AHA_Fall_2006

AHA! | South Carolina Honors College | University of South Carolina | Fall 2006

Volume XII No. 1

Honors College gets new residence hall “Students have a lot of good options now that didn’t exist several years ago.

Therefore, while eliminating some of our obsolete residence halls like the Towers might lower the percentage of students in USC-owned residence halls, our students will have more student housing opportunities than ever before.”

—Tim Coley, director of Residence Life

dean’s let ter |

Who is my advisor?

Dear AHA! Reader: It has been an exciting and busy first year for me. Beyond the pleasure of being fully immersed in the life of the college—working with great students, faculty, Davis Baird and staff to continue to create the rich educational environment that makes the college so special—this has been a year of many changes.

There are many new faces in the college.

Remarkably, more than half of the staff going into 2006–2007 arrived after me. One year in and I am among the old guard. Several of the new faces are filling new positions.

Chappell Wilson (SCHC 1999) is the college’s new director of development.

Bethany O’Hara will manage the front desk and assist Chappell with development.

Several of the new faces, however, are here to fill positions vacated by staff moving on to other challenges. After nine years as associate dean, Doug Williams is stepping down to pursue other opportunities. We are very happy to welcome Dr. Ed Munn Sanchez as a new associate dean. In addition, two college advisors, Marshall James and Carissa Hansford, are leaving—Marshall to pursue a law degree at Loyola University Chicago and Carissa to move back to her home state of California. We just hired Gail Pack and Mark Sibley-Jones to fill their positions.

(See page 3 for more information on the college’s new staff members.)

Readers of the AHA! newsletter will also notice a changed AHA! Behind AHA!’s obvious editorial and design changes is a decision to enlarge AHA!’s readership. Previously the college segmented its readership into four groups: faculty, students, parents, and alumni. AHA! was written for alumni, and three other publications were written for the other groups. But rather than building fences to separate these groups, I would like to find ways to draw them into increased mutual awareness. To this end, the new AHA! is for all of the college’s constituencies. We believe our current students will enjoy learning about the doings of their predecessors, and we hope that AHA! will help college faculty members to stay connected with their students. And finally we hope that the parents of our current students will be reassured to learn about all the exciting things that honors students and alumni—and faculty!—are doing. The Honors College has always been about making connections and building bridges—between students and faculty members, between different disciplines, and now between all those who are part of the college’s family.

So it has been a year of change, and more lies ahead as the college continues to evolve.

Let me know what you think of the new AHA!, and by all means stay in touch.

Due to changes within the college staff, your advisor may have changed. See the updated advisor list below.

Davis Baird chemistry, philosophy, pre-Baccalaureus

Jim Burns criminal justice; education; hospitality, retail, and sport management; music; liberal arts—undeclared

Leslie Sargent Jones third- and fourth-year premed (regardless of major), third- and fourth-year neuroscience

Alexa Maddox all business majors

William Morris art studio, art history, media arts, classics, history, film, theatre, dance

Ed Munn Sanchez behavioral sciences; economics (liberal arts); languages, literatures, and cultures; psychology; statistics

Gail Pack journalism and mass communications, engineering, mathematics, nursing

Peter Sederberg political science, continuing Baccalaureus majors

Mark Sibley-Jones Davis Baird Dean, South Carolina Honors College July 2006

first- and second-year premed (regardless of major), biology, English, international studies, geology, geophysics, marine science, pharmacy, physics, religious studies

The Honors College is growing! SCHC welcomed five new staff members this fall.

Bethany O’Hara and Chappell Wilson fill newly created positions. Associate Dean Ed Munn Sanchez replaces Doug Williams, who left SCHC to pursue other opportunities. Gail Pack and Mark Sibley-Jones fill positions vacated by two departing advisors: Marshall James, who left SCHC to attend law school at Loyola University Chicago, and Carissa Hansford, who relocated to her home state of California.

Stop by to say “hello” to these new faces Bethany O’Hara, receptionist and assistant to the director of development O’Hara, a native of Greenville, S.C., Bethany O’Hara recently graduated from the honors program at Salem College in Winston-Salem, N.C. She will manage front office reception and provide administrative support to the director of development.

Ed Munn Sanchez, associate dean Munn Sanchez joins the Honors College from the philosophy department. He will be advising, expanding the college’s minority recruitment Ed Munn Sanchez efforts, and developing the college’s assessment program. He will also teach one course per semester and hopes to create educational opportunities for honors students abroad, particularly in his native country of Spain.

Gail Pack, academic advisor and director of student services Pack is the former student services manager for the College of Journalism and Mass Gail Pack Communications. She holds a master’s degree in counseling and guidance services with an emphasis in higher education and an education specialist degree with an emphasis in marriage and family counseling. Aside from advising students, she will plan major college events, advise the Honors Council, and coordinate the senior thesis process.

Mark Sibley-Jones, academic advisor and director of alumni affairs Sibley-Jones joins SCHC from the English department, where he was a visiting assistant profesMark Sibley-Jones sor and coordinator of the MFA program. A popular teacher of honors English courses, he will continue to teach for the college. He will also advise, edit the AHA! newsletter, and direct the Association of Honors Alumni.

Chappell Suber Wilson (SCHC 1999), director of development Wilson, a graduate of the Honors College, was formerly director of Chappell Suber Wilson development for the College of Arts and Sciences.

Her role is to work with alumni, parents, and friends of SCHC to support the programs that already exist in the college and to create new educational, research, and travel opportunities for honors students.

For more information, please see Wilson’s column on page 8 of this newsletter.

news |

Meet our new staff

Lost and found in Greece and Turkey

maymester |

Dr. Hal French takes students on Maymester odyssey “It all added up to great adventure, with many surprises,” says religious studies professor Hal French of the two-week trek taken with 30 honors students to Istanbul, Turkey; Greece; and the Greek Isles.

The trip was part of Dr. French’s 2006 Maymester course, SCCC 366M The Spiritual and Cultural Heritage of Greece and Turkey. In his own words, Dr. French reflects on the journey:

Students visited five sites associated with the Apostle Paul: Philippi, Thessaloniki, Athens, Corinth, and Ephesus, imagining the reception accorded him In his element: Dr. Hal French lectures on-site about the in each on apostle Paul at Corinth. those almost fabled settings.

None of the classical sites was disappointing: the Parthenon and other surviving ruins on the Acropolis, the mosques of Turkey, the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (for 10 centuries the oldest church in Christendom), the Mycenaean tombs of Agamemnon.

We also visited the huge amphitheater of Epidaurus, where the phenomenal acoustics were tested by a rendition of the Carolina alma mater, heard clearly by all present in the pews. A European tourist asked if this was our national anthem!

The class pauses for a photo in front of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Contrast the incredibly crowded streets of Istanbul with the quiet, narrow lanes of the old city of Kavala, where Paul first landed in Europe.

Sarah Powell (2007) in front of Contrast the Istanbul’s Blue Mosque modern “party island” of Mykonos with the serenity and sanctity of Patmos, where John was reputed to have written the Book of Revelation. Move from there to the tomb of Nikos Kazantzakis, author of Zorba the Greek and The Last Temptation of Christ. The inscription beneath the rough wooden cross reads, in translation, “No more fears, no more hopes, I am free.”

What would that mean? Contrast again our various modes of travel: flying by modern jet and riding a donkey up 599 steps to the village of Thera, above the volcanic crater, which by legend destroyed the mythical city of Atlantis 2,500 years ago.

We visited shrines of natural, historical, and spiritual wonder. In a course such as this, you find yourself in dialogue with the wisdom of those who forged so much of Western civilization and who challenge our insularity and parochial visions.

Students kept reflective journals during the trip.

Excerpts from the journal of junior Corinne D’Ippolito distill the experience: “The only way to begin to get tangible perspective on what’s going on in the U.S. is to leave the U.S. and gain a new angle from which the world can be viewed.”

“What is it like to live in modern Greece, next door to ancient Greece, to coexist with millennia of history?”

“My mini-pilgrimage complete, my Euros spent, and my suitcase almost packed, I now conclude this journal, glad of the questions I’ve asked, the things I’ve seen, and continuously impressed by the beauty of the world.”

The island of Thera, also known as Santorini.

The origin of Atlantis?

A determination to learn Scardaville wins award as Outstanding Honors Faculty

A determination to learn with students rather than lecture at them, and a long-held passion for Latin American peoples and cultures, make up the secret formula of this year’s Outstanding Honors Faculty award winner.

History professor Michael C. Scardaville acknowledges it’s difficult to connect with 130 to 180 students per semester, but his record shows he does so quite effectively. He has been teaching at Carolina since 1981 and has been nominated for and honored with more than a half-dozen faculty awards throughout his tenure.

Each year, South Carolina Honors College seniors nominate professors for the award, which was endowed six years ago with a gift from Honors College alumnus Michael A. Hill, who graduated in 1992 with a degree in international studies. The college’s senior marshals select finalists and a winner through a review of each professor’s record of teaching and service, letters of support, and course evaluations.

Honors College tradition has the winner address the graduating class at revocation ceremonies in May and the incoming class at convocation in August.

In his revocation address, Scardaville recalled that his first honors course was an utter disaster. He tried hard to make the class come alive, he said, but “the more pedagogically sound I became the more unreachable learning seemed to be. …

“The reason I was so dreadful was that I was still searching for my approach to teaching,” he said, “a process that took a good 15 years to evolve. It was only when I was able to incorporate my core values into my professional life, to experience a seamlessness between the professional and the personal, that I began to feel comfortable and at home in the classroom.”

Ahh, the secret formula.

“The basic value that informs my teaching,” he told the graduates, “is my responsibility to respect and see you as people, not merely as students, to avoid relating to you through these confining roles we’ve been assigned, roles that can sometimes get in the way of learning and exploration.

“Through this attitude, I try to eliminate a hierarchical structure and environment in the classroom that hopefully encourages you to understand that all of us are on this shared journey of discovery throughout the semester and beyond,” Scardaville told graduates.

Two of the practical ways he makes this connection are arriving early in the classroom to chat with students and offering a comments box at the end of every class. He begins the next class by reading and responding to several or all of the student suggestions, questions, and criticisms.

“In addition,” Scardaville said, “I offer students my services ‘at no cost’ in two areas.

I invite them to come to my office to talk about their future (the enduring ‘What will I do with my life?’ issue) in which I will offer some nonjudgmental feedback, or simply listen if the situation calls for that. I also let them know that I will help them plan a trip to any country in Latin America if they plan on visiting the region.”

Scardaville began visiting Latin America as a college Spanish major in the 1960s. “The passion comes from being, working, and living in Mexico and other Latin-American countries at various points in my life,” he said. “I first went to Mexico while an undergraduate at Rutgers University, during which time I discovered that the people and their cultures just had to be in my future in some way.

History professor Michael Scardaville was presented with the Michael A. Hill Outstanding Honors Faculty award.

“And that connection with the people and cultures of Latin America has deepened over the years as a result of my many subsequent trips and stays in the region. The passion is also fueled by my belief that knowledge of history provides an invaluable perspective of contemporary issues and events.

“As such, I tell my students that one of the objectives of my courses is to make them better informed citizens of this hemisphere since Latin America will continue to shape the contours of life in the U.S. and even South Carolina,” he said. “Let me add that I am able to nurture my passion for my field by becoming engaged with immigration issues and working with Latino immigrants and organizations in various ways.”

Connection with students and passion for his subject matter may not be so secret after all. But for Michael Scardaville and his history students, it works.

outstanding honors faculty |

by Susan Nesbitt Ward

Honors College to get new residence hall in 2008 feature |

by Chris Horn, University Publications

A new residence hall for Honors College freshmen and sophomores is in the works.

The four remaining Towers residence halls were demolished in fall 2006, and arising in place of the 1960s-era high-rise buildings on Blossom Street will be an honors residence hall to open by fall 2008.

For several months, University Housing administrators have met with architects at Garvin Design Group of Columbia and Sasaki Associates in Boston to program the layout and design of the new residence hall.

“This will be a 600- to 700-bed residence hall, incorporating a lot of input we’ve received from student focus groups,” said Gene Luna, director of University Housing.

“We’re aiming for Gold LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and a highly developed landscape plan that will speak well of the University at this very visible location.”

The residence hall will house first- and second-year Honors College students; any remaining rooms could be filled by students now living in learning communities for music, engineering, premedicine, or other disciplines. Once construction of the new residence hall is complete, Maxcy College, the current freshman honors dorm, will house freshmen and sophomores from the general student population, along with Columbia Hall and Capstone.

“The primary reason behind the new residence is that the freshman class can no longer be housed in a single residence, and we have needed two freshmen honors residences, Maxcy and Capstone—sometimes unflatteringly called ‘Maxcy overflow,’” said Davis Baird, dean of the Honors College.

“The new residence will house all freshmen

feature |

and some sophomores too, and it allows for some growth as well.”

Honors student Kenneth Bryan, who lived in Capstone his freshman year and Maxcy his sophomore year, concurs. “The new honors residence is needed … to have a unified Honors College,” he said. “Right now one-third of the incoming honors students do not live in the main honors dorm. This gives the two groups a completely different experience.”

While the honors dorm’s exterior design remains under study—architects are considering either one large building or several smaller ones—the basic floor plan configuration is taking shape. Current plans call for “pods” that would include a common living area for 12 students who would live in either single- or double-occupancy rooms.

Bathrooms shared by two to four students would be incorporated into each pod. A learning center will be incorporated into the main building and situated to allow convenient access for those who don’t live in the residence hall.

With the Towers coming down, USC has 900 fewer residence hall beds. The new honors residence hall will not completely replace that number. Future plans also call for demolishing the McBryde Quadrangle, making room for a new student health center.

“We had a very aggressive goal of housing 50 percent of our undergraduate students on campus, and we met that goal,” said Tim Coley, director of Residence Life. “Since that goal was set, though, a number of privately developed student apartment complexes have opened near campus. Also, in the past few years we have opened several new residence halls, including East Quad, West Quad, and the Greek Village.

“So students have a lot of good options now that didn’t exist several years ago.

Therefore, while eliminating some of our obsolete residence halls like the Towers might lower the percentage of students in USC-owned residence halls, our students will have more student housing opportunities than ever before.”

As for the students of the Honors College, the new residence is bound to enrich their experience. Bryan sums it up: “With a new honors residence hall large enough to accommodate more than all of the freshmen, a stronger honors community should emerge.”

I encourage each of you to support the Honors College so we will be able to continue offering expanded student opportunities.

I am excited to have come home to the Honors College, and I would welcome you to do the same. We are still located in Harper College and invite you to visit at anytime.

Many Ways of Giving Back

Coming home:

development |

Chappell Suber Wilson, Honors College Alumna, assumes development role During my first day on the job someone asked me if I felt like I had come home again. After pondering for a moment, I decided that is exactly what it feels like to be back at the Honors Chappell Suber Wilson College. During my undergraduate years at USC, not only was I a student in the college but I was also a student assistant for several summers, so it feels natural to be working here again.

Five years ago I joined the development staff in the College of Liberal Arts (now part of the College of Arts and Sciences) and began to love this career field. I very much enjoyed my job there, but I always had my eyes set on something different, a job that had not even been created yet. I wanted to be the first full-time development officer for the Honors College.

When the position was announced a few months ago, no one was surprised that I applied.

Needless to say, I am delighted to be here and am looking forward to working with each of you. The Honors College has several fiscal goals over the next few years and all of them were developed to improve the student experience. As a college with no faculty of our own, we have the distinct luxury of devoting all of our fund-raising dollars to projects, courses, and programs that will directly benefit students.

Through the generosity of donors, the student experience has improved just since I graduated in 1999. That was hard for me to believe at first, since my time at USC was enriched by the Honors College. The list of opportunities for students continues to expand, and I imagine it is harder than ever to choose from all the amazing courses and extracurricular programs.

There are many ways you can support the Honors College. Financial contributions can always help our students, but consider all the ways you can give back to the college.

Financial Support If you would like to become a donor to the Honors College, you may contact me at 803-777-7511 or cswilson@sc.edu or make a gift online at http://schc.sc.edu. You can search the list on our Web site for college accounts that need additional funding, or you can start your own scholarship or project. There are many ways to give, including checks, credit cards, stock, life insurance, and bequests.

Honors Alumni Profile Support us by filling out the Honors Alumni Profile (HAP) found on www.sc.edu/career/ honors/hap.html. The information you provide enables current Honors College students to get in touch with you (only your e-mail address is displayed to users) should they have questions about career choices, internships, job shadowing, graduate school, etc. Our students can benefit tremendously from your experience, and it takes very little to offer such support.

All profiles are helpful, including those from alumni who have pursued nontraditional ways to put their college education to use: working out of the home, pursuing nonprofit careers, establishing a small business, or discovering a new professional opportunity. Your work is important to us and to our students, and we encourage all of our alumni to submit a profile. As an added benefit, HAP can help alumni connect with each other and make use of your collective experience and accomplishments.

Internships/Job Shadowing Honors students often want to find out more about a career field while still in college. In order to facilitate this process, we are looking for internship and job shadowing opportunities. If you would be willing to host a student at your place of employment, please contact Vicki Hamby in the Career Center at 803-777-3966 or visit www.sc.edu/ career/honors/gainexp.html.

AHA Submissions You may also wish to contribute to AHA! For example, one of our Honors College alumni, Susan Nesbit Ward (’90), does a fabulous job of copyediting for AHA! If you are interested in helping with AHA! (taking photos, writing articles), please contact Mark Sibley-Jones at 803-777-2187 or mark@schc.sc.edu.

Recruiting Students We always appreciate the effort you make to help us recruit top-notch students to the Honors College. Tell them about your experience at the Honors College, and encourage them to visit us. If you would like to add a high-school student to the mailing list, please contact Michael Jinnette at 800-868-5872 or 803-777-4062 with the student’s name, address, year, and high school.

Advertising Proudly advertise the Honors College with classy merchandise that you may wear, display in your home, or give to family and friends. To view our merchandise visit http://schc.sc.edu/ Merchandise/index.htm.

Events The Honors College would like to begin hosting alumni events nationwide. If you are interested in helping us plan an event in your area, please contact me at 803-777-7511 or cswilson@sc.edu.

Class Captains If you knew many of the students in your Honors College class and would like to get back in touch with them, we are looking for you! Class captains will help the college locate missing alumni, plan reunion activities, and raise money for the college. If you are interested, please contact me at 803-777-7511 or cswilson@sc.edu.

Stay in Touch We always like to hear about what our alumni do after graduation, including marriages, graduate degrees, children, employment, hobbies, and interests. If you are moving or changing jobs, don’t forget to send us your new contact information so we can stay in touch.

Either way, please fill out the form on the back page of AHA! and sent it to us.

If you are interested in talking about giving opportunities or receiving more information about the programs supported by private donations, please contact me at 803-777-7511 or cswilson@sc.edu.

Jonathan Wooten extends his range with senior thesis Jonathan Wooten (2006) took his first piano lesson in first grade, and he never stopped playing—he graduated from USC last May with a double major in math and music (emphasis on piano, of course). For his senior thesis project, Wooten undertook the daunting task of learning to play four new percussive instruments.

“I had been playing drums for the past six or seven years. It was all self-taught, however.”

Wooten said. “I thought this would be an excellent chance to expand my horizons and gain classical training.”

With his strong musical background in piano, Wooten expected a simple transition, particularly to the mallet instruments, such as the marimba and vibraphone. But he soon found out differently. “It took plenty of extra time in the practice room simply to rewire my brain to no longer think in terms of piano.”

Under the tutelage of music professor and percussion specialist Scott Herring, Jonathan gained enough expertise in the timpani, marimba, vibraphone, and djembe (a WestAfrican hand drum) to perform all four at a well-attended thesis recital.

And Herring’s instruction has had lasting effects, as Wooten says he uses his new percussive skills “every time I sit behind my drum kit. The classical training I received … has made me a more complete musician. It’s nice to be able to think of myself as a percussionist now and not as a drummer.”

Now that he has graduated, Wooten is using what he learned in both majors to keep himself busy. “I am working full-time at an environmental analytical lab and plan to apply to dental school,” he says, but quickly adds, “I play often with my band Kilcoy, and play percussion and piano whenever I get the chance.”

Alumni Spotlight Ben Rex finds success with Web business he began while an undergraduate

by Emily Stanek

alumni |

“A foray into percussive arts”

Ben Rex (2003) broke family tradition to become a Gamecock.

Ben Rex (2003) is no ordinary Gamecock. In high school he overcame the odds in his family of Clemson and Wake Forest alumni by choosing to attend USC. Former Honors College associate dean Jim Stiver takes the credit for Ben’s recruitment to USC and the Honors College, and now, years later, it is still a decision that neither has second-guessed.

“Ben exhibited qualities that have carried him far: an assured self-confidence, a fearlessness, a willingness to explore,” said Dr. Stiver. This inquisitive attitude, coupled with the education he received from both USC’s Honors College and the business school as an economics major, helped Ben develop the necessary skills to start Cyberwoven, his own Web site development company.

Ben started Cyberwoven with his friend Tom Lacas in 2001 while both were still in college.

Since then, it has grown rapidly. Although the focus of the company remains Web site development, hosting, and maintenance, Cyberwoven also develops custom Web-based software ranging from online bill presentment and payment to custom human resource applications to employee training applications and custom e-commerce platforms. The company also has a department dedicated to corporate branding, with a team of graphic designers and business consultants who support the ongoing stewardship of the brands, Web sites, and custom software applications Cyberwoven creates.

Ben is clearly satisfied with the development of his business thus far. His hopes for its future, he says, are continued healthy growth. He credits the flexibility, support structure, and intimate size of the Honors College for encouraging and helping him with his dream of creating his own business.

According to Dr. Stiver, the relationship between Ben and the Honors College was—and still is—mutually beneficial, as Ben is actively working toward teaching an honors seminar on entrepreneurship in the near future.

“Simply put, he loved the honors experience and wants to be involved with SCHC for the rest of his life,” said Dr. Stiver. “We will be the better for it.”

Lori Oxford (1998) is working

class notes | 10

Class Notes

80s

19

Brad Holt (1995) joined the Univer-

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sity Technology Services division at USC this year. He manages the administrative systems support team within the administrative information systems department. In addition to servicing the human resources, payroll, benefits, financials, development, and Carolina Card offices, his team will be an integral part of the “One Carolina” project that promises to transform the way USC does business. Prior to joining USC, he spent 10 years in the consulting business (Accenture and Empower Solutions) managing project implementations for public-sector clients. He married USC alumna Heather Bradshaw (1999) in 2001. In September 2005 they welcomed daughter Parker Gayle Holt, who, he says, has truly changed their lives! holtbw@yahoo.com

James Dewar (1992) married

Erin Galloway Wilson (1996)

Gail Ingram (1978), a teacher at Cheraw High School for 26 years, is the recipient of a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship. She traveled to India for five weeks last summer as a participant in the Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad program, which provides short-term study/ travel opportunities for U.S. educators in the social sciences, social studies, and the humanities. Ingram joined 15 other educators from throughout the United States for a seminar titled “Broadening the Knowledge Base on India.” In April, Ingram led a student tour of Italy called “The Best of Italy” and a private tour of Italy for adults called “Ciao Time in Italy.”

90s

Melanie Smythe on April 15, 2006, at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church.

A graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, he is a pediatrician at Palmetto Pediatrics and Adolescent Clinic in Lexington.

Ian Ford (1992) and Dee Walker Ford (1993) are delighted to announce the birth of their son, Walker. Dee and Ian live in Charleston, where Dee is on faculty in the pulmonary department at MUSC. Ian is a partner at Nelson Mullins and an adjunct professor at the Charleston School of Law. ian.ford@nelsonmullins.com

Ellis R. Lesemann (1994, JD 1998, IMBA 1998) has been named to the Charleston Regional Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” list. He is a trial attorney with the firm of Parker Poe Adams and Bernstein LLP.

was recently promoted to director of marketing and communications for the National Associate for Campus Activities in Columbia. Wilson has been with NACA for almost two years, managing the production of print and online publications, Web site content, Webinars, and other projects. Prior to joining NACA, Wilson was the state communications director for the South Carolina March of Dimes. erinwilson@sc.rr.com

Deanna McLendon (1997) was part of a news team at the Times Picayune that won two Pulitzer Prizes for public service and breaking news coverage of Hurricane Katrina. She joined the paper in 1999, where she is a copy editor, wire editor, and metro section designer.

on her dissertation. She is one year away from finishing her doctorate in Spanish at the University of Georgia.

In March 2006 she married Alberto Centeno Pulido of Valencia, Spain, who is working on a doctorate in linguistics, also at UGA. lorios@uga.edu

Anna Miller (1999) says, “I am a mother of three now and I love my life, but I miss my friends so much! Please e-mail if you remember me. Signed, Anna banana.” anna23@www.azerivista.com

00s

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England tour in 2007. Patrick says his bachelor’s degree in music at USC trained him well as an organist and choral conductor. This summer he presented recitals in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Atlanta, Ga., and traveled to England to play at Canterbury Cathedral, St. Alban’s Cathedral, and St. George’s Chapel (Windsor Castle). pepope@hotmail.com

Amanda Black (2005) married Michael Brigman (USC 2005) on Feb. 25, 2006, at Rutledge Chapel.

She is an assistant engineer with Duke Power. They live in Columbia.

Kathryne Aldon Lane (2005) and Justin Ryan Knight (2005) were

and husband Ben welcomed their third child, a girl named Avery Elizabeth, in December 2005. She joins Alex, 4, and Cameron, 2.

married April 1, 2006, at Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church in Lexington.

Kathryne is pursuing a doctorate in physical therapy at Emory University.

Justin is pursuing his MD at Emory.

They live in Atlanta.

Robert Craig Thrift (2001) gradu-

Nina (Lerner) Oxner (2005)

Angela Johnson Morris (2000)

ated with honors from Washington and Lee University School of Law in May 2006. He is moving to Atlanta, where he has accepted a position as an attorney with Jones Day. thriftr@wlu.edu

Ron Edwards (2002) has been living in Thailand for the past four years.

He is the editorial director at Keen, a creative agency in Bangkok. Prior to joining Keen, he taught English and was a freelance writer. He has traveled extensively throughout Asia, including visits to a rainforest island in the middle of the Indian Ocean and ancient temples of Sri Lanka and Cambodia. Ron spent his junior year at USC abroad in India. He says he would be happy to answer questions or dish out advice to students or alumni with their eyes on the subcontinent. ronedwards7@yahoo.com

Patrick Pope (2002) has a new job as assistant organist and choirmaster at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in uptown Charlotte. One of his favorite parts of the job is working with nearly 100 children on a weekly basis as accompanist for the Boys and Girls Choirs at St. Peter’s, a program for highly motivated and talented young singers. This summer the group toured South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, and plans are in the works for an

married Christopher Oxner on May 6, 2006, at the Rutledge Chapel.

They live in Lexington County, where Nina is pursuing a career in Mary Kay cosmetics. Chris works for the Carolina Card office at USC. lernern@marykay.com

Matt Elder (2006) is the recipient of a National Science Foundation graduate research fellowship and a National Defense Science and Engineering graduate fellowship. The awards total more than $200,000 in funding for his graduate education.

He is pursuing a doctoral degree in theoretical computer science at the University of Wisconsin. After that, “being a professor would be great,” Elder says, but he’s not ruling out the possibility of becoming an entrepreneur with his computer skills.

Anne Cooper Ellefson (2006) is pursuing a doctorate in marine science at State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Josh Fowler (2006) will enter the Medical University of South Carolina this fall with dermatology as his field of choice.

Eric Friedman (2006) works for Team IA in Lexington. He lives in downtown Columbia. ericf13@yahoo.com

New seminars offered The following honors courses were offered for the first time during the 2005–2006 year. Visit http://schc.sc.edu for descriptions.

America’s Pain Crisis Art of Film Brain and Evolution Cryptography and Public Policy Expertise in Science: Developmental and Professional Trajectories Fiction Writing

Mark Your Calendar

From Page to Stage Heritage of Greece and Turkey, Tour History of the Book

November

4 Association of Honors Alumni homecoming brunch (contact Mark Sibley-Jones for information)

Improvisation For Non-Jazz Players

7 General Election Day—no classes

Islamic Law

13 Undergraduate preregistration appointments begin for spring 2007

Life in Extreme Environments

20 Open registration begins for spring 2007

Modern American Drama

22–24 Thanksgiving recess—no classes

History of Engineering History of Family and Childhood in America

Law, Intellectual Property, and Creating the Knowledge Economy

Motivation and School Learning Nature Writing

December

8 Last day of class

Overcoming the Odds in Sports

9 Reading day—no class

Religion and Healing

18 University commencement

Resource Management and Environmental Impact Assessment

18 Honors College revocation ceremony (for graduating seniors; contact Gail Pack for information)

Non-Western Classical Music

Suffrage and Women’s Rights

Pass us a note ... a Class Note!

Please send us your professional or personal news. (Remember, we love photos, and we’ll send them back to you after publication.)

Class notes and photos may be submitted online. Visit http://schc.sc.edu and click on “Alumni,” or fill out the form below and return it to AHA!, S.C. Honors College, USC, Columbia, SC 29208; fax to 803-777-2214; or e-mail to alumni@schc.sc.edu.

Name Year of Graduation Address City State ZIP Phone Is this a new address or phone number? ❏ Yes ❏ No E-mail address May we publish your e-mail address? ❏ Yes ❏ No

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Heritage of Greece and Turkey

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Association of Honors Alumni South Carolina Honors College University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

AHA! is the official newsletter of the Association of Honors Alumni and is published twice yearly by the South Carolina Honors College for alumni, students, parents, and faculty of the South Carolina Honors College.

Managing Editor: Carissa Hansford Copy Editor: Susan Nesbitt Ward (1990) Project Manager: Mark Sibley-Jones To reach us: 803-777-8102 or alumni@schc.sc.edu Alumni Correspondents:

Rachel Moyle Beanland (2003)

Michele Marple Thomas (1992)

Susan Nesbitt Ward (1990) Student Correspondents:

Emily Stanek (2008)

The University of South Carolina is an equal opportunity institution.

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