What is Ampersand?

The ampersand symbolizes the kind of “connected learning” that happens at Emory & Henry College.

Students here do more than just take their classes, complete a major, and receive a diploma. A real education is about tying all of your college experiences together. We help students make connections:

across disciplines
between the curricular and co-curricular
to personal experiences and interests
with the larger world

When you walk into your first job interview, we don’t want you to open with, “I have a degree in __________ from Emory & Henry College.” We want you to lead with, “Let me tell you about all the amazing things I accomplished while at Emory & Henry College.” Then, throughout your interview, you will be able to talk about the ways in which your work has had an impact on you, others, and the world.

Ampersand Projects

<h4 class="lw_blurbs_title">College Football - Mapping Fandom</h4><div class="lw_blurbs_body"><p><strong><img width="611" height="407" alt="Alex Cooper presenting at Ampersand Day 2016." src="/live/image/gid/83/width/611/height/407/433_Alex_Cooper.rev.1502209978.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image433 lw_align_left lw_block" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/83/width/611/height/407/433_Alex_Cooper.rev.1502209978.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/83/width/611/height/407/433_Alex_Cooper.rev.1502209978.jpg 3x" data-max-w="2048" data-max-h="1365"/></strong></p><p><strong>Alex Cooper ’17</strong> produced the first maps of the fan activity associated with college football, and won several awards with his research. He found that the Southeastern Conference has the strongest fan base of any conference, and the strongest association with a geographic region.</p></div>
<h4 class="lw_blurbs_title">Grown from Conflict: National and Cultural Identity on the Island of Hispaniola</h4><div class="lw_blurbs_body"><p><img width="611" height="458" alt="Max interviewing a Haitian student at a university in San Francisco de Macoris." src="/live/image/gid/2/width/611/height/458/408_IMG_0350-2.rev.1501860949.JPG" class="lw_image lw_image408 lw_align_left" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/611/height/458/408_IMG_0350-2.rev.1501860949.JPG 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/2/width/611/height/458/408_IMG_0350-2.rev.1501860949.JPG 3x" data-max-w="3200" data-max-h="2400"/></p><p> Spanish and Civic Innovation major, <strong>Max Palmer ’17</strong>, conducted a project that’s field research was conducted outside of the college, some of it was even conducted in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. He explored the mysterious prejudices between Dominicans and Haitians, working to define racism on an island where white european descent has for a long time been the minority.</p></div>
<h4 class="lw_blurbs_title">Ninety Seconds is All Two Students Need to Open Doors in the Theater Field</h4><div class="lw_blurbs_body"><p><img width="610" height="407" alt="Hannah Rivette" src="/live/image/gid/44/width/610/height/407/6039_Headshot.Rivette.rev.1551802526.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image6039 lw_align_left lw_block" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/44/width/610/height/407/6039_Headshot.Rivette.rev.1551802526.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/44/width/610/height/407/6039_Headshot.Rivette.rev.1551802526.jpg 3x" data-max-w="3200" data-max-h="2133"/><img width="610" height="915" alt="Kaleigh Bowyer" src="/live/image/gid/44/width/610/height/915/6040_Headshot_HKB.rev.1551802714.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image6040 lw_align_left lw_block" data-max-w="1000" data-max-h="1500"/>Emory & Henry students <b>Kaleigh Bowyer ’20 </b>and <b>Hannah Rivette ’20</b>traveled to the Virginia Theatre Alliance SETC Professional Screening Audition where they each presented a ninety second monologue followed by a song. The conference was a chance for the students to gain valuable experience and allows many different theater companies to see talented new performers and help them advance in their future careers.</p><p> “This is an enormous opportunity to take advantage of,” said Bowyer. “It will gave me more experience within my field, more connections to other theatre companies and artist, and allowed me to feel more prepared for future auditions.”</p></div>
<h4 class="lw_blurbs_title">Museum Studies Students show their “Faces”</h4><div class="lw_blurbs_body"><p><img width="610" height="407" alt="Sophia Alonge, Summer Apostol, Allison Cernoch, and Theresa Mitten present at the Ampersand Day S..." src="https://www.ehc.edu/live/image/gid/13/width/610/height/407/1108_Ampersand-Day-2017_419.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image1108 lw_align_left lw_block" srcset="https://www.ehc.edu/live/image/scale/2x/gid/13/width/610/height/407/1108_Ampersand-Day-2017_419.jpg 2x, https://www.ehc.edu/live/image/scale/3x/gid/13/width/610/height/407/1108_Ampersand-Day-2017_419.jpg 3x" data-max-w="3200" data-max-h="2133"/>The exhibition <em>Faces </em>is a selection of artworks curated from the permanent art collection at Emory & Henry College by the Museum Studies class of Spring 2017. Students Sophia Alonge, Summer Apostol, Allison Cernoch & Theresa Mitten presented their work as part of the Student Showcase for Ampersand Day<em>. </em>Naturally drawn to the interesting people portrayed within the collection, the class gravitated toward choosing pieces with a common element: the human face. The face has the ability to transcend language, culture, and other barriers. It has the power to convey so much without words; expressing our true selves, our feelings, yet also yielding the ability to mask the truth.</p></div>
<h4 class="lw_blurbs_title">Studying Salamanders in Southwest Virginia</h4><div class="lw_blurbs_body"><p><img width="611" height="469" alt="Erin Kirk presents her research on salamanders at Ampersand Day 2017." src="/live/image/gid/44/width/611/height/469/crop/1/src_region/83,25,2604,1960/570_Ampersand-Day-2017_379.rev.1505419780.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image570 lw_align_left" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/44/width/611/height/469/crop/1/src_region/83,25,2604,1960/570_Ampersand-Day-2017_379.rev.1505419780.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/44/width/611/height/469/crop/1/src_region/83,25,2604,1960/570_Ampersand-Day-2017_379.rev.1505419780.jpg 3x" data-max-w="3200" data-max-h="2133"/>The Lexington, Virginia native has passion for learning to use new tools in the lab and relate that to research on endangered species. This project has allowed her to combine both, and she hopes to prove the effectiveness of this non-invasive method. Exploring Whitetop Mountain, Elk Garden, and Mt. Rodgers, her project landed her a spot in the Student Showcase at Ampersand Day 2017.</p></div>
<h4 class="lw_blurbs_title">Research on Equine Aging</h4><div class="lw_blurbs_body"><p><img width="611" height="410" alt="pasture" src="https://www.ehc.edu/live/image/gid/22/width/611/height/410/3139_pasture_2.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image3139 lw_align_left" data-max-w="699" data-max-h="469"/></p><p> </p><p> Mandy Snow, ’18 Researched the effects of age and fitness level in horses. Through pre and post exercise tests and blood work, her work observed that aged horses remained just as fit as the younger horses in the College’s riding program. Mandy was able to present her results at Ampersand Day. </p></div>
<h4 class="lw_blurbs_title">Border Voices: Cross-Border Identity in North-West Ulster</h4><div class="lw_blurbs_body"><p><img width="611" height="402" alt="Jackson Feezell presents his research a the Ampersand Day showcase. " src="/live/image/gid/44/width/611/height/402/crop/1/src_region/422,230,2918,1873/612_Ampersand-Day-2017-D-IMG32.rev.1505854799.JPG" class="lw_image lw_image612 lw_align_left" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/44/width/611/height/402/crop/1/src_region/422,230,2918,1873/612_Ampersand-Day-2017-D-IMG32.rev.1505854799.JPG 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/44/width/611/height/402/crop/1/src_region/422,230,2918,1873/612_Ampersand-Day-2017-D-IMG32.rev.1505854799.JPG 3x" data-max-w="3200" data-max-h="2136"/>Jackson Feezell, ’17 showcased his work at the Ampersand Day Showcase. When you think of Ireland, perhaps you think of shamrocks, leprechauns, and Guinness. What you may not know is that the island of Ireland contains two separate countries: the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Until 1998, Northern Ireland was a war zone, as Catholics and Protestants fought each other for control of the North. Now that the violence has ended, Feezell presented his research and asked how individuals view the limits of their communities. </p></div>

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