Events

Meet Our Alumni

• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1431-jeremy-peters" title="Jeremy Peters" aria-label="Jeremy Peters"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/357,137,786,568/916_Jeremy_Peters_photo.rev.1508790892.jpg" alt="Jeremy Peters" title="Jeremy Peters" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/357,137,786,568/916_Jeremy_Peters_photo.rev.1508790892.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/357,137,786,568/916_Jeremy_Peters_photo.rev.1508790892.jpg 3x" data-max-w="1718" data-max-h="1147"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1431-jeremy-peters"/></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Jeremy Peters is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD).</p><p> NACD is a nonprofit organization representing America’s 3,000 conservation districts, their state and territory associations, and the 17,000 men and women who serve on their governing boards. These districts work with millions of cooperating landowners and operators to help them manage and protect land and water resources on private and public lands in the United States. NACD’s mission is to promote the wise and responsible use of natural resources for all lands by representing locally-led conservation districts and their associations through grassroots advocacy, education, and partnerships.</p><p>  </p><p> In 2017, the Center for Behavioral and Experimental Agri-Environmental Research (CBEAR) presented Jeremy with their CBEAR Prize for Agri-Environmental Innovation. In presenting the Award, CBEAR Outreach Director Mark Masters commented, “Jeremy’s effective leadership of NACD is based, in large part, on his ability to bridge the gaps that often exist between research, policy and application. The relationships established and opportunities facilitated through Jeremy’s hard work have greatly informed, and improved, CBEAR’s research and outreach efforts.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/1431-jeremy-peters" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1444-fred-parker" title="Fred Parker" aria-label="Fred Parker"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,2125,3199/2358_Political_People_004.rev.1516296690.JPG" alt="Fred Parker" title="Fred Parker" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,2125,3199/2358_Political_People_004.rev.1516296690.JPG 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,2125,3199/2358_Political_People_004.rev.1516296690.JPG 3x" data-max-w="2125" data-max-h="3199"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1444-fred-parker"><p> Fred Parker serves as the Treasurer of Washington County, Virginia.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p>  In addition to his E&H degree, he also holds studied at Lincoln Memorial University, East Tennessee State University, and the University of Virginia.</p><p> He has served on a variety of professional boards including the Governor’s Advisory Commission on the Dillon Rule and Local Government, the Virginia Association of Locally Elected Constitutional Officers (serving as president in 2004), Served as president of the Treasurers Association of Virginia, is on the Southwest Virginia Association of Treasurer’s and Clerks, the  Treasurer’s Association of VA, Virginia State SNAP Non-Arbitrage Program Advisory Board Since Inception, Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority, VA Government Finance Officers Association, VACo Investment Pool, and Washington County Industrial Development Authority.</p><p> He is a member of the Abingdon Rotary Club and a Paul Harris Fellow. He is a former chair of the Washington County Democratic Committee and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1996.</p><p><br/> His list of awards and involvements is long, as is his passion for serving the community.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/1444-fred-parker" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/791-brent-treash" title="Brent Treash" aria-label="Brent Treash"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/568_brent.rev.1505410086.jpg" alt="Brent Treash" title="Brent Treash" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/568_brent.rev.1505410086.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/791-brent-treash"><p> An E&H alumnus is the top dog at Bristol’s biggest music festival this year.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p><strong>Emory & Henry</strong> has more in common with Bristol’s <strong><a href="http://www.birthplaceofcountrymusic.org/festival/">Rhythm & Roots</a></strong> event than just an ampersand: we also share Brent Treash.</p><p> Brent is a 2001 Emory & Henry grad who works in the College’s communications office…AND he is the 2017 chair of the biggest music festival in the region. Bristol’s Rhythm & Roots Reunion boasts of nearly 80,000 patrons in 2016 – including the nearly 500 musicians and countless food and merchandise vendors.</p><p> Brent got involved with Rhythm & Roots because local organizers wanted to pick his brain about jambands. While the festival takes place in the city that proudly hails as the Birthplace of Country Music, the event prides itself in offering a wide range of music styles. Brent says that’s very intentional. “When The Carter Family and Jimmy Rodgers recorded those first songs at the event now called ‘The Bristol Sessions’ they were sharing a new kind of music with the world. We like to think that Rhythm & Roots does the same thing; it exposes the audience to new bands and new music styles.”</p><p> Those early Bristol Sessions are now considered the big bang of country music – <em>Keep on the Sunny Side</em> being the genesis that led to <em>Mama’s Broken Heart</em>. The big Rhythm & Roots festival celebrates all those nuances of country music (Dwight Yoakam is headlining this year) while also giving you a taste of blues, rock, folk, Americana, and more.</p><p> Brent has been on the Rhythm & Roots board for a decade so he has seen every aspect of the event: from tickets to stage set-up to cleanup. The contacts list on his phone can get you to hundreds of bands and just as many music managers. He is a walking Wikipedia of musicians, music, and music history. But in the end, he still enjoys the music. “The festival roster has no shortage of legendary musicians, but I love that our event has become a place where people come to discover new talent. We’ve been fortunate in the past to have artists like the Avett Brothers, Sturgill Simpson and St. Paul and the Broken Bones as they were just starting their careers. People come to Bristol each September looking for the next big thing. This year we have a Canadian singer-songwriter with a deep baritone voice named Colter Wall. He might be the best songwriter I’ve heard in several years.”</p><p> Brent also serves on the board of directors for the festival’s parent organization the Birthplace of Country Music.</p><p> In addition, he does a weekly radio show on WEHC 90.7 that highlights some of the great music discoverable at Rhythm & Roots. And his thoughts are never far from the event. “Every year we start planning earlier and earlier for the following year. I’m getting messages on a daily basis about bookings for 2018.”</p><p> Planning an event this huge doesn’t come without a share of disappointments and Brent occasionally has to suffer the pain of losing a band or performer he was really set on having at the event. But with a festival that features nearly 130 different acts, there will be music aplenty to console his broken heart.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/791-brent-treash" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1017-emma-sturgill" title="Emma Sturgill" aria-label="Emma Sturgill"><img src="/live/image/gid/10/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,377,384/1144_Profile.rev.1510677783.jpg" alt="Emma Sturgill" title="Emma Sturgill" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="377" data-max-h="384"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1017-emma-sturgill"><p> From Biology student to biotechnology entrepreneur</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Emma graduated from the Emory & Henry Biology Department in 2009 and continued on to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN to study the activity of cytoskeletal proteins during cell division.  Upon obtaining her PhD in Cell Biology in 2014, Emma launched a biotechnology company that specializes in protein manufacturing.  She enjoys working at the intersection of research, entrepreneurship, and STEM education, and attributes her fascination for biology to her experiences at E&H.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/1017-emma-sturgill" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/718-" title="Fallon Walker Grindstead" aria-label="Fallon Walker Grindstead"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,975,975/437_unnamed.rev.1502370732.jpg" alt="Fallon Walker Grindstead" title="Fallon Walker Grindstead" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,975,975/437_unnamed.rev.1502370732.jpg 2x" data-max-w="975" data-max-h="975"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/718-"><p> Fallon Walker Grindstead, ’13 leads in Chilhowie </p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Fallon Walker Grinstead is a 2013 graduate of Emory & Henry from Chilhowie, Virginia.  Fallon majored in our teacher preparation program in Health & Physical Education.  She is entering her 5^thyear of teaching and her 9^th year of coaching volleyball at Chilhowie Middle School.  In 2014-2015, she helped create the Health and Physical Education curriculum for Smyth County Schools and last year she was honored as Teacher of the Year for her school.  In  addition, the past two years, the Chilhowie JV Volleyball team has won the Mountain West Conference Championship.  Fallon says  her overall goal is to “help each student  find something active they enjoy.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/718-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1745-becky-edmondson-pretzel" title="Becky Pretzel" aria-label="Becky Pretzel"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/198,324,1490,1615/3152_edmondsonpretzel-1122.rev.1518207187.jpg" alt="Becky Edmondson Pretzel" title="Becky Edmondson Pretzel" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/198,324,1490,1615/3152_edmondsonpretzel-1122.rev.1518207187.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/198,324,1490,1615/3152_edmondsonpretzel-1122.rev.1518207187.jpg 3x" data-max-w="1500" data-max-h="2250"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1745-becky-edmondson-pretzel"><p> Rebecca Edmondson Pretzel (E&H ’82) is the Associate Director of the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD) at UNC Chapel Hill. </p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Rebecca Edmondson Pretzel (E&H ’82) is the Associate Director of the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD) at UNC Chapel Hill. </p><p> The CIDD is a comprehensive program for services, research, and training relevant to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. The CIDD provides for clinical services that range from complex interdisciplinary evaluations on-site to more limited and selected clinical services. They also provide training in all 100 counties in North Carolina. (<a href="http://www.cidd.unc.edu/">CIDD website</a>)</p><p> According to a press release, Becky is a “psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at UNC. At the CIDD, she serves as the Associate Director of our federally-funded University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) program, Director of Clinical Services, and Psychology Section Head. In addition, she is an investigator on a variety of research and training grants and supervises numerous graduate students and junior faculty.</p><p> Through her longstanding experience working with many N.C. service agencies (e.g., the Department of Public Instruction, Early Intervention Branch and Division of MH/DD/SAS), Dr. Pretzel has played an important role in raising the level of care for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families in the state. Dr. Pretzel is currently serving as Act Early Ambassador in North Carolina, a program directed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designed to improve early identification of young children with or at risk for developmental delays.”</p><div id="social-sharing-links" class="right clearfix"><div class="muted"/></div></div><a href="/live/profiles/1745-becky-edmondson-pretzel" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1893-bobbie-frentz-larkins" title="Bobbie Larkins" aria-label="Bobbie Larkins"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,33,512,545/3399_771885.rev.1519915305.jpg" alt="Bobbie Frentz Larkins" title="Bobbie Frentz Larkins" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="512" data-max-h="768"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1893-bobbie-frentz-larkins"><p> Bobbie Frentz Larkins is a great advocate for connecting E&H students to career possibilities at Eastman Chemical Company.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Bobbie Frentz Larkins received her Bachelors of Science degrees in Chemistry and Biology from Emory & Henry college in May, 2003.  Bobbie taught high school Chemistry and Biology in Washington County, Virginia, from 2003 to 2007.  In 2007, Bobbie joined Eastman Chemical Company as a part of the Specialty Plastics organization.  Currently, Bobbie is a Portfolio Specialist focused on managing the growth portfolio for the Plastics business.<br/><br/> Bobbie joined the E&H Alumni board in 2012 with a passion to ensure that future generations have the opportunity to benefit from an Emory & Henry education.  Bobbie has worked to develop an E&H Alumni network within Eastman Chemical Company as well as provide opportunities for E&H’s science students to interact with Eastman (networking opportunities, plant visits/tours, career mentoring, etc.).<br/><br/> Bobbie also has a focus on service within her community – a value instilled by E&H.  Bobbie was a member of the Kingsport Junior League from 2011 to 2016, a member of the Tri-Cities ALS Association Board of Directors from 2012 to 2015 and is currently an active member of the Tennessee Doberman Rescue and Calvary Church in Johnson City, TN.  Bobbie and her husband, David, are passionate about supporting animal rescues and providing for school-aged children in need.<br/><br/> In her spare time, Bobbie enjoys organic gardening and cooking as well as spending time with her husband, David, their two children, Katie (17) and Andrew (14), and their three dogs Matilda, Brodie and Shadow.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/1893-bobbie-frentz-larkins" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1746-cathy-cuskey-large" title="Cathy Large" aria-label="Cathy Large"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/201,93,535,426/3153_cuskey_large.rev.1518207527.jpg" alt="Cathy Cuskey Large" title="Cathy Cuskey Large" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="604" data-max-h="453"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1746-cathy-cuskey-large"/></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Cathy Cuskey Large (’93) used to avoid physics like the plague: so, of course, she is now flourishing as a Medical Physicist.</p><p> “I took physics in high school and just hated it. But I had a teacher at Virginia Highlands Community College who made me love it.”</p><p> So she transferred to Emory & Henry, graduated with a major in physics and a minor in math, and then headed to UT for a master’s in physics. While there she ventured into the engineering department to explore a more applications-based area of physics (less theoretic), and that’s where she first heard about medical physics. She’s never looked back.</p><p> She has worked at the clinic level where she had to implement logistics necessary to make it safe for cancer patients and health workers to be around radiation treatment. “We even have to take into consideration someone who might be working on the roof on a given day.”</p><p> Her work there involved everything from selecting proper building materials to measuring wall widths. These days she’s working for Phillips Medical as a consultant, and is writing algorithms for the administration of radiation. “It’s a great career, and there aren’t a lot of people doing this – so there are great opportunities for new grads.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/1746-cathy-cuskey-large" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/704-" title="Rachel Dunne" aria-label="Rachel Dunne"><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,690,390/354_25f3d785419f0eb611f94ba17fd1703d_f1833.rev.1500386495.jpg" alt="Rachel Dunne" title="Rachel Dunne" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="690" data-max-h="390"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/704-"><p> Rachel Dunne Finds Unlikely Path in Alaska </p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> When Rachel Dunne (’04) was a student at E&H, she pretty much set the woods on fire. Lately, she’s been busy putting out fires. This is truly a young woman who knows how to fire up a Liberal Arts degree. </p><p> This is all a corny way of saying that Rachel has been fighting wildland fires in Alaska.</p><p> A double major in Public Policy & Community Service and Psychology, Rachel was a top notch student with a heart intent on making a difference. And it comes as no surprise that she is finding such a creative means of making her way in the world.  She wanted to pursue work in the area of disaster relief response after graduate school, but needed job experience.  She spent 10 months in the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps doing a lot of work in the Gulf region of the U.S. working on Katrina recovery efforts.  She also got sent to a very small town in Arizona where her team was assigned to assistance with brush clearing to prevent wildfires.  Her superiors suggested she come back after AmeriCorps for a job.</p><p> While she only intended to do the job for a year, she stayed for two and a half years honing her skills not only in firefighting and prevention but also in coordinating fire response, GIS, HAZMAT, EMT, and learned how to drive a water tender (please Google this to see how impressive this feat is).</p><p> After Arizona she found an opportunity to continue this good work and to see some of the country’s most beautiful land. She considered Big Sky country, but ended up in Alaska because of their unique challenges in fire logistics. She served as a fire logistics dispatcher for the Alaska Fire Service, which is part of the Bureau of Land Management. In this role, she helped get the people, supplies, and aircraft out to remote areas of Alaska for wildland fires.</p><p> As is wont to happen, while in Alaska, Rachel ran smack into another Emory & Henry person! Daniel Griggs (’07) was there doing similar work and putting his geography background to good use. Giving Dr. John Morgan all the credit for getting him the right start, Daniel says he finds working for the fire service very “real” in the sense that there is “immediate need for accurate geospatial information.”  He ended up in Alaska because he had always wanted to visit the state, so when he got a job offer in Anchorage he jumped at the chance.</p><p> Rachel says folks in her position work seasonally—putting in 6 months of work and then filling the other half of the year with school, other work, travel, or personal projects and hobbies.  While the job sounds pretty cushy, it turns out those six months are pretty demanding.  On a fire assignment, dispatchers and firefighters alike usually work 14 straight days of up to 16 hour shifts.  In many ways, it’s more of a lifestyle than a job.</p><p> So what happens during those long days? This season, Daniel got sent out to the field as a GIS specialist, providing custom real-time maps of fires for the incident decision-makers.  Rachel moved to another dispatch center as an aircraft dispatcher, where she finds the helicopters and planes that support both fires and scientists in interior Alaska and the lower 48.  “It’s not every day you get to say, ‘Yeah, I ordered a jumbo jet at work today’,” says Rachel.  “The best part of the job is the constant challenge—you never know who is going to call or what they are going to need, and it’s great to be able to say, ‘Sure, I can make that happen,’ even when it means getting people or supplies into parts of Alaska your average tourist will never even think about visiting.”</p><p> With these new job demands, Rachel is less “fire fighter” and more “travel agent” – booking flights into all corners of the state.  Whether they are VIPs touring Alaska before making recommendations on energy or land management policy, scientists researching animal habitats and archeological sites, or firefighters protecting Alaska’s assets, everybody knows they’ll have to fly to get to their Alaskan destination.  “I may miss the smell of smoke and getting to do things with my own hands, but what I can do with a phone and a radio allows those professionals to make the difference, and I’m proud to be part of their support network.”</p><p> While Daniel will stay on with Alaska Fire Service in Fairbanks for the near future, Rachel plans to move on after this season ends.  “What’s next? I don’t know, but if you’d told me I was going to be a firefighter or live in Alaska while I was at Emory, I’d have laughed.  I just keep believing in the hope that people can do amazing things when we are willing to take on a challenge, even if it means leaving our comfort zones behind.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/704-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/677-doug-dalton" title="Doug Dalton" aria-label="Doug Dalton"><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,640,640/272_11140356_10154000682162786_5533273719072550783_n.rev.1497276685.jpg" alt="Doug Dalton" title="Doug Dalton" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="640" data-max-h="640"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/677-doug-dalton"><p> Doug Dalton (’94) is More Than Meets The Eye</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Ask anyone who follows Doug Dalton on social media and they’ll tell you that this guy knows how to have a good time. The Fairfax, Va., native is now a dyed-in-the-wool Californian, and photos of him wearing a cheetah suit and going to Burning Man, cocktail parties, and rock concerts might lead you to think he is just a playboy.</p><p> Think again!</p><p> He is also the owner of 9 very successful, very popular, very trendy bars in San Francisco, as well as 3 stores.</p><p> How — and why – does a former “dot com guy” end up as a bar entrepreneur? “I was working at Estee Lauder as the Chief Technology Officer living in San Francisco and New York City. New Yorkers would often speak poorly about San Francisco saying there was nothing interesting to do there. I wanted to contribute to San Francisco because I felt it was a wonderful town. San Francisco at the time was full of incredible restaurants and dive bars but nothing in between, so I ventured to make an elusive but not exclusive high-end bar experience on par with the New York nightlife scene.”</p><p> Doug and his partners venture into areas that some businesses are reluctant to consider (like the Tenderloin District) and his successes are reinvigorating long-ignored areas. “Our bars are bringing new life and other businesses to the area, helping to better them and make them more inviting.”</p><p> If you know a student who is interested in identifying a problem…and working for a solution…encourage him or her to look at Emory & Henry’s Ampersand project. Maybe they’ll grow up and be like Doug Dalton: an answer to community challenge.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/677-doug-dalton" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/786-julie-meadows" title="Julie Meadows" aria-label="Julie Meadows"><img src="/live/image/gid/16/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,50,375,424/562_Julie_Meadows.rev.1505324079.jpg" alt="Julie Meadows" title="Julie Meadows" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="375" data-max-h="532"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/786-julie-meadows"><p> Julie Meadows, ’17: Youth Advocate and Traveler</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><h4><strong>Julie Meadows - CityYear Mentor, Milwaukee, WI</strong></h4><p>  </p><p> “Through my time in the program, I had the opportunity to practice what I had learned while serving abroad in Dublin, Ireland and working on a major project in my local community. My professors were willing to help in times of need and did a fantastic job in preparing me for a future career, and I would not be where I am today without their guidance.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/786-julie-meadows" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2044-dr-beverly-clark-iii" title="Dr. Beverly Clark III" aria-label="Dr. Beverly Clark III"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2273/4094_Clark-ShawLab.rev.1524861196.jpg" alt="Dr. Beverly Clark III" title="Dr. Beverly Clark III" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2273/4094_Clark-ShawLab.rev.1524861196.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2273/4094_Clark-ShawLab.rev.1524861196.jpg 3x" data-max-w="3200" data-max-h="2273"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2044-dr-beverly-clark-iii"><p> Dr. Beverly Clark is studying the effects of microplastics on the environment.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p><strong>Dr. Beverly Clark, III </strong>is an Associate Professor of Physics at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has focused his research on combining nanoscience and microscopy.  His work has focused mostly on using microscopy techniques to design methods for measuring electronic properties of nanostructures like capacitance, surface charge and resistance. </p><p> Beverly is currently doing research on the environmental impacts of microplastics.  His work focuses on characterizing microplastics using microscopy and spectroscopy and the environmental impacts of microplastics on low income and minority populations.   </p><p> Beverly is a native of Java, Virginia, but has lived in the Raleigh, North Carolina, area for over fifteen years.  At Emory & Henry, he was a student athlete lettering in football and earned a B.S. degree in Physics.   He also earned a Master’s and Doctorate in Physics from North Carolina State University. In July 2018, he left Raleigh to take the position of Dean of Instruction, Academic Education at Central Community College in Grand Island, Nebraska. In his spare time, he enjoys playing music, cooking, and gardening.  </p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2044-dr-beverly-clark-iii" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1443-israel-oquinn" title="Israel O’Quinn" aria-label="Israel O’Quinn"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,12,240,254/2357_Israel_OQuinn.rev.1516296415.png" alt="Israel O’Quinn" title="Israel O’Quinn" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="240" data-max-h="320"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1443-israel-oquinn"><p> Israel O’Quinn is a member of the Virginia House of Delegates.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Delegate Israel O’Quinn was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates on November 8, 2011. He represents the 5th House District which is comprised of Bristol City, Galax City, Grayson County, Smyth County (part) and Washington County (part). <br/><br/> As an advocate for Southwest Virginia, Israel works to ensure the 5th District is well-represented in Richmond. Israel serves as Deputy Majority Whip and his legislative committee assignments include Commerce and Labor, Privileges and Elections, as well as Militia, Police and Public Safety. He serves as the Chairman of Subcommittee Number Four in the Privileges and Elections Committee and he also serves as Chairman of Subcommittee Number Three in the Commerce and Labor Committee. Israel is a member of the legislative Coal and Energy Commission and he serves on the Board of Directors for the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center.</p><p> As a citizen legislator, Israel is employed by K-VA-T Food Stores, the parent company of the Food City retail supermarket chain. He currently directs the company’s Office of Strategic Initiatives, in addition to chairing the company’s Energy Conservation Committee, which has implemented a number of energy conservation measures throughout the K-VA-T distribution center and numerous stores. Prior to joining the K-VA-T team in 2006, Israel served in various roles in government and campaigns. He spent two years in the office of Attorney General Jerry Kilgore and worked on a number of political campaigns, including those for Governor, Attorney General, US Senate, House of Delegates and various local offices.</p><p> Israel is Past Chairman of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce, which has Five Star accreditation from the US Chamber of Commerce. Israel is a recipient of the Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 award, as well as Emory & Henry College’s Young Alumnus of the Year award. While at Emory & Henry College, Israel played on the varsity baseball team and graduated with degrees in Political Science and History.  Israel is also a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Glade Spring, Virginia.</p><p> Israel and his wife, Emily, reside in Washington County, Virginia.  Emily works as a corporate communications professional and she is an avid supporter of community organizations at both the state and local levels. Over the years, her service on a number of boards has focused on various business and philanthropic initiatives including expanding educational opportunities for children and increasing access to the arts.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/1443-israel-oquinn" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1295-sarah-agron" title="Sarah Agron" aria-label="Sarah Agron"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,857,1132/1875_me.rev.1515517710.png" alt="Sarah Agron" title="Sarah Agron" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,857,1132/1875_me.rev.1515517710.png 2x" data-max-w="857" data-max-h="1132"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1295-sarah-agron"><p> Sarah’s work with Migrant Health Network gives her a new perspective on the world.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><div> Sarah Agron’s internship with the Migrant Health Network was likely the key to her being hired. And she credits her E&H professors with pushing her to try new challenges. “My professors helped to push me out of my comfort zone in many different ways, and encouraged me to push through my timidity when it came to speaking another language.”<br/><br/> Her job title is Outreach Worker. with Migrant Health Network. “What I do is reach out to the migrant farm worker population here in Washington and Smyth counties and offer my help with anything they might be needing regarding health care. I offer interpretation, transportation, and care navigation. I’m basically a bilingual case manager. Also, I try to help with filling out insurance applications and providing health education materials in Spanish.”<br/><br/> Sarah says the Migrant Health Network’s goal is to provide services/care to as many migrant workers as possible. “Our group has 4 workers each serving about 3 counties a piece here in Southwest Virginia. In 2017, we served 720 farm workers. We hope for that number to grow for 2018. Our organization is about providing care to those who would normally feel helpless to try to go about taking care of their health care needs.”<br/><br/> She says every day presents a new challenge, and because the culture is so different from hers and because she’s dealing with medical issues, she is always having to expand her vocabulary. “I can go in with a patient to a regular check-up, and the next thing I know, the doctor is talking about different kinds of deep sea fish the patient should be eating, or maybe some kind of neurological illness I’ve never heard of before.”<br/><br/> She says she appreciates not only the education she got at Emory & Henry…but also the empathy she gained. “By the time I graduated from E&H in 2015, I had learned to see what was going on in the world through other people’s eyes, which has helped me considerably in a job where I am almost constantly with those from another culture and background.”</div><div/><div/><div/></div><a href="/live/profiles/1295-sarah-agron" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/790-richard-groover" title="Richard Groover" aria-label="Richard Groover"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2133/564_2887April2917_005.rev.1505402809.JPG" alt="Richard Groover" title="Richard Groover" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2133/564_2887April2917_005.rev.1505402809.JPG 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,3200,2133/564_2887April2917_005.rev.1505402809.JPG 3x" data-max-w="3200" data-max-h="2133"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/790-richard-groover"><p> Catching dragonflies for the National Park Service is only the latest of Richard Groover’s cool projects.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> It’s probably easier to ask Richard Groover what he HASN’T done. After being a scientist, a teacher, a field researcher, a government employee, a reserve deputy sheriff, hostage negotiator for 9 years, a documentary filmmaker, a National Park docent, a former member of the Governor’s Climate Change Commission for Virginia, a current member of the Board of Trustees for the Virginia Science Museum and now an author – you’d think there wouldn’t be much new territory left to explore.</p><p><a href="http://www.ehc.edu/live/image/gid/68/width/650/569_groover.jpg" class="lw_preview_image"><img width="500" height="414" alt="Richard Groover poses with his wife, Patti Jackson." src="http://www.ehc.edu/live/image/gid/68/width/500/height/414/569_groover.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image569 lw_align_left lw_column_width_half" data-max-w="629" data-max-h="521"/></a>But he has plans.</p><p> “I figure I’ve got about 10 years left in me before my brain goes, so I’ve got a lot to do.”</p><p> Richard graduated from E&H in 1971, and at the age of 68 he just this year completed his Ph.D. in Environmental  Science and Public Policy at George Mason University. “Well, you know, the dog died, the children grew up, the skies parted – I realized I had time to do my Ph.D.”</p><p> He speaks excitedly about his graduate work: he focused on Ecology and Policy. He says he studied with the best and brightest in public policy (including Lee Talbott who authored the Endangered Species Act), but his real passion is education and research in the field. He is a Biology and Environmental Studies teacher at Reynolds Community College in Richmond, and he is currently doing a project for the National Park Service studying dragonflies on National Battlefields. (For the record, he has nothing against damselflies he just thinks they’re “wimpy.” We couldn’t reach a damselfly for comment.)</p><p> He is just about to publish an ambitious reference book: <em>Second Edition of the Environmental Almanac of Virginia</em>. Richard approached the author of first edition to encourage him to write a second part – but the author, Frits van der Leeden (real name) said Richard ought to write it. The book will be out in October of 2017.</p><p> Richard says he doesn’t mind staying busy. “I’m worried about being bored. If I die tomorrow, I’ve had a really fun life!”</p><p> You can reach Richard speak of many things, including his upcoming book: <a href="mailto:rgroover@reynolds.edu"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">rgroover@reynolds.edu</span></a></p></div><a href="/live/profiles/790-richard-groover" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>