teaching Fellow Laura Culpepper, a senior English major earning elementary teaching licensure, also works in the Learning Center.

Culpepper directly applies her coursework in English to her work as a writing tutor – from helping students read and understand essay prompts to helping students learn to identify comma splices to, more broadly, helping students with their writing.

“I am constantly reviewing the material of student writing and structures and trying to think like a writer,” Culpepper said, “and communicating that to my tutees, reflecting

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on the writing process.”

Cooper Rodriguez, a junior majoring in exercise and sports science (ESS), also works with fellow students in her experiential learning opportunity.

Rodriguez organizes instructors and classes for Angels in Motion (AIM), which offers exercise classes taught by student instructors

“Once students work here for a little while, we get to know their interests and major classes, and we try to pair them with a need.”

– Karen Brenneman, ’94

to Meredith students. Rodriguez, too, has seen how her work with the organization has strengthened concepts in her academic coursework.

For instance, in an ESS course last fall, students learned about marketing, and Rodriguez took ideas from the course to help

promote AIM classes across campus.

“Group exercise is important to me,” Rodriguez said, “and I wanted to be a part of something that could help better students’ lives on campus.” Learning new ways to promote AIM on campus is one way for her to reach that goal.

Staff and faculty who work with students on campus also make a point to encourage students to pursue their academic strengths and interests in their experiential learning.

Through her mentorship of the STAT Team – the Student Technology and Training Team – Karen Brenneman, ’94, Meredith’s director of technical information resources, tries to match students’ work with their academic interests.

The STAT Team, which was created four years ago, connects Meredith’s technology services department to the student population and serves as Meredith’s tech support help desk.

“Once students work here for a little while, we get to know their interests and major classes, and we try to pair them with

a need,” said Brenneman.

Megan Balmer, a senior graphic design major who has worked with the STAT Team since her first year, applies the design skills she has honed in her classes to her work with the STAT Team: she created a graphic for Meredith’s Technology Services as a form of campus outreach.

“I can take one concept and explain it six ways to six students.

I figure out how I can work around one subject to meet different students' needs.”

– Jessica Tucker

Preparation For The Future Cailyn Clymore, a junior majoring in communication and minoring in professional writing and presentation media, said that her on-campus experiential learning opportunity in Meredith’s marketing department is enhancing skills that will aid her not only in her academic coursework but also in her future career.

“I’ve been told over and over that having writing skills, no matter what you want to do in the communication field, is really important,” Clymore said, adding that her work with the marketing department is helping her become a more efficient writer.

For example, Clymore wrote a piece for Meredith’s website after writer Lee Smith’s on-campus event last fall. “The Lee Smith piece was due the next day,” she said, “so I’ve learned to gather my thoughts quickly and effectively.”

Like Clymore, the work that Jessica Tucker is doing with the Learning Center is directly related to her future career as a science teacher. She is gaining additional experience conducting research with Assistant Professor of Chemistry Andrea Carter.

Tucker has helped Carter put together a workshop for struggling chemistry students using a teaching technique called POGIL: Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning.

For the workshop, the students come together for two hours a week, during which Tucker does a mini-lesson. Students work together in groups to complete practice exercises related to the lesson, and Tucker is able to help them if they have questions.

Since the workshop began in the fall of 2016, Tucker and Carter have already seen an improvement in students’ grades and in

“We expect a lot of them in terms of professionalism. They learn how to listen to people and be professional on the customer service desk.”

– Jennifer Kane

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their learning.

Through both of her on-campus learning opportunities, Tucker has had the chance to add to her resume and practice skills she’ll use in the classroom.

Faculty and staff who mentor students in their experiential learning also emphasize the ways in which students’ work can help them going forward.

“We make a very deliberate attempt to help them connect the skills they gain here with their future employment,” said Carmen Christopher, Learning Center director and assistant professor of English.

Christopher also underscores to tutors the importance of professionalism. “That’s a

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“This opportunity and other ones my professors have connected me with are making me a more well-rounded student and applicant for the field I want to enter.”

– Cailyn Clymore

lot of the mentoring that goes into my job – explaining to them how the work world works,” said Christopher. “It’s great for them to get this experience before they go out to the work world, where the consequences might be bigger.”

Brodney, the student working with MAP, also sees building professionalism as a ben-

efit of experiential learning.

“Opportunities like MAP allow students to have a chance to function in a professional or clinical environment,” Brodney said.

Jennifer Kane, IT support services manager and co-mentor of the STAT Team, noted the work that students do provides important skills that can translate to many

different careers.

“We expect a lot of them in terms of professionalism,” Kane said. When students work on the Tech Services Help Desk, for instance, they learn “how to listen to people” and how to be “professional on the customer service desk.”

Kathleen Davis, ’16, had an on-campus experiential learning opportunity in which listening to others was an important part of the job. In her senior year, she served as co-art director of Circus Design, an in-house graphic design studio staffed by Meredith students.

Davis, who was a graphic design major at Meredith, designed the 2015-16 Colton Review, Meredith’s art and literary magazine.

Through her work with Circus Design, Davis met with the editor of The Colton Review to get input on the design. Now, Davis said, as a graphic designer at an agency in Chapel Hill, she is “in contact with customers directly to understand their needs and vision.”

Strengthening Relationships The sixth pillar of Meredith’s strategic plan, Meredith Forever, calls for enriching the “quality of life for Meredith faculty, staff and students” through, in part, “stronger collaboration and communication among faculty, staff, and students.”

On-campus experiential learning opportunities are one way that students learn to better collaborate and communicate with these groups. And some of these relationships might not have formed without the learning opportunity.

Balmer said it’s often difficult for seniors to get to know first-year or sophomore students, but through her work with the STAT Team she is able to work with students in other classes. “The same goes for staff in technology services,” Balmer added. “Some of my bosses are really good friends. It’s nice to have that support.”

Through MAP, Brodney has formed connections with children, parents, and the MAP faculty and staff.

“You get a window into all of those perspectives,” she said. “If I were to go forward

and work in this environment, I’ve had an opportunity to look at things from the perspective of the parent, and think about how this plays out in the context of the family.”

Experiential learning overall aligns with Meredith’s vision for the future: The first pillar in Meredith Forever is to “ensure educational excellence through curricular and co-curricular pathways that lead to student success,” in part by “focusing on critical thinking and experiential learning.”

Students agree that the experiential learning adds value to their overall Meredith experiences.

“You get the opportunity, while you’re still in an environment you’re comfortable with, to explore and question and actually get the hang of creating something,” said Balmer, the STAT Team member.

Dana Sumner, Meredith’s director of career planning, noted that experiential learning benefits students in many parts of their college careers.

“On-campus experiential learning opportunities allow students to better understand, develop, and use their interests and skills while implementing their talents and turning them into strengths,” Sumner said.

These learning experiences are a part of the comprehensive education that students get at Meredith, along with academic rigor, leadership opportunities, study abroad,

campus publications, and other extracurricular activities such as athletics, dance, music, and theater.

Said Clymore of her work in the marketing department, “This opportunity and other ones my professors have connected me with are making me a more well-rounded student and applicant for the field I want to enter.”

“On-campus experiential learning opportunities allow students to better understand, develop, and use their interests and skills while implementing their talents and turning them into strengths.”

– Dana Sumner

These opportunities can also fulfill students in ways they may not have expected.

Brodney found that her on-campus experiential learning work has helped her to make a difference.

“Even as a student, I am being given an opportunity to do something meaningful and impactful,” Brodney said. “My work with the autism program has become a source of strength for me.”

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EMPOWERED TO SUCCEED One alumna’s pursuit of her dream career – later in life – began at Meredith

By Gaye Hill

W

hen most people take a vacation to Hawaii, they’re looking for some well-deserved down time to relax and recharge.

But when Dr. Bea Zepeda, ’02, was on vacation in 1998, she took that opportunity to make a life-changing decision – to begin college at the age of 42, with the ultimate goal of becoming a pediatric physician.

With 14 years of school ahead of her, it would have been daunting to even the strongest woman.

Zepeda came to her decision having spent thirteen years working as a pediatric respiratory therapist.

“I was already in medicine and I always knew it would be pediatrics. That’s never changed, ever,” said Zepeda.

“I chose Meredith because they had this unique program and I knew I needed what they had to offer.”

– Dr. Bea Zepeda, ’02

She has accomplished her original goal – and then some. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Meredith College and completed medical school at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine, an internship and residency at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, and a fellowship at Duke University Medical Center.

She has since returned to East Carolina University (ECU) where she is a pediatric critical care intensivist and is the medical director of the Pediatric Transitional Care Unit at Vidant Medical Center, Brody School of Medicine. She is also a faculty member at Brody.

She gives credit to Meredith for setting her on the

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path to fulfilling her life’s purpose.

“Meredith was the reason I was able to succeed, because it started there. The nurturing and the academic excellence that was really pushed there allowed me to succeed,” said Zepeda. “It’s a long process – starting in middle age and being able to have that opportunity that has shaped my life. I don’t know that I could have succeeded at another institution the way I did at Meredith. It gave me the confidence to go on to medical school.”

Getting Started For many people, college is a foregone conclusion – a natural next step after finishing high school. Not so for Zepeda.

“I came from a poor family. My father was a laborer who never finished high school, my mother stayed at home. Nobody in my family had gone to college. My grandparents were illiterate, never went to school.”

Zepeda continued, “If you have that background in another country, you don’t go to college at 42. You continue to labor on.”

When Zepeda made the decision to become a doctor, she had attended technical school and because of her work as a respiratory therapist she already knew that she loved medicine. Originally she thought she would become a physician assistant. But the doctors she worked with at WakeMed encouraged her to go to medical school instead.

As she considered where to start what she knew would be a long and challenging educational journey, she visited colleges and universities in the Raleigh area. It quickly became clear to Zepeda that Meredith’s adult education program offered something different, both for her learning style and her age.

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“I chose Meredith because they had this unique program and I knew I needed what they had to offer. When I visited other, larger schools, I realized that there would be 300 students in Chemistry 101 and I thought, ‘I can’t do this. I need different things.’”

Zepeda said the faculty and staff helped her plan her schedule around her work, which was critical because as an adult student, she had to continue to work full-time to support herself. She graduated in three years by taking 20 hours a semester.

“In the hospital you can work weekends. I could work Friday, Saturday, Sunday night, and earn 40 hours. You can work around those things. You just learn to adapt.”

She was also nervous about going to school as an adult, thinking she would stick out like a “sore thumb.”

What she found surprised her.

“All the pre-health, pre-med people studied together and I was very accepted.

I was never treated any differently – the professors didn’t, and the students didn’t.

That was very reassuring about Meredith.”

Zepeda said Meredith prepared her well for medical school – as much as one can be prepared for such a rigorous experience.

“Meredith did a good job of getting us ready. One of the doctors I worked with said going to medical school is like trying to drink water from a fire hose. You get so much information so fast, but I knew that all my classmates felt the same way. I felt very prepared,” said Zepeda.

She credits Meredith faculty with that excellent preparation, adding that support came from across all disciplines. When she was getting ready to take the MCAT, the entrance exam for medical school, she was concerned that her writing wasn’t strong enough. An English professor who had taught her introductory classes gave her simple steps to improve her writing.

“When I took the MCATs my writing scores were higher than I thought they would be because she told me the basics to focus on. She really helped me – she didn’t have to, but she took the time to do that.”

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“She is energetic and tireless as a clinical care provider and takes every opportunity as she provides that care to teach the residents and ancillary staff the nuts and bolts of pediatric critical care medicine.”

– Dr. Bill Novotny

A Lifelong Learner Zepeda’s deep love of learning was evident throughout her medical school education. She described the training she had in technical school as very clinical and handson. It was appropriate for her work as a respiratory therapist, but she always had more questions.

“In my second year of microbiology at Meredith, it was fascinating. I had the pieces, but then was able to pull them together and to understand how we use this in medicine. It answered a lot of questions.”

She had similar experiences as she progressed through medical school, her internship, residency, and fellowship.

“As an intern it was a joy because I finally could put everything together after working in a hospital for 20 years. There were so many ‘aha moments’ when everything came together clinically, it was just wonderful.”

Zepeda describes herself as a lifelong learner, a characteristic she sees as essential for a medical professional.

“There are so many changes coming down the pike, it’s almost impossible to keep up with them,” said Zepeda.

To help stay abreast of such changes, Zepeda has formed a “journal club” with her colleagues at ECU. They meet regularly and present journal articles to one another. She also uses an app to maintain a digital library of every medical journal

and then reviews monthly updates. Most important, she and her colleagues come together to discuss the challenges and successes they encounter.

“It’s helpful to talk things through with your colleagues. We’re always there for each other – it’s helpful to have that kind of collegiality. We’re very lucky to have that.”

Peaks and Valleys Such support is critical, for Zepeda’s chosen branch of medicine, pediatric intensive care, is equal parts difficult and inspiring.

Often the children who come to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) have been subjected to a trauma, such as an accident or a near drowning. Such experiences are devastating for the child as well as the child’s family.

Part of Zepeda’s role is to coordinate the multitude of resources that are required to support critically ill children and their families. As director of the transitional care unit, she cares for approximately 40 chronic, complex, medically-fragile children, including paying home visits.

According to Dr. Bill Novotny, codirector of the pediatric intensive care unit, Zepeda’s contributions to the unit cannot be overstated.

“I have known Dr. Zepeda for going on three years. What you see is what you get … she is an unapologetic straight shooter.

She is energetic and tireless as a clinical care provider and takes every opportunity as she provides that care to teach the residents and ancillary staff the nuts and bolts of pediatric critical care medicine. Interactions with families are exemplary, and she is especially effective at caring for Hispanic families of children under her care because she is fluent in Spanish,” said Novotny.

He noted that she is rarely content with the status quo and continues to advance the work of the clinic.

“She has created, largely by herself, a simulation laboratory where she teaches residents basic skills needed in the mastery of procedures performed in critically ill children and is currently planning to

implement a hospice/palliative care/bereavement program that will help critically ill children and their families deal with the all too often and too soon reality of death.”

For Zepeda, and her colleagues, that hard reality is the most difficult part of their job.

“In the PICU it can be daunting when you have to talk with a family and tell them that there’s no hope. You always want to give them hope, but sometimes there isn’t.

It’s heartbreaking because it’s their child,” said Zepeda. “It’s hard on the staff because we care about what we do. We care about the children and families.”

While the losses are distressing, the successes sustain those working in the PICU. Zepeda told the story of a child who was on mechanical ventilation for a long time.

Contrary to expectations, he ended up not needing any of the more invasive supports they thought he would require. Ultimately they were able to send him home.

“We see patients who have had traumatic brain injuries and by the time they go home, they’re talking. It is amazing how resilient children are. That’s the part of pediatrics that’s rewarding. You know you can make a difference, you can help this child to succeed, to live as fulfilling a life as possible.”

Giving Back to Meredith Zepeda has stayed connected to Meredith, particularly to Liz Wolfinger, dean of the school of natural and mathematical sciences and one of Zepeda’s favorite faculty members. When she returned to ECU after completing her fellowship at Duke, she reached out to Wolfinger, who put her in touch with Karthik Aghoram, professor of biological sciences and chair of the health professions advising office at Meredith.

Zepeda invited Aghoram to shadow her for half a day in the PICU. “My goal in physician shadowing was to become a more knowledgeable pre-health adviser. It was a very eye-opening experience. It gave me a first-hand look at how medical professionals work together as a team to provide

“My goal in physician shadowing was to become a more knowledgeable prehealth adviser. It was a very eye-opening experience.”

– Professor Karthik Aghoram

quality care,” said Aghoram.

He was inspired to see Zepeda at work.

“She is a great example of a Meredith alumna who combines professional knowledge and inner strength with empathy, compassion, and professionalism,” he said.

Since shadowing Zepeda in 2014, Aghoram has sent a number of Meredith students to do the same. Zepeda believes it’s a valuable experience for students to see the vast differences between pediatrics and pediatric intensive care.

Zepeda said that she feels loyal to Meredith because it made such a critical difference in her life, and looks for ways to give back to the College.

“I feel very blessed. There’s a community of giving and gratitude at Meredith that you don’t find at big universities. It was vital to my success to have a place like that.”

New Horizons Zepeda continues to seek out opportunities to grow professionally. Currently, she is excited about telemedicine, an emerging form of medicine that she believes holds particular promise for Eastern North Carolina. She is working with the telemedicine department at ECU to develop its use in pediatric intensive care.

“You can do a physical exam from a distance. Here in Eastern N.C. we have patients who are hours away from us. For my chronic kids, that’s the next piece. Being

able to do a home visit every four months and do this in the interim would allow me to use my time in a more efficient way,” said Zepeda.

Using telemedicine with children on mechanical ventilation at home, for instance, would allow her to move faster with the weaning process and get them off the vent. She also noted that families of children on ventilators often have to take several days off from work to get to the clinic because it’s so complicated to move them, so telemedicine would be especially beneficial for such families.

Seventeen years after her fateful Hawaiian vacation, Zepeda still relies on down time for inspiration and renewal, and to feed her creativity. She laughs that her division head always knows when she’s been away.

“I take my vacation time. For me, having time alone is when I recharge and can think about things and not be influenced by the people and stress around me. When I go on vacation, that’s when I come up with these ideas, these decisions.”

For Zepeda, prayer is also essential to her ability to meet the demands of her profession.

“By the grace of God is why I’m here doing what I’m doing. It’s not me. I say that with all humility. There’s no reason that I should be able to do this – it is through grace that I have this – through grace that I found Meredith. All those pieces came together.”

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CLASS OF 1970 Holding the Rope for Each Other

By Emily Parker

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“I have never been more proud to be a Meredith alumna. There are no better people to have holding the other end of the rope than my Meredith Angels.”

– Sue Hammons Cook, ’70

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magine you are hanging on the edge of a cliff, your life in your hands as you grasp the rocky edge in hopes of not falling.

Then someone comes and hands you a rope. A friend, someone you know will endure the pain of the rope burning through their hands as they pull you up. You grab the rope and hold on tightly, knowing they have the other end.

The Class of 1970 have always been close to each other, staying connected however they could through the years. Classmates are there for each other during wonderful moments in their lives and to give each other encouragement when needed. In 2011, the class started a tradition that “holds” them together even more.

In 2010, as the Class of 1970 was celebrating their 40th reunion, Sue Hammons Cook’s husband, Rodney Cook, was going into heart failure and needed a new heart. During that weekend she expressed concerns about her husband’s health to her classmates and leaned on them for support.

During the time they waited on the transplant, Rodney Cook and his son, Travis Cook, heard Sylvia Hatchell, UNC women’s basketball coach, tell her “rope story” at a Rams Club event.

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“My tile is in my kitchen window where it greets me every day. I look at it and I see the faces of all my friends and feel their hugs all over again.”

– Janet Morris Belvin, ’70

Janet Morris Belvin, Cindy Griffith McEnery, and Sue Hammons Cook

to safety. She asked her 2010-11 team to hold the rope for each other during their difficult season.

Leaving that event Rodney Cook asked his son to “hold the other end of his rope” as doctors tried to find him a new heart.

Ten months later a new heart was found.

When Duke University Hospital informed him they had a match, Travis Cook found a rope for them to hold together.

After seeing the impact the rope had on her son and husband, Cook sent another classmate, Janet Morris Belvin, a rope when her grandson, Camden, was diagnosed with a heart condition. She sent it with dozens of extra tags for people to write notes on and ribbons to attach to the rope. Belvin had been a loyal and supportive classmate and Cook wanted to do something to give her hope as well.

Belvin’s grandson was in the hospital for the first two months of his life. The rope sent by the Cooks hung above his bed with tags hanging from it that contained messages from classmates and others. Camden had a final surgery to repair his heart, but unfortunately it was not successful and he passed away. It was an extremely difficult time for Belvin, but she says the Class of 1970 helped her through it. She can’t imag-

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ine another class this far removed from their graduation being this close to one another.

“There was a lot of prayer for Camden.

To know our class has strong friendships that have lasted so long is amazing. We are holding on to each other’s ropes. I definitely felt like I was not alone,” said Belvin.

Later when other classmates found out about the rope, they discussed adopting the concept for their class. Now when the Class of 1970 learns that a fellow classmate is going through a difficult time they mail a letter with the “rope story” and a rope with words of encouragement to tell them “we are holding on to the other end of your rope.” The goal is to show their classmate they will not let go and are not alone during their difficult situation.

Cindy Griffith McEnery and classmate, Peggy Timmerman Carter, took it one step further and had a North Carolina artist, Sally Nooney, design a tile to give to classmates. Nooney hears each classmates’ story before she designs the tile, so it is unique to that individual.

“Each time, she gets tears in her eyes as we describe the classmate we are honoring,” says McEnery. “We consider her a member of our team in every sense of the word.”

A tile now accompanies the rope and has been given to four classmates so far, each of them having different circumstances. The tile gives them a long lasting, beautiful visual to represent their classmates’ love and concern during that time.

“My classmates wanted somehow to give me a virtual hug from a distance. When they sent the tile months after Camden passed away, I was reduced to tears because of the depth of their love,” said Belvin. “My tile is in my kitchen window where it greets me every day. I look at it and I see the faces of all my friends and feel their hugs all over again.”

The classmates are now looking toward their 50 year reunion in 2020 and the impact their class gift can have for future Meredith students and alumnae. The class is thinking of a place of reflection on campus for people to visit. The tile concept could be made prominent in the design.

“I have never been more proud to be a Meredith alumna,” said Cook. “There are no better people to have holding the other end of the rope than my Meredith Angels.”

Classmates who are interested in helping fund the 50 year reunion project or have questions, please contact Erin Cleghorn at cleghorn@meredith.edu or (919) 7608060.

BEYOND STRONG The Campaign for Meredith

$1 Million Gift Names Fitness Center

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$1 million gift from Ann Lowery, ’74, will name the fitness center in the Weatherspoon Physical Education building for her parents, Herman and Ruth Lowery.

The gift will help fund renovations of Weatherspoon set to begin in Winter 2017. The expansion will increase the size of the fitness center by 5,400 square feet and allow for more group fitness opportunities, personalized training, new equipment, more dedicated staff, and longer operating hours. The pool will be removed to expand the fitness center.

Meredith College athletic teams will also benefit from new areas for team training and sports conditioning. These enhancements will allow Meredith athletes to remain competitive and will help in recruitment of the top-ranked athletes.

“I wanted to give this gift because statistics show students who work out at least

once per week are more likely to earn a higher grade point average than students who worked out less or not at all,” says Lowery. “Also, students who are motivated by fitness and wellness tend to have better time management skills. Physical activity has proven to alleviate the stressors of college life. Essentially, being fit is good for the mind.”

“I wanted to give this gift because statistics show students who work out at least once per week are more likely to earn a higher grade point average than students who worked out less or not at all.”

– Ann Lowery, ’74 An improved fitness center will also have the potential to help grow enrollment,

Watch the Donor Spotlight at youtube.com/meredithcollege.

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BEYOND STRONG The Campaign for Meredith

increase retention, and give wellness opportunities not offered before to current and future students.

“Our brand, Going Strong, reminds us of the importance of being strong as individuals and as a College. A key factor in individual strength, of course, is physical fitness,” says President Jo Allen. “For our students, faculty, and staff, the fitness center provides the equipment, space, and support to enhance our physical strength. Just as important, it will also attract greater enrollment,

ensuring our College's strength is enhanced. We are tremendously grateful to Ann Lowery for this wonderful gift in honor of her parents, Herman and Ruth Lowery.”

Quality of life is also one of the six pillars in the College’s strategic plan, so this gift aligns with Meredith’s commitment to health and well-being. The expansion will provide students with a more wellrounded college experience and will make Meredith more appealing to prospective students.

“Current Meredith students have grown up during the fitness and wellness boom. Many arrive on campus with workout habits,” says Lowery. “With a new fitness center, Meredith students, faculty, and staff will have a facility to pursue their wellness objectives on campus at Weatherspoon and athletic teams will have a much-needed facility to train for their sports.”

Renovations are expected to be complete in Fall 2017.

Lowery is serving her second term on the Board of Trustees and is co-chair of Beyond Strong | The Campaign for Meredith. In 2014, she was the recipient of the Meredith Reunion Philanthropy Award.

Lowery says, “It is an honor for me to name this facility in memory of my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Herman T. Lowery of WinstonSalem. Forty-five years ago, they had the foresight to know that Meredith was exactly what I needed.”

Additional Support for Weatherspoon Complex Meredith has received additional gifts from The Cannon Foundation, The Parents Fund, and The Dickson Foundation to support the renovations to Weatherspoon.

A $250,000 gift from The Dickson Foundation will serve Meredith's mission to provide health and wellness and educate the whole woman, helping her focus on her strengths and prepare her to live with leadership and integrity in a field of her choosing. This gift will support growing fitness, intramural, and athletic team needs of students.

The gift from The Cannon Foundation will also help support the additional needs of fitness for the campus community.

The Parents Fund raised $56,148 for improvements to the Fitness Center in 2015-16, surpassing their goal by more than $6,000. This amount was the most raised by Meredith parents in the 13 years since The Parents Fund was created.

This fiscal year, The Parents Fund is continuing to raise

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money for the Fitness Center and has already received $30,000 from Meredith families. Robbie and Wanda Yow, of Sanford, N.C., are parents of current freshman, Haley Yow, ’20. Although this is their first year as members of the Meredith community, they have already joined the Parents Council and have made a recent gift to the Fitness Center project.

“We joined the Parents Council in hopes of giving back,” says Wanda Yow. “Everyone at Meredith College has been supportive, enthusiastic, and helpful from day one. We give to The Parents Fund because we appreciate that Meredith College is constantly improving the campus and expanding their academic programs.”

In addition, a six figure gift by Oscar A. Keller, Jr., will support the renovations to the Fitness Center. In honor of the gift, the dance studio will be named the Oscar A. Keller, Jr. and Elderlene R. Keller Dance Studio.

Meredith College Receives $1 Million Preventive Maintenance Gift

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eredith College is pleased to announce that an anonymous donor has recently given a $1 million gift for electrical maintenance.

Gifts such as these are needed to prevent future issues caused when maintenance is deferred. Although they may not support glamorous projects such as new buildings or major renovations, gifts to enhance infrastructure are necessary to sustain a strong living and working environment for the campus community.

“My father received a graduate degree in engineering,” said the donor. “I know how important maintenance is because of him and if you do not perform preventive work, you will have problems further down the road.”

The donor learned about the needs of the campus while listening to President Jo Allen speak at an event. After hearing her talk about the electrical project, the donor spoke with Allen to learn more about how she could help.

“This donor's gift will resolve a critical threat to the College's operations,” says Allen. “That she wants no recognition for her gift makes it – and her – all the more remarkable. Talk about a friend to the College!”

The donor has stayed connected to Meredith through the years and appreciates the times she is able to come to campus and be involved. As an adult student she came to Meredith College later in life.

“I did not get into traditions since I was a non-traditional student, but I liked that it was a small college and I got to know so many people,” said the donor. “I loved the fact that before tests people asked who wanted to study together. It was fun and created such a wonderful community.”

As a life-long learner, the donor is pleased that the gift will affect every student, faculty, and staff member on campus.

It was important for her to give to something that will keep the College strong.

Naming a Gift

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eredith College is proud of our beautiful campus, with its buildings and facilities that continually serve students, faculty, and the greater community.

Often, donors to the College seek opportunities to name a space on the campus in honor or memory of a family member or friend.

Gifts naming a building or space on campus are widely encouraged and always support the mission of Meredith College. Many of these spaces support activities and events that serve students, faculty, staff, and the public, enhance the functionality of programs, or provide ongoing upkeep of buildings.

Naming opportunities on our campus include the enhancement or refurbishment of a current building or academic spaces within a school, department, or program; named scholarships and student and faculty travel funds;

outdoor spaces like the new fountain plaza or the outdoor athletic complex at the front of campus; and faculty and staff development funds that support outstanding or scholarly work.

The level of a named gift varies with the facility or program being named. Occasionally, named spaces can be considered and funded for a limited amount of time. A recent example of a named space is the Jo Ellen Ammons Welcome Center, which occupies a wing of the main level of Johnson Hall and was designed and completed to serve the student experience. It is rare that a month goes by without the addition of a named scholarship supporting students in all disciplines.

For more information, please contact Cindy Godwin, associate vice president for institutional advancement, at (919) 760-8206 or godwinc@meredith.edu.

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Faculty and Staff Campaign Exceeds Last Year This year’s Faculty & Staff Giving Campaign was a great success and the results exceeded those from last fall’s initiative. After the seven-week campaign, 297 donors made gifts to the College, and 71.4% participation was achieved. Meredith College greatly appreciates the outstanding commitment of the campus community who support the Meredith experience for students.

Alumnae Association Holds First Homecoming

To learn more about campus giving, please visit our Faculty & Staff Giving webpage at meredith.edu/ beyondstrong/giving-at-meredith.

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he Meredith College Alumnae Association welcomed more than 400 alumnae back to campus on November 4-5, 2016, to celebrate the College’s first Homecoming. Many alumnae have traditionally attended Cornhuskin’ activities the first Friday in November, but this year they were also invited to attend a brunch and special afternoon sessions on Saturday.

On Friday, alumnae enjoyed a picnic after the Cornhuskin’ parade and then went to Jones Auditorium to view Cornhuskin’ activities via livestream from the amphitheater. These events allowed alumnae to reminisce about their favorite Cornhuskin’ memories and reconnect with old friends.

As the night started in the amphitheater for the students, alumnae joined in with their own apple bobbin’ and cornshuckin’ competitions. The alumnae Bathtub Ring and Oddballs also made an appearance. Following Cornhuskin’, alumnae gathered across the street at the Brickhouse for an after party hosted by the Young Alumnae Board.

On Saturday morning, alumnae gathered in Belk Dining Hall for brunch with President Jo Allen, who gave an update on academics, athletics, admissions, Beyond Strong | The Campaign for Meredith, and renovations to Johnson Hall.

Alumnae were able to choose from three breakout sessions after brunch.

Professor of Human Environmental Sciences Deborah Tippett led a session on knowing your strengths. Each participant was able to take the StrengthsFinder assessment and discuss what their strengths meant to them personally and professionally. Faculty Emeritus Allen Page engaged in a thoughtful discussion on “Can Paul be redeemed for the 21st Century?” and Visiting Professor of Political Science David McLennan led a session on Election Day and what it meant for our country and state.

Homecoming concluded with campus tours and attendees looking forward to the first Friday of November 2017.

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Alex Davis, director of academic advising

How to Make a Gift How can you make a difference and help Meredith go Beyond Strong?

There are a number of ways you can support Meredith. Make a gift that addresses the most pressing needs of the College. Select another, more specific way to make an immediate impact on the College.

Or make a long-term, endowed gift. Learn more at meredith.edu/ beyondstrong/impact.

ALUMNAE

CONNECTION Class notes and news for Meredith Alumnae 1944 Fannie Memory Farmer Mitchell was featured in the Spring-Summer, 2016, issue of Carolina Law, a publication of the UNC School of Law. The story was a two-page feature article titled “A Walk Down Memory's Lane: The Education of Fannie Memory Farmer Mitchell ’46.”

1958 Clara Wright Frazier was awarded the Allen deHart Humanitarian Award by the Louisburg College Alumni Association. The award read "In Appreciation For Your Visionary Endeavors In Service To Humanity."

Frazier is a 1955 graduate of Louisburg who taught at the college for 26 years. She remains active in the Golden-Agers Association at the college.

1961

love of Meredith. She never really left Meredith, serving and giving in ways too numerous to count.

Perkinson continues to love being Nana to her six grandchildren, now three young adults, an adolescent, a new driver, and a 10-year-old. With two replaced knees and lots of physical therapy, she is able to enjoy digging in the dirt still and continue to serve her church in various ways.

1965 Brenda Petty Eskridge returned to Chapel Hill from Salt Lake City after a Road Scholar special event. She spent a week learning how to research genealogy in The Family Search, which is owned by the Church of Latter Day Saints, and has an amazing library with a block-size, five-story building with resources from around the world to access records of your ancestors. Carol Andrews Southerland

Jennie Turlington Spell shares that her suite,

spent nine fabulous days in England, studying the

Margaret Hurst Clyburn, Anne Sharpe Mace, and

Wesleys and Methodism as well as C.S. Lewis.

Gaynelle Gray Wood, got together in August for

Southerland thought of Dr. Mac at every turn and

lunch at her home in Raleigh. They had a wonderful

how he opened her mind to broadminded learning.

time reminiscing and catching up on their families, not knowing it would be their last time together because Margaret died December 26, 2016.

1963 Beverlye Hancock traveled with her daughter and granddaughter to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in July. Mary Frances Perkinson attended Meredith’s dedication of the Jo Ellen Ammons Welcome Center and was moved to hear President Jo Allen and Alma Ammons Hoffman (representing the family) speak of Jo Ellen and her

1966 Johnette Ingold Fields and her husband, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this June.

She and a group of classmates have been gathering at Wrightsville Beach for the past ten years.

Betsy Evans Hunter has been married for 52 years. She has two children and five grandchildren: four girls and one boy. She enjoyed seeing classmates at the reunion and hopes to do it again. Kay Lambeth is still working, but also is enjoying keeping up with classmates. She and

Barbara Watson recently visited Patsy Hurst West and Johnette Ingold Fields while in Wilmington as well as Bette Wilson Thorne and Dianne Hatcher Aldridge in Southport. Lambeth continues to work on the booklet containing the individual accounts from members of the class that were submitted for reunion. Susie Herndon O'Neal has been retired for four years from her job as director of activities at Sharon Towers Retirement Center in Charlotte.

She is re-learning bridge and traveling with her husband. After a visit to Key West, they stopped in Lakeland to see Pat White Meyer. She says Pat looks great and uses her creative talent running an events business. O'Neal lives near Peggy Worth St George, who was her Meredith roommate, and says when they get together the years fall away.

Elaine (Lane) Waller Prock retired a few years ago after working 43 years mainly in the field of pediatric nutrition. Now she has the ultimate job of being called "BeeGee" (Beautiful Grandmother) by two little people – soon to be three! She lives in the Clemson, S.C., area and loves following the Clemson Tigers! Her son graduated from Clemson in 2005. Candace Welsted Ramseur moved to Charlotte after 36 years in South Carolina to be near family and especially three grandchildren. She and her husband will celebrate their 50th anniversary in December. She has two children and five grandchildren. Dee Barrier Rodgers is in constant motion. Her days are filled with exercise, family, civic, and church activities. Rodgers has three sons, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

She is the treasurer of three organizations, teaches Sunday School, packs weekend food bags for local

Compiled by the Office of Alumnae Relations from August 2016 – November 8, 2016. Information may be edited for space limitations and content restrictions. Submit class notes to your class agent, online at meredith.edu/alumnae, by email at alumnae@meredith. edu, by fax (919) 760-2818, or by phone to the Office of Alumnae Relations at (919) 760-8548. Deadline for the Summer 2017 issue is March 14, 2017. Submissions received after this date will appear in the Fall 2017 issue.

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ALUMNAE

CONNECTION elementary children, and serves as a lay leader at church. On Friday nights she is at her grandson's football games. She and her husband have taken nine mission trips to Kenya. They have been accompanied on many trips by their sons and recently their grandchildren. The best thing about these trips, she says, is the friendships they have made. Janet "Grogan" Shepherd is a newlywed.

She married in September 2015 and is having a blast living in a retirement community in WinstonSalem. She has one son and three grandchildren who are the joys of her life. Grogan, Patsy Hurst West, and Margaret Simmons, ’65, spent three days together in Wilmington in October. She writes that relaxing in Patsy's backyard by the sound, laughing and catching up, and a trip by ferry to Southport were highlights of their time together.

Martha King Tucker remembers the Meredith reunion as a fabulous time. She looks forward to keeping up with everyone and to the class’s next time together. Ruth Ann Sloop Whitener and her husband visit their son in Boca Raton several times a year. They enjoy time with their family in Boca Raton, Charleston, S.C., and Draper, Va. Nancy Williams Basham returned to North Carolina some years after retirement. She credits Dr. Campbell, Dr. Rose, and Dr. Knight with enabling her to attain her professional goals. Basham currently lives quite happily in Reidsville, where she is near friends and family and is involved in community activities. She would love to hear from classmates, who are welcome to visit.

1967 Happy N. Goethert saw the culmination of a yearlong project that was supported by the local agriculture committee and the local nonprofit art association. She made a call to artists last January, picked 11 artists and paired them with 13 farms to experience life in four seasons and record their experience in their chosen medium. The exhibit opened in early September. Goethert hosted the artists and farmers for a "farm to table" dinner on the farm. In October she went to Ecuador with her husband and 17 MIT students to the UN conference on the "New Urban Agenda" and helped manage their booth. It featured two settlements in Quito that had started in the 1980s with different supports and last summer they documented the results by foot and drone. Now it's back to work putting the

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Explore Canada’s Maritime Provinces with Meredith

By Becky Bailey and Betty Webb Meredith Travel Program Coordinators We are delighted that our final 2016 tour was as fine an experience as we dreamed it would be. From the eternal city of Rome to the baroque gem of Lecce, we covered many miles and many centuries of art, architectural, and archeological wonders. Please join us on a future foray.

We are happy to report that two of our three 2017 trips are already fully subscribed but there is space remaining on the tour of the Maritime Provinces of Canada, from September 25–October 5, 2017.

Peak fall color is one of the ongoing delights you will experience when you join the Meredith Travel Program for a custom-designed tour of the Maritime Provinces of Canada. Beginning in historic Halifax, Nova Scotia, we will travel by private motor coach, stopping at picturesque fishing villages along the way, to the Cabot Trail that winds through the pristine mountains of Nova Scotia. From there it’s on to Prince Edward Island – and, yes, a visit to Green Gables farmhouse – before we continue to New Brunswick and the Bay of Fundy, where you can watch the highest tide in the world rise and fall 50 feet every single day.

As you have come to expect with Meredith Travel Program tours, there will be UNESCO World Heritage sites, natural wonders, cities – but also travel off the beaten path and a multi-sensory introduction to the many cultures that have lived in this region. Two ferry rides. Scallops. Lobsters. A one hour time zone change. No jet lag! Please pack your favorite fall sweater and plan to join us for this memorable excursion, our first North American tour.

And looking ahead to 2018, at this point, we are planning a February trip to Cuba, a June trip to Switzerland, and a September/October trip to Sicily (with an optional add-on to Sansepolcro, of course).

To sign up for a scheduled 2017 tour or for more information, contact Denise Parker at (919) 760-8051.

meredith.edu/alumnae

tractors away, planting cover crops, and tending their new flock of 30 mixed breed hens. Goethert hopes to have a profitable egg business from her farmstand.

1968 Alma Jo Hall Langston continues to enjoy retirement from Charlotte schools. Late in 2015, she toured the Grand Canyon, followed by a 2016 trip with family to Zion National Park and the Arches in Utah followed by family time in Pennsylvania, where she loves visiting her twin granddaughters, one with red hair. At Sardis Presbyterian Church, she serves on the Session and next year, will chair the Christian Education ministry. She stays busy at the Levine Senior Center volunteering and serving on the Board of Directors. Langston is looking forward to her 2018 reunion year, lots of wonderful memories, and continuing to celebrate the impact Meredith has had on many lives through the years.

Janet Morris Belvin did some traveling this fall.

She visited her daughter and son-in-law and their boys in Newport, R.I., and then spent a couple of days leaf peeping in Vermont. Belvin spent a week touring Kentucky, seeing various sites, including Mary Lincoln's childhood home, the Kentucky Speedway, Corvette Factory and Museum, Rupp Arena, and Keeneland Racetrack.

1970

call North Carolina home, but enjoys traveling and visiting children and grandchildren in Toronto and Sacramento, and family vacations that have includ-

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ALUMNAE

Katherine Lawing Capps and her husband celebrated their 46th anniversary in Macon, Ga., having been evacuated for Hurricane Matthew. They came back to a totally different Hilton Head. Capps

survived really well but so many suffered great loss. She is feeling thankful. Peggy Timmerman Carter has no new job, no new grandchild, and no new red-letter accomplishment ....just a new left knee! The jury is still out, but she believes she will keep it. Susan Soloway Daul is enjoying the cutest, funniest, sweetest three-year-old granddaughter in the world (slightly biased). Still dancing, painting, and traveling to art shows with her theoretically retired personal assistant, her husband. Nancy Yates Dove has been busy last year and this year serving as regent of the Major General Robert Howe Chapter, NSDAR and also on her church's building committee with the expansion of their church sanctuary. She has two grandchildren – a grandson, age 15, and a granddaughter, age 12. Dove still travels a lot with her husband as he is still working. She has retired from education and an interior design business. Hurricane Matthew dropped two big 100-year-old oak trees on her house so she will be busy with repairs for the next several months. Kathy Parrish Horton became the grandmother of twins, a boy and a girl, born September 26 at Rex Hospital in Raleigh. Ann Brown Montgomery is gaining a new daughter as her son weds. Laurie Cocker Timberlake reports the birth of her fourth grandchild, who joins the family of her oldest son in the Sacramento Valley of California. Timberlake retired from teaching three years ago and moved to Cary, N.C. She is glad to

ed Japan and the Virgin Islands. Ann Carroll Ward and her husband had her suitemates come to Wrightsville Beach. She enjoyed visiting with Sarah Jo Cherry Bryce and her husband, Ron, Lee and Anne Poates, and "Cullen" Sessoms. Ward and her husband also took a cruise on the Danube in May. Deborah Ingram Cleaver headed north after Meredith to work on her Master of Music degree in piano performance at Boston University School of Fine Arts. After finishing her degree, Cleaver was Leonard Shure’s teaching assistant for three years, when he made a move to New England Conservatory. Next came 10 years living in Berlin, Germany, years filled with teaching, performing, and travel over much of Europe. On her return to the U.S., she moved to the West Coast. Since 1994, has been living in Portland, Ore., where she currently teaches at Lewis and Clark College and Reed College. Cleaver just completed a two-year term as president of the Portland District Music Teachers Association. After music, her big passions are gardening, cooking with her husband and friends, and traveling.

1971 Frances Todd Corbin was a nontraditional student before Meredith even began using the term.

She completed Mars Hill Junior College in 1951 and finished her B.A. at Meredith in 1971. She loved her year in North Dakota, where she delighted exploring its rivers and the lakes of Minnesota. It was back in Raleigh where her religion, art, music, and education studies would lead her

Join your Meredith classmates for Alumnae Reunion Weekend, May 19-21, 2017.

All alumnae are invited to attend, and classes ending in a two or seven will be celebrating a special class reunion. Activities will include a Friday celebration hosted by President Jo Allen, ’80, and featuring the Band of Oz, a State of the College address, Alumnae Market, individual class events, and an Alumnae Worship Service.

The College’s annual Alumnae Awards are presented during Reunion Weekend. Categories are Distinguished Alumna, Career Achievement, and Recent Graduate. There’s still time to submit a nomination before the March 13 deadline.

Learn more at meredith.edu/alumnae/reunion_weekend.

MEREDITH COLLEGE 2017

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VICTORIA "TORY" HOKE, ’99 Animation Dreams Become Reality

By Reah Nicholson Growing up with a passion for movies – animation in particular – Victoria “Tory” Hoke, ’99, never thought that she would find herself living in Los Angeles and being a part of one of the most popular animated shows on television. Hoke is the chief technology officer (CTO) for South Park Studios.

South Park Studios produces South Park from September through December, delivering 10 episodes a season. With various TV spots, sports promos, and South Park: The Fractured But Whole slated for 2017, Hoke doesn’t have much down time. As CTO, she is involved in all technology-related aspects of creating the episodes and managing a team of technology experts.

“I was lucky enough to stumble blindly onto South Park,” said Hoke. “When I first saw the listing, I thought it was a joke. But it looked like a fit, and that turned out to be true.”

Over the past seven and a half years, she has served in the technology department of South Park Studios, where she started as a senior pipeline engineer before being promoted to her current position. At the time, Hoke didn’t even know what a pipeline engineer was, but between computer science and filmmaking she had what they were looking for and it has worked out great for her.

When she graduated in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, she worked for several companies involved in printing and clinical trials. After a few years, she got the itch to expand her horizons and she still had a passion for movies and animation. So, she attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where she graduated with a degree in filmmaking.

“Every step of the way, that Meredith computer science degree opened doors,” said Hoke. “It helped me pick up new technologies. It helped me build new tools I was missing. It helped me get the internship that paid for gas to LA. And it was a requirement for the pipeline engineer job I stumbled on eight years ago.”

Working at South Park is Hoke’s first and only job in the entertainment industry, but she feels that every job she had has prepared her for the next job. Five years from now, Hoke would love to still be doing what she is doing now, but better, smarter, and with more perspective.

“Life at Meredith taught me to keep hunting for solutions,” said Hoke. “If you can’t find what you’re looking for, change your point of view. Professionally, this has given me an attitude of ‘there has to be a way.’”

to her life's passion: handbells! She has directed handbell choirs for students of many age levels. The college student handbell choir, The Tintinnabulators (small bells) of Tabernacle Baptist, rang for 15 years, performed on a WRAL Sunday show, and performed at many festivals and the White House. Because of Frances' influence, handbells have been enjoyed in Nazareth, Russia and Ukraine. Perhaps she rang a special tune this past spring when she became a first time great-grandmother! Susan Crouch Craig moved around for several years with her husband, but has lived for the last 27 years in Carversville, Pa., less than an hour outside of Philadelphia. Craig taught preschool for many years until she retired so she could play with her three grandchildren. She also teaches Sunday School and is now involved with her church's work with Native Americans in New Mexico.

Patsy Johnson Gilliland earned her Master of Music degree in voice performance from Indiana after her Meredith graduation. She has lived in Rocky Mount with her husband for 42 years. Gilliland helped found the Tar River Orchestra and Chorus in 1986 and also helped found the Tar River Children's Chorus in 1991.

For 23 years, she has been the conductor of this chorus, which has excelled in competitions and has performed at Piccolo Spoleto and Williamsburg's Bruton Parish. She was inducted into the Twin County Hall of Fame in 2016. Teaching voice, leading worship, and writing music have been the unexpected joys of her life. Connie Kidwell Logan recently visited her daughter and helped with her 11-month-old grandson in Australia. She returned stateside in November, and moved into her new home in Kennett Square, Pa. She earned her M.Ed. in the field of gifted and talented, and used her degree to develop programs for gifted elementary students, especially in the area of mathematics. She also earned her Ed.D. in leadership and innovation and has been an adjunct professor at local universities. Logan is sought after as a speaker on mathematics education, instruction for gifted students, and ESL. She enjoys visiting her son who lives in Florida. She is passionate about the Logan Fund, named for her other son, whose death was caused by a drunken driver. She speaks frequently to young people about this issue. Another current interest is working at Longwood Botanical Gardens. Pam Pruitt Sherman earned her M.Ed. from UNC-G after graduation, then she got married and moved to Highland Springs, Va., where she continues to live with her husband, two children, and grandson. Sherman has

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served as minister of preschool activities for her Bap-

[ALUMNAE GOING STRONG]

tist church for 42 years, teaching parenting classes and training preschool teachers. She has now served three generations of the same families. And lucky for her, when she is at work, her sweet grandson is just down the hall. Kitty Sparks McCammon was chosen by North Carolina Main Street Center as a Main Street Champion for 2016. She owns BlueRidge Design and The Firehouse Inn in Downtown Rutherfordton. Her work with Rutherford Town Revitaliza-

CLAUDIA STOWERS, ’73 Turning an Avocation into a Paying Job

By Reah Nicholson

tion and the North Carolina Step Program was part

With over 30 years of fundraising

of a volunteer group effort that led Rutherfordton to

and management experience, it only

be named North Carolina Small Town of the Year for

seemed fitting that Claudia Stow-

2016 by the North Carolina Rural Center.

ers,’73, would take on a $150 million fundraising challenge in an effort to

1972 Beverly Fowler Mitchell has retired after 26 years as a school counselor in the Wake County Public School System. She is starting a private practice as a child therapist in Cary, N.C.

help bring American history to the forefront. In March 2015, Stowers joined the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, Pa., as the vice president for advancement.

With the museum scheduled to

1973

open its doors on April 19, 2017,

Jeanne Mangum Andrus, her husband, and their

helping the museum capstone its $150 million capital campaign. Thanks to the

the anniversary of the shot heard around the world, Stowers took on the task of

three children have lived in Raleigh since 1982. She

generosity of 11,000 contributors from all 50 states and funds remaining on a chal-

has three grandchildren. Her husband owns Andrus &

lenge match, the campaign is within $5 million of achieving its goal.

Associates Dermatology in Raleigh. She has become

“It’s the way our founding history is being told at the Museum that first drew me

an avid gardener and volunteers weekly at the JC

in,” said Stowers. “From our fifth grade history books, it’s easy to think our found-

Raulston Arboretum. Her gardens have been featured

ing generation were all old men wearing wigs. It’s actually the story of how individu-

in the National Garden Conservancy tour, visited by

als, many of whom were ‘middle folk’, risked everything, and whose individual

Garden Gate Magazine, and featured on many tours.

decisions in the face of huge consequences all contributed to giving us the country

Andrus and husband are members of Greystone

we live in today.”

Baptist Church where they are choir members and

The museum will tell a diverse story about the important contributions of

Sunday School teachers. Her family proudly has a

African-Americans, Native Americans, and women, many of whom followed their

scholarship, the Mangum Family Scholarship, funded

men to war and others who fought alongside them.

at Meredith.

1974 Robin Byington Buchanan retired from Lees-McRae College, where she taught and served as chair of the Division of Education since 2007. She had previously retired from Mitchell County Schools after 33 years

“Even our museum itself owes a debt of gratitude to the tenacity of two women, Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee and her daughter, Mary Custis Lee, who together waged a 40-year battle to recover Washington’s headquarters tent – now the treasure of the museum’s collection – after it was confiscated from Arlington House during the Civil War,” said Stowers. “Both descendants of Martha Custis Washington, they were also the wife and eldest daughter, respectively, of Gen. Robert E. Lee.” Proceeds from selling the tent in 1907 helped Civil War widows and children.

where she served as a classroom teacher, principal,

Upon graduating from Meredith College with bachelor’s degrees in English

and associate superintendent. Alice Winecoff Clay-

and economics, Stowers taught high school English before working in banking

ton very much looks forward to regular contact with

and insurance. While in the banking industry, she volunteered to serve in various

generations of Meredith graduates as leader of the

community roles for the bank, such as campaign chair and board chair for the local

local Meredith College Alumnae Chapter. It is a plea-

United Way, which led her into fundraising.

sure to meet prospective students interested in Meredith and witness their interaction with current faculty and alumnae of all ages. Another joy is watching the

“I never worked a day for years afterwards,” said Stowers. “In other words, I would have done the job for no pay. That’s how much I loved it!”

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CONNECTION curiosity of her two-year-old granddaughter, who she easily envisions as a future Meredith student. Peggy Bryan Cochran recently reconnected with Barbara Jo Horton Williams, who now lives in Morehead City, N.C. Both have recently become first-time grandmothers, and keep up with the grandsons on Facebook. Kay Hall Norman is enjoying a new grandchild. She, Ann Lowery, and Kathy Vessels take a trip together each year and recently vacationed in Santa Fe, N.M. Norman looks forward to retiring after 36 years at Morgan Stanley in Charlotte. Karen Youngblood Padgett is enjoying retirement after many years of teaching at high school and community college levels. She substitutes fairly regularly at an elementary school near her home in Garner. Padgett enjoys the change of pace with the “little kids.” She also enjoys having more time to visit her daughter, who now lives in Nashville, Tenn. Beth Leavel Milne will be starring in the new Broadway-bound musical The Prom playing the role of Dee Dee Allan.

1977 Emily Craig and husband have both retired and they have moved to Georgetown, S.C. Her daughter is married and lives in Columbia, S.C.

1984

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JAMYE HICKMAN, ’01 Making a Name in the Business World

By Reah Nicholson Since graduating from Meredith College, Jamye Hickman, ’01, has made a name for herself, gaining recognition from celebrities such as Oprah and Rachael Ray. Hickman, who won the 2015 Distinguished Alumna Award from the Department of Psychology, is a well-known entrepreneur.

Hickman grew up in Bolivia, N.C., and graduated from Meredith in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology before enrolling in Georgia Tech, where she earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in engineering psychology.

When she was 25 years old, Hickman founded PupCentric, a company that manufactured pet products. The E.B.D. (Everything but the Dog) Carry-all, which she created and designed, was featured in an issue of Everyday With Rachael Ray as a favorite accessory of Ray. In October 2008, Hickman appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show as a featured guest, where she spoke about the success of the E.B.D. Carry-all and how being a mom to her Shi-

Pam Mortensen Elks became a grandmother in September to a new granddaughter. Deanie Griffin has retired after 32 years of teaching for N.C. Public Schools and began teaching at Epiphany School for Global Studies. She had the privilege of adopting her two oldest granddaughters two years ago and moved back to Havelock to enjoy family. Laurie Pomeranz Grimm has returned to work for the State of Vermont as the civil docket clerk for the Vermont Superior court. Her husband has retired after 41 years of teaching high school and both of her young adults are in college. Linda Dotson Perkins and husband of 31 years have recently moved to Edisto Beach, S.C. Terrie Holland Priest continues to work in administration at Columbus Regional Healthcare System, but especially loves her new job as Gigi to her first grandchild. Anna Pearson Skirvin became a grandmother in September to a new granddaughter.

Melissa McLaney Smith teaches second grade with Elkin City Schools and coaches the Elkin High School

Tzu, Zoe-Joe, encouraged her start. Unfortunately, Zoe-Joe has since passed away.

Ladies Tennis team, who have been conference champions for the past three years. Janet Croxton

tions, and part humor. We will see how this unfolds.”

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m e re d i th.e d u

“When I think back on who I was at 24 years old, sewing, using the skills my mama taught me as a child, I honestly had no limits,” said Hickman. “I never thought ‘this won’t work’ or ‘no one will ever buy this’. I remember thinking ‘I need this, so I can’t be the only one.’”

After spending several years working as a freelance user experience (UX) consultant and project manager and a tenure-track professor at Southern Polytechnic State University, Hickman decided that she wanted to run her own business as she had when she was 25. About a year ago, she launched Avant Solutions, a small government contracting firm.

“It is a small women-owned firm specializing in project management, instructional design, and quantifying and optimizing the user experience,” said Hickman. “I named my company after my grandfather and the word avant-garde. Everything I do is rooted in the core of who I am as a person and it has to be innovative and creative.”

As far as the future for Hickman, she feels that she is being thrust into a new chapter after her life took an unanticipated turn when her parents were both recently diagnosed with age-related cognitive disorders. It has revitalized her doctoral research on cognitive aging and cognitive decline, which she plans to actively pursue with her current business.

“I’ve started a new aging research division of Avant Solutions called Me and My Aging Parents,” said Hickman. “It’s part cognitive research, part commercial solu-

Baker has moved back to Winston-Salem, N.C., and is now working for BB&T.

1985 Cathy Everett Wilson was elected as a town commissioner for Windsor, N.C. Avery Augustine Cameron is in the process of developing a Friendship House in Fayetteville, N.C. It's an intentional living community for young adults with mild special needs, in conjunction with medical students from Campbell and Methodist universities.

1992 Abbie Howell McNeill has relocated to Herreid, S.D., and works for the Herreid school district as the school nutritionist. She has also been elected to the Herreid City Council. Christina Zoltek took a new job in Greenville, N.C. She was hired to teach kindergarten at the new charter school, Ignite Innovation Academy. Zoltek now teaches English language arts in kindergarten, and team teaches English language arts in second grade. She is in charge of Reading 3D (state testing for K-3), Title One, intervention leader, and in various other capacities. Zoltek tries to go to as many N.C. State football and basketball games as she can or you can find her at the beach.

1993 The Reverend Julia Dunlap Seymour was named one of ten "2016 Women of Achievement" in Alaska by the YWCA.

2002 Ejiro Ubiedi is engaged and is planning a wedding for August of 2017.

2004

2011

Sarah Campbell is now payroll benefits and risk manager (HR director) of Battleground Restaurants, Inc.

Margaux Spiegel began teaching at The Montessori School of Raleigh in August 2016. Allyson Sutton was recognized as East Wake Academy's Teacher of the Year for the 2016-17 school year where she

2005

teaches second grade.

Meagan Matt Maddox moved to New Jersey.

Amanda Smith now the museum teaching specialist for Fulton County Schools in Atlanta, Ga.

MARRIAGES

2006

Lyda Fontes to Charles A. McCartin, 10/1/16.

Jenna Burnham Radford is now a talent acquisition business partner at the Charles Koch Institute in Arlington, Va.

1966

Joy Daniels Todd to Garland Patterson, 3/19/16.

2001 2004 Amanda Beasley to Stephanie Brogdon, 6/17/16.

2010 Samantha Cibelli to Gabriele Falsetti, 10/10/15.

2008

2012

Kelley Petcavich joined Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP as a paralegal supporting various attorneys at the firm’s Charlotte, N.C., office.

Erica Bader to Matthew Hyman, 8/1/16.

NEW ARRIVALS

2010

Tiffany Debnam, a daughter, Harper, 7/5/16. Talia

Taryn Oesch is now editor at Training Industry, Inc. Jordan Jaked Carrier earned an MFA at the University of Georgia after graduation from Meredith. She recently worked at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta as a design assistant in the Costume Shop, assisting celebrated film and stage designer Ann Roth and the up-and-coming Matthew Pachtman on Casey Nicholaw's Broadway-bound new musical The Prom. The show, which featured Tony award-winning Meredith alumna Beth Leavel, ’77, in a lead role, ran in the fall of 2016 as a Broadway preview.

2002

Caligiuri Fann, a son, Lucas Ray, 8/12/16. Vickie Williamson Wilson, a son, Sawyer Hayes, 1/28/16.

2003 Meredith Jones Martin, a daughter, Lela Katherine Martin, 8/22/16. Anna Jones Townsend, a son, Grady High, 12/15/15.

2004 Lindsey Jones-Renaud, a baby girl, Amelia Jones, 7/29/16.

2005 Christi McKee Standley, a daughter, Janie Elise, 7/21/16.

Loleta Kenan Powell, ’41 Meredith College mourns the loss of alumna Loleta Kenan Powell, ’41, who developed the Meredith Hues Iris, the College’s official flower. She passed away on November 25, 2016, at age 95.

After graduating from Meredith, Powell was a teacher at Princeton School for 12 years. In 1953, she left teaching to begin a business that later became Powell's Gardens. Her award-winning work there continued for nearly 60 years.

In 1968, Powell developed the maroon and white iris she registered as the Meredith Hues Iris. Powell created this flower by crossing the blackest iris and the pinkest iris in her garden, resulting in a flower she described as having “standards of creamy white and falls of maroon neatly edged with white.” This special iris was recognized as the College’s official flower in 1997.

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2007

1950

1975

Lauren Alford Allen, a son, Sutton Reid, 4/21/16.

Eleanor Sugg Petteway, 10/24/16.

Christina Hooks Copersito, a daughter, Amelia Ash-

1952

Dora Mona Shell in the death of her aunt. Sarah Shell in the death of her mother.

ley, 9/29/16. Christen Crouch Ware, a daughter,

Alice Walton Milton, 8/6/16. Zeta Morton Peters, 3/5/15. Mary Cecile Ward White, 11/4/16.

1977

Evelyn Michele, 2/27/16.

2008

1953

1978

Meagan Millen Knowles, a daughter, Elizabeth Louise, 8/27/16. Elizabeth Conlon O'Neal, a daughter, Madeline Bailey, 9/6/16.

Lynette Hooks Walters, 10/17/16.

Laura Maynard Beall in the death of her mother.

1955

1979

Ruth Joyce Langston Gombatz, 9/22/16.

Landis Beddingfield in the death of her mother.

2009

1956

1980

Sue Turnage Jackson, 8/2/16.

Ella Plyler Frantz in the death of her sister-in-law.

1961

1981

Patricia Brice Brewer, 8/25/16.

Elizabeth White Horton in the death of her mother.

1964

1982

daughter, Varenna Fae, 8/9/16.

Mary Anne Ray Phillips, 11/1/16. Margaret Pitser Pleasants, 8/20/16.

Rebecca White Tapp in the death of her mother.

DEATHS

1976

Emily Craig in the death of her son.

1935

Susan Stancil Plyler, 8/15/16.

1985

Maye Ledford Winget, 8/18/16.

1988

1937

Laura Ann Bierce Stephenson, 10/12/16.

Janet Croxton Baker in the death of her husband.

Janet Croxton Baker in the death of her father-inlaw.

Natasha Wells, a daughter, Ella Kate Wells, 9/8/16.

2010 Emily McKenzie Gregg, a daughter, Charlotte Elizabeth, 6/21/16. Renata Heineman Spencer, a

Suzanne Shell Clements in the death of her mother.

1984

Ada Lee Rivers Spivey, 9/25/16.

2003

1940

Kyle McIntosh, 9/30/16.

1986

SYMPATHY

Donna Martin Pilkington in the death of her husband.

1945

1987

Durema Fitzgerald Kohl in the death of her brother.

1953

Catherine Stanely Alligood in the death of her mother.

Harriet Huggins Wilson in the death of her mother.

Melrose Canady Lee in the death of her husband.

1988

Sara Justice Hempley, 10/5/16. Cornelia Herring Showalter, 9/30/16.

1955

Paula Sewell in the death of her father.

Mary Huneycutt Askew in the death of her husband.

2001

1943

1964

Mary Frances Kerr Donaldson, 10/5/16. Rachel Lovelace Mitchell, 8/22/16.

Lucinda Howell Glover in the death of her husband.

Shannon Hayes Callahan in the death of her daughter.

1966

2003

1944

Bonnie Eicher Hood in the death of her husband.

Jenni Brady Hight in the death of her grandmother.

Genevieve Hinton Means, 8/22/16.

1968

2009

1945

Susan Leath Walton in the death of her husband.

Betty Cuthrell Williamson, 10/30/16.

1969

1946

Claudia Tutterow in the death of her mother.

Florine Ledford Olive, 9/7/16.

1970

1947

Jeannie Lindsay Martin in the death of her mother.

Angeline Shields Shell, 7/13/16. Jean Griffith Wall, 11/4/16.

1970

1948

1974

Sarah Fleming Jones, 9/2/16.

Jeanette Byrum Burns in the death of her mother.

1949

1975

Jean Mclamb Jones, 11/1/16.

Rhonda Strickland Irwin in the death of her husband.

Una Norman Key, 10/25/16.

1941 Hazel Johnston Barnett, 10/5/16. Yolanda Leonard Overby, 9/7/16. Loleta Kenan Powell, 11/25/16.

1942

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Ann Carroll Ward in the death of her mother.

Charis Hill in the death of her father.

BEYOND STRONG The Campaign for Meredith

MEREDITH

PARENTS

Kim and Linwood Scott Parents of Jena Scott, ’17, and Lindsey Scott, ’20

“We joined the Parents Council to be involved, because we love Meredith College and want to support a place that is a home away from home for our daughters.”

Meredith College parents have a history of giving back to make the College even stronger through gifts to The Parents Fund and by joining the Parents Council.

commitment to the College through gifts of time, input, and financial leadership at the Iris Society level to The Parents Fund.

Contributions from parents and grandparents have supported projects including new exterior campus lighting, a fountain restoration, renovations to the Cate Student Center and Lower Belk Dining Hall, and most recently, Fitness Center program enhancements. A total of $181,124 has been raised by parents in the Beyond Strong campaign.

We are grateful for the participation from our parents and families at all levels, and welcome you to join this special tradition. Consider making your gift between now and June 30 to support our fitness center expansion project!

The Parents Council members are dedicated parents of current students and graduates who demonstrate a

Are you interested in being a part of the Parents Council or giving to The Parents Fund? Learn more at meredith.edu/ parentsfund. Or contact Margo Alfieri, ’11, at alfierim@ meredith.edu or (919) 760-8041.

DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING 3800 Hillsborough Street Raleigh, North Carolina 27607-5298 meredith.edu

BECOME EVEN

STRONGER. Earn an Advanced Degree.

Meredith has some of the strongest graduate programs in the region.

If you are looking to increase your earning potential, make a career change, or sharpen your knowledge and skills, Meredith provides many opportunities. The John E. Weems Graduate School offers advanced degree and certificate programs for various interests.

Increase your opportunities with a master’s degree in

• Business • Education • Nutrition Expand your knowledge with a certificate in

• Business • Paralegal • Pre-Health No matter where you want to go or how you plan to get there, Meredith can help you find your path. The College offers flexibility for working professionals, small classes, reasonable prices, and has a strong reputation. Go strong and earn an advanced degree today.

Explore our programs at meredith.edu/graduate.

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