Inside the World House - Berea College · PDF fileWeb: Email: [email protected] Mail: CPO 2203 Berea, KY 40404 Phone: 859.985.3104 Toll free: 1.866.804.0591 Fax: 859.985.3178 AT

COLLEGE MAGAZIN E SUMMER 2007

nside theWorld HouseI

S U M M E R 2 0 07 : Vo l u m e 7 8 N u m b e r 1 : B E R E A C O L L E G E M A G A Z I N E : w w w . b e r e a . e d u

4 Editor’s Note

5 Around Campus

8 News from Faculty, Staff & Trustees

9 Student Standouts

34 Alumni Connections

35 Summer Reunion

39 About Berea People

42 Passages

Inside this issue

DEPARTMENTS

Front Cover: Monastery near Dharmsala, photo by Kolleen Kellom Back Cover: Berea College Concert Choir in China, photo by Andy McDonaldInside Front: Henry Louis Gates, Jr., photo by O’Neil Arnold, ’85

COVER STORY

20An Ecologist in Exile15 More Colleges Should Be Like Berea

18 Chocho Finds Common Ground

20 An Ecologist in Exile

25 Finding His Way Home

28 He Arrived with Nothing but Hope

30 Heart and Soul of the Lady Mountaineers

33 The Watson Fellowship Year

FEATURES

Contributing Writers: Morgan Adams, ’09, Beth Bissmeyer, ’09Robert Campbell, ’09, Maggie Greene, ’09,Stephanie Henry, ’08, Amanda Hensley, ’10,Debbie McIntyre, ’10, Mary Rush, ’07

4

Normandi Ellis, Editor

William A. Laramee, Vice President,Alumni and College Relations

Timothy W. Jordan, ’76, Director, Public Relations

Mae Suramek, ’95, Director, Alumni Relations

Correspondence and ReprintsIf you have comments, questions, or suggestions for the Berea College Magazine, or would like information about reprinting any article appearing in the magazine, please contact:

Normandi EllisEditor, Berea College MagazineBerea CollegeCPO 2142 Berea, KY 40404

or email [email protected]

Berea College Magazine (ISSN 1539-7394) is published quarterly for Berea College alumni and friends by the Berea College Public Relations Department.

POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to the Berea College Office of Alumni Relations, CPO 2203, Berea, KY 40404.

Berea College is a 501(c)(3) charitable organizationunder federal guidelines.

COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Web: www.berea.edu

Email: [email protected]

Mail: CPO 2203Berea, KY 40404

Phone: 859.985.3104Toll free: 1.866.804.0591

Fax: 859.985.3178

AT YO URSERVIC E

It takes a whole village to raise a child.—Ashanti proverb

We live in a global village. This is no longer a metaphor for the world wide web. Itis fact. What happens on the other side of the world affects those living on this side.Gaseous emissions in China, the loss of rainforests in Brazil, and the devastation ofAppalachia through mountaintop removal create global climate changes that affectevery person on earth. The car bombs that explode in Baghdad, London, andJerusalem are ignited by the issues of religion, economics, and politics that faceeveryone.

We can no longer say “That’s not my problem. That is about other people.” Weall live on this planet. This is our home. These are our kinfolks. “Whatever you dounto the least of my brothers, you do unto me” (Matthew 25:40). Almost 2,000years ago Jesus the Christ recognized that we live in a global village, and that ittakes a whole village to raise a child.

If you have attended Berea College, you already know that God has made ofone blood all peoples of the earth. You know that John G. Fee founded this Collegewith the intent to educate every child – male or female, black or white.

The reputation of Berea College extends across the country and around theworld. We are a place that offers hope, that generates great minds, that has madeGreat Commitments to uplift all. We believe that together we can make a differenceand create a better, a fairer, a nobler world. Our 2007 commencement speaker, Dr.Henry Louis Gates, Jr., knows this, too. He said, “You have to go out and build theworld you want to live in.”

More solutions are needed for the problems that exist in our global village.Every faculty member, or alumnus, or student mentioned in these pages represents apart of the solution. Whether from Blacksburg, Virginia or Dharmsala, India, Bereagraduates strive to protect the environment. An exhausted refugee from Liberia whocame here to study becomes in turn a pillar of strength to his gravely ill host parentin Berea. The Zambian economist, the Ghanaian poet, the Sudanese farmer whowants to feed his people – each has made an impact in Appalachia, whether helpinglocal businesses, inspiring fellow students, or teaching children to swim. The issuesand challenges of Appalachia are not exclusive to Appalachia. Others’ concerns mirror our concerns. We want to make the world a better place to live. The international experience, whether as a traveler abroad or as a sojourner on Berea’scampus, teaches us the unity of existence.

When I began this issue, I called its theme ’Home and Away,’ but the more Iworked on it, the more I saw that this issue is really about the global home, theWorld House, as Martin Luther King, Jr. called it.

Welcome to my village.Welcome to our house.This is Berea.Welcome home.

Normandi Ellis

BEREA CO LLEGE M AGAZ IN E : S U M M E R 2 0 07

Around Campus

www.berea.edu/alumni/

Labor Day Rewards Work Well DoneA Labor Day banquet honoring Berea’s many student workers washeld in April followed by the traditional Labor Day celebration.Students enjoyed a day off from classes as they attended festivities atSeabury Center with student performances, free food, games, andprizes.

Loretta Reynolds, chaplain for the Campus Christian Center,was named Supervisor of the Year; Megan Naseman, ’07, director ofthe SENS House, received Student Employee of the Year. The BereaStar Search spotlighted the performing arts with winners JoshuaNoah, ’10, male vocalist; Ashley Long, ’08, female vocalist; NinaYarbrough, ’09, non-musical performer; and “To Be Announced,”best musical group.

During the Black Music Ensemble’s (BME)spring concert, Jessie Reasor Zander, ’54,realized a long-held dream. Not only did she sing as a guest of the BME, she was welcomed into the group as an honorarymember. Jessie Zander was the first AfricanAmerican to graduate from Berea Collegeafter the repeal of the Day Law, which prohibited interracial education in Kentuckycolleges from 1904-50.

“When I was here in 1954,” she toldthe audience, “there were only five AfricanAmerican students in the school. We had noblack ensemble or anything else like that forus.” When Jessie met President Shinn inTucson recently, she told him, “I am goingto be 75 this year, and there are things yousay you want to do, but never get to dothem.” Singing with the choir was one ofthose things.

At the invitation of the president andBME directors Kathy Bullock and KimberlyWilson, ’97, Jessie traveled from her homein Arizona to perform “Precious Lord” withthe BME.

While she was in the state, she accompanied associate professor AndrewBaskin, ’73, to Lincoln Institute inSimpsonville where from 1912-66 African

Americans from Kentucky and many otherstates were educated. After briefly serving asthe site of a program for gifted students, theShelby County campus became the home ofthe Whitney M. Young Job Corps Center.

Jessie toured the campus with Baskin,Tashia Bradley, Black Cultural Center director,Larry McDonald, current president of theLincoln Foundation, Hugh Ella Robinson,curator of the Whitney M. Young, Jr.memorial home, and Vivian Overall, ’97,the only known graduate of both LincolnInstitute and Berea College. An educator,counselor, and principal herself, Jessie waspleased to visit a place she had heard aboutfor many years and never seen, a place, shesaid, “that was so sacred.”

Although she waited nearly 30 yearsbefore attending her first homecoming inBerea, Jessie then became an active memberof the College, working with the AlumniAssociation, teaching campus courses on racialthemes and returning whenever possible. Inall, the time recently spent in Kentucky 43years after her graduation was “totally wonderful. I think of Berea as my sort ofhome. I like being around the students now.If it gives them some encouragement, thenthat is something I enjoy doing.”

Jessie Zander Tours Lincoln Institute and Becomesa Member of the Black Music Ensemble

Otisha Hayes, ’07, BME historian read the commemorativeplaque to Jessie Zander, honorary member.

Hugh Ella Robinson, (left) faculty member of LincolnInstitute (LI), shares a laugh with Vivian Overall, LI grad,Zander, and Gary Brown, LI grad, during Zander’s visit.

Joshua Noah Ashley Long Nina Yarbrough

To Be Announced5

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Alternative Spring Breaks Open Eyes and Hearts of Berea StudentsWhile attending a leadership conference in Washington, D.C., GeriGuy, ’08, heard Dr. Calvin Mackie, a board member of the LouisianaRecovery Authority, describe the continued suffering of the region’shurricane victims. “I was filled with an urge to do something more,”she explains. Nine of her fellow attendees felt the same.

As a result, 14 students and a staff member spent spring breakassisting victims of the disaster. Sadly, two years after the hurricane,not much has changed in New Orleans’ devastated Ninth Ward.“New Orleans looks like it had been bombed,” said Tashia Bradley,advisor and Black Cultural Center director. “Americans should beashamed for what we have let happen to our fellow human beings.”

The volunteers heard story after story of lost property, possessions,family, and friends; yet, many had not lost their spirits. “I will alwaysremember ’Mama D,’ a community activist who took the time to talkto us about the problems going on in the city,” said Debra Bulluck, ’09.

Students worked with Common Ground Collective, a relieforganization that houses, feeds, and supplies volunteers who areassisting in the clean up. The group performed a variety of jobs inthe community, including clearing nature trails.

Fourteen volunteers active with the Berea College chapter ofHabitat for Humanity spent their spring break on the island ofKaua’i in Hawaii building houses with the Habitat affiliate there.The students framed an entire house and half of another house,painted an entire house, created and framed a porch on a thirdhouse, worked in the Habitat thrift store, and cleaned up the store’swarehouse. The group relished working on the island with thehomeowners, the local staff, and others.

“This was my fourth alternative spring break trip,” said OliverBugariski, ’07, “and this is the poorest community in which I’ve volunteered.” In rural Kaua’i, the larger northwestern island, localswork two or three jobs to get by. Large extended families live in a 1-2 bedroom house.

Bugariski said his most memorable moment came when thelocals discovered that Berea workers, like the islanders themselves,came from low-income and underprivileged communities. It pleasedthem to know “how hard we worked to raise funds just to travel toKaua’i to help them build their houses and community.”

A New CarillonReverberates on CampusConceived, juried, edited, and publishedby students, a 52-page glossy literary andart journal called Carillon debuted thisspring. Four Learning Center peer consultants, Robert Campbell, ’09, RachelWeaver, ’08, Michael Adams, ’08, andJean Smith, ’07, read more than 200entries, looking for works “that were ofexcellent quality and which reflected theartistic diversity of the Berea Collegecommunity,” said Smith. “We tended togo with works in which the author’s voicerang out clearly. We had to make somevery tough decisions since space was verytight.”

A public Carillon reading was heldnear semester’s end. The project wasfinancially supported by the LearningCenter and supervised by Learning Centerdirector Megan Hoffman and programcoordinator Vicky Hayes, Cx’75.

Carillon’s editorial board: Campbell, Smith,Weaver and Adams (l-r)

Berea College chapter of Habitat forHumanity in Kaua’i, Hawaii

Student volunteers assist withHurricane Katrina clean-up twoyears after the fact.


Geri G

uy, ’08

Mary Rush, ’07


Bereans Honor Virginia Tech’sSlain Students and EducatorsIn an expression of sympathy and support, the BereaCollege community wore orange and maroon, thecolors of Virginia Tech, where 32 students and facultylost their lives during a campus shooting that rocked thenation. Mary Lamb, ’70, director of CareerDevelopment, organized the “Orange and MaroonEffect” to show support for friends and families ofthose who lost their lives on April 16.

A banner of prayer flags filled with words of sympathy and support from students, staff, and facultywas displayed in Danforth Chapel before being sent toVirginia Tech. The banner of nearly 100 individual messages was long enough to wrap nearly two timesaround the foyer of the chapel. Said Katie Basham, ’02,of the Campus Christian Center which sponsored production of the prayer flag, “When faced with suchoverwhelming situations, people want to do something.We wanted to find a way that people could offerencouragement to those affected by this tragedy.”

Students InterveiwOlympian LucindaAdamsAs part of a documentary on herlife, gold medalist OlympianLucinda Adams was interviewedby physical education majorsJasmine Moore, ’08, and LeahHeizer, ’07. Professor MarthaBeagle brought Adams to campus for the interview andto speak to her general studies course in OlympicGames and Global Sports.

Adams was a member of the American 4x100meter relay team that won the gold in the 1960Olympics in Rome. Since then she has been president ofthe American Alliance for Health, Physical Education,Recreation and Dance, taught in public schools, andtoured the country as a motivational speaker. Shepraised Berea and its students for their intellectualachievements and their eager service to the community.

“It was necessary that somebody step up.In our community, somebody had to dosomething. Our town was dying … thepublic areas were left to decay.”

— Betty Howard of the “Petticoat Mafia”Peanut Butter and Gender, March 2007

“Africa was not what I had imagined….There may have been poverty, but therewas tremendous beauty and diversity.”

—Hollis Chatelain, textile artistEmotion of Art Affecting Activism

convocation, April 2007

“Watch how we respond as Americans toviolence. We have chosen as a nation toignore it.” —Dr. Catherine Nichols, United Church of

Christ Global Ministries in Jerusalem Peanut Butter and Gender, April 2007

“The people I represent want what I can’tgive them. They want to feel how they didbefore they knew something was wrong.”

—Tom FitzGerald, Lawyer for the mountain peopleAppalachian Center presentation,

April 2007

“A majority of streams in West Virginiaand Kentucky are not fit for skin contact.You can’t touch the water, much less drinkit…. If you ask a politician, they’ll saythere’s no good water left. But there isgood water left and it’s worth protecting.”

—Tricia Feeney, ’05, grassroots organizer “Water Rights Are Human Rights”

convocation, May 2007

Lucinda Adams

Heard Around Campus

The Petticoat Mafia members

Holllis Chatelain

Dr. Catherine Nichols

Tom FitzGerald

Tricia Feeney

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News from Faculty, Staff, and Trustees

Blade and Fleming Join Board of Trustees

Two distinguished African Americanalumni were recently elected to theBerea College Board of Trustees.

Vance Blade, ’82, is a riskmanager for The Kroger Company.He is president of the Kroger AfricanAmerican Alliance, and serves onboth the Bridgehaven Mental HealthOrganization’s board of directorsand the Louisville chapter of theUnited Nations Drug Task Force,among other civic activities.

Dr. John E. Fleming, ’66, is thevice president of museums for theCincinnati Museum Center. He completed his master’s and doctoratedegrees from Howard University.Fleming has served in the PeaceCorp in Africa and on the UnitedStates Civil Rights Commission. Hewas the first director and chief operating officer for the NationalUnderground Railroad Freedom

Center and has served on various civic and historicalboards and commissions.

Retirees Gave Us 183 YearsFour staff and three faculty members retired this year,after providing the College with a combined 183 yearsof service.

Retiring staff members include Connie Briggs,student life collegium member (19 years); CronCarpenter, facilities management (43 years); Mary KayKidwell, director of prospect development (6 years); andElizabeth Sloas, development (30 years). Retiring facultyinclude Dr. John Courter, College organist and musicprofessor (26 years); Dr. Philip English, associate professor of speech communication (17 years); and Dr.Don Hudson, ’65, industrial arts and technology professor (42 years).

Sociologist William H. Turner Appointed NEH Chair in Appalachian Studies

Vance Blade

Dr. John E. Fleming

Cron Carpenter, Elizabeth Sloas, Connie Briggs, John Courter, andPhilip English

Dr. William H . Turner was appointed to the NationalEndowment for the Humanities Chair in AppalachianStudies at Berea College, beginning fall 2007. Turnerwill teach, pursue research projects, and facilitate theintegration of Appalachian Studies scholarship andmaterials.

A sociologist whose work focuses on AppalachianAfrican Americans, Turner brings more than 30 years ofexperience as a researcher, teacher, and administrator.In 1988-89 he was a distinguished visiting professor ofBlack and Appalachian Studies at Berea College.

Among other teaching and academic posts, he wasvice president for University Engagement and associateprovost for Multicultural and Academic Affairs at theUniversity of Kentucky, interim president of KentuckyState University, and research associate to Roots authorAlex Haley.

A native of Lynch, KentuckyTurner’s columns on issues affectingblacks in Appalachia have appearedin the Lexington Herald-Leader andin North Carolina newpapers. H isbooks include Blacks in Appalachia,co-edited with Edward Cabbell,Black Colleges: Essays on Cultural Legitimacy andEconomic Efficiency, Appalachian Heritage, and ThePath of My Pilgrimage: The Autobiography of MarshallB. Bass. He assisted in the production and wrote theafterward to African-American Miners and Migrants: TheEastern Kentucky Social Club.

Turner earned a bachelor’s degree in sociologyfrom the University of Kentucky. He earned a doctoratein sociology and anthropology at the University ofNotre Dame.

William H. Turner

Rachel Wetm

ore, ’10

Fulbright Fellow Sarah GriffinHeads to London for Classical Theatre Training

Even as the littlest chick in her firstgrade play, Sarah Griffin, ’06, felt atease onstage. After stage combat

training during a sixth-grade summercamp, she knew she would be a performer.This fall, she begins training in classicalacting in London, England, at the CentralSchool of Speech and Drama, thanks toher 2007 Fulbright scholarship.

While attending Berea, Sarah landedmajor roles in five theatrical productions:The Beauty Queen of Leanane (2003),Richard III and Metamorphoses (2004),Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (2005), andMother Courage and Her Children (2006).The midyear graduate returned to herhometown of Louisville and becameinvolved with an experimental amateurdrama troupe, Specific Gravity Ensemble,which creates original site-specific performances.

Last fall she and other members ofAlpha Psi Omega, the national theatrehonor society, created theatrical experi-ences for fifth graders at nearby Paint LickElementary. Sarah, Nina Yarborough, ’09,and Mark Cashwell, ’06, worked with 50arts and humanities students to teach keyconcepts and vocabulary for the theatre.Over the eight week period, three groupsrotated among the three instructors whotaught improvisation exercises.

One day she placed a red handkerchief inside the group circle, andthen asked the students to create some-thing with the object. One boy, she recalls,picked up the handkerchief and draped itover his arm. He talked to it, whisperedsomething, then kissed it, and walkedaround with it draped over his arm as if it was his girlfriend. After creating performances, the Paint Lick fifth gradersbecame the envy of the other grades. Sarahrecalls a second grade student begged to beincluded. “Why can’t you work with us?We want to do it right now!”

Acting teachers become influentialcreatures. During her first Berea performance, in Beauty Queen, Sarahshared not only the stage, but the dressingroom with head of the theatre department,Deborah Martin. Martin praised her debutperformance. “This role requires muchfrom any actress, especially one as youngas Sarah was, but she dove in and masteredthe Irish dialect, allowed herself to be vulnerable, and proved to be a marvelouspartner on the stage.”

In addition to working with terrificfaculty members – Sarah’s list was

extensive– she worked with fellow theatrealumnus Clay Goodpasture, ’04. While hewas a student here, Clay directed her inBeauty Queen and performed with her inMetamorphoses. Now a member of SecondCity Improv troupe in Chicago, Clayreturned to Berea with MackenzieCondon, another Chicago actor, to workon improvisation with the student cast ofMother Courage.

Berea’s theatre department, Sarahsays, also provides its students with strongtechnical skills – such as selecting props,building stage sets, and operating lights.These skills often become the meat andpotatoes jobs for actors between roles.

Sarah heads to London in the fall,where she will spend nine months in amaster’s level program before returning tothe States to complete her independentstudy project. Afterward, she says, “Thereare two paths. Either I find somethingthrough the London experience thatresults in a job, or I’ll be auditioning forroles again in Chicago or Los Angeles.”


9photo by Tyler Castells, ’08


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Asixteen-year obsession with the gameof cricket has led Fred Rweru, ’07, (pronounced RuwEh-roo) to fulfill a

dream. Fred, a physical education/sportsmedicine major from Kampala, Uganda, hasbeen awarded a $25,000 Thomas J. WatsonFellowship for 2007-08 to study and traveloutside the United States. As the 26th BereaCollege student to receive a WatsonFellowship since 1988, Rweru plans tocover the globe studying the game of cricketand its historical, political, and social implications.

H is project, “Leather, Willow, andEmpire: Cricket’s ‘Mutation’ in FormerBritish Colonies,” will lead Fred to theUnited Kingdom, Trinidad, and Tobago,Barbados, India, and Australia. It was alwayshis dream to play cricket in each of thesecountries. “Cricket is important to mebecause it’s an avenue towards understandingand experiencing lives that revolve aroundthe game, and in many ways examining myown life.”

Studying and playing the game in thesecountries will enable him to explore howand why the game has uniquely mutated inthe four major cricket-playing regions of theworld. “When you study cricket in thesecountries, you really learn about the peopleand their history. When you talk aboutcricket in these countries you talk abouttheir lives, past and present, and their aspirations.”

Fred says he looks forward to playingwith some of the world’s best cricket players. He plans to visit various universitiesand museums to talk with professors andhistorians who study the game, in additionto his visits to famed cricket fields, likeLord’s in England and the MelbourneCricket Grounds in Australia. Fred will notonly be playing with the most elite playersbut also with those who play at the school,club, and village level.

It was school-level cricket that ignitedFred’s passion for the sport. H is experienceas a cricketer began in 1990 when a coach

from England visited his school in Uganda.His visit sparked Fred’s interest. “I justfound it by some chance, and I thought thiswas really cool. I have been playing eversince.” H is mother declared that he wasobsessed with the game and his teachers saidhe needed to spend less time playing andmore time on school. “I could have gottenbetter grades in high school, but I reallyloved cricket,” Fred says. While at school heplayed club ball in Uganda’s cricket leagueand also played for the junior national team.

H is plans upon returning to the Statesare flexible at this point. He is leaningtoward study of physical therapy and lawschool, but would like to take the year offand examine his passion and purpose in lifeand pursue it at graduate school.

For now, Fred begins his trip with anopen mind. “Things do not always goaccording to plan…. I will have some failures, successes, and frustrations. But whatever happens, I am going to have fun, marvelat the furthest places of the world and take in the year of a lifetime.”

Watson Fellow Fred Rweruto Study the Mutations of CricketBy Ali Duff, ’07

photo by Caitlin Ambrose, ’10

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Jessica FaganReceives Compton MentorFellowship and Joins the Udall Legacy Bus Tour

Jessica Fagan, ’07, a biology and chemistrymajor from Blacksburg, Virginia, wasawarded a $35,000 Compton MentorFellowship for 2007-08 for her project “GirlScouts and the Environment: ChangingExtracurricular Education to AddressClimate Change.” Fagan was one of eightgraduating seniors nationally to receive thefellowship, which funds a self-directed project to address real-world situations.

Over the next year, Fagan will workwith the Girl Scouts of Virginia SkylineCouncil (GSVSC) to heighten awareness ofclimate change through youth education,research, idea circulation, and programdevelopment. She hopes to circulate new

service projects, an educational demonstrationlibrary, and a new patch program withinGSVSC to directly address climate change issues throughout the scouting organization.She also plans to develop an online

Virginia SenkomagoGarners Phi Kappa Phi Award of Excellence

Virginia Senkomago,’07, a chemistry major from Uganda, receivedone of 40 Phi Kappa Phi National Awards of Excellence. Thehonor society provides competitive awards to graduates for a firstyear of graduate or professional study. She also garnered an OliveRuth Russell Fellowship, given to a woman with an outstandingacademic record who plans to pursue graduate study.

While attending Berea, Virginia also received the 2004 Pugsley MathematicsAward; the 2005 Thomas Beebe Organic Chemistry Award; and the 2007 Class of1958 Research Excellence Award. In 2006 she was awarded a University of MinnesotaLando Summer Research Fellowship and received first place in the Institute ofTechnology summer undergraduate research exposition in Minnesota.

In 2005 Virginia also received a summer undergraduate research grant at theUniversity of Pittsburg.

resource to summarize the work related to climate changethat Girl Scout groups can perform nationwide. Jessica’s mentor is Jean Ann Hughes, chief operations officer of GSVSC.

This summer Jessica participated in the Udall Legacy Bus Tour, which was the culmination of a year-long celebration of public service in honor of the tenth anniversary of the Morris K. Udall Foundation’s educational programs. She joined 12 other Udall scholarship recipients from around the U.S. for the 54-day, 8,600-mile biodiesel bus tour that began in June in Washington, D.C. and ended in Tucson, Arizona in August. Jessica received a $5,000 Udall Scholarship last year, for 2006-07.

The tour honors the Udall legacy by highlighting young people nationwide who are finding solutions to America’s environmental and Native American issues. Jessica offered ecology awareness programs and organized stops in state and national parks en route. During the tour sheworked as a natural history, ecology, and parks events coordinator who provided workshops to disadvantaged children, teaching them about the environment through photography activities.

The Udall Legacy Bus Tour is the first cross-country motor coach tour to be green-certified.

photo by Alice Ledford, ’07

Caitlin Malone Goes Above and Beyond theCall of Duty

Caitlin Malone, ’08, an education majorwith a middle school concentration fromBurien, Washington, won the Wilson &Ellen Best Evans “Above and Beyond theCall of Duty” Award. As part of her workwith the Campus Christian Center, shedeveloped and designed a handbook for useby future coordinators at the CampusChristian Center. Caitlin also developedShout Out!, a weekly newsletter that keepsstudent chaplains in the residence hallsabreast of timely news and events.

Megan Naseman, 07, of Anna, Ohio servedas leader, labor supervisor, and house coordinator of the residents in theEcovillage Sustainability and EnvironmentalStudies (SENS) House. Besides monitoringSENS House functions, she coordinated awide variety of sustainability and service-oriented outreach programs on campus andin the community. Megan helped BereaCollege begin its own chapter of Roots andShoots, a program that helps children learnabout the environment, animals, and thehuman community.

After all of her hard work and dedication, it is no surprise that she wasrecognized as the Berea College StudentEmployee of the Year as well as the

Jessa TurnerTurns HomeGrown HideAwaysinto an Obvious Winner

At a recent Appalachian Ideas Network(AIN) social venture showcase inLexington, Kentucky, Jessa Turner’s dreambusiness concept, HomeGrown HideAways,took the top prize of $2,500 to assist in launching her business. The senior’s business plans stood out as the best amongseven competitors from five colleges inKentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. Jessawill add her prize money to her business-launching fund, along with prize moneyshe won in 2005 from the SoutheasternKentucky Concept Challenge’s “GreatConcept Award.”

An independent sustainable buildingdesign major, Jessa developed theHomeGrown HideAways concept as anEntrepreneurship for the Public Good(EPG) summer institute fellow during thesummer of 2005. Originally conceived as afor-profit business, Jessa says her modelhas evolved into a nonprofit as she has“clarified her goals.” She says “being ableto educate and empower others to takecharge of their ecological impact” drivesher to continue with her project.

In 2006, Jessa’s EPG internship tookher to Yestermorrow Design/Build Schoolin Vermont, where she studied sustainabledesign, construction, woodworking, andarchitectural craft. Her short-term businessgoals include completing a comprehensivebusiness plan, studying financial management, and grant writing/fundraising.She also plans to incorporate HomeGrownHideAways as a nonprofit, and continue toconduct workshops in sustainable design.

Megan NasemanEarns Double Recognition

Kentucky Student Employee of the Yearthrough the Midwest Association ofStudent Employment Administrators.

An independent outdoor educationmajor, Megan received the award for herreliability, initiative, professionalism, high-quality work, and effective collaboration.

Her nominators, professors PaulSmithson and Richard Olson, collegiummembers Teri Williams and Connie Briggs,and sustainability coordinator TammyClemons, consider her a colleague. “Shehas taught all of us at least as much as wehave taught her. Rarely have we had theopportunity to work with someone of hercaliber.”


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Caitlin Malone receives her award from Labor associate Darlene Stocker.

Jessa Turner in Vermont


Patrick McGrady2007 Seabury Award Winner

Afreshman labor assignment doesn’t always meanthat position will lead to a life’s vocation, butit has for Patrick McGrady, ’07. Assigned as a

Bonner Scholar to the Center for Excellence inLearning Through Service (CELTS), the Beckley, WestVirginia native worked there all four years, immersinghimself in its many service projects.

As a freshman he traveled to the nation’s capitalfor a weekend service project to address homelessnessand its effects. Working in a soup kitchen, Patrickfirst encountered this reality of life. Any preconceivedideas he had that homelessness was a lifestyle choiceshattered for Patrick as he worked and talked one-on-one with the indigent men and women. Thisexperience, he says, shook the foundation of thefuture he thought he wanted as a history major.

Returning to campus, Patrick sought out sociology professor Thomas Boyd. Discussing the impact this experience had on his goals and future, he began to lay the groundwork for a major in sociology and his future career.

With clear, new goals as guides, his labor position and volunteerism expanded with his burgeoning interest. Under the CELTS umbrellaPatrick became a role model for youth as a Boys &Girls Club mentor, a Berea Buddy volunteer, aCELTS chaplain, and a student director for theStudents for Appalachia Summer Day Camp. Hetackled poverty issues through his work with EmptyBowls, Hunger Hurts food drives, Hunger andHomelessness Week awareness, and Hurricane Katrinafundraising efforts.

He coordinated the People Who Care programwhich visits those in hospitals or extended care facilities; and as a student, he directed the Studentsfor Appalachia program, which includes the environmental group HEAL, Berea Buddies, Adopt-a-Grandparent, teen mentoring, summer camp, andone-on-one tutoring of public school students. Healso participated nationally in World AIDS Day,wrote letters to raise awareness for the ONECampaign, to fight world hunger and presented atthe national COOL/Idealist conference.

H is passion did not go unnoticed. CELTS associate director Betty H ibler praised Patrick’sexcellent academic record and community work. Shealso mentioned his fun-loving, approachable demeanorwhich makes him such a good communicator andfriend. In consideration of his outstanding service toAppalachia and the community through his laborassignment, Patrick received the Julia and NorbertStammer Appalachian Service Award.

Service work is not unusual in the McGradyfamily. Patrick is the son of an educator who established pro-social programs, such as summer reading camps,elementary-to-junior-high transitional programs, and who worked

with at-risk-youth. Patrick lost his father during his senior year at Berea, but he says he still feels close to his father’s legacy. “I would like to be like my dad as far as my career goes.”

Apparently he will do just that. After winning the Seabury Award for outstanding scholarship and campus leadership, Patrick will use the funds to attend Florida State University this fall to pursue a doctorate in sociology, emphasizing stratification and social justice. He also plans to minor in social psychology and statistics.

Boyd was not surprised that Patrick was the first sociology major to win the esteemedSeabury Award. “Patrick is able to work on several levels to be the accomplished sociologist that he is—intellectual, empathetic, and scientificas an impartial data collector.”

The future looks bright for Patrick, and that light will brighten the lives of those he encounters. As he says, “I have learned to re-evaluate my motives for coming to college and realized that it is not about the money I can make, but more about the difference I can make.”

13

By Linda C. Reynolds, ’93

photo by Lucy Begley, ’10

At 40-something, Esther White, ’07,may not look like the typical recentBerea graduate on the outside, but on

the inside, she fits the role perfectly. Estherwas the female 2007 recipient of the SeaburyAward, given to a graduating senior who hasdemonstrated outstanding scholarship andcampus community leadership. Her loveaffair with the College goes way back.

Raised in the middle of six brothers,Esther was exposed to Berea as a childgrowing up in western North Carolina,when three older siblings were studentshere. The campus trips instilled a love in herfor the city and its values. Fourteen yearsago she moved here, deciding it was the perfect place to raise her children.

While working in a local retail store,she took an entrepreneurship class andeventually opened up her own store, whichstayed afloat for four years. She thensecured a job as an inspector in a local factory. “After about the third or fourth 50-hour week when I didn’t get to spend anytime with my kids, I thought, ’OK, Esther.It’s time to make a big decision here. You’vegot more you can contribute than this.” As aresult, the mother of six applied to BereaCollege and was accepted, enrolling in thefall of 2003.

She began to pursue a degree in business administration, and her eventualwork with the Entrepreneurship for thePublic Good (EPG) program inspired her tomake economics her area of concentration.Debbi Brock, business faculty and formerEPG co-director, has been a great influenceon Esther and the direction her life is takingnext. While Esther worked as an EPG fellowand student employee, she rose to a supervisory position as student program manager. In 2006 she received the BereaCollege Outstanding Student Employee ofthe Year Award. Through EPG internshipsand class projects, she assisted with the creation of marketing, cost analysis, andother business management solutions fornonprofits.

“EPG’s been a big part of rounding outmy education here because it’s given mesome element of a real return that a businessperson can give back to a community andthe public.”

Esther co-authored a paper that wontwo writing contests in 2007, was a finalistfor a Truman Foundation Scholarship, andreceived several other labor and academicawards during her college career. “I thinkthe combination of the academics, being apart of EPG, and being part of this community has made me a whole differentperson than I was when I started out here,”she says.

Her final semester turned out to be thetoughest that she has had to face, notbecause of academics, but because a diagnosis of breast cancer left her facing periodic chemotherapy treatments during the spring semester. However, with her inborn tenacity and the encouragement and assistance of Brock, academic advisor Martie Kazura, her family, and many others, she madeit through,

graduating on target in May.

Esther isn’t slowing down now that she has her bachelor’s degree and has been accepted into the University of Kentucky Martin School of Public Policy Administration this fall. “I am really grateful to be able to take advantage of these things, and I’m excited and curious to see where it’s going to lead.”

Esther White2007 Seabury Award Winner


14

By Debbie McIntyre, ’10 and Linda C. Reynolds, ’93

photo by Sara Thilman


During Berea College’s 135th commencement, one could nothelp but notice that this is a

college like no other. As two-hundredforty-five students processed to theirseats, some carried their children, whileother children walked beside their parents. Nearly half of the graduatingclass represented the first in their families to receive a college degree.

These are accomplishments forwhich they should be especially proud,said commencement speaker HenryLouis Gates, Jr. “Berea College has beena model to the rest of America for overa century and a half. . . . America needsto catch up to Berea College.” NotingBerea’s long-held commitment to interracial education and affirmativeaction, he challenged graduates to continue the fight for justice. “We needequality as a fact, not just an ideal. Willyou have the will to insist that theBerea ideal becomes the Americanideal?” He urged students to “build theworld you want to live in.”

Gates, a Harvard University professor and renowned writer, critic,and activist, received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree justprior to his address, along with JeanFairfax, a nationally known educator,philanthropist, and civil rights leader.Earlier in the day the nursing majorsreceived special recognition during theannual pinning service at UnionChurch. The Rev. Dr. Alison Boden,dean of Rockefeller Memorial Chapelat The University of Chicago andauthor of numerous articles on religion,human rights, and social justice, delivered the baccalaureate service inPhelps Stokes Chapel.

During commencement three prestigious awards were granted to faculty and staff. Gary Mahoney, ’82,received the Seabury Award for Excellence in Teaching. He chairs thetechnology and industrial arts department and has taught at Bereasince 1989. The Paul C. Hager Awardfor Excellence in Advising was given to

David Porter, a psychology and generalstudies professor with a doctorate inexperimental cognitive psychology. Dr.Nancy Ryan, a physician with theCollege Health Service, received theElizabeth Perry Miles Award for Community Service. In particular, shewas commended as a GED tutor, a rentand utility relief volunteer, and BereaHealth Ministry volunteer.

Two students received top honors.Ni Ji, a biology and physics doublemajor from Nanjing, China, receivedthe H ilda Welch Wood Award for outstanding achievement by a graduatingfemale student. The T.J. Wood Awardfor outstanding achievement by a graduating male student was given to Taylor Ballinger, a speech communications major from Richmond,Kentucky.

Other notable highlights includedawarding a degree to seventy-nine-year-

old Bill Cass, now Berea’s oldest recent graduate. Having left the College in1965 one class shy of a degree, Casscompleted an accounting course andclaimed his prized degree in technologyand industrial arts. He received a standing ovation. Graduating senior JakeKrack, a nationally renowned fiddlerwho received his degree in AppalachianStudies, played a lively rendition of“Sally Goodin’.” He was accompaniedon guitar by Dara Krack, his mother.

At commencement Earlene Rentz,a composer from Lancaster, Kentucky,heard the College concert choir singher composition “All Nations of theEarth,” a song inspired by the College’smotto, “God hath made of one bloodall peoples of the earth.” The inauguralperformance of her composition, “ThePresence of the Lord,” was performedby the choir at the baccalaureate service.

More Colleges Should Be Like Berea

Dr. Gary Mahoney, ’82, received the SeaburyAward for Excellence in Teaching.

Dr. David Porter won the Paul C. HagerAward for Excellence in Advising.

Dr. Nancy Ryan accepts the Elizabeth PerryMiles Award for Community Service.

photos by O’Neil Arnold, ’85

Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. addresses Berea’s245 graduates.

15

2007 Hilda Welch Wood WinnerNi Ji

Adouble biology and physics major,Ni Ji, a native of Nanjing, China,received the 2007 Hilda Welch

Wood Award during commencement. Theaward recognizes an outstanding femalesenior demonstrating academic and personalexcellence.

Before coming to Berea, Ni seldomtraveled outside her town, but after readingan article about another Chinese studentwho attended Berea, she contacted himfor more information. For years, she hadbeen interested in the sciences, specificallyin the human brain. “I wanted to knowhow people think,” she says.

Ni has already made contributions tothe field of neuroscience. In 2006 sheworked as a research intern at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology inthe lab of Dr. Susumu Tonegawa, a NobelPrize recipient. Her research focused onthe development of cell-type and tissue-specific transgenic mouse models for thestudy of drug addiction. “I chose to doresearch in neuroscience because I was mostintrigued to learn how the human mindworks,” Ni says. “I want to know the physicalbasis that gives rise to a huge variety ofdifferent personalities and meanwhile theuniversal human desires and emotions.”

Impressed with his young intern, Dr.Tonegawa asked Ni to present her researchfindings at the annual Biomedical ResearchConference for Minority Students inAnaheim, California in 2006. For her conference presentation, Ni discussed herresearch and exchanged ideas with facultyattendees and other students.

In addition to her work with MIT, Nihas performed off-campus undergraduateresearch at the University of Kentucky, theMayo Clinic College in Minnesota, andthe California Institute of Technology. Shehas also won awards at the KentuckyAcademy of Sciences annual meeting inundergraduate research competitions.

Biology faculty member and departmentchair Dawn Anderson says, “Ni exemplifiesall the best that a Berea student can be.We are very proud of her and all she has accomplished.”

In turn, the young scientist creditsBerea College faculty Ron Rosen andDawn Anderson (biology) and AmerLahamer and Kingshuk Majumdar(physics) for playing “critical roles” in herpersonal and academic growth. “Not onlydid these professors guide me through myacademic endeavors, they have alsooffered me invaluable advice.” Being adouble major does not mean “just doubledwork load, but also doubled enthusiasm,”Ni says.

This fall, Ni enters MIT as a graduatestudent, where she plans to attain a doctorate in brain and cognitive sciences.Her ultimate goal is to become a facultyresearcher at a university and continuedelving into the human mind. “While theworking mechanism of the human brain isextremely complicated and may take morethan a lifetime to uncover, it is my hopethat I will be able to help [in] pushing thefield forward through my future research.The thing I love about science is that. . .you are constantly exploring somethingnew and there are always chances for agreat discovery.”

Through her experiences as a summerintern, a teaching assistant, a research assistant, and as a leader in such diversecommunities as the Pre-Med Club, theMortar Board Society, and the AmericanChemistry Society, Ni has a great deal ofexperience in working with others for thegood of all.

In reflecting on how far she has comein her academic and personal journey, Nirefers to the song Berea Beloved. “I thinkover the years, Berea College has becomethe beloved home for me in a countrythat once was entirely foreign to me.”


16

By Normandi Ellis

photo by Tyler Castells, ’08


17

At the May 27 commencement,Taylor Ballinger received the prestigious T.J. Wood Award,

given annually for outstanding achievement by a male graduate. In talkingabout his college experience, Taylor frequently uses the term “comfort zone”– a generic term for Richmond, Kentuckythat includes his home near parents(Jackie Collier, ’80 and Patrick Ballinger’81), extended family, and friends.

In high school, Taylor’s main objective was to find a small collegeclose to home where he could receiveindividual attention. Berea College fit thecriteria. What he hadn’t expected it todo was completely alter his comfortzone. Taylor credits Berea’s study abroadinitiative, service component, and challenging professors for influencingdecisions he has made. Those decisionswill propel him on a journey that he hasmapped out for himself over the nexttwo years.

During Berea’s short term semesters,Taylor studied in Japan and Italy. Whilethere he learned that within the differentcultures there are lots of opportunitiesand “that I can be comfortable awayfrom what is familiar to me. These experiences opened a lot of doors for methat I didn’t know I would ever want totry to open.”

The experiences also reinforced allhe was learning on campus. “Bereabecame a stepping stone for me,” Taylorsays. “I never knew I would change as aperson by attending convocations, traveling, and learning about other cultures.”

Through classes with faculty members Andrew Baskin, Steve Pulsford,Billy Wooten, and others, Taylor was chal-lenged to “look beyond the world I hadknown prior to coming to Berea.” Baskinencouraged his students to examine their

boundaries by questioning the reasonsthat support their beliefs, or causes themto examine new ideas. Taylor appreciateddiscussions in Wooten’s classes, whichincluded discourse on race and sexuality,as well as exposure to diverse world viewsand cultural differences.

Last year, in an effort to raiseawareness of sexual assault and harassment and to benefit the communityat large, Taylor founded the MenAdvocating Awareness of Rape andSexual Assault group on campus. Drawnto service, he joined the Berea Buddiesprogram where he met “Josh,” the primaryschool student with whom Taylorworked for four years. “Spending a coupleof hours a week with him, I’ve been ableto watch him grow up,” says Taylor.“Because he did not have many of theadvantages that I took for granted at thatage, I’ve tried to encourage him to pursuehis dreams regardless of how unrealisticthey may seem.”

While exploring future careers,Taylor, a speech communications major,learned about the Teach for AmericaProgram, which sends recent collegegraduates with high academic achievementand leadership skills into low-incomecommunities. Its mission to close theeducational achievement gap betweenrich and poor students “struck me as anoble cause; something I’d love to be apart of,” Taylor says.

This fall Taylor begins teaching inNew Orleans. H is interest in helping thestruggling hurricane-ravaged city came asa result of a research assignment inPulsford’s peace and social justice class.In talking with him and reading hisassignments, Pulsford realized that hispupil’s interest went deeper than classroom pursuit. “Taylor’s commitmentis such that he’s able to turn from thecampus to the outside – to the world.”

T. J. Wood Award WinnerTaylor BallingerBy Linda C. Reynolds, ’93

photo by Caitlin Ambrose, ’10

While I ate breakfast alone onemorning Chomba Chocho, ’07,came to my table and asked if he

could join me. We introduced ourselves;after exchanging majors and

hometowns, we talked some more.Chomba kept eye contact with mewhile I spoke about that day’sstresses. Even though he had justmet me, he treated my inane worrieswith care. Our breakfast conversationlasted no more than ten minutes,because I had to rush off to class,

but that meeting stuck with me. Chomba stuck with me.

About a year later, I sat downwith Chomba in the annex

between our dorms, penand paper in hand, a

digital recorderready to capturehis soft-spokenvoice above thebustle of studentscoming in andout of the building. Hehad somethingto say. I leanedin to hear it.

Chombagrew up inZambia, theoldest of fivechildren. H islife was free of

the violent conflicts that

characterize otherAfrican nations. Even

with relative peace,Zambia still has faced

great economic challenges.In the late 80s and 90s, thegovernment adopted a free-market economy that“causedlots of change,” he says.“Many people got laid offwhen some of the biggest

companies became private. You could seeeconomic desperation all over. Many peoplehad very little to live on.”

Chomba’s father lost his job when therailroad company that employed him decidedto downsize. He became a small-scalefarmer growing maize and whatever wouldsell in the market and feed the family. “Itwas a big shift for him and the familybecause he had never farmed before.”While his father took up farming, Chomba’smother continued working as a nurse, andtheir family was able to persevere.

It’s that ability to persevere and ‘to beokay’ that Chomba finds most worthwhileabout the Africans he knows. “Many Africancountries have challenges, but you see thisspirit of resilience, and sometimes contentment, in the midst of not havingmuch,” he says. “The togetherness, thewarmth that is there – I find that amazing.”

That same appreciation later inspiredChomba to leave Zambia to come to Berea.“I was at a point in my life where I wantedto forge ahead professionally and continuemy education,” he says. Chomba’s uncle—who worked in the U.S., but was visitingfamily in Lusaka, the captial of Zambia—brought with him a college guidebook.Flipping through the pages, Chomba stumbled upon the Berea College profile. “Iresearched the school, read the GreatCommitments, and thought it was anattractive package, so I decided to apply,”says Chomba. “I feel that my acceptance atBerea was an act of providence.”

Coming to Berea allowed him to delveinto business and social entrepreneurship,topics that had always interested him. “Ilove economic empowerment, the idea thatpeople can shape their own economic destiny,” says Chomba. “I want to helppeople get out of poverty. I feel that there’sa lot I can contribute back home.”

With a desire to go into business long-term and work in finance, investment, andconsulting in Africa, Chomba is collectingideas from his experiences here. During thesummer 2005, he worked as a teaching

By Beth Bissmeyer, ’09


18

Chocho Finds


19

assistant for Entrepreneurship for thePublic Good (EPG) program. Coordinatingprograms, providing research support,working on record management, and helpingstudents with feasibility plans, Chombagained a range of experience, some of themost useful being interacting withentrepreneurs in the Appalachian region.

“I met people who are coming up withinitiatives to improve economic well-beingin the area,” says Chomba. “I learned aboutthe challenges of poverty in parts ofAppalachia and the various solutions people in the area have created to endpoverty. It was an enriching experience toget insight into their work.”

Entrepreneurship classes took Chombato see a training facility for entrepreneursin Cincinnati where people could learn torun their own business, sharing resourceswith the Rural Development Center inSomerset, Kentucky. “At the EntrepreneurshipSocial Venture Showcase, I saw how localgovernment had committed itself to creatingstructures where ideas and resources canbe shared, and even money can be found,to address poverty and economic development,” says Chomba.

Last summer, Chomba was able to workin a nonprofit setting that shared similargoals when he interned at the nonprofitDorchester Bay Economic DevelopmentCorporation in Boston. Working in the small

business division, Chomba helped small businesses and entrepreneurs with financingand technical advice, assisted with loan applications, and wrote business plans.

“Out-of-work clients would come inand ask ’How do I go into business?’ I wasable to help them create business plans sothey could sustain themselves economically,”says Chomba. “It was a rewarding experience to be of use to someone in atangible way that impacts the individual’slife and aspirations.”

Working and learning in these differentsettings inspired Chomba toward returningto Zambia, where his ultimate goal is towork in social entrepreneurship. “Thosekind of experiences opened my eyes toideas to affect change in communities backhome,” he says.

Africa and Appalachia may seemworlds apart, but Chomba feels that weare all connected. “Since coming to Berea,I’ve really embraced the idea of a humanfamily. We speak different languages, butwe express the same desires. The humanfamily has one grand aim: to look formeaning, to look for a purpose, to find adefinition. It’s the kind of search we are allin,” says Chomba. “The more I see peoplefrom around the world – whether fromAsia or Kentucky – I see that we have acommon set of challenges. Berea brings allthese experiences into one place and hasaffirmed the idea of a human family.”

As a member of this global family,Chomba worked with Berea’s chapter ofthe African Student Association (ASA),serving as its president during his senioryear. He helped the organization to develop a focus on service, education, andoutreach and to sponsor events that promoted education about Africa. AfricanAwareness Week celebrated African cultureand provided information about theAfrican Diaspora. Several other ASAforums looked at the problems of foreignaid. “We want to engage the campus community to think on issues, reflect onthem, and possibly draft solutions,” says

Chomba. This spring semester, ASA begansponsoring a child from Niger through theCare-For-A-Child program, raising fundsfrom the campus community.

“All places around the world havechallenges. Africa has unique, pressing,and demanding challenges. I believe problems in Africa and around the worldare not exclusive to the people of thoseareas; they’re human challenges,” saysChomba. “We’re a global community. Thewelfare of one group of people is directlyrelated to the welfare of another group ofpeople. That connectedness places responsibility on every member of theglobal village to act.”

When I ask Chomba about his futureplans, he smiles and rattles off a list ofpossibilities. After working in finance, hesays, he would use that knowledge to setup his own business, “maybe an investmentcompany in Africa that would provide capital for growth,” says Chomba. “I’vetoyed with the idea of setting up a businessschool or starting education programs ormicro-lending projects to help people inrural areas become self-sustaining.”

Chomba sticks with you. He made adeep impression on those with whom heworked in EPG. Business assistant professorDebbi Brock says, “Chomba is an exceptional student who believes in thepower of individuals to achieve theirdreams. I look forward to watching himgrow and learn as he makes an impact onthe lives of others.”

Chomba and Dr. Janice Blythe attended the fallAfrican Student Association dinner.

Chomba joins professor Brock with finance teammembers, Jared Wisecarver, ’07, and TenzinTsering, ’08.

Common Ground

In the northernmost point of India,there is a high altitude desert regioncalled Ladakh. Its mountains make

up the tallest landscape in Asia, and itswater is drawn almost entirely from theslow-melting supply of falling snow.Within Ladakh, rests a place called“Little Tibet,” a community of people inexile. Tibet no longer exists. Evenbefore that territory was claimed by theChinese government, explorers andseekers thought of it as a mythic place –a utopia called Shambala.

The southern border of the formerTibet and the northern border of Ladakhshare a geographical boundary. TheHimalaya Mountains are the highestmountains on earth, a dangerous passagethat many Tibetan refugees were forcedto travel before reaching their new homein India. The first families of Little Tibetlived in refugee camps, trying to keep

alive the spirit of their home countrythrough traditional Buddhist reli-

gious practices. Between the wallsof buildings flutter lungtha – thecolorful flags inscribed withprayers for the liberation of allsentient beings.

In the midst of a great cultural diaspora, the new inhabitants of

Dharmsala, a city near Ladakh,achieved distinction. Though it is

geographically within India, this capital city of the Tibetan

government-in-exile,called “Little Lhasa,”

stands as a spiritualand political centerfor Tibetanrefugees. Here isthe home of itsspiritual teacher,

H is Holiness, the Dalai Lama, and manypeople from around the world throng tothis place hoping to attain a glimpse ofthe enlightened society that once was apart of utopia.

Yet, the modern world has thrustitself into the recesses of this remotelandscape. Enter Tsering Yangkey, ’95,whose aim is to make her people awareof the pollution associated with modernlife and the importance of preserving atraditional connection to the naturalworld. Tsering, who was raised in Ladakh,came to Berea in 1991 and was one ofthe first Tibetans-in-exile to study at BereaCollege. The program was establishedthrough cooperation with then-presidentJohn Stephenson and the Dalai Lama.Since then Berea has enrolled 35 studentsfrom the Tibetan community, many ofwhom have returned to the region to aidtheir communities.

While she was here, Tsering receivednumerous academic honors, includingthe Crawford Prize for conservation,wildlife preservation, and natural history,and the John S. Bangson BiologicalScience Award, as well as a scholarshipfrom Phi Kappa Phi. She interned at theUniversity of Virginia and the InternationalCrane Foundation, before completingher master’s degree in environmentalpollution control at Penn State in 1997.

Education and determination haveserved Tsering well. “Although my parentsdid not get the chance to go to school,”she says, “they wanted their children tobe educated in order to fulfill theirdreams.” Like many families in India,Appalachia, and beyond, her parentsnurtured her vision. Tsering says, “Eventhough I was not born in Tibet, I grewup with the stories of Tibet. They madesure I remembered the names of rivers,mountains, deities, animals, birds, andthe like of our ancestral base.”

An Ecologist in Exile – by Robert Campbell, ’09 and Normandi Ellis


20 photos by Kolleen Kellom

21

That ancestral base remains aliveand active for those who remember. Bon,the indigenous religion of Tibet, assertsthe interconnectedness of the spiritworld and the natural world. Mountainsare imbued with personalities. Accordingto Tsering, “Anything from a rock to atree to a river has a spirit present in it,and precautions are taken not to disturbthe spirit world.”

Today Tsering leads a nonprofitorganization called Tesi EnvironmentalAwareness Movement (TEAM), dedicatedto “reviving the ecological consciousnessof the Tibetan people by rekindling theirtraditional ecological values, and byintroducing them to modern, pro-natureways of living.”

“Unfortunately,” Tsering says, “in thelast 50 years we Tibetans have journeyedfrom zero waste to a wasteful society.These days there is hardly any Tibetanfunction without the presence of plasticbags, Styrofoam platters, and plastic popbottles. We want our people to know theconsequences of burning plastics anddumping toxic trash in open land. Our

people have the right to know what dioxins,plasticizers, and other toxins could do totheir health. They need to know the harmful effects that an unsanitary environment can have on their health.”

In response, Tsering and her TEAMmembers have begun to address theseconcerns through outreach workshops onenvironmental issues. This past March inDharmsala, TEAM conducted a dailyclean up for the two-week duration ofthe Dalai Lama’s teaching. Near the tem-ple they placed 200 reusable trash bagsto help manage waste disposal.

“An event like this, which draws tensof thousands of people for a short periodof time, inflicts a heavy environmentaltoll in the local area,”says Tsering.TEAM asked the devotees to adapt theirlifestyles and behavior so that the localenvironment and the people ofDharamsala would not suffer the consequences of so much traffic.

She noted that since its inception inthe early 1960s the temple communitynear Bir has not found a proper dumpingarea for its trash. As a result, localstreams are fouled by food waste, usedbatteries, and Styrofoam platters. In Juneduring World Environment Day, TEAM members worked with community leadersthere to discuss alternative shopping,waste segregation, recycling, reusing, and composting. TEAM also sponsored essayand drawing competitions for youngercommunity members. Prayers wereoffered, and trees were planted andwatered as a gesture of appreciation tothe Earth and as a sign of humankind’sconnection to plants.

Tsering thanked those who hadsupported TEAM for the last two years:the Dalai Lama Trust, Care for the WildInternational, the Rowell Fund, DharmaGaia Trust, Rainforest Information Centre,and Marc Rosenbaum. To date, TEAM hasgiven more than 20 workshops in schools

and settlements on biodiversity conservation and waste management. Atthe end of the day volunteers and community members retired withTibetan tea to watch Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

The inspiration to tackle such alarge global issue, Tsering says, camefrom her field studies of botany with Dr.Ralph Thompson at Berea College andher work with Students for Appalachia.“I had many fulfilling moments as afaithful servant of Mother Nature whilepicking up trash on highways and cleaningthe nearby creek,” Tsering recalls.

Two years after she founded TEAM,Tsering continues the task of educatingthose in the temples, schools, and communities of Ladakh. She longs toreturn to the spiritual and ecologicalunderpinnings of her people, which onceso eloquently offered to the world animage of peace and harmony with naturein a beautiful, high mountain utopiacalled Shambala.


Tsering Yangkey

At the foot of the Dalai Lama’s residence a cowsearches for tidbits left in styrofoam containersby tourists and visitors.

Tsering amid the prayer flags at NorbulingkaInstitute

Kwadwo Juantuah By Maggie Greene, ’08


22 photo by Tyler Castells, ’08

23


In Kumasi, Ghana, Kwadwo “Kojo”Juantuah, ’09, was not born with a sil-ver spoon in his mouth. He was born

with a great dream. Kojo grew up in Accra, the capital of

Ghana, a bustling coastal city. He lived withhis grandmother, a retired schoolteacher,who instilled in him the importance ofstudying. Every morning he walked to asmall schoolhouse, where students of allages and circumstances studied together.For children in Ghana, Kojo says, “education is the only escape from poverty.”

From morning until five each evening,Kojo kept his nose in a book, trying to beatthe odds. Like many children in Ghana, heshouldered household responsibilities, buthomework always came first.

H is hard work propelled him to thetop of his class; he made straight A’s, all theway through ninth grade. Consistently placing first in his class, he was the onlystudent in the school to make A’s in all tensubjects on the final national exam. H isgrandmother expected no less. Only thebest of the best are chosen to enter highschool in Ghana and he had to compete fora spot like everyone else. Although it was

difficult to get into this elite school, Kojogot in. Shortly after his first high schoolsemester, he applied for the coveted Headof State Award, usually presented to recipients by Ghana’s president. It was anaward he had worked his whole life toattain. “All of a sudden the opportunity wassnatched from me. It was a really painfulexperience.”

In spite of his qualifications, Kojo wasnever interviewed.

He asked himself why he had studiedso hard – why, if he was so qualified, washe overlooked? After years of academicexcellence, he stared rejection in the face.When rejection stared back, Kojo set another goal for himself.

At age 16, he decided to publish a collection of poems that he had started writing at age 12. Kojo sought a book publisher and mentally set a date for publication: July 12, 2003 – no matterwhat, he recalls thinking. He told classmates,friends, family, and neighbors about hisproject, but he confesses that few of thembelieved in the dream. “Of course,” he says,“they were all very nice in the beginningwhen I told them about the idea, but when

In a land of strangersPatience [is] the supporting powerPerseverance the pushing spiritLove the combining forceDetermination the hopeHard work the laborAnd success the reward—Kwadwo Juantuah, from Morning of Gold

and his Morning of Gold

it came to money, no one could give theirsupport.”

Knowing he needed larger resources,he walked to the Ghanaian president’shome and asked to see the first lady.Although she was unavailable, he told herassistant about his dream and his deadline,cordially inviting the first lady’s involvement. A bank granted him printingfunds, but three weeks before the 12th ofJuly, Kojo had received only partial funding.After several attempts, Kojo met with thebank manager and put forth his urgentrequest for the rest of the grant funds.

Having spent all of his money onprinting, he began to promote his book.Many days he walked more than fourmiles, inviting people to his book launchon Saturday, July 12th. The First Lady ofGhana was among the first to be invited,as well as ministers of state, and otherprominent poets and authors. The media,he realized, should be notified months inadvance. Kojo took a chance and invitedthem, anyway – and anyone else whomight be interested.

Three days before his book launch, hestill had no books because the printerneeded final payment. At the bank, Kojofound that he had forgotten his identificationcard. Frantically, he ran a long way homeand back in order to attain the rest of themoney so that he would actually have thebook to launch.

On Friday, Kojo could only trust thatin less than 24 hours his dream would berealized. On Saturday morning, he woke at5 a.m. realizing he had not written hisspeech or prepared the venue where thelaunching would occur at 10 a.m. At 7a.m., he still had no books, but by 8:30a.m., the books arrived.

After “fighting against the storm,”Kojo says, he watched in amazement asnot only the local papers, but the nationalmedia, television, and the ministers of statearrived to support his project. He calls July12, 2003 the true ’Morning of Gold’because that day, he reached for the starsand grabbed them.

He hoped that by example, “I wouldbe able to inspire other young Ghanaiansso that no matter the circumstance, theymight reach out and live their dreams. It

was to be a revolution in which youngpeople believed in themselves, their latentpower, and what they could do with theirinnate talents.”

As a high school senior, Kojo becamean exchange student in Pocahontas County,West Virginia. He lived with the family ofMicah Johnson, ’08, who also encouragedKojo to look into Berea. Micah calls himone-of-a-kind. “He has shot for highplaces and succeeded in going to a schoolwhere he will have a voice and an influenceon campus.” Kojo radiates charisma,Micah says. He believes that Kojo will dogreat things. “He has an internal drive thatinspires those around him to reach theirown dreams.”

After finishing high school with honorsin rural West Virginia, Kojo returned homefor a year before starting his undergraduateeducation. H is family pushed him to find ajob. In Ghana, graduates are required towork for a year for the National Service.

Kojo competed with 400 of ’the bestbrains in Ghana’ for 20 top-level positions.He applied to the same lending institutionthat funded his book of poetry, Morning ofGold. Fresh from high school, he satalongside college graduates in a stark roomwith only a pencil and the toughest mathematical exam administered in the area.

While he awaited news of the out-come, Kojo traveled around Ghana writingpoetry about “waterfalls streaming,”“mountains capped with snow,” and “fishin the river flowing gentle and meek.” Itwas not long before he received a callfrom the bank congratulating him on plac-ing second on its strenuous exam. Hecouldn’t believe it. In fact, he even calledthe bank a few days later to confirm it.

Because he was only a high schoolgraduate, he was granted a year-longinternship in the brokerage division, working directly with clients by givingfinancial advice. It was only a matter oftime, he felt, before he would be on his wayto a lifelong career. After his internship, Kojoapplied for college. Having missed theBerea deadline for that term, he applied toeight other prestigious schools, but wasunable to afford their fees. In 2006, matterstook an upward turn. He received anacceptance letter from Berea College, a

Ghanaian youth leadership award, andshortly thereafter, a plane ticket to America.

“It took a strong will and determinationto make it through and, thanks to Berea’sfree scholarship, I am living out my dreamof receiving a well-rounded education.”Kojo has excelled at Berea. He was selectedfor the freshman honor society and hasserved as president of the African StudentAssociation and of the freshman and sophomore classes.

H is family’s misgivings about hisassimilation into American culture, he says,are offset by his determination to use hisstudies in economics and computer scienceto give back to his own culture. Kojowants to “touch people’s lives,” he says, bychanneling resources to give other brightGhanaian teens the opportunity for a high-quality education. He wants toinspire them to realize their dreams andreach for the stars. He hopes that the creation of a website, his current long-term project, will facilitate educationalopportunities for Ghanaians. He sees thewebsite as a means of providing access tothose people who are “actually shapingpolicies.” He wants to be part of mendingeconomic bridges, to draw attention to talent, and to reward those who deserveit, but may live in impoverished or disadvantaged communities. He plans toreturn to Ghana to do just that.

“There is no excuse for mediocrity.There is no reason to fail,” Kojo says.

He may know this better than anyoneelse and, according to his former hostbrother, “he refuses to let anyone pityhim.” Kojo wants to see hope and determination passed on to his childrenand their descendants, so that they maycome to know “the meaning of the storyof Morning of Gold.”

“I get broken-hearted,” he says,“when I realize that the only image peoplehave of Africa is war, disease, starvation,and abject poverty. I look beyond all ofthose things into the beauty of the smilesof the people and the rich history werecount in our songs. I look past thegloomy night that is today into the beautiful sunrise that is tomorrow.”


24


Finding H is Way HomeBy Debbie McIntyre, ’10 and Amanda Hensley, ’10

O n an empty corridorof Seabury Center,before he suits up to

give swimming lessons, PeterThiong, ’08, (pronouncedTHEE-ong) eases his tall,muscular frame into a chair.According to the birth date he was assigned by immigration officials, Peter is 28. He leans over,thoughtfully fingering hisJohn Deere cap as he recallshis early childhood in aSouthern Sudan village nearthe White Nile River.

25photo by Tyler Castells, ’08

His father was a businessman wholived and worked in the city of Juba, untilthe war led the family to resettle in thevillage of Baidit. Peter’s family, which consisted of his father’s four wives and theirchildren, raised cattle and grew sorghumand corn for their own consumption.They lived among about 9,000 members oftheir Dinka clan, of which his grandfatherwas the chief. The soft-spoken young manfondly remembers village celebrations,climbing trees, and learning how to swim.

“I still think of home a lot. I love thatplace. Though it has been 20 years ago, Istill think of it as it was.”

That idyllic life changed when theongoing civil war between the northernArab Muslims and the southern Christianscame to Baidit one day. Peter’s parents sawsmoke rising from surrounding villages thatwere being torched by northern raiders.They quickly gave Peter and his two olderbrothers, Kuai and Deng, some food andtold them to flee. Boys were the soldiers’chief targets because they were seen asfuture warriors. “No matter how old youwere, they would kill you,” Peter says. Heand his brothers ran without turning back.

He never saw his parents, stepmothers,or other siblings again.

Hounded by the raiders, they joinedhundreds and then thousands of otherboys walking as fast and as far as theycould, day after day, to stay alive.“Sometimes I told my brothers that I didn’twant to walk anymore, that I wanted toquit,” says Peter. “But they wouldn’t letme. My brothers took turns carrying me ontheir backs.” Some boys without brothersgave up. “If you stopped walking, youwere left behind.” Peter says they werefortunate to have some adults in theirgroup who occasionally shot wild animalsfor them to eat.

Many of the boys starved or fell behindto be killed by wild animals or marauders.After walking for a month, they reached arefugee camp across the Ethiopian border.There they and an estimated 21,000homeless and orphaned boys lived, rangingin age from 5-11 years. Peter and those likehim would later be called the Lost Boys ofSudan, after their story became the subjectof an Emmy-nominated documentary.

In Ethiopia, relief agencies fed, sheltered, and clothed them. Peter first

learned to count and read and write thealphabet by practicing with sticks in thedirt. This camp was home to the brothersfor about four years. Then in 1991, warturned his life upside down again.Ethiopian rebels, funded by the northernSudanese, approached the camp one night,attempting to force the refugees to fleeback into Sudan.

The boys fled. They arrived at theflooded Gilo River around 3 a.m. andwaited for daylight. At dawn they beganthe perilous crossing in canoes. The boyswere organized in units for the journey.Peter was fortunate that he got acrossbefore the raiders arrived. “It surprisedeveryone. We heard some bangs. I waslooking back to the other side when therebels appeared, shooting at us. Most ofthe people didn’t know how to swim. Youcould either stand on the bank and beshot, or jump in the water with the crocodiles and try to escape. Manydrowned or were shot that day.”

Kuai and Deng were in a differentunit, and the siblings didn’t know eachother’s fates until the massacre ended.When they arrived in the border town ofPochalla, Sudan, only about 11,000 of therefugees had survived, according to Peter.They didn’t stay long because the Sudanesearmy and Ethiopian rebels were in pursuit.After a month of struggling on foot tokeep ahead of the soldiers, they arrived ata refugee camp in Buma, Sudan. By then,many were near starvation and their bodiescould not adapt to the beans and milletthey were given; many more died as aresult.

Kuai and Deng left Peter in Buma.Now teenagers, they volunteered for the

Peter’s summer labor position involved teachingswimming at Seabury Center’s pool.


26 photo by Tyler Castells, ’08



27

Sudan Liberation People’s Army to fightthe Arab-dominated government army. Atsunset one day, Kuai stopped to tell Petergoodbye for the both of them. He handedPeter some gifts, including a wooden cross.“He paused for some minutes and lookedin my eyes and told me to seriously go aftermy education regardless of where I wouldbe,” Peter recalls. “He said that I should bestrong regardless of what happens because heis going to fight the enemy.”

Alone and confused, Peter soughtcompany in friends and distant relatives, butstill found himself waking from nightmares.

Eventually, he was moved to Kakuma,a large refugee camp in the Kenyan desert.In 1992 a wounded relative of Peter’scame to the camp for treatment. He foundPeter and delivered sad news to him. Bothparents and two sisters had died in thewar; Kuai and Deng had survived less thanone year in the army.

“That was a bad day,” Peter recalls. In Kakuma, he and several other boys

built themselves a small hut of timber andthatching. They attended evening classwith 60 other students, using one smallblackboard to learn math and English. Inhis small, allotted garden patch, Peter grewkale and sold it in the market. “I decidedthat I wanted to buy my own book insteadof sharing one, so I saved the money frommy kale for a long time. (The book) feltgood in my hands.”

The crowded camp also includedrefugees from the Congo, Zaire, Ethiopia,Eritrea, and Rwanda. Sanitation was poor,and Peter contracted typhoid fever. The hotdesert exacerbated his condition. He wasallowed to go to Chukudum, Sudan, wherehe received the medication needed torecover. Since the climate was better there,Peter decided to go to a nearby refugeecamp where “I found out that I was one ofthe only educated people. I had finishedthe eighth grade, and I realized that I hada lot more (knowledge) than they did.”

Wanting to help his countrymen, Peterearned a teaching certificate. For about ayear he taught primary math and scienceto children, teens, and adults in the settlement of New Cush. “I felt very energetic, and it made me happy, because Iwas helping my people,” he says.

When he returned to Kenya, Peterwas told he was being sent to live in

America. Though he had been offered thechance to go a year before, he had turnedit down because he feared being humiliated

and unwelcome because of his race. But,he says, “I was encouraged by my uncle to come because there were a lot of opportunities here for education.”Remembering the parting words of Kuai,he decided to go. Peter arrived in Americaon September 5, 2001.

In Louisville he was greeted bycousins from his tribe and lived with them,supported by Americans eager to help.Peter took a college entrance exam andbegan taking classes at a community college.In 2003 he learned that his young half-brother had survived the war and made itto the Kakuma camp along with a cousin.Family ties are tight among the Dinkas,and Peter began sending them tuition forboarding school.

Peter learned of Berea College and its reputation from his Louisville sponsor.American friends made his enrollment possible by offering to pay for his brotherand cousin’s schooling temporarily. Thus,Peter arrived on campus for the springsemester 2005 and is pursuing a degree inagriculture and natural resources.

He has worked at the College farmand, now, at Seabury Center, where heteaches children to swim. He is alwaysmindful of the Gilo River tragedy, where

about 1,000 children drowned. “Nobodyknows the tragic things that may occurnear the water in one’s lifetime,” he says.He does this to “pay back to America thegood things it has done for me.”

At Berea, Peter is a member of theAfrican Student Association and hasworked to educate the College communityabout the wars in Sudan. “It is hard tounderstand something when you see it ontelevision,” says Peter. “It is much better tohear it from someone and to look intotheir eyes.”

During a peace and social justice class, he took part in a peace march onWashington, D.C. Professor MichaelRivage-Seul says, “Peter’s accounts of hispersonal experience of war and genocidesobered us all in our discussions that otherwise might have remained muchmore abstract and general.”

After graduation, Peter hopes to attaina master’s degree in agriculture. After hereceives dual citizenship, he wants toreturn to Southern Sudan to work with theUnited Nations, possibly pursue a doctorate degree, and get involved in politics.

He also knows the loamy soil of hisregion has good potential for growingabundant crops. He hopes to operate alarge model farm there. “Food is a problem in my part of Africa. I will be ableto go home and show people how to growcrops in a more efficient way. I just wantto feed my people.”

Peter Thiong participates in a presentation aboutorganic gardening at the Madison CountyExtension Service.

Now using a laptop, headphones, and a calculator,Peter appreciates the technology that assists inlearning.


Amanda H

ensley, ’10

H e Arrived


By Leslie Ferguson-Oles, ’05

M ulbah Zowah, ’08, left his home country of Liberia withonly the clothes on his back, his travel documents cradledin a small book bag, and an empty stomach. He departed

from his home at the height of a brutal 13-year-long civil war thatleft 250,000 of his fellow citizens dead and just as many displaced.

Despite the danger of leaving his country in the midst of such aconflict, Mulbah was determined to reach Berea for the start of the

fall 2003 semester. He traveled nearly 40 days throughout thecountryside of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, trying to

gain permission to leave West Africa. Alina Strand, whowas international student advisor at the time,

tracked his movements through the region viatelephone calls from Mulbah. She helped him

navigate the dysfunctional governmental procedures of the war-torn area, in order

for him to arrive in Berea just a few daysbefore classes began. “I knew we hadsomeone special on our hands when hearrived, and there was no luggage withhim,” Alina recalls.

Though dehydrated and disoriented upon his arrival, theinternational student soon found ahome in Berea. He credits thissense of home to the campuscommunity and his host family.Even though Mulbah has found a

place of nurture, he has never forgotten why he is here – to study

nursing for the aid of his homeland. Today, clad in his Berea nursing scrubs

and obviously comfortable in his surroundings,Mulbah recalls his first days in Berea with

intensity. “I got to Berea on the last day of(domestic) student orientation. Other internationalstudents had been here for two weeks—I was justdisoriented.”

The shock of being on the college campusof a foreign country was further compoundedby a case of malaria.

28 photo by Michelle Towles, ’10


29

with Nothing but Hope

“He was apparently ill when hearrived,” recalls Alina. “He was shaking allover, sweating, and lethargic. We took himto the hospital where he stayed until thequinine took effect and he was better.”

Having arrived without luggage,Mulbah had another pressing need – clothing. “At first he didn’t want to goshopping with me because he was afraid Iwas spending my own money,” remembersAlina. “But I told him that we had a grantfor him to get some clothes, so he wasokay. Essentially, we used some funds fromPresident Shinn.”

President Shinn also mentionedMulbah’s amazing journey in that year’sfreshman chapel service. Alina recalls thatMulbah “was surprised to find that Dr.Shinn mentioned him by name and toldthe story of how he came to Berea. He wasvery shy, but also he was proud to be mentioned by the president.”

Such a dramatic arrival in Berea createdan outpouring of support from the campuscommunity, which helped Mulbah’s transition into his new life. “Everyday Iwould go to my campus post office boxand there would be cards and gifts frompeople I didn’t even know,” Mulbah says.“Everyone in Berea tried to be like abrother, like a sister, or like a family.That’s the memory that I can’t forget.”

Mulbah also thinks that his host familygreatly assisted his transition. H is hostmother, Barbara Prairie, lives just a fewminutes from campus. Barbara says thatshe really came to know Mulbah duringthe first summer that he stayed with her.“We used to sit in the kitchen and talk andtalk and talk,” she remembers, noting how

Mulbah was always open to sharing hisexperiences in Liberia. Mulbah has stayedat Barbara’s house every academic breaksince, becoming a real member of the family. “I’ve never had a son,” saysBarbara. “It’s a real treat.”

Mulbah says that his mother in Liberia“always praises God” for his host family.Mulbah is proud that his ’two mothers’have even talked together on the phoneand that Barbara would like to eventuallyaccompany Mulbah on a visit to Liberia.

Both Barbara and Mulbah agree that the most significant part of their relationship came when Barbara’s husband,Michael Boardman, was dying duringDecember 2005. “Mulbah was here a lotat the end,” remembers Barbara. “Histhoughtful dedication is beyond my imagination.” Mulbah helped to feed andbathe Michael and even sat up with him atnight, although it was the week of hisexaminations.

“I felt the need to provide that care,”says Mulbah. “I felt good about it.”

Mulbah also has close relationshipswith all of Barbara and Michael’s children,

who live in various parts of the country.“Everyone of all ages loves Mulbah. He iscomfortable socially with anyone of anyage,” says Barbara. Perhaps this is whyMulbah is such a good nurse.

Before he came to Berea, Mulbahspent nearly six years helping his uncle runa health clinic in the war-torn capital ofMonrovia. Mulbah removed bullets fromflesh and administered IVs for dehydration.“When the war happened, there weren’t a lot of doctors, but the people were completely wounded. It was a terrible situation,” Mulbah recalls. “Since then,I’ve wanted to be a nurse.”

Now that he has almost completed hisstudy, he is looking ahead to the future.After graduation, Mulbah hopes to attendgraduate school in pursuit of a master’sdegree in public health – a degree he needsto attain his ideal job with the UnitedNations as a public health worker. “Morethan six percent of the population inLiberia has AIDS,” says Mulbah gravely,“and those are just the ones that havereported it.” Mulbah wants to teach people in the West African region how toprevent AIDS.

This summer he plans a return toLiberia for a month-long internship in anAIDS clinic there. This will be the firsttime he has returned home since he leftfour years ago. “I am so excited,” saysMulbah, with a wide grin across his face.Although he has found a home in Berea,he still looks towards his home in Liberia.

Barbara says of Mulbah, “He is very,very focused. He has never forgotten whyhe is here.”

Barbara Prairie, Mulbah, and Alina Strand

Michelle Tow

les, ’10

30

BEREA CO LLEGE M AGAZ IN E : F A L L 2 0 0 6

Let the Game BeginDe-An learned the chant from her highschool team and adapted it to Berea. It’sjust one part of her role as the unofficialsoul of the Lady Mountaineers. Althoughshe was injured in the first game of theconference championship tournament inLouisville, she still pounded out a remarkableperformance as point guard when shecould play, and as emotional coach whenher injury sidelined her to the bench.

On the floor, co-captain and shootingguard Rebecca May of Waynesville,Kentucky was on fire. She led the team ina down-to-the wire, upset victory overnumber one seed Alice Lloyd College inthe final game that clinched the KIACchampionship. As the final buzzer sound-ed, May was mobbed by her teammates.

When she emerged from the pile on thefloor, her face still red from exhaustionand emotion, she had secured a secondtrip to the nationals for her team. In thethree conference tournament games, thestandout scored 85 points and nabbed 25rebounds.

Over the last four years, De-AnWatkins and Rebecca May have playedindispensable roles in the Little Enginethat Could story of the Berea College LadyMountaineers.

Bunky Harkleroad, ’93, now in hisseventh year as head coach, introduced aversion of the running game strategy thatDave Arsenault developed for GrinnellCollege. The play is fast; the shooting isfurious. It’s different from the way mostteams play. “We rely on every player,”

says Bunky. “We try to use everybody onthe roster early in the game, build chemistry,and build team from that. We substitutefrequently, and we don’t always have ourbest five players on the court together. Weplay a lot of different combinations, andthe chemistry issue is very important,” saysBunky. After first going with this system, Idecided to stick with it, because our playersbought into it so well. They get excitedwhen other people improve and egos geton the same plane as well.”

During De-An and Rebecca’s tenure, theteam has won more than 20 games, andback-to-back conference championships in2006 and 2007 – a first for Berea. Thecoach can’t say enough about the importanceof Rebecca and De-An in these achievements.“They’ve been good basketball players,

Heart and Soul of the

Before every Lady Mountaineer basketball game, an importantritual takes place. The championship tournament for theKentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) in

Louisville was no different. The team forms a circle, arms aroundeach other. As they sway back and forth, De-An Watkins, senior co-captain from Athens, Alabama, leads the chant:

What time is it? Game time!

What are we gonna do? Win!

How we gonna do it? Defense!

What else? Offense!

Who you with? BC!

Who you with? BC!

Who you with? Represent BC!

By Julie Sowell

De-An Watkins

photos by Alice Ledford, ’07


31

great teammates, and they have reallygreat attitudes,” he says. “They’ve donewhat I’ve asked of them, but they’ve taken things a step further. They’ve inspiredtheir teammates, and they’ve played bigwhen they had to play big.”

Winning the tournament was athrilling experience, says Rebecca. “To pullthrough and actually show what we weremade of, because we hadn’t during the regular season – it was just overwhelming.”

“Last year we went through the conference and the tournament beatingalmost every team by 10-15 points,” saysDe-An, “but this year we were barely winning, even though we had a more talented team. Coach kept telling us wewere the underdogs. We’re going to haveto go out and get it, and that’s what we did.”

De-An and Rebecca: Making Berea ProudDe-An Watkins came to Berea because ofits reputation and affordability. Havingplayed basketball in high school, she decided to try out at Berea for the fun ofit. In her first three years, she played avariety of positions, finally settling as mainpoint guard this season. “When it becameher time to lead, she was great at it,” saysBunky. “De-An has always had all the characteristics to be a really strong leader,but she wasn’t always sure she possessedthose qualities. Over time we just saw thatdevelop in her.”

Going into the national tournamentDe-An led all NAIA-II players in assist-turnover ratio. This year she led the teamin total rebounds, offensive rebounds,assists, steals, and assist-turnover ratio. Inher college career she ranks second in all-time assists and third in rebounds.

Basketball was one part of De-An’s richand full life at Berea. She distinguishedherself in her majors – political science andsociology, receiving the 2007 Albert G.Weildler Memorial Scholarship for socialstudies. She was inducted in the MortarBoard honor society in 2006. Like allBerea students, she held a campus job,most recently as program coordinator inthe Black Cultural Center. She sang withthe College’s Black Music Ensemble forfour years and was so active in Elizabeth

Rodgers residencehall that new studentsoften mistook her fora staff member. In addition, she was homecoming queen in 2005 and vice president ofthe senior class. While here,she studied abroad one summer in Brazil.

After spending a year offthe court as an EasternKentucky University student, Rebecca discovered how much shemissed basketball. “Growingup with a big brother and playing againsthim in all kinds of sports made me competitive,” she says. Rebecca transferredto Berea, where she knew she could bothplay ball and get a great education.

She became one of Berea’s most outstanding players, breaking both schooland national records. In her junior andsenior years, she led the team in pointsscored and blocked shots. She holds theschool records for the most points scoredin one season and for three-point shotsmade. She also holds the national NAIA-IIrecord for three-pointers made in one season. She’s a member of Berea’s 500Rebound Club, her career 446 three-pointshots are the most in College history, andshe is the College’s all-time leading scorer,with 2,108 points. In 2005 Rebecca

Lady Mountaineers

photo by Kris Hammonds

Rebecca May

BEREA CO LLEGE M AGAZ IN E : F A L L 2 0 0 6

received the Roland Wierwille Award,which honors a student athlete whosecharacter reflects discipline, dedication,and determination.

Rebecca is a sociology educationmajor, who excelled academically. Shemanaged to do her student teaching thisyear during the first half of the basketballseason, at Madison Southern H igh Schoolin Berea. This past spring, she was assistantcoach of the track team there as well.Whether getting ready for a big game or abig test, the disciplined and organized Maycredits “taking things one day at a timeand focusing on what was at hand.”

Leaders On and Off the CourtFor Rebecca, leadership is about actionmore than anything. “Early in Rebecca’sjunior year, “Bunky says, “we lost a coupleof games in Northern Ohio and she startedto develop this look – you could tell whenshe was really mad …. She just started toshow a level of fire, and you could seesomething had kind of clicked.” Because ofher ability to play at the top of her gamewhen the chips were down, her teammatesgave her the nickname “Clutch.”

De-An took her leadership role seriously. “People look up to you. Peoplesee you both on and off the courts. Peopleare watching you everywhere you go. As aleader you have to recognize that, and Itried to stress those things to underclassmencoming up. I tried to be a leader by myattitude. “

One couldn’t find two graduates whobetter represent Berea College on thecourt or in the world beyond the College.This fall, Rebecca hopes to teach socialstudies at the high school level and looksforward some day to applying her basketballexperience coaching a high school girls’team. “I’ve learned so much about thegame and what it takes to be a successful

player and team leader. I can personallytestify how great basketball can be foryoung women and how it can createnumerous opportunities for them.”

De-An has enrolled in the School ofSocial Work at the University of Georgia,the next step in preparing for a career as acapital mitigation specialist. “I’m against

capital punishment, and that’s what a capital mitigation specialist does – they’repart of the defense team for indigentdefendants facing the death penalty. Themitigation specialist is like a social worker,looking into defendant’s histories to tryand discover things that might have triggeredtheir behaviors. A lot of our youth justneed intervention, someone to step in atthe right time when their life could havegone in another direction.”

Playing basketball at Berea wherethere are no athletic scholarships is amajor commitment, and students play forthe love of the sport alone. Basketball,Bunky says, should be “the fun part ofyour day. It’s when you get to take a deepbreath, take a break from studies and fromwork. Basketball’s not your life, but youcan use basketball to make your life a littlebetter while you’re here, and with theright perspective, you can learn a lot ofimportant life lessons, too.”

De-An Watkins and Rebecca May, off-court

De-An powers past an Asbury College player onher way to the basket.

Rebecca shoots over Alice Lloyd College guard.

Alice Ledford, ’07

32

Rachel Wetm

ore, ’10

Alice Ledford, ’07


33

It was by chance that we, three Bereagraduates, met in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia in January of 2007. Jason

Fults, ’05, had traveled overland fromHong Kong to Malaysia and my husband,Isaac Bingham, ’05, and I were passingthrough Kuala Lumpur to catch our flightto the South Pacific atoll of Tokelau. BothJason and Isaac received 2006-07 WatsonFellowships, which fund one year of inter-national study. In August, Jason traveledto India to begin his study of “Perceptionsof Science and Nature beyond the West,”while Isaac traveled to Vietnam to beginhis project, “Savants of the Sea: BoatBuilding on Two Sides of the Pacific.”Over a shared meal in Kuala Lumpur wediscussed the Watson year and the influence of Berea College on our lives.

We were surprised to learn how different our first six months had been.Jason had spent the year living in urbanareas, such as New Delhi, Bejing, andHong Kong, while working with local environmental organizations. Meanwhile,Isaac and I had been living with families inrural fishing communities and workingwith indigenous boat builders in Vietnam,Thailand, and Malaysia.

Isaac wanted to studyindigenous boat buildingunder the tutelage ofnative boat builders andfishermen. He explorednot only the origin andevolution of boat buildingand materials, but also theimpact of modern technol-ogy on traditional prac-tices.

Jason explained hiswork as “a combination ofindependent research andpersonal interactions” thatallowed him “to explorethe science-culture sym-biosis and discern itsimplications for addressing modern envi-ronmental crises.” Jason felt the experiences were preparing him as a futureeducator, scientist, and activist.

Both Jason and Isaac felt that theirindependent study projects at BereaCollege helped them to pursue and furtherdefine their passions. Jason spent onesummer as an intern with the Australianenvironmental organization AID/WATCH,while Isaac spent a January short term in

Peru working with reedboat builders. Evenmore influential to thetwo Watson fellows weretheir relationships withBerea faculty and staff.

Professors RalphThompson and RichardOlson offered Jason“endless intellectual stimulation and empowering hands-onopportunities”; staffmembers CheyenneOlson, Jeanne H ibberd,Betty H ibler, and MetaMendel-Reyes served as

role models. Isaac honed the ideas for hisfellowship with professors Fred de Rosset,Wally Hyleck, and Lisa Kriner.

The Watson year experiences havelead both fellows to ask some searchingquestions. Isaac asks himself, “Do traditional practices like boat building contain a transcendent value beyond theironce crucial survival benefit? Does theinflux of material conveniences and technology into indigenous communitiesdevalue daily life and community?” Hewonders how these changes affect bothindividuals and the communities in whichthey live.

Jason wonders if 2007-08 will becomea milestone in human history as we becomea predominantly urban species for the firsttime. Love them or hate them, he says, “itappears inevitable that urban spaces arewhere humanity will make its (last?) stand.In Asian megalopolises I’ve witnessed gripping poverty and degradation of theenvironment at its most extreme, but I’vealso seen glimmers of hope in the emerg-ing global green cities movement. Whichpath will our species choose?”

A Report: The Watson Fellowship YearBy Alice Driver, ’04

Fults and the head of an Indian village playfully perform ‘field studies.’India’s Center for Science and Environment realizes that the future of itsurban centers is dependent on what happens in its villages.

Bingham and Anh Lu, a builder of Vietnamese-woven bamboo coracles,lashed together the gunwale of a boat near Hoi An, Vietnam.

Supr

iya

Sing

hAlice D

river, ’04


34

Alumni Connections

With more than 17,000 membersaround the world, the BereaCollege Alumni Associationrepresents a diverse yet connectedextended community. We

encourage all our alums to developstrong ties with friends and toBerea by engaging in our many programs, services, and activities.

Berea is Coming to You! Berea College Alumni Chapters areall over the country—one is probablymeeting near you!

For more information, contact the

Office of Alumni Relations at1.866.804.0591, or

e-mail [email protected].

Alumni Executive CouncilOfficers

President: Rachel Berry Henkle, ’64President-Elect: Rob Stafford, ’89

Past President: Iverson Louis Warinner, ’66Larry D. Shinn

Mae Suramek, ’95William A. Laramee

Alumni TrusteesRobert N. Compton, ’60

Janice Hunley Crase, Cx’60Tyler Smyth Thompson, ’83

Vicki Allums, ’79

Members-At-LargeCharlotte F. Beason, ’70

Marisa FitzGerald Aull, ’99Eunice Hall, ’78

Betty Maskewitz, ’39Celeste Patton Armstrong, ’90

Thomas Smith, ’79Larry Woods, ’75

James Cecil Owens, ’66Jennifer Jones Allen, ’01

Karen Troxler, ’80Larry Owen, ’61

Peggy Mitchell Mannering, ’71Jason Miller, ’98

Lowell Hamilton, ’66Robert Miller, ’58

D. Wesley Poythress, ’89Ronald Dockery, ’70

Lynn Murphree, ’67, receivedthe Rod C. Bussey Award ofSpecial Merit. He has a master’sdegree in student personnel inhigher education and was a vocational counselor, junior highteacher, coach, and admissionscounselor before joining BereaCollege 22 years ago. As associatedirector of Admissions, he coversterritories in Tennessee andVirginia and helps recruit forathletic programs. Lynn staysinvolved in numerous church,civic, and community organizations.

Judy Ann Coats Fray, ’67,received the Alumni LoyaltyAward. She worked to establishBerea’s first Central Virginiaalumni chapter, currently chairsthat group, and thrice served asthe 1967 class reunion chair. InVirginia she was instrumental inestablishing alcohol and drug-free post-prom parties and anaward-winning recycling program. Judy Ann remainsactive in state and regional garden club organizations andhas volunteered with the Lutheran Women’s Organization and 4-H .

Dr. Kyoko Iitaka, ’59, received a Distinguished Alumnus Award. She taught atTokyo’s Gakugei and Sophia Universities after obtaining her doctorate in speech pathology. In Japan she helped establish a community center for children and youth.Kyoko organized the Japanese Association for Communication Disorders, served aspresident of the Japanese Association of Speech, Hearing, and Language, and advocatedfor professional recognition of the field. Recently retired, she is developing a Japaneseversion of Sesame Street.

Peter “Pete” McNeill, ’51, also received the Distinguished Alumnus Award. TheWorld War II veteran was an agricultural teacher in North Carolina and an agricultureextension agent and business manager in Kentucky. Pete served as an agricultural economist for a South Korea project, advisor to the Thailand Ministry of NationalDevelopment, and was involved with similar work in the Philippines and Indonesia. Heretired after serving at Morehead State University’s Appalachian Development Center.He now operates his family farm in Fleming County while continuing to work in foreign agriculture and cooperative education development.

Loyal and Distinguished Alumni

Lynn Murphree Judy Ann Coats Fray

Dr. Kyoko Iitaka Peter McNeill

photos by Tyler Castells, ’08

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Summer REUNION 2007“I came a long way from home to come hometo Berea,” said one alumnus from Seattle atreunion registration.

Even John Fee and Elizabeth Rogers had a happy homecoming. On Friday the torrential rain that was forecasted brushedquickly over the city. A crowd gathered at thenew city park on Chestnut Street where abronze sculpture depicting Fee, Rogers, andBerea’s school children was dedicated.Sculptor Stan Watts installed the life-sizedfigures on Thursday.

During the first-ever alumni convocation,President Larry Shinn recounted the College’shistorical commitment to educating studentswith great promise, cited the success of itsalumni, the College labor program, and thehigh academic standards of its recent graduates and incoming freshmen. Thealumni presented the College with theirreunion class gift totaling $167,486.

Four members of the class of 1937 celebrated their 70th reunion, while 69alumni from the class of 1957 celebrated their50th reunion, gathering at the President’sHome where Nancy Shinn hosted the traditional reunion breakfast. A total of 357attended the summer reunion. The AlumniAwards reception honored four outstandingindividuals: Peter McNeill, ’51, Dr. KyokoIitaka, ’59, Judy Ann Coates Fray, ’67 andLynn Murphree, ’67.

Artwork from two alumni artists was displayed during summer reunion galleryopenings. The mixed media paintings ofKevin Messer, ’86, were displayed atHutchins Library. The mixed media paintingsof Dr. Harold Robinson Adams, ’48, a gift toBerea College, were exhibited in both Upperand Lower Traylor Galleries.

Robert H. Shipp, ’45, signed copies ofMountain Boys to Admirals: The BereaCollege Navy V-12 Program in World War II,which marked the first book about thisimportant chapter in Berea’s history.

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Academy Knapp Hall 1937

1942 1947

1952

Summer REUNION 2007



37

1957

1962

1967

1977

We print photos of summerreunion attendees so that youcan see their smiling faces!To see their names log onto:http://www.berea.edu/alumni/sum-merreunion/2007/gallery/default.asp.Click on the class photo to view thenames.

1972

photos by John Harmon, ’95

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Pay by Credit CardCharge my VISA, MASTERCARD, DISCOVER, or AMERICAN EXPRESSContribution to Berea Fund: $__________________

Ticket Costs: $__________________

TOTAL: $__________________

Card:__________________________________________________________

Expiration Date:_________ Card Number: ________________________

Signature of Card holder: ________________________________________

Pay by CheckPayable to Berea College

Contribution to Berea Fund: $__________________

Ticket Costs: $__________________

TOTAL: $__________________

For a pre-printed name tag & registration packet, early reservations must be made by November 2, 2007. Registration packets will not be mailed, but will be availablefor pick-up at the Alumni Building beginning November 9. Tickets can also be purchased at the registration desk during Homecoming. Tickets purchased after November 2 arenon-refundable. Registration forms must be postmarked by November 2 and sent to: Berea College Alumni Relations, CPO 2203, Berea, KY 40404, or FAX to 859.985.3178,or call 1.866.804.0591. For a complete Homecoming schedule, check back with us on our website: www.berea.edu/alumni, or give us a call at 1.866.804.0591.

EVENT REGISTRATIONNumber of Tickets Needed_____ # participants – Berea Spirit 5K Run/Walk (for Contribution to Berea Fund and T-shirt) Cost: $10.00

*Please indicate size of T-shirt and # : Small Medium Large X-Large

_____ # tickets needed – Homecoming Barbeque on the Quad. Cost:/person $7.00

Basketball Games (1 ticket admits you to both men’s and women’s games):_____ # of Adults Cost: Adults - $7.00 each for reserved seating ($8.00 if purchased on site)_____ # of Children Cost: Children 5 and under - $3.00 each for reserved seating ($4.00 if purchased on site)

EVENT HIGHLIGHTSFriday, November 9th

Alumni Awards Reception, 6:00 p.m.Meet this year’s award recipients

at a special reception in Baird Lounge,Alumni Building.

Distinguished Alumnus Award: Dr. Donna Dean, ’69

Outstanding Young Alumnus Award:Corey Craig, ’97

Student-Alumni Speed Networking Social 8:00 p.m.in Boone Tavern

Saturday, November 10thBerea Spirit 5K Run/Walk, 8:00 a.m.

Homecoming Parade, 11:00 a.m.(cancelled if raining)

Homecoming Barbeque on the Quad directly following the parade.

Come out and spend time with your friends and enjoy the food and festivities.

Cheer on the Mountaineers! 5:30 p.m.Show your Berea spirit and watch the women’s

AND men’s basketball teams take on University of Virginia - Wise! Alumni Mixer and Dance, 9:00 p.m.

in Baird Lounge, Alumni Building.Mingle, enjoy appetizers, and dance to the music

you enjoyed during your college years.

Sunday, November 11thAlumni Worship Service 10:30 a.m.

in Union Church with Reverend Curtis Wheeler, ’87

and special performances by the Alumni Chapel and Concert Choir

directed by Dr. Stephen Bolster.

Date:_________________

Name (as you want it to appear on your name tag): _____________________________________________________Class Year:____________

Guest:___________________________________________________________________________________ Guest’s Class Year:______________

Address:________________________________________________ City:______________________________ State:________ Zip:____________

Home Phone:_____________________________Cell # :_______________________________ E-mail: __________________________________

Berea College HOMECOMINGNovember 9-12, 2007

“Celebrating the S pirit of Berea”

Welcome Back, Special

Reunion Classes of

1982, 1987, 1992, 1997,

2002 & 2007!



39

About Berea People1937

Marie M. Runyon is a senior recipient of the 2007Humanitarian Awards as the founder and director of theHarlem Restoration Project. She resides in New York, NY.

1946Margaret Larew Moore, Cx, ’46, and Eugene Moore

celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on October 19,2006. They reside in Saint Albans, WV.

1954Lydia G. Brtan retired in 1990 after 35 years of

teaching in Kentucky and Virginia. She resides in Charleston,SC with her daughter and son-in-law.

Dr. Milton Jones and Joan, his wife, are enjoyingretirement, traveling, and volunteering. They reside in Tyler, TX.

1955Vista Ashcraft and Raymond Ashcraft, ’56,

celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 4, 2006.They reside in Union, KY.

Billy Edd Wheeler was inducted into the NashvilleAssociation of Songwriters International Hall of Fame. Hewrote “Jackson,” a Grammy award winner recorded byJohnny Cash, and “Coward of the County,” a hit for KennyRogers. Billy’s songs have been recorded by Judy Collins,Bobby Darin, The Kingston Trio, and Neil Young.

1958Wilma Peercy is actively involved in the Christian

Women’s Connection which is sponsored by StonecroftMinistries, a world-wide organization. She and Bob Peercy,’56, reside in Buena Park, CA.

1959Married: Jeannie “Inkie” Peak to Roy Davidson on

January 26, 2007. The couple resides in Jensen Beach, FL.

1961Vance Davis and Liz Davis, ’60, toured mainland

China May 13- June 1, 2006. Vance stayed 11 additionalweeks to teach clinical pastoral education to a class ofChinese students in Alice Ho Ming Nethersole Hospital in TaiPo, New Territories of Hong Kong. They live in MountainHome, TN.

1962Pat Wilder Fitchpatrick retired as a middle school

science teacher in 2002. She resides in Oak Ridge, TN. Sylvia Tyree Smith resides in Easley, SC. The Pickens

County Board of Disabilities and Special Needs in South

Carolina has established a Distinguished Service Award in hername. The award will be presented annually for volunteerismand service to persons with disabilities and their families.

1964Calvin Sammons and Waukesha Lowe Sammons

published Our Family Secrets: A Heritage Cookbook honoring the women who sustained their families from theCivil War to present day. They reside in Glencoe, AL.

1965Garry Barker and Danetta, his wife, are majority

owners of Barker Publications, LLC, which has published theFlemingsburg Gazette since 2006. Danetta is its editor. Thecouple resides in Flemingsburg, KY.

Sue Giffin has written, ghost written, and edited morethan 31 books. Her recent publication, I Kept My Word: ThePersonal Promise Between a World War II Army Privateand His Captain about What Really Happened to GlennMiller, was published in October 2006. Sue lives inDearborn, MI.

Thelma “Sammie” Wilson Wakefield spent twoweeks in March on a mission trip to Peru. She was with theEleanore’s Project which provides wheelchairs and fitted specialized seating systems for children with severe disabilities. Thelma resides in Moultonboro, NH.

1969Wayne R. Boles is a systems analyst with Teledyne

Brown Engineering. He received a master’s degree in logisticsmanagement from the Air Force Institute of Technology. Heresides in Laceys Spring, AL.

Sharon Mailey is the founding director of a newbachelor of science in nursing program at Trinity WashingtonUniversity. She retired from the USAF reserve as a BrigadierGeneral. Sharon resides in Reston, VA.

Saundra Carter Toussaint published her first bookin March. Up Harold’s Branch is a collection of childhoodmemories that spans 15 years. Saundra and Gus Toussaintreside in Lexington, KY.

Barry N. Wood has taught high school for 36 years inMcMurray, PA. Earlier in the year he directed the musicalShenandoah. This past summer he directed and choreographeda new version of the 1925 musical No, No, Nanette for theWashington Community Theatre.

1970Hannah Kern teaches art at the Scott County Public

School System. She resides in Kingsport, TN.

1971Scarlett Breeding is a partner in the firm Alt Breeding

Schwarz Architects in Annapolis, MD. She and John Alt, herhusband, recently renovated their home in the Annapolis historic district.

Wayne Byrd retired in January as the executive director of the office of field operations after more than 34years of service with the Kentucky Department of Revenue. Heand Linda Byrd reside in Harrodsburg, KY.

1972Teresa Cole, of Berea, KY, was one of five alumni

potters whose work was featured in the “Handbuilt: KentuckyClay Artisans” exhibition this year in Louisville and Berea, alongwith the work of Berea College art professor Wally Hyleck.

1974Donald V. Stewart and his son Wesley both work for

the CSX railroad. Donald is an engineer and Wesley is a conductor. Doris Wilson Stewart, ’71, is a physical education teacher at Mountain View Elementary. They residein Athens, TN.

1976Sarah Culbreth and Jeff Enge, ’86, her husband, of

Berea, KY, were two of five alumni potters whose work hasbeen featured in the “Handbuilt: Kentucky Clay Artisans” exhibition this year in Louisville and Berea, along with thework of Berea College art professor Wally Hyleck.

Fentress C. Horner received a master’s degree inBiblical studies from Temple Baptist Seminary in Tennessee.The program prepares men for work in ministry and teaching. Fentress is married to Kay Bruce Horner, ’75.

The Berea College Office of AlumniRelations enjoys hearing from Bereans from allover the U.S. and the world. The “About BereaPeople” section of Berea College Magazinereports verifiable news that has been sent toour office by the alumni. BCMreports the newsyou wish to share with your alumni friends andassociates. “About Berea People” reportschanges in careers, addresses, weddings, retirements, births, and other items of importance to our alumni. Please include yourclass year and name used while attendingBerea. Notes may be edited for style and length.For more information on how to submit classnotes and photographs, call 1.866.804.0591,email [email protected], or log on towww.berea.edu/alumni.

Keep in Touch

Wilma, ’58, and BobPeercy, ’56 Vance Davis, ’61 Scarlett Breeding, ’71 Samantha Irvin

Kelley, ’ 00


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1982Jim Ramsay is the director of field ministry for The

Mission Society. He and Shawn Ramsay, Cx ’86, completed10 years of missionary service in northern Kazakhstan. Theyreside in Lilburn, GA.

1983Kelvin McCollum is the principal at Northwest

Middle School in Knoxville, TN. He and Judy McCollumreside in Lenoir City, TN with their children, Kourtney,Meagan, and Ian.

1985Jeff Peters, Cx ’85, is owner of JCP Landscaping. He

and Maryanne, his wife of 10 years, reside in Sag Harbor, NYwith daughter Isabel, age 8.

1986Jeff Enge and Sarah Culbreth, ’76, his wife, of

Berea, KY were two of five alumni potters whose work hasbeen featured in the “Handbuilt: Kentucky Clay Artisans” exhibition this year in Louisville and Berea, along with thework of Berea College art professor Wally Hyleck.

1988Berry Alcorn released a new CD of original music. He

resides in Springfield, KY.Vanessa Armstrong is chief deputy clerk with the

U.S. District Court of the Western District of Kentucky inLouisville, KY.

1989Becky Blevins was elected the Clerk of Bell County,

Kentucky in November 2006.

1990Charnel M. Burton competed in the National Trial

Competition Sixth Circuit Regionals in Cincinnati, OH inFebruary. She is a second year student at the University ofKentucky College of Law, residing in Lexington, KY.

Merry Thiessen Croft works for the DrugEnforcement Administration in asset forfeiture in southeasternKentucky. She resides in London, KY with Tara, her daughter.

1991Amy Elswick, of Louisville, KY and Phillip Wiggs, of

Paint Lick, KY were two of five alumni potters whose workhas been featured in the “Handbuilt: Kentucky Clay Artisans”exhibition this year in Louisville and Berea, along with thework of Berea College art professor Wally Hyleck.

1992Menelaos Karamichalis rode 106 miles on a bicycle

as part of the Tour de Cure fundraiser to support diabetesresearch and prevention. He is president of the St. Louisregion Porsche Club and resides in Manchester, MO.

Manuel San is training to become a geriatrician. He isboard-certified in family medicine. Cynthia Chiu San, his wife,is an occupational therapist at the Kansas University MedicalCenter. They reside in Leawood, KS.

Birth: a son, Zachary Raymond Spires, to JosephSpires and Cathleen Ferrell Spires, ’93, on September22, 2006. Joseph is an attorney for the Department of the

Treasury and Cathleen is a stay-at-home mom. The coupleresides in Bel Air, MD with their three children, includingGabby and Nicko.

1993Andre L. Jones II achieved national board teacher

certification in early adolescence mathematics. He teaches inMaryland and resides in Laurel, MD with LaVerne HawkinsJones, his wife of 10 years, and Lydia, their daughter.

Regina Washington received her doctorate in publichealth (2001-06) from the University of Kentucky. She wasappointed by the Governor of Kentucky as the new divisiondirector of prevention and quality improvement for theKentucky Department of Public Health. Regina was employedat Berea College from 1993-2001.

1994Debbie Gilbert published R-U-Mad Journal through

Tate Publishing. The book challenges readers to live the message of Jude 22 for 30 days. She resides in London, KY.

1996Sandy Ruggiero Gibilisco is the corporate

chief/culinary director of Crispers Restaurants in Florida. Sheresides in Auburndale, FL.

Birth: a daughter, Rachel Anne, to John Hendersonand Katherine Henderson on March 10, 2006. The familyresides in Greensburg, KY.

Judah Lowell, Cx ’96, patented a Winnie the Poohcuckoo clock. He and Cynthia, his wife, reside in Lexington,KY with their children, Gabrielle, Alyssa, and Ean.

1997Kokming Lee teaches high school mathematics at Li

Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong and lives oncampus.

1998Michaela Miller works in sales for Home Depot

Supply. She resides in San Diego, CA.

1999Marisa Fitzgerald Aull is a family and computer

science extension agent in Jessamine County. She and ChadAull reside in Lexington, KY.

James Smith was ordained as a Minister of Word andSacrament in the Presbyterian Church, USA, in February2007. He serves two churches in western Ohio and lives inEast Liverpool, OH.

2000Julia Athman and Davin Athman reside in Hamilton,

MA with their children, Keenan and Carrie. Davin works forAsplundh Tree Experts Company and Julia stays at home withthe children.

Birth: a daughter, Gracie Jaylynn Hoskins, to JasonDouglas Hoskins and Rebecca Black Hoskins, ’03, onNovember 13, 2006. The family resides in Orion, MI with LillyAnn, Gracie’s big sister.

Samantha Irvin Kelley has a two-year teaching/public relations contract with the Korean government. Shealso volunteers for GEM, which provides assistance to NorthKorean refugees. Samantha and Brian, her husband, reside inSeoul, South Korea.

Elizabeth Fay Tincher Prevette teaches 7th grade.She and Keith Prevette reside in Traphill, NC with Abigail,their young daughter.

2001Birth: a son, Jack William Morgan, to Rebekah

Calhoun Morgan and Corey Morgan on October 31, 2006.They have two other children, Natalie and Henry. The familyresides in Glasgow, KY.

Married: Brent Reichenbach to ElizabethWeintraut, ’02, on October 7, 2006. The couple resides inMonticello, KY.

2002Birth: a daughter, Lila Annabelle Holt, to Betty

Bowling Holt and Adam Holt on November 19, 2006. Theyreside in Mount Vernon, KY.

Rosanna “Gail” Mercer Vaughn and Fred Vaughnreside in Berea, KY with their two young children, Fred andAnne.

Kevin Messer Paintings atHutchins Library

The artwork of alumnus Kevin Messer,’86, made a ’homecoming’ to BereaCollege during a seven-week exhibit ofMesser’s mixed-media paintings atHutchins Library. Messer created hislarge stretched canvas paintings of landscapes and portraits using a varietyof traditional and digital media. Messerpreviously exhibited his work in theCollege library in 1983. H is workfocuses on commonplace subjects thatmight otherwise be overlooked. “Byblending a variety of traditional andnew media,” he writes, “I seek to revealthe extraordinary beauty found in otherwise ’ordinary’ scenes.” Thesoutheastern Kentucky native has wonnational and regional art awards. Theexhibit opened May 9 and ran throughJune.

Michelle Tow

les, ’10


2003Trish Gibson is the data service associate for the

Greater Cincinnati Health Council. She is in the PhD programin political science at Indiana University at Bloomington.Trish received a multi-year graduate assistantship award. Sheresides in Covington, KY.

Steven Goodpaster is director of development forDeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harrogate, TN.He and Jennifer Engelby Goodpaster reside inKnoxville, TN.

Married: Jacob Bradford Wandler to JenniferLeigh Kincaid, ’05, on July 29, 2006. The couple residesin Boone, NC.

Stephen Wiggins, Cx ’03, graduated from theUniversity of Kentucky in 2005 with a bachelor’s in studio art.He is a disc jockey with WRFL 88.1 FM and has an art exhibitin Lexington and Berea. Stephen resides in Lexington, KY.

2005Traci Bray is an assistant landscape designer for

Hillenmeyer Landscape Services in Lexington, KY. C.J.Bloomer is an artist and illustrator represented by his ownNydwyn Green Dragon Studio. The couple resides inLexington, KY.

Shane Michael Gartner has a young daughter,Teagan. They reside in Casa Grande, AZ.

Toby Wilcher received a 2006 Kentucky Foundationfor Women Artist’s Enrichment Grant to assist her in writing aplay about women in Eastern Kentucky.

2006Tara Elizabeth Evatt Glenn is married and resides

in Lexington, KY. Rebecca Trembula teaches Spanish at Rockcastle

County High School in Mt. Vernon, KY, where she lives.

2008 Elizabeth D. Gilbert Fellowship In Library Science$ 3,500

This fellowship is awarded in April to a senior or graduate of Berea College intending to pursue graduate study and in preparation of professional librarianship.The fellowship, a memorial to Elizabeth D. Gilbert, College Librarian of Berea from1944-73, recognizes promise and financially assists graduate study for the profession.Criteria for the award are:

• Quality of overall academic performance at Berea College• Quality of performance in the Berea College Labor Program• Evidence of commitment to librarianship or related professions as a career• Quality of academic performance in graduate program, if appropriate• Evidence of financial need

Address inquires to:Gilbert Fellowship Committeec/o Director of Library ServicesCPO LibraryHutchins LibraryBerea, Ky. 40404

Inquires will receive an application form and directions. Final application must besubmitted before February 8, 2008. For further information contact:

Anne ChaseDirector of Library [email protected]

College OfficersM. Elizabeth Culbreth, ’64

Chair of the BoardLarry D. Shinn

PresidentCarolyn R. Newton

Academic Vice President and ProvostStephanie P. Browner

Dean of the FacultyGail W. Wolford

Vice President for Labor and StudentLifeE. Diane Kerby, ’75

Vice President for Business andAdministrationJeffrey Amburgey

Vice President for FinanceWilliam A. Laramee

Vice President for Alumni and CollegeRelationsJudge B. Wilson II, ’78

General Counsel and Secretary

College TrusteesM. Elizabeth Culbreth, ’64, Arlington VA

Chair of the BoardLarry D. Shinn, Berea, KY

President of the CollegeVicky Allums, ’79, Arlington VACharlotte F. Beason, ’70, Louisville KYNancy E. Blair, Stamford CTAnn Bowling, Darien CTRobert N. Compton, ’60, Oak Ridge TNMartin A. Coyle, Beamus Point NYJan Hunley Crase, Cx’60, Somerset KYChella S. David, ’61, Rochester MNPhilip D. DeFeo, New Canaan CTGlenn R. Fuhrman, New York NYJim Gray, Lexington KYWilliam R. Gruver, Eagles Mere PAHeather Sturt Haaga, Bethany Beach DEDonna S. Hall, Lexington KYMarian L. Heard, Natick MAGeneva B. Johnson, Brookfield WIShawn C.D. Johnson, Winchester MALucinda Rawlings Laird, Louisville KYBrenda Todd Larsen, Kiawah SCEugene Y. Lowe, Jr., Evanston ILElissa May-Plattner, Camp Springs KYHarold L. Moses, ’58, Nashville TNJames E. Nevels, West Chester PAWilliam B. Richardson, Whitesburg KY Charles Ward Seabury, II, Westlake Village CADavid E. Shelton, ’69, Wilkesboro NCMark Stitzer, Greenwich CTTyler S. Thompson, Crestwood KYDavid O. Welch, ’55, Ashland KYDawneda F. Williams, Wise VADrausin F. Wulsin, Cincinnati OHRobert T. Yahng, ’63, Kentfield CA

Honorary TrusteesAlberta Wood Allen, Bethesda MDJohn Alden Auxier, ’51, Lenoir City TNJames T. Bartlett, Cleveland OHJack W. Buchanan, ’46, Winchester KYFrederic L. Dupree, Jr., V-12, ’45, Lexington KYKate Ireland, Pemaquid MEJuanita M. Kreps, ’42, Durham NCAlice R. Manicur, ’54, Frostburg MDThomas H . Oliver, Beaufort, SCKroger Pettengill, Cincinnati OHDavid S. Swanson, Walpole MER. Elton White, ’65, Sarasota FL 41

Summer Reunion Chairpersons (left to right): Jane Adams Frazier, ’72; H.G. Sawyer, ’57; Barbara WeaverSawyer, ’57; Juanita Hall Roberts and Bill Roberts, ’42; Rose Moore Ramsay and Bill Ramsay, ’52; JudyCoates Fray, ’67; Juanita Noland Coldiron, ’47; Harold Blackburn, ’57; Sam Croucher, ’62; and BetsyHancock, Ad’47.


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1930sLynn D. Gabbard, ’31, of Stanton, KY, died October

13, 2006. Nancy Jane Stephens Wallace, ’34, of Prestonsburg,

KY, died January 26, 2007. She was a retired public healthnurse. She is survived by Dr. Zella Wells, her daughter, andDr. Gabriel Wallace, her son.

Mary Rominger Arrants, Cx ’35, of Chattanooga,TN, died March 7, 2007. She was a retired school teacher.

Roger A Byron, ’35, of Owingsville, KY, diedDecember 8, 2006. He was an attorney and senior counselfor the Kentucky Bar Association. Roger is survived byPenelope “Penny” Byron, his wife.

Frieda Anna Egger Fields, ’35, of Jenkins, KY, diedMarch 25, 2007. She had been a registered nurse for 54years and retired at age 76. She is survived by four children:Felicia Gail Schaffield, Greta Fields, Dr. Karl B. Fields, andGlenda Elswick.

Robert E. Angel, Cx ’37, of Bremerton, WA, diedJanuary 5, 2007. He served in the Navy as a ship fitter andalso worked as a ship fitter at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for32 years. He is survived by Joyce, his wife.

Robert Henry Hill, ’37, of Savannah, GA, died onMarch 15, 2007. He worked as a research chemist forAmerican Cyanamid until his retirement. He is survived byDorothy Gilpin Hill, his wife of 68 years.

Glenn Boone Broyles, Acad, Cx ’39, of Somerset,KY, died December 11, 2006. He was a retired assistant post-master and a veteran of World War II. He is survived by IrenePennington Broyles, his wife.

Mayhew Martin Clark, ’39, of Easley, SC, diedFebruary 3, 2007. He served in both the Marines and Navyduring World War II. Matthew is survived by Kenneth AlanClark, his son, and Margaret Lynn Clark Dowell, his daughter.

1940sChristine Mullins Whitt, ’40, of Pensacola, FL, died

January 18, 2007. A retired school teacher, Christine is survived by Richard C. Whitt, her son.

Alvin Clark Allison of Charleston, WV died March 1,2007. He is survived by Roberta Larew Allison, ’42, hiswife.

Joseph Baird Edwards, Jr., ’42, of Asheville, NC,died March 28, 2007. He retired from A-B Tech as director ofpersonnel after 21 years of service and was a World War IIveteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps. He is survived by his sons,Charles Lewis Edwards and Joseph Lee Edwards.

N. Martin Marlar, ’42, of Richmond, IN, diedFebruary 14, 2007. He was a World War II army veteran.Martin had been a teacher, high school principal, and assistant superintendent. He is survived by Patricia Wheeler,his daughter.

Seymour F. Crumpler, Cx ’45, of Naperville, IL, diedFebruary 20, 2007. He is survived by Barbara Crumpler, hiswife of 54 years.

Adalene Moore Davis, ’46, of Beattyville, KY, diedMarch 19, 2007. She taught school for many years and withher husband, owned and operated Ideal Bottle Gas inBeattyville for 30 years. She is survived by Ola Davis, her husband of 60 years.

Betty Williams Stigall, Cx ’49, of Lexington, KY, diedMarch 9, 2007. She is survived by Ben C. Stigall, her husband.

Nobuyuke Yokogawa, ’49, of Yorba Linda, CA, diedDecember 2006. He is survived by Marie Yokogawa, his wife.

1950sDoralee McPeters Meadows, ’50, of Weaverville,

NC, died March 2, 2007. She was a former school teacherand social worker. Doralee is survived by Leo Meadows, herhusband of 53 years.

Harlan Clay Banks, ’51, of Morehead, KY, diedAugust 30, 2004.

Laura Willoree Young Blankenship, ’51, ofAsheville, NC, died March 22, 2007. She was a retired schoolteacher. Laura is survived by William K. Blankenship, Sr., herhusband.

Mary Hart Caldwell, ’51, of Charlotte, NC, diedFebruary 19, 2007. She was a retired school teacher. Mary issurvived byMary Jo Etheridge and Sonia C. Perry, her daughters.

James “Jim” Purman, ’51, of Winfield, KS, diedMarch 5, 2007. He was a former rector. Jim is survived byEugenia King and Rachel Workman, his daughters, and PaulPurman, his son.

Marolyn Olson Dunlap, ’52, of Manhattan Beach,CA, died March 6, 2007. She had taught elementary school,spent 23 years in the data management field at TRW Space &Defense, and in retirement served part time as a local tourguide. She is survived by Bonnie Jane Luhrs, her daughter,and Albert Knight Dunlap III, her son.

Virginia Maxine Burr Neff, ’52, of Corliss, WV, diedApril 1, 2007. She was a retired elementary school teacher.Virginia is survived by David Neff, her husband.

Audrey Godby Callaham, ’54, of Bethelridge, KY,died June 24, 2005. She is survived by Hubert Callaham,’53, her husband of 48 years.

Anna Mattingly Burnell, ’55, of Vanceburg, KY, diedDecember 18, 2006. She was a retired school teacher. Annais survived by Danny Burnell and Dennis Burnell, her sons,and Margaret Burnell, her daughter.

Carole Ferrell Ramey, Cx ’56, of Fairborn, OH, diedMarch 29, 2006. She was retired from Wright Patterson AirForce Base as a security specialist. Carole is survived by CathyDorsey, Carla Zarecky, and Crista Addis, her daughters, andCharles A. Ramey, Jr., her son.

Jesse Lee Amburgey, ’57, of Mallie, KY, diedDecember 22, 2006. He had been an educator, coach, principal, and the director and executive secretary of theKentucky Community Action Council in Knott County. The“Jesse Lee Amburgey Excellence in Community Action Award”is presented annually in his honor. He is survived by BettySmathers Amburgey, Cx ’60, his wife.

Eunice Mae Flanery Hall, ’57, of Martin, KY, diedNovember 14, 2006. She is survived by Arnold Hall, her husband.

James Dean Murphy, Sr., Cx ’57, of Centre, AL, diedFebruary 26, 2007. He is survived byBonnie Jean, his wife.

Tully Larew, ’58, of Greenville, WV, died December

24, 2006. He was a retired teacher of vocational agriculture.He is survived by Wilma Caudill Larew, ’58, his wife.

1960sDorothy Powell Wagers, ’60, of Berea, KY, died

March 31, 2007. She is survived by Bill Wagers and JimWagers, her sons.

Harrison K. Walker, ’60, of Temple Hills, MD, diedMarch 1, 2006.

Dr. John P. Crawford, Cx ’61, of Orange, TX, diedOctober 19, 2006. He was a retired optometrist. He is survived by Nancy Crawford, his wife of 45 years.

Bert Edward Coomer, Cx ’66, of Mars Hill, NC, diedMarch 4, 2007. He retired in 1998 from Mission Hospitals.He is survived by Ellen Harmon Coomer, ’62, his wife of44½ years.

James Corbett Nunn, Sr., ’66, of Jasper, GA, diedJanuary 24, 2007. He was a coach and teacher and wasinvolved in scouting for 53 years. He is survived by Sue Nunn,his wife.

Garry Abrams, ’69, of South Pasadena, CA, diedAugust 5, 2006. He was an award-winning columnist for theLos Angeles Daily Journal. He was awarded the NationalMedia Award for Excellence in Legal Reporting in 1999. Garryis survived by his wife, Diana Durham Abrams, Fd ’68,and his daughter, Andrea.

Ronald Eugene Richardson, ’69, of Waynesboro,VA, died March 18, 2006. He was a retired soil conservation-ist with the USDA Soil Conservation Service. Ron is survivedby Deborah Tomlin Richardson, his wife.

1970sAnn Runyon Gullett, ’70, of Lexington, KY, died

April 4, 2007. She had taught art for several years beforeretiring to be a full-time mom. She is survived by Thomas J.Gullett, her husband of 35 years.

Sam Weddington, Cx ’77, of Abingdon, VA, diedMarch 9, 2007. He was a member of the Tennessee State BarAssociation. Sam is survived by Dr. Deborah LillyWeddington, Cx ’77, his wife.

1990sGene Franklin Rhoden, ’93, of Greenup, KY, died

January 2007. Yvonne Oday, ’98, of Pierre, SD, died October 5, 2006.

She is survived by Khalil Ford and Malachi Ford, her sons.

Faculty & StaffDr. Ray Betts, of Lexington, KY, died February 2, 2007.

He is survived by Jackie Betts, his wife, who served as coordinator of the Field Study Program and lecturer inEnglish and education before retirement in 1995.

Ed Croucher, of Mt. Vernon, KY, died on March 21,2007. He had worked as a plumber and electrician inFacilities Management before his retirement.

Jim Hall, of Fairfax, VA, died February 27, 2007. Heretired from the Department of Technology in 1989. He issurvived by his daughters, Betty Jean Hall, Fd ’64 and ’68,and Jan Smith, ’79.

Fred J. Parrott, of San Diego, CA, died January 17,2007. He was a retired professor of English in charge of dramatics from 1953-65.

The “Passages” section of the Berea CollegeMagazine honors Bereans who have passedaway. If you know of a Berean who has died,please let the Alumni Association know by sending a copy of the obituary to CPO 2203Berea KY 40403. Or you may [email protected]. Please include theperson’s class year or connection to Berea, andthe date and place of death.

Passages

Berea College’s “Sustainable Giving”Monthly Gift Program

saves you time and effortsaves Berea processing costs

saves everyone precious natural resources

Enroll today at: http://www.berea.edu/friendsdonors/

or by calling 800.457.9846

You can make a real difference in thefuture of Berea’s students without

feeling a pinch in the wallet.

photo by O’Neil Arnold, ’85

COLLEGE MAGAZINEPeriodical postage paid at Berea, KY and additionalmailing offices. Send address changes to BereaCollege Magazine, c/o Berea College AlumniAssociation, CPO Box 2203, Berea, KY 40404

During their tour of China, the Berea College Concert Choir sang for the community atop the old city wall in the Old City of GuiDe inChina’s Henan province.

Documents

Inside the World House - Berea College · PDF fileWeb: Email: [email protected] Mail: CPO 2203 Berea, KY 40404 Phone: 859.985.3104 Toll free: 1.866.804.0591 Fax: 859.985.3178 AT