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Meet Our Alumni

• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/17-kyle-boden" title="Kyle Boden" aria-label="Kyle Boden"><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/26_28f97829f69611f15958da5f58be5431_f42621.rev.1490711184.jpg" alt="Kyle Boden" title="Kyle Boden" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/26_28f97829f69611f15958da5f58be5431_f42621.rev.1490711184.jpg 2x" data-max-w="1000" data-max-h="666"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/17-kyle-boden"><p> Kyle Boden ’14 Continues to Find Success in Medical School</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Kyle Boden became keenly aware of his responsibility to serve the community while attending Emory & Henry College.</p><p> During his first year at Emory & Henry, Boden found time to drive to a local elementary school where he read to a classroom of kindergarten students before returning to campus to switch gears, strapping on a football uniform for evening practice.</p><p> His contributions on campus didn’t stop there. Honor student, skilled football player, and student leader, Boden has always been the epitome of what it takes to be admired and honored.</p><p> No doubt, his desire to serve others is what prompted the 2014 graduate to pursue a medical career. Beginning his second semester at East Tennessee State University’s Quillen College of Medicine, Boden has a particular interest in orthopedic surgery.</p><blockquote> I am the first in my family to become a physician and to choose this specialty because I believe it provides a unique opportunity to positively impact those in my community. Medicine also provides an excellent opportunity to bridge the gap between my interest in the biological sciences and my desire to help people on a daily basis.</blockquote><p> “Emory & Henry taught me that it is better to dream the biggest, wildest dreams imaginable than to live my life in fear of failure. More importantly, Emory & Henry helped me develop the leadership skills necessary to provide the best possible care to my patients.”</p><p> Boden said he was taught by many professors who left a lasting mark on him. “As a student at Emory & Henry, I valued the relationships I developed with my professors the most. It meant a great deal knowing my professors valued my growth as a person just as much, if not more than, my growth as a student.”</p><p> Boden’s accomplishments while a student at E&H did not go without recognition.</p><p> Boden, who played quarter back at the College, was awarded last May the Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship, one of the top scholar-athlete awards from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The award is given annually to one male and one female who are selected from among the more than 1,100 member institutions throughout all three NCAA divisions.</p><p> “It was an honor to receive the Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship and to represent Emory & Henry on a national level,” Boden said. “I had the opportunity to go to the awards ceremony with my family in New Orleans last month and tell members of the NCAA from throughout the country how Emory & Henry shaped me into the person I am today.”</p><p> The scholarship provides $48,000 of financial assistance toward post graduate education throughout the next two years.</p><p> Boden also was Emory & Henry’s first Rhodes Scholar finalist in 109 years. The Rhodes Scholarships are the oldest and most celebrated international fellowship awards. The scholarship provides 32 recipients annually with an opportunity to study at Oxford University in England. Rhodes Scholars are chosen not only for their outstanding academic achievements, but for their character, leadership, and commitment to others.</p><p> “I don’t get caught up in individual awards and accomplishments because my success at Emory & Henry was due to so many people who invested in me and pushed me to become the person I am today,” he said.</p><p> “I hope people remember me as someone who lives each day to the fullest and treats his peers with respect and compassion.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/17-kyle-boden" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2341-haleigh-conley" title="Haleigh Conley" aria-label="Haleigh Conley"><img src="/live/image/gid/11/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,2133,3200/4761_Haleigh_Conley--5_1.rev.1538754955.jpg" alt="Haleigh Conley" title="Haleigh Conley" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/11/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,2133,3200/4761_Haleigh_Conley--5_1.rev.1538754955.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/11/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,2133,3200/4761_Haleigh_Conley--5_1.rev.1538754955.jpg 3x" data-max-w="2133" data-max-h="3200"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2341-haleigh-conley"><p> Haleigh (Cole) Conley</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><div dir="auto"><div dir="auto"><p> Tell us a little about what you’ve been doing since graduating from E&H. </p><p> After graduating from E&H in 2016, I worked at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute in a HIV vaccine research lab. I recently joined a Ph.D. cohort at North Carolina State University in Comparative Biomedical Sciences. I plan on focusing on Infectious Disease Research. </p><p>   </p><p> What do you think was the most valuable aspect of your E&H education? </p><p> There were many valuable aspects of my education at E&H. I believe that my professors challenged me in a way that would bring out my ultimate potential. On a more personal note, I met so many people that have had a lasting impact on me.  </p><p>   </p><p> What advice would you give to current students? </p><p> My advice to current students is to be open and willing to pursue the things that challenge you: take that upper level class that scares you, take on that extra research project, visit your professors often for advice. There are many opportunities to elevate your education that are outside of the typical class structure, and those opportunities are what define your undergraduate education. </p></div></div></div><a href="/live/profiles/2341-haleigh-conley" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/9-van-tran" title="Van Tran" aria-label="Van Tran"><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/17_009ac469bb472d1bc48ca9953355add5_f55671.rev.1490643522.jpg" alt="Van Tran" title="Van Tran" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/17_009ac469bb472d1bc48ca9953355add5_f55671.rev.1490643522.jpg 2x" data-max-w="1000" data-max-h="666"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/9-van-tran"><p> Van Tran (’05) Clinical Pharmacy Specialist </p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> You could say Van Tran got the most out of her college experience.</p><p> Tran graduated <em>cum laude</em> from Emory & Henry College in 2005.  She was a Bonner Scholar for three years. And she received the outstanding senior scholarship at graduation.</p><p> Despite those accomplishments, Tran said she most appreciates the community service she performed while a student — swinging a hammer for Habitat for Humanity and being a friend to youth with disabilities at River’s Way adventure center.</p><p> “As a student, I helped others believe they can do anything they put their minds to,” said Tran, a mathematics and chemistry major with a minor in biology.</p><p> Not much has changed when it comes to Tran’s mission to serve others. The alumna continues to make a difference in the lives of youth as a clinical pharmacy specialist for the neonatal intensive care unit (NINU) and general pediatrics at Inova Children’s hospital in Falls Church, Virginia. She began her work at Inova Children’s Hospital in March.</p><p> Tran wasn’t sure what path she would follow after graduating from Emory & Henry. “At that time, I only was acquainted with retail pharmacists who most of us see on a day-to-day basis.  I wasn’t sure my passion would lie with clinical pharmacy.”</p><p> She credits her education at Emory & Henry for giving her the confidence to accept challenges—even when those challenges are out of her comfort zone.</p><p> “E&H taught me that the only limitation is the one you set for yourself.  You are as successful and as strong as you make yourself.  As long as you have the drive, there are people who will help you make it happen,” she said.</p><p> “In addition, I do believe in paying it forward and helping the next generation by instilling the same values and qualities that my mentors from Emory & Henry so graciously instilled in me.  I also believe in being humble and thankful for everything that you have.”</p><p> Before focusing on pharmacy, Tran received a master’s degree in business administration from Touro University in California in 2009. “I had to keep myself extra busy when my husband, Charles Hewitt, also a 2005 alumnus, was deployed to Iraq,” she said.</p><p> In 2011, Tran received her doctorate in pharmacy from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy.</p><p> She continued her education by completing her first year residency in pharmacy practice at Bon Secours Health Systems in Richmond, Virginia, in 2012 and then a second year residency in pediatrics at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. in 2013. She was a clinical pharmacist at the University of Virginia’s Children’s Hospital from 2013 to 2015.</p><p> “The people I work with at Inova are brilliant, humble and simply amazing.  I also enjoy the work that I do,” she said. “I’m making a difference when I serve as an advocate for my pediatric patients and help to optimize their pharmacotherapy.”</p><p> Tran performs a variety of duties on a daily basis from managing medications for patients to creating and updating policies and procedures to ensure safe practice and administration of medications. She verifies the medications ordered by physicians, making sure the medicines are appropriately used and there are no interactions with other medications used by the patients.</p><p> “This is extremely important as pediatrics ranges from premature 23-week infants to young people18 years of age. Sometimes we get patients in their 20s with illnesses such as cystic fibrosis.”</p><p> Her other duties include answering drug information questions that physicians or residents may have, and managing pharmacokinetics of certain medications. She also manages antimicrobial stewardship, which is making sure the right antibiotics are used, the correct dose is prescribed, and the frequency and duration of the drugs are suitable for the patients.</p><p> Tran can suggest alternative medications if patients are allergic to certain drugs. She also makes sure patients’ home medications are correct and continued upon admission into the hospital.</p><p> Her family and career are very important to Tran, but so are the friendships she made at Emory & Henry.</p><p> “The friendships that I made during my days at Emory & Henry are forever bonds, and the mentoring I received from professors I will forever be grateful for. I still keep in touch with my chemistry professor, Dr. Jim Duchamp, and we are currently working together on future research projects. I went from having a mentor to having a friend.”</p><p> Tran and her husband, Charles Hewitt (an E&H graduate of the Class of 2005) is a Virginia State Trooper. They have a son, Bronson Hewitt, and a daughter, Scarlette Hewitt. They reside in Fairfax, Virginia.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/9-van-tran" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/715-mary-grace-hankins" title="Mary Grace Hankins" aria-label="Mary Grace Hankins"><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,300,191/365_MaryGraceHankins15.rev.1500390853.png" alt="Mary Grace Hankins" title="Mary Grace Hankins" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="300" data-max-h="191"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/715-mary-grace-hankins"><p> Fourth Generation E&H Student </p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><h3><strong>As a fourth generation Emory & Henry student, Mary Grace has served the college community as a leader and a student.</strong></h3><p> Mary Grace was a fourth generation Emory & Henry student from Boones Mill, VA. who majored in Chemistry. She is now attending the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in Chapel Hill, NC to pursue a doctorate of pharmacy. Her Senior Honors Thesis involved analyzing water samples from sites along the three forks of the Holston River and testing them for the presence of triclosan. The purpose of the research was to find whether or not triclosan is present in surface waters in the Southwest Virginia area. </p><p> In addition to being in the Honors Program, Mary Grace was the Vice President of Student Government, President of the Emory Activities Board, President of Delta Omicron Pi social sorority, and a member of Cardinal Key Honor Society. She was also extremely involved with the Orientation Program from serving as a volunteer orientation leader after her freshman year to eventually serving as the Student Chair of Orientation Programs. Mary Grace said, “I had so many amazing experiences in my time [at Emory, but if I were] to pick just one favorite memory of Emory & Henry, it would be the moment when Fall 2014 Orientation finally got started and it was my turn to officially welcome the Class of 2018 to campus.” </p><p> As part of the Honors Program experience, we encourage our scholars to partake in various travel opportunities, whether it is going to <a href="https://honors.ehc.edu/new-york-city">New York City</a> with their cohort or <a href="https://honors.ehc.edu/study-abroad">study abroad</a>. Mary Grace was among the first group of students who participated in the first Honors Program sponsored trip to Greece in Spring 2013. She said, “It was my first time out of the country, and I got to see so many incredible, ancient places.” Afterwards, during her junior year, she received the Emily Williams English-Speaking Union Scholarship and was able to study at the University of Cambridge for two weeks in the summer. While there, she studied the early stages of pharmaceutical<em> </em>drug discovery and the immune system. </p></div><a href="/live/profiles/715-mary-grace-hankins" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2379-bg-loper" title="B.G. Loper" aria-label="B.G. Loper"><img src="/live/image/gid/11/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,127,127/5299_EASTMAN_u777980_LThumb.rev.1540913767.jpg" alt="B.G. Loper" title="B.G. Loper" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="127" data-max-h="192"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2379-bg-loper"><p> Hitting the ground running …</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><ul><li>You just graduated (’18) and have landed your first job.  Can you tell us a little about it? </li></ul><div dir="auto"> I’m a little overwhelmed in a good way. I will be a lab technician in a major chemical company. It’s a very good entry-level job in my field of study which is something not very many recent graduates can say. I feel extremely blessed and honored.</div><div dir="auto"/><div dir="auto"/><ul><li dir="auto">What do you think was the most valuable aspect of your E&H education? </li></ul><div dir="auto"/><div dir="auto"> I think the most valuable aspect of my education at E&H is kind of two parts to the same whole. I appreciate the relationships that students are able to form with faculty and my ability to have true mentors in my professors/advisors that shaped my life immeasurably. The other part of it is the outside of the box thinking that is encouraged, but that can only happen from a good relationship with an advisor/professor, so it’s still part of the same reason.</div><div dir="auto"/><div dir="auto"/><ul><li dir="auto">What advice would you give to current students? </li></ul><div dir="auto"/><div dir="auto"> Make use of the incredible resources that are available to you. Visit your professors as often as you’re able and study/do research under their direction as well.</div></div><a href="/live/profiles/2379-bg-loper" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2331-gavin-irvine" title="Gavin Irvine" aria-label="Gavin Irvine"><img src="/live/image/gid/11/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2400/4717_IMG_20171011_114448.rev.1538018879.jpg" alt="Gavin Irvine" title="Gavin Irvine" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/11/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2400/4717_IMG_20171011_114448.rev.1538018879.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/11/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2400/4717_IMG_20171011_114448.rev.1538018879.jpg 3x" data-max-w="3200" data-max-h="2400"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2331-gavin-irvine"><p> Gavin Irvine, Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><div><p> Tell us a little about what you’ve been doing since graduating from E&H. </p><p> It has been a bit of circuitous route for me. After spending two years at the University of Notre Dame, graduating with a Master’s, I headed off to China for two years to teach. Using the proceeds of those jobs, I took a year off to travel and write a book of poetry for a year and a half, before applying and be accepted to the PhD program in Chemistry at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. </p><p>   </p><p> What are the applications of your work? </p><p> My research deals with solid state electrolytes. In essence, the goal is replace liquids in batteries with solids in order to stabilize their performance and increase longevity. As you can imagine, to get the same transport properties (the movement of ions through the material) in a solid as a liquid is quite challenging. </p><p>   </p><p> What do you think was the most valuable aspect of your E&H education? </p><p> When I look back on E&H I see great professors in so many classes I took. I remember taking History of the Caribbean with Dr. Little, taking what was then called Great Books with Dr. Chamberlain, Western Tradition with Dr. Vejnar, Ethics with Dr. Grossman just to name a few. The liberal arts aspect of E&H can be seen in my diverse set of interests to the present day. Alas, lets not forget about the Chemistry and Mathematics professors: Dr. Lane, Dr. Duchamp, Dr. Hainsworth, Dr. Li, Dr. Iskra, and Dr. Winger. These professors were not only great teachers, but greater mentors whom helped me get involved in research, and engaged me in deep philosophical rambling during their spare time. </p><p>   </p><p> To find out more about Gavin’s work, visit his group page <a href="http://jtsigroup.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/gavin-irvine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.<img class="ajT" src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif"/></p></div><div class="yj6qo ajU"/></div><a href="/live/profiles/2331-gavin-irvine" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/706-kellie-flaherty" title="Kellie Flaherty" aria-label="Kellie Flaherty"><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,100,100/356_static1.squarespace.rev.1500388033.jpg" alt="Kellie Flaherty" title="Kellie Flaherty" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="100" data-max-h="100"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/706-kellie-flaherty"><p> Pursing a Passion for Helping Others </p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> During Kellie’s time at E&H she discovered her passion for helping others through the healthcare field and desire to become a PA.</p><p> I graduated from E&H with a B.S. in Biology and minor in Chemistry.  I will complete my Masters in Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) this August and return to Texarkana, Texas where I have accepted a position as a Hospitalist. During my time at E&H I found myself traveling to Eastern Europe for Cross-cultural Psychology and to Costa Rica for Tropical Biology.  These experiences abroad sparked my passion for international travel.  Between college and grad school, I again had an opportunity to travel internationally when I ventured a second time to Costa Rica for my first mission trip. I am partnered with an international ministry based in Texarkana and intend to incorporate my medical training with missions.  My compassion for people inspired me to pursue healthcare, where I will be able to facilitate healing for the whole person - spirit, soul, and body.</p><blockquote> “E&H was absolutely the right place for my undergraduate education.  The college’s motto “increase in excellence” is manifested in an environment that encourages students to achieve their full potential.  E&H has countless opportunities to become involved, whatever your passion is - there is a place for you!  I had the honor of being co-captain of the women’s soccer team, where I developed a strong sense of community, the meaning of team, and commitment.  I participated in numerous organizations from Fellowship of Christian Athletes to residence life to the biological honor society.  Through the Outdoor Program I discovered my enjoyment of backpacking on the Appalachian Trail.  The cultural history of Appalachia interwoven with innovative programs provides a high-quality and unique experience that makes E&H a hidden treasure.”</blockquote></div><a href="/live/profiles/706-kellie-flaherty" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>