The Johnsonian
August 16, 2012
5
NEWS
Five questions for 2012 Convocation speaker Kerion Ball Kerion Ball, a former men’s tennis player and student government president at Winthrop University, will be the keynote speaker of Convocation 2012. Ball, who graduated from Winthrop in 1997, will address incoming freshmen on Monday Aug. 20 in Byrnes Auditorium. Ball currently works at the leading international law firm Ashurst in London as Of-Counsel in their Securities and Derivatives team. Ball was injured in the infamous tennis bus crash of 1993 after a team bus overturned on a highway in Hattiesburg, Miss. Ball talked to The Johnsonian about that and other memorable experiences during his undergraduate career. The Johnsonian: Explain your work in the field of international law and finance. Kerion Ball: In very broad terms, structured finance is a label for financing techniques that are customized and require a certain amount of structural innovation. These techniques include securitization and derivative transactions, both of which have been targeted by mainstream media and regulators alike (sometimes mistakenly) as key factors behind the demise of Lehman Brothers and the global financial crisis that followed, but both of which are (when used properly) financing techniques that can help provide financing to
that Winthrop was celebrating its international diversity in 2012, my response was an immediate “Yes, I would love to”.
and for the real economy as alternatives to bank lending, bonds and shares. My [former] role at [French firm] Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was to help structure these transactions and make sure they worked from a legal perspective. Following the beginning of the global financial crisis, it also included restructuring a lot of these transactions to account for market events and regulatory changes and helping corporates and major international financial institutions put in place alternative forms of funding where the traditional forms of bank, bond and share funding were insufficient or unavailable to them. It has been an incredibly interesting time to be working in this field and see firsthand the complexities of today’s global financial markets and the challenges faced by financial institutions today in trying to restart the global economy as well as, at times, the dark underbelly of the global financial system.
TJ: How drastically did things change for you after the Hattiesburg crash of ‘93?
KB: The ‘93 crash had a profound impact on my life and my experiences at Winthrop. My most serious long term injury was to my right wrist, which required three years of surgeries and rehabilitation to get me back to playing tennis. My focus after the accident was on rehabilitation rather than playing and, at the same time, my education and maintaining over a 3.5 GPA. I was no longer practicing and traveling with the tennis team, so I found myself with time to get involved with other student activities. I worked as an Orientation Assistant, joined in a pilot peer mentoring program and participated in student government. Kerion Ball will be speaking at Byrnes Auditorium for ConvocaWhile one door closed on my tion on Aug. 20. Photo Courtesy of Winthrop University tennis career, other doors opened and I was involved in activities that have enriched my life and that who is a fantastic cook, Dr. DiGiorgio, I would not necessarily have been inleaned over and said quietly “Well, volved in if I had been playing in the we actually had something we wanted tennis team throughout my university TJ: How, and when, did you find to ask you. Would you like come and career. out you would be the 2012 Convocaspeak at next year’s Convocation tion speaker? ceremony?” I was more than a bit surprised. Such an honor was usually TJ: What are some of your KB: We had invited the President, reserved for people who had achieved favorite memories of studying at Dr. Tony DiGiorgio, his wife, Gale fame and celebrity and distinguished Winthrop? and her sister and husband to our themselves with long and successful place for lunch last summer as they careers. While I am certainly proud KB: There are two moments in my were visiting Paris briefly before travof what I have achieved in my career, Winthrop career that were unforgeteling through Burgundy to the south I certainly didn’t meet these criteria. table. of France. After a most enjoyable It was an honor I could not refuse The first was campaigning for meal with them, courtesy of my wife and once Dr. DiGiorgio explained
student government president in 1996. It started off as just a vague idea having been involved as a member of the student government but once I started talking to people, it seemed like it might be achievable. I had a lot of fun with the campaign - preparing flyers, meeting with different campus groups. I still remember clearly receiving the phone call in my dorm room confirming my victory and being completely lost for words. The second was winning the Big South Championship for the first time ever with the men’s tennis team. We had a great season and had a really cohesive team with a good balance of players. For the senior members of the team, like myself, we knew that this was the last chance to achieve a historic win. Those of the team, like myself, who were not playing, sought to contribute their vocal support from the sidelines. The tie was very tense and it came down to the last match. With both teams cheering the last two players on, the atmosphere was electric but our Polish wizard, Piotr Baranowski, finally managed to pull ahead and close the match out. I will always remember the return trip to Winthrop and the victory party that followed - there is nothing else one can say to describe it other than a feeling of pure elation. TJ: What advice would you like to give to the freshmen you’ll be speaking to at Convocation? KB: Life is an experience. Make sure you live it.
Summer highlights from WU’s campus police blotter July 3, INCENDIARY/ EXPLOSIVE DEVICE Rock Hill Police Department explosive experts were called to assist Winthrop University Campus Police in the removal of a box of partially burned firecrackers Tuesday morning (July 3) near the Stewart Ave. parking lot, according to a Winthrop police report. At around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, a Winthrop police officer noticed a “round package encased in green duct tape,” the report says. The officer was able to see two firecrackers with partially burned fuses through a small hole in the top of the box. The officer then secured the scene and notified police chief Frank Zebedis, who requested assistance from Rock Hill Police Department explosive ordinance technicians to identify and remove the package. Two officers from the RHPD responded to the scene and removed the device without incident. According to the report, the two Rock Hill officers stated that someone had tried to detonate it, but only a small portion of the contents exploded or burned. The case has been administratively closed pending development of new leads. July 5, GRAND LARCENY A 19-year-old Winthrop student returned from a vacation in Myrtle Beach to find more than $3,000 worth of electronics stolen from her Courtyard apartment, according to a Winthrop campus police report. The report says that a Winthrop police officer met with the victim in Courtyard. The victim said she left Courtyard to return home to Myrtle Beach on July 3 before returning on July 5 at around 7:20 p.m. Upon returning home, the victim saw that her X-Box 360 Kinect, three video games and a MacBook Pro laptop were all missing from the apartment. The victim said she was certain that she had locked her bedroom door before leaving. The officer found no signs of forced entry to the victim’s door or the exterior door to the suite. According to the report, the victim told the officer that it was common for her and her suitemates to leave the exterior door to the apartment room unlocked. The complainant told the officer that one of her two suitemates had moved all of her belongings out of her apartment room during the time when the victim was off on vacation. The other suitemate had left for her home in Columbia, S.C., earlier on July 3. The officer contacted the second suitemate, but could not contact the first suitemate, who had moved her belongings out of her individual room, according to the report. The second suitemate did not know that the first suitemate had moved out. In all, the police report says five items were reported to have been taken from the victim: one X-Box 360 game system, with Kinect, along with two controllers, three video games and one MacBook Pro laptop.
David Thackham | News Editor thackhamd@mytjnow.com
July 8, DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE, OPEN CONTAINER (LIQUOR) Winthrop Campus Police was called into action by a Winthrop University professor to deal with a drunk driver Sunday night on Cherry Road in Rock Hill, according to a campus police report. The professor was at CVS around 7:30 p.m. when she noticed that the driver of a vehicle, who had been in the turn lane for almost ten minutes, was passed out, the report says. The professor called campus police and later advised the reporting officer that she was concerned that he may have had a heart attack. The driver said he had come to CVS to pick up his medication. When the reporting officer asked the subject to exit the vehicle, he had a difficult time and had to use the door for balance, according to the report. As the reporting officer could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from both the driver and his vehicle, the officer then conducted field sobriety tests to ensure he was safe to drive. However, the driver was unable to complete any of the three tests. The suspect was arrested for driving under the influence and having an open container. The driver’s vehicle, a dark blue 2011 Ford F-150, was towed and impounded by Carolina Collision, according to the report.
to the Cashiers Office with follow-up instructions, according to the report. Police then interviewed a business associate in the Cashiers Office, but she did not disclose any potential suspect or other information for the investigation. The report says the associate said that the bank note came into the Cashiers Office last week, but she did not know which department, division or individual brought it in. The case is administratively closed as it falls under the jurisdiction of the United State Secret Service, according to the report. Compiled by David Thackham
July 14, PUBLIC DISORDERLY CONDUCT A 24-year-old man from Kings Mountain, N.C. was arrested early Saturday morning around 2:30 a.m. for urinating in the Citgo gas station parking lot on Cherry Rd., according to a Winthrop police report. The report says a Winthrop campus police officer saw the subject urinating in public as the officer was traveling north on Cherry Road. The officer then placed the subject under arrest for public disorderly conduct. The subject was then booked at Rock Hill Law Center, according to the report. July 30, COUNTERFEIT NOTE A $10 note that had passed through the Winthrop University Cashiers Office was found to be counterfeit yesterday, according to a Winthrop campus police report. At approximately 9:10 a.m. on Monday, an officer with the Winthrop police department transported the daily receipts from the Cashiers Office to the Wells Fargo Bank on E. Main St. in Rock Hill for processing and deposit. According to the report, the teller conducted the transaction with the officer and noticed that a $10 note was counterfeit. Per bank policy, the teller then seized the $10 bill, completed a United State Secret Service Counterfeit Note Report, amended the deposit slip to document the discrepancy and wrote a note
Graphic by Courtney Niskala • niskalac@mytjnow.com
Shamira McCray | Assistant News Editor mccrays@mytjnow.com