Life Lessons: Experience Beyond the Classroom Helps Highlanders Become Well-rounded People

While Highlanders have abundant opportunities to grow their knowledge, experiences and skills in classrooms, labs and other traditional learning spaces on campus, those are not the only places where they learn at Radford University.

For many, the experiences they have outside of the classroom – from participating in Fraternity and Sorority Life, student organizations and varsity athletics to tutoring fellow students and serving in leadership roles on university committees – are just as important as the ones they have in the classroom.

Ryan Eisnaugle

Ryan Eisnaugle ’20 joined the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity in his first year. He went on to serve as the philanthropy chair, alumni chair, secretary and, ultimately, president. He noted that the opportunities he had in those roles helped him accomplish everything most people want out of their college experience.

“Most students are looking for a community of people to support them, a social life, assistance with academics, connections to alumni and overall lifetime friends,” Eisnaugle said, adding that the fraternity provided all of that for him.

Eisnaugle observed that running a Greek organization is much like running a small business – skills that would come in very handy for him beyond the Radford campus.

“You need to learn how to budget, recruit, retain, train, manage risk, meet deadlines, work with people who are unlike yourself, navigate conflict resolution and have tough conversations with people you love,” Eisnaugle said.

Eisnaugle has been able to use those skills professionally. Just before graduation, he received a job offer from the Phi Kappa Sigma International Fraternity. He moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, during the COVID pandemic and began his new job as a regional educational consultant. A few years later, Eisnaugle found himself as the interim executive director for the organization; eight months after that, the “interim” was removed from his title, and he became the executive director.

Tricia Smith

Tricia Smith, Radford University’s associate vice president for Student Life, says that through these kinds of co-curricular experiences, students take ownership of their Radford experience, create connections to their classroom learning and find their voice.

“Some of the most rewarding moments are when we get to walk students through instances where they may have selfdoubt and think, ‘I’m not quite sure I can do this,’” Smith said. She especially enjoys helping students connect with organizations that share their interests.

Jade Horton

Second-year geospatial science student Jade Horton spent her childhood exploring the hills, mountains and meadows near her home in Kingsport, Tennessee, searching for “critters of all shapes and sizes.”

“I was the odd one out among my peers,” she recalled. “As I grew older, I learned about climate change and how the environment was in imminent danger.”

Horton knew in high school that she wanted to do something that would have a positive impact on the world and the environment. She soon discovered the geospatial science program at Radford, which prepares students for a wide range of geospatial and environmental job opportunities.

At Radford, Horton quickly got involved in organizations linked to her interests in environmentalism and nature. Currently, she is the president of the Green Team Environmental Club and an intern in the Radford University Office of Sustainability.

“My favorite part about Green Team is teaching people about the environment and how they can be part of the solution,” Horton said. “I enjoy connecting with other environmentalists and hopefully nourishing a culture of sustainability at Radford University.”

Like Eisnagle, Horton believes she may have found her professional path through her extracurricular activities.

“My role with the Green Team and my work in the sustainability department has sparked my interest in teaching, which has led to my desire to become an academic in the future,” said Horton.

Recently, she has been working with Sustainability Manager Aysha Bodenhamer ’10, Ph.D., to finish Radford University’s application for STARS, a sustainability assessment and rating system for higher education institutions. The work involves painstaking data transcription and applied GIS work completed alongside Brandon Saddler, Radford’s real property and space manager.

“It feels like I get to do a different project every day,” Horton said, “and I believe these opportunities will prepare me for working with sustainability in my future career.”

Cora Burt

Similar to Horton, Cora Burt always had an intense interest in a certain subject – in her case, art. But she felt “incredibly lost” for a long time, not sure how to translate her interest into an education and career.

“As a first-generation student, I was strongly encouraged to pursue higher education rather than follow in my parents’ footsteps in food service,” Burt remembered. “But I wasn’t a straight-A student, and the only thing I was certain about was my passion for art.”

While still in high school, the Chincoteague, Virginia, native attended the Summer Governor’s School for Visual an Performing Arts. Spending a month on Radford’s campus, Burt was immersed in its creative environment and courses and had the opportunity to display her work in a fine arts setting.

“It played a pivotal role in my decision to attend,” she said. “Looking back, I couldn’t be more grateful – I haven’t regretted it for a single day.”

Now a junior in the art education program, Burt has put her artistic ability to work outside of the classroom as an executive student assistant for the Radford Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (OURS). In that role, she helps develop public relations materials such as flyers, digital signage, website designs and photography that align with the university’s brand.

“Through this work, I’ve gained valuable skills in teamwork, communication, problem-solving, graphic design and meeting deadlines – all of which are highly transferable to any professional setting,” Burt said.

Burt has also played an active role in the Highlander Research Rookies program, recruiting and interviewing prospective students at various events. That program provides research experiences to select high-achieving incoming firstyear and transfer students to Radford University.

She said one of the best pieces of advice she ever got is to “get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”

“Growth and skill development come from stepping outside of our comfort zones, dedicating time to practice and embracing challenges,” she said. “I see this firsthand with first-year students in our Research Rookies program, many of whom feel anxious about public speaking or presenting their work. However, after experiences like presenting at the Wicked Festival, they often admit that it wasn’t as intimidating as they expected, or even that they enjoyed it.”

David Smith

Development can also take place on the courts and fields across the campus, where student-athletes compete in a variety of varsity sports. David Smith ’84, M.S. ’87, who played basketball at Radford from 1981 to 1985 and is the all-time leading scorer and rebounder, said his time on the court “provided me with virtually every lesson imaginable in my life.”

Currently a sales manager for Altria Group Distribution Co., where he has worked for over 36 years, Smith said his experience playing ball taught him lessons in discipline, perseverance, toughness, organization, teamwork, relentlessness, sharing, balancing multiple tasks and the ability to push yourself in ways you never thought possible.

“It is so hard to even imagine being in college without sports,” Smith said. “It was what I wanted to do since I was a little boy, and I’m grateful for the total student-athlete experience. I truly believe it may have been a little less impactful without basketball.”

Smith believes the preparation for life beyond campus can begin with athletics, adding that “juggling multiple activities while maintaining a high performance in all areas is the best testing ground for what is to come.”

Today, Smith sees Highlanders grow and develop these life skills in his role as a member of the Radford University Board of Visitors. He said he often tells student-athletes he meets to “enjoy the learning aspect of the classroom and make sure you are maximizing the educational experience that athletics allows you to have.”

Jaimi Evans

Jaimi Evans ’18 returned as a graduate student in the Master of Fine Arts in Design Thinking program. She anticipates graduating with her M.F.A. in 2025.

As both an undergraduate and a graduate student, the Farmville, Virginia, native served on the university’s Strategic Planning Committee, presented to Virginia Women’s Network, participated in Advocacy Day, worked as an Alumni Admissions Ambassador and worked for the Virginia Department of Aviation. She is also the co-founder of the Radford Design Collective and, as an undergrad, was a member of the Honors Student Council, the Honors Academy and the Student Government Association. On top of all that, she graduated summa cum laude as a Highlander Scholar.

As a University 100 peer instructor, Evans worked with first-year students to help them adjust to collegiatelevel academics and life. She made sure she encouraged her students to get involved in something outside of the classroom that aligned with their interests.

“I think the best preparation for life inside and outside of the classroom are the connections students make through these experiences,” Evans said. “The people that you meet and connect with, the lifelong friendships and relationships built with peers, professors – they mean so much. It helped me to learn how to interact with all types of people.”

Evans has advised fellow students that it’s just as important to learn their dislikes as their likes because the activities students participate in while in college will shape who they will be in the future, both professionally and personally. “Do your work, and don’t forget to have fun because these years fly by,” Evans said. “It is all right to take a break and do something that you love – I would even say it’s vital. You are not only in college to gain knowledge about your proposed field of study, but you are gaining life skills, people skills and building relationships that could last a lifetime.”