The University of Virginia's College at Wise Magazine, Spring 2013

THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA’S COLLEGE AT WISE SPRING 2013

HENRY THE EIGHTH Chancellor of UVa-Wise

From the

Chancellor

Dear Alumni and Friends: It has been an exciting time for our family as we made the move from Florida to the beautiful mountains of Virginia. It took some time for my family—Allen and our girls Jessie and Margaret— to unpack and get settled in at the Lila Vicars Smith House, but it took no time at all for us to feel at home in Southwest Virginia.

Jessie and Margaret have enjoyed the snow as much as Allen and I have delighted in watching spring transform campus. During this time, I have gotten to know many of you—alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students—and it has been delightful to find that all of us share a passion for our College and its mission.

The College has changed many lives since it opened Chancellor Donna Henry p in 1954, and UVa-Wise is poised to do even more in coming decades. The Senior Staff and I are working with others across campus on the Envisioning 2020 strategic plan to ensure we are on the right course to improve student learning, serve our region, and to continue our mission to offer a quality education for residents of the Commonwealth and beyond.

UVa-Wise has a rich history and a powerful story to share. I look forward to working together with you as we spread the word about the College and its ability to transform lives and meet the economic and other needs of the region and its people.

Once again, Allen and I want to thank you for the warm welcome and the generous gift of your time that you have given our family.

Sincerely,

Donna Henry

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Features The UVa-Wise Magazine is produced by College Relations and Alumni Relations for alumni and friends of The University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

EDITOR Kathy Still ’84 ALUMNI EDITORS Pam Collie ’93 Cindi L. Smoot ’09 EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Susan Mullins PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY Tim Cox, Tim Cox Photo/Graphics CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kathy Still ’84 Darrell-Dingus Ely ’10 Neva Bryan Lanna Monday Lumpkins Gerry Culver ’13 Jordan Childress INTERN Gerry Culver ’13 SPORTS EDITOR Cindi L. Smoot ’09 MAGAZINE DESIGN Lanna Monday Lumpkins

Tell us what you think about The UVa-Wise Magazine. Email your comments, story ideas and alumni submissions to magazine@uvawise.edu or contact us by mail at The UVa-Wise Magazine, 1 College Avenue, Wise, VA 24293 or by phone at 276-376-1027.

8 Voice of experience 10 The sky is the limit 14 Meet Chancellor Henry 26 Commencement 2013 36 Prior Center Impact

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Liberal dose of the arts boosts nursing program

Departments 2 Headlines 32 Athletics 42 ClassNotes

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Headlines

Economic development director appointed to Rural Jobs Council Shannon Blevins ’91, director of economic development at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise, has been appointed to serve on Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s newly created Rural Jobs Council.

“Rural regions across the country have unique opportunities and specific challenges in job creation,” Blevins said. “I’m honored and excited to serve on the Rural Jobs Council and to represent the College and Southwest Virginia.”

State Senator Phillip Puckett ’67 and former state senator senior lecturer at UVa-Wise William Wampler were also appointed to the Council.

“We are pleased that Governor McDonnell appointed Shannon Blevins to serve on the Rural Job Council,” UVaWise Chancellor Donna Henry said. “UVa-Wise has been an economic development engine in the region for decades, and having Shannon represent us and our region on such an important council will benefit both Southwest Virginia and the Commonwealth.”

The Council has been established to build upon the success of the Governor’s Commission on Job Creation and Economic Development and to continue the Administration’s focus on Virginia’s rural communities. The Council consists of legislators and leaders in the business, manufacturing, agriculture, and healthcare industries. The group will make recommendations to address the challenges to economic growth in rural Virginia and develop a statewide rural infrastructure plan to include transportation, education, and community development.

The Council is responsible for identifying impediments to job creation and opportunities for job creation in rural Virginia, recommend strategies to improve K-12 education and the workforce pipeline, produce Shannon Blevins ’91 p a comprehensive and meaningful Economic and Infrastructure Policy for Rural Virginia and to make recommendations to improve the tax and regulatory environment in the Commonwealth.

“I am pleased to announce that these community and industry leaders have agreed to serve Virginia on this newly created Rural Jobs Council,” the governor said.

“Virginia’s rural communities are the heart and soul of our Commonwealth and we must do everything we can to bring jobs and opportunity to these regions. I am confident this group will develop thoughtful recommendations and a solid infrastructure plan for rural Virginia.”

Phi Sigma Sigma boosts scholarship with old fashioned fundraiser The sisters of Phi Sigma Sigma chose an old fashioned yet proven method to raise some dough to sweeten an established scholarship fund at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

The sorority held a bake sale in the C. Bascom Slemp Student Center to raise money for the “Everet J. Flanary Memorial and All Participants of the D-Day Invasion with the 116 Company 1st Army Scholarship.”

“Our recruits have to do a philanthropy project for our Philanthropy Night, so we decided to bake and decorate cupcakes,” said Helen Osborne, chair of the Phi Sigma Sigma Philanthropy Committee.

“It was a patriotic theme. We found out that Mr. Flanary was a veteran, so we decided to donate the profits to his scholarship.”

Erica Boggs, archon of the sorority, said the endeavor was a group effort and one that the sisters plan to do again.

“It was really exciting,” Boggs said. “Scholarships are the only way I’m able to attend college, so knowing that this will help another student is very exciting.”

Sorority members presented the funds to Tami Ely ’90, vice chancellor for development and college relations earlier this month.

“UVa-Wise has many caring and hardworking students who recognize the importance of scholarships and want to give back to others,” Ely said. “The Phi Sigma Sigma members are making a difference, and we are proud of their generosity.”

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MEC approved The Mountain East Conference (MEC) announced that its application for membership has been approved by the NCAA Division II Membership Committee.

The MEC will officially become the 25th NCAA Division II conference on Sept. 1, 2013 and immediately assumes active status.

“This is a very exciting time for the Mountain East Conference and our 12 charter institutions,” MEC Commissioner Reid Amos said. “Every one of our schools has great history, great tradition and now a great future as an MEC member. It has been an exhilarating experience to be a part of the formation of a group of like-minded institutions that has laid a strong foundation for a long and successful association.”

The 12 charter members of the nation’s newest NCAA Division II regional allsports league include nine West Virginia institutions – Concord University, Fairmont State University, Glenville State College, Shepherd University, The University of Charleston, West Liberty University, West Virginia State University, Wheeling Jesuit University, and West Virginia Wesleyan College – along with Notre Dame College and Urbana University from Ohio and The University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

The formal application process was extremely detailed – the final application document totaled nearly 200 pages when it was filed in December 2012 – but Amos said all that hard work proved to be a blessing in disguise.

“The NCAA Division II membership process was very valuable to us in a number of ways,” he said. “It almost served as a step-by-step guide to organizing a model NCAA Division II conference and really helped our presidents and athletic directors crystallize a strategic plan – a vision – for our collective future. I’m very grateful to our presidents and athletic directors for their great input throughout the process and I’d also like to express my appreciation for the guidance provided by Oliver and Lindemenn Consulting.”

SGA to endow scholarship

The Student Government Association at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise pledged to endow a scholarship to benefit the College’s student leaders.

The Student Government Association Student Leader Scholarship was officially established earlier this year by the 2012-2013 SGA members with support from alumni, friends, faculty and staff. The income from the fund will be used to help worthy and deserving students. Preference will be given to students who demonstrate leadership skills and who have a 3.0 grade point average.

The pledge was signed by SGA members, Chancellor Donna Henry and UVa-Wise Foundation President Don Green ’61 in a Feb. 1 ceremony.

Chancellor Henry congratulated the SGA for its forward thinking and hard work on the project, adding that it would impact many students for generations to come.

“I am inspired by the commitment and leadership you are demonstrating in establishing this scholarship fund,” Chancellor Henry told the SGA. The scholarship received a boost from the family of the late Margie Schoenewald, who worked at the College in many capacities for more than three decades. Memorial contributions made in her memory in 2011 will be used to help fund the scholarship. In addition, alumnus James Pena, a member of the Class of 2005 and a former SGA member, provided a gift toward the scholarship as well.

“This scholarship will be used to reward student leaders who have made both a positive impact on the UVa-Wise campus and the local community,” said SGA President SGA signs pledge with College to endow scholarship p Phillip Blevins ’13.

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Headlines

Napoleon Hill Kimberly Marshall wins Sandridge award Foundation Patrons of the Wyllie Library at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise think of Kimberly Marshall when they hear the words inter library loans.

The Norton resident and recipient of the 2013 Leonard Sandridge Outstanding Contributor award has been handling the ILL program at the College at Wise for nearly 30 years now. She took on some of Kimberly Marshall p the duties when first hired in the fall of 1984, but she took the task on full time a few years later.

“I guess you can say I am the Inter Library Loan department,” she said. “I’m the only one who works in the program, but I have backup when I need it.”

Professor Brian McKnight is one of the people who nominated Marshall for the award. McKnight said it is difficult at smaller colleges to gather the books and articles necessary for students and professors to do their work, especially for a campus that is located far away from Richmond and other urban areas. Marshall makes it possible, he said.

“She has earned a reputation as devoted to providing excellent customer service to library patrons and has demonstrated a commitment to giving the best possible interlibrary loan service,” he wrote in the nomination letter. “People like Kim guarantee that our institution continues to thrive in the face of modern challenges.”

Marshall has enjoyed her years at Wise and her work with faculty and staff, but her interaction with students makes it fun.

“Being around the students is such a treat,” she said. “We have a diverse group of students, and I enjoy getting to know them. They keep me young.”

Getting attached to many of the 2,100 students on campus can be bittersweet during Commencement, she said.

“It is always sad to see them go, but many come back to visit or send postcards,” Marshall said.

When she is not working in the library, Marshall loves to spend time outdoors. She enjoys cultivating a small vegetable garden and working in her flowerbeds. However, on the spur of the moment, Marshall and her husband, Montie, enjoy taking trips via motorcycle.

“When we ride, we don’t have a care in the world,” she said.

Winning the Sandridge award came as a surprise to Marshall.

“I was shocked when I found out,” she said. “I never dreamed that it would happen in a million years.”

Each year one classified staff member at UVa-Wise is selected to receive the award along with colleagues from the University of Virginia. Letters of nomination are accepted from faculty and staff, with an awards committee making the final decision on the winner.

Marshall, who receives a $1,000 cash award, will be honored along with other award winners in a ceremony in Charlottesville.

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funds scholarships

The Napoleon Hill Foundation presented The University of Virginia’s College at Wise with $50,000 in December for the Napoleon Hill Scholarship Fund.

The Napoleon Hill Foundation has given more than $700,000 for scholarships for students participating in the Napoleon Hill Scholars Program. The program provides a $1,000 scholarship for the Napoleon Hill Scholars and provides training on the principles of success from Hill’s writings. Ten students were selected to serve as Napoleon Hill Scholars for the 2012-2013 academic year.

The Napoleon Hill Scholarship Endowment was established in 2004 to assist outstanding academic scholars in all majors.

The Foundation has also funded a professorship at UVa-Wise in Hill’s honor. The scholarship and professorship endowments were started as a way for the foundation to give something back to the College.

“If and when we are gone, if people do remember us, it will be for what we gave back, not what we got,” said Don Green ’61, CEO of the Napoleon Hill Foundation.

The Napoleon Hill Foundation is a nonprofit educational institution dedicated to promoting Hill’s philosophy. Hill was born in a one-room cabin on the Pound River in 1883. He later became an advisor to presidents and a best-selling author.

College recognized for emergency preparedness The University of Virginia’s College at Wise has been recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia as one of the state’s top performers on the annual Institutions of Higher Education Preparedness Assessment.

UVa-Wise received one of the highest scores of any college or university in Virginia. The IHEPA is a tool Virginia uses to gauge the overall level of preparedness across state colleges and universities. The assessment documents how prepared Virginia colleges and universities are in areas of physical security, continuity of operations planning, information technology security, document protection human resources preparedness, training and IHE emergency preparedness.

“UVa-Wise is proactive when it comes to campus safety,” Chancellor Donna Henry said. “It is gratifying that our College has been recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia for the hard work our staff, faculty and students do to prepare for emergency situations.”

The Office of the Secretary of Veteran Affairs and Homeland Security administers the Governor’s Preparedness Certificate program, an award for agencies scoring 90 percent or higher on the IHEPA. “Your institution has been a leader in helping to foster a culture of preparedness across state campuses,” agency Secretary Terrie Suit writes in a letter to UVa-Wise.

Mu ddy for a good cause

“I’ve never run more than a mile at one time,” Davis said. “Sarah Six women from UVa-Wise drove hundreds of miles to Memphis just to slip, slide, stride and just plain roll around in the mud, but it was has talked me into training for a 5K, and the mud run seemed a fun way to begin. It was so much more fun than just running.” all for a good cause.

Clem, Reiber and Jones were all about the cause, especially for The women, Erin Clem, Carlee Reiber, Brittanie Jones ’13, Sarah Reiber whose grandmother is battling breast cancer. She wore her Smith ’11, Nichole Davis ’99 and Sydney Pack, participated in the Go grandmother’s name on the back of her shirt during the mud run.

Dirty Girl 5K Mud Run, a female only run for ladies of all ages and Clem said it brought the women together for a good cause. athletic abilities.

“I’m not a runner,” Jones said. “I don’t plan The event was designed to bring awareness on ever being a runner, but I went as a volunteer, to breast cancer. The Mud Run was an untimed photographer and stuff holder. I had a t-shirt that obstacle course that encourages teamwork to said Mama Mud Run on the back.” get to the finish line. The Wise Girls Gone Wild The women crossed the finish line as a team, team maneuvered through 13 obstacles in a and they gave Jones a big, muddy hug to celebrate. cross-country course that featured mud pits, rope All six plan to participate in a future mud run, climbs and mudslides. possibly in Roanoke in the fall. They plan to recruit It all started innocently enough when Clem, a bigger team for the next mud run. an Ashburn resident and junior majoring in “It would be nice to take one of the college business, and Reiber, a Nokesville resident and buses full to the next run,” Davis said. a junior majoring in psychology, learned about The women raised $350 for breast cancer mud runs in Cosmopolitan magazine. The event awareness prior to the run by holding fundraisers was listed as one of the top 25 things to do. on campus. They learned a lot about each other The friends did some research and found one in on the trip, and they formed solid friendships and Memphis, so they decided to hit the social media gained the knowledge that they did something sites to form a UVa-Wise team.

Campus Police Officer Nichole Davis was the Wise Girls Gone Wild after Mud Run p as a team that will give promise to breast cancer survivors. first to respond, and Sarah Smith, assistant director of student services “I was somewhat nervous going into the weekend because I and outdoor recreation, and Sydney Pack, a junior and administration knew some of the girls, but not well, so I really didn’t know how the of justice major from Harrisonburg followed. Brittanie Jones of weekend was going to go,” Pack said. “I had such a great time the Roanoke agreed to join the group as a volunteer. entire weekend, and really made friends with all of the girls. The run “Nichole and I were on the treadmills side-by-side and I told her itself was such an accomplishment for me, and I was so proud of that my goal was to run 15 5K races in a year,” Smith said. “Nichole myself and we accomplished as the Wise Girls Gone Wild.” told me about the mud race.”

Davis, who has turned heads on campus the past year with her llllll significant weight loss story, said her new healthy lifestyle has inspired her to be more active.

Rwandan ambassador visits UVa-Wise James Kimonyo, ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to the United States, visited Wise County to promote stronger ties and educational opportunities between Rwanda and Southwest Virginia.

The ambassador signed letters of intent with The University of Virginia’s College at Wise, Mountain Empire Community College and the Napoleon Hill Foundation to explore ways to expand educational opportunities for Rwandan students in collaboration with NASA DEVELOP. Kimonyo toured both campuses and delivered a lecture at UVaWise on the theme of Rwandan education.

“We are so surprised and excited about what we’ve seen,” the ambassador said. “It gives me the impression that this is the perfect environment for our kids.”

The letters of intent state that the colleges, the foundation and the Rwandan Embassy want stronger ties of friendship and educational cooperation. All four agreed to explore the possibilities to expand educational opportunities for Rwandan students in collaboration with NASA DEVELOP in Wise.

“This is a special day,” said UVa-Wise Provost Sanders Huguenin.

“We look forward to a wonderful relationship and a chance to work together.”

Scott Hamilton, MECC president, James Kimonyo, Rwanda ambassador, p Sanders Huguenin, provost and Don Green ’61, Napoleon Hill Foundation According to the letters of intent, all involved will look at ways to increase the affordability and accessibility of higher education for Rwandan students, and will use education as a pathway to greater mutual familiarity and understanding.

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Headlines

Faculty receive Harrison awards Several members of The University of Virginia’s College at Wise faculty were presented with faculty awards on May 14.

Professors Marla Weitzman and Debra Carter received the Outstanding Teaching Award, presented to a faculty member who excels in classroom teaching and who works particularly well with students.

Professor Chris Scalia received the Outstanding Service Award, given to those who have made significant contributions to UVa-Wise and the community.

Professor Amy Clark received the Outstanding Research and Publication Award, earned by faculty members who have made significant contributions to published research in his or her discipline.

Professor Wally Smith received the Mentoring Undergraduate Research Award, presented to a faculty member p Amy Clark, Wally Smith, Chris Scalia, Michael McNulty, Debra Carter, who fosters relationships with undergraduates that results in Brian McKnight and Marla Weitzman research appropriate for publication or public presentation.

Professor Yenli Yeh received the Outstanding Advising Award, The late Thomas Galyean was posthumously awarded the presented to a faculty member who has provided exceptional Outstanding Contribution to the Academic Mission award for service to students through advising and related activities that his work finding funding sources and grants to assist the faculty. support the academic program.

The award, which will be given to his family, will now officially Professor Kevin Jones received the Distinguished Professor be named the Thomas Galyean Outstanding Contribution to the Award, presented to a faculty member who has given outstanding Academic Mission award. service in many areas of the academic program over a long period Professors Brian McKnight and Michael McNulty received of time. special recognition for being nominated for the State Council for Professor Eric Smith received the Student Government Higher Education in Virginia’s 2010 Outstanding Faculty Award.

Association’s Professor of the Year award.

Highland Cavalier editor awarded SPJ National Mark of Excellence The editor-in-chief of The University of Virginia’s College at Wise student newspaper, The Highland Cavalier, was awarded first place for breaking news reporting in a national journalism contest for a 2012 news story about the sudden death of the College’s seventh chancellor.

Jordan Fifer’s breaking news reporting won first place in the Society of Professional Journalists’ National Mark of Excellence competition this week. The story had previously won first place for breaking news reporting in SPJ’s Region 2, which includes Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The Mark of Excellence Awards honor the best collegiate journalism in the U.S. and are judged by professionals with at least three years of journalism experience. Fifer’s winning entry competed among category winners from the 12 SPJ regions.

According to the SPJ: “Judges were directed to choose only those entries which they felt were outstanding work worthy of a national honor. If the judges determined that none of the entries rose to the level of excellence, no award was given. This year student journalists submitted more than 4,600 entries.”

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Fifer’s Feb. 3, 2012 Highland Cavalier story “Wise mourns Prior’s death” was a breaking news article written in less than a day after Chancellor David Prior died unexpectedly early on a Thursday morning. The Highland Cavalier, then a weekly newspaper, was due to be published the next morning, and Fifer worked to ensure the story made it to print despite minimal time before the paper’s deadline.

The entry will be recognized at SPJ’s p Jordan Fifer ’13 Excellence in Journalism 2013 (EIJ13) conference in Southern California, Aug. 24 to 26.

Fifer, a member of the class of 2013 and a senior interdisciplinary studies major, is the outgoing editor-in-chief of The Highland Cavalier. His reporting and photography have appeared in The Roanoke Times, The Virginian-Pilot, The Bristol Herald - Courier, The Coalfield Progress and other publications. His work has won several regional, state and national awards for newspaper writing, photography and videography.

Grants awarded at Appalachian Prosperity Project Symposium Four research teams of faculty, students, and community partners were awarded venture grants as part of the first annual Appalachian Prosperity Project Symposium held at the University of Virginia on Friday, April 5, 2013.

The Appalachian Prosperity Project is a collaborative partnership among the University of Virginia, UVa-Wise, the Virginia Coalfield Coalition, the private sector, and the Commonwealth.

In announcing the grant recipients, Pace Lochte, assistant to the President and director of regional business development at UVa, said “These projects exemplify APP’s goal of using classroom learning and research to address complex societal challenges, as defined by residents of Southwest Virginia, said Pace Lochte, assistant to the president and director of regional business development at the University.

The grants for 2013-14 are: The LENOWISCO Health Department in Wise, Va, will work with a team from the UVa School of Nursing to improve health outcomes by developing strategies to increase access to healthy food.

The Town of Grundy will partner with a UVa Architecture class to design a new comprehensive teen center for the town.

Students from UVa and UVa-Wise will join with regional organizations in launching the Clinch River Youth Coalition to engage young people in the cultural and environmental heritage of the river.

Working with the Health Wagon in Southwest Virginia, UVa’s Office of Telemedicine will provide educational support for healthy eating strategies to those with or at risk for diabetes.

The Appalachian Prosperity Project emerged from UVa’s long-standing commitment to the health and vitality of the Appalachian region.

“Our APP partnership is authentic and productive,” according to Marcia Quesenberry, associate vice chancellor for strategic planning and projects at UVa-Wise. “Working together we have made significant progress in improving access to health care in the region and have seen the power of this partnership.”

Mapto success Choose a map to get there. When Ronnie J. Price ’84 talks to you about your aspirations, that’s what he tells you.

“My favorite pastime is being able to connect people’s dream jobs with their reality. There is a map. Choose a map to get there.”

Helping people get where they want to be is something he has been doing for more than 25 years. Currently the associate vice president for human resources at The College of William and Mary, Price has served in senior level human resources positions in academia for much of his career. His own professional map includes a few detours.

After serving in the University of Virginia’s p Ronnie J. Price ’84 human resources department for five years, he left in the early 1990s to become U.Va’s director of student engineering programs. Later he co-founded Virginia Commonwealth University’s engineering program, becoming the school’s associate dean of student engineering. However, the desire to work directly with individuals on their career goals called him back to human resources.

Price returned to U.Va in 2000, founding the human resources program within U.Va’s Darden School of Business. He remained director of that program until 2008.

After a brief foray west to serve as Utah Valley University’s associate vice president for human resources and equity officer, he returned to Virginia.

“William and Mary called,” he said. “Higher education is fascinating. It’s like a miniature city. William and Mary is known for the close relationship between the students and the faculty.”

Price compares William and Mary’s distinguishing characteristic to that of The University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

“You have a faculty that really values the relationship with the student and cares about progress, academically and professionally.”

Price remembers having that type of relationship with his professors at UVa-Wise; he credits it with motivating him to pursue graduate school.

“Joe Scolnick was a great advisor and mentor in political science. Joe gave me gas for the engine and Garrett Sheldon turned the key. They showed me that I could be a successful learner and leader, and pushed me to do more.”

This was a great accomplishment for a non-traditional student. Prior to matriculating UVa-Wise, Price, a native of Norton, had worked in a factory in New Jersey.

“Really being out in the work world was the trigger for me deciding to go to college. I was watching people around me and how miserable they looked, tired, and really beaten up for six or seven dollars an hour. The words of my parents chimed in my head: ‘Education is the way out of this. You’ll find more opportunity. The more education you have, the more doors are open to you. That’s when I called my mother and said I’m ready to come back home.”

Price received a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1984 from what was known then as Clinch Valley College. He received his master’s degree in public administration from U.Va, as well as his Ph.D. (ABD).

-by Neva Bryan Spring 2013 7

Everything I know...

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uring the past year, Don Green ’61 has whittled decades of banking experience, financial wisdom and the power of positive thought into his newly published book, “Everything I Know About Success I Learned From Napoleon Hill: Essential Lessons For Using The Power of Positive Thinking.”

Anyone acquainted with Green quickly learns of his immense appreciation for the written word. An avid reader and collector of philosophical and self-help texts, Green has blossomed into an author himself.

A quick peek into his office at the Napoleon Hill Foundation reveals a fraction of his many collected pieces. Then again, Green has always been a collector of sorts, squirreling away coins, books and other items that peaked his interest. Books, however, have always been those most treasured.

In 2000 as CEO of the Napoleon Hill Foundation, Green began to morph from a banker into a storyteller, detailing his rags to riches tales for live audiences across the globe. While he did not have book publishing experience, Green knew how to run a business and had always been partial to the teachings of Napoleon Hill. From early beginnings as a young zoo owner to becoming a bank president at 41, Green shared the things that amused and inspired him. Lessons learned from past failures were told in the hopes that others might benefit from his experiences.

At speaking engagements, he was often asked if he had considered writing his own book so that attendees could revisit his anecdotes and advice.

“Initially I did not feel my experiences were truly worthy of writing about,” Green said. “I had many requests over the years to share my experiences and this book is a way to fulfill those requests, but more importantly, it is my way of giving something back to the community and to the College that helped shape me into the person I am.”

All proceeds from the book go to the Napoleon Hill Foundation to fund scholarships for individuals at UVa-Wise, Green’s alma mater.

From the time he was in elementary school, Green read just about anything he could get his hands on.

“Reading is for discovery and wisdom,” said Green. “I was always learning something new. During my school years, my mother would always say to me, ‘Mark my word, you are going to go blind from reading so much.’ But I didn’t care, I loved to read.”

In 1961, Green graduated from the College with a degree in business. He went on to get his B.S. in accounting from ETSU and a banker’s certification from U.Va, followed by a graduate degree in banking from Stonier Graduate School at Rutgers University.

“Sometimes we have to make our own opportunities,” said Green. “You can’t expect success to fall into your lap. Life rarely works that way.”

Green started his banking career as a collector for a finance office and worked his way up to becoming a bank CEO and president, a position held for 20 years.

Drawing upon decades of practical financial experience and meshing it with the power of positive thinking, Green writes in his book how success is defined and what it took for him to attain it. His book is full of stories of well-known individuals who have followed the strategies of Napoleon Hill such as Dolly Parton, Jeoffery Gitomer and Joe Dudley, Jr. Green’s book offers advice and inspiration on a wide array of subject material, including desire and discipline, goals, habits, frugality and self-reliance.

“Everything I know About Success I Learned From Napoleon Hill; Essential Lessons For Using The Power Of Positive Thinking” is published by McGraw-Hill and can be found Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and other retailers.

“Reading is for discovery and wisdom.”

-Don Green ’61

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The sky is the limit

Cameron Johnson, one of the most successful young His first business was making party invitations but by the age entrepreneurs in the country, shared thoughts on success and of 12, Johnson became the second largest Ty Beanie Baby dealer entrepreneurial spirit with hundreds of students at The University on eBay generating $50,000 that he later invested in My EZ Mail, of Virginia’s College at Wise on April 17. an email forwarding company that specialized in concealing receipt Johnson’s lecture was the inaugural event in the Alfred and information. In 1997, Johnson teamed up with two other likeShirley Wampler Caudill Lecture in Entrepreneurship Series minded entrepreneurial students and found Surfingprizes.com, established by Don W. Caudill in honor of a strategic pyramid styled company that his parents’ sacrifices. Caudill, a local J.J. offered scrolling advertisement across Kelly High School graduate, is a marketing the top of a web browser. The company professor in the Broyhill School of partnered with similar sites that generated Management in the Godbold School of $1 million in assets before Johnson Business at Gardner-Webb University. graduated high school.

Johnson has been a finalist on “Oprah’s “It all starts with an idea and a small Big Give” and hosted a season of BBC’s group of people,” Johnson said. “My “Beat the Boss.” He has been featured in favorite business is always the next one I’m more than 250 newspapers, magazines and about to start. You have to start small and television programs worldwide. Johnson also put yourself out there.” serves as the president of Magic City Ford Johnson enrolled at Virginia Tech and Lincoln, one of the largest Ford dealership in was surprised to find his story and picture Southwest and Central Virginia. in a business management textbook.

In his lecture, “The Top 20 Percent: After only a semester in college, Johnson Calling Your Own Shots,” Johnson shared placed education on hold and launched ways to “get out of the box” when looking certificateswap.com, a site where gift cards for work by using an entrepreneurial mindset. could be bought and sold for a small fee.

According to Johnson, only 20 percent of Johnson saw the need in creating this site recent graduates are finding employment. The after receiving gift cards to stores he never rest are struggling to meet their goals or are in shopped.

Johnson discusses inspiration p positions in which they are overqualified.

“I like to solve problems,” Johnson said “Why work for someone else when you can call your own shots,” regarding certificateswap.com. “I like a challenge. I’m not in it for he said. “Pursue your dreams and find success on your terms by the money; I’m in it for the challenge.” starting your own business.”

Later, the company would be sold for an undisclosed six-figure The spark that set Johnson in motion occurred on a family trip amount. to the Plaza Hotel, owned at the time by his childhood idol Donald For students already working, Johnson advised them to think Trump. A fan of “Home Alone 2,” Johnson had sent Trump a like an entrepreneur while working for the company. request prior to the trip to view the suite used in the film. When “Every big Fortune 500 company is hiring people that think the family arrived, they were escorted to the luxury suite and given totally different and totally outside the box because they are looking a shopping trip to F.A.O. Schwartz. Trump’s act of kindness gave for new ways to do things,” he said.

Johnson confidence, and he decided there were no boundaries to When asked if he desired to complete his college degree keep him from turning his ideas into reality.

Johnson said, “I can’t imagine a reason why I would not. You can lose investments, a business or a house but you can never lose an education.”

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Johnson and Donald W. Caudill, founder of the Alfred and Shirley Wampler Caudill

p

Lecture in Entrepreneurship Series

t Cameron Johnson

A packed house p

Johnson answers questions about his many business ventures p

Johnson with student Greg Walker p

Spring 2013 11

College

EntrepreneurialClub

“You get excited about your own James Long has always wanted to “If we can play a part in awakening the idea, but it is just as exciting to see start his own business.

The Roanoke Rapids, N.C. native entrepreneurial spirit in our students and the determination and passion in the others,” Robinson said. “It is also a always knew he could make some help them see that defining success isn’t support group that lets us streamline money and have the satisfaction that our ideas to something workable.” comes with being his own boss, but only getting an education and finding a All agree that the club is working he was a bit unsure about how to turn job, but that it could also be defined as on many levels. The group works his dream into reality. closely with the Wise Business Long started work as an intern getting an education and CREATING Association and others in the region for Shannon Blevins ’91, economic YOUR OWN JOB, we will have made to promote business startups. development director for UVa-Wise, The group has lofty goals and a tremendous difference in their future several months ago. As part of his the drive to carry them out. The internship, the communication major path.” members are ready to help local learned about a startup group that -Shannon Blevins ’91 nonprofit organizations get started, was created on campus to encourage and they offer local businesses students to flex their entrepreneurial advice on how to conduct muscles. At Blevins’ urging, Long joined Collegiate Entrepreneurial Organization and he soon realized he commerce in a digital world.

“We want to see local businesses flourish,” Long said. “A lot felt comfortable and inspired by likeminded classmates. of businesses don’t have an online presence or an adequate online “I thought business was just about making money,” Long said. “It is presence.

We offer ways they can make small changes that will result in not. It is more about helping others as well. I found out it is important big results.” to help the world, and a business owner can do that.”

Blevins is understandably proud of the CEO group and the hard Samantha Robinson, biochemistry major from Clintwood, Va. has long seen the need for new businesses in Southwest Virginia. She hopes work of its members. She hopes CEO will continue to grow as new students join and bring even more ideas and drive. to begin her own company one day.

“I could not ask for a more dedicated and inspiring group of Madison Savarese, a communication and sports information students,” Blevins said. “I always leave the meetings knowing that these management major from Winchester, Va., has an entrepreneurial spark young men and women will make a difference in their communities.” that is easy to spot. It is no surprise that Savarese and Blevins explored the formation of the CEO club and found it viable.

“Shannon and I explored the hurdles Southwest Virginia has when Several College Entrepreneurial Club members q it comes to new business startups,” she said. “But one way you can look at it is that this region has a clean slate. It can start fresh.”

The results of the early efforts to form the CEO club are impressive. More than a dozen students have joined CEO, and that number will climb as word gets out.

“It’s really all about helping others and the community through our organization,” Savarese said. “We are part of the greater community and the Southwest Virginia region. It just makes sense to help each other.

We are part of the community.”

CEO views entrepreneurship as a leading field of study in colleges and universities at both the undergraduate and graduate level. The national organization views it important that students have opportunities to work with their peers and entrepreneurs who are making a living in the business world. The mission is to promote entrepreneurship at different levels and in all regions.

The original members knew the group would be successful when its first meeting lasted nearly three hours. The members have since learned to rein things in so the meetings are more manageable, but it is not easy to contain the raw excitement.

12 UVa-Wise Magazine

Sandra Jones

mirrors joyful soul of annual Wise MLK celebrations

The joy in Sandra Jones’ heart shines with a blend of sublime humor.

If her sole mission in life was to spread gladness like a flower girl in a wedding, there would be Sandra petals knee high the world over.

Jones is just a blessed woman not at all stingy about showering blessings all around. She pastors two A.M.E. Zion churches, one in Big Stone Gap and the other in Lynch, Ky., and that’s just for starters.

For 17 years Jones has coordinated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day observances in Wise County, an annual event that attracts all comers from Tennessee and Kentucky as well as regionally in Virginia, as well as Black History Month activities at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

She scoffs at suggestions she is the heart, soul and face of the annual MLK Day event, noting there is a core group of perhaps a dozen other hearts, souls and faces who makes things happen every year.

“Although I am the coordinator, I couldn’t do it without the wonderful group of committee members enjoying the Dr. King celebration and all the activities of Black History Month. They are really out there brainstorming for speakers and singing groups and what have you for the college — and not just for the college, but the whole community,” she said.

“I’m telling you, we get a lot of support from a lot of people. And we work on it all year long. We don’t wait until the time of the event.

As soon as we finish one (MLK Day and Black History Month) we start getting ready for the next one. I couldn’t do it by myself. The committee makes it easy because they work so hard.”

Other job and life mission titles worn by Jones are mother, grandmother and executive administrative assistant to the UVa-Wise vice chancellor for development and college relations. She has a grown son, Eric Monroe Jones of Big Stone Gap, and grown daughter, Olivia Jones of Bristol, and one granddaughter and is a revered motherly and grandmotherly presence for the college’s staff, faculty and 2,000-plus students.

It all began innocently enough in the then-segregated Virginia of the 1950s, although her childhood neighborhood of Italy Bottom in Big Stone Gap was integrated to the max as far as the kids were concerned.

“I’m a coal miner’s daughter,” she says of her childhood. Although she graduated from Powell Valley High School in 1965, she attended a segregated school in Big Stone Gap through seventh grade. In 1965, schools were integrated. As an eighth-grader, Jones was among the first class of black students to walk through the doors of Powell Valley High School.

The black school she attended — James A. Bland — eventually became what it remains today, Big Stone Gap Town Hall, serving all citizens.

“It was different,” she said of black kids attending one school and white kids attending another, “even though the neighborhood where I grew up, we were already integrated. Even though we went to different schools, we played together all the time and we were already friends. I guess there was some who didn’t appreciate (school integration) but it was all good, really, and I was never aware of anyone having any real problems with it. I still have lifelong friends from there.”

by STEPHEN IGO

Jones is the daughter of the late Helen Young Humphrey and William Young. After her father died after she was grown, her mother married Morris Humphrey. That marriage just happened to provide Jones with a stepbrother, Junius Griffin, who would become a speech writer for none other than the civil rights legend, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Griffin, who grew up in Stonega, just north of Appalachia, passed away in 2003.

“I had a good growing up.

Oh yeah. We grew up in a family of four girls. Mom worked (tidying up) homes, and Dad was a coal miner. Dad was a Baptist and Mom was Methodist so we wound up going to both churches,” she said. “We grew up in a loving family. Our parents worked hard and provided for The many faces of Sandra Jones p us, and there was love all around the community besides.”

Asked if her parents were the kind who expected kids to “toe the line,” Jones grinned. “No doubt about it!” she said.

Fresh out of high school in 1970, Jones’ first job was in a local Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) office in the town’s federal courthouse/ Post Office building. She married and moved with her late husband, Monroe Jones, who was in the Army posted to Fort Sam Houston in Texas. Following her husband’s unexpected death, she moved back home, worked a while for a program at a local Social Security office, and then landed a job at Westmoreland Coal Co. processing mine dust samples and noise surveys.

All the while she was a single mom raising her son and daughter.

“It wasn’t too hard because I worked, so I could provide,” she said.

“And I had my family and (her deceased husband’s family) so it wasn’t like I was all alone out there. They helped me raise my children, his children, our children. All children are our children when it comes to family.”

Jones worked at Westmoreland for 17 years. When the company folded its Virginia operations she landed at the UVa-Wise campus, first as an administrative assistant in the Southwest Virginia Public Education Consortium. Now going on her 20th year at the college, Jones has served in her present position for the past 10 years.

Reprinted with permission from Kingsport Times News Spring Spring 2013 2013 13 13

14 UVa-Wise Magazine

qPinning Wise to the map of Henry family travels

A

new snow

I

STORY

t seems a good snow story is always part of many new beginnings at UVa-Wise.

The College itself was born after a crippling snow led to the now legendary chance meeting between University of Virginia Extension Agent Sam Crockett, three determined local women and three Wise men at the Wise Inn on a chilly December day in 1953.

Naturally, a foot of snow welcomed Donna Henry, the College’s eighth chancellor, on her first day of work on a blustery Jan. 18, 2013.

The heavy snow gave the College’s first woman chancellor a “snow day,” something she never experienced during her 16 years at Florida Gulf Coast University. The snow also gave the Henry family— husband Allen and twin daughters Jessie and Margaret—a chance to enjoy a real Southwest Virginia winter day.

Spring 2013 15

M

The Henry family became a good luck symbol for the Cavaliers ore snow days would follow, even more than usual, basketball program. The teams, especially the men’s crew, seemed as Chancellor Henry settled in behind the big desk to win in overtime at the buzzer when the Henrys, wearing red and in Bowers-Sturgill Hall. Replacing the popular gray, cheered them on.

David J. Prior, who passed away, would be no easy Students soon began to comment about the Chancellor’s task for a campus still in mourning. presence at campus functions. Her willingness to change her The first days on the job were a mix of the ordinary and downright extraordinary for the former dean of FGCU. A late night schedule to accommodate the snow-related rescheduling of an important Student Government Association luncheon earned high 911 hoax resulted in a campus lockdown, which meant Chancellor points with the students.

Henry had to “hunker down” in the Lila Vicars Smith House while “Chancellor Henry is a keeping in constant contact wonderful addition to our with the crisis team in the qThe Henrys enjoy a basketball game College,” SGA President Phillip Resource Center.

Blevins ’13 said. “It feels as if She made up for her the Chancellor has always been unfamiliarity with the here. She has an exuberant College’s buildings by clicking amount of school pride and on the online campus map spirit, and she is a familiar face in for reference as she worked the crowd at nearly all events.” with the crisis management Blevins said his classmates team. noticed early on that students More snow wiped out were the chancellor’s primary Friday classes on several focus. occasions and altered the “On her first official day, normal schedule on other she scheduled a luncheon with days. She managed to visit all the SGA,” he said. “I sincerely departments and meet nearly believe that both the college and all staff and faculty early on, community are very fortunate to even with all the unexpected have Chancellor Henry.” situations that kept popping University of Virginia up.

President Teresa A. Sullivan After a couple weeks obviously agrees with Blevins. on the job, the talk about “The College at Wise is so campus was that Donna fortunate to have Donna Henry,” Henry, or “Henry the President Sullivan said. “She was Eighth” as she was playfully a clear choice for many reasons. dubbed, had sticking power.

UVa-Wise needed not just an There was no doubt that administrator and educator Chancellor Henry was a good with a proven track record, we fit for UVa-Wise. needed someone of impeccable “It has been a pleasure character who brought just the to observe Donna and her right approach—personally and family during her first 100 professionally—to a college days at the College,” said Jessie, Allen, Chancellor Donna Henry, Margaret and pets, Goldie and Bailey p experiencing both growth and Marcia A. Gilliam ’82, chair heartache at the same time.” of the UVa-Wise College President Sullivan has had time to work with Chancellor Henry Board and chair of the search committee that recommended for several months now. She continues to be impressed with the way Henry for the post. “She has already been confronted with some Chancellor Henry is leading UVa-Wise. unexpected and challenging issues, and she has demonstrated “As Donna and the Wise community have evolved beyond the leadership with a calming voice of competence.” getting-to-know-you phase, they are entering that important part of The search committee learned through public forums that a successful chancellor would need to start by listening to the various a relationship that builds trust and mutual respect,” Sullivan said.

“I’m confident that what we’re seeing now is just the beginning constituencies of the College and the community, Gilliam said. of a long and successful partnership. She is the leader Wise needs, Gaining an understanding of the history and mission of UVa-Wise and every strong leader appreciates being in a place that has terrific and those who played a part in its development was also essential, people, great potential and high energy. That’s exactly what our Gilliam said.

College at Wise has in abundant supply.”

“Donna has been a superb listener and participant in innumerable College and community functions, which has made the College and the community adopt her and her family as one of our own in a short period of time,” Gilliam said.

16 UVa-Wise Magazine

qDonna Henry, eighth chancellor of UVa-Wise

The Henrys at home p t Goldie enjoys a good photobomb Spring 2013 17

A

scientist

& leader

Chancellor Donna Henry has been on the job for a full semester, but she has had little time to sit behind her desk in BowersSturgill Hall.

In between traveling to Charlottesville for meetings with University of Virginia officials and trips to Richmond to represent UVa-Wise in sessions with state leaders and the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia, Henry has been out in the community in a quest to learn more about the region and its College.

She has been closely listening to what others say about UVa-Wise and its role in improving the quality of life in far Southwest Virginia, and she has been listening to those on campus as well. So far, she likes what she’s hearing.

“The entire campus is all about the College’s mission, and everyone is dedicated to their work and to carrying out that mission,” Henry said. “The College’s biggest opportunity seems to be the strength of the academic program and the willingness to improve on that strength.”

Henry arrived during a time of tremendous growth. New buildings were in place when she was tapped to lead the College, but she arrived in time to see work begin on the new library and Winston Ely Health and Wellness Center.

“What a great opportunity to be a part of UVa-Wise as it is poised for new growth and development,” she said. “There is capacity for growth on campus, and it will be a major part of my job to showcase that growth and the things we excel at on campus. We’ve got a lot going on at UVaWise, but we need to get the word out.

UVa-Wise is a well-kept secret.”

Henry loves higher education and the many ways it can help future generations.

When talking with her, it quickly becomes clear that students and their entire college experience are priorities.

16 18 UVa-Wise Magazine

“What a great opportunity to be a part of UVa-Wise as it is poised for new growth and development...”

“Attention to students is something I am passionate about,” she said. “When you think about it, academics is the focus of a college, but the life of the student has to be the broader focus. There is a lot about college life that develops a student, and that could be any aspect of a college that makes a strong bond with a student.”

The biggest surprise about the College was that everyone on campus seemed to be on the same page when it came to carrying out the mission, she said. The dedication seemed to be a constant, she said.

One of the first tasks she studied upon arrival was the College’s Envisioning 2020 plan. The initial framework plan was created under Chancellor Prior’s tenure, to be implemented. Many aspects have been completed or started, but Henry has appointed a committee to look at any needed updating or modification.

The plan includes various topics such as improving retention and graduation rates, enhancing the general education curriculum, changes in athletic and student life programs, boosting the science, technology, engineering, math and healthcare programs, raising awareness of UVa-Wise through social media and other marketing venues, and improving the relationship between the College and local communities.

Donna Henry p She wants to see the College’s move to NCAA Division II, a review of degree programs and possible new majors added to the mix. In addition, offering graduate programs in specific fields is something she would like to explore in the future.

Expand on the business curriculum to include a hospitality and tourism program would work well with proposals to improve the region’s economy by promoting tourism opportunities.

Existing academic programs could be enhanced by pursuing national accreditation in certain program areas such as chemistry, she said. Having the accreditation would make it easier for graduates to land good jobs or to gain admission to graduate programs at major universities. It worked with the UVa-Wise software engineering program, and it could help other academic areas as well.

“The software engineering program is a model because it is unique as the only fouryear program in Virginia,” she said. “Our graduates are just snapped up in that field.”

The College’s strong focus on liberal arts and undergraduate research is something UVa-Wise does well, Henry said.

“There is a lot of individual attention given to our students,” she said. “The College has the ability to take a student who may not be the best prepared and make them successful. It is very impressive.”

Henry and her family are settling in after nearly half a year in Wise. They look forward to enjoying a Southwest Virginia summer following a cold winter and a chilly spring.

The Henry family enjoys the outdoors, especially biking, canoeing and kayaking.

Exploring the region’s state and national parks is on their to-do list. The twins, Jessie and Margaret, like to fish, but their angling hobby requires a special touch from mom.

“I’ve gotten good at putting the bait on their hooks,” she said.

The

ABOUT

BASICS Donna Henry is a biologist with extensive and varied experience in the classroom and in higher education leadership roles Henry spent the last 16 years in a variety of positions at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Fla. Her experience there included serving as a founding faculty member, as elected Faculty Senate president and as a member of the University Board of Trustees for a two-year period.

She served as dean of the university’s College of Arts and Sciences, an assignment that demanded meticulous strategic planning and leadership that allowed the college to grow rapidly while continuing to improve academic quality.

Henry, 53, is married to Allen Henry, a pilot for Federal Express.

They have twin, 13-year-old daughters, Jessie and Margaret.

Henry stood out as a leader with superior experience in strategic planning, institutional advancement, curricular development, shared governance, capital construction, community partnerships and more. Henry’s time at Florida Gulf Coast also included creation of a College Governance Team that provided faculty with a strong role in college governance.

Henry earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in the biological basis of behavior from the University of Pennsylvania, where she also minored in Spanish. She earned a doctorate in physiology from the Thomas Jefferson University of Philadelphia.

Chancellor Henry at Basketball Homecoming p

Donna Henry

Her positions at Florida Gulf Cost have included dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, professor of biology, and director of the Whitaker Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education. Previously, she served in several administrative and instructional roles at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Fla., including: chair of the Physical Sciences and Mathematics Department, director of the Study Abroad Program, associate professor of biology and acting chair of the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Henry received the Individual Faculty Service Excellence Award at Florida Gulf Coast in 2004-05. In 1994-95 the undergraduate student body at St. Thomas University elected her Professor of the Year. She served on the board of trustees of the Edison and Ford Winter Estate in Fort Myers, as well as the board of directors for Florida Foundation for Future Scientists.

Her appointment as chancellor coincides with a period of robust growth. In the previous seven years, UVa-Wise has experienced substantial growth in enrollment and in construction. It is now home to 2,000 students. New facilities include the Gilliam Center for the Arts, two residence halls and the Prior Convocation Center.

Trading places with student Jordan Childress at “Chancellor for a Day”

q

Enjoying lunch in the Smith Dining Commons p Spring 2013 19

Scholarship Luncheon 2013 SPECIAL

THANKS

The 22nd annual Scholarship Luncheon was held on Saturday, March 23, 2013 in the David J. Prior Convocation Center. A record number of scholarship donors and scholarship recipients attended.

This year’s student speaker was graduating senior Evan W. Nunery ’13, recipient of the Colgate Darden Scholarship Fund and the Betty J. Gilliam Scholarship Fund. Offering a special thanks on the behalf of the students, he specifically thanked the Gilliam family for providing funding for the amazing Gilliam Center for the Arts where he has spent a great deal of time.

p Samantha Robinson with Paul Buchanan ’59 and Vonda Buchanan

The Scholarship Luncheon program this year recognized 201 endowed scholarship funds which were awarded to more than 575 students. p Andy Still, Eric Bolling and Madeline Stallard 20 UVa-Wise Magazine

p Kristy Owens ’13 and

Danny G. Mullins ‘70

p John Duncan and Betty C. Bolling

p Thurston Rose ’63, Graham Siegfried, Mary Ann Rose ’63 Rachel Person

p Madison Griffin and Terry Bates ’64

p Suzanne Hall ’71 and Rocky Wireman

p Christine Noyobe ’13 and Betty Roberts

p Rhonda M. Perkins ’73 and Amy Montgomery

New endowed scholarships in 2013 and those who helped make it possible First Bank and Trust Scholarship Fund Cory Dotson and First Bank and Trust Board Longs Fork Elementary School PTO Scholarship Fund Dwight Bryant, Williametta Bryant, Billie Horton, Nan Short, Nelmalena Turner, Brenda Wallen, Laura Faye Robinson ’01 and Laura Deel Stanley Darrell & Joy P. Holbrook Football Scholarship Fund Darrell Holbrook ’73 and Joy Holbrook Hunt Commercial Properties Group Athletic Scholarship Fund Fran Hunt ’80 and Martha Hunt ’81 John “Jack” Mahony Phi Sigma Kappa Alumni Scholarship Fund Catherine Mahony, Danny Rose ’78, Bruce Lowe ’77and the Phi Sig Brothers Mount Olive Freewill Baptist Church Scholarship Fund Lawton Mullins ’04 Stewart McFall and Nellie Mullins McFall Memorial Scholarship The Estate of Leland Victor and Helen McFall Jennifer Lockhart Quillen Scholarship Fund Jennifer Lockhart Quillen ’01 and Christopher Quillen John R. and Ruby S. Salyers Scholarship Ruby Salyers ’70 and friends of John and Ruby Salyers Ralph L. Siemen Scholarship Fund Norma Siemen ’85, Tami Ely ’90, Winston Ely ’61, Teri S. Coffey, and other family John R. Stafford, Jr. Scholarship Fund John Stafford Carroll Dale & Tracy Stallard Scholarship Fund Carroll Dale and Tracy Stallard Ernest C. Starker Memorial Athletic Scholarship Fund Rodney Stanley ’97, Kent Grant ’97, teammates, friends and fans Student Government Association Student Leader Scholarship Fund SGA, Margie Schoenwald family and SGA and alumni supporters Claude V. and Berniece Warren Education Major Scholarship Fund Berniece Warren Jim Whitt Scholarship Fund Jessica Wilson ’01 and Dr. James Wilson’01 Danny E. Wilson Scholarship Fund Danny Wilson

“Endowed scholarship funds are critical to filling the needs of many of our students which otherwise would not be able to pursue a higher education.”

-Tami Ely ’90, vice chancellor for development and college relations

Spring 2013 21

v Students honored with Tice Total Achievement Awards

Brittni Altmann, Madeline Stallard, Chancellor Donna Henry, Jordan Cole and Alana Parton (Not pictured: Corbin Hayslett) p

Five UVa-Wise students were honored with the Tice Total Achievement Award during the College’s 22nd annual Scholarship Appreciation Luncheon on March 23.

Brittni L. Altmann, Jordan D. Cole, Corbin F. Hayslett, Alana R. Parton and Madeline S. Stallard were each presented with a certificate of recognition and a $1,000 award.

The Tice awards are presented to UVa-Wise students who honor and encourage family values and community service, cooperation, creativity and scholarship. College faculty and staff nominate the students.

A generous endowment by Dr. Frederick Gordon Tice, in memory of his grandparents and their children, makes the awards possible.

Altmann, volleyball student-athlete, works as a sports camp counselor and enjoys mission work. She participates in Toys for Tots, Relay for Life, and has a genuine passion for helping others.

The junior is majoring in liberal arts and sciences and has earned Mid-South Conference All-Academic honors. She has been on the Dean’s list in each of her three semesters at the College.

Cole, sophomore from Coeburn, is majoring in administration of justice.

Cole volunteers with Back-to-School outreach programs for needy children, a Bread and Milk ministry that delivers loaves of bread and gallons of milk to those in need, and he recently helped move a mother and her children from a homeless shelter to their new home.

22 UVa-Wise Magazine

Hayslett, a freshman, is a musician and singer who has recorded several CDs. He participates in the UVa-Wise Bluegrass band and teaches middle school students traditional mountain music. In the summer, he works at Appomattox Courthouse as an historical interpreter and is a member of the Brookneal Rescue Squad. He plans to major in history and pursue a teaching career.

Parton, a junior who is majoring in nursing, is a non-traditional student who is married and has two children. She returned to college to follow her dream, and she excels in nursing classes, often earning the highest grades on tests and assignments. She is an officer in the Student Nursing Association and volunteers for community service projects on behalf of the nursing program.

Stallard, a sophomore from Pound, is a biology major who plans to pursue a career in a medical field.

She is involved in her church and is a member of its Youth League and Ladies Auxiliary. She sings with a family group at various services and functions, and serves as a substitute teacher for a Sunday School class. She is involved in the National Society of Leadership and Success, Sigma Alpha Omega Christian sorority and serves as a student employee in the Office of Student Life.

v

The Miners’ Scholarship

Mallory Mullins Hubbard ’07 is living proof that donations to the Miners’ Family Scholarship fund at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise change lives and make the region a better place for future generations.

Mallory Hubbard, a 2007 UVa-Wise graduate, was just 15 when her father, surface miner loader operator Kenneth Mullins, passed away at age 46 from melanoma cancer, leaving her mother to raise her and her nine-year-old sister on her own.

“We were very fortunate that my mother had always worked and had a very good career with the Social Security Administration,” she said. “However, because she worked her entire adult life, she made just above the average income limit for my sister and I to receive any financial assistance from the federal government for college.”

That’s where the Miners’ Family Scholarship stepped in to help.

“While an undergraduate student at UVa-Wise, I was fortune enough to have applied for and received the Miners’ Family Scholarship,” Hubbard said. “This scholarship, along with a couple of others, enabled me to receive a superb education and graduate completely debt free.”

Hubbard graduated from UVa-Wise with Cum Laude honors in business administration, was the junior class homecoming representative, and served on UVa-Wise’s SGA for two years.

“Since graduating UVa-Wise, I have obtained my master’s in business administration and I work in the corporate office of Eastman Chemical, a Fortune 500 company,” Hubbard said. “If not for the Miners’ Family Scholarship, and others, a first generation college student like myself may never get the opportunity to attend college due to the increasing cost of tuition. I know that if my dad were here today, he would love to know that all those years spent on a strip-mine enabled his daughters to attend college years after his passing, and because of the Miners’ Family Scholarship you helped make his dream a reality, and I am forever grateful.”

Mallory Mullins Hubbard ’ 07 p The Miners’ Family Scholarship fund was endowed by the UVa-Wise Alumni Association in 1987. It is for needy and worthy students with financial needs who are coal miners or a miner’s dependent. Priority is given to miners who are unemployed, disabled, or retired. A miner is defined as anyone who has been employed in the Southwest Virginia mining industry for at least five years. These five years need not be consecutive. Recipients are chosen by the Office of Financial Aid. Any student may apply for the Miners’ Family Scholarship by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as well as the Miners’ Family Scholarship application.

Spring 2013 23

From the heart

24 UVa-Wise Magazine

care Because we

A Day of Service More than 200 students, faculty, staff and alumni of The University of Virginia’s College at Wise joined with community members to participate in the third annual Cavaliers Care: A Day of Service held on Saturday, April 13, 2013. The event was organized by the Office of Student Life and sponsored by the UVa-Wise Student Government Association and the Wise Kiwanis Club Endowment.

The Day of Service was held in conjunction with the celebration of Founder’s Day and in memory of the three women who were instrumental in the founding of the College—Mary Thompson, Lois Tracy and Jane Knox.

Volunteers participated in a variety of projects including campus beautification activities, a clothing and housewares drive for Hope House, flower planting at The Laurels assisted living facility, spring cleaning activities at the Wise County Public Library, bingo at Heritage Hall nursing home, and beautification projects at the Virginia-Kentucky Fairgrounds.

Spring 2013 25

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell offers parting wisdom and advice to graduates

COMMENCEMENT 2013 THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA’S COLLEGE AT WISE MAY 18, 2013 26 26 UVa-Wise UVa-WiseMagazine Magazine

q Governor McDonnell with Chancellor Henry and Phillip Blevins ’13

McDonnell delivers Commencement address

V

irginia Governor Bob McDonnell told the 316 graduates of The University of Virginia’s College at Wise that their diplomas will open doors to new opportunities, and he urged the Class of 2013 to use those opportunities to boost Virginia.

“In this competitive global marketplace, a college degree means more than ever,” the Governor said. “It is increasingly the key to a successful and prosperous future. The diploma you will receive today is the key to your futures, and it is the key to the future of Virginia.”

Virginia and America depend upon the Class of 2013 deciding that character, integrity, service to others and involvement in the life of the nation will be their guideposts, McDonnell said.

McDonnell said UVa-Wise offers more and more course offerings and is a leader in fields like nursing, software engineering, and science, technology, engineering and mathematic disciplines.

“The sky is the limit for this region, so I ask you, if you are going to open a business, open it in Virginia,” McDonnell said. “If you are going to be an artist, doctor, lawyer, musician, counselor, teacher, whatever it may be, pursue your profession in Virginia.”

In her first Commencement at UVa-Wise, Chancellor Donna Henry told the graduates that they are well prepared for successful careers, citizenship and service.

“You have a great future to explore,” Henry said. “You have choices to make and much work to do. You have the opportunity and the responsibility to be a leader in your communities, your nation and the world.”

She gave each of the graduates a copy of the book “The Little Prince,” and urged them to not only to remember some lessons from the book but to also read it to a child.

Marcia Gilliam ’82, chair of the UVa-Wise College Board, said the graduates likely attended college to become better educated, productive, and to grow into the person they wanted to be.

Chancellor Henry and p Chris Draper ’13

David Amos ’03 p

“I am betting that your time at UVa-Wise has helped you realize that those were not just the only reasons to come to college, but remain reasons to move forward into your new lives,” Gilliam said.

“If you realize that, then our College has done its job. As you keep moving forward toward what is next, remember to learn more, to love more, to do more and to be more.”

Zachary Holcomb, the honorary class speaker, urged his classmates to remember the words of Winston Churchill when he said that each person is offered a chance to do something special or unique that matches their particular talent.

“You, my fellow graduates, have completed an extraordinary educational journey here at UVa-Wise,” Holcomb said. “I assure you that each and every one of you are truly prepared and highly qualified, and your finest hour lies ahead. When that moment comes, don’t be afraid to take advantage of it and change the world.”

Phillip Blevins, the Student Government Association president and 2013 graduate, reminded his classmates that success is not always measured by wealth.

“I am told that we cannot take our checkbooks with us after death,” he said. “If you share this belief with me, then you also know that by measuring success in net worth, we are limiting ourselves to only a lifetime of potential success. Therefore, I challenge you to measure your success by the positive differences you make in your community, commonwealth, and nation.”

Alumni Association President David Amos ’03 encouraged the graduates to remember that it is important to give back to the community.

“Remember that we all shape the world around us,” Amos said before inducting the Class of 2013 into the Alumni Association.

“Remember, you will always be a part of the UVa-Wise family.”

q Shelby Adams ’13 takes a moment to reflect

Spring 2013 27

Holcomb selected as Class of 2013 honorary speaker Zack Holcomb planned to become a pharmacist, but a medical mission trip to Belize and a volunteer stint at a regional free health clinic altered the Big Stone Gap native’s plans.

“I decided I wanted to go to medical school and become a physician,” the 22-yearold said. “I want to return to Southwest Virginia and practice medicine around here.”

Holcomb, a chemistry major, was deeply touched by the health care needs he saw in Belize in 2012 and at the Remote Area Medical clinic in Wise, a free health clinic that draws thousands from the East Coast each July.

“I think my plans changed when I saw how appreciative the people in Belize were to get the health care that we provided,” he said.

“They were so grateful, and that made me Zach Holcomb ’13 p want to go into the medical field.”

His new plans solidified when he saw the long lines at the three-day RAM clinic.

“I was amazed at how many people showed up and how long they were willing to wait for basic medical care that I always took for granted,” he said. “It was amazing that such a simple thing that we were doing was making such a difference.”

Holcomb applied for admission to Duke University School of Medicine and was accepted. He goes for orientation in early August.

Another factor in Holcomb’s new career plan was his decision to attend UVa-Wise. He thought attending a larger college would make it easier to get into a post-graduate program, but he soon realized the opposite was true.

“I soon came to see that I had tons of opportunities at UVa-Wise that I would not have had at other colleges or universities,” he said. “Coming here propelled me into medical school. My professors and the staff prepared me well.”

Holcomb was a tennis standout for the Cavaliers during his time at UVa-Wise. His four years on the court became something he treasures.

“Tennis takes a lot of time, but I saw it as a stress reliever,” he said. “It let me relax for a while and let loose.”

Holcomb is the son of Thurman E. Holcomb Jr. and Deborah R Holcomb of Big Stone Gap. His younger brother, Lucas D. Holcomb, is a freshman at UVa-Wise.

p Cassandra Sampson ’13

p Debbie Vanover’s decorated cap

p Governor McDonnell and Matthew Donlevy ’13

Hunter Botts ’13 and Ryan Bouldin ’13 savor the moment p

28 UVa-Wise Magazine

p Documenting a journey’s final destination

Kimberly Mullins ’13 p

Determined student earns degree despite obstacles

The normal journey to a college degree takes four years, but a series of events caused Kimberly Denise Marshall Mullins to earn her Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences three decades after she graduated high school.

Her story is one of determination, dedication and strength.

It began after high school when she attended Mountain Empire Community College and then transferred to what was then Clinch Valley College in the 1980s. A financial setback caused her to delay her college plans. She also met and married Roderick Mullins and the couple started a family.

She worked at her family’s jewelry store for several years repairing jewelry and completing other tasks, but she kept her college dreams in mind during those years. When the jewelry store closed, she began work as a Standards of Learning aid with Wise County Public Schools, and later as a special education aid.

“It made me strongly think about going back to school,” she said. “I was very decisive, but Roderick told me that if I didn’t do it now I would never do it.”

She returned to what was now UVa-Wise as a part time student.

She decided to stay part time until the couple’s son, Andrew, graduated high school. She became a full time student, but another obstacle popped up.

Mullins was diagnosed with breast cancer in the spring semester of 2010. It was a very aggressive form of cancer, but she opted on surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. College would have to wait again as the Norton resident and her family worked together to get her through the health crisis.

As she took some time to recover and heal, Mullins spoke with Professor Jewell Askins in the education department. Askins and Mullins chatted about the education program and elementary education in particular.

“It sounded like a great idea,” Mullins said. “The following spring I did a class observation and I loved it. I hope to teach upper elementary math, and I want to get an endorsement in middle school sciences.”

It has been a long 30 years, but Mullins has earned her degree.

“My husband has been very supportive of me,” she said. “And if I have inspired others with my story, then it was all for the good.”

p A proud moment for Erin Beach ’13, Andy Edwards ’13 and relatives

p Chancellor Henry and Governor McDonnell lead the recessional

Spring 2013 29

T

hree members of the UVa-Wise Class of 2013 left Commencement as United States Army officers as the College ROTC program held its second commissioning ceremony.

Christopher Lee Davis, 22, and twins Taylor Alexandra Bobinski and Morgan Ashley Bobinski, 23, took their oaths and became second lieutenants. Davis, who received his degree in administration of justice, is now part of the Virginia National Guard. The Bobinski sisters earned degrees in nursing and are now serving in the Army.

The three classmates stood at attention as family members placed rank bars on the new officers’ shoulders. In time-honored tradition, the officers received their first salutes. Sgt. Thomas Scholl, a noncommissioned officer who instilled the proper military way of doing things into the UVa-Wise ROTC cadets, walked swiftly toward Morgan Bobinski and gave her a crisp salute. In exchange, Second Lt. Bobinski presented Sgt. Scholl with a silver dollar. New Second Lt. Taylor Bobinski received her first salute from friend Justin Holtz, a member of the U.S. Air Force. Second Lt. Davis, a Patrick County, Va. native, received a crisp salute from his brother, Jon Davis, a veteran of the U.S. Marines.

“It gave me the proper training to be a leader,” Davis said.

The Bobinski sisters always wanted to work in the healthcare field, and the military seemed the right place for the twins.

“There is a nursing shortage, so it has great job security,” Taylor Bobinski said.

Morgan Bobinski said a nursing degree opens many doors, and it will allow her to work with a variety of people, something she enjoys.

“I always wanted to do ROTC because it is a great path for a career,” she said.

p Newly inducted U.S. Army officers with Sgt.Thomas Scholl

p Taking the oath 30 UVa-Wise Magazine

Three UVa-Wise ROTC grads commissioned as second lieutenants

Taylor and Morgan Bobinski ’13 with Christopher Lee Davis ’13 just after taking oaths

p Officers, their families, and Lt. Col. Mark Caruso, retired

p Chancellor Henry offers praise Spring 2013 31

Athletics

Clark makes record books The defense stood strong against King College as the clock ran down, giving the Cavaliers a 79-77 victory over the Tornadoes. The victory marked Head Coach Lee Clark’s 200th win.

“My 200th win means I have been coaching for a lot of years,” Clark said “we have had some fine young men play here over the last 17 years. Their hard work has made my career here very rewarding.”

Clark is now in the record books for having the most career coaching wins in men’s basketball history.

Before taking over the UVa-Wise program 17 years ago, he was a successful high school coach. During his six years at Twin Springs High School, he tallied an impressive 126-28 record with four Region p Coach Lee Clark D championships, four VHSL Group A state tournament appearances, three Group A Final Four trips and a state title.

“Most of the things that I do as a coach came from the coaches I have had as mentors,” he said when asked about utilizing game strategies and transitioning from player to coach. “I have been very fortunate to have friends in the profession that were great coaches. Coaching became a passion for me because of all the coaches that I have met throughout my life that have been a very positive influence on me.”

As Clark starts the 2013-2014 season, he will lean on veteran leadership and experience to build upon last year’s season while welcoming a talented group of freshman.

Clark earned his bachelor’s degree in business and public administration from UVa-Wise in 1985 and later received his master’s degree in education from Lincoln Memorial University.

Women’s lacrosse to become 13th varsity sport The University of Virginia’s College at Wise athletics program will be adding women’s lacrosse for the 20132014 school year.

The Cavaliers currently field 12 teams. The new lacrosse program will field a club team in the 2013-2014 academic year. Varsity lacrosse competition will begin in the fall of 2014. Currently a search for a coach is underway.

“The new coach will start the club team program, recruit student-athletes and build the schedule for the 2014-2015 season,” said Athletic Director Danny Sterling. “Lacrosse will compete in the Mountain East Conference along with our other 12 varsity sports. There are other Mountain East Conference members, Notre Dame College, Urbana University, Shepherd University, West Virginia Wesleyan University and Wheeling Jesuit University, that have lacrosse programs. We look forward to competing with these institutions in the future.”

Once becoming a full NCAA Division II member in 2015-2016, UVa-Wise will be the first NCAA Division II college or university in Virginia to offer intercollegiate lacrosse.

“I feel this will be a huge advantage in starting the program,” said Sterling. “There is already a great amount of interest in the club on campus so we will have a nucleus to build upon. The sport of lacrosse is growing nationally and is a prominent high school championship sport in Virginia.”

With the popularity of lacrosse, the College hopes to appeal to prospective students across Virginia. Sterling also pointed out that because Northern Virginia is an area of expected growth in the College’s student body, it is also a prime place to look for recruiting studentathletes as well.

Other UVa-Wise sports that will be competing in the NCAA Division II level next year include football, men’s and women’s cross country, women’s volleyball, softball, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s golf.

Visit us on the web at

32 UVa-Wise Magazine

uvawisecavs.com

Ready for NCAA Dear UVa-Wise Alumni and friends, With the move to NCAA Division II from the NAIA have come some exciting changes in the UVa-Wise athletic department. As the point of contact for the NCAA rules, I am charged with ensuring that as an institution, UVa-Wise‘s staff, donors, boosters, student-athletes, alumni, friends and fans abide by the NCAA, Mountain East Conference and institutional rules and regulations.

NCAA Division II membership means a well-conducted intercollegiate athletics program, based on sound educational principles and practices, is a proper part of the educational mission of a university or college and that the educational wellbeing and academic success of the participating student-athlete is of primary concern.

Higher education has lasting importance on an individual’s future success, the emphasis for the student-athlete experience in Division II is a comprehensive program of learning and development in a personal setting. The Division II approach provides growth opportunities through academic achievement, learning in high-level athletics competition and development of positive societal attitudes in service to community. The balance and integration of these different areas of learning provide Division II student-athletes a path to graduation while cultivating a variety of skills and knowledge for life ahead.

Here are a few highlights to share with you regarding our first years’ work: • We have successfully implemented a comprehensive rules education program--we have created an NCAA Rules Guides for all boosters, as well as an education brochure, both of these materials will be available on the new athletics website in June • We have implemented the NCAA Rules program, which we are abiding by currently (1 ½ years ahead of schedule) • We have completed our first year of varsity Women’s Golf, and will be starting Women’s Lacrosse next year, with the first varsity contest in the 2014-2015 academic year • We have successfully become charter members of a new NCAA Division II Conference (Mountain East) You will see some changes when you all get back to campus in the fall. First, we will be playing many new institutions that we have not competed against in the past, and we be playing many institutions in our backyard now such as LMU, CarsonNewman and Tusculum. Greear Gymnasium has undergone a facelift as well, so stop by to check that out! We are in the process of some exciting new ventures with our tickets, marketing and athletic scholarships as well, so be sure to check out our athletics website for the news on that!!

As always, if you ever have a question regarding permissibility of what you can or cannot do within the NCAA rules…ASK BEFORE YOU ACT!!!

My regards, Thomas Nyman NCAA Compliance Officer

Colyer honored by Highland Cavalier Club

p Danny G. Mullins ’70 and Bob Colyer

The Highland Cavalier Club honored Bob Colyer, Sr. on April 9 for his decades of service and commitment to The University of Virginia’s College at Wise and its athletic program.

Colyer, owner of Colgard Outdoor Sports in Norton, is a 1957 graduate of what was then known as Clinch Valley College. The HCC presented Colyer with a plaque in honor of his work with the club and the athletics program at UVa-Wise. Colyer is an avid supporter of the UVa-Wise football program, and he served as morale coach for more than 10 years.

In addition to his work with the HCC, Colyer is a former member of both the UVa-Wise College Board and the UVa-Wise Foundation Board. He also served on the UVa-Wise Annual Fund Class Council.

Spring 2013 33

SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS Boyce and Moore

UVa-Wise’s Deon Boyce and Javon Moore each earned second team all-conference honors at the annual Mid-South Conference banquet held prior to the start of the league tournament.

Playing in only the spring semester, Boyce averaged 12.1 points and 13.9 rebounds a game en route to the honor. Boyce garnered two weekly Player of the Week awards in his first season as a Cavalier. The Jascksonville, N.C. native will return for his senior season taking on a lead role for the Cavaliers.

Moore average 17.8 points per game to rank fifth in the Mid-South while finishing second in the league in steals with 2.53 per game. The sophomore scored a career-high 31 points in the contest against Rio Grande. The Falls Church, Va. native will look to top his sophomore season in the upcoming year.

Athletics

Baseball

Steven Klaiber pitched a two-hit gem to help the Cavaliers to a 2-1 win over Mid-South Conference rival Campbellsville University to earn the conference’s top weekly pitching honor. He was named Mid-South Conference Pitcher of the Week. The Roanoke, Va. freshman picked up his first collegiate win in the complete game effort while striking out four and walking just one. Klaiber ended the season with a 2.68 ERA. For two consecutive seasons UVa-Wise senior catcher, Tommy Meier has earned the first team All-Conference award. He finished the season with 21 RBIs and a .373 batting average. Meier is the only player to start all 37 games this season. The Ashburn, Va. native finished his career with 198 hits, which is the most by any catcher in school history.

Shawnee State Invitational Win

The men’s golf team finished 12 strokes up on second place University of Pikeville by posting a 597 total score in the two round tournament. Individually, the Cavaliers had two golfers finish in the top five of the invitational Clint Lowe shooting a +1, 145 and Matt Dotson +4, 148 finished third and fourth in the two day event. Tyler Robinette finished sixth posting a +6, 150 and David Harvey rounded out the top 10 with a 10th place +10, 154 performance. Caleb Roark shot a +12 and Lucas Holcomb a +13 to round out the Cavaliers golfers.

The All-Tournament Team was selected from the top six golfers in the tournament. Three UVa-Wise golfers made All-Tournament Team Clint Lowe, Matt Dotson, and Tyler Robinette were all awarded the honor.

Tennis

A total of nine UVa-Wise tennis players earned the honor of being selected to the Mid-South Conference All-Academic team.

Among the men’s team were Michael Baker, Chase Cupp, Zachary Holcomb, Marc Huff, and Jonathan Saado. Those selected from the women’s team were Megan Buchanan, Andi Kilgore, Junetta Nickels, and Lauren Powers.

“I am very proud to have nine players who were awarded this honor,” stated head coach Danny Rowland.

After a much improved season, Rowland is looking forward to the new recruits and hope to build on the momentum from this year.

34 UVa-Wise Magazine

Cluesman named to All-America team

Officials at the NAIA released its 2013 All-America teams and UVaWise senior forward Chelsea Cluesman was named to the honorable mention team.

Cluesman finished her senior season averaging 17.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest. She also recorded nine double-doubles while shooting 49.7 percent from the floor en route to her second consecutive first-team All Mid-South Conference award.

Her senior season was highlighted by final tallies registered 1,410 points, 800 rebounds, and a career field goal percentage of 53 percent. With 1,410 points, Cluesman finishes ranked ninth all-time in scoring at UVa-Wise.

Cluesman finished her Cavalier career a two-time NAIA Scholar Athlete and a threetime Mid-South academic team selection, an honorable mention All-America selection, a twotime first-team All Mid-South Conference honoree, a three-time Mid-South Conference Player of the Week award winner, and a 2010 p Chelsea Cluesman AAC All-Freshman team member.

The Jonesville, Va. native was the first UVa-Wise women’s basketball player to receive any type of NAIA All-America honor since Sarah Helton ’07 was a third-team selection in 2006.

Cluesman was also a member of the UVa-Wise women’s golf team.

She plans to attend physical therapy school upon completion of her degree.

Romualdo

UVa-Wise junior first baseman Kristina Romualdo has hit her way to another impressive season. She has garnered a Mid-South player of the week, finished second in the NAIA with a 59 RBI, 26th with a batting average of .339, and 11th in individual fielding percentage.

Romualdo finished with 11 homeruns, which ties her with former Cavalier Britney Lawson ’09 for the most single homeruns in school history. She is also second in school history for total RBIs in any single season.

She has not only excelled on the field but in the classroom.

She has respectively earned two All Mid-South awards. Romualdo received first team All Mid-South Conference team and first team All-Academic team.

The Virginia Beach, Va. native will return for another season and is looking to exceed her mark in Cavalier Softball p Kristina Romualdo history.

Zack Holcomb has had his

p Zack Holcomb ’13 serves against the St. Catharine College Patriots on April 2 Holcomb came to UVa-Wise in 2009 to play tennis and to pursue a chemistry degree.

Tennis, Holcomb’s hobby, was also an escape from the pressures of being a science major, he said.

“I tried to look at tennis as a getaway from the classroom, not as something I had to do in addition to my classes,” Holcomb said. “It sort of gave me a break from the stresses of studying for tests and getting ready for exams.”

He started playing tennis his sophomore year of high school.

“I started to fall in love with it,” Holcomb said. “By the time I was a senior, I started taking lessons and playing in summer tournaments.”

Holcomb had to adjust to the higher level of competition when he arrived on campus in 2009 and said he attributes an increase in mental strength to the obstacles he first faced early on in his collegiate tennis career.

“It lets you rebound from being defeated,” Holcomb said. “It’s a hard skill to develop. It takes time to get better at what you are doing.”

He said that he thinks this principle also applies to other areas of life.

“Over time I started to adjust and make a few changes,” Holcomb said. “I started to see things a little differently and I think that I had matured over the four years, not just as a player but a person.”

Though playing collegiate tennis is time-consuming, Holcomb said he had no problem fitting it into his schedule between lab courses.

“Coach [Danny Rowland] has always been willing to work with us,” Holcomb said. “He’s always had the mindset that classes come first.”

Holcomb said that he has always had an affinity for chemistry, which didn’t change once he came to the college. He said he found that he enjoys the way his different chemistry courses fit together.

“They aren’t just separated in their little boxes,” he said. “There are little links between. Once you take all these courses and you get to the top. You can see how this stuff tied together and it makes sense now.”

He also discovered what he wanted to do in the future while pursuing his degree.

“I started to fall in love with medicine,” Holcomb said. “After a trip to Belize, working with RAM [Remote Area Medical clinic] and shadowing some local doctors, I decided medicine was a field I wanted to pursue.”

Holcomb started to branch out and take some courses in biology that were related to the medicine field, and filled in his tight schedule with the classes and research that are desirable in a medical school candidate.

Beginning last summer, Holcomb worked with Associate Professor of Physics Lucian Undreiu on an astrophysics research project studying the variable star R. Scuti using new equipment in the physics department.

He presented the results of this work at both the Emory & Henry Symposium and the COPLAC Undergraduate Research Symposium in the past month.

Holcomb’s hard work in athletics and academics culminated this season when the men’s tennis team finished 6-9, their best record in Holcomb’s time, and he was offered a place in the medical schools of both the University of Virginia and Duke University.

Photo by Jessica Shartouny | Highland Cavalier

Photo by Jessica Shartouny | Highland Cavalier

Fair share of work

p Holcomb presents his research to Department of Natural Sciences Chair Margie Tucker at the Emory & Henry Symposium on April 12

“My two top choices were Duke and UVa,” Holcomb said. “Once I toured Duke, that’s when I decided that’s where I want to be. I was more amazed with that school than any of the other ones I toured.”

Holcomb has solidified his spot at Duke.

He said he likes the idea of going into cardiology once he begins medical school in the fall, but hasn’t ruled out other options.

After completing medical school, Holcomb said he’s excited at the thought of being able to contribute to his fellow Southwest Virginians.

“Ultimately, I would like to return to this area. I love Southwest Virginia,” Holcomb said. “To help contribute to the lack of specialized medicine in the area.”

-by Jordan Childress Reprinted with permission from The Highland Cavalier

Spring 2013 35

EXCEEDING p Jeremy Camp concert

expectations

T

he David J. Prior Convocation Center will celebrate its second year of operation in a few months, and its impact on the region and UVa-Wise has exceeded all expectations, Chris Davis ’99, the center’s director said.

The Virginia General Assembly funded the $30 million project so Southwest Virginia would have a facility big enough to hold major events and conferences. It was touted as a means to boost the economy, and it has done so in many ways.

The facility has hosted concerts sponsored by various outside organizations, lectures, sports events from both college and high schools, commencements, weddings and other activities during its nearly two years of operation.

36 UVa-Wise Magazine

The thousands of people who have attended some of the events not only spend money at local businesses, but also get a glimpse of UVa-Wise and what it offers.

Many, even some local residents, have never visited campus until they enter the Prior Center.

Davis points to the hosting of the state quarterfinals basketball tournament in March as a good example of the impact.

“We had 12 different communities here from all across Virginia,” Davis said.

“Many of our local businesses reported that they saw many new faces that weekend.

They eat at local restaurants, they stay in local hotels, and they buy gas for the trip home.”

A bigger impact is the visit to Wise exposes families and potential students to the College, Davis said.

“Even if just one student from each of the 12 high schools decided to attend UVaWise, that would make a big impact,” he said.”

The same thing happens when production companies rent the Prior Center for concerts and other events. Some concerts drew crowds from Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Perhaps the most unique and heavily attended event was the NASA Downlink with the International Space Station.

Hundreds of students from many K-12 schools in the area attended and were able to speak with astronauts aboard the Space Station.

“We would not have been able to bring so many students together in one place anywhere else,” Davis said.

q NASA Downlink with International Space Station

q Prior Convocation Center

Scouting and regional school events

p Virginia Lottery Game Guy visits

The Return (Beatles tribute band)

p Veterans’ Expo

Spring 2013 37

A liberal

dose arts

of boosts nursing program

38 UVa-Wise Magazine

2013 Nursing graduates p

M

ost of the 17 nursing majors who walked across the stage during Commencement 2013 have jobs waiting for them once they pass their state nursing boards, but that does not surprise Cathie Collins, the chair of the nursing program at UVa-Wise.

I am expecting great things from this group,” Collins said.

“They all have great things ahead of them in their careers.”

Collins and the nursing faculty could have said the same about any of the graduates in the program’s nearly 20-year history. A graduate of the UVa-Wise nursing program has always been attractive to the healthcare market, and that shows no signs of changing. In fact, the changing health care needs of Virginia and the nation could increase the demand.

In many ways, the College’s decision to start a nursing program mirrors one of the reasons leaders in the region fought hard to create UVa-Wise in the first place; to fill a growing need in Southwest Virginia. Rural regions, especially Southwest Virginia, are underserved when it comes to health care providers. There are simply not enough medical professionals in certain regions of the nation.

HISTORY

To meet the growing health care needs, the College, then known as Clinch Valley College, explored the possibility of offering nursing degrees. It was not as easy task, but College officials knew it was worthwhile.

The journey began when Betty Johnson left the University of Virginia’s School of Nursing in 1991 to join Clinch Valley College’s efforts. She and others began working on the bachelor’s program, which was approved by the State Council for Higher Education in 1993, the same year local lawmakers in the Virginia General Assembly supported the program with state money.

The first students earned their degrees in 1995, and 25 graduated during the next six years. In the fall of 1996, the program received initial accreditation from the National League of Nursing.

TODAY

Under the leadership of Collins, the Department of Nursing offers a program of study leading to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. The program is fully approved by the Virginia State Board of Nursing and has unconditional accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

Collins and the nursing faculty are convinced the nursing program must prepare its graduates for the rigors of a nursing career. The mission of the program is to expand knowledge about nursing and health care, stress competence in nursing practice, and to prepare graduates to be professional nurses and lifelong learners.

One aspect of a BSN degree at UVa-Wise that sets the College apart from many in the nation is the liberal arts focus. Tough science and math courses are the norm, but Collins is quick to admit that a healthy dose of Shakespeare can make the difference between a competent nurse and an exceptional nurse.

“Liberal arts are extremely important in nursing,” Collins said.

“It helps them develop critical thinking skills, which are vital for nurses.”

Nursing and liberal arts complement each other, Collins said. An educational background filled with arts and sciences is the best of both worlds, she explains. The liberal arts opens up minds, and that leads nurses or any health care professional to pose questions that benefit patients, she said.

“Our students are well prepared because of the liberal arts focus of UVa-Wise,” she said.

UVa-Wise Provost Sanders Huguenin agrees.

“I know that our nursing graduates have received an excellent preparation as nurses,” Huguenin said. “It prepares them well for their first job.

The strong, traditional liberal arts core curriculum the students must complete is a strong factor in the graduates’ success, he said.

“The broad education will prepare them for other future jobs when, years from now, they may be managers, business owners, advocates, fundraisers, legislators, researchers or educators,” Huguenin said.

The program only accepts 30 students each year, and it draws both men and women. Most of the students receive scholarship or other financial aid, Collins said.

“A typical student is someone who is very committed in what they want to do as a career, loves science and are not too afraid of blood,” Collins said. “If they get a little squeamish, they get over it quickly.”

Cultivating strong relationships with hospitals in the region has been easy. Most are eager to hire UVa-Wise graduates as well.

“Most of our students do their clinicals at Norton Community Hospital or Mountain View Regional Medical Center,” Collins said.

“We go to the Tri-Cities quite a bit to Johnson City Medical Center and Wellmont’s Holston Valley Medical Center and Bristol Regional Medical Center.”

NEEDS

Collins has big dreams for the nursing program. The students do well on the equipment they have now, but a state-of-the-art simulation system would take the program to the next level.

Additional space or a new building designated for the nursing program is also on Collins’ wish list.

Meanwhile, the program remains strong as the nursing graduates make their marks in the health care field.

“We have not had to recruit students,” Collins said. “We’re the best kept secret in Virginia now. We can only take 30 students, but we have rarely had to turn any away if they meet the requirements, but that will change.”

Watch interview excerpts from this story now!

Visit uvawise.edu & click the UVa-Wise Magazine link or watch on YouTube channel - UVaWiseEdu Spring 2013 39

Alumni

Clubs Roanoke

On Saturday, March 8, 2013 the Roanoke Area Alumni Club held a gathering at the Roanoke Civic Center. More than 20 alumni, friends and potential students attended an evening featuring good food and high energy. Those attending enjoyed the evening, catching up with old classmates while making new friends. After the gathering, all were invited to a concert featuring Superhold, an 80s pop & rock band.

p MJ Dixon Carpenter ’01 and Kennedy Carpenter

p Roanoke Area Club gathering

“I think UVa-Wise Alumni & Superhold took over the Roanoke Civic Center.”

-David Amos ’03

Hampton Roads

p David Amos ’03, Fran Hunt ’80, Chancellor Henry, Bob Sage ’79 and Vince Marshall ’80

W

On Saturday, April 27, 2013 the Hampton Roads Alumni Club held a gathering at Harbor Park in Norfolk, Va. More than 30 alumni and friends of UVa-Wise enjoyed a baseball game and a meal. They cheered on the Norfolk Tides and chatted with alumni and friends.

p Sean Murphy ’08, Max Ward ’10 and Heather Morgan ’10

“ e had a great time at the first UVa-Wise Hampton Roads Club gathering at Harbor Park in downtown Norfolk. It was good to see old friends and classmates and network with more recent grads. We missed a number of people, but hope to have them attend future events. Thank you Alumni Office for making this happen.”

-Fran Hunt ’80 40 UVa-Wise Magazine

2013 Basketball Homecoming

Continuing the tradition, Basketball Homecoming was held on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013. All former players and coaches are encouraged annually to attend this celebration. It is a time to meet new friends and reconnect with old ones.

p John Tull ’76, Robert Ledford ’76, Tony Kolb ’85 and

Events

Alumni p Travis Brannon ’10, Josh Jordan ’12, and Jarred Soles ’08

Major Griffey ’76

Spring Swing The 18th annual Community Spring Swing was held on April 19, 2013 at Lonesome Pine Country Club. Rain did not dampen the golfers’ spirits. They enjoyed lunch, prizes and fellowship.

Steve Sawyer, Greg Perry, David Perry, u Alan Atwood, Butch Goodnough and Carroll Dale

$elebration

The 27th annual Cavalier Alumni $elebration Gala was held on Saturday, May 18, 2013 at the Lonesome Pine Country Club. The evening was filled with dancing and fellowship among alumni and friends. Proceeds from this event are earmarked for the operating budget of the Alumni Association.

p Josh Justice ’07 and Chelsea

p Joe Kiser ’00, Selena Kiser ’00, Thomas and Natasha Kennedy

Linkous ’11

Spring 2013 41

Class 64

Edward Shepherd, after 38 years as director of interservice health care training at the bureau of medicine and surgery, Department of the Navy, retired from the Department of Defense. He and his wife of 45 years, Karen, have four children and three grandchildren. They reside in Glen Allen, Va.

75 78

80

Fran Hunt is the owner of Hunt Commercial Properties Group Inc. He serves as a co-chair of the Annual Fund Council. Fran serves as an at-large member of the UVa-Wise Alumni Board of Directors, and is the chair of the Hampton Roads Area Alumni Club.

Fran and his wife, Martha Hankins Hunt ’81, have three children, Colin, Paige and Patrick. They live in Newport News, Va.

Laverne B. Sterling earned a bachelor of arts in biology.

She has 14 grandchildren and resides in Beatrice, Neb.

Fran Hunt ’80 p

Robert Widener, Jr. earned his master’s in education from Virginia Tech in 1998, Ed.S in Administration and Supervision from Lincoln Memorial University in 2007, and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from East Tennessee State University in 2011. He is employed with Lee County Public Schools as the director of special education and fine arts. Robert and his wife, Susan, live in Ben Hur, Va.

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Bob Sage is employed as a director of career services at Everest College. He earned his Master of Business Administration from the College of William & Mary in 1999. Bob and his wife, Laura, have three children, Brandon, Ryan and Caitlin. They live in Virginia Beach, Va.

p Autumn Lauzon ’08, Davina Dishner ’07, Laura King Berry ’07, Audra Frtiz Light ’07, Jon South ’92, Kyndall Watts ’09, Danny Rowland ’84, and Tim Dotson

Update your Class Note today online at uvawise.edu/alumni

42 UVa-Wise Magazine

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Danny Rowland is the UVa-Wise tennis coach. In December 2012, he and other former members of the tennis teams gathered for a reunion in Bristol, Va. Autumn Lauzon ’08, Davina Dishner ’07, Laura King Berry ’07, Audra Frtiz Light ’07, Jon South ’92, Kyndall Watts ’09, and Tim Dotson were in attendance.

Notes Stay in touch To submit a classnote, visit www.uvawise.edu/ alumni

Marianne Laws Mersereau is a recipient of the Lois Lowry Award for Superior Achievement in Language arts and Children’s Literature. She earned her masters of art from Seattle University in 1989. Marianne has authored a book of poems that was released on May 31, 2013.

Her book, Timbrel, was selected as a semifinalist for the 2012 New Women’s Voices National Chapbook Competition. Marianne resides in Seattle, Wash.

Martha Hunt ’81 is hooked on caring for elderly

Marianne Laws Mersereau ’84q

Chancellor Henry with Fran Hunt ’80 and Martha Hunt ’81p

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William “Bill” Mullins is employed with National Bank Products as a district sales manager. He covers part of the Southeast region of the United States, which covers W.Va., N.C., Tenn., and Va. Bill and his wife, Toni Mullins ’93, reside in Beckley, W.Va.

William “Bill” Mullins ’87 p

Martha Hankins Hunt has made a career helping the elderly, and she credits her time on campus for making it possible.

Hunt, a resident of Newport News, is the administrator of assisted living for Riverside Health Systems. She worked as a social worker when she graduated from what was then Clinch Valley College, but she has worked in her present field for three decades.

She also serves on the state board of Long Term Care Administrators, where she helps Virginia officials decide if new regulations are needed on the state level for nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

“I had a wonderful experience with Mountain Empire Older Citizens,” Hunt said of a college required field placement. “Marilyn Maxwell, the former director of MEOC, was a mentor for me, and I’ve worked to help the elderly since.”

Her work at MEOC gave her insight into the needs of the elderly, and that knowledge has helped her often.

“The College was a good fit for me,” she said.

She is married to Fran Hunt ’80 and the couple has three children. In her spare time, she enjoys walking and listening to audio books.

“Exercise is a huge part of my life, and I love to read and cook,” she said.

Spring 2013 43

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Rhonda Dooley is employed with Lawson Water Conditioning & NAPA Auto Parts of Wise as an accounts manager. Rhonda resides in Wise, Va.

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Kevin Stovall and Erma Howell were united in marriage on April 10, 2010 in Salem, Va. The maid of honor was Eva Howell and the bridesmaids were Serena Wimmer, Karen Clingenpeel, and Theresa Wallace. The best man was Sylina Dorry and the groomsmen were Stacy Nicholson ’97, Mathew Johnson, and Donald Jacobs. Kevin is employed with Skyline College as an admissions advisor in Roanoke, Va. They reside in Salem, Va. Erma Stovall and Kevin Stovall ’96 q

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Jarrett Hubbard and Mallory Mullins Hubbard ’07 were united in marriage on June 2, 2012 at the Carnegie Hotel in Johnson City, Tenn. The maid of honor was Kara Mullins. The best man was Matthew Laney. Mallory earned her Masters of Business Administration from King College in 2009. Jarrett earned his doctor of pharmacy and is employed with the Johnson City Medical Center as a clinical pharmacist. Mallory is employed with Eastman Chemical Company in corporate development. They reside in Kingsport, Tenn.

Jarrett Hubbard ’05 and Mallory Hubbard ’07 q

ClassNotes

Rhonda Dooley ’91 p

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Donna Gail Hess retired from Russell County Schools in 2010.

She enjoys traveling, reading and gardening. Donna resides in Honaker, Va.

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Bill Wendle is employed with The University of Virginia’s College at Wise as coordinator of special gifts and planned giving. He and his wife, Teresa, live in Wise, Va. Bill Wendle ’93 and Teresa Wendle q

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Leslie Suzanne Sizemore and Ashley Stowe welcomed their son, Beckett Grey Stowe Sizemore on Oct. 13, 2012. Beckett weighed 8 pounds and 10 ounces. They reside in Charlotte, N.C.

44 UVa-Wise Magazine

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Justin Runyon is the recipient of the U.S. Forest Service’s Early Career Scientist Award, which was presented to him in Arlington, Va. in February 2013. Justin is an entomologist with the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Bozeman, Mont. His research has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including Science. His research has been featured extensively in the press, including New York Times, BBC and NPR. Justin resides in Bozeman, Mont.

04

Justin Runyon ’98 u

Patricia Jackson is employed by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission as a fiscal director. She lives in Hermitage, Tenn.

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L.J. Boothe and Brittney Barrett Boothe welcomed their son, Luther L. Boothe III on May 11, 2012. Luther weighed 6 pounds and 10.5 ounces.

Luther is employed at Cruise Planners as a franchise owner and travel advisor. He has served four and a half years of active duty in the military. They reside in Bristol, Tenn.

Brittany Hall earned her master’s in English from ETSU in 2010. She is employed with Columbia State Community College as an instructor in English. Brittany resides in Columbia, Tenn.

Justin Necessary is an instructor and advisor at Mountain Empire Community College. He is pursuing his Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership from Old Dominion University. Justin and his wife live in Wise,Va. Jared Stallard and Heather-Marie Hawthorne Stallard ’08 were united in marriage on June 9, 2012 in Gatlinburg, Tenn. at Angel’s View Wedding Chapel.

The bridesmaids were Sarah Lowe ’09 and Natasha Bambarger ’09. The best man was Zach Bowen ’08. The groomsmen were Adam Cole ’06 and Matt Trgovac ’10. They reside in Blountville, Tenn. with their daughter Jaylynn Stallard.

Heather-Marie Stallard ’08 and Jared Stallard ’07 q

Kyle Dole and Ashley Reese Doyle ’08 p

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Ashley Reese Doyle and Kyle Doyle were united in marriage at the Belmont Manor House and Country Club in Ashburn, Va. on Nov. 19, 2011.

Ashley is employed as a loan portfolio officer & credit analyst with Freedom Bank of Virginia. She is the head varsity women’s basketball coach at Trinity Christian School.

They live in Fairfax, Va. Brad Schassberger and Winter Schassberger ’09 welcomed their son, Kelton Reid Schassberger on Dec. 4, 2012.

Kelton weighed 7 pounds and 11 ounces.

They live in Kingsport, Tenn.

Kelton Reid Schassberger q

Jarred Soles has accepted a position at Louisa County High School teaching physical education and driver’s education.

He is the head varsity girl’s basketball coach.

Jarred and his wife reside in Louisa, Va.

Reagan J. Cecil ’09p

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Reagan J. Cecil is employed with McDowell County Public Schools in Bradshaw, W.Va. as a music teacher.

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Spring 2013 45

Miranda Bradley and DarrellDingus Ely ’10 were united in marriage on June 25, 2011. The ceremony was held at Cliffside Grill in Lebanon, Va. The maid of honor was Amy Stiltner and the bridesmaid was Brittany Colley ’09. The best man was Darrell Ely and the groomsman was Lawrence Dingus ’56. Miranda is employed with Kid’s Central, Inc. as an early head start home visitor.

Darrell-Dingus is employed with the UVa-Wise athletic department as sports information director. They reside in Wise, Va.

ClassNotes

Miranda and Darrell-Dingus Ely ’10 q

to t n a w We om r f r a e h you!

Kim Norris is employed with the Department of Children’s Services in Hamblen County, Tenn. as a child protective services case manager. Kim resides in Jonesborough, Tenn.

Micah Sheffey and Samantha Frye welcomed their daughter, Kensley Sheffey, on Aug. 20, 2012. She weighed 8 pounds and 9 ounces. Micah is a manager at The Pantry. He is training in martial arts and mixed martial arts for the MMA. Micah has earned a blue belt in combat jui jitsu. They reside in Wytheville, Va.

Brittany Osborne welcomed her son, Holden Blake Osborne, on Aug. 20, 2012. Holden weighed 8 pounds and 6 ounces. Brittany is employed with Appalachian Technical Services, Inc. as an accountant. She resides in Wise, Va. pHolden Blake Osborne

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Andrea Phillips Stewart and her husband, Jonathan Stewart, were united in marriage on June 24, 2011. The ceremony was held at Hurricane Baptist Church. The maid of honor was Jessica Gerlach and the bridesmaid was Tyler Stapleton. The best man was Billy Culbertson and the groomsman was Marty Schwartz. Andrea is employed by Wise County Public Schools as a mathematics teacher in the Alternative Education Center. They reside in Wise, Va.

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Joe Bodenheimer is employed with Day & Company as a staff accountant. He is pursuing a master’s in business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship and a CPA certification. Joe resides in Knoxville, Tenn.

Robert Davis is employed by the Office of Budget and Financial Planning at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University as a graduate assistant specializing in policy and legislative analysis to the financial planning manager. Robert lives in Staunton, Va.

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46 UVa-Wise Magazine

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Megan Herron Sanders and Jarrod Sanders were united in marriage at Holston View United Methodist Church on June 23, 2012. The maid of honor was Meghan McGee. The bridesmaids were Megan Akers ’11, Jordan Begley ’11, Amber Dougherty ’12, Ashton McCoy and Nikki Summey.

Megan is employed with Scott County Public Schools as a teacher.

They reside in Weber City, Va.

p Megan Herron Sanders ’11 and

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Mark Collins is a special education teacher with the Jenkins Independent School System in

Jenkins, Ky.

Tara Cole is employed with Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital as a nurse in Roanoke, Va. Tara resides in Vinton, Va. Brandy Hill is an algebra readiness aide for Wise County Public Schools. She resides in St. Paul, Va.

Jonah Justice and Mika Adkins-Justice ’13 were united in marriage on June, 26, 2010 at Pilgrim’s Prayer Church in Dorton, Ky. Jonah is employed with NJN Companies as a fabricator/welder. They live in Pikeville, Ky.

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Matthew Donlevy has been accepted into the MA/ Ph.D. English program with a concentration in American Studies at UMASS-Amherst.

Matthew received the Chancellor’s Medal for exhibiting excellence in the pursuit of knowledge beyond the classroom for his six-month research project exploring his burgeoning interest in English literature.

Matthew Donlevy ’13 p

Jarrod Sanders

In Memoriam James Clayton Willis ’58 passed away on Oct. 24, 2012. He was in the first graduating class from Clinch Valley College.

After graduating from the University of Virginia McIntyre School of Business, he returned to Wise as the first business manager and occupied the position for 31 years. He is preceded in death by his son, Mark Willis. He is survived by his wife, Shirley Willis, their children, David Willis, Barry Willis and Debbie Szalwinski.

Charlcie M. Collins ’61 passed away on June 6, 2012. She enrolled at Clinch Valley College in the fall of 1959 after graduating from Thomas Walker High School in Ewing, Virginia the previous May. After completing a two- year certificate at CVC, she was employed with the Middleboro, Kentucky School System and served for many years as a guidance counselor.

Eugene Donald Stewart Jr. ’75 passed away on March 20, 2013. He was the vice president of Carter Bank & Trust and served 20 years for the town of St. Paul in different positions.

He is survived by his mother, two daughters and one grandchild.

Michael Dean Childress ’86 passed away on Sept. 10, 2012.

He was a lifelong resident of Buchanan County and a member of Trinity Baptist Church. He is survived by his wife, Sally Smith Childress, daughter, grandchildren, and several other family members.

David Pate Sturgill ’86 passed away on Feb. 13, 2013. David worked as a real estate appraiser in the Tri-Cities area and in Irving, TX.; he was a strong supporter of the Kingsport City School system, volunteering to work with students. He married his high school sweetheart, Jennifer Potter Sturgill and together they had two children Bryan and Karen. He is survived by his wife and children, his father William J. Sturgill ’56 and wife Gaye; his brother Jeff Sturgill ’74 and wife Kathy; nieces Jennifer Sturgill Mullins and her husband Jonathan Mullins ’07 and Courtney Sturgill; nephew William Sturgill and wife Tara Sturgill ’04.

Sula Marie Fleming ’97 passed away on July 3, 2012. She is survived by her parents, Jerry and Hazel, along with other loved ones.

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Calendar of events August 5 Outdoor movie “The Avengers” at the Big Glades in Wise, Va. at dusk September 27-28 Alumni Homecoming Weekend October 5-6 Alumni Travel to Keeneland in Lexington, Ky. November 9 Super Raffle November 15-16 Alumni Travel to Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC

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Photo by Bryan Bentley ’11

Following the success of the international trips organized through the Alumni Travel Program, the Alumni Association is launching adventures with a domestic theme.

“Our alumni asked for shorter trips so they would have more opportunities to catch up with their classmates in a fun environment,” Alumni Director Pam Collie said.

Prices, which include most meals, admission, transportation, and hotel, vary depending on occupancy.

KEENELAND

October 5-6, 2013

Photo by TeamCoyle

Includes: uTransportation uHotel uAdmission uFood Voucher at track uRace Program Register by 7/31/2013

THE BILTMORE ESTATE Includes: uTransportation uHotel uBiltmore evening ticket uBiltmore daytime admission uDinner on the estate uSelf-guided tours Register by 10/4/2013

Nov. 15-16, 2013

Alumni Travel

Upcoming

Call the UVa-Wise Alumni Office at 276-328-0128 for details and rates.

“Used with permission from The Biltmore Company, Asheville, North Carolina”

Spring 2013 49

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1 College Avenue Wise, Virginia 24293

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